Ah, poor Felix. Now that Isaac is down for the count, he has to find the cure all by his lonesome. But for now, let's see what has befallen the beautiful Sheba and her good companion Piers. Shall we?

Moondust and Moonlight

Chapter Three: Happy Meetings?

A hundred miles east of New Vale:

Piers whistled cheerfully as he traveled through the forest. After four weeks of idleness at New Vale, at last, he was going home! Lemuria! Lemuria! The name sang sweetly in his homesick ears. What's more, he was traveling with the gorgeous, sweet, golden-haired Sheba!

Behind Piers, Sheba trudged silently. She missed her friends, especially Jenna, and hated leaving the cozy village of New Vale. But she too was homesick for her hometown of Lalivero, and how could she refuse Pier's plea for her to accompany him? Sheba blushed, remembering the wild happiness that had shone out of his eyes when she agreed.

So absorbed they were in their own thought, they did not notice the threatening shadows slowly surrounding them.

Still whistling, Piers turned to check on Sheba. He gasped, and then held up his hand. A great block of ice rose up from the ground and engulfed a man with a raised sword. Sheba whirled around and coolly regarded the ice sculpture. She turned back to her companion.

"Thank you, Piers. Let me repay you." Sheba gestured with her staff and a strong wind blew away a man who had been about to stab Piers.

There was no time to thank her. The two adepts stood back to back. As Piers parried blow after blow with his sword, he felt himself beginning to weaken. He gulped. Wow, I've grown soft living in New Vale. I used to be able to fight for days without rest. Better end this quickly. He focused inward, reaching for Psynergy. When he was ready, he raised his hand and shouted, "Diamond Berg!"

Instead of the huge, freezing mountain that was supposed to appear, only a few flakes of ice materialized, then instantly melted. Piers was stunned. His voice trembled.

"Sheba, I think I have run out of Psynergy already."

"What! Wait, let me try."

Piers felt Sheba tense as she concentrated. She whispered, "Tempest."

There was a gentle breeze…then nothing.

The two adepts gulped and fought on, knowing they were vastly outnumbered, but determined to take as many as they could down with them.

Okay now, let's skip back to Felix. This is a couple of days after he ran away from New Vale, and it is getting dark:

The earth adept wandered around the countryside, not really knowing what he was searching for. Mostly he was concerned with staying alive.

Several times he had encountered monsters, and each time he had emerged lucky to be alive. Either they had grown much stronger, or he had diminished in skill. Why, when he first set out from New Vale, he could barely do the basic Cure and Quake. Jenna had been the only one who had kept on using her battle psynergy regularly, and she was...

Felix bit his tongue to stop tears from spilling out. He had to be strong to save Jenna, to save Isaac, to save the whole town. It didn't matter if he felt strong or not, he just had to appear strong, even when he was alone. You never know what might be watching you.

He noticed a glow peeping through the darkness ahead. His loping stride shifted to a slower, but more cautious, cat-like pace. A fire isn't necessarily friendly.

He crouched as close to the fire as he dared. About fifty grimy bandits were sitting dully around the clearing. It was strangely silent, with none of the horsing around bandits usually do. They just sat there, staring into the fire. Felix suspiciously edged closer.

And promptly stepped on someone's hand.

"Oomph!" There was a muffled cry of pain. Felix recognized the voice.

"Piers? What the-"

"Mmph mm mu phoomph!" Felix glanced down and saw a gagged and tied Piers lying half hidden under a bunch of leaves.

Felix untied Pier's bonds as quickly as possible. "You and Sheba left weeks ago! What are you doing here so close to New Vale? And where is Sheba?"

Piers grimaced and rubbed his wrists where the ropes had been. "Not so loud, Felix. And not so many questions. I'll tell you after we've rescued Sheba." With that, he set off toward the opposite side of the camp, Felix hot on his heels.

They stole past the staring men. Felix was reminded of how his sister had stared when no one was too close to her. Had the same sickness struck this group of bandits? Perhaps. If so, they must get away from here quickly!

Piers suddenly tripped and Felix fell over his friend. They both rolled for a while, then just laid there, straining their ears to find out if anyone had heard them. Some bandits shifted, but the majority didn't move at all. They breathed sighs of relief, and Piers crawled over to Felix.

"Whew, I think no one heard us. We better keep going. Sorry."

"It's okay. Let's just save Sheba."

Actually, someone had heard them. When they had fallen,a single bandit had robotically picked himself up and climbed up a tree with long, thick, and sturdy arms. He laid on a branch and watched the sleeping golden-haired girl with unblinking eyes.

He watched while the blue-haired man woke up the girl and his companion freed her. He watched while they conversed for a while. He was still watching when they ran off into the darkness. Well, actually, someone else far away watched through his eyes.

After the trio had been gone for a few seconds, he jumped off the tree and landed lightly. As if on cue, half of his companions rose and sped off, each following his own way of running, yet staying strangely in-sync. All of them headed unerringly toward the way the three adepts had gone. All of them knew where to go, despite the fact that this was all done without a single word between them.

Far away, someone chuckled. A hunt is never exciting if you don't give the prey a small chance to escape.