A/N: Hello! I got a very weird review from someone…. But anyways here's chapter 8.… hehehe.
Chapter 8
Isaac's POV
Oh crap! Where is it?! Where is it?!
I frantically looked under the bed, under the covers and everywhere in the room, and still I couldn't find my coin pouch. I know I placed it on the table last night…..
Flint and Garet woke up, startled by my frantic search. I didn't really mean to wake them up, but, I couldn't afford to search too carefully. I was freaking out. The Mars Star…. Oh, I can't lose that…..
"Hey, what are you doing?" Garet yawned. He looked half asleep. Flint looked dazed.
"I'm looking for my money! I know I putted it on the table last night. And now it's gone!" I whispered loudly. People are still asleep in the inn, and I shouldn't wake them up or else they'll be very grumpy with me.
"What? Can't you wait till morning?" Garet yawned again.
"It's already morning."
"No it's not. The sun's not up yet."
"It is up!" I yanked the curtains away from the windows and beams of sunlight shone through the window. Garet and Flint both squinted.
"Now that you're both up, help me find my pouch," I said as I started my frantic search again.
Garet moaned. Flint yawned. But they both got out of bed anyways.
Oh, where the hell could it be?!
I looked under the bed again, under the table, everywhere. I cried out in frustration, "Where is it?!"
Garet shrugged, "Hey, don't worry about it. I still have my money. I think…."
Garet searched his bag. Then he froze. "My money… It's gone too!"
He started to freak out too. We both searched under the beds, again, under the covers, everywhere. And still…. We found nothing.
"Not only is my money gone, so is the Mars Star…" I groaned.
"What?!" Garet and Flint both cried out.
"I had the Mars Star in my pouch," I answered.
Garet shook his head in frustration. "I bet you that it was those creepy guys. Umm…. What were their names again?…. Oh yeah, Saterus and Melody."
"It's Saturos and Menardi," I corrected him.
Again, he rolled his eyes at me. "Whatever," he mumbled.
I shook my head. "No, it couldn't have been them. Why would they take our money then?"
Garet shrugged.
"Um, may I ask why you two have the Mars Star?" Flint asked.
Garet and I looked at him. "I mean, the Mars Star is a very sacred jewel that is supposed to be sealed within Sol Sanctum. How did you two obtain it?" Flint continued.
"Well…. " I began. We told him what happened on Mt. Aleph and how it erupted. Then we told him that we were on a journey, or more like a mission, to retrieve the other three Stars from the thieves who took them and to rescue Kraden and Jenna.
Flint closed his eyes. "Very interesting….." he said, "So the Wise One gave his trust in you two. It may be fate that lead me to you. The Wise One told all of us Djinn, before the eruption, to: 'Seek those who have been chosen by fate who bears the destiny of the world.'"
Flint looked at both of us. "You both have a dangerous path to follow but I, Flint, a Venus Djinn of heart, will offer my strength to aid you," he spoke, proudly.
"I'm truly grateful, Flint," I said.
We need all the help we can get. I'm glad Flint will lend us a hand for the hardships that I know will soon come….
"But anyways," I continued, "First, we need to find the Mars Star!"
"…… Right," said Flint as I dropped on my hands and knees and looked under the rug. I found nothing.
"Hey, why don't we tell the lady downstairs? Maybe she can tell us if she saw any suspicious looking guys," Garet suggested.
I sighed. "Okay, I guess…" I moaned.
We both changed our clothes and packed our things. Then I noticed something…..
"Great….. My sword's gone as well, Garet," I said.
"Mine too. You don't suppose whoever took our money took them too?" Garet asked.
"Probably…"
When we went downstairs, I could smell frying bacon. My stomach growled.
The inn lady greeted us. "Good morning, boys. How about some breakfast?"
Garet shook his head, "I wish we could, ma'am, but our money and swords were stolen from our room."
"Oh dear…" she said, a little shocked. "That's terrible…"
"Yeah," I said, "I was wondering if you saw any suspicious people last night that could have done this."
The woman shook her head. "No, no one came in last night. But, there has been a lot of robberies lately when three nice fellows arrived two days ago. But I'm not accusing them of doing such crimes. They were nice and they gave me cash." She smiled warmly.
"Oh…." was all I could say.
"They are in one of the rooms upstairs, if you want to ask them anything." she added.
"Thank you, ma'am." said Garet and we headed upstairs. There were only four rooms and I knocked on the first door to my left. It was only an elderly man. I apologized for bothering them and knocked on the second door.
Two men answered. One was taller than the other, a little shorter than Garet, and he had a small scar on his left cheek. The shorter one wore a red bandanna over his head.
"What you want, kid?" the man with the scar asked.
"Um, I was wondering if you saw any thieves around here. Some of our stuff's been stolen this morning and, well…." I trailed off.
They both looked at each other then the man with the scar said, "We ain't seen nothing. Now get lost." Then he slammed the door.
I looked at Garet and he shrugged. "Hmph. It's them. They're the thieves," I grumbled as I walked back downstairs.
"Yeah. It must be them. They look suspicious enough." Garet agreed. "So…. What do we do now?"
"Well…." I said as I headed outside, away from the smell of breakfast, "We can't just go in accusing them of being thieves. We need to somehow prove that they are."
"So… how do we do that?" Garet asked.
I shrugged. Garet set out a long sigh. "Well, since they must've stolen a lot of stuff in Vault, we could find they're stash somewhere." I suggested.
Garet shook his head, "That could take days!"
I nodded and sighed.
"Excuse me?" said a voice behind us that made all three of us jump.
I turned around and saw that kid from last night. The one with the worried expression. He had short, but neatly cut, blonde hair. Purple eyes. And he held a wooden stick that looked just like Jenna's.
"Yes? What would you like?" Garet asked him.
"Um… I couldn't help overhearing what you two were talking about. I, too, have had something stolen from me by thieves. And I think I know who they are…" the kid timidly, said.
"You do? Well we kind of know who they could be too. What's your name?" I asked.
"Oh, sorry. I am Ivan," said Ivan, "And you are…" He closed his eyes and raised his hand, palm facing towards me like he was….. Using Psynergy. A faint purple aura surrounded him and I felt something….. Something in my mind….
Then Ivan opened his eyes again. I shook my head to get rid of that strange feeling.
"Nice to meet you, Isaac and Garet. Oh, and Flint too," Ivan said with a timid smile.
I looked at him shocked, "How did you…..?"
Ivan chuckled, "Oh, I'm sorry. I can read minds. It's a special technique that I have. I really don't know why…. But I can and I never knew it was called Psynergy."
Garet and I both looked at each other, thinking the same thing: "R…read minds? Wow… That's awesome!" said Garet. He looked wide-eyed at Ivan with interest. I guess I did too because I was amazed by Ivan's power.
"I can share my power. Let me show you…." said Ivan as he held my hand and approached Garet. Ivan closed his eyes and the purple aura surrounded him again. But this time it surrounded me too.
I felt my consciousness slip away from my mind and into Garet's… I saw Garet's memories, and his thoughts and feelings…
" What are they doing? And what's with that purple glow?"
It was Garet's voice! Then in an instant I was back in my body. I grinned. "Hey. That's pretty cool. I read your mind, Garet."
"What? But how?" he asked, surprised.
Ivan took his hand and approached me. Ivan closed his eyes and read my mind again. This time I felt two presences in my mind…. Garet's and Ivan's.
Garet shook his head when he came to. "Wow. That's amazing…. I read your mind too, Isaac," he said excitedly.
Ivan chuckled. "This may sound strange but, I was wondering if you both could help me…." he asked, quietly.
Garet and I both waited patiently for him to continue. "My master, Master Hammet, his rod was stolen from us when we arrived in Vault," Ivan continued, "Master trusted me to take care of it. But somehow those thieves took it. I had been suspecting that those three strangers that you both suspect as well are the thieves. I tried to read their minds but I can't get close enough to them…. So, I was wondering if you guys could somehow restrain them so I can read their minds…"
"Hmm, that's a good idea. If you can read their minds then we'll be able to know where our stuff's been hidden. But wait, won't they know that you're reading their minds?" I said.
Ivan shook his head. "Normal people can't see Psynergy. Only Adepts," Ivan answered.
I grinned.
With Ivan's power, we can prove to the people of Vault that they are thieves.
So the three of us went back inside the inn. The inn lady welcomed us and we told her that we forgot something in our room.
I knocked at the thieves door. The two same men from before opened up. Scar face looked at me angrily.
"What you want now, kid?" he grumbled.
"We have some things to ask you, if you don't mind," I said.
"I told you we ain't seen nothing. Now scram!"
Before he slammed the door shut, I stuck my foot in the way. And that hurt…..
Garet threw his body into the door, pushing it open. The four of us, well three since Flint hid in my bag, charged in. I didn't see the third thief anywhere. But the two that are here glared at us angrily.
"That weird kid's with 'em this time!" said bandanna.
Scar face cracked his knuckles and grinned, "You damn kids are gonna pay fer breakin' into our room…"
Great….. There's going to be a fight….
Garet stood beside me and whispered, "I'll take down the tall one. Isaac, take down the shorter one. And Ivan, try to read one of their minds."
We all nodded. "Then…. Ready?……."
"We're gonna have fun with you before boss gets back…." said bandanna. He took out a sword, my sword.
Using my own weapon----
"GO!!" Garet yelled out and he jumped and tackled Scar face down while I tried to get close to bandanna. Bandanna swung my sword at me. It missed. He held it tightly in his fist and grinned. I can't get close to him. He laughed.
Behind me I could hear Garet wrestling with his opponent. Bandanna leapt forward and thrust my sword down at me. I dodged to the side in time and grabbed his wrist that held my sword. I managed to yank it out of his grasp and leapt away from him. This time I grinned. Bandanna cursed at me and brought out a hidden knife.
"Garet! Isaac! Let's go!" I heard Ivan yell. Garet and I quickly retreated back out the door and out the inn. We hid near the mayor of Vault's house which Ivan knew.
I was filled with excitement and adrenaline from the fight. I've never been in a serious battle before….. I held my sword up for both of them to see, "Got my sword back," I said.
Ivan grinned and said, "They are the thieves. They stole so many valuables in town. And they hid it in the roof of the inn."
"The roof? Why there?" Garet asked. He was sweating and panting. He had a tougher battle than I had.
"Because something fell from the sky and made a hole in the roof yesterday. I saw a carpenter working on this morning. Come on, we should hurry and check out the roof before they suspect anything," Ivan said and he quietly ran back to the inn. We did too, with caution.
I was relieved when I didn't see those guys follow us. I saw Ivan clamber up the stairs quickly. I followed hastily.
Inside was all dusty and cobwebs hanged from all over. But it looked like some people were here just recently. Footprints were all over the place on the dust-covered floor. I followed Ivan into the next room. This room was full of crates and bags.
This must be all the stolen stuff….
I opened one of the bags and saw it was full of jewellery and gold encrusted items. We all looked in each crate and bag. Then I heard a muffled voice coming from a dark corner.
It was a man. He was all tied up and had a tight cloth wrapped over his mouth. I quickly cut his ropes with my sword and he quickly untied the cloth.
"Thank you," the man said. "I came into this loft while I was fixing the roof… when I tried to look farther ahead, WHAM! Someone whacked in the head from behind! When I woke up, I was all tied up..."
"Don't worry, sir," I reassured him, "We know who did it."
"Really?" he asked, surprised. "Well, I am Francis. And…." He trailed off after noticing the large amount of crates lying around…. "Where did all these crates come from? I fixed this roof before and I don't remember seeing them."
"Well, sir…" Ivan began, "These crates are full of valuables that those thieves, who had tied you up, have stolen. They hid them here and my friends and I have some things of ours stolen from them. So that's why we are here…."
"Damn it, you fool! They found us out!" came a roaring voice from the doorway.
The two thieves from earlier and a third one stood there, glaring and smirking at us. The third thief, possibly the leader, was the same height as Scar face but he looked more stronger than the others. He held a shiny blade that glinted in the dim light. His long brown hair was messy and tangled over his shoulders. Scar face also drew a sword, Garet's sword, and smirked. While bandanna drew out his knife and glared directly at me.
"That meddling kid of Hammet. I knew you would get in our way…" said the leader. Then he looked at me and Garet, "And I see you made some friends."
Scar face looked at us sternly, "It was them, . They're the ones who broke into our room."
"Pah! A bunch of kids and you two pathetic fools couldn't take care of them?" the leader asked, raising a brow towards them. They both sank back in embarrassment. "Heh, and by the way," he continued, staring at Ivan, "Your poor Master Hammet has been caught by thieves worse than us in Lunpa."
"What?!" Ivan yelped.
"Lunpa?!" Francis said out loud, "A man with Master Hammet's money should never go near Lunpa!"
Ivan had a very worried look while me and Garet had a confused look. "What kind of place is Lunpa?" Garet asked.
Francis frowned, "That town was named after its founder, Lunpa, who was a noble thief…."
"And the family of thieves remained noble even when his son, Donpa, took over," the leader commented with a grin.
"But Donpa's son, Dodonpa is an evil thief," said bandanna with a frown.
"I've heard he's truly vicious…" said Scar face.
This mad Ivan more worried. His fists were clenched and he had his eyes closed tightly. He shook his head and whispered so quietly that I must've been the only one who heard him, "I must save him…."
"But enough of that talk. We got some serious business with you bunch of kids," the leader said, cracking his knuckles. "If you let us go quietly, we won't hurt you. But, If you don't… Then we'll have to do something about that. So what are you kids gonna do?"
"That's a very simple decision," Ivan spoke in a spiteful tongue. "We're not going to let you go so easily after what you have done to this town…." He looked at them angrily. The thieves looked at him back with cold eyes.
"Heh he he he. Stupid little brat. Then we're going to have to do this the hard way…."
The leader swung his sword at Ivan but Ivan ducked and jabbed one end of his stick into the leader's stomach, making him cry out in pain. Then Ivan quickly jumped back from his counter attack.
Ivan grinned, "You don't seem so challenging, bandit."
The leader clenched his fists and bared his teeth. "Get him, you fools!" he barked at his two comrades. Scar face and Bandanna charged at Ivan, weapons raised.
Luckily Ivan was small and quicker than them that he managed to evade their attacks. I couldn't stand by and watch anymore. I raised my sword and swung at Scar face. He saw my attack and blocked it with Garet's sword.
I could feel my adrenaline rush through my body. I grinned. Although fighting is dangerous, it makes me feel like a warrior….
Scar face backed away and thrust Garet's word towards my stomach. I swung my sword down to make his hit the floor then I smacked him over the head with the flat side of my blade. He went, out cold.
I looked over at Garet. He was managing his opponent quite fine. In his hand he held a fireball, which amazed Bandanna who was backed into a corner, cowering. He dropped his knife and whimpered, "Don't hurt me!"
Garet grinned evilly at him, "Aww, why not? I was just about to have fun…." Garet raised his arm as if getting ready to throw the fireball, making Bandanna squirm with fear. But Garet closed his hands tightly and the fireball disappeared. Garet picked up the thief's knife away.
"Garet, here's your sword. Get my sheath from him, would you?" I asked as I handed over his sword and sheath.
Ivan didn't seem to have any problems handling the leader bandit. Ivan was too quick for him to get a hold of Ivan. Ivan kept whacking him over the head till he was out cold like Scar face.
The three of us looked at each other, proud at what we just did.
Francis was a little shaky from witnessing a fight. "I can't believe you three defeated them…. For a minute I thought we were goners…" he said. Then his face lighted up, "Hah ha! We got them! I'll go get the mayor!"
Then Francis ran out leaving us alone with two knocked out thieves and one who seems to have seen a monster or something. Bandanna was looking at Garet with fear.
"Now I need to find Master Hammet's rod…" Ivan mumbled to himself as he searched the crates. I too, searched them for my pouch. There was so much stuff in them…. Boots, clothes, books, cutlery, rings….. And any other thing a thief might consider valuable.
"Hey, Isaac! Found your money and mine, too!" Garet called out.
Ivan had also found his rod, which to me, looks like another stick but a little fancier. Ivan smiled and said, "Now I will go to Lunpa and save Master Hammet. What will you two do?"
"Us? Well…" Garet shrugged, "We're going to go after Felix and the others…"
Ivan looked confused. He raised his palm towards my face and he read my mind again. That odd feeling in my head… I was getting used to it.
"HEY! He's reading you're mind again! Shouldn't we stop him?" Garet said, angrily.
Ivan was done before I could say anything. He looked a little sad, "I see…. So that's what happened…"
I nodded.
When the mayor arrived, the bandits were all tied up and they were awake. Francis came back with the mayor and some officials who hauled them away to a cell. The three thieves glared angrily at us and told us that they won't forget what happened and we'll regret it. The mayor thanked us and gave us a reward: five-hundred coins. And he reassured Ivan that Master Hammet is still alive because Dodonpa's probably a smart thief. He would use Hammet to gain a large ransom from Kalay. So no harm would be done to Hammet.
"We can do nothing until Dodonpa makes his move. Don't worry, Ivan. Hammet is safe…. For now," said the mayor. "Isaac, I would like you to come see me before you leave. I have something to give you." Then he thanked us again and left.
Ivan looked worried. "Cheer up, Ivan! It's the first time I've ever beaten up a thief. Though I didn't really beat him up, wish I could, but anyway, that was exciting! We're heroes!" said Garet.
Ivan had a small smile and I couldn't help but grin.
Heroes…. That's something I never dreamed about. Helping others and slaying beasts, that's a hero. But are we really heroes? I should be a hero. We should be heroes…. I mean, why not? We're already on a quest to save the world…
"Hey, Garet, let's become real heroes," I said. Ivan and Garet both looked at me. "We should go and help those in need," I continued.
Garet rubbed his chin. A big grin spread across his face, "That's a great idea! If we can save people, we can save the world! We will be legendary…. Alright Isaac, lets do it!"
Me and Garet high-five and clasped our hands together, our sign of being best friends. Back when we were little, Garet and I would always greet each other like that. But when we were mad at each other, we would always get into a one-on-one fight with our wooden sticks to settle it. At the end, we always laugh together at how stupid it was to get mad at a simple thing. Our friendship has never been broken and it has grown stronger as we grew.
Ivan and Flint chuckled. Then Ivan said, "I really want to go save Hammet. But I couldn't ask you two to help me."
Ivan raised a hand before I could say anything. "You both have to get going on your mission… I saw everything in your minds," Ivan continued. "What a discovery… I never knew a volcano would hold such a secret!"
Garet and I nodded. "Yeah, we have to find Felix and his gang to stop their evil plans," said Garet.
Ivan nodded. Then with a sad smile he said, "Then this is goodbye, then."
"Nah, not really a goodbye. We'll probably run into each other again some day," I said cheerfully. Though I felt a little said too, parting with my new friend….
Ivan smiled, "I'll never forget you both. Oh and Flint, too. I wish you all the best…" He shook our hands and left.
Garet rubbed his shoulder, "Man, ramming into that door was a little painful than I thought. Come on, let's get going."
I nodded, "Yeah, let's go see the mayor."
We climbed down the roof and headed for the mayor's house. The mayor greeted us with kind old eyes, "Welcome, boys. I can't thank you two and Ivan enough. As a promise, here."
He handed me a golden bottle. "It's called Water of Life. This sacred water has tremendous healing capabilities. I think it will aid you on your journey." said the mayor.
"Thank you, sir," I said. I placed the bottle in my bag.
"By the way, are you heading out to Goma Range, by any chance?" the mayor asked.
"Umm, I guess so…" I said, nervously. I didn't really know where Goma Range was….
The mayor smiled, "Look for a cave in the mountains of Goma Range, northeast of here. Once you passed it, you'll reach Bilibin."
"Alright, thank you so much, sir," I said.
"Don't thank me, boys. You helped this town so much by capturing those thieves!"
We laughed and said goodbye. Garet and I left the town of Vault and headed northeast. Into Goma Range…. I think….
A/N: Mwa ha ha! Finally done…. Sorry it took so long. I kind of slacked off over the Christmas break….^_^;;
Heh heh, sorry! By the way, thanks for reviewing and please keep reviewing! Bye!!
Chapter 8
Isaac's POV
Oh crap! Where is it?! Where is it?!
I frantically looked under the bed, under the covers and everywhere in the room, and still I couldn't find my coin pouch. I know I placed it on the table last night…..
Flint and Garet woke up, startled by my frantic search. I didn't really mean to wake them up, but, I couldn't afford to search too carefully. I was freaking out. The Mars Star…. Oh, I can't lose that…..
"Hey, what are you doing?" Garet yawned. He looked half asleep. Flint looked dazed.
"I'm looking for my money! I know I putted it on the table last night. And now it's gone!" I whispered loudly. People are still asleep in the inn, and I shouldn't wake them up or else they'll be very grumpy with me.
"What? Can't you wait till morning?" Garet yawned again.
"It's already morning."
"No it's not. The sun's not up yet."
"It is up!" I yanked the curtains away from the windows and beams of sunlight shone through the window. Garet and Flint both squinted.
"Now that you're both up, help me find my pouch," I said as I started my frantic search again.
Garet moaned. Flint yawned. But they both got out of bed anyways.
Oh, where the hell could it be?!
I looked under the bed again, under the table, everywhere. I cried out in frustration, "Where is it?!"
Garet shrugged, "Hey, don't worry about it. I still have my money. I think…."
Garet searched his bag. Then he froze. "My money… It's gone too!"
He started to freak out too. We both searched under the beds, again, under the covers, everywhere. And still…. We found nothing.
"Not only is my money gone, so is the Mars Star…" I groaned.
"What?!" Garet and Flint both cried out.
"I had the Mars Star in my pouch," I answered.
Garet shook his head in frustration. "I bet you that it was those creepy guys. Umm…. What were their names again?…. Oh yeah, Saterus and Melody."
"It's Saturos and Menardi," I corrected him.
Again, he rolled his eyes at me. "Whatever," he mumbled.
I shook my head. "No, it couldn't have been them. Why would they take our money then?"
Garet shrugged.
"Um, may I ask why you two have the Mars Star?" Flint asked.
Garet and I looked at him. "I mean, the Mars Star is a very sacred jewel that is supposed to be sealed within Sol Sanctum. How did you two obtain it?" Flint continued.
"Well…. " I began. We told him what happened on Mt. Aleph and how it erupted. Then we told him that we were on a journey, or more like a mission, to retrieve the other three Stars from the thieves who took them and to rescue Kraden and Jenna.
Flint closed his eyes. "Very interesting….." he said, "So the Wise One gave his trust in you two. It may be fate that lead me to you. The Wise One told all of us Djinn, before the eruption, to: 'Seek those who have been chosen by fate who bears the destiny of the world.'"
Flint looked at both of us. "You both have a dangerous path to follow but I, Flint, a Venus Djinn of heart, will offer my strength to aid you," he spoke, proudly.
"I'm truly grateful, Flint," I said.
We need all the help we can get. I'm glad Flint will lend us a hand for the hardships that I know will soon come….
"But anyways," I continued, "First, we need to find the Mars Star!"
"…… Right," said Flint as I dropped on my hands and knees and looked under the rug. I found nothing.
"Hey, why don't we tell the lady downstairs? Maybe she can tell us if she saw any suspicious looking guys," Garet suggested.
I sighed. "Okay, I guess…" I moaned.
We both changed our clothes and packed our things. Then I noticed something…..
"Great….. My sword's gone as well, Garet," I said.
"Mine too. You don't suppose whoever took our money took them too?" Garet asked.
"Probably…"
When we went downstairs, I could smell frying bacon. My stomach growled.
The inn lady greeted us. "Good morning, boys. How about some breakfast?"
Garet shook his head, "I wish we could, ma'am, but our money and swords were stolen from our room."
"Oh dear…" she said, a little shocked. "That's terrible…"
"Yeah," I said, "I was wondering if you saw any suspicious people last night that could have done this."
The woman shook her head. "No, no one came in last night. But, there has been a lot of robberies lately when three nice fellows arrived two days ago. But I'm not accusing them of doing such crimes. They were nice and they gave me cash." She smiled warmly.
"Oh…." was all I could say.
"They are in one of the rooms upstairs, if you want to ask them anything." she added.
"Thank you, ma'am." said Garet and we headed upstairs. There were only four rooms and I knocked on the first door to my left. It was only an elderly man. I apologized for bothering them and knocked on the second door.
Two men answered. One was taller than the other, a little shorter than Garet, and he had a small scar on his left cheek. The shorter one wore a red bandanna over his head.
"What you want, kid?" the man with the scar asked.
"Um, I was wondering if you saw any thieves around here. Some of our stuff's been stolen this morning and, well…." I trailed off.
They both looked at each other then the man with the scar said, "We ain't seen nothing. Now get lost." Then he slammed the door.
I looked at Garet and he shrugged. "Hmph. It's them. They're the thieves," I grumbled as I walked back downstairs.
"Yeah. It must be them. They look suspicious enough." Garet agreed. "So…. What do we do now?"
"Well…." I said as I headed outside, away from the smell of breakfast, "We can't just go in accusing them of being thieves. We need to somehow prove that they are."
"So… how do we do that?" Garet asked.
I shrugged. Garet set out a long sigh. "Well, since they must've stolen a lot of stuff in Vault, we could find they're stash somewhere." I suggested.
Garet shook his head, "That could take days!"
I nodded and sighed.
"Excuse me?" said a voice behind us that made all three of us jump.
I turned around and saw that kid from last night. The one with the worried expression. He had short, but neatly cut, blonde hair. Purple eyes. And he held a wooden stick that looked just like Jenna's.
"Yes? What would you like?" Garet asked him.
"Um… I couldn't help overhearing what you two were talking about. I, too, have had something stolen from me by thieves. And I think I know who they are…" the kid timidly, said.
"You do? Well we kind of know who they could be too. What's your name?" I asked.
"Oh, sorry. I am Ivan," said Ivan, "And you are…" He closed his eyes and raised his hand, palm facing towards me like he was….. Using Psynergy. A faint purple aura surrounded him and I felt something….. Something in my mind….
Then Ivan opened his eyes again. I shook my head to get rid of that strange feeling.
"Nice to meet you, Isaac and Garet. Oh, and Flint too," Ivan said with a timid smile.
I looked at him shocked, "How did you…..?"
Ivan chuckled, "Oh, I'm sorry. I can read minds. It's a special technique that I have. I really don't know why…. But I can and I never knew it was called Psynergy."
Garet and I both looked at each other, thinking the same thing: "R…read minds? Wow… That's awesome!" said Garet. He looked wide-eyed at Ivan with interest. I guess I did too because I was amazed by Ivan's power.
"I can share my power. Let me show you…." said Ivan as he held my hand and approached Garet. Ivan closed his eyes and the purple aura surrounded him again. But this time it surrounded me too.
I felt my consciousness slip away from my mind and into Garet's… I saw Garet's memories, and his thoughts and feelings…
" What are they doing? And what's with that purple glow?"
It was Garet's voice! Then in an instant I was back in my body. I grinned. "Hey. That's pretty cool. I read your mind, Garet."
"What? But how?" he asked, surprised.
Ivan took his hand and approached me. Ivan closed his eyes and read my mind again. This time I felt two presences in my mind…. Garet's and Ivan's.
Garet shook his head when he came to. "Wow. That's amazing…. I read your mind too, Isaac," he said excitedly.
Ivan chuckled. "This may sound strange but, I was wondering if you both could help me…." he asked, quietly.
Garet and I both waited patiently for him to continue. "My master, Master Hammet, his rod was stolen from us when we arrived in Vault," Ivan continued, "Master trusted me to take care of it. But somehow those thieves took it. I had been suspecting that those three strangers that you both suspect as well are the thieves. I tried to read their minds but I can't get close enough to them…. So, I was wondering if you guys could somehow restrain them so I can read their minds…"
"Hmm, that's a good idea. If you can read their minds then we'll be able to know where our stuff's been hidden. But wait, won't they know that you're reading their minds?" I said.
Ivan shook his head. "Normal people can't see Psynergy. Only Adepts," Ivan answered.
I grinned.
With Ivan's power, we can prove to the people of Vault that they are thieves.
So the three of us went back inside the inn. The inn lady welcomed us and we told her that we forgot something in our room.
I knocked at the thieves door. The two same men from before opened up. Scar face looked at me angrily.
"What you want now, kid?" he grumbled.
"We have some things to ask you, if you don't mind," I said.
"I told you we ain't seen nothing. Now scram!"
Before he slammed the door shut, I stuck my foot in the way. And that hurt…..
Garet threw his body into the door, pushing it open. The four of us, well three since Flint hid in my bag, charged in. I didn't see the third thief anywhere. But the two that are here glared at us angrily.
"That weird kid's with 'em this time!" said bandanna.
Scar face cracked his knuckles and grinned, "You damn kids are gonna pay fer breakin' into our room…"
Great….. There's going to be a fight….
Garet stood beside me and whispered, "I'll take down the tall one. Isaac, take down the shorter one. And Ivan, try to read one of their minds."
We all nodded. "Then…. Ready?……."
"We're gonna have fun with you before boss gets back…." said bandanna. He took out a sword, my sword.
Using my own weapon----
"GO!!" Garet yelled out and he jumped and tackled Scar face down while I tried to get close to bandanna. Bandanna swung my sword at me. It missed. He held it tightly in his fist and grinned. I can't get close to him. He laughed.
Behind me I could hear Garet wrestling with his opponent. Bandanna leapt forward and thrust my sword down at me. I dodged to the side in time and grabbed his wrist that held my sword. I managed to yank it out of his grasp and leapt away from him. This time I grinned. Bandanna cursed at me and brought out a hidden knife.
"Garet! Isaac! Let's go!" I heard Ivan yell. Garet and I quickly retreated back out the door and out the inn. We hid near the mayor of Vault's house which Ivan knew.
I was filled with excitement and adrenaline from the fight. I've never been in a serious battle before….. I held my sword up for both of them to see, "Got my sword back," I said.
Ivan grinned and said, "They are the thieves. They stole so many valuables in town. And they hid it in the roof of the inn."
"The roof? Why there?" Garet asked. He was sweating and panting. He had a tougher battle than I had.
"Because something fell from the sky and made a hole in the roof yesterday. I saw a carpenter working on this morning. Come on, we should hurry and check out the roof before they suspect anything," Ivan said and he quietly ran back to the inn. We did too, with caution.
I was relieved when I didn't see those guys follow us. I saw Ivan clamber up the stairs quickly. I followed hastily.
Inside was all dusty and cobwebs hanged from all over. But it looked like some people were here just recently. Footprints were all over the place on the dust-covered floor. I followed Ivan into the next room. This room was full of crates and bags.
This must be all the stolen stuff….
I opened one of the bags and saw it was full of jewellery and gold encrusted items. We all looked in each crate and bag. Then I heard a muffled voice coming from a dark corner.
It was a man. He was all tied up and had a tight cloth wrapped over his mouth. I quickly cut his ropes with my sword and he quickly untied the cloth.
"Thank you," the man said. "I came into this loft while I was fixing the roof… when I tried to look farther ahead, WHAM! Someone whacked in the head from behind! When I woke up, I was all tied up..."
"Don't worry, sir," I reassured him, "We know who did it."
"Really?" he asked, surprised. "Well, I am Francis. And…." He trailed off after noticing the large amount of crates lying around…. "Where did all these crates come from? I fixed this roof before and I don't remember seeing them."
"Well, sir…" Ivan began, "These crates are full of valuables that those thieves, who had tied you up, have stolen. They hid them here and my friends and I have some things of ours stolen from them. So that's why we are here…."
"Damn it, you fool! They found us out!" came a roaring voice from the doorway.
The two thieves from earlier and a third one stood there, glaring and smirking at us. The third thief, possibly the leader, was the same height as Scar face but he looked more stronger than the others. He held a shiny blade that glinted in the dim light. His long brown hair was messy and tangled over his shoulders. Scar face also drew a sword, Garet's sword, and smirked. While bandanna drew out his knife and glared directly at me.
"That meddling kid of Hammet. I knew you would get in our way…" said the leader. Then he looked at me and Garet, "And I see you made some friends."
Scar face looked at us sternly, "It was them, . They're the ones who broke into our room."
"Pah! A bunch of kids and you two pathetic fools couldn't take care of them?" the leader asked, raising a brow towards them. They both sank back in embarrassment. "Heh, and by the way," he continued, staring at Ivan, "Your poor Master Hammet has been caught by thieves worse than us in Lunpa."
"What?!" Ivan yelped.
"Lunpa?!" Francis said out loud, "A man with Master Hammet's money should never go near Lunpa!"
Ivan had a very worried look while me and Garet had a confused look. "What kind of place is Lunpa?" Garet asked.
Francis frowned, "That town was named after its founder, Lunpa, who was a noble thief…."
"And the family of thieves remained noble even when his son, Donpa, took over," the leader commented with a grin.
"But Donpa's son, Dodonpa is an evil thief," said bandanna with a frown.
"I've heard he's truly vicious…" said Scar face.
This mad Ivan more worried. His fists were clenched and he had his eyes closed tightly. He shook his head and whispered so quietly that I must've been the only one who heard him, "I must save him…."
"But enough of that talk. We got some serious business with you bunch of kids," the leader said, cracking his knuckles. "If you let us go quietly, we won't hurt you. But, If you don't… Then we'll have to do something about that. So what are you kids gonna do?"
"That's a very simple decision," Ivan spoke in a spiteful tongue. "We're not going to let you go so easily after what you have done to this town…." He looked at them angrily. The thieves looked at him back with cold eyes.
"Heh he he he. Stupid little brat. Then we're going to have to do this the hard way…."
The leader swung his sword at Ivan but Ivan ducked and jabbed one end of his stick into the leader's stomach, making him cry out in pain. Then Ivan quickly jumped back from his counter attack.
Ivan grinned, "You don't seem so challenging, bandit."
The leader clenched his fists and bared his teeth. "Get him, you fools!" he barked at his two comrades. Scar face and Bandanna charged at Ivan, weapons raised.
Luckily Ivan was small and quicker than them that he managed to evade their attacks. I couldn't stand by and watch anymore. I raised my sword and swung at Scar face. He saw my attack and blocked it with Garet's sword.
I could feel my adrenaline rush through my body. I grinned. Although fighting is dangerous, it makes me feel like a warrior….
Scar face backed away and thrust Garet's word towards my stomach. I swung my sword down to make his hit the floor then I smacked him over the head with the flat side of my blade. He went, out cold.
I looked over at Garet. He was managing his opponent quite fine. In his hand he held a fireball, which amazed Bandanna who was backed into a corner, cowering. He dropped his knife and whimpered, "Don't hurt me!"
Garet grinned evilly at him, "Aww, why not? I was just about to have fun…." Garet raised his arm as if getting ready to throw the fireball, making Bandanna squirm with fear. But Garet closed his hands tightly and the fireball disappeared. Garet picked up the thief's knife away.
"Garet, here's your sword. Get my sheath from him, would you?" I asked as I handed over his sword and sheath.
Ivan didn't seem to have any problems handling the leader bandit. Ivan was too quick for him to get a hold of Ivan. Ivan kept whacking him over the head till he was out cold like Scar face.
The three of us looked at each other, proud at what we just did.
Francis was a little shaky from witnessing a fight. "I can't believe you three defeated them…. For a minute I thought we were goners…" he said. Then his face lighted up, "Hah ha! We got them! I'll go get the mayor!"
Then Francis ran out leaving us alone with two knocked out thieves and one who seems to have seen a monster or something. Bandanna was looking at Garet with fear.
"Now I need to find Master Hammet's rod…" Ivan mumbled to himself as he searched the crates. I too, searched them for my pouch. There was so much stuff in them…. Boots, clothes, books, cutlery, rings….. And any other thing a thief might consider valuable.
"Hey, Isaac! Found your money and mine, too!" Garet called out.
Ivan had also found his rod, which to me, looks like another stick but a little fancier. Ivan smiled and said, "Now I will go to Lunpa and save Master Hammet. What will you two do?"
"Us? Well…" Garet shrugged, "We're going to go after Felix and the others…"
Ivan looked confused. He raised his palm towards my face and he read my mind again. That odd feeling in my head… I was getting used to it.
"HEY! He's reading you're mind again! Shouldn't we stop him?" Garet said, angrily.
Ivan was done before I could say anything. He looked a little sad, "I see…. So that's what happened…"
I nodded.
When the mayor arrived, the bandits were all tied up and they were awake. Francis came back with the mayor and some officials who hauled them away to a cell. The three thieves glared angrily at us and told us that they won't forget what happened and we'll regret it. The mayor thanked us and gave us a reward: five-hundred coins. And he reassured Ivan that Master Hammet is still alive because Dodonpa's probably a smart thief. He would use Hammet to gain a large ransom from Kalay. So no harm would be done to Hammet.
"We can do nothing until Dodonpa makes his move. Don't worry, Ivan. Hammet is safe…. For now," said the mayor. "Isaac, I would like you to come see me before you leave. I have something to give you." Then he thanked us again and left.
Ivan looked worried. "Cheer up, Ivan! It's the first time I've ever beaten up a thief. Though I didn't really beat him up, wish I could, but anyway, that was exciting! We're heroes!" said Garet.
Ivan had a small smile and I couldn't help but grin.
Heroes…. That's something I never dreamed about. Helping others and slaying beasts, that's a hero. But are we really heroes? I should be a hero. We should be heroes…. I mean, why not? We're already on a quest to save the world…
"Hey, Garet, let's become real heroes," I said. Ivan and Garet both looked at me. "We should go and help those in need," I continued.
Garet rubbed his chin. A big grin spread across his face, "That's a great idea! If we can save people, we can save the world! We will be legendary…. Alright Isaac, lets do it!"
Me and Garet high-five and clasped our hands together, our sign of being best friends. Back when we were little, Garet and I would always greet each other like that. But when we were mad at each other, we would always get into a one-on-one fight with our wooden sticks to settle it. At the end, we always laugh together at how stupid it was to get mad at a simple thing. Our friendship has never been broken and it has grown stronger as we grew.
Ivan and Flint chuckled. Then Ivan said, "I really want to go save Hammet. But I couldn't ask you two to help me."
Ivan raised a hand before I could say anything. "You both have to get going on your mission… I saw everything in your minds," Ivan continued. "What a discovery… I never knew a volcano would hold such a secret!"
Garet and I nodded. "Yeah, we have to find Felix and his gang to stop their evil plans," said Garet.
Ivan nodded. Then with a sad smile he said, "Then this is goodbye, then."
"Nah, not really a goodbye. We'll probably run into each other again some day," I said cheerfully. Though I felt a little said too, parting with my new friend….
Ivan smiled, "I'll never forget you both. Oh and Flint, too. I wish you all the best…" He shook our hands and left.
Garet rubbed his shoulder, "Man, ramming into that door was a little painful than I thought. Come on, let's get going."
I nodded, "Yeah, let's go see the mayor."
We climbed down the roof and headed for the mayor's house. The mayor greeted us with kind old eyes, "Welcome, boys. I can't thank you two and Ivan enough. As a promise, here."
He handed me a golden bottle. "It's called Water of Life. This sacred water has tremendous healing capabilities. I think it will aid you on your journey." said the mayor.
"Thank you, sir," I said. I placed the bottle in my bag.
"By the way, are you heading out to Goma Range, by any chance?" the mayor asked.
"Umm, I guess so…" I said, nervously. I didn't really know where Goma Range was….
The mayor smiled, "Look for a cave in the mountains of Goma Range, northeast of here. Once you passed it, you'll reach Bilibin."
"Alright, thank you so much, sir," I said.
"Don't thank me, boys. You helped this town so much by capturing those thieves!"
We laughed and said goodbye. Garet and I left the town of Vault and headed northeast. Into Goma Range…. I think….
A/N: Mwa ha ha! Finally done…. Sorry it took so long. I kind of slacked off over the Christmas break….^_^;;
Heh heh, sorry! By the way, thanks for reviewing and please keep reviewing! Bye!!