CHAPTER 5 - PREPARATION

Cody Martin did not sleep well his first night in Summerville. Various nightmares woke him up throughout the night, preventing him from getting the rest he needed. Eventually, the morning rays of the sun forced him out of bed. He looked at himself in the small mirror above the chest in the corner of the room. His blonde hair was stringy and wet from the sweat and grime of the previous day. His level of uncleanliness caused him to cringe. He was a bit of a neat freak and the feeling of grime on his skin raised his anxiety levels. He rubbed his eyes to ease the burning sensation, but only succeeded in deepening the shade of red.

Cody noticed that Zack wasn't in his own bed. It was rare that Zack was up before Cody, but the promise of a cooked breakfast must have convinced him to leave the room. Cody shuffled into the hall and proceeded downstairs. Sure enough, Zack was sitting at one of the tables, attacking a plate of food before him. He was so preoccupied with his scrambled eggs that he didn't notice Cody sit down across from him. Cody just watched his brother eat for a moment. It was like he hadn't eaten in years. Cody's stomach growled, reminding him that all he'd had to eat since waking up in the hotel was a sleeve of crackers. The loud growl alerted Zack.

"Hey!" Zack said, a bright smile on his face.

"Hey, yourself," Cody replied.

"You look awful," Zack chuckled as he shoved a forkful of egg into his mouth.

"I saw," Cody said. "I wanted to break the mirror."

"Eh, it's not the mirror's fault."

Cody laughed along with the banter. He was relieved that Zack was in a cheery mood. It likely meant that his leg was healing. Zack watched Cody drifting away in his own thoughts. He put his fork down. "You know, I think my leg's on the upswing." He backed the chair away from the table, and rested his leg next to the plate of eggs. He rolled up his pants to show his wound. The swelling had reduced significantly, and the discoloration of Zack's skin had died down too.

"Feet off the table! What's wrong with you?" The innkeeper had arrived with another plate. Zack turned red as he removed his leg from the table. "Who taught you table manners?" she chided as she placed the plate of eggs and bacon in front of Cody. His stomach growled loudly, knowing that food was nearby. Cody began wolfing down the food in front of him. The woman chuckled. "Easy, kid. That's a great way to throw it up. I clean up enough chuck at the bar."

Cody slowed himself down. He took a bite of a bacon strip. The strip of meat crunched in his mouth, expelling juices that soothed his throat. He closed his eyes. It was exactly as his mom made it. He looked at the innkeeper. She was smiling at him as he ate. He noticed that she bore a striking resemblance to his mother. She had short spiky hair, like their mom, but the innkeeper's hair was black instead of dirty blonde. The innkeeper also had a similar warm smile, and feisty sense of humor.

"Thank you again for helping us," Cody said gratefully. "I don't think we properly did that last night."

"Ah, it's fine," she said, waving it off. "Like I said, you kids remind me of my own."

"I don't think we even told you our names," Zack said. He'd finished everything on his plate. Not even a crumb remained. "I'm Zack."

"Cody."

"Nice to officially meet you Zack and Cody. I'm Kara. I'm the proprietress of the Tipsy Flagon. Happy to help you find your way here in Summerville." she smiled brightly as she introduced herself.

"That reminds me," Zack piped up. "You said that we should go shopping with someone named Arka."

"That I did." Kara nodded. "I already told him you were coming. He'll be able to properly set you two up with the equipment you need. He can probably also point you guys in the right direction on where you should go next."

Cody and Zack shared upset looks. They both liked Kara, and were upset to be leaving her hospitality behind. She seemed to notice that.

"Aw, don't worry boys. It seems like what you two need are answers, and you're not going to find them in a podunk town like Summerville. I do hope you find what you're looking for."

"How can we repay you?" Cody asked. "You've been so kind to us, and you didn't even accept our gold." Kara hesitated as she thought about Cody's question.

"Make sure you stop by and say hi again," she finally said. "That's how you can repay me. I made the mistake of not preparing my sons for their adventures and they haven't come by in a long time. I wanted to get it right this time." She was smiling, but there was clear hurt in her voice.

After breakfast, Zack and Cody grabbed their backpacks. Kara helped them empty them of items they wouldn't need. She also gave them packages of food that were better than the pop tarts and crackers that Cody had packed in his rush to leave the Tipton. Zack was upset to see the junkfood go, but knew that Kara's food would give them the energy they needed to continue their journey. Kara also allowed Zack and Cody to keep their clothes inside the chest in the room they had stayed in. She winked and said, "It's an incentive for you boys to come back."

She gave the two of them a bear hug and wished them well on their journey. With heightened spirits, the twins made their way to Arka's General Store. The building seemed unassuming. It was smaller than Kara's inn, and didn't have the flair of an amusing sign. Plain black lettering was nailed above the door. Zack and Cody shared a nod, and entered the store.

The shop was musty and dark. The sun's rays had crept into the shop, and Zack could see the dust floating through the air. He watched Cody scrunch his nose at the uncleanliness of the shop. He couldn't help but chuckle at his brother's discomfort. Undeterred, Zack made his way through the aisles, looking at the merchandise for sale. Adorning the shelves, were strange odds and ends that Zack didn't understand. There were various rocks, flowers, and herbs. As he made his way through the store, he saw glass bottles of all shapes and sizes on display. Every imaginable color of liquid was contained within them. Zack instinctively reached for a container filled with a royal blue liquid. It looked to be the same glowing blue color that enveloped his hand earlier.

"That's interesting," Zack said aloud. Cody joined him. He too stared at the liquid.

"Wonder what it does," he mused as he took the bottle from Zack.

"That's a very special concoction," said a voice from a far corner of the room. The twins turned to face a tall balding man. He was cradling large metal accessories in his arms. He carefully put them down on a work table, and walked over to the boys. He wiped his hands on his smock and took the bottle from Cody. "This...will give the drinker a boost in strength for a few minutes. Developed it myself." He smiled brightly at his own invention.

"That's pretty cool, but I think I can already do that," Zack said. He held up his hand and it glowed the same blue color. The man's eyes grew wide as Zack caused the aura to appear around Cody. The man responded by grabbing Zack's hand. He held it up to his eyes. He jerked his head down to force his thick rimmed glasses from the top of his balding head to comfortably seated on the bridge of his nose.

"A magic user. Now that is a rare gift, indeed. I should have known from your strange garments you weren't from Summerville. This is wonderful news!" He let go of Zack's hand, and noting the confused looks on the boy's faces, he held his arms up. "Sorry, that was probably a bit much, huh?"

"You said it was magic?" Cody asked, confirming Zack's power.

"That's right!" the man said eagerly. "Do you use magic also?" the man rubbed his hands together hopefully.

"Not that I'm aware of," Cody said. The man seemed disappointed.

"Kara didn't mention that either one of you had magic, so I guess I can't be too upset about it." the man was back to a cheery demeanor. "I'm Arka, by the way. This is my humble shop. Kara said, you guys are on a quest to find your way home, right? Well I can get you anything you need." The man put his arm around Zack's shoulder. "For you, my young friend, I can help you hone that little spell of yours."

"You can?!" Zack's ears perked up upon hearing this. He allowed Arka to lead him to a different room of the store. Cody silently followed. Arka had led them to a room filled with clothing, and armor. Cody's eyes lit up as he looked at the different garments available. Arka was still busying himself with Zack. The two really had really hit it off. Zack seemed just as excited at the attention, as Arka was to give it. Cody quietly looked at the items on the racks. He pulled a black shirt off a rack and stared at it. Golden stripes ran from the chest of the garment out in various directions like the sun's rays. Cody sneered at it.

"I'd be careful with that," Arka called over. He had pulled a large silver cloak from a shelf, and was showing it to Zack. "That's one of the more powerful pieces of equipment in this shop." Cody scoffed at this, but Arka didn't laugh along with him. He ran the garment through his fingers. It felt like a thick nylon.

"Powerful? How?" Cody asked.

"Put it on," Arka said flatly. "Test it out."

"If it's as powerful as you say, we definitely can't afford it."

"Kara told me you guys were hard up for money. What have you got?"

"Three gold pieces," Zack said.

Arka sighed. He knew that wasn't a lot of money. He took his glasses off and cleaned them on his dirty smock. It was unlikely this had cleaned anything at all.

"Tell you what," he said. "I'll give you guys a tab. I'll take your three gold pieces as a down payment. When you find your answers, you come back, and we'll discuss it then."

"That sounds great!" Zack had already put the cloak on over his clothes. It was silver, with dark purple fur lining around his ankles and in patches around his neck. "This cloak is amazing. I feel great!"

"It's like a million degrees outside, Zack. You'll melt," Cody said incredulously.

"Not true," Arka said. "That cloak regulates body temperature. Also it will hone his magical powers. When he uses that spell of his it'll be stronger." Arka pulled out a brown fingerless glove, and gave it to Zack. "Pair it with that, and it'll last longer too." Zack was smiling from ear to ear. Cody folded his arms.

"I thought you said magic users were rare. How do you have all this equipment ready for them?"

"Do you just exist to kill fun," Zack asked.

"No. I exist to get us home. This all sounds too good to be true. Not only does he have amazing equipment, but it's perfect for us, and he's willing to give it to us for three pieces of gold. Something doesn't seem right." Cody finished his rant and stared at Arka. His expression hadn't changed. He didn't even flinch at Cody's accusations.

"I understand your skepticism," he finally said. "I'll admit that it's odd to have this equipment for a rare niche of people. The thing is, they were once abundant."

"What happened to them?" Zack asked.

"They were killed off," Arka said solemnly. The Demon Lord made sure of that. The ones he didn't enslave anyway." Arka put his hands longingly on the shelves of equipment. "I've kept making these items in the hope that I'll one day have magic users to give them to." Cody unfolded his arms. He felt bad for his outburst now. "I like Kara a lot, and I want to help her. Her two kids were magic users. She's convinced herself that they're still adventuring somewhere. Deep down I think she knows the truth, but won't admit it to herself."

"I had no idea," Cody said quietly. Arka walked up to him and knelt to his eye level and smiled.

"It's alright. I want to help you guys. It's your turn."

"He can't do any magic though," Zack said.

"That we know of," Cody retorted defensively.

"It's okay," Arka assured him. He grabbed the matching lower half of the garment Cody had. "Try it on."

While Cody went in a back room to change Zack went up to Arka.

"Sorry about him. He's been snippy with everyone."

"You boys remind me a lot of Kara's kids. They could be difficult at times. It's tough to be young in this world. There's high expectations. Go out into the world, have an adventure, make something of yourself. It's a hard thing to ask of an adult, let alone a teenager."

Cody returned from the backroom. He was looking down at his new outfit. The shirt was tight against his stomach, chest and arms. The pants were looser fitting, with small holes dotting the shin and lower leg, allowing the garment to breathe.

"What do you think," Zack asked.

"I don't know," Cody admitted. "What am I supposed to feel?"

"Let's find out," Arka said. Without warning he threw a straight punch that hit Cody right in the chest. Cody staggered back and fell over.

"What are you doing?" Zack screamed as he ran to his brother's aide.

"I'm fine, Zack," Cody said, voice full of surprise. "It didn't hurt. It just caught me off guard."

Arka smiled. "Until you figure out what your abilities are, might as well make it hard to hurt you." He beamed at the two of them.

"Now we just need a weapon, and we should be good," Zack said excitedly.

"About that…" Arka rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Materials for weapons aren't exactly in abundance here in Summerville. Plenty of stuff for making these clothes, but nothing for swords, or maces." He saw the look of disappointment on Zack and Cody's faces. "Not to worry though. If you go East out of town, you can make it to Denmall. They're on the other side of the Shoal River and they sell good weapons." He winked at them. "Course they won't cut you a great deal, though. So make sure you have some gold on you."

The twins nodded and Arka led them out of the store. Before they walked out the door Arka took off his glasses. He had clearly been pondering what he wanted to say to them.

"Thank you again, Arka," Cody said to him. Zack nodded in agreement. Arka brushed off the gratitude.

"Listen, boys…" He scratched behind his ear. "I have a favour to ask."

"Of course," Cody said. "Look at what you've done for us!"

"I know that Kara's kids were taken by the Demon Lord." Zack and Cody shared worried looks. "They're a handful, but they're good kids. I don't know where your adventure will take you, but if you get any information on their whereabouts…"

"Absolutely," Zack said. "Anything we learn, you'll learn too!" Cody didn't say anything. He just smiled at Arka.

"Thank you so much. That would make Kara so happy. Even if the news is bad, the closure is enough."

With a final handshake, Zack and Cody left Arka's shop and began their trip to Denmall.