AUTHOR'S HOWLS:

Wow! My first review! Just the kind of thing that gets creative juices flowing! Well, second chapter is in and you'll get a glimpse of the Blacksmith that was on the summary. Speaking of characters, I hope you dont get confused about the sudden boom. In time, the main characters will streamline into just the real main characters so you don't get confused. But to help you guys out, I'm going to put in a mini-guide of characters that have been introduced in the past chapters as well as the current one. Some characters will be intently omitted in the guide to give respect to the flow of the story but once they've been introduced they will appear on the guide for the next chapter. These character guides will also contain basically some short words of what happened to them in the past chapters or at least a short description of them. Hope you keep those reviews coming in!

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

(Since Chapter 1)

Main Chars:

Damienus - Master Priest and High Counciler of the Pronteran Church High Council. The only living Grand Master who has perfected the Magnus Exorcisimus spell.

Rahne - Softspoken but aspiring swordsmaiden whose father was allegedly killed by a Wanderer. (See Prologue)

Roxanne/Roseanne - Feisty, conceited but fiercely loyal, this lady acolyte always seems to be getting in trouble.

Lilly Loran - Demure, Intelligent and strong, Lilly is one of the brightest students in Geffen's Academy of the arcane arts. She is also Roxanne's bestfriend.

Canaan - A lonely and pitiful figure. This blacksmith lives by his lonesome in the woods of Geffen. (Introduced in this chapter!)

Supporting Cast:

Grand Councilor Wepz: The youngest priest in history to recieve the title of Grand Councilor, which means the leader of the Pronteran Church (Introduced in this chapter!)

Dragonz - Supreme General of the Pronteran Knight Academy

Minos - Dragonz's XO

Kram-Z - Another high-ranking knight in the Pronteran Academy and a friend of Minos and Dragonz

Shinbo - The self-proclaimed "Lucky thief" captured by Lilly and Roxy while he was stealing an apple

Staple Wire - A thief with a unique tool of weapons (Introduced in this chapter!)

Kiko - A Thief with quick hands and a short temper. He is the leader of a trio of poor bandits. (Introduced in this chapter!)

G-sas - A swordsman in Kiko's party (Introduced in this chapter!)

Iya - A gentle acolyte forced to steal with Kiko and G-sas because of poverty (Introduced in this chapter!)

Other characters:

Sister Matilda: One of the helpers in the Pronteran Church and appears to be a love interest of Damienus (Introduced in the chapter!)

Governor Xen-Lou - Governor of Payon City and close friend of Damienus

Ferdomear - Retired colonel of the Pronteran Army and an instructor from the Pronteran Knight Academy. Ferdomear lost his life protecting his daughter, Rahne, during the events that happened during the Prologue.

Prince Tam - Young King of Prontera forced to sit on the throne when his father, King Tristam the 1st, died.

CHAPTER 2: Lament of Innocence

The Land of Geffen

The forests of Geffen were always extraordinarily peaceful at night. But tonight it was even more so… as if nature chose this night to reward those who wished for a good night's rest under her caring watch. The stars seemed glued, plastered to a clear, dark sky accentuated by momentary comets, magically streaking from the heavens, their paths glimmered and faded as if the stars themselves caught their light and kept it selfishly like a jealous lover. It was the kind of night when mothers taught their children of how wonderful life was. It was the kind of night when young men knelt to one knee to their ladies and proposed their unending love. It was the kind of night when young warriors looked out from castle walls to dream of adventure and of fair maidens to save. It was the kind of night when you languorously wonder what fate awaits you in the future.

But it wasn't always a splendid night for everybody. And if there were those who wonder about their future, there will be some who have lost even the heart to care. Deep in the forest, a lone figure stumbled clumsily around a small clearing. His steps were erratic as if he was sleepwalking or drunk or maybe both. Every now and then he would glance at the sky as if asking a long-awaited question and then his head would drop and his gaze would be at his feet as if the answer would shame him to eternity. None bore witness to his sorry state. Save for a few figures that stood motionless around him. If they could move, they would probably find themselves avoiding the pitiful figure, but since they were made from wood and just strung together to form human shapes, they just stood and eyed him endlessly as he shuffled around his clearing. He eyed them back and mumbled something incoherent. Slowly, the figure's eyes turned towards the small make-shift shelter he had made for rest. It was small and crude but could actually be called a house. A rounded building, made from cement, wood and steel, it was cozy and comfortable enough to live in. The dwelling seemed to call out to the figure, pleading him to rest a while. But he shook his head and went on his endless stumbling around the clearing.

He had an audience now. Two Cocos were cuddling at a high branch eyeing the figure curiously as he stumbled around. Their eyes reflected the small light from a fire that was burning near the house. A small pan of what appeared to be a simple stew was bubbling over it. Cocos were inquisitive creatures by nature and the sight, and most importantly, the smell, of the stew were too much for them to pass by. When the figure was looking at the other direction, they scurried quietly to take a closer look.

That would be the last conscious moment of their lives as two knives flew from the bush impaling them both without even much of a squeak. The stumbling figure didn't even notice the death of the Cocos and didn't turn when 3 figures entered the clearing noisily.

"Wow… so this is where he lives after all… I've been wondering where the low-life parks his behind. Cheery place." One of the intruders looked around the clearing, twirling his knife. He was dressed in a smallish yellow jacket, dirty slacks and had an Orc helm for his choice of headgear. He had a round face and medium-length hair. Unkept but flowing. His skin was slightly dark but his eyes were all aglow from a hidden fire. An eagerness for action and adventure. His clothes told all who saw that he was a thief by job and a thief by nature.

"I really don't like this… You told me we would just sneak in and get weapons to sell and sneak out. There doesn't seem to be any semblance of sneakery in what we're doing." A female voice called out and a girl stepped from the bushes. The figure who owned the clearing turned and eyed the intruders to his haven of peace. He recognized an acolyte's clothing immediately and there seemed to be some glimmer of anger. But that disappeared very quickly and reverted back to a dull and sleepy gaze. The lady acolyte had a warm face, smooth skin and long, blonde hair. Her blue eyes regarded him with fear mixed with something he could only think as pity. Her tattered clothing told him she was probably as poor as he was.

But there was no time to think of anything else. A sharp pain hit him from behind suddenly and he fell to his knees. Behind him stood a swordsman with sword unsheathed and with the handle of the blade splashed with a few specks of blood that could have come from when he hit the lone figure behind the head with it. Also with tattered clothing and rusty armor, he was of medium built, stocky and with strong features. His black locks partly covered his brown eyes.

"I don't think this is a good idea, Kiko. He probably makes his weapons at night to sell in the morning. Judging from the empty anvil by the side of his house, he hasn't gone by to making them just yet. We would have to wait till morning to steal them like we usually do." The swordsman called G-sas said with a deep voice. He held the poor figure by the collar and pushed him roughly near the fire. "Let's have a closer look at you, buddy. You look a lot more pitiful than usual."

The acolyte, the thief, and the swordsman all walked slowly to where the poor figure was trying to get up. They noted first that his jeans were also tattered and worn out in some areas. He had on his white polo, unbuttoned and untucked. If not for the rough state he was in, his get-up wasn't pretty uncommon for a Blacksmith, which was what the figure was. He had long silver hair which was usually in a long ponytail but tonight it drooped all over his face covering his eyes which looked like he hadn't had sleep for 2 years. He had stubble on his chin and had dust on his face but the Blacksmith would look more than moderately handsome if he would have cleaned up. Like Iya, the blonde-haired acolyte, he also had striking blue eyes but unlike hers, his looked directly ahead in a stuporous gaze making him seem dull and void of any conscious thought. Despite his appearance, the figure looked athletic and had a well-built body. Slim but with defined musculature, he didn't look like the average Blacksmith whose bulging muscles rippled when they held the hammers that tempered the weapons they made.

Kiko, the thief, snorted in disgust and held the Blacksmith roughly by his front collar, pulling him forcefully forward.

"Hmph, all this work for nothing… Hey you… don't you have any weapons lying around? We're kinda low on cash and we can't wait till morning to steal them…"

In reality, Kiko was also more than slightly curious. Ever since they saw this Blacksmith sleeping by a small path that was the road from Geffen to Payon, they found that he seemed genuinely ignorant of the wares he was selling. They weren't anything of large value, just simple swords, knives, maces… but they were worth a few zennies at least. Every morning they would spot the Blacksmith and one day, in a fit of desperation, stole all his weapons while he slept under the shade of a huge tree. He also observed that the Blacksmith had an empty can by his weapons. It was the most tremendously stupid idea as far as Kiko was concerned. The Blacksmith actually thought that people would just drop their payment, pick up a weapon and walk away as he slept. Stupid. Every morning the three of them would steal the weapons while he slept, yet, the next morning the Blacksmith would still be back under his tree, his Sakkat pulled low over his eyes, resting lazily and his wares just there for the taking.

Iya, the acolyte had been their voice of reason at times but even she gave in as they would have nothing to eat if they didn't steal the weapons. Right now, prices were going high and food was scarce. They needed all the money they could get in order to just live to the next day.

"Hey guys look at this… pretty interesting…" G-sas called out. Iya and Kiko both walked to where the swordsman was standing, observing one of the wooden dummies scattered around the clearing.

"Look at the impressions on the bark of these wooden dummies. They looked like they were punched." G-sas observed. Instantly, Iya turned to look at the Blacksmith's bare fists. At once she saw that he didn't wear any gloves at least tonight. His fists had blood and fresh wounds on them. His knuckles looked worn and had calluses. It surprised Iya that she hadn't noticed this before. Slowly but without fear, Iya walked to him and took his hands. She produced a few clean strips of cloth and proceeded to cover the wounds on his knuckles.

"Don't worry now, I wont hurt you." She said as she wrapped the strips around the Blacksmith's fists. The Blacksmith just stood silently, swaying as if he was about to just fall down any moment, his eyes focused beyond Iya like he was in some sort of trance.

"And what the hell are you doing, Iya??" Kiko stammered when he what she was doing, pulling the acolyte away.

"Let go, Kiko!" Iya turned and snapped back. "The least I could do is to tend his wounds! I mean, every morning we steal his wares, I can't even think of where he gets the money to eat, let alone make more weapons for us to steal." Iya pulled her hand angrily away and resumed tending to the Blacksmith's wounds.

An Acolyte… taking care of me… an aco… lyte…

The Blacksmith's eyes looked to Iya as she busily wrapped bandages around his hand.

An Acolyte… a… priestess…

At that moment, a surge of memories tore through the Blacksmith's mind. Memories of another acolyte, another priestess and another set of caring eyes.

"NO!" The Blacksmith shouted and stumbled back. His head was being rocked with pain due to the flow of memories rushing back. It took all his strength to stay standing. "Please… just take whatever you need and go…"

His voice was gruff and almost hoarse, filled with sorrow. Iya was startled by the outburst and decided to leave him alone even though her acolyte training was screaming for her to take care of this man. Her blue eyes gazed curiously at the enigma in front of her. It seemed he was more afraid of her than the other way around.

"Ungrateful bum... Well, You heard him. Anyway, G-sas saw some pieces of steel lying around. Its worth something at least. We better go, Iya." Kiko said and, this time a lot more gently, tried to pull her away. Iya hesitated at first but finally decided to obey. G-sas had already disappeared in the forest.

"Good luck, stranger… I hope one day I can repay your kindness…" She whispered before following Kiko and G-sas into the forest.

Canaan stood with legs trembling where Iya had left him. He scared her a bit he knew, but he couldn't help it. It has been a while since he last saw an acolyte and the simple sight did well to bring forth figments of the past. Most of which, he was trying to forget.

He glanced around and saw at once that the swordsman and the thief left his little clearing in ruins. There were broken pieces of pots and glass everywhere but at least nothing was probably taken inside the house. They wouldnt know about his secret compartment. He stumbled about and started to clean the debris. His thoughts were far from what happened this night. In fact losing his wares everyday to thieves did not concern him at all as well. He created those weapons only to keep him busy and prevent his mind from wandering. Wandering back to the past. Back to his sins. Back to the dead.

He sighed and decided to rest a bit. In a few hours, he would begin to make a few more weapons to sell for the next morning. He laid down and stared long and hard at the stars.

"When will this end?" He asked loudly.

As with every night, the stars had no answer.

She's looks a little weird. And definitely the shy type. Roxy thought as she stared at the girl in front of her.

She, Lilly, and another girl were waiting in front of the Prontera church. It was the other girl that had captivated her ever since Damienus, her teacher, appeared from a warp out of nowhere and caught her sneaking back to class with Lilly. This girl came out of the warp with him and seemed to be close to him in some way. Suddenly, a thought came naughtily in her head…

"Yuck, he's old enough to be my grandpa!" Roxy said out loud as she thought of old Damienus wooing young ladies but covered her mouth immediately when she realized that the stranger and Lilly had heard her. Lilly's responsive stare in fact, was colder than a Frost Drive attack.

"Uhm… I mean… yeah, that merchant suitor of mine was so old, he could be my grandpa… yeah that's what I meant" Roxy smiled sheepishly, her face all red with embarassment. It was a nice recovery too, her eyes told Lilly, but the mage's eyes weren't as forgiving.

The girl in front of them seemed to understand. "Oh no no… Uncle Damienus is a close friend of my family. He's like a second father to me." Rahne said quickly and laughed, easing the tension. Lilly and Roxy laughed with her.

"Don't mind this nosy girl, Rahne." Lilly said, still giggling, "She's just dreaming of her fantasy boyfriend too much that her mind's all clogged up."

"Hey, he's no fantasy! I already told you about him. He's also a swordsman and he's constantly traveling, not like us, all cooped up in here." Roxy huffed, stomping her foot and blowing upwards to remove a few bangs of her hair that fell in front of her eyes.

"Oh yeah? Well why haven't I seen him?" Lilly retorted, realizing that Rahne was looking more comfortable while they were talking. Rahne, the swordsmaiden seemed friendly but had a rough aura around her. Like she'd been through something bad, Lilly thought. She'd seen that look before, from veteran adventurers who had just lost friends in battle.

"If you didn't have your nose too deep in your books, you could have seen him when he came visiting me!" Roxy snapped back then closed her eyes and started to dance as she continued. "His dad seems to be some prominent man, head of something from somewhere and his family's been in the nobility for centuries! You should have been there when we ran through the Poring fields hand in hand…" Roxy thought, reliving the memory and she danced in circles, twirling her acolyte skirt and giggling. "It was so romantic, we…"

WHAM!

In her musings, she had unwittingly danced romantically in front of a tree and her face came in full contact with a low branch, knocking her back and she landed not very romantically on her behind. Lilly could not control her laughter and she fell off her bench in a manner not exactly befitting of a young lady. This caused a few bystanders to stop and see a very flustered lady acolyte with pieces of bark on her face and a young mage with her legs in the air, arms on her stomach, and trying her best to stop giggling.

Rahne for her part looked at them curiously and envied them secretly. Roxy was a rare beauty with brown hair tied up in a single ponytail. She had the cutest smile and a fair complexion even though her face was usually contorted in the funniest manners. But she had hazel green eyes that seemed to look into your soul. If she would be serious for a minute she would be really pretty, Rahne thought. Lilly on the other hand exuded grace and a calm demeanor. She seemed always ready to smile but was usually quiet. Rahne watched as Lilly tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears. Near perfect black hair that ran down to her shoulders. Her brown eyes were always in a state of peace but ever attentive. Both must have tons of suitors.

Rahne had never even thought about the idea of boys in her life. Training and taking after her father occupied most of her time that she had not even thought of taking the time to look ladylike or to entertain suitors. Part of her wanted to experience being able to dance aimlessly around due to some romantic memory or even to slam into a tree carelessly due to it… but a bigger part of her was still on that grassy clearing hugging and crying over her father's lifeless body.

Still, the young girl inside her won over for now and so she laughed with Lilly and helped Roxy get up and brush the dust from her skirt. She felt a certain warmness being with the two girls. She knew that she had found some good friends in them. And she was sure they had found one in her as well.

"Girls will be girls…" Damienus chuckled as he peeked from the second floor window of the Prontera church, seeing the entire scene. It took a while to convince Rahne to come with him to Prontera but she soon obliged, thankfully. Bumping into the ever-so-troublesome Roxy sneaking her way back to class looked to be a pleasant surprise so that Rahne would have someone her age to talk to. He was more relieved when he saw that her young friend, the mage Lilly, was with her though. Lilly was the calming voice and the fitting companion to Roxy. He should remember to write a note to Geffen to allow Lilly to stay in Prontera for a while to keep the young acolyte company.

"And what was that supposed to mean? I believe that phrase only applied to boys." A female voice said calmly from behind him.

The old priest turned and found himself in front of Sister Matilda, one of the many helpers in the Prontera Church. She was around ten years younger than him and although was well past the age that his young charges were in, she had never ceased to light up the room when she came in. She had flawless skin and brown eyes that played with the light just as her brown hair played with the wind, swirling as if it had a life of its own. Her figure obviously lost nothing to the svelte, body-hugging dress that the helpers of the church wore; complete with a short, above-the-knee length skirt that was a cruel and unrelenting distraction to young acolyte boys.

The Pronteran Church abolished the rule of Celibacy long before Damienus became an acolyte but he had chosen not to chase around girls since adventure was always his first love, although he had loved a girl once too. Seeing Matilda in front of him divinely beautiful made him want to thank whoever it was that abolished the Celibacy rule. One of these days he's gonna ask her out. Soon.

But for now, like all boys aged nine to ninety, he hid his feelings in the form of little jokes and flattery.

"Sister Matilda… as always, the most fleeting vision of you, commands attention." He said and did a half bow. Matilda's eyes were sparkling yet she remained cool.

"Why, Master Damienus, does this appear to be an attempt at flirting?" She said and cocked her head to one side with one of her eyebrows raised playfully.

"I would never know. I had never done it before." Damienus lied with a grin. Both stood in silence for a while, contemplating what just transpired. But Matilda, always the polite, dignified lady nodded and bid him to walk with her, breaking what was about to become an uncomfortable silence. Damienus obliged, fighting to keep his own cool. He decided to shift his thoughts to the important matter that had him come to the church.

"Is he ready to see me?" Damienus asked.

"Yes, he's so busy yet so young. He might get old quickly." Matilda replied, showing concern for their young Grand Councilor.

"Relax. The minute he starts growing old will be the minute he stops ogling the young lady acolytes." Damienus chuckled, knowing he had seen the Grand Councilor more than a few times glance every now and then at a passing pretty lady, acolyte or not. "Which means it won't happen for quite some time." He added.

Matilda looked at him mischievously. "I wonder if this is a norm to all acolyte boys…"

"I wouldn't know." Damienus smiled, lying yet again.

They were walking along a richly-lit hallway complete with red curtains for the windows carrying crosses and other symbols of divination. They strode on in silence until they were in front of a huge double-door.

"I know my way around, M'lady. I have troubled you enough." Damienus smiled and started to open the door.

"It's my duty to help out. See you later." She smiled, turned and started to walk back. But before a doorway she stopped and looked back.

"Oh, and Damienus… about the flirting?" She said.

Damienus tensed and looked back. "Yes?"

"It's about time." She finished with a wink before disappearing around the corner.

Damienus was silent at first and smiled to himself. Definitely I'll ask her a lot sooner, he thought and proceeded through the doors.

He found himself walking through a spacious room with pillars on each side. A huge statue of a priest and a priestess holding hands was on his right and scribes reading scrolls to his left. Subtle organ music can be heard drifting through the air drowning the quiet thumping of his shoes on the red carpet which led to a huge circular table that was used for meetings of the Council of the Pronteran Church. He remembered the chair meant just for him, sat silently and waited.

Though all the chairs were pretty much made of the same material, one chair could clearly be seen to be larger and much more defined than the others. In this place the Grand Councilor sat and led the meetings and made decisions for the Church. There was a figure sitting there now, a man very much younger than Damienus with short brown hair that looks like they have swayed playfully to each side and stuck there. The handsome young man stared back at Damienus with lucid, hazel eyes. His features were well-defined, yet laid-back, depicting a cool and sly attitude that went well with the grin on his face. On the table before him was a huge pile of paper.

"You should be in this chair and I should be outside these walls, exorcising demons in your stead. But… I'm here right now forced to sign these endless documents and memos." The man said.

"Grand Councilor Wepqwerty, how have you been?" Damienus smiled warmly in reply.

"Zip it, Master Damienus. You know how I'm called. You were my instructor for 15 ears for heaven's sake. I'm now a Grand Councilor and everything suddenly becomes so formal and boring." The young man said and stood up abruptly, leaving a swirl of papers in his wake and appearing very unhappy all of a sudden. "I shouldn't have agreed to this." He started walking slowly to look outside a nearby window.

"But you did, Wepz. All the councilors did too. It was a unanimous vote. You're an outstanding priest, arguably the best of this generation. You have the right instincts and you have led the church with dignity and honor so far. You're making me proud here." Damienus said, sounding so much like a father. He hated doing that, it made him feel old.

"Running the church is easy. It's the sitting around and not doing anything that gets me." Wepz answered, walking slowly back to his seat and looked Damienus in the eye. "I haven't seen you in a while, I've noticed that you've been absent in more than a few meetings. I know you're out there in the world, busting demons and ghosts and having all sorts of adventures. What I'd give to do that like when I was an acolyte."

"I'm a tired old man reliving his old glory days, Wepz."

"Yeah and I'm a tired young man forced to sit out his own!" Wepz said sharply but sat back down with a sigh to sign a few documents in front of him. "Ok… enough of this. I don't suppose you came here to relieve me of my duties as Grand Councilor?"

"Regrettably, no."

"Then shoot. I have a pressing engagement after this."

Damienus nodded and decided to go straight to the point.

"The Wanderer killings."

Wepz made a low grumble and continued signing documents, remembering what he knew about the incident.

"7 years ago, there were reported sightings of a Wanderer in the outskirts of Payon town. Soon after came gruesome killings. I understand that one of the victims was Lord Ferdomear, a close friend of yours and a former Head Instructor of the Pronteran Royal Knighthood. Apparently, his wife was killed by a monster attack and he was searching for a clue to the whereabouts of the Legendary Ultimate Weapon that, based upon popular lore, was the last known weapon used by the gods to slay the titans. This clue was supposed to be found near a mystical lake well within the forest. Lord Ferdomear claimed to have seen this lake and in a brave but foolish attempt to recover the weapon and slay the monster, Baphomet, he lost his life. Shortly after, the mayor of Payon, which was coincidentally also a friend of yours, closed the section down and denied access to everyone. Still, a few parties of adventurers sneaked inside in an attempt to kill the elusive Wanderer once and for all if not to find the clue. None of them were successful. Most died and those that came back seemed to have been driven insane from the experience. The killings slowly ceased through the years mainly due to the fact that people finally learned it was a completely idiotic idea to enter that part of the Payon Forest…." Wepz said all from memory. "Ok… what about it?"

"Very good. I request that I be given an official pass to enter and hunt down the monster." Damienus said grimly.

"I take back what I said. You shouldn't be allowed to sit in this chair due to mental incapacity to comprehend the value of your own life." Wepz had dropped his pen and looked directly at his old instructor. "ARE YOU INSANE??"

"I may be but I'm the only crazy qualified to do it."

"That Wanderer is not your usual monster. Master Damienus, may I remind you that—"

"Grand Master Wepz…" Damienus interrupted. "I am an S-Class High Level ME Priest, which required me to have completed all supportive and combative divine skills. I have led 1452 parties, 1356 of which were against Demon-type monsters which is what a Wanderer is. I am the sole Grand Master of the Magnus Exorcisimus skill, the ultimate offensive/defensive weapon against Demons, Ghosts and the Undead. I have had 50 years of experience in the field both in support and in offense and from what I know I am still alive to tell the tale. I believe I'm more than a match for this Wanderer." The older priest said, a little bit agitated. He knew there would be resistance against his request. But he had not expected it so soon.

"That's exactly the point! You're one of the most powerful priests we have! If a crisis comes that requires your expertise—"

"Then you should take over and take charge of the situation."

"Easier said than done, Master. I haven't even begun training to learn the Magnus Exorcisimus spell. I might never do. Like I was saying, this doesn't seem to be your run-of-the-mill Wanderer. Entire guilds have been lost. And if word that the Pronteran Church is nosing around in someone else's territory…" Wepz didn't even want to continue. The prospect of war between two cities again could rip Prontera apart.

"That's why you're sending me and not an entire brigade of priests. Oh don't worry, I won't be going alone."

"Excuse me?"

"My protégé, Marianna Roxanne will come with me."

"But she's barely my age! With little field exper—"

"And the mage, Lilliana Loran, of Geffen's magician students will accompany us."

"Great… just what we need to spark Geffen's ire." Wepz rolled his eyes. It looked bad from every angle.

"You know I'm the one for this job. I could have done it a long time ago. But I had other matters to attend to. Matters that the church needed me to finish. I think its about time the church paid me back. Besides, this is the best field trip I can think of for Roxanne. You know she's got potential. We both have warps and instant teleports to bring us back here in no time if there's any danger that we could not stand." Damienus knows he'd sold it. Wepz was only doing this due to formality and a secret concern for his old mentor, he knows. He didn't need that right now. Fortunately, Wepz hasn't even come to the personal angle. All the better.

The young Grand Councilor of the Pronteran Church took a deep sigh and considered the facts. None of them looked very promising. But he knew that Damienus could deal with a Wanderer if that was what it was. It would even be good publicity for the Church if Damienus succeeds. This meant more recruits. Lately, the novices were all concerned over the Hunter and the Assassin job classes. New job classes that seemed to speak of action whereas being of the church looked like a boring experience. This might be what the church needs to get more novices interested in the cleric class again. If something does go wrong, Damienus would warp them all back safe and sound and would have to agree that it was a bad idea from the start. He would have won one over his own mentor, then. Both scenarios weren't bad at all. He gave a deep sigh and finally, he nodded

"Ok, you win. First sign of danger, warp everybody back here. I'll give you an excessive supply of gems and other materials you might need. And when all this is finished you are to give a complete report and a blow-by-blow analysis. But…"

"But?" Damienus was already standing up.

"Just get back here in one piece, old man." Wepz finally said, sounding all grown up all of a sudden.

"Count on it." Damienus answered. He turned but almost hit a scribe who was running towards them. "Whoa there, young lady, what's the hurry?"

"Master Damienus, I'm sorry, I have been ordered by Master Wepz to inform him when the lady acolytes are having their athletics class." The scribe bowed apologetically to Damienus and Wepz. The latter's face was all red. Damienus' chuckled as he nodded.

"Ah yes, the 'pressing engagement'…"

"What?? I didn't--- I mean I never told you to--- it isn't what it sounded like, really…" Wepz said dropping his pile of documents trying to explain himself. But Damienus was already walking outside the door, laughing the entire time.

"YOU CAN'T KEEP ME IN HERE! I am Shinbo! I am the Lucky Thief! Ever see anyone whose skills were built on luck?? NONE! NONE, I tell you! Let me out or I will use my luck and this dungeon wall will fall down and cause a vibration that will shake the Dungeon door and when you go look, it will fall on your foot and then the keys from your belt will become unhinged as you hop around in pain and then I will catch they keys and let myself out and I will beat the living crap out of you all! Let me out of here you sheeties!!" The thief shouted through the bars at the direction of the dungeon door but the guards could hardly hear him. What a mess… just for a simple apple, he got caught by a couple of do-gooders. How can he become an assassin this way? His goal looked to be well beyond his reach. Stranded inside a blasted Pronteran dungeon. Damn.

"Hey pipe down there, will ya? I'm trying to sleep here…"

The sleepy voice startled Shinbo. He didn't notice that he wasn't alone in the cell. He turned to see where the voice came from. Despite it being called a dungeon, it looked far cozy than he had expected. Instead of stone, the floor had been laid out with a cheap but clean rug. There was even a divider for the urinal and small simple curtains for the single barred window. Two petite, but comfortable beds were placed against the walls on either side with cheap lamps hanging above them. A table, obviously used for meals, was in the middle of the cell with two wooden chairs under it. It was pretty charming, actually. Shinbo's "cellmate" was sprawled out on one of the beds with his two hands behind the back of his head and a worn-out "Western Grace" hat covering his face. Shinbo took a step towards him but a sharp sting hit his foot and he yelped in pain, holding his injured toes. The right side of the cell, it seemed, was littered with tiny, bended silver wires almost invisible to the eye.

"Uh uh uh, no walking here please… Oh, I call them staple traps… Keep to your side of the cell and I'll keep to mine, ok? I'm a pretty private person." The other prisoner said. Shinbo observed him as he talked. He was a thief like Shinbo, only a bit thinner and with black hair that covered his ears but not long enough to hit the shoulders as opposed to Shinbo's skinhead cut. Most of his face was covered with the cowboy hat. A few empty beer cans were placed near his bead and more than a few spent cigarettes were on the table. This told Shinbo that this man had been here for quite a while now.

"I'm Shinbo, the lucky thief. What's your name?"

"Call me Staple Wire." Was the answer.

An odd name, Shinbo thought. Then he looked at the pieces of wire on the floor. Ah, of course.

"Well?" Shinbo suddenly asked.

"Well what?"

"Well, aren't you going to help me bust ourselves out?" Shinbo said, very irritated. Did he have to spell it out?

"Oh, you want to get out? Why didn't you say so?" Staple asked and slowly took the hat from his face and got up. Shinbo now could see that Staple had a thin face with sharp beady eyes that seemed to look everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The other thief leapt nimbly from the bed, avoiding the traps, and landed right in front of Shinbo, showing that he also possessed skills that a thief had, meaning a natural agility.

"Step away, please." Staple requested and Shinbo obeyed, looking ever more confused. Staple took out another piece of wire similar to the ones on the floor and started fiddling with it, bending it this way and that. When it seemed that he had achieved the desired shape, he walked to the jail's lock and inserted the wire. A loud CLICK startled Shinbo and before his eyes the jail's bar doors swung open.

"What in… How did… That was…"

"You're welcome. Oh, please shut the door when you get out." Staple interrupted him.

Shinbo nodded and started running up the stone steps that led to the dungeon door and outside. But before he reached the top, he stopped, noticing that he was running alone. He looked back to see Staple Wire cleaning his traps and walking back to bed inside the dungeon jail.

"Hey! What in the world are you doing?! We're finally free! C'mon, lets get out of here!" Shinbo shouted but not too loud to alert the guards outside.

"I don't wanna go outside." Was the reply.

"What!! What kind of idiot are you?? You mean you WANT to stay in jail??" Shinbo was dumbstruck. What kind of a moron would like to remain in jail?? There was no reply from the other prisoner. Shinbo shook his head and continued to ascend towards the dungeon door. It was a huge, oak door. Very heavy. Immediately his heart sank, knowing that even if he was out of the jail cell, the door was still locked from the outside. But he was too far to quit now!

He tried to give the door a little push and was completely surprised to learn that it was unlocked. Slowly he opened the door a little more to peek outside. It was a typical warden's office with a few tables and chairs here and there and file cabinets against the walls that contained documents about the various criminals that had been locked inside the dungeon. Near the huge table, the warden sat with his head bowed down, fast asleep. The guards that brought him inside were seated opposite the warden also in a deep slumber. Shinbo could see the cause: emptied mugs all around the trio. It was the perfect thing to see for an attempted escape. Still…

Back in the bed, Staple Wire tried to get back to sleep. The loud thief's voice was so annoying that Staple was more than happy to let him out. Can't he see that it was much better in here? But before he could get back to dreaming, rough hands were rousing him from sleep.

"Hey, c'mon the guards are snoozing! Its our chance to get out of here." It was Shinbo, the loud thief he just let out.

Staple nearly fell out of bed.

"Gawd, you're annoying! I said I didn't wanna get out of here! They always sleep at this time. If you creep past them and out the office, take a left at the next hallway, you'll see a window that would lead outside. What else do you need from me??" Staple said, his face all red now from annoyance. Shinbo stared him back.

"I'm only trying to help here! Jeez, you try to help a guy and you get your head bitten off. Why the hell do you want to stay in here anyway? Are you in love with the guards? Oh, yeah I noticed you didn't want to wake them up. You're probably devising some fantasy man-to-man action!" Shinbo snorted. What a peculiar person.

Staple's face turned from red to purple with anger. In a flash he was standing on top of the bed with two daggers on one hand and a handful of different sharp wires on another. Shinbo had leapt back and had a big smile on his face.

"Ho ho ho… so you don't like being called a man-lover eh? Well, why don't you tell me why you want to stay in here? I can't leave a poor defensive weakling like you locked up in here." Shinbo retorted and put on a stance. Teasing people was a habit that Shinbo had that was without par with anyone in Midgard.

"WHAT! Why you…" Staple leapt off the bed and threw a dagger from his right hand aimed at Shinbo's throat. The other thief leapt back just in time. But before he could land he saw that Staple was smiling in mid-air. Shinbo looked behind him and saw the reason. He was about to land in the middle of an enormous pile of staple traps much sharper and bigger than the ones he saw earlier.

Damn it, he's good… Shinbo thought, but before he could react, Staple had fired the other dagger from his hand directly at Shinbo.

Shinbo curled himself into a ball and dodged the dagger which clinked on the floor below him. He didn't have enough time to think of an escape as he was about to land. Guess I'm done for now…

Shinbo landed with his right foot first. Immediately he slipped backward. The reason was he accidentally stepped on the flat side of the dagger that he had just avoided and his foot mercifully missed the traps. But his legs came up from under him and Shinbo flailed his arms desperately to grab unto anything at all. His hands clutched unto a piece of cloth and he pulled with all his might. It was the curtains on the window which he grabbed. It held his body for a while but his legs had swung below him making the dagger he stepped on fly forward towards the direction of the bed.

Staple Wire couldn't believe his eyes when he saw his own dagger fly back towards him from the floor. He leapt to his right as the dagger nicked his left ear and ricoched upwards from the impact against the stone wall and sliced the rope that held the covered lamp above Staple's bed. The lamp cover crashed down on the poor thief crumpling his Western Grace and stunning him enough that he fell from the bed face first, breaking the lamp cover on the floor. One of the sharper pieces flew upward and slashed a part of the curtain that held Shinbo.

"NO NO!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

The curtain ripped apart and Shinbo fell backwards landing roughly with the urinal divider, knocking it back against the toilet bowl, causing a screw to come lose in the flush mechanism. Due to intense pressure the screw came loose in a gush of water with great speed, nipping a piece of cement loose from a corner in the opposite wall.

In the cell next to the one of Shinbo's and Staple's, the prisoners were sleeping when they heard a low rumbling sound. Looking to their left they saw that the wall was shaking and looked very unstable. The piece of cement that the screw broke off was an initial piece of the mortar that held the corner stone against the floor, creating a small crevice in the age-old mortar that held two stones together.

The stone above the cornerstone shook with the pressure and tilted forward causing a domino effect. The prisoners ran to the other side as the 300 year wall that connected the two dungeon cells crumbled down, sending a strong vibration inside the entire dungeon.

Inside the office, the warden and the two guards woke up to an increasing rumbling sound coming from the dungeon below. Cautiously, the two guards stood up and walked to the dungeon door. In the next second the large door crashed down on both their feet! The door's hinges had come off from the intense vibration of the stone walls. The two guards howled with pain trying to get their feet away from the door. One of them succeeded but fell back, running out of balance. The back of his head hit the nose of the warden who had gotten up to help him. The guard and the warden crashed on the floor with flailing hands, one of which nicked the key ring on the warden's belt causing it to fly through the door and down into the dungeon cells.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… what happened?" Shinbo shook his head to gain his bearings. "WAAAA, WHAT'S THIS??" he asked as he saw Staple face-first on the floor with the dungeon cell in utter ruin, the far wall in fact had crumbled down. Staple was already juddering back to consciousness.

"You… how could you… this was paradise… you… you ruined everything…" was all Staple could say, his face swollen.

"Hey, it was your own fault… you started attacking and—"

Tinkle-CLINK!

The keys tinkled as it landed in front of Shinbo. Besides the key to the jail cell (which was already useless since the jail bars had fallen down along with the wall), the key ring contained keys to the window and the doors outside the dungeon as well as the warden's private room where he kept his private belongings and food.

Shinbo took the keys from the floor and tried to stand. But Staple was already standing in front of him.

"WAAAA! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I AM YOUR FRIEND!!" Shinbo screamed, covering his head with his arms. When nothing happened he peeked through his arms. He saw Staple still standing before him with a curious look on his face.

"You have pretty good moves. But what captivated me was the fact that everything you screamed at the guards a while ago happened in reality. Or almost, at least. Are you some kind of visionary?" Staple asked. Shinbo shook his head and stood up.

"Nope, its my fighting style. Based on luck."

"A fighting style based on luck??" Staple repeated. Was there such a thing? That was absurd! "What's it called?"

"You wanna know??" Shinbo asked with a glimmer in his eyes. The Lucky Thief jumped up on the huge table and started putting on some weird moves left and right. The darkness of the dungeon, along with the meager light being offered by a nearby window made it look like Shinbo was under the glare of spotlights.

"It is called… the ancient fighting style… of… PAH SAH WAHY!"

Staple's eyes went wide open with amazement. "Pah... Sah… Wahy? It sounds pretty exotic!" He said as Shinbo continued to throw punches and kicks in the air.

"Yes, and I could teach you. Soon I'll teach everyone about Pah Sah Wahy… accompany me, and let us find students to teach. We will gain fame, riches and women!" Shinbo said and extended an arm to Staple Wire. The other thief scratched his head, thinking about the offer.

"Hmm… I don't know about the fame part. But riches and women work." Staple Wire said with a smile and soon both thieves proceeded to ascend the dungeon stairs.

"What the??" Staple said, stopping Shinbo with his arm. "Look!"

Standing in the doorway to the warden's office was a cloaked figure. Behind it were the unconscious bodies of the warden and around six guards. There was an awful amount of blood on the floor. Due to the noise of their footsteps, the mysterious figure had just seen the two thieves.

"Hmm? He's not in the dungeon either… This is very troublesome." The figure said in a feminine voice. That was when she noticed the disarray that the dungeon cells were in. "Well, well, well… this looks like a jail break. You can run off now. I believe I've finished all the guards here." The figure said and turned around.

"Hey you! We didn't need your help! I'll show you how I deal with nosy people who meddle with the business of others!" Shinbo yelled confidently and ran towards the figure. The intruder turned to see one of the thieves running towards her.

"Thief. You wish… a duel?" the voice sounded amused.

"You're damn right I do. Watch me, Staple Wire! I'll show you how Pah Sah Wahy really works!" Shinbo screamed and leapt towards the stranger.

"NO WAIT! SHINBO! DON'T ATTACK HER! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!!" Staple screamed and ran after. Only Staple had seen it when the figure turned and part of her cloak revealed what was hidden underneath.

In her hand was a bloody katar.

AUTHOR'S HOWLS:

Hmm... who is this mysterious cloaked figure and who is she looking for? What will happen now that Damienus has finally asked permission to hunt down the Wanderer that killed his old friend. Will he and his party succeed? Who is the Blacksmith, Canaan, and what is his part in all of this? Keep the reviews coming in and the next chapter will be on its way! Ciao!