Disclaimer: I still do not own Golden Sun.

I blinked in the bright sunlight. Next to the dim, flickering torches of the cave, the sun was a welcome sight. I felt a tugging and found Garet looking at the map that he'd pulled out of my pack.

He examined it carefully. When Garet noticed me watching, he looked up and grinned. "Kalay's over that way. Want to stop by?"
I shook my head. "We can't afford to lose any more time. In fact, we need to stop for lunch..."
Mia was already setting out our blanket and the leftovers from the last night. We seated ourselves around the blanket.

I bit into a piece of bread and felt my strength returning. Garet was biting into a leg of something. Ivan was tasting a few vegetables, and Mia was sipping some water from her canteen. All of us looked happy to be out of the cave.

Suddenly, Garet groaned. "Just think...we have to go back through!"

I made a face. "Oh, gray, ahorgofdahowah." I swallowed my bread. "I mean, oh, great, I forgot about that."

Ivan looked up. "How are we going to do that?"

Mia shrugged. "At least now we're prepared for it."

After we packed up the meager leftovers, we started back on our way. After about fifteen minutes, Garet complained, "I'm bored."
"We all are, Garet," Mia replied patiently.

Ivan looked up from his book. I laughed. "Ivan isn't. He's got a book."

Garet glanced at the Jupiter Adept. "How do you carry all of those?"
Ivan shrugged. "I don't. I trade them in at the bookseller in each town."
"What are you reading now?" Mia asked, sounding curious.

"Giants and Ghosts: Myths of Weyard." Ivan read. "It's by...I can't make the name out...it starts with a 'K'...anyway, this part is talking about unicorns. The author seems to believe in all of the myths."

I laughed. "We've met giants and ghosts, Ivan! We know they're real!"

"I know, but 'K' doesn't know that!" Ivan protested. "Listen...Unicorns are fabulous beasts of the past, called fabled, but simply hidden. Unicorns wontedly stand approximately six feet, with a glistening pearly horn approximately six inches. How does he know these measurements? These ancient beasts are said to be beauteous companions to maidens."

Garet yawned. "How do you read this stuff, Ivan?"

Ivan looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"It's so...dry," I supplied.

"Oh. The whole book's like that." Ivan told us.

"It reminds me of Kraden..." Garet observed.

"Kraden..." Mia murmured. "Kraden...'K'..."

I gasped. "Does that mean..."

"Bzzz..."
Not another bee! I thought unhappily. I turned to find not one, but two gigantic bees. Flint, Flint, Flint!

"Bzz! Bzz!" buzzed the larger bee angrily. "Bzzzzzzzz!"

"Bzzz!" agreed the other. "Bzzz!"

"Take that!" Flint squeaked, flinging himself toward the bigger bee.

"Oh, my. Giant bees. Did you know that the giant bee can kill in one sting?"

"Not helping, Smog," Mia informed the Djinni, gritting her teeth. "Hail..."
"I am the mighty warrior!" crowed Hail, after knocking out the smaller bee. "Fear me!"
Garet rolled his eyes. "Your Djinn are weird."

"Bees! Bees?! You stung me once, when I was a tiny Djinni! Of course, you were a great deal smaller, too. Die!" Scorch shrieked, losing all control.

Ivan laughed. "And yours aren't?"

I felt a burning sensation on my foot. I looked down to find my boot surrounded by flames. Now, I am plenty brave. I climbed Mercury Lighthouse even though I'm afraid of heights. I fought Saturos. But I couldn't help but scream when the fire spread up to my tunic.

I dug in my pack and pulled out the blue gem. I waved it over the fire and rain poured down over me, dousing the flames. Unfortunately, my hair and the rest of me was now soaking wet. Garet laughed.

I glared at him. "It's not funny! You started that fire, didn't you?"
Garet looked indignant. "It was Scorch!" The Adept pointed to the fuming Djinni, flames still shooting from her claws. I laughed.

"Ungh..."
"Isaac, Garet, please come over here. Now!" Ivan called urgently.

I turned around and caught sight of Ivan battling a corpse. Sighing, I rushed over and chopped the monster's head off. It made a last groaning sound as it collapsed.

Ivan was panting. "Thanks."

I acknowledged his thanks with a nod of my head, then started off before any more monsters reached us.

After a few minutes, Ivan began reading aloud from his book again. He'd flipped through the pages until he found the giant bees we'd fought off. "Giant Bees," he read. "Giant bees are monstrous creatures. They thrive on attacking lone travelers. The single thing they fear is pyrotechnics."
"Pyrowhatics?" Garet repeated, bewildered.

"Fire," Ivan explained in an off-hand tone.

"Then why didn't he just say so?" he wondered.

Ivan rolled his eyes and continued. "I'm going to look for those undead now...Undead. Undead corpses devour living flesh. Garlic is a powerful deterrent for undead corpses."

"Garlic?" Mia repeated, wrinkling her nose.

"Garlic," Ivan confirmed, squinting down at the book. "Let me look for that rat soldier..."
I sighed. This was starting to get boring. We'd used most of the day and we still weren't to Lunpa yet! I glanced around. We hadn't even made it to Vault! At this rate we'd make it to Lunpa around midnight.

Ivan was still reading aloud and only Mia was paying attention, staring raptly at the book. Garet seemed even more bored than before, yawning every few minutes. I yawned myself. And then I caught sight of Lunpa.

Two guards patrolled the wall, fierce-looking armored soldiers carrying spears. They couldn't see us yet, or at least I hoped they couldn't. I called to the others as loudly as I dared.

"So what do we do?" wondered Mia. "Just storm in?"
Garet shook his head, waking up. "No way! We'd hurt the villagers!"
I nodded. "Garet's right. We can't risk the townsfolk's lives. We have to find another way."
Ivan, putting his book down, spoke up. "I-I saw a cave, over that way, when I came here before...I went inside, but the way was blocked by a huge gate. I couldn't lift it...but I'm stronger now, and maybe all four of us could try?"

I nodded again. "That sounds good. Lead the way, Ivan."
Nervously, the young Adept sneaked over to the steep hills surrounding Lunpa. He beckoned for us to follow. I snuck over there first, warily watching the soldiers. Mia came next, tiptoeing carefully and shushing Garet every few seconds. He clomped behind her.

Nevertheless, the soldiers never spotted us, or at least didn't show any sign that they had. Ivan entered the cave and I followed. Mia and Garet came in.

The cave was fairly bright with the afternoon sun shining in through the cracks. Ivan led us over to the gate he'd talked about. I reached my hand under and heaved. It didn't move.

Garet helped, sliding his large hands under and pulling. The gate barely shook.

Ivan and Mia slipped their hands under, trying desperately to move the gate, to no avail. I sighed, walking away. There had to be some way to solve this!

Mia pulled her hands out and dusted herself off, sneezing. Ivan sat on a rock, deep in concentration. Only Garet stayed next to the gate, looking at something.

I took a seat on a rock and bit my lip, plans running through my mind. Garet could burn it down...no, it was metal, and a powerful one at that. It would take a legion of Mars Adepts to melt that down. Ivan could float over it...but the gate reached too high, and the rest of us couldn't follow him. Maybe I could collapse the ceiling...

I heard a scraping noise, metal against stone. I slowly turned. I didn't believe my eyes. Miraculously, the gate had risen!

Garet was standing next to it, looking proud. A tall ice pillar stood next to him, holding up the immense weight of the obstacle. I rushed over to him. "Garet, you did it!"
He grinned. "I found a little water puddle under it..."
"Garet, that was brilliant!" Ivan exclaimed happily, dashing under the arch. I followed him, in time to hear Mia congratulate Garet.

The two of them caught up to us quickly. The exit to the cave didn't take long to reach, and soon we were in Lunpa.

I looked around. This happy, cheerful town was certainly not what I'd expected. A few children giggled and played, weaving around the hollowed-hill houses. A woman was out tending a garden of vegetables atop her hill. A man trotted out of the inn and exchanged a greeting with an elderly woman.

Sure, the walls around the town reminded me this was a fortress city, but you'd never guess the city was blocked off from the rest of Weyard. It was time to explore this village named Lunpa.