Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun.

Suhalla was a quiet, unimpressive little town. I gazed at my surroundings as we entered the town. A few people trailed around listlessly.

"Good afternoon," I greeted, trying to keep my hopes up about the upcoming desert.

"Welcome to Suhalla," a man replied tiredly. "I suppose you're from Tolbi?"
"Yes." Iodem's authorative voice rang out clearly. I clenched my fists. The man had been asking me, not our irritating companion!

Garet sent me a sympathetic look. I tried to smile back.

"Why?" Iodem demanded. "Why do you need to know?"

The man shrugged. "No reason, except that there are a few Tolbi soldiers laying wounded in that house over there."

"Take us to them," he ordered.

I felt anger boil up in me. Iodem had no right to speak for me or my companions. It was one thing when I spoke for our battling decisions or when Mia or Ivan took over the bartering or when Garet talked about what the four of us needed. We knew each other. We'd been through countless perils and joys together. But Iodem-he scarcely knew us. What right of it was his to speak for me? For Garet? For Ivan? For Mia?

Nevertheless, I gestured to my equally furious friends for us to follow him. Garet opened his mouth to protest and then thought the better of it. He simply gritted his teeth and trailed behind me.

When we entered the house, Iodem stepped away from our guide and dismissed him regally. A wave of anger swept over me, stronger than the last time.

"Iodem," croaked one of the two soldiers laying helplessly on meager cots.

The Tolbi man surveyed the two soldiers, hissing, "You soldiers were supposed to be heading for Babi Lighthouse!"

"What are you doing here, Iodem?" the other soldier asked, his voice barely audible.

Iodem stepped over to them. "Lord Babi ordered me to go to the lighthouse with Isaac here and his companions. You were...escorting Sheba to Lalivero, no?"

Sheba? Who on Weyard was Sheba?

"We've disgraced Tolbi," confessed the first soldier, weakly turning his head.

"What has happened to Sheba?" Iodem's voice rose to a shriek. "Where is Sheba?!"
Whoever this Sheba person is, she must be pretty important, I observed.

"I don't know!" admitted the second soldier.

"When we awoke, we were here in these beds," confided the other.

I caught the look of fury on Iodem's face before he turned away. "If anything has happened to Sheba, what will become of the lighthouse?"

So Sheba had something to do with Babi Lighthouse, apparently. But how could a girl help them? Of course, she might not be a girl...she could be a woman, but from the way they spoke of her, I doubted it. Was she a princess?
"Sheba was the sole reason Lalivero aided us in its construction!" Iodem wailed.

Sounds like a princess to me. I moved nearer. Garet whispered to me, "Who's this Sheba?"
I shrugged. "I think she's a princess."

"We entrusted you with Sheba to speed up the construction," Iodem continued. "Was that a mistake?"

The first shuddered. "I know that, at the very least, Sheba wasn't in the sandstorm."
"Is this true?!" Iodem demanded.

"Yes." the other one confirmed. "Sheba was entrusted to our care, so we shielded her from any risk."

Definitely sounds like a princess.

"You acted properly then," Iodem admitted grudgingly. "But where is Sheba now?"

"Probably not far from the edge of the sandstorm that hit us." one of the soldiers muttered, his voice hoarse.

Iodem turned to my friends and me. I was standing at the edge of the carpet. Garet was next to me, frowning, and Mia was next to him, clearly itching to heal these wounded soldiers. Ivan was trailing behind, for some reason staring in the jar of water. "Isaac, we must go to the desert and find Sheba."

I nodded. "We'll leave immediately." Garet made a choking sound next to me. I ignored him.

One of the soldiers twitched. "If you're going to the desert, beware of the cyclone! At first, we couldn't avoid getting caught in the sandstorms. But there were others who were able to make it through the storms."
Saturos and Menardi! A shiver crept down my spine.

"Who knows how they got it, but they used water to stop the cyclones," he continued.

Alex must be with them, I figured. Their precious Mercury Adept. Apparently the same thought was running through Mia's mind, for she gave a little sob.

"The sandstorms are caused...by monsters."

Monsters? I heard a splashing sound. Ivan was sitting at the edge of the basin, looking shocked. Water was running down his face.

"Monsters?" I repeated.

"The others slayed the beasts..." croaked the first. "That's how they got through..."

"Who...who...what are they?" Iodem stammered. I wasn't sure whether he was talking about Saturos and Menardi or the monsters.

"When the storms stopped, they would move ahead, but a new storm would always..." the soldier's voice trailed off.

"They had strange powers," added the other. "We had to bring barrels filled with water. But that exhausted us..."

"Thank you for your help," Iodem interrupted. "You have dispatched your duties with honor."
"Um...can I heal them?" Mia asked tentatively.

"We have no time for that!" thundered Iodem, just as I was about to answer. "We must continue!"

Mia shrank back. Garet stiffened. I clenched my fists. Ivan was seething.

"I'm sorry-", "Don't yell at her!", "You evil-", "What right is it of yours-" the four of us started. I cut off, aware of the two Suhallans and the soldiers watching us with interest.

"Let's go," I commanded through gritted teeth. I started off.

Garet gave a sharp nod, and, with a glare at Iodem, followed me.

Ivan gave a sort of sniff and followed.

Mia, last of my companions to come, gave another little sob and raced to catch up. I didn't wait to see what Iodem would do. I weaved my way through the people and buildings of Suhalla resolutely. I stomped out and waited for my friends at the desert's edge.

Iodem caught up to us. For what seemed like a long time, nobody spoke.

Finally, I cleared my throat. "I guess we better go in."
"Yeah," Garet agreed.

"You're right," Mia added.

"Let's go," said Ivan.

I took a deep breath...