Golden Sun: The Sands of Time

Chapter 3: Departure

" Leaving so soon, Isaac?" Isaac, paused in the doorway. His mother's voice was… reproachful, slightly. Although the primary emotion he felt was sadness. Head bowed, he turned back to his mother.

"Yes, mom. I have to. I can't let this town be destroyed."

Dora nodded her acceptance. " I know. I guess you're the best bet for the town, after all. You're just about the strongest group of warriors on Weyard."

"What's she's saying, son, is that she's proud of you." Kyle said as he entered the room. " And I'm proud of you too." Wrapping Isaac in a bear hug, he smiled at him. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

Isaac smiled, hugged his mother one last time, and headed out.

Outside the house, he met Garet, still trying to carry a huge knapsack. Raising an eyebrow, Isaac stared at the antics of his best friend for several minutes before venturing " Uh, Garet…. What's in the bag?"

"My lunch." Was the monosyllabic reply.

" Your LUNCH?!" Isaac stared at the huge pack under on Garet's back. "Okay, I think we need to work out on you dropping the nonessential items…"

Meanwhile, at Felix and Jenna's house….

"Felix?"

"M?" He responded. Felix was known to his friends as a man of few words. He had the extraordinary ability to keep his temper under control even in the most harrowing of situations, unless it involved a certain cheeky Jupiter adept. Which may have been why his parents decided to give him the room with half the roof still missing. At least it was currently the dry season. Once the rainy weather came, hoo boy.

"Felix, dear, could you please let me put some of my leftover stuff into your bag?"

Felix shook his head and sighed. He had never seen a need to pack more than two sets of clothes and nothing else. After all, what was the point of having to lug a mountain load of clothes that'd only end up getting dirty and dusty around the world anyway? None, as far as he could see. Turning, he saw that his sister hadn't bothered to wait for an answer, and had entered his room, staggering under he weight of an enormous pile of clothes.

Felix muttered under his breath, uttered a single "No.", and turned back to his packing, ignoring the indignant cries of Jenna.

The innkeeper sighed. He had barely gotten the inn up and running again, and had four of the adepts that supposedly had saved the world staying in there. Apparently, they would be setting out again. He could still hear their voices filtering in from upstairs as they packed.

"Pass me the comb, Sheba."

"Seriously, both of you, why bother packing stuff like that? It's not like we'll have a lot of time to groom ourselves. Alex told us that the place's just a lot of sand and mountains."

"Ivan, some of us care more about our looks than others. And if you don't mind, I'd prefer not to hear that name."

" Ooh, you mean like that time you cared about your appearance so much when fighting that grand Chimaera? You had blood on your robes for a week!"

"Ivan, I'm warning you…"

"…"

The innkeeper sighed. A lively bunch they were, indeed.

Alex stood, staring into the distance. The majority of the people had no idea who he was, and what part he had played in the formation of Alchemy's powers. Which was a pretty good thing. If they had known that he'd attempted to test out his newfound strength by unleashing a storm upon Vale, more than likely he'd currently be in a rather back position with the townsfolk. He suspected he was treading on thin ice as is. Looking back, he still wondered why he'd tried to destroy the town. Recalling the age-old adage that absolute power corrupted absolutely, he wondered if that was what had happened. Shrugging, he noted out of the corner of his eye that Isaac and Garet were fast approaching, and arguing about something. As they drew nearer, he began to hear snippets of their conversation.

" This IS essential!"

" I don't care! Remove at least half of the food in there!"

Alex sighed. He still found it hard to believe at times that this bunch had been the one to release the powers of Alchemy on this world. Looks certainly were deceiving. Behind them, he saw Jenna and her brother approaching. And from the inn tumbled out the last four adepts in the party.

Alex let out a wan smile. "So, shall we be off?"

Isaac, Felix and Alex were belowdecks of the flying Lemurian ship, discussing their current course of action.

"Okay, we'll make a stopover in Prox to ensure that our ship is in good condition before flying over the void. Once there, we'll land near the outskirts of- of…"

"Jorgmund. The town name is Jorgmund."

"Uh-huh. Jorgmund. Then we'll ascertain the threat of these raiders, then fight them off."

"Yes. Unless we contain that threat before Gaia cliffs disappear, they can sweep through these lands unchallenged. I am certain that none of you want that.

"Got that right." Isaac turned and headed for the deck. "I'll take first turn at handling the ship. I hope the rest of us can keep out of trouble for a while."

Isaac shook his head. What was he saying? He knew these guys. Trouble followed them like bees followed honey. With the sort of luck that seemed rampant in their party, they'd end up meeting Karst, Agatio, Saturos, AND Menardi at the same time. He didn't want to think about it.

"You're pathetic, Garet."

"Put a sock in it, Ivan. You're in your element, after all."

Ivan leaned against the guardrail, smirking. And it was true. He was in his element, up in air, feeling the cool breeze in his face. Garet, by contrast, was currently lying on the floor, limbs flailing as he tried to stand up. Shaking his head, Ivan scurried up the ladder to his "designated spot", namely, the top of the ship. Keeping his balance perfectly, he smiled as he felt the wind through his eternally messy hair. Ahhh, life… …