Golden Sun: The Sands of Time

Chapter 5: Strange New Land

Garet growled to himself as the ship shook for the fourth time in as many minutes. The storm was steadily getting worse, and there seemed to be no end in sight. The sudden and unpredictable gusts were shaking the ship like a rag doll. No matter. He had to keep the ship on course.

Suddenly, through the storm, he caught the glimpse of a tiny speck of light. Could it be? Steering the ship over, he smiled in relief as the light widened, showing a tiny chasm among the imposing mountains that blocked off the entrance to the new land. But could the ship make it through such a narrow crack?

He heard Isaac's voice, faint in the whipping wind. "Garet! Hurry up! The storm's getting worse!" Well, it looked like he had no choice. Gritting his teeth, he edged the ship forward closer to the crack. Damn. It was too small. Or was it? He couldn't tell. Shaking his head, he muttered "What the hell." and mentally commanded the ship to go forward.

Garet swore softly as the ship groaned in protest to getting sandwiched between two walls of sheer rock. He could see bits and pieces of the ship fly off as it narrowly squeaked through the chasm, not to mention that the metal that held the ship together was getting dangerously hot due to some effect or other of friction. That was what Kraden had dubbed it, anyway.

Then, they were through, past the mountains, past the chasms, in a new land. The first thing Garet noticed was that the wind had died down almost immediately, and that the air here was a lot more calm. The second was the blinding sun, which even a Mars Adept as himself found hard to bear. After setting the ship down, he turned to regard the form of his best friend climbing down the rigging, two unconscious Jupiter adepts in tow.

"What happened to those two?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know. I'm going to dump them in their rooms, then take a long bath. A very long bath. Preferably with lavender scented soap."

"… …"

Ivan blinked, then slowly forced his eyes open. Where was he? He remembered the last few events before he passed out. The windstorms, Isaac catching him, and- and-

"Sheba!" He cried out, sitting bolt upright. Was she safe? Cursing silently to himself, he was about to jump out of the bed when he heard her soft laughter. Right now, that was the sweetest thing he could have imagined. "You're safe!"

She smiled back at him. "Yes. And I've been looking over you for over an hour now, sleepyhead."

"Sleepyhead? That's hardly a way to talk to someone who just saved your life." He replied mockingly. She shook her head, then embraced him.

"Ivan… thank you."

"C'mon, it's not like I could just leave you to die, right?" He replied with a bemused expression. "Now, is there any food available? I'm starving!"

Sheba once again burst out in laughter. "You sound just like Garet!"

"I do not!"

"Yes you do!"

"I said I do not!"

From his vantage point on the shelf, Gust looked down on his master.

(Hrmph. Maybe there's hope for this lad yet…)
"So, Alex. Where's Jorgmund?" Felix questioned curiously. "I haven't seen anything resembling a town since we landed here.

Alex's looked around at the various outcroppings of rock, before pointing in a Northeast direction. "If memory serves, the town lies in that direction."

Felix nodded, then turned to Isaac. "Okay, I think we'll all be ready to set off tomorrow. Isaac, can you go tell everyone that?"

Isaac nodded, made an exaggerated bow, before turning and heading back into the interior of the ship. Just then, Picard emerged from the hold, looking rather weary.

"The storm beat up this ship rather badly." He reported. "It can still move, but I suggest we get it to repaired as soon as possible."

Felix smirked slightly. "I could have told you that. With Garet at the wheel…"

"Yeah? I'd like to see YOU do a better job, Felix!" Came the indignant reply from above. Garet had been tasked with checking the rigging and mast because it was "his idea" for it to be built in the first place, and he had been rather unhappy to realize that the rigging was going to take a long time to fix, if the multiple tears were any indication.

Felix leaned back, and gazed out to the endless desert. "Strange that a such a sandy, light soaked area was once connected to the coldest point in Weyard…" He murmured to himself. Then, shrugging, he turned back to his duties.

Grisnakh stood, watching. He was always watching. He alone, of all the Karan, knew the meaning of the word patience, and when to use it. This had allowed him to rise swiftly amongst their ranks, and now he commanded thirty legions. But for now, all he had with him was a tiny hunting party. More than enough for his needs.

He stared down at the various newcomers in the strange flying ship that had just arrived through Banehallow Mountains. A tiny glint of greed appeared in his eyes. Turning to his companions, he lifted his blade.

"The humans have no idea what's in store for them! We shall strike swiftly, and tonight we feast on man-flesh!" He roared. This was met with cheers and shouts of approval. Turning back to the humans, he snarled to himself. "Fools. You should never have come. Now, you will pay the ultimate price."

With a swift kick, his krell mount started running forward, followed closely by the other raiders. He could feel their bloodlust, and shared his own with them. His mouth stretched into a hideous grin. This was going to be fun.