Chapter 3: ??
Darkness fell around Cinder. He groped around aimlessly, unsure where to go. Then, a piercing ray of light went punctured this seemingly endless shade and he groped out wildly for that. Something told him he just had to get there, and then all would be well. However, a hair's breadth away from his goal, a sweet and lulling voice sang, bringing him back to the cruel world of reality.
Cinder woke up. He found himself in a tiny room. A girl was sitting by the window, singing delicately. She had raven-dark hair, and deep blue eyes, and he rummaged through the many drawers in his mind to recall who that person was.
"How are you feeling?" the girl went over to him. Oh yeah, the person I saw before I fainted, Cinder thought.
"I'm feeling okay. Well, thanks for the help," Cinder replied. Suddenly, Liam burst in through the door.
"Nice, Cinder! You defeated a bloody Jr. Balrog by yourself!" Liam exclaimed in awe.
"Wait…. I used Explosion, didn't I?" Suddenly, reality dawned on Cinder, "Oh damn! Now everyone knows I'm an FP! So where are we now?"
"On the outskirts of Henesys," the girl replied.
"So, Rienne, you're a bandit?" Liam asked, pointing to the Dragon Toenail at her side.
"No, a Crossbowman, but my mother wants me to learn her bandit ways. I'm not really good though," Rienne replied.
Cinder winced as he slowly stood up. The Explosion had singed him slightly, and the faint burn marks were throbbing, especially with the ointment on it. He groped around for his Wizard Staff, but instead, he found a Maple Staff.
"Father bought one each for us," Liam said, gesturing to his own Maple Staff. Cinder wielded his and then he felt some kind of magical shock. It crackled with magic when he took it up, then a glowing orb of flame burst from the tip.
"It's yours now," Liam said, "It senses the owner, and no one else can use it but you now."
Suddenly, a teenager stepped into the room. He had raven-dark hair, and his eyes were a piercing blue. He held a Red Viper in his right hand.
"So you are Cinder?" the teenager asked, "Lyrad, Rienne's brother, by the way."
"Lyrad," Cinder held his hand out, but the teenager ignored it. Cinder slowly drew his hand back.
"An FP?" Lyrad asked coldly.
"Yeah, I suppose," Cinder muttered.
"Dangerous…" Lyrad commented.
Cinder shrugged and gazed outside. They were indeed on the outskirts. He could see both Kerning City and Henesys from this view. Lyrad stood up and left the room.
"So, the villagers don't know that I'm here?" Cinder asked.
"Yeah, they chased you out, though, even Athena couldn't stop them," Liam replied, "So, you feeling okay?"
"S'pose so," Cinder mumbled.
"What are you going to do next?" Liam questioned, "I mean, you can't stay in her house for long," as he pointed towards Rienne.
"Feel free to stay in here, my doors are always open," Rienne said. The exact same words Athena said to me, Cinder thought, but now, her doors are barred, whether willingly or not. He shuddered. Was this some kind of premonition?
Cinder walked over to the door, until he was stopped by Rienne.
"Wait! If you want to go out, disguise yourself," Rienne said, and Cinder. Liam and she went to Kerning's several shops.
Cinder got himself a new haircut, and changed into a Starry Bandana and a Blue Sauna Robe. He even went so far as to buy some tinted sunglasses.
"Feels weird," Cinder said, trying to tighten his Sauna Robe. He was on the thin side, and the Sauna Robe was quite big. He clutched the Ryden, the last gift that Athena bestowed on him.
"Arrow Bomb!" Cinder yelled, casting the skill on some Stumps who wandered too close. It felt odd; he was used to Bomb Plague, but there was no chance of doing that now, at least not near Henesys.
The trio walked back to Rienne's house, and Rienne stepped into her own bedroom, leaving the two boys in Cinder's room.
"Man, I feel so bored," Cinder muttered, and checked his watch, "Damn! It's only three in the afternoon! What should we do?"
"Grinding?" Liam asked, smirking slyly when Cinder blanched.
"No way, you want another Jr. Balrog to kill you?" Cinder said.
"Hey, since you can do Explosion, can you do Poison Mist? And Magic Composition? And all the other FP Mage stuff?" Liam queried. Cinder shrugged his shoulders.
"Poison Mist!" Cinder tried, but only a tiny green Mist floated out of the Maple Staff. It burst into thin air shortly afterwards, and it smelled like a giant stink bomb had been thrown onto the house,
'"Geez, it certainly doesn't have the size, but it has the stink! Smells like a rotten fish!" Liam exclaimed, shocked, "Maybe even like your fart!"
Cinder grinned. This was like old times, the times they joked around in the Iceguarde Mansion. They staged a mock fight for a while, then collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. It was around seven now.
Suddenly, there was a hint of fire on the hilltop. The fire seemed to slowly crawl across the hill towards the house, and then they heard roaring.
"Kill Cinder! Kill Cinder!" the angry villagers bellowed ferociously.
"Damn!" Cinder cursed his luck, "How did they know I was here?"
Cinder walked over to Rienne's room, and knocked on the door. Rienne stepped out hastily. She, too, had heard the angry mob.
"We must go!" Rienne whispered, "but where's my brother?"
She searched the house for any sign of Lyrad. Then, suddenly, the door was thrown of its hinges by an angry warrior in the mob. His eyes were filled with a maniacal gleaming fire. The fire danced madly around, like all the other villagers'. It seemed as if the villagers were possessed.
"Cinder, come out like a good little boy," the warrior mocked scornfully. Cinder gazed back defiantly at the man in front of him. Suddenly, a figure stepped out from the mob. The figure's piercing blue eyes gazed at Rienne.
"Sister, don't help that fool standing beside you. He is an FP! The exiled ones! How could you help him?" Lyrad rasped, "Hand him over, Rienne."
"Over my dead body!" Rienne hollered, "What has come into you? How could you betray us? You are no longer the older brother I had previously! What are you, beast?"
Lyrad shuddered. For a moment, those vacant eyes seemed to see, and then they went back into their original state.
"Hand him over, now!" Lyrad snarled, then lunged towards Cinder. The latter dodged nimbly, and shot Arrow Blow at him. Lyrad pirouetted, and deflected the arrow. The magic spent, the arrow fell down to the ground limply. Cinder shot a couple more of Arrow Blows and Double Arrows at him but Lyrad was simply too swift. He dodged and repelled every single thing Cinder could throw at him. Then, Cinder tried a new tactic. He pounced onto Lyrad, and the latter swung his katana up. Then, Cinder feinted towards the side and shot an Arrow Blow at him. Lyrad, however, could not be outwitted. He seemed to be able to read Cinder's mind. Then, Cinder loosed the tiny Poison Mist at Lyrad. It exploded on the latter's sword, and Lyrad was momentarily covered up in a green haze.
"Come!" Rienne grabbed Cinder's and Liam's hands, and darted out into the night, towards Kerning City.
I I I
"Dark Lord, I implore of you, please help me," Cinder begged the cloaked man who was meditating, after he told the man of the previous incidents that happened over the last few days. Then, the Dark Lord opened his eyes.
"You killed a Jr. Balrog yourself at Level 41?" the man questioned inquisitively, with an eyebrow cocked. Cinder nodded, and the Dark Lord closed his eyes once more.
Hmm… A prodigy… too bad that he is doomed to fail... an FP…
"You can stay within the borders of my town, as long as you adhere to the rules:
First, and very obviously, you can not show anyone your powers, apart from those you trust. Beware, though, of betrayal.
Secondly, do not go out from my town's borders. If you do, then you are at the mercy of Grendel and everyone who is out searching for you, which is basically everyone in Henesys and Ellinia.
Lastly, do not make use of the protection I grant you to commit crimes and evil deeds. I warn you, you shall die if you do so. Is that clear?"
Cinder nodded. The Dark Lord then casted Showdown on them. Protection indeed, Cinder mused.
Cinder walked out, and bought himself a Meba, and some Kumbis from one of the Kerning citizens.
He attempted throwing the shruikens at the Ligators in the swamps. He failed. However, one of them landed on the Ligator's tough hide and fell off with a loud clang. The aforementioned Ligator fixed its tiny eyes on its prey and lumbered slowly towards an unwitting death. Cinder quickly switched to his Ryden, and with an Arrow Bomb, the Ligator, and the others around it, was dead.
Cinder switched to his Meba once more. He fruitlessly threw star after star at the Ligators, and unknowingly, he was watched by a sindit, who sniggered at one instance, when his Kumbi throwing star landed near the Ligator's foot.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" Cinder turned to look at the sindit.
"Man, you are hopeless at throwing stars! Come, let me teach you," the sindit came forward and threw his Ilbi. It soared high over the Ligators then fell onto its mark. Blood spurted out from the gash and the Ligator fell dead amongst its friends.
Cinder, under the coaching of the sindit, finally managed to kill a Ligator with his throwing stars.
"Nice progress. I'm Arkion, by the way," the sindit said.
"Thanks. I'm Cinder," Cinder shook hands with the sindit.
"Meet you tomorrow?" the sindit said, "It's night already."
"Sure. Bye, Arkion." Cinder entered the city of Kerning, and he used the shadows as a cloak to shake off any pickpockets who prowled the streets at night.
He went to the Potion store to recharge his stars, and on the way out, he met Liam and Rienne.
They led him to a dark alley, then Cinder questioned, "Where are you bringing me to? Is this where we are staying?"
Liam suddenly pushed him forwards, and he landed face first on the dirty vomit-filled floor. Rienne stood over him and raised up a dagger to his shoulder. Trepidation coursed through Cinder's veins, as he stared into Rienne's eyes. They were cold, and were glaring at him murderously.
"Who are you?" Cinder asked. Then, Rienne impaled him with her dagger and Cinder gasped, clutching the dagger wound with his right arm. The illusions suddenly disappeared, and a dark shadow walked over to him slowly.
"Die," the figure hissed, as he held up a Maple Shiny Wand. Suddenly, another dark figure ran over in front of Cinder. Then, the two started battling. The mage casted a spell on the other dark figure, and the figure dropped his Maple Wagner. Then, as if in a trance, the man walked over to the mage. The mage drew out a Maple Glory Sword, tensing his muscles to stab the bandit.
Cinder mustered the little bit of strength he had left, and shot Bomb Plague at the mage, taking him off guard. Cinder then pressed in his advantage by using the 'Inferno' skill, then finally, when he got close enough, he casted his secret skill. Explosion.
The man was blasted into the air like a ragdoll, and he collapsed onto the ground. The man's eyes flickered for a moment, then closed.
"You are a Fire Poison?" the thief asked. Then, Cinder realized he was looking at the face of Arkion.
"Yea…" Cinder mumbled. Arkion cocked an eyebrow, then brought Cinder to the nearby marketplace, where he found Rienne and Liam.
"He told us that he knew who you were," Liam told Cinder, gesturing towards Arkion.
"Yeah, I met him while trying out my claw," Cinder replied.
"So, well, I'll take my leave now," Arkion shifted uneasily from foot to foot, then ran away into the dark night.
His two friends suddenly noticed the gaping wound on his left shoulder. Rienne gasped, then brought him to Niora Hospital. One of the few doctors they had there dressed the wound, then sent Cinder off, saying that it was not a serious injury.
Liam and Rienne then led Cinder to the tiny house which they found. It was apparently unoccupied. Cinder stepped in, then a cold draught swept over him. He shivered, then proceeded to examine the rest of the rooms. One room was infested with Jr. Neckis, but with a few quick Arrow Bombs, he finished them off. He went back to the living room, and he pushed the cobwebs away to make way for himself.
Suddenly, the door creaked open. The Dark Lord stepped in, then exclaimed, "You're going to live in this dump? Why not live in one of my houses!"
The trio were secretly relieved, and they followed the Dark Lord to a huge mansion, not unlike the manor Cinder and Liam once had. Then, they made themselves comfortable, and rested in their respective rooms till the next day.
I I I
Kines Iceguarde was lying in his bed, when he heard a soft rapping on his front door. He opened it, only to find out that it was Athena.
"They have been chased out of my village," Athena sighed audibly.
"Who?" Kines asked, but he knew who 'they' were. It had to be his sons.
"Yes, they are your sons, or should I say, your biological son and foster son," Athena said. Kines looked up, clearly shocked.
"How did you know?" Kines questioned.
"I heard of Darkon's son. The other Wise Leaders all have too. I must say, he is very talented," Athena remarked.
"Anyway, where are they now?" Kines asked.
"Kerning," Athena replied, then she walked out of the door, leaving a puzzled Kines in her wake.
"Kerning?"
Author's Note: Yes, it sucks. Please do not blame me. I do not have a good plot so there's a lot of dialogue. Weird ending and no vocabulary. The perfect ingredients for a damn lousy chapter. Yay.