From the Chalst Province, Lyle lead Prince Rhys into a cave. It was dim and dank inside, and it was teeming with monsters.
"I'm sure I got rid of those guys when I came through here before..." Lyle muttered to himself. Rhys looked at him.
"Nothing at all, Rhys. Oh, no... I forgot my manners..." Lyle said suddenly. Rhys replied that he didn't mind not being called 'Prince'. Lyle nodded and turned to face the monsters. He pointed his staff at them and muttered a few words under his breath. Massive bolts of lightning crashed into them all, frazzling them.
"Another day, another bunch of monsters, another Zan Technique!" Lyle shouted, laughing slightly. For information's sake, the Zan Technique, like the Foi Technique, is an attack technique. This particular technique causes bolts of lightning to strike down over a 30 foot area in front of the caster. Anything that is hit gets shocked. Since Lyle is a very proficient technique-caster, the lightning bolts rained down like bolts of instant death.
"That speeds things up. Come on, Lyle. We need to keep going." Rhys said, and so he and Lyle went further into the cave. Another group of monsters was waiting nearby. Just as Lyle was about to raise his staff, Rhys stopped him.
"Lyle, watch me. I'll dispatch these creatures!" Rhys said confidently, unsheathing his hunting knife. He charged forward and sliced two of the monsters. One monster jumped, but the prince stabbed it. He swung the knife at the rest of the monsters, cutting some and missing others. Lyle leaned on the wall of the cave and sighed.
After 20 minutes, Rhys had killed all the monsters. He walked over to Lyle, who was sleeping on the floor.
"So then, Lyle! How was my effort?" the prince asked. Lyle sat up and stretched.
"I'm awake! Oh, about your attack? Not good. You took the best part of a lifetime to get rid of them!" Lyle replied sharply. Rhys looked fierce.
"Well, I guess you did take care of them. OK, let's keep going." Lyle said, and so he and Rhys kept trudging through the cave. More groups of monsters attacked them, but Lyle killed them all with his powerful Zan Technique.
Eventually, though, Rhys and Lyle made it out of the cave and into the Helskiz Province. A wintry wind blew from the east. Lyle shivered.
"That's weird. When I left, it wasn't this cold. Someone's tinkered with the weather!" Lyle said, his teeth chattering. Rhys unpinned his cloak and wrapped it around Lyle.
"You need to keep warm. You can borrow my cloak." Rhys said.
"Thanks, but what are you gonna do?" Lyle asked.
"I'm fine. I'm used to cold, draughty Landen Castle. So this is nothing to me." the prince replied. The twosome waded through knee-deep snow, trying to find some sort of town or any sort of building. Vast expanses of white snow lay in front of them, and more snow was falling from the sky. The twosome were getting colder, and they were nowhere near a town, a village or even an abandoned building.
"We could die out here! We've got to hurry!" Lyle said through his chattering teeth.
"I'm beginning to feel the cold now! This is much worse than Landen Castle!" Rhys replied, rubbing his gloved hands together. Lyle unwrapped the cloak from around himself and gave one end to Rhys. They huddled together inside. But even so, the twosome were still getting colder and colder. The snow was getting deeper and deeper. And the journey seemed to be taking longer and longer. But they could see someone walking in their direction.
"Hey! Over here!" Lyle shouted, frantically waving his staff in the air. It seemed to be working; the figure was coming closer to them.
"Our situation is dire! Do come over!" Rhys yelled, waving his free arm. The figure broke into a run. It stopped right in front of them, and revealed itself to be a young woman. She had bright red hair, and she was wearing a red sleeveless top and a short red skirt. She was also wearing knee-high red boots. Strangely, she wasn't shivering or showing any signs of feeling the cold.
"I know you. You're an Orakian prince from Landen. I am charged with the protection of Orakian princes." the woman said.
"Very well. But, who are you? I am Prince Rhys, and this is my friend Lyle." Rhys said, indicating Lyle. The woman looked slightly frightened.
"I am a cyborg, Mieu type. Call me Mieu. But, your friend Lyle is a Layan. I am bound to exterminate Layans." Mieu replied doubtfully. Lyle shivered even more.
"I think I'd rather die of cold than die from a cyborg attack." Lyle mumbled. He could see that Mieu was putting on a pair of gloves. The gloves had sharp claws at the end. Lyle panicked.
"No, don't kill me, please! I'm trying to stop this hatred between Orakians and Layans!" Lyle shouted, just as Mieu swiped at him with the claws. Thankfully for him, she missed.
"Regardless of your goals, all Layans are evil." Mieu said calmly, striking Lyle with the claws. They opened three nasty gashes in his right arm, but the cold temperatures stopped him from bleeding.
"Mieu, I command you to stop this instant!" Rhys yelled. Mieu froze mid-swing and lowered her arm.
"What is your wish, Prince?" Mieu asked. Lyle nudged Rhys and whispered something in his ear.
"Whilst you're with me, you will not attack Lyle, or any other Layan that joins our party without my explicit permission." Rhys said sternly. Mieu nodded and removed the clawed gloves.
"Now, I have heard from the village of Rysel that the Weather Station in the Bernink Province has been messed with. Come on, I will lead you to the passage that takes us to the Bernink Province." Mieu said, walking to the west. Rhys and Lyle followed her to a cave. They went inside.
"It's warmer in here, at least..." Lyle said, letting go of his end of the cloak. Rhys straightened it and re-pinned it.
"Indeed, you're correct, Lyle. We'd better keep up with Mieu." Rhys replied, running through the passage. Lyle ran after him. As they approached the opening into the Bernink Province, Mieu stopped them.
"You two should be careful. This desert was never intended for human life." she said, walking out into the desert.