Chapter 5: A Thief in the Night
Elsword's POV:
Oww... I thought to myself as I lead the way to the tree. Aisha, whom I could hear still grumbling, kept her distance as she followed. "I said I was sorry. It was just an accident, sheesh!" I called out behind me.
"Hmmph" was all I heard from behind me. That and followed by "stupid perv" alongside with more grumbling. It was a rather peaceful night; the sky was clear and the temperature was just right. Yeah, just a quiet night, aside from the grumbling. That all stopped once we reached Noah's lake, the lake the tree of el sits in.
"Wow..." I heard Aisha say. I smiled as I watched her gaze at the tree in awe of its beauty. I guess I couldn't blame her; it was a beautiful sight to see. The night was clear and the moon big and bright and it was mirrored perfectly in the crystal blue lake as the glistened in the lake as well...a truly beautiful site.
"Well come on Aisha, as much as I'd like to stargaze here, we have work to do" I reminded her. "R-right." She said with a sweat mark. With that we walked the path to the center of the tree.
Rena's POV:
"Mmmm..." I let out wearily as I moaned into my gag. I lost track of how long I was hanging around up here but I could feel myself fading. "Grrmmmp... ummmph..." I grunted as a fought against my bindings some more, but to no avail. I felt like passing out but struggled to remain conscious, for fear of where I might wake up. Oh...no... my eyes...are...g-getting heavy... I thought to myself as my eyelids were about to close...
"Wow... how is all of this in a tree?!" I heard a girl question?
"Yeah, I was amazed too when I first came here." I heard a boy say. I opened my eyes to see a boy with red hair and a girl with purple hair walking just past where I was hanging.
"Its like a natural wonder though...this tree of el is such a marvel." I heard the girl say.
"Yeah… I had the same feeling when I first came here too but now's not the time for sightseeing Aisha" I heard the boy say.
"Oh all right Elsword" I heard the one called Aisha answer back as she walked over to where Elsword was, slowly escaping my view. I knew that if anything, these two were my last chance to escape lest my fate wind up in the hands of my captor, and I sure as hell didn't want to find out what that was. With the last of my strength, I sucked in all of the air I could suck up and shouted as loud as I could into my gag.
"PLMMMMMFPH! WMMMMF! COMMMMPHHF BACFFFFFPM! HRRMMMP MMMMMPH!
Elsword's POV:
What was that? I asked myself as I heard a strange noise as Aisha was walking up to me. It didn't sound natural at all.
"Hey Aisha? Did you hear that just now?" Aisha just looked at me with a puzzled look on her face.
"Ummm no, I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary Elsword" she replied.
"Mmmm…." I heard again from somewhere. "Now you had to have heard that one Aisha." I say as I walk over to her. I decide to look around for the source of the noise. "Nothing to my left…and nothing to my right…" I muttered to myself.
"Elsword, what on earth are you looking for? There's nothing here!" whined Aisha.
There's no way that noise was nothing Aisha… as I thought to myself as I decided to look up at that point. "…The hell? I let out as I inspected what I saw. Above were the greenish-yellow locks of what looked like a girl, hanging above us…and not by choice either.
"Does that look like nothing to you Aisha?!" I exclaimed as I pointed up above us. Aisha then looked up after my escapade.
"Oh my El!"
"Mmrrrphff, mmmmmph, ummmph urrrrumph!" went the girl above us, her strength renewed it seems as we noticed her presence. I inspected the girl and noticed she was hanging from her feet and the rope holding her on a high branch.
Hmmm, I bet if we can find some way to cut her rope we can catch her… oh wait! I know!
"Hey Aisha, throw a fireball up at that rope up there holding her up! I'll catch her when she falls down." I instruct her. Aisha seemed a little hesitant to go through with the command. "Well whats wrong Aisha? Go on and burn off the rope holding her up."
"Well don't you think there's a less drastic way for us to get her down?" Aisha asked me. "I don't think a freefall from that height is gonna be such a good idea."
"Pssssh, she'll be fine" I reassure her. "I'll be right her to catch her once she falls. See? Its foolproof" I said with a huge grin.
Aisha lets out a small sigh. "So says the fool…ok then. Here goes." She says as she takes aim. "Hiya!" she shouts as she waves her wand and a fireball is launched at the girl in the tree.
"MMMMMM!" went the girl as she saw the fireball headed her way. She closed her eyes as the fireball missed her face and hit the rope on the branch, causing it to burn. The girl wiggled as she struggled to look up. She seemed to be panicing as the rope was about to burn in two.
-SNAP-
"MMMMMMMMMMMMMPPPHHH!" went the girl as she free felled to the ground. I steadied myself and made sure I was ready to catch her.
"DON'T WORRY!" I yelled to her. "I… Gotcha!" I shouted as I caught her in my arms as I broke her fall; unfortunately it didn't go as planned as I was a little off and we fell backwards in a heap on the floor.
"MMMPPH! OWWW!" we both went as we fell over. "Ouch… well that could've gone better, eh miss…um…?" I said as I chuckled as we lay there.
"See, I told you it was a bad idea!" exclaimed Aisha. "Are you oka-"Aisha stopped mid sentence. "Whats wrong?" I ask her as I begin to sit up again.
"Mmmmf…" I heard as I was sitting up, cradling the girl in my arms while I sat up. Man this girl is soft… she might even be softer than Aisha's….wait a minute? What's in my hand? I look down to notice that my hand is flat out groping this girl's chest. My face flushed instantly to a deep red.
"You Pervert!" I heard come out of Aisha's mouth as her hand came clear across my face, smacking me back to the floor. I writhed in pain as I held my red cheek as she pulled the girl off me.
"Honestly, is any girl safe from your perversions?" she asked as she made her way to the tired up girl. She was wiggling a little bit still, trying to get free. "There there, hang on ok? I'll get you out" Aisha reassured her as she worked on the knot on the back of her gag. "Almost….there… got it." She said with a smile as she undid the gag from her mouth. The blonde girl gasped for breathe as she finally got some fresh air.
"Pant, pant…t-thank you so much." She replied as she looked up weakly at us. "But um… could you please untie me? These bindings are rather unpleasant."
"Y-yeah, one more second." Replied Aisha. "Hey there Elbaka, get off the floor and help me untie her." She barked at me. "And no more perverted stuff!" I just glared at her as I worked on the knot around her boots. Within a few minutes of tugging at her knots she was free. The girl sat up and smiled sheepishly as she rubbed and soothed her wrists. I stood up and held out my hand to her. "So, how are you feeling? Does everything work right?" The girl looked at me and my hand and looked as if she was wondering if it was ok to take my hand. "It's ok there, I won't bite. I promise." I said with a grin. "So what's your name?"
"R-Rena…" she said weakly as she reluctantly took my hand as I pulled her up. "Rena huh? That's a nice name." I replied with a smile. "My name's Elsword." "And my name is Aisha." she said as she chimed in behind me. Rena smiled a bit more. "Well I'm truly grateful for you two saving me."
"No problem." replied Aisha. "Oh, and sorry again about this perv catching you like that." I just sighed as I face palmed and shook my head. I wish she'd stop doing that… Rena looked down and to her side as she remembered the fall. "Well… if it weren't for Elsword, I would've fallen and broken my neck, or worse." "Well I guess you're right there Rena." Replied Aisha as she closed her eyes and nodded in agreement. "And besides…" Rena started. "It's…not like it was that bad anyways." She said while trying to hide the blush on her face by looking down at her side. I too started to blush from that comment. "Maybe I should catch you a little more often then?" I joked. "Shut up you perv!" shouted Aisha, just as flushed as me and Rena; bonked me on my head with her staff; thankfully it wasn't hard though. Rena then let out a choked laugh that pretty soon infected all of us as we laughed about the incident all together.
-RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!- as the ground quaked under our feet. "What was that!?" Aisha shouted.
" I have no idea Aisha" I replied.
"Oh no, the El shard!" Rena shouted.
"The El shard?!" I questioned.
"It…it's nothing." She replied hesitantly. "Listen, thanks again for your help back there, but this does doesn't concern you."
Doesn't concern me?! I grabbed her hand as she tried to push her way past us. "The hell it does concern me! It concerns everyone here on Elrios!" I shouted her. "Now what's going on Rena!?" I watched as Rena gave me a sad look before her face grew cold, her resolve affirmed within herself as she shook off my grip. "This is an elven matter! This doesn't concern you!" she shouted back as she jumped over my head and as if by magic she jumped again in mid air over to the tree she was tied up in. She bent over and picked up a green stick looking thing before double jumping again over our heads and further down the path. Angered and bewildered, I glared back at her as she turned around back to us.
"And besides… It's not like you humans will cease to exist without the shard. If you can make it to another EL shard somewhere…maybe the death count won't be too great but at least you'll be here… not like me." That sad look of hers returned. "Not like us Elves…"
"Elves..." I said to myself. "So you're an Elf Rena?" Aisha asked Rena. Unfortunately, Rena only nodded, before jumping off up the path to the shard. We both were stuck in shock to the event we just witnessed. "Hey Elsword… I'm not too sure of what the elshard has to do with the elven race but now's not the time to dwell on that." She said to me. "What we need to do is go after her and find out exactly what's going on. It's just as you said Elbaka, this involves all of us, humans, elves, whatever. So come on, let's go ok?" "Hehe." I chuckled as I picked up my sword. "You're right Aisha, let's get going. What's important right now is reaching the El shard!" I shouted as we ran off for the path leading to the shard.
Meanwhile…
Banthus's POV:
I picked myself back up off the floor after the last tremor. I looked up at the Elshard to see it, although loosened in its cradle, it was still secure in its casing in the tree. "Damn it to hell!" I cursed as I kicked some rocks. "I have half a mind to just chuck a grenade in there and have it dig the thing out!"
"No, no no Bantus! What would happen if you blew up the elshard with that said grenade?" protested one of my lackeys.
I scratched my head a little bit. "I guess the client would have a bunch of elshard pieces then eh? Hahahaha! I bellowed as I broke out into laughter. "Well come on men, that elshard won't come out itself y'know. Get back to work!" I shouted as I waved my arm. "Easy for him to say, he hasn't been chiseling at this rock like we have" I hear some of my men complain. "Hey! Don't make me come over there!" I bark at them as I walk over. The sound of them cowering in fear as I walked over was rather refreshing.
Rena's pov:
I kept on pressing upward, dodging the local wildlife in the tree as I battled the knot in my stomach. Damn it Rena, why did I lash out at them like that? They were only trying to help... And even after they saved me too... I wonder if it's too late to turn around and apologize… who knows when I'll get to see them again... I looked behind me to see that I've traveled pretty far since I stormed off. I let out a little sigh I continued onward. I've gone too far to turn back now... I can only hope I can see them again to apologize, especially to that boy... I felt my face get flushed as I realized my thoughts were running away with me.
-Rumble Rumble Rumble!- went the tree as another tremor ran through the place, waking me up from my own thoughts
"Oh no! Again!?" I shouted as the tree's rumbling made me stumble. I'd better hurry before I'm too late! Let's move Rena! I shouted to myself as I continued on my way to the top. "How far up is this- EEEK! I shrieked as a humongous tremor shook the tree, almost to the point of snapping it.
"Whahahahaha! We did it boys! We did it!" I heard what sounded like a haughty pirate shout out. I grit my teeth as I picked myself up off the floor and dusted myself off. "Damn it!" I cursed out loud. "I can't believe he actually did it!" I didn't realize how close I was as I walked up towards the chamber that housed the elshard. I nearly walked right into them; if it weren't for their pre dancing party, as they danced around the elshard they stole. I quickly ducked behind a medium sized boulder and scoped the situation. I scoped the room until I came across the head honcho himself.
"There you are." I said softly as I silently aimed my bow at his back. I concentrated my mana to my fingertips as I produced a magic arrow, ready to be shot. "Let's see how you like it when I have the drop on you, you pig." I said as I poured more mana into the arrow, increasing it in size. Banthus seemed to be preoccupied with boasting to notice me charging up my attack. I saw him take a sack the size of a book bag as he was fitting the elshard into it. Now was my chance to strike. I tightened my grip on my bow as I shouted, "Rail Stinger!" as I let go of my arrow, it launched at great speed, increasing in size as it headed for Banthus's back.
Everyone in the room jumped at the sudden outburst. Banthus however quickly deflected the shot with the elshard none the less. "Are you crazy!?" I shouted at him. "I could say the same for you little miss elfy." Snickered Banthus as he waved the elshard in his mitts. "Besides, that puny attack couldn't harm the elshard, much less me!" he said as his men gathered around him. I watched as he stuffed the elshard in his sack.
"I'll show you puny!" I shouted back as I prepared another charged arrow. "Rail Stinger!" I shouted again as I let it fly right at Banthus again. I watched as it burned into his tummy and dissipate, just leaving steam and a smudge. I watched in disbelief as Banthus let out a loud burp and grip his stomach.
"Oww, you little bitch! That burned!" he yelled as he pulled out his great sword from his waist. "Are you ready to go now or do we have to physical?" As he talked, his men began to surround me. A bead of sweat formed on the side of my face as a scanned around me for any chance of an opening. I was trying to hold back a tear as they continued their slow march towards me; their smirks on their face, showing what I already knew, that they had me. The only way out of this mess was to do something random.
"You…" I muttered.
"What?" questioned Banthus as they continued walking towards me. Well here goes… Without warning I made a fake run for my left, then immediately darted for my right assailant at full speed as I leaped through the air aiming for the bandit. "I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITH YOU!"
"SHE FLIES!? DAAARGH!" yelped the bandit as my boot connected with his face. Using his face as a springboard, I fired two arrows at some bandits who were behind me before I landed and took a knee.
I guess I can do this after a-! "KYAAH!" I felt something connect with the back of the neck and my knees go limp. I felt my vision blurring as I planted my hands on the ground, trying to hold myself up. W-what…the hell… was that? "I guess we're gonna have to get physical then." I struggled to turn around to face my assailant. The assailant was none other than Banthus. Towering over me, leering at me in his conquest. I watched as he cracked his knuckles, preparing to strike. I closed my eyes as I prepared for impact.
I can't believe this is how it ends for me...
"RRREEEEENNAAAA!" I heard someone yell, right before I heard Banthus yelp in pain. I opened my eyes to witness a boy with the crimson red hair as his foot connected dead on with Banthus's face.
"It's you!?" I called out to him, still shocked that he even showed up. "You came?!" The boy chuckled as he used his kick to leap off of Banthus's face, doing a back flip. "Of course I did!" As he flipped, Banthus fell backwards from the unexpected attack.
"Chain fireball!" I heard from behind us as Aisha hit the other bandits with her fireballs, knocking them back. "Are you hurt Rena?" I smiled weakly as I tried to hold back the tears. They actually came back for me? Me, after I was so nasty to them before I left? "But why?" I protested as I some tears streamed down my face. I watched as he out stretched his hand and smiled at me. "Because…Even though your mouth said don't get involved, your face said otherwise. Whether you like it or not, the elshard is everyone's responsibility to protect." I was petrified by his words as they opened up my mind. I was so used to doing things the elven way and segregating ourselves from humans that I forgot the bigger picture. We have to do whatever we can to protect the elshard, for all of our sakes.
And besides, my sister always says that it's a knight's job to help those in need. And I think that right about now a pretty girl like you could use all the help she can get, right?" He said as he helped me up.
"R-right..." I stuttered as I took his hand, my face flushed with blush.
Across the room the first bandit I kicked, recovered and scanned the area. When his eyes laid on Elsword, he flipped.
"Oh my god! There he is cap'in! There's the guy! There's the guy that beat us up!" Elsword looked at the bandit for a bit before he let out a smirk. "Oh yeah I remeber you now. You were one of those fools I beat up in the forest earlier today. So you came back for seconds huh?" I was amused to see the bandit hesitating at the sight of Elsword. It was around this time Banthus recovered from his kick to the face.
"You've been busy today haven't you brat!?" Growled Banthus as he rubbed his face. "First you smack around my men, then you release our catch, then you have the nerve to kick me in the face?! You're gonna wish you were dead when I'm thru with you!" He then pointed at me. "Don't think you're out of the woods yet Missy. Once I'm done with your heros here, you're coming right back to me!" I cowered a bit after that news but Elsword shielded me with his arm. "So you're the one who did that to Rena... Just for that, I'm gonna kick your ass twice a hard now!" Shouted Elsword. "Now give us the elshard!"
Banthus, fuming, simply drew his massive sword and yelled "ATTACK!" As he and his men attacked us. Elsword dashed forward to meet Banthus's attack, his sword clashing with his. You could hear the sounds of their swords connecting as they fought. "Look alive Rena!" I heard out of nowhere as I dodged as fireball that impacted into another bandit, knocking him down. "Thanks." I called out to its owner. "No problem" she responded. "Just keep fighting." I nodded as I dodged a few strikes from a bandit as she spoke. "But what about Elsword?"
Whaaaaa!" Screamed a bandit as Aisha burned him with a fireball before throwing a magic circle beneath her feet, causing the bandit to be launched in the air. "Elsword will be just fine" I turned to look at Elsword, who was successfully dodging Banthus's attacks Banthus seemed to be struggling to keep up while Elsword looked like he wasn't even trying. "Dude, don't you have any training?" Teased Elsword. "Your swordsmanship is really bad!" This only served to make Banthus madder as he swiped and slash at Elsword some more, still missing every swing.
"Hehe, I guess I was worried about nothing then" I said. As I closed my eyes, I heard a bandit make a lunge for me. "I gotcha now bitch!" He yelled. I immediately opened my eyes and did a back flip, just barely missing his tackle. While mid flip I shot 2 arrows, downing both that bandit and another that was sneaking up on Aisha. Aisha had a dumb founded look when she saw how close the bandit was behind her. "Oh wow, nice shot Rena, thank you." "No problem" I replied.
"STAND AND PERISH YOU LITTLE BRAT!" I heard Banthus shout. Me and Aisha both turned to see Banthus hold his sword above his head in an attempt to bring it down on Elsword's head. I watched as Elsword hid behind his sword just as Banthus sword came down on it."Not today!" Shouted Elsword a he deflected Banthus's strike. "the hell!?" Shouted Banthus as he watched Elsword hold his sword behind him, preparing for his counter attack. "Fatal Fury!" Banthus could do nothing but watch since Elsword's counter attack left him wide open. I watched as Elsword wailed on him with four downward strikes as he swung down the fifth strike with a charged sword, launching Banthus from his feet and knocking him to the ground. "Hmph." Pouted Elsword as he lowered his sword. "You thought since I was a kid you could push me around eh? Well that ought to show you." Said Elsword as he walked off to pick up the Elshard in the sack.
I watched as Banthus layed on the floor groaning as he held his chest from the wounds Elsword inflicted on him. "Wow Elsword… you're pretty strong…" I said as stared at the defeated bandits. Elsword just grinned. "I know right?" Aisha just smiled with a sweat mark on the side of her face. "Don't encourage him Rena. Let's not forget Elsword, we were here too you know." I laughed as Elsword stuck his tongue out at Aisha. I wiped my forehead and smiled as I watched them bicker. "You guys sure do like to argue huh?" I smiled as a bead of sweat hung off my cheek. "But what do we do with the elshard now?" we all closed our eyes as we tried to think of a good plan given the situation.
"Hmm, how about we just leave the elshard here? I mean, it belongs here, right?" Elsword proposed. "Well that's a great idea Elsword. Let's just leave the elshard here for some other group of bandits to come steal it again."Answered Aisha sarcastically. "How about we bring the elshard back with us back to the village. Then we can figure out a plan on what to do with the elshard there." She suggested. They both turned to me, their faces seeking my approval to their ideas. "Well, to be honest I kind of like Aisha's plan a little better. With the recent attack here tonight, I think it would be a lot safer at the village tonight, don't you think so?" I asked them. We all looked at each other for a few seconds before we all nodded in agreement, each smiling at each other for a job well done.
-klink, klink, klink-
"What was that?" we all asked. We didn't even notice the little smoke grenade that rolled past our feet. "Well I've got an idea you can do with the elshard." Said an unexpected voice. We all turned around to see a certain bandit with a grin on his face. "Banthus!?" we all shouted.
-Pop, Pssssssssssssh- As what sounded like a grenade of some sort went off.
"Right on time." Smirked Banthus as he pulled a mask down as a purple smoke rapidly filled the room. We coughed as we gagged on the smoke. "I propose that you guys sleep on the matter as we take our leave." Llaughed Banthus. "What…is this…stuff?!" coughed Elsword. "kyaack!...I don't know… but I think…I'm…fading." Coughed Aisha. "Me…too…Ai..sha." I replied as I coughed. I covered my mouth in an attempt to screen some air but it was no use. The smoke was taking its toll as I fell to my knees. I watched as Aisha hit the ground first. Ai..sha…Noo!" cried Elsword, who was holding himself up with his sword. I watched as the other Bandits took advantage and took cheap shots at him, punching him in his gut. I watched as Elsword hit the floor but was still conscious, but bearly. He was at his limit. I coughed some more as I fought with my eyelids to keep them open. "But…how? You… guys…we-"
"Defeated?" Banthus interrupted as he took the elshard from Aisha's unconscious hands, handing it to his men. "Yes we were defeated. But it's amazing what a little health potion can do now isn't it?" he said sarcastically. "Honestly, I should've used the sleeping bomb from the beginning. This was so much easier." Bragged Banthus "Sleeping…bomb…?" I weakly let out. I must have inhaled too much of the smoke because I was on the ground after that. The last thing I saw before my mind went blank was the figure of Banthus walking towards me.
Elsword's POV:
Damn it…that was a lucky punch… But it hurts like hell though… I watched as Aisha and Rena were lying on the ground. Damn it… they're in trouble…I need to do something I thought as I gritted my teeth. I tried to muster some strength into my body, but I could barely budge an inch. Damn it! I cursed in my head. Grrrr…what would Elsa do in this situation? I combed my mind for an answer while I continued to cough while trying to keep conscious.
"Well little miss elfy, We got about an hour before you wake up so lets get you back to our place before we head off to Elder." Chuckled Banthus as he hoisted Rena into his arms and over his shoulder.
"Rena…" I called out to her as I stretched out to her; however my body was too weakened to move. Banthus turned around as he heard me call out her name. "Oh? You don't like this do you brat?"
"Put…her…down…B-Banthus" I said as I glared at him. "Sorry brat, but no can do." Gloated Banthus. "You see this elf here has a prior engagement of fun with me before we head off to Elder. So we'll be taking our leave now."
"You won't…get away…with this…" I responded. I glared as Banthus laughed at me. "Don't worry Rena...we'll save you…"I said as I responded to his laughter. "Well I'd love to see you try, but we'd best be off brat. Let's go men!" Laughed Banthus as he as his men strolled out of the smoke filled room, with Rena and the Elshard in tow. I coughed on the smoke as they dwindled out of view, my eyelids too heavy to keep open. Don't worry Rena…I'll…save you…I promise that…I will…somehow… Those were my last thoughts before the sleep overtook me and my mind went blank.
End of Chapter 5
Digi: -Collapses from exhaustion- Yay, finally done!
Elsword: you can sure say that again
Digi: Yay, Im finally done XD
Elsword: Well you wrote a whole bunch again. And Rena got kidnapped again…. They're gonna be mad at you when they wake up.
Digi: Well thank god they're still asleep.
Elsword: I hope Rena will be ok… Those bandits looked rowdy…She will be ok…right Digi?
Digi: Well that will depend on you Elsword. But I'm rooting for you. Next chapter should be very action-y
Elsword: So will you give me hint as to where they're headed?
Digi: I think I had Banthus give more than enough hints back there. I mean come on, theres only one place before Elder village anyways.
Elsword: Well Excuuuuuse me for choking on sleeping gas to think straight.! I wonder where that scrub Banthus is anyways?
Digi: Hmm…
Meanwhile, with Banthus and his men…
Banthus: Hey tubby, did you remember to grab tequila for our victory mojitos tonight?
Tubby: Hey! My name's not Tubby, Its Harold! T^T
Banthus: DID YOU GET, THE TEQUILA, TUBBY!?
Tubby: Um…no…
Banthus: …..
Tubby: ….
Banthus: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
Back with Digi…
Elsword: Hey did you hear that just now?
Digi: Hear what?
Aisha: zzz…huh?
Digi: See you guys next time.