"Are we there yet?" I ask.
"No." Jafray responds.
We have been riding for HOURS in this desert. Wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't so vulnerable to heat. I burn easily.
There was one time that I stayed in the sun for a few hours and then had my face burn to a crisp. I'm not exaggerating, either. I'm pretty sure that I have seen bacon that was less crispy then my face.
"Can I at least borrow a cloth or something? I don't want to look like a piece of bacon." Ugh, I'm probably already starting to get burned.
"Bacon?" What is he-
"Do you call it that?" Calina asks. "We just call it fried pork. Only nobles call it bacon." ... Well now I feel like an idiot. Not the first time, of course.
"You know what? Just give me that cloth." I ask again.
"Fine, here. Just don't annoy me any more." Jafray tosses me a leather cloth.
Eh, I may as well tie this around my face, and-
That's a lot better. Now I just have to wait for a few hours. Or minutes, I hope that the another storm passes by.
Ugh, how much longer do I have to wait? Even if I'm riding on a horse, this is just aggravating.
It's a good thing that I'm not burnt, though. That was the worst week of my life.
Looks like you need someone to talk to. Eh, that wouldn't hurt about now. So, can you perhaps help us here?
Maybe- Maybe not. That depends on what you would do for it. Just warp us a mile ahead, or create a rain cloud or something.
You know what- I will. If you say please. Fine. Please.
Excuse me, I couldn't hear you. Perhaps you should actually speak. What? Then I'll look like an idiot.
Oh well, I guess I may as well let you burn. NO! NO! I DON'T WANT TO BURN!
"Please...?" Jafray and Calina both turn towards me, with the most confused look that I have arguably ever seen.
Did I ever tell you that you are aggravating? You are seriously worse than my sister. And THAT'S saying something.
And I'm proud of it.
"Why did you just say 'Please?' Don't tell me that you talk to yourself." Jafray asks. Great, Jeremiah. Look what you've gotten me into.
"I- uh..." What to do... What to do... "I saw a random sign that said please."
Please let it work- Please let it work-!
"Eh, I didn't see it, but this isn't worth an argument." Calina says. About time she said something, she has been silent for almost this entire ride.
Also, why don't you make it rain already? I went through with my end of the deal.
Fine, but you don't have to be grouchy about it. Good, now I can take this cloth off of my face.
And let there be rain.
Suddenly some rain clouds form off in the distance, signalling that Jeremiah isn't a liar. At least, I hope he isn't.
"Where the hell did that come from?" Jafray yells into the sky.
"Why ask? Just enjoy!" Calina hops off of her horse and runs a few feet into the desert.
... Why not?
I hop off of the horse as well, and join her.
"C'mon Jafray! I know that you want to have some fun!" she screams.
He opens and closes his mouth in protest a couple of times, but eventually gives up. Once again, I'm surprised that he isn't even arguing.
Within a few seconds, a downpour of rain spreads across the desert, turning the once sandy wasteland into an oasis- without the plants.
You know what? I don't see how this can go wrong.
I jump into the wet is-now-mud-and-not-sand and make a mud angel.
"Maturity? I don't need it." I yell out into the sky. Good, I'm finally starting to sound like myself again.
"Mud angel, huh? I may as well join in as well." she hops across from where I am, and falls onto the ground. Jafray does the same.
... Why am I doing this, again? And since when are there angels in Ylisse? It was that plothole that kept me from making that Kid Icarus crossover. Perhaps I should continue that, if I ever get home.
Something feels a little funny here. It's almost like-
PAIN!PAIN! OWOWOWOWOWOWOW! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?
MY EARS ARE RINGING TOO!
Jafray and Calina have jumped up and are trying to say something, but I can't hear them.
Why do they look so scared? It's only a- OHMYGOSHMYARM! MY ARM IS FUCKING SCORCHED!
I think... I think I'm gonna... Faint...
Ugh, what happened?
"Aww... Hello sleepyhead." Jafray..? I'm alive? I look around for a bit. I'm laying in a bed, one of much higher quality than before, and Jaf and Cal are sitting in chairs in front of me.
"What happened..?" My right ear is still ringing, but I can barely hear out of my other.
"Why don't you look at your arm, and then put two and two together." Calina points to my arm.
"My arm? I don't see why that would- WHAT THE HELL!?" My arm... is BLACK! SCORCHED BLACK! "WHAT HAPPENED?!"
"Well, we are pretty sure that you were nearly struck by lightning." Jafray says. "Actually, you WERE, but it wasn't direct." ... How did that happen when I was lying in the mud?
...
...
Jeremiah.
WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?!
Is THAT what that did? I had no idea, sorry. Sorry? SORRY? SORRY?! I could have DIED! I'm surprised that I haven't lost my arm, but that doesn't excuse it!
I'm sorry, I- Forget you, I'm not listening to you anymore.
"So," I ask. "How did you heal my arm up anyways?"
"It took a bit of work." Calina says. "We had to soak your arm in all of the Elixirs that Mustafa gave us."
"Yeah, thanks Ravel." Jafray glares at me.
Seriously? Just, seriously?
"Hold on, we aren't in the desert anymore. Are we in an inn?" I ask them.
"Oh, I completely forgot!" Calina beams up. "We had to carry you to town after we healed you up, and then me and Jafray started talking."
"... About what..?" Pleaseletitbeamercenarygroup. Please let it be.
"Well," she pauses, "We started talking about what we will do now that we were free. At first, he considered going back to thievery. But I made him change his mind."
"Basically, saw a group of brigands off in the distance. She said she wished that she was able to fight them. Of course, we don't have enough people. That's what gave her the idea."
"What is it?" PLEASE LET IT BE MERCENARY-DOM! PLEASE!
"A traveling parade." ...What?
No.
Just no.
That doesn't even make sense.
Let alone involve fighting.
I facepalm myself.
...
"You actually believed that?" Calina giggled.
"Nah, we decided to form a mercenary band." Jafray leans back in his chair.
"YES!" I scream. Wait, why did I just do that? It's not like I didn't know it would happen. Eh, maybe it's because I'll meet some new people. I did mention that there were other OC's, didn't I? Eh, of course I didn't.
"Your arm seems to have gotten better, which is good." Calina adds. "We are hiring some other members tonight at the inn."
It's about midday, so I have plenty of time to spare. Obviously, I've had to cover up my arm with a cloth, to keep from showing the scorch marks. Other than that, I'm perfectly fine.
I walk outside the inn, with Jafray and Calina eating breakfast in there.
The town itself isn't too big. Only has a bar, (Or saloon, if you feel like calling it that,) a few houses, multiple shops, homes, and a square with a few other merchant stands. Not too big compared to Ylisstol or the Plegian capital, which Jafray told me was called Orneir. Weird name, but it could be weirder.
Huh? An Anna shop. Er, mart? Who cares, I'm gonna look.
Open the tent- and...
Wow, it's pretty roomy in here. A lot more than the previous one.
Let's see what they have...
I think that's the Book of Naga.
A handful of Master Seals and Second seals. Still no idea how they work.
And there's also a-
"Wait a minute!"
Oh don't tell me.
"You are the one that knocked down my tent that time!" the Anna says from the other side of the tent.
How did she find out? I thought I blamed it on Owain.
"You aren't fooling anyone. Pay up, or I'll have to pay for you."
... I hope that she means that she'll pay me.
"I have fifty gold. How much will that cover?" I ask her.
"It will have to do... for now." she mutters. "If you ever want to step foot in here, however, you will have to pay me twenty."
"Just twenty?"
"Yes, twenty thousand." she laughs. What? What?
"There is no way that the tent cost that much." I yell.
"Sure it may not, but the things that were stolen afterwards were worth more than that much. Actually they are worth a lot less, but you owe me anyways."
...
RUN!
I step foot out of the tent, and dart straight towards a different shop.
I'm starting to run out of ideas already. What to-
"Help! Get this man away from me!" Huh?
I turn around to see a rather large man, a barbarian by the looks of it, chasing a woman around the square. I do have Draiotoll, right?
... Yup.
Good.
"Leave her alone!" I yell. I unsheathe Draiotoll and run towards the man.
"Or what?" he laughs. Ugh, he looks pretty menacing.
"Or you'll have to deal with me." I can probably fight, despite the injury. Even then, it's on my right arm. I'm left handed, after all.
The man laughs for a minute, before pulling out a decent-sized axe.
I rush towards him, aiming for his neck.
Just gotta get his- WHAA?!
Did he just dodge it? How is he faster than me?
Probably just luck.
I quickly climb up and turn back towards the man.
"Is that all ya got, boy?!" he taunts.
C'mon! I just have to land one hit on him!
I slash in his direction again, only to have it miss- AGAIN!
"My turn, ya runt!" he raises his axe.
What? Run! RUN! RUN! I just gotta- GAH! Now there's an axe sticking out of my arm, and not the scorched one either. Just... OW... walk it off... Agh, the pain!
I fall onto my knees, nearly in tears.
"Dawww... What's the matter? Little boy thinks he can be the hero?" the man laughs again, before kicking me in the face.
Damn... I think the blood loss is starting to kick in... I'm gonna...
I'm... gonna...
I fall to the ground, unconscious.
"Hello again, sleepyhead." ... Do you have to say that EVERY time I wake up, Jafray? That may have been clever the first time, but now it's just getting old.
"So... I passed out again." I tell myself out loud.
"Yeah, you got beaten baaaaad." Jafray laughs.
"I have some good news, and some bad news." Calina says.
"I'd prefer the good news first." I tell her.
"Well, the good news is that we had a priest heal your arm with now trouble. You'll be fine by tonight." she smiles.
"So..." I ask. "What's the bad news?"
Her smile goes away.
"The brigand stole your sword."
Okay, another chapter done. Still, WHY NO REVIEWS? Seriously, what am I doing wrong? I have had not a single review since chapter two. Even then, it was only one.
I may as well add that I mentioned the story that I was originally going to upload somewhere in the story. So yeah, it WAS going to be a Kid Icarus/Fire Emblem crossover, but it's probably not going to be published.
Review. Please. I know for a fact that people are reading this, and I NEED some opinions and advice.