Chapter 9: King Sage: Friend or Foe?
Olsen ran and ran, trying to find some relief from the feverish hell all around him. Everywhere he looked, buildings were either on fire or smoldering piles of charcoal. Over and over, Olsen called out for his friends, the other Guardians, but none of them answered. His search felt like it lasted for hours with no result until he tripped and fell face-first into the slimy covering the ground.
"Matthew, Helen, Jack… Jenny. WHERE ARE YOU!" he shouted to the sky until he looked up to see Jenny's arm loosely holding her bow, the sinews broken and burning amidst the flames.
"Jenny!" he exclaimed, running over to her and holding her up, wrapping his Mantle around them to shield against the flames. May surprised him as she came up to him with a bow in hand, drawing his dagger ready to attack.
"Olsen! It's me!" she called, instantly backing away, and Olsen relaxed and turned his attention back to Jenny.
"Jenny. Jenny, wake up!" he pleaded as he held her close until her eyes fluttered open.
"Olsen, you're alright, thank goodness." Olsen felt something on his hand and held it up in the orange light, seeing that his hand was covered in blood. He looked saw a branch had driven itself through the side of her gut, possibly from a blast.
"We've got to get you out of here and to somewhere safe, you're bleeding." He grunted, putting his hands under her, gently picking her up and picking a path through the debris. Sometimes Jenny would wince as the steps sometimes moved the wood.
"Olsen?" May called, drawing his attention to a dark figure riding a fierce red dragon hovering above them, wearing a cloak resembling the Black Mage. May turned to the dragon, pulling an arrow out of Jenny's quiver and drawing it in her bow.
"May, don't! There's nothing that you can do. I couldn't even do anything." Jenny strained, trying to sit up in Olsen's arms but stopped by shooting pain in her gut.
"Jenny, you told me once that I could do what you do. I will do it! It should be the parents that protect the children, not the other way around." she let the arrow go, which fell short of its intended target, the dark Dragon Rider.
"May, just go. You'll be killed if you stay here!" Olsen shouted as the figure then held up his hand and waved it forward, commanding the Manon breath their deadly fires on them. Olsen dropped Jenny's legs as he pulled May down under his Mantle, bracing himself against the wall of flames. But the flames never came. Olsen slowly lowered the Mantle, seeing a massive black dragon, armed in gold plated armor while a young man rode atop the dragon with a glowing blue wand in hand.
"Leave him to me… He's my enemy and mine alone."
Two Days Previous
A week had passed since Olsen had taken on the giant crab King Clang, but his condition worsened since that day as he exuded flu-like symptoms. Mr. Do did the best he could with the medicinal herbs on hand, but no matter what he and his friend Tae Sang did, they couldn't bring his fever down. Even the specially trained doctors from the Omega Sector at the bottom of Ludibrum, couldn't find an answer. Even examining the sore-like wound on his cheek provided no concrete solution.
"I remember hearing about something like this happening in Florina before." Chief Tatamo said as he hobbled into the room where Jenny, Mr. Do, and Dark Lord all stood. In the middle lay Olsen, who had become bedridden, sweating in torrents and yet feeling cold.
"What was it?" Jenny asked, reaching for Olsen's hand, gently squeezing it.
"It has something to do with King Clang's blood. This was before Grendal left for your world, but King Clang's blood has a virus within it that survives off of body heat. Since the body naturally becomes warmer when it catches a virus, the virus becomes even more potent. To compensate, the body will become warmer, only fueling the virus further. The cycle will only continue until the host is dead." Mr. Do stood from his chair and walked to Tatamo.
"Is there any way to stop that from happening to Olsen?" he asked. Jenny placed a cold towel on Olsen's forehead after dipping it again into a bowl of water.
"There is." Answered Grendal as he entered and hovered over to Olsen, holding his hand above his chest.
"The only thing that will cure this virus is an All Cure. It saved the man from before life, and Tae Sang can make one, but we need something scarce to make it."
"What is it? I'll go and retrieve it myself." Jenny exclaimed, standing and dawning her bow and arrows.
"It is a vial of blood from Zakuhm before he was turned into Minerva's stone guardian."
"You mean, it's impossible to make?" Jenny asked, her hopes slowly fading into the wind.
"Unfortunately, yes. Before Zakuhm was transformed, All Cures were abundant existed in Ossyria. Since the Black Mage's rise, all of those cures have been destroyed or gone missing. For now, however, this will help." From his garb, Grendal produced a small bottle of a thick orange liquid, no bigger than a thimble. He poured it into Olsen's mouth, which made him glow a warm orange and bringing his fever down 3 degrees.
"We can't use these too much. Just like the Mana Elixirs, if you use them too frequently, your body will become dependent on them and won't restore itself."
"Ok, that's good to know Gramps, but how do we get a hold of this blood of Zakuhm?" Jenny stated as Helen walked into the house.
"There used to be a vile of it in Zakuhm's sanctuary, but like the Dark Crystal, it too disappeared. However, there is one that might know where to get something that would be equivalent to the blood."
"I hope you don't mean him, Grendal." Dark Lord asked as he removed the scarf from around his face. Jenny and Helen looked back and forth, trying to figure out if there was a joke they had both missed.
"Yes, unfortunately, I do; The Sage King."
"The overweight cat that thinks he's a human?" Helen asked. Grendal shook his head in reply
"He is human Helen, and he would be the only one to know of an equivalent. But he is a cutthroat merchant, selling information only if a person can meet his price, which is often steep." Jenny looked back at Olsen as he lay peacefully asleep now that his fever had dropped. All the years that she had known him came rushing through her mind, even the treasured moments that she had finally told him her feeling.
"Fine; let's go see this, Sage King. I'll beat the information out of him if I have to," she said as she pulled her Mantle over her shoulders, a dark green glow flaring around her as she walked out. Grendal, Helen, May, Gregory, and Athena all went with, as she thought with her emotions and not her head. Matthew and Jack stayed behind to guard the town. Greg and May insisted that they come along since they were tired of being left in the dark about their daughter Helen's outings. They would rather know what that she was doing rather than be left wondering whether or not Helen would be coming back alive.
With Athena's direction, the small group strolled through Tae Sang's peach farm on the side of a mountain, leading up to the shrouded and foggy Goblin Forest. Hours passed with Athena at the lead as they climbed up ropes, and ladders, crossing rope bridges with gorges hundreds of feet deep. Many times, they would have to wait for Greg and May as the thin air was starting to get to them. This outing made them have greater respect for their daughter, who faced things like this all the time. Soon their way began to become obscured as the fog became thicker until Jenny in one swing of her bow blew the mist away for a while until she would have to swing again.
It wasn't long until her wind was no longer working and instead made things worse. Helen then stepped to the front, using her now more powerful ice spells to freeze large sections of the fog into ice crystals, dropping into the gorge below. Unfortunately, something else was caught in the frost. It turned to them seeming to bounce slightly with an old book attached to its body. A bright light shone on its forehead, followed by thousands of the same lights appearing in the fog. As soon as Grendal saw the lights, he stopped cold, holding his hand back, and readying a spell.
"Helen, Jenny. Don't attack anything, you won't be able to vanquish these Ghosts of History, they are far too strong for you. Athena! Make us a hole!" Grendal called as Athena drew her bow, a blue dragon's head appearing around the arrow, roaring as the arrow was released, making books drop to the ground, and smoldering pages fly into the air.
"Mom, Dad, Stay right behind us. If you fall behind, I want you to shout and let us know." Helen said as she grabbed both of their hands and began running after Athena. Jenny was close behind while Grendal protected the rear. Because of the thick fog, the group soon found themselves trapped within a cave, the ghosts blocking them in. Athena and Grendal did their best to keep them at bay, but despite using their most powerful spells and abilities, the ghosts pushed them further back within the cave. Soon, Grendal and Athena began to fatigue as their mana ran low, letting a few ghosts almost get by them.
"Helen! Don't let these ghosts touch you. They have access to all the history of Ossyria as a collective. If they touch you, that part will age so quickly that it will turn to dust!" shouted Grendal, blasting another ghost and its book into ash. Jenny began to worry; she had started out on this journey to save Olsen's life, and now she was on the brink of losing her own when a young woman's voice echoed in her head.
"Trust in the power of the Emerald Crystal, my child." With each passing minute, Athena, and Grendal became slower and slower as their mana reserves vanishing right before their eyes. Taking a breath, Jenny gripped her bow while the composite bent under her grip, slowly drawing it as a glowing green arrow sparked into existence. Her bow hummed with a lime-colored light taking on a tribal design while a whirlwind wrapped around the shaft.
"Helen! Throw your fire at my arrow. GUYS GET DOWN!" Grendal and Athena looked back as Helen threw a small fireball at the Spine Arrow, igniting it into a green inferno. Athena and Grendal fell to the ground covering their faces as Jenny let the arrow go. The firestorm obliterated the ghosts, glassing the cave, and leveling the trees standing in front of the cave. Once the flames died down, it left the rocks smoldering orange with the stumps of trees smoking. A thick cloud of ashen pages fell all around the cave entrance in an eerie silence.
May and Gregory could only stare in wide-eyed amazement and. Both of these girls together had just unleashed a massive blaze, without thinking of the complications. Athena and Grendal picked their heads, looking around at the devastation created with the releasing of one arrow.
"Be sure and give us a little more warning before pulling a stunt like that again." Grendal smiled, pushed out of the way by Jenny as she walked past him, waiting impatiently for the others to follow her. Unbeknownst to them, a figure's eyes smiled, and he sat above the cave. He had found what searched for, and he would make sure this time they would not survive. The Black Mage had nothing on him, and he would show him that he was more worthy to rule the world.
"Evan, you won't stop me this time." he thought, disappearing into the fog.
"Is everyone alright?" Helen asked as she knelt down beside Grendal and Athena, beginning to heal their small wounds.
"We can't wait here; Olsen is running out of time," Jenny ordered as she bounced her foot impatiently. Quietly they filed out of the cave, feeling that one wrong comment would tip the balance against them. Helen tried to break the odd silence around Jenny, but it seemed that no matter what she was going to try to say, it would all seem insensitive to the fact that she didn't want to lose Olsen. Before long, soft cries from within the fog began to rise as cats dressed like scholars melted out of the mist. Everyone's arms were taken by one of these cats and led to a large palace entrance carved into the face of a cliff reaching high into the sky.
"Well, well, well… I was expecting you to reach here sooner, especially with the condition of your friend." Said a voice, almost having a cat-like property to it. A large shadow loomed just outside of the dull orange light of sunset, breaking through the fog.
"If you know that, then you know why we're here." Jenny snarled as she pulled free of the cats holding her arms.
"Yes, yes. All in good time." The figure said as it floated out into the light, revealing an enormously fat man sitting atop a cloud. Around his waist was a tiger skin with the tail hanging behind him while a beautiful red cloak draped over his shoulders, and a steel fan covered his face. His hair was matted down, but because of the two cats on either side of fanning him, his hair pushed up slightly, appearing to have cat's ears. Once he had come out into the light, he closed the fan with a snap, set it in his lap, and put the tips of his fat, paw-like hands together.
"Before that, let up discuss the price of the information that you seek." Jenny sneered, reaching for her bow and pulling an arrow to the ready, mana gathering at tip.
"How about I put one in your head?" Jenny asked angrily. The Sage frowned, flicking his hand. In a blur, Jenny flew backward, landing hard against a boulder.
"I will not tolerate such rude behavior! Do you know whom you are talking to?" Jenny rocked her neck side to side and then drew the arrow again.
"I know that if you don't tell me what I need to know, my… my boyfriend is going to die!" She shouted, walking forward once more to ensure her aim.
"Still, even though someone you care about is on the verge of dying, I must say that I still require a price for this information. I think… nine hundred pages will be fair." Grendal's and Athena's face both fell at the mention of the price as the Sage looked down on the group with squinted eyes before seeing Helen's Mantle.
"I-i-i-is that the Ebony Gaia Mantle of Shadows?!" exclaimed the Sage, pointing a fat a stubby finger at Helen.
"Yes, it is King," Helen replied. The Sage became excited, jumping around in his chair and swinging his arms in circles while making a high-pitched squeal.
"I have been searching for that Mantle since I first became a mage! If you give me that, I will give you all the information that you want! I must have that Mantle!" Helen looked up to the Sage with a stare of hostility, remembering back to what Aran had told her.
"… the ancient writing on the hem of this mantle holds a powerful spell to use against any foe: decipher the writing, and you will be able to wield such power." Helen pulled free of the guards and walked up to the Sage with purpose.
"Helen, No!" Jenny called out.
"Is the reason that you want this Mantle so badly? Because of the spell written on the hem?" Helen asked once she had come to where the Sage stood.
"W-w-why would you ask something like that? I just want the Mantle because of its properties." The Sage laughed, seeming to be absorbed into getting his chubby hands on it, sneakily reaching for it.
"He's lying through his teeth." Helen thought, watching Sage's nervous smile and flitting eyes.
"No, I'd rather pay you nine hundred pages then give this to you." She said as she turned and began walking back to the others. The motion made the bottom hem of the cloak flutter up enough for the Sage to reach out and grab the Mantle.
"I must have it!" he squealed, pulling hard on the fabric. Helen looked back to the Sage with fire in her eyes, holding her hand out and gathering violet-colored mana flame, striking Sage's hand, making him release his grip on it. The Sage reeled and rubbed his burnt skin, staring wide-eyed at Helen as she remained still for a moment, glaring at him as though she were looking through him.
"Y-y-you, are th-th-the Guardian Mage?!" the Sage squeaked. Helen faced him once more and set the end of her Hall on the ground with a sharp clap.
"Yes, I am! And she is Jenny, the Guardian Archer. Trust me, we may be well undertrained, but we could still reduce you to ashes if we wished." Jenny followed Helen's determined speech, drawing an arrow again that hummed with crystal power. The Sage turned back to Helen and flinched as the top of her staff flared with violet mana, smoldering at the center of the ring. The Sage then carefully rethought his position in asking so much from these children. Yes, he was right for asking such a price for the information, but on the other hand, the archer was driven by emotion. There was no greater furry when one's power was fueled by the pain of hurting loved ones.
"Alright! There is one thing that will serve as a substitute for the blood of Zakuhm, just don't hurt me!" Jenny lowered her bow, and Helen calmed her spell, allowing the Sage to continue.
"Around the Lyth Bay area is a meadow where Mano, the oldest snail in Ossyria, loves to come and sit in the sun. If you can convince him to give up a piece of his shell, you can grind that up, and it will serve as a substitute." Jenny came up and used the end of her bow to turn Sage's head to her.
"Are you telling the truth?" she asked with a growl.
"Yes! Yes, that's the truth! Grendal would know what else that you need to make an All Cure!" Jenny pulled her bow back and took a step away from him, sharply looking back to him.
"If I find that you lied, I will come here myself!" A green flame flared around her body for a moment as if to solidify her threat against him.
"We're going back to town and getting on the first ship ready to Victoria." Jenny huffed as she led the way back down the mountain, the group disappearing into the fog. The Sage wiped the sweat from his forehead and shivered, letting the thought of a child killing him sink in.
"So, tell me, Sage King. Do you fear them that much? You who have called yourself 'The Sage King', and yet you are afraid of a mere child?" The Sage looked around to find the source of the voice, seeing a pair of lilac glowing eyes in the fog. The Sage squinted for a moment to better understand and then smiled.
"You? What do you want from me?"
"I seek only information. Where is the village where they are hiding in?"
The Black Mage growled: that boy had been a thorn to him ever since the re-gathering of the Black Wings. When would he learn that there was no one more powerful than himself? Eleanor came walking up behind the Mage and put her arms around his chest.
"Is something bothering you?" The Mage faced her for a moment, returning to the crystal ball, showing a cloaked figure, similar to The Mage, speaking to the Sage King.
"It is amusing to know that he thinks he could overpower you." Eleanor snickered, moving to the front.
"If you would like, I could deal with him myself and rid the world of this little annoyance of yours." The Mage only shook his head, holding up his hand as a picture of their friend Mr. Giant waddling down a path.
"If all goes as planned, they should meet in Lyth Bay just as they are finishing with Mano." The Mage nodded his head in response as questioning whispers surrounded her, dispelling the picture.
"Yes, I did put the weakening spell on him. They should be able to release Mr. Giant from his stony seal and let the gentleman in him shine out." The Mage's eyes smiled as he bent down and kissed the top of Eleanor's head, looking out the window of his fortress where the ocean could be seen in the distance.
"You will be made to understand what it is to wield power. Fate shall be your teacher, dragon rider." Eleanor thought, turning from the Mage and disappearing in a cloud of black mana to her own room of research.
Jenny stood at the bow of the ship alone, looking up at the stars. She tried to imagine what her life would be like without Olsen in it, thinking back when they had first met as kids:
Jenny had wandered off in the mall away from her mother, thinking since her mom always called her a big girl that she could go off on her own. Little did she know how big the mall really was, and soon she was lost, searching up and down the racks of clothes, unable to find her mother's familiar green eyes and comforting arms. Eventually, she crawled under a rack of clothes and cried, wishing that her mother would come up and find her right where she was. From nowhere, a boy with golden hair knelt down and asked her what was wrong.
"I'm lost, I can't find my mommy." She cried, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. The boy held out his hand to her, telling her that he knew of a place where her mommy would be able to find her just like that, snapping his fingers. Something in Jenny's mind told her that she could trust him, letting herself be led to the service counter where the boy asked her name, telling the man behind the counter the situation who then called for her mother over the loudspeaker.
"You'll be alright. Your mom will be here shortly." He said as he turned to leave with a stern-looking man waiting for him. Jenny grabbed his hand and held on with all the strength of her tiny hands. The boy looked back to whom she assumed to be his father, who crossed his arms and waited.
"My name's Olsen." The boy said. But Jenny said nothing; she was feeling too scared. Within minutes, her mother came right to them, hugging Jenny tightly and then walking hand in hand back into the mall.
"Olsen, I think it was that very moment that I began to love you." she thought as she looked out over the star-filled sky. May came up behind her, not really sure what to say until Jenny laughed and turned back to her.
"It's ok. I'm not gonna turn you into ash." May laughed nervously and walked up closer to her.
"Tell me something, Jenny. Aren't you ever afraid of these things that you encounter?" Jenny nodded.
"Sometimes, I'm scared out of my mind."
"So why can't your parents do the job? They seem hundreds of times stronger." Jenny sighed and turned to her.
"Because we may be weaker, but they no longer carry the power to defeat the Black Mage. We do: we may be scared, but we have an entire world counting on us to stop him. So we have to press on despite our fear."
"That seems like such a heavy burden. I know I couldn't do it." May said with a downcast face. Jenny looked back and smirked as the sky began to change into reds and pinks with the rising of the sun just over the horizon.
"You could if you had to. Here, I'll show you how to use a bow. It's easy." Jenny said, holding out her bow to her. May at first refused, but after many an insistence from Jenny, she took the bow and borrowed her Aqua Brace gloves. Jenny then 'molded' her into perfect form while May performed multiple draws and releases on the Vaulter. Athena stood on the stairs leading to the hold watching as Jenny taught the very basics of using a bow.
Athena smiled as she watched them: Jenny would make an excellent master archer one day. She decided against telling them of their soon decent and walked back into the hold until they landed in Lyth. Weaving their way around thickets and brambles surrounding the town wasn't easy. Greg noticed that some of the trees had small rubies or sapphires clinging to them, seeing instead they weren't jewels, but brightly colored snails. Just as he reached out to pick one up, Grendal slapped his hand.
"Don't touch them. Those snail's shells produce a potent poison that could kill you if stayed on your skin too long." As they searched, stickers and foxtails caught in their clothes, making the journey to the Shore of Thorns, Mano's home, almost unbearable. After an hour of trekking, they came to a thick wall of vines and thorns. Greg was the first to examine it, searching for a way to spread the brush aside as get through, with little to no luck.
"It's useless. We'll try to see if there's a way around." he sighed. Jenny growled and reached for her bow.
"I don't have time for this!" She took a step back, nocking an arrow, and compressing a massive amount of emerald power at the tip. Athena quickly grabbed May allowing Helen to cover them with her cloak. It wasn't as impervious as Matthew's, but it would at least guard them against the thick vines. Grendal quickly grabbed Gregory and put up a barrier as Jenny let the arrow go, blasting a hole through the vines as if a cake of C4 explosives had gone off.
"Jenny! You can't be so impulsive!" Athena scolded, grabbing Jenny hard by the shoulder. Jenny roughly pulled away and faced her.
"Olsen is suffering from a virus that will kill him if we don't get an all-cure to him. If I had gone with him, then none of this would be happening!" Grendal came up to her, looking at her hard with a blazing light in his usually kind blue eyes.
"Jenny. I understand your pain, but if you continue this way, putting the life of your loved one above anyone else, then you will fail in your duty to Ossyria!"
"How am I supposed to help Ossyria if I can't even help one person I care about?!" Helen stormed between Athena and Grendal, slapping Jenny hard.
"If you can't think with your head in this situation, then you will lose Olsen. Look at the destruction you've caused. That arrow could have obliterated Mono, and then where would we be? If you can't calm yourself, then go back to Herb Town and wait for our return. You're of no use here in this state." She scolded, Amethyst power misting from her back as she spoke. Jenny said nothing for a while as she could only stare at Helen in shock before slumping her shoulders.
"You're right. I'll go." Jenny muttered, beginning to walk away until May stepped in her path.
"Jenny, you can't give up so easily."
"Didn't you hear what Helen said? She's right." Grendal came to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and speaking with a much more gentle tone.
"Mr. Do began working on more Orange Peel potions as we were leaving. He knows how much to use and how much can be used before his body becomes dependent on it. Olsen will be fine, I promise, as long as you can calm yourself." Grendal assured her. Jenny sighed profoundly and nodded her head, turning back to the hole she had made, stepped through. What the vines revealed was a sanctuary. Hundreds of shrubs surrounded them with snails crawling on the leaves while small drops of dew dropped to the ground. The whole of the group felt tranquility wash over them, uniquely calming Jenny.
"Well, you sure are a bunch that's in a hurry. Blowing a hole through my house and then coming in without my invitation is such… Oh! Masters of Ossyria! My apologies! I didn't know it was you." A giant snail said, curling his head down slightly.
"It's alright, old friend. But we did come here to ask you for something." Grendal smiled.
"Of course! Anything to help the Masters of Ossyria!" Mano said as he glided before them. His mustache drug on the ground while his shell shone in the sunlight, making rainbows come to life all around him. He was, however, smaller than Jenny or Helen imagined him; the top of his shell came just below their shoulder, but the moss and lichens that grew on his it brought his height to about ear level.
"We have a dear friend of ours that has the Burning Virus. Zakhum's blood has all gone, and the only other thing that will serve as a replacement is a piece of your shell." Mano nodded as he came further forward and looked to Jenny and Helen.
"And who are these two young women with you?" he asked.
"This is Jenny, The Guardian Archer, and Helen, the Guardian Mage." Mano's eyes lit up with a joyous light as he smiled massively.
"I never thought I would live to see the day that the Guardians would arrive! So, is it one of you who have had the unfortunate turn of catching this virus?" Mano asked, looking to one and then the other.
"No, Mano. It's my… it's my boyfriend Olsen, the Guardian Ninja. Please, Mano, I don't want to lose him." Mano nodded and smiled.
"Of course, young lady: There is no greater purpose than to stand a short period of pain to save a loved one." Athena produced a small knife she had brought with her, picking a spot that was closest to the edge of his shell, and quickly cutting a palm-sized piece out of it as Mano flinched.
"I'm sorry, Mano," Jenny said as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
"That's quite alright, Jenny. However, you will need another piece to your puzzle if you are going to make an effective All Cure. You need the Fairy's Tears to complete it; otherwise, the Cure will be useless."
"Where can we find that?" Athena asked. Mano shook his head.
"I don't know. There used to be a great potion maker by the name of Mr. Giant that lived around Leafre. But he disappeared many years ago. If you can find him, I'm sure that you would be able to get it from him." The words echoed in all their minds as they left, repairing the damages they had done, and then returning to Lyth Bay. Yet another lead turned to a dead end.
"Well, it seems the rumors are true, King Sage. You really are a cutthroat merchant, even to the degree that you would let a poor boy die because you want a few hundred more coins." Eleanor smoothly said as she entered the Sage's Palace.
"Well, I do my best. What can I offer you? Or rather, what can you offer me?" the Sage replied sinisterly.
"Oh please, you don't make a very threatening villain." She smiled, pulled back her hood, shifting her weight to one leg.
"I want your knowledge about the remaining husks."
"Those? Hmmm, I might. But I require a chest of coins before I can give you that kind of information." Eleanor looked at him with an annoyed glow in her eyes before producing a small, placing it on the floor.
"Yes, this will do nicely." Sage chuckled, reaching out a hand as the chest levitated into his lap to inspect its contents. Just as he was opening the lid, Eleanor swatted it closed, holding it there as she waited for Sage to begin talking. With a huff, Sage nodded and began.
"My guard cats sometimes have seen something with certain radiances to it near the northernmost shore of the Mu Lung Province. Though I have not been able to confirm this entirely." He scoffed. Eleanor removed her hand, allowing Sage to eagerly open the chest and reveal it to be full of gold bars. Nearly thirty times what he demanded.
"You do know that in giving me this information, you might as well have signed your own death warrant?" the Sage smiled as he reached for a glass of wine that sloshed as he spread his arms.
"I am a trafficker of information and rare items. I get what I can where I can. As long as it makes me rich, I care not for the purpose it is used."
Slowly the saddened group made their way back to Lyth, Jenny especially feeling the weight and rarity of what they needed to find.
"Don't worry; I'm sure that we'll find it somewhere." Encouraged Gregory, who only half-believed what he was saying. Jenny nodded and forced a smile; inside, she felt like breaking down and crying in defeat. She was about to begin speaking when something fell from the sky, the wind whistling around it as it fell. Helen grabbed Jenny and teleported her out of the way time before the thing hit, making a crater through the cobblestone streets. Athena and Grendal prepared to fight, keeping Gregory and May behind them.
The thing pulled its legs free, completely ignoring the fact that Athena and Grendal were at the ready and began walking for Jenny and Helen. The being picked up its heavy arms, but was thrown back by Jenny's bomb arrow into a building. Helen teleported in short bursts to the being while swinging her staff as hard as she could, casting a horrendously potent Ice spell, encasing it. Jenny then released a humming, green Spine Arrow, pushing the thing through the building. For a moment, all was silent until the dust was swept aside by the being as it swung one of its massively muscular arms. Jenny quickly pulled Helen to her side and wrapped them in her cloak, making the wind completely go around them as if they were a solid pillar of stone.
Just as Jenny pulled the cloak back, the being rushed them, throwing them to the ground, its hands around their necks and chest. Athena pulled her bow tight, rings of blue flames bursting to life around the arrow as it flew, only to bounce off the creature's shoulder. The being looked to Athena and opened its yellow eye to her, hitting her and Grendal with another strong gust of wind. Jenny struggled and stretched, reaching for the Silver Crow on her hip, only having the being squeeze tighter. Lights began to pop and sparkle in her vision as she reached for the crossbow until, at last, she had it! Quickly she pulled it up and shoved the tip of it into the gut of the creature, which made him look down to where the bolt had pierced through his clothes.
"Take this, you bastard!" she growled and pulled the trigger. The bolt broke through the rock of the being's body and burst from his back in a blast of green flames, making him reel and let go, holding the area where the hole was. Jenny jumped to her feet and began firing arrows, having an aqua flame around them as the arrows pierced the rough skin of this monster. Cracks began to appear everywhere an arrow hit, until an arrow struck him in the head and pushed him back to the ground, shaking as he fell. Grendal ran over to Helen, who had passed out while the creature held them around the throat, making her with a healing touch.
"Where's is that thing?" she asked, sitting bolt upright.
"Don't worry about it; I took…" Light billowed from behind her as the creature rose from the ground. The cracks around the arrows shining with the same color. The cracks spread across its body until it exploded, making the group cover their face to avoid the debris.
"Are you two, Jenny and Helen?" a comforting voice asked. Helen lowered her arm to reveal a man dressed in an elegant black suit, with grey hair and stylish shades to cover his eyes.
"Y-yes," Helen replied nervously. The man walked to them and knelt on one knee, crossing an arm over his chest.
"I'm glad that I was able to find you. I believe this, the Fairy's Tears is what you are looking for." The man reached into his jacket and produced a dark pink, gem-like bottle with a yellow glow emanating from the liquid within.
"H-h-how did you know we needed that?" Jenny asked as she carefully took the bottle and stared at it.
"I had stopped by the Sage King's residence to ask if anyone had come seeking a way to cure the Burning Virus. He said that indeed you had and had gone to Mano to seek a piece of his shell, and so with that information, I came here."
"Wait! If you just wanted to give us this, then why in the world did you attack us?" Helen shouted as she stood, feeling lightheaded, and being steadied by Gregory.
"I needed to attack you. If you weren't the ones in search of this, then there would have been no way that you would have cracked my stone shell. I'm sorry for the trouble that I caused you. Now hurry, if you don't leave now, you'll be too late. Your friend won't last long without the All Cure." The group ran to the ship just as it descended, but Jenny stopped then ran back and hugged the man tightly while a few grateful tears fell from her eyes.
"Thank you, mister," she whispered and then turned and ran for the ship just as the turbines rose and pushed the boat across the water and into the air. Mr. Giant sighed while his face became hardened as he reached into his pocket and pulled from it a winged onyx broach, attaching it to his jacket and touching the blue gem in the center.
"The potion has been delivered, master." A hazy image of the Black Mage appeared before him, with eyes smiling, whispers hissing all around him, motioning to the side as a young woman with flowing black hair, a ruby crested hairband, and white wings stepped into the picture.
"Hey, Giant! Long time no see! You look as good as ever." Mr. Giant stared for a while at the young woman before him. He had found her as just a baby, taking her in and raising her as his own daughter.
"Oberon, I see you've come back to pay your father a visit. We'll talk in detail as soon as I get back and settle things with the Mage."
"Eldan, you know that I don't think of you as my father anymore." She giggled while Giant rolled his eyes. In her late teenage years, he had told her the story of how he had found her and that she wasn't really her father. She took it in a completely unexpected way, treating him more so as her lover rather than a father. It was strange, and Eldan couldn't fully accept it, but he would endure it as long as it would help the Mage conquer the world. The blurry image of Oberon and the Mage winked out as Giant looked up to the shrinking ship that carried Jenny and her friends back to Herb Town.
"I'm sorry to have betrayed your trust, Lady Jenny." He mumbled to himself. The group returned to Mu Lung quickly, allowing Tae Sang to promptly use the items, as well as herbs and roots he had collected for just such a potion. Within minutes, Tae Sang had poured the last drop of the medicine into a bottle and passed it to Jenny, who rushed out the door.
"Normally it would be more potent given time to stew. But since we don't have that kind of time, it will be just fine." Irena caught up to her riding on her personal mount, Shinjou, and took her to Herb Town even faster. When Jenny burst through the door, Olsen was writhing and drenched in sweat. His core temperature had reached a dangerous 107 degrees. Dr. Kim quickly opened the All Cure and pulled back on the syringe plunger, pulling the golden-orange liquid into the cylinder. Once he was sure that the air had been squeezed out, he connected it to an I.V. line stuck into his arm. Jenny knelt down beside Olsen's bed and gripped his hand, scared that she hadn't made it in time. The All Cure flowed into his veins, making them swell and glow a bluish brown color. Olsen arched his back for a moment before falling silent on the bed, still as a stone. Jenny looked up to the doctor who looked back and forth from Olsen to the monitors that continuously scanned his body.
"Come on, Olsen, you've fought it off until now. Don't give up on me." Jenny pleaded, taking his hand in hers. The next few tense moments passed in silence, everyone held their breath in anticipation, waiting for something to happen. The machine beeped, signaling that his core temperature had fallen to 104 degrees, falling further with each minute. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Jenny collapsed from exhaustion onto the cot, still holding onto Olsen's hand. Olsen opened his eyes slightly, and looked over to Jenny as she slept, smiling and whispering:
"Thank you, Jenny."
The dark figure waited in the shadows at the edge of Herb Town, watching the people, completely unaware of the army that stood just beyond the light of their torches. The figure looked searched for Evan or the Cygnus Knights. But they were nowhere to be seen, nor was any sign given that they had been alerted to his presence.
"This will be almost too easy. With only the pirates, the Masters, and their children to guard this place, I'll be able to take over with a wave of my hand." The figure seemed to laugh, waiting just a bit longer before unleashing his troops. Behind him, the Manon Dragons and Grizzlies Warriors he gathered were itching to charge into the camp and tear it apart. Slowly Sage King's cat guardians came to him carrying a message to the figure.
If you would like, I would offer the assistance of my Cats to help you. I still would like to show that young mage who is really the one to fear. The figure nodded and pointed to different places among his troops where the cats went, ready to attack.
Six hours passed once the All Cure had been given to Olsen before Dr. Kim's scanners detected a lessened presence of the virus. Mr. Do came in with a glass of water for Olsen, putting a book of his potion recipes on a table. Olsen had since been able to sit up, letting Jenny sleep where she sat, still holding his hand.
"Jenny is a stubborn one. I bet she would have found a cure even without the potion." He said, offering the glass to Olsen.
"I have no doubt about that," Olsen replied, pulling the covers off of him and getting out of the bed to check on the cut in his cheek from fighting King Clang. Slowly and painfully his pulled the bandage off, revealing the many stitches holding the skin together.
"That was done by Dr. Kim. He did the best he could to patch it up. Even though he stitched it, it will still leave a nasty scar." Olsen smiled and then flinched as the wound buzzed with pain.
"That's alright; it just means I'll have some character." Satisfied with his inspection of the wound, he then pulled on the Shadow armor and secured his Avarice, clipping the twin Bazlud daggers to his belt. Just as he set his hat and secured his Gaia, something made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Danger was close; really close. With a burst of speed, Olsen grabbed Mr. Do and Jenny, then ran out the door just as a giant fireball crashed into the hut and obliterated everything in it.
Quickly Olsen Mr. Do in a safe place while patting Jenny's face to try and wake her from her sleep. Once she had, the two of them returned to the village, seeing hundreds of Manon and Grizzlies shredding the town and killing anyone that came too close to them. Olsen spotted a child and his mother trapped in a corner by a grizzly, the mother pleading while the bear sharpened his claws. Olsen put all he had into trying to get between them as fast as he could. He hurled stars at the bear's paw but missed as the bear began his swing with the other instead. Olsen screamed at the top of his lungs in frustration, trying to scrape every last ounce of strength out of his legs. But something landed just in front of the mother and child, making his claws spark off of a golden wall.
"GO! GO! GO!" Shouted Matthew as the two of them ran in the direction Matthew pointed while he tried to fight off the bear. But even using the Ruby crystal's power in tandem with his mana didn't grant him enough speed or strength to get passed the bear's martial defenses. Even using the lighter Traus sword, he couldn't swing fast enough. Matthew howled with effort, tucking in his shoulder and pushing the bear back as far as he could. Jenny heard a child in a house cry out for their mother; She and Olsen ran in and tried to wrap the child in his cloak, but the child refused to move, pulling on the hand of her mother who lay trapped under a heavy main beam of the house.
"Please! Just take my daughter and go!" she shouted above the roar of flames.
"I'm not going anywhere!" Olsen growled back, taking his daggers from their sheaths and digging them into the beam, trying to lift it off of her. Try as he might, he just couldn't budge it. All the debris from the house had made it impossible for him to lift. Jenny readied her bow, shooting down the incoming forces as fast as she could. The woman screamed, drawing Olsen's attention to see a Manon unleashing a blast of flames. Grabbing the child, he knelt down over the woman, allowing the Crimson Gaia to guard them. Once the Manon had passed, Olsen tried again to lift the massive beam. Jack appeared from nowhere and grabbed on, making the lifting more manageable, but still, they couldn't lift it enough to get her out. Jack growled as a red glow surrounded his arms and hands. Inch by inch, the beam rose. But their lifting wasn't fast enough as the Manon circled around again and took a breath. The woman screamed again as she struggled to get free, Olsen and Jack shouted as they too tried to lift the beam just a bit more before the Manon bore down on them.
Just as the dragon was to unleash its flames, Lillianne cut the dragon in two, leaping through the village and taking down one attacker after another. Aran and the Cygnus Knights appeared soon after, fighting back the incoming onslaught. With the extra time, Jack and Olsen were able to free the mother, which Jack escorted to safety. Jenny smiled at Olsen and was about to speak when a fireball exploded next to them, hurling them to the far side of the village, still burning with fervor. Olsen struggled to his feet, trying to fight back his pounding head and survey where he was. But everything had been incinerated to a black wasteland leaving him unable to gain his bearings.
Olsen ran and ran, trying to find some relief from the feverish hell all around him. Everywhere he looked, buildings were either on fire or smoldering piles of charcoal. Over and over, Olsen called out for his friends, but none of them answered. His search felt like it lasted for hours with no result until he tripped and fell face-first into the slimy covering the ground.
"Matthew, Helen, Jack… Jenny. WHERE ARE YOU!" he shouted to the sky until he looked up to see Jenny's arm loosely holding her bow, the sinews broken and burning amidst the flames.
"Jenny!" he exclaimed, running over to her and holding her up, wrapping his Mantle around them to shield against the flames. May surprised him as she came up to him with a bow in hand, drawing his dagger ready to attack.
"Olsen! It's me!" she called, instantly backing away, and Olsen relaxed and turned his attention back to Jenny.
"Jenny. Jenny, wake up!" he pleaded as he held her close until her eyes fluttered open.
"Olsen, you're alright, thank goodness." Olsen felt something on his hand and held it up in the orange light, seeing that his hand was covered in blood. He looked saw a branch had driven itself through the side of her gut, possibly from a blast.
"We've got to get you out of here and to somewhere safe, you're bleeding." He grunted, putting his hands under her, gently picking her up and picking a path through the debris. Sometimes Jenny would wince as the steps sometimes moved the wood.
"Olsen?" May called, drawing his attention to a dark figure riding a fierce red dragon hovering above them, wearing a cloak resembling the Black Mage. May turned to the dragon, pulling an arrow out of Jenny's quiver and drawing it in her bow.
"May, don't! There's nothing that you can do. I couldn't even do anything." Jenny strained, trying to sit up in Olsen's arms but stopped by shooting pain in her gut.
"Jenny, you told me once that I could do what you do. I will do it! It should be the parents that protect the children, not the other way around." she let the arrow go, which fell short of its intended target, the dark Dragon Rider.
"May, just go. You'll be killed if you stay here!" Olsen shouted as the figure then held up his hand and waved it forward, commanding the Manon breath their deadly fires on them. Olsen dropped Jenny's legs as he pulled May down under his Mantle, bracing himself against the wall of flames. But the flames never came. Olsen slowly lowered the Mantle, seeing a massive black dragon, armed in gold plated armor while a young man rode atop the dragon with a glowing blue wand in hand.
"Leave him to me… He's my enemy and mine alone." The man said, keeping his gaze locked on the figure who narrowed his eyes. The black dragon rider patted the side of his dragon and charged forwards, obliterating the Manon that stood in front of their leader. The red dragon rider flew after the other one. Flashes light appear in the sky as both the dragons and their riders launched powerful attacks at each other. A blast of flames meeting between them lit the area up and put out the fires from a wave of wind that ripped through the sky, sending the red dragon and its rider streaking deep into the Minar Forest.
Once their leader had gone, the Grizzlies and Manon scattered. Quickly the black dragon rider came back and offered a ride to find some help for Jenny. Once Olsen was sure that Jenny would be taken care of in the village, he found Helen, telling her that he had seen cats running away from the scene.
With a disappointed sigh, she told him about the guards that stood around Sage King, who had given the information about Mano's shell. Olsen became enraged. Hot pink flames flared around his body and slowly swayed in the air, making his eyes glow, while small threads of power felt all over his body.
"Take me to him!" he growled, trying his best to stay in control. Helen retrieved Oz, who then teleported them right to the Sage King in a hellish firestorm. Sage put down his glass of wine and hovered to the front of his palace.
"Helen, let me borrow your Gaia for a moment," Olsen asked as he watched the man close in. Once she had given it to him, he began his march to the Sage. The Sage launched many a magic spell, each easily deflected as blue sparks after hitting the Mantle. Olsen appeared standing next to the Sage, grabbing him by the shirt.
"Did you assist the attack the people of Herb Town?!" Olsen sneered. The Sage grinned, locking eyes with Olsen.
"That little wench standing there needs to be taught who it is that she should fear…" The Sage was silenced as Olsen planted a foot in his face, throwing to the floor. Olsen then hauled him from the ground by his shirt, standing on his chest.
"I will ask you one last time: Did you help in the attack of Herb Town?" The Sage eyed him with disgust, finally giving him an answer.
"Yes, Yes, I did." Olsen swiftly struck him across the face, an edge of metal from his Avarice catching Sage's cheek and tearing a small chunk of flesh out.
"You bastard! Why don't I do the world a favor and just cut out your heart right here and now!?"
"You wouldn't be able to do that even if you wanted to. Are you going to throw your life away that your precious Jenny saved?" Olsen gritted his teeth while the power of the Pink Quartz seeped from his body and surrounded his Bazlud, moving like flames in a breeze.
"Her life is now in danger because of you! If you ask me, I think that you deserve to die for attacking so many innocent people." Helen took a step forwards to stop him but was stopped by Oz shaking her head.
"Minerva knows what would happen to you if you interfered right now," Oz whispered. Olsen raised his dagger, the blade glowing brightly as he screamed and drove the knife into the rock beside Sage's head, putting a small cut through his ear.
"If you EVER try something like this again, I will kill you." Olsen hissed as he stood, sheathing his dagger and walking back to the other two as the Sage struggled to sit up.
"You will regret threatening the Sage King!" Olsen stopped, and in one quick motion, threw a kunai back. It blade grazed Sage's cheek and put another cut in his ear before burying itself into the rock wall behind him.
"Go ahead, give me a reason." The fire of the Quartz burned hot in his eyes, making Sage remain quiet as they left in a ball of flames. Once they were gone, Sage healed his wounds while he gritted his teeth: one day, that young Ninja would regret making an enemy out of him. As he finished, haunting whispers filled the air around him as Black Mage faded into existence before him.
"What do you mean a pestilence?" Sage asked innocently. The Mage narrowed his eyes, slowly and purposefully walking up to him as more whispers surround them, gradually escalating into thousands of anguish filled voices until The Mage stood over Sage. Sage began grabbing at his throat, as finger impressions appeared in his fat neck, picking him up off the ground, his feet twitching and shaking, beginning to cough and struggle as the grip around his neck became tighter.
"Why do you need mere children? They show no respect for those that have true power within this world! Besides, the little wench made a threat against me, The Sage King! The attack on the village was just collateral damage!" The Mage's eyes narrowed as the Sage screamed out, making his scream echo through the valley, matched only by an equally loud crack making crows flying from the trees. The Black Mage dropped the fat corpse to the ground, leaving the cooling body for the crows while his image faded away into the mist, silence hanging thick in the air.
