“That must be Secar up ahead,” said Lucas as the trio trudged through the desert. The sun was no longer visible and nighttime was approaching rapidly. This made the well-lit buildings and street lamps in the distance easily discernible from the surrounding area. Though exhausted from the rigorous journey and numerous monster encounters, the group pressed on toward the city.
“Good,” Hagan replied, wiping the sweat from his brow. “At least we got something useful out of that idiot. Do we have enough gold to get a room for the night and restock on goods?”
Lucas nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”
“While I’m highly anticipating a good night’s rest,” Iris asserted, “I feel that we should use extreme caution during our stay in Secar. Though it will be a great opportunity to gain valuable information relating to both Damiano’s Disk and the recent attack on Azure, I speculate that our presence will be rejected.”
“Right,” Hagan agreed. “We’ve got to be ready for anything. The Cobras don’t exactly seem like the friendliest bunch.”
Iris was correct in her assumption, as the trio was met with immediate resistance when they neared the town’s border. Two large men dressed in armor approached them, equipped with razor-sharp spears and sabers sheathed by their sides. “Halt!” One of them shouted. Lucas, Iris, and Hagan froze in their tracks. “State your business,” the man ordered.
“We’re stranded out here and looking for a place to rest,” Lucas explained. “We’re tired, thirsty, and hungry.”
“Then sleep in the desert and eat sand,” the second man snapped, causing his companion to chuckle.
“You think this is funny, huh?!” Hagan lashed, reaching for his bow.
Hastily reacting, Iris grabbed his arm. “Hagan!” She shot him an intense look. Despite his rage, Hagan realized that he and his friends were in no shape for combat. Biting his lip, he lowered his arm.
“Yeah, I do,” the second man said smugly. “I think it’s hilarious. Now turn back. You’re not welcome here.”
“Unless...” the first man added, “you’re willing to ‘convince’ us to look the other way.”
The second man glanced at his comrade and smiled. He looked back at the trio. “How much gold you got?”
Seeing that there was no other option, Lucas removed the backpack from his shoulders and set it on the ground. Kneeling down, he dug through it in search of the gold.
“What’re you doing?!” Hagan exclaimed. “We can’t trust these guys! How do we know they’re not gonna just take the gold and leave us to die?!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Lucas answered, “we won’t survive out here anyway.”
The men smiled, knowing they had the trio trapped. “Looks like you’re in quite a pickle.”
Iris leaned down beside Lucas. “Our gold is essential for purchasing necessary rations and lodging. Surrendering our funds in order to gain access to Secar will be pointless.”
“That’s a smart girlfriend you’ve got there,” the first man said. “Tell you what, give her to us for the night and we’ll let you in.”
Iris’s eyes widened. “Give them the damn gold.”
“What’s going on?” A third man dressed in a brown hooded cloak asked as he approached from the town carrying a lantern.
The two men turned around to face him. “We were just telling these outsiders that they are not welcome here.”
“Just let us in!” Hagan interrupted. “All we want is a place to rest. Then we’ll be on our way.”
The man in the brown cloak came closer to the trio, walking between the two armored men. He looked at Hagan, then Iris, then Lucas, each of them remaining still the entire time, staring back at the stranger. “What are you looking for in that bag?” the man asked, shining his light on Lucas.
Both of the armored men became nervous. “We had just asked him what he had in there,” one of the men quickly explained before Lucas had a chance to answer.
“He’s lying!” Hagan interjected. “They were asking for a bribe. Lucas was looking for our gold.”
The man in the brown cloak faced the armored men. “Is this true?”
“We weren’t going to let them in,” one of the armored men quickly argued. “We just wanted to see what we could get out of them.”
“See, Lucas?” Hagan remarked. “I told you.”
The cloaked man turned his attention to the trio once again. “Turn back now. This is the only warning I will give you.”
“We can’t,” Iris responded. “We’re stranded.”
“That’s not my problem,” the cloaked man harshly rebutted.
“Come on guys,” Hagan said as he walked back toward the desert, “let’s go. This is just a waste of time.”
Seeing that there was no way they were going to be allowed passage into the town, Lucas collected the backpack and followed. Iris walked behind him. “Hold on,” Lucas shouted, catching up to Hagan, “let me get the lantern. We’re going to need it.” Hagan nodded, a look of frustration on his face from the current predicament.
“Do we have an adequate amount of rations remaining?” Iris queried.
Removing the lantern from the backpack, Lucas replied, “Our water is low. Our last bottle is only half full. We don’t have much food left either.”
“Great!” Hagan barked sarcastically.
Lucas lit the lantern. “So now what?” he asked, slinging the backpack over his shoulders as the trio continued walking.
“I suppose we should begin searching for an appropriate area to rest for the night,” Iris responded.
“This sucks,” Hagan griped. “We’re stranded, almost out of food and water, and we don’t even know which direction goes home.”
“We have to stay positive,” Lucas replied.
Hagan was irritated by the response. “I’m being realistic!” he shouted. “We’re going to die out here! This place is crawling with monsters and we’re all way too exhausted to fight! Sorry if it’s a little hard for me to stay ‘positive!!’”
They continued walking in silence. The stars were coming out, providing a little extra light for the trio in their trek. Still, Lucas waved the lantern carefully as they proceeded, scanning for any sign of trouble. My legs are killing me. Ugh, I’m starting to wish I never even knew about this stupid disk frag–
Regardless of his efforts to keep a lookout for oncoming threats, Lucas was completely surprised when he was tackled to the ground by an imp. The unexpected assault threw the lantern out of his hands, luckily remaining lit when it hit the sand. Hagan reached for his bow but was promptly attacked by two more of the creatures.
Her reaction time slowed from exhaustion, Iris met the same fate as a fourth imp lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. Lucas fumbled for his sword as the imp chomped into his skin. “Ahh!” he yelled, removing the sword from its sheath and stabbing the vicious attacker.
Remembering the knife he had obtained from Aiden, Hagan sliced the neck of the first imp while the second continued to claw at him. Managing to shove the other foe with his free hand, he got to his feet.
Iris, inexperienced with physical combat, and knowing that she was far too drained to conjure, tried with all of her might to throw the aggressor off of her. While she was able to push it away from her, it returned incessantly, only becoming more and more irritated. In a panic, she slapped the imp across its face. This proved to be surprisingly effective. The creature was temporarily dazed by the strike, giving Iris an opportunity to kick the imp away as she fled.
Noticing Iris’s struggle, Lucas hastily finished off her aggressor with a thrust of his blade as Hagan delivered a lethal stab to the final imp. Unfortunately, none of them had a chance to say a word before Hagan was unexpectedly stabbed in his back. He let out a cry of pain as Lucas and Iris turned to see one of the monstrous scorpions pulling its stinger out of him. Hagan collapsed in agony, dropping the knife and prompting Lucas to charge the beast. Thrusting its tail at him, Lucas barely dodged in time. Iris shrieked, helpless to assist in the struggle.
Lucas took a swipe at the scorpion, but it merely blocked his blade using one of its massive pincers. Taking advantage of this, it lunged its stinger at Lucas’s face, who quickly darted his head to the right to avoid it. Lucas stumbled backward. That was close!
As Lucas prepared for his next attempt to defeat the beast, a figure wearing a white hooded cloak emerged with lightning speed from the shadows. Armed with a black katana, the lone figure hacked the scorpion to pieces with little effort. Lucas and Iris both took a few steps back, a look of shock on their faces. The figure looked at them. Its face was completely covered with the exception of its eyes, which were blue.
Hagan struggled to get to his feet but was still in great pain from the scorpion’s attack. “Who ar– agh!!” he fell back down.
Iris ran to his aid. “You need to stay calm. Allow me to inspect your wound.”
Meanwhile, Lucas stared at the mysterious person in the white cloak. “Thank you,” he said. “Who are you?”
“What are you doing out here?” the figure replied coldly. To the trio’s surprise, the voice was clearly feminine.
“We’re stranded,” Lucas replied. “We were going to spend the night in Secar but they won’t let us in.”
“Agggh!” Hagan let out another cry of pain. “Don’t do that!”
“Sorry,” Iris replied. She looked back at Lucas. “I’m afraid Hagan’s injury is more severe than I had initially speculated. It’s also possible that he’s been poisoned.”
The woman in the white cloak approached his body. Iris looked at her but was unsure of what to say. After a brief pause, the woman spoke. “He doesn’t have much time. I’ve seen this before. Most don’t survive more than a few hours after the initial sting.”
“Well my day – agh! – just keeps getting better!!” Hagan shouted.
The woman in white sheathed the katana on her back and walked into the desert. “Carry him and follow me. I can help him if you’d like.” Her tone was apathetic, despite the generous assistance she had offered the group.
Iris looked at Lucas, as though she were leaving it up to him to decide if they should trust the stranger. He gave a nod and looked back to the woman, who continued walking. “Thank you,” he said, sheathing his sword. “Just give us a minute to get him.” She stopped walking as Lucas quickly collected the lantern, still lying on the ground.
The woman in white turned back around. “Hurry up, before I change my mind.”
Lucas was unsure of what to do with the lantern, considering that he and Iris would need both of their hands free to carry Hagan. He approached the woman and handed it to her. “Could you hold this please?”
“I have no need for that toy,” she replied coldly. “I can see clearly without it.”
“I need my hands free to carry Hagan,” he argued.
“Then have her carry it,” she replied, pointing to Iris.
“I’ll need her help carrying Hagan,” Lucas responded, a bit frustrated by the woman’s refusal.
She grunted, snatching the lantern from his hand. “Cry baby,” she muttered. “Now hurry up. I don’t have to do this, you know.”
Lucas and Iris followed the cloaked woman, carrying Hagan with them. There was no conversation along the way, as Lucas and Iris had to use every ounce of physical and mental strength left to tote their teammate. Hagan himself was experiencing a surging pain throughout his body, which seemed to grow more severe as they trudged on. A winged creature swooped from the sky toward the group at one point, but was quickly taken out by the woman in white before Lucas or Iris could react. “We’re almost there,” she said as she returned the katana to the sheath on her back. “Just keep following me.”
Lucas eyed the corpse as they walked by it. A bird-like beast with four wings lay motionless in the sand, a cut delivered with deadly precision across its body. I’m glad she’s on our side. He looked back up at her. At least, I think she is. He tried to read her emotions, but was overcome with Hagan’s feelings, causing him to stumble and nearly drop his ally. He deactivated his power. “Sorry.”
“Are you alright?” Iris asked.
Lucas nodded. “Just keep going.”
At last, the group reached a small isolated shack. The woman in white opened the door and went inside, leaving it ajar behind her for Lucas and Iris. Once they had entered, the cloaked woman set the lantern on a small table and walked over to a drawer. As she searched its contents, she glanced back at the trio.
“Set him face down over there.” She pointed to a corner of the one-room shack in which a shabby looking blanket and pillow lay. Lucas and Iris obeyed, carefully placing their disoriented friend onto the blanket.
Lucas shut the door and took off the backpack, setting it on the ground. He looked around the room, dimly lit only by the light of the lantern. “Is this where you live?” he asked while Iris, completely drained, collapsed into a wooden chair.
“Yes,” the cloaked woman replied, removing a vial of light-blue liquid from the drawer. She approached Hagan’s body. “I discovered it years ago, completely abandoned.”
Lucas took the half-full bottle of water out of the backpack and handed it to Iris, seeing that she was in far more desperate need of hydration than he was. Meanwhile, the woman removed Hagan’s bow and quiver. Then, she took out a dagger and began cutting his shirt off. “Wha... my shirt,” Hagan asserted, his voice muffled by the pillow.
“Do you value your shirt over your life?” the woman asked, removing the vial’s cap. “Now get ready, this is going to hurt.”
After Iris had taken a drink of water, she handed the bottle to Lucas. “Remedium Potion,” she commented, eying the vial in the woman’s hand.
The woman glanced at her before turning her focus back to Hagan. “You know your stuff,” she noted as Lucas quenched his thirst, leaving just enough water for Hagan.
“I’m an alchemist,” Iris informed the woman in white, who was now pouring a small amount of the liquid onto Hagan’s wound.
“Aaaaaahhh!!!” he screamed.
“Suck it up,” the woman ordered calmly. She replaced the cap on the vial and returned it to the drawer. “He will just need a good night’s rest. It’s going to hurt for a while, but it’s nothing a big guy like him can’t handle.”
“We cannot begin to express our thanks for your assistance,” Iris said as Lucas gave the bottle of water to Hagan.
“Yeah, I owe you big time,” Hagan added as he slowly turned on his side to take a drink.
“No thanks necessary,” the woman responded, making her way toward the door. “I have some business to take care of. I’ll be back later. You may sleep here tonight, but I want you out in the morning. If any monsters try to break in while I’m gone you’ll be on your own.” She opened the door and glanced back at them. “By the way... if you want to get into Secar, you have to wait until late at night. Kuraikaji’s nightshift patrol are a bunch of slackers.” She proceeded outside.
“Wait!” said Lucas. “Can we at least get your name?”
“No,” she responded bluntly, exiting the shack and shutting the door behind her.
“Interesting turn of events,” Iris noted.
“Seriously,” Lucas replied. “How are you feeling, Hagan?”
“Like crap,” Hagan grumbled. “Let’s just get some sleep. We can worry about what’s next in the morning.”
Lucas gave a nod. “Oh, by the way. I put the knife you got from Aiden in the backpack.” Without turning his head to him, Hagan gave Lucas a thumbs up.
Turning his focus to the shack’s window, Lucas stared out into the night. I should have read her while she was in here. Oh well, she saved us and gave us somewhere to sleep. She can’t be too bad. Still, I wonder who she is and what she’s doing way out here…