Chapter 38: An Unexpected Reunion
“I think I have an idea,” said Lucas, breaking the silence. Iris and Hagan looked at him.
“An idea?” Hagan asked, his mouth stuffed with bread.
“About Secar, I mean,” Lucas clarified. He laid the map of Aria he had been examining on the table and motioned for his companions to come closer and take a look. He pointed to a region labeled, ‘Hravart Desert.’
“Secar is in the southern part of the desert,” he explained as Hagan and Iris approached, eying the map. Lucas slightly slid his finger down the chart. “If we can manage to take out Kuraikaji and the Cobras, we could escort the people here to Valletal, a town in the Jhar Mountains to the south.”
“Interesting proposal,” Iris commented. “I must admit that such a massive migration could prove to be a toilsome challenge. Regardless, I feel that Secar will likely suffer without protection and there is no other ethical option.” She turned to Hagan. “Would you like to express an opinion?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Hagan responded, crumbs flying out of his mouth as he finished the last of his bread. “It’s not going to be easy protecting all those people from monsters with just the three of us, though.”
“Maybe Sezuni will help us,” Lucas suggested.
Hagan glanced at Sezuni, lost in a deep slumber on the blanket in the corner of the room. He looked back at Lucas. “I doubt it. Even if she was willing to, she probably wouldn’t want to risk being seen by so many people at once. But, I guess it’s the only option we really have other than leaving them behind in a defenseless city.”
“Then it’s settled,” said Lucas, placing his finger back on the map. “After we get the people of Secar to safety, we can head west to reach the Cymbeline region. It’ll give me a chance to check up on Grandpa before we head north to Ivyvyne Village and see Aalok.”
“He prefers to be addressed as ‘Master Bonham,’” Iris informed. “He becomes quite agitated when referred to as ‘Aalok.’”
“Oh,” said Lucas. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
“What if the Cobras have already been to Valletal?” Hagan asked. “If it’s in ruins, they’ll be no better off there than in Secar.”
“I actually thought about that myself,” Lucas responded. “The Cobras we met in the In Between seemed to be on their way to carry out an attack like the one we saw in Azure. I’m thinking that Kuraikaji is sending them to villages far away from Secar to keep suspicion away from him. If that’s the case, Valletal should be safe.”
“Your theory is highly plausible,” Iris remarked. “Unfortunately, we are incapable of confirming its accuracy at this time.”
Lucas folded the map. “Then we’ll just have to take a chance.”
Suddenly, Hagan pointed to the window and shouted, “Is that Aiden?!”
Sezuni awoke instantly. Lucas and Iris quickly turned to see Aiden, a good distance from the shack. He was running as fast as he could from a large group of the brown snake creatures the trio had encountered previously.
Lucas jumped out of his chair and dashed toward the door. “We have to help him!”
“Help him?!” Hagan replied in disbelief. Before he could speak another word, Lucas had already run out the door. “Dammit,” Hagan grumbled, hurriedly equipping his bow and quiver as Iris followed Lucas out of the door.
Sezuni watched Hagan exit the shack before groaning, “Whatever,” and lying back down.
Unsheathing his sword as he bolted toward the monsters, Lucas was surprised when Aiden suddenly stopped and turned to face the pursuing beasts. What is he doing?! He’s going to get himself killed!
“Lumen orbis!”
When Lucas conjured the light orb, Aiden hastily threw his gloves to the ground and his hands erupted in flames. Shocked at the sight, Lucas slowed his pace to an eventual halt as Aiden wildly thrust his palms toward the charging enemies, rapidly firing countless fireballs.
“Oh my,” Iris commented as she caught up to Lucas. “I’ve never witnessed such a technique.” They both watched as the monsters were pelted by the flames. After Aiden had shot the final fireball in his attack, his hands returned to normal. While the fiery onslaught took out a good deal of the snakes, a few dodged the attack. As they got dangerously close to him, Aiden shrieked in terror and continued to run, prompting Lucas to charge the beasts.
Iris took off behind him as Hagan approached where they had stopped. “Wait!” he yelled. Lucas and Iris continued running as Hagan slowed down. “...Dammit!” He darted to catch the pair.
Once he had reached a good vantage point, Lucas halted and threw his light orb at the snake closest to Aiden. While hitting and successfully injuring it, this caused the remaining two serpents to change direction toward him. He gripped his sword.
“Glacies crystallos discus!” Iris shouted, materializing a large snowflake in her right hand. She came to a stop beside Lucas and threw it much like one would throw a Frisbee. It whirled through the air at spectacular speed, whizzing between the two snakes, unfortunately hitting neither of them.
“Nice shot,” Hagan sarcastically remarked as he approached, reaching for an arrow. Simultaneously, Lucas prepared to swing his blade at the snakes which had moved into close proximity. The foes were about to lunge when, unexpectedly, the snowflake’s trajectory curved in a boomerang fashion. It looped around with lightning speed, slicing through both of the serpents and shredding them to pieces before flying into the distance and shattering.
“Nice shot,” Hagan repeated with sincerity, lowering his bow.
The trio watched as Aiden finished off the snake Lucas had injured, pelting the reptilian beast with a barrage of fireballs. When he had finished, the flames surrounding his hands dissolved once again. He collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily as the trio approached him.
Aiden looked up at them. “Uh, thanks.”
“Thank Lucas,” Hagan responded coldly. “I wasn’t in a hurry to save you.”
“Lucas, huh?” Aiden replied as he got to his feet. He turned to Lucas. “I’m guessing that’s you, blondie. Thanks a million. Sorry ‘bout that whole tryin’-to-rob-ya thing. Water under the bridge, eh?”
Lucas sheathed his sword. “I did it because it was the right thing to do.”
Aiden crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Ya think I buy that selfless hero bullcrap? What’s the catch, buddy?”
“There’s no catch,” said Lucas. “My friends and I learned how rough it is out here firsthand. I’m not here to judge you for what you have to do to survive. Just try to be more careful.” He turned and walked back toward the shack. “Besides, you should thank Iris. She did most of the work.” Iris and Hagan looked at each other, then back to Aiden. Unsure of what to say, they followed Lucas. Aiden stood speechless as the trio walked away.
“Quite an act of kindness,” Iris commented, catching up to Lucas. “Admittedly, I’m uncertain I would have assisted him if you hadn’t rushed out so quickly.”
Lucas glanced at her. “I can’t imagine what it must be like having to live out here. He needs all the help he can get.”
“I guess you’re right,” Hagan agreed hesitantly. “This place ain’t a cakewalk... but I’m keeping his knife.”
The trio reentered the shack, causing Sezuni to hurriedly snap awake and sit up. “What’s going on?” she asked as Hagan closed the door.
“We saw Aiden being chased by monsters,” Hagan explained. “Lucas ran outside t–” There was a loud, rapid knocking at the door behind him. Turning back toward it, Hagan opened the door to see Aiden.
Hagan raised an eyebrow. “Now what?”
“What’s up?” Aiden responded as Lucas and Iris approached the door. “Ya live here?” Aiden queried, eying the shack’s exterior. “I thought you guys weren’t from Hravart Desert. What’s the deal?”
Rolling his eyes, Hagan began to shut the door but Aiden stopped it with his foot. “Get lost!” Hagan barked.
Aiden raised his arms. “Whoa, whoa, take it easy! I just wanted to say thanks again. That was pretty awesome of you guys after I tried to mug ya and whatnot.”
“You’re welcome,” Hagan answered bitterly. “Now go away.” He attempted to close the door but was blocked by Aiden’s foot again.
“I just wanna pay ya back!” Aiden asserted.
“That’s not necessary,” Iris replied. “I suggest that you return to wherever you came from, as this is not our dwelling and I’m certain the owner wouldn’t be fond of–”
Sezuni, who had hidden her face and reequipped her weapon during the conversation, shoved her way through the trio and unsheathed her katana. Aiden’s eyes widened to an enormous size as he hastily backed away, nearly tripping over himself. “Never return to this place,” Sezuni ordered coldly.
“Alright, alright!” Aiden responded nervously, continuing to distance himself from the shack’s front door.
Lucas grabbed her shoulder. “Wait!” She shot him an intense glare, but said nothing. He looked at Aiden. “You said you came here to pay us back?”
Aiden nodded. “No one’s ever done me a favor like that before. I felt like I owed ya one. I don’t got much, but just name it and I’ll try to get my hands on it for ya.”
“How about this instead,” Lucas suggested. “My friends and I are about to attempt something very dangerous, and we need all the help we can get. You seem like a risk taker, and we could really use your help with this. Think you’re interested?”
“We can’t trust him!” Hagan protested.
Lucas looked back at him. “You said it yourself: this is going to be tough to pull off with only the three of us. If he really wants to help us, we should accept the offer. Plus, he knows things that could really help us a lot.”
Returning his attention to Aiden, Lucas asked, “Are you in?”
“Ya got it,” Aiden answered with a grin. “So, what’s the scoop?”
“Come inside and we’ll fill you in,” Lucas replied.
“My house isn’t a hotel,” Sezuni snapped. “If you want to speak to this man, you’ll have to do it outside.” She glared at Aiden. “He does NOT look trustworthy to me. I’m very familiar with his type.”
“My type?!” Aiden argued. “Look, lady. I know ya ain’t hidin’ your face for fashion, and if you’re survivin’ out here, ya gotta be sneakin’ into Secar at night and stealin’ just like me. Cut me some slack; we’re practically family.”
Sezuni was enraged by his rebuttal, but couldn’t argue with the logic behind his statement. Continuing to cut into him with her gaze for a few seconds, she slowly sheathed her katana. “If you take anything from my house,” she warned, “I will find you.”
There was another pause as Aiden raised his eyebrows before responding, “Fair enough.”
Sezuni glanced at Lucas as she walked back into the shack. “I don’t appreciate you inviting strangers into my house.”
“Sorry,” Lucas apologized, “I wasn’t really thinking abo–”
“That’s exactly it,” Sezuni interrupted harshly. “You weren’t thinking.”
Lucas watched her as she took a seat at the small table. That was pretty rude of me now that I think about it. Sezuni’s done a lot for us. I need to be sure not to offend her anymore. On top of that, I’d hate to be on the wrong side of her katana. I guess I was just so caught up in this Kuraikaji business that I wasn’t thinking straight. Oh well, what’s done is done. Besides, Aiden’s a former Cobra. He knows a lot of information we won’t be able to learn any other way.
Aiden entered the shack. “Nice setup ya got here,” he remarked as he examined the room. “I like it!” He looked at Sezuni, who refused to comment on his statement. Again feeling pierced by her cold stare, he turned to Lucas. “So, your name’s Lucas, eh? Ya got a last name?”
“Bardsson,” Lucas responded. “These are my friends, Iris Ivaska and Hagan Caine.” Iris smiled as she was introduced, while Hagan gave a single nod.
Aiden bowed. “Aiden Kerbs.”
“I remember,” Hagan replied.
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” said Aiden. “So, can I have my knife back now?”
“No,” Hagan answered bluntly.
Aiden shrugged, “Worth a try.” He looked at Sezuni. “And you are?”
“That’s none of your concern,” Sezuni snapped.
There was a pause. “I’ll just call ya Sunshine,” Aiden responded with a wide smile before turning back to Lucas. “Alright, so what’s this dangerous thing ya want me to help out with?”