"Man... That guy was persistent. It took me a lot more than I thought it would to lay him low... For good."
Himora says, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yeah, I know!"
I laugh as I agree.
"I also didn't plan on taking that nap either!"
We sit down under a huge pine off to the side of the trail and try to rest up a bit.
"There is no way in hell we can storm the castle now. I'm exhausted."
I fall over and stay there, not even trying to sit back up.
"We can rest tonight, then we will move on tomorrow."
Himora yawns loudly but stays standing as he stretches his arms over his head.
I manage to stand with some help from a nearby tree, and Himora and I walk back down the trail, where we find Athena, lying asleep.
Himora approaches her before I could.
"Get up, girl, we're going back to the ship for the night."
He said, poking at her with the sheath of his sword.
She slowly rolled over, wiping the sleep from her eyes as she did.
"I'm... I'm up."
She said, not moving as quickly as Himora would have liked.
"No, you're not... Get up."
Himora waves his hand and summons a small torrent of icy water, and splashes Athena with it.
"AAAAH! WHAT THE HELL!?"
She sits up and swats at Himora, missing as he takes a quick step back.
"G-g-god, t-that was c-cold!"
She said, shaking her hands and head to throw off the water.
Himora gave a soft chuckle and urged her on.
"Well, get up. We have to get going."
She looks up at us and shrugs. I can tell that she is just as ready to be in bed as I am.
"Ugh... Okay."
Himora and I each lend a hand in helping Athena climb to her feet, then we hastily move in along the trail. Within the hour, we arrive back at our ship and climb aboard.
"I'm going to bed, see you two in the morning."
Athena says as she heads toward her designated sleeping quarters.
Himora nods and heads toward the portside railing.
"Okay. Well, I'll be back soon. I've got to see some plans through."
As curious as I was about his plans, I was far too tired to enquire.
"Okay, whatever."
Athena said as she closed the door to her room.
She was off to bed, and with a quick leap, flip, and very small splash, Himora was off as well.
I myself was left alone, standing on the softly rocking deck. I took the moment alone to look up for a while, admiring the brilliant stars that littered the nearly pitch-black night sky.
"Man... Tomorrow is going to be one long day... I wonder what Himora is up to? Well, only time will tell, I guess."
With a long stretch and an equally long yawn, I turn and walk away from the gloom of the evening and turn in for the night.
-----
Dream:
A girl of some great beauty is shrouded in a blanket of ice.
Bastion walks alone along these corridors, all the walls made of solid ice.
"Wh-where am I?"
He thinks aloud.
A faint voice finds him.
The words were distorted and strange.
"Leph... Em... Leph... Em..."
The boy runs down the corridor at full speed.
At the end is a wall, and in it is a girl encased in pure ice.
"Who are you!? I... I don't understand."
The girl looks very elegant, and her skin is a tanned pink with shimmering silver streaks all over her iced in body.
"Noly ouy nac ste em eref..."
The voice echoes along the corridor and through Bastion's entire body.
"What are you saying? What do you mean!? I don't understand!"
The walls began to shake, and giant chunks of ice started to fall in all directions.
Bastion jumps and dodges as the giant pieces of ice smash into the ground all around him.
"MAKE HASTE, YOUNG WARRIOR!"
The voice, as soft as a harp, rings out, and all the walls shatter.
-----
As the ice falls, Bastion wakes up just as it all comes crashing down around him, and the girl is gone.
"WHA!?"
I wake up in a startled state, and the temperature in my room is strangely low.
"Man, that was the same girl from my first dream I had... Strange... But who is she?"
As I sit up in my bed, the sun shines through and hits my face, so warm and welcoming.
I climb out of bed, stretch, and strap on my clothes. Today, I would be sure to put on a little extra armor.
"Today is going to be a hard day... But hey, it's got to be done. Besides, I promised Athena I'd help her save her island."
I think to myself.
I grab my spear and walk out onto the sun-bleached deck.
"Good morning!"
Athena shouts from a few feet to my left.
"Want some breakfast?"
She asks as she walks up to me and hands me a plate full of various-sized slices of roasted pork and buttered bread.
I was flattered, but the smell alone was enough to turn me off from breakfast for the rest of the week. It wasn't her fault that I had not mentioned this earlier, but I definitely would now.
"Eh, I'm sorry, but I'll have to pass. I am a pescatarian."
Athena laughs as she takes the plate back with a look of surprise painted on her face.
"What!? You? A vegie boy!? HA! Well, more for Himora and me!"
She said as she plucked a hunk of meat from the plate and tossed it into her salivating mouth.
"Speaking of Himora, where is-"
At the mention of his name, Himora flies out of the water and lands nimbly between Athena and me.
"Here, I knew you'd be hungry."
He says as he drops several fish into my hands.
"Thanks, Athena tried to pump me full of pork."
We both exchange a glance and laugh.
Athena's face flushes with embarrassment as our laughter rings in her ears.
"HEY! That's not fair! I didn't know!"
She grows agitated as she shoves Himora's food into his chest.
"Here! Next time, don't expect anything!"
She says, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her head away in disgust.
"Sorry."
Himora says, bowing deeply and lifting the plate of food before him.
"We're just kidding around, let's not get all serious."
Athena shakes her head and rolls her sparkling blue eyes, the irritation melting away as her own hunger takes over.
We all sit and eat a good breakfast, devising a plan afterwards that would get us safely into the castle.
I was the first to speak, as my serving of grilled fish was not as large as their meat-laden meals.
"Well, this is our final stand. After this, we will have freed this island, and our mission will be complete... I don't know how we will make it past the army outside the castle, but I am sure we will manage."
I look to Himora, who is not really into the conversation at hand.
"I don't care for plans. I just want to get in and get out. That's it."
Simple and clean.
While I both understood and respected that mindset, I knew that reality had some very difficult plans in store for us.
I knew to that our combined powers were nothing to be taken lightly.
"Well, this is it then... We will do a full frontal assault. Make sure we cover each other's backs, okay? Let's go."
We all make sure that our gear and armor are well-balanced for the battle to come, then we leave the ship. Knowing that we didn't have any backup made it a little hard to concentrate, but we all seemed calm. We march to the trail where just yesterday Nathanial had attacked.
"I kinda feel bad for the guy, but hey, he got what he deserved..."
I thought to myself as we made our way.
I walked on in front with Himora to my left and Athena to my right.
"Man...that coward... I... I hate him. He just had to be so stupid!"
Images of the dying man flashed through my mind. I grew angry all of a sudden. I never knew why, but for the next few minutes, I was full of steam.
"He would have been a good companion had he not been so full of hatred and darkness..."
I think further.
What a waste of a potentially great ally.
We stopped about 200 feet from the castle. From where we were at the forest edge, we could see the frontline of the Shicato me.
Apparently, we were expected.
We fall back and lie low under a thick patch of trees.
"Dammit! I knew this would happen!"
She says, stomping her feet in anger in the damp grass from her position on her back.
I am instantly pissed.
"What do you mean!?"
I scald her.
She looks away.
"Well... they did come in bulk... Thousands of men came. This may be harder than I thought."
I was beyond words.
Suddenly, and with conviction, Himora spoke.
"Don't worry, we'll be okay. Let's go!"
I reached for his arm and shouted:
"HIMORA! NO!"
But he was too fast, and before I could stop him, he jumped up and ran toward the stationary army, skillfully yet recklessly blocking and dodging the sudden and relentless rain of arrows.
"Damn him.. LET'S GO!"
I shout to Athena and shot forward.
The vigilant girl leaps right into action.
"MOON CHILD VICTORY!"
She flies into the air, and thousands of shards of light fly from her twin axes, chopping through nearly all of the arrows just as she had attempted to do in the last battle.
I sprinted past her, pushing myself to catch up to Himora.
"MY TURN! TITAN ROCK SLIDE!"
I launch my spear with all of my might, and it slams into the ground before a group of nearly 1OO charging soldiers. The earth rumbles mightily and erupts, sending thousands of chunks of stone and boulders tumbling their way. The majority of the group was thrown violently back and into the trees. Although the attack was initially effective, it only laid low about a fourth of the army that was coming at us full force.
"TIME FOR SOME BACKUP!"
Himora shouts to me.
I have no idea what he could mean.
"BUT WE HAVE NONE!"
I countered.
He gave a wry smirk and a sly wink.
"NOT BY MY WATCH!"
The very earth beneath us starts to tremble as thousands of feet bombard it. I turn and look back to see, to my amazement, hundreds of men and women emerging from the shoreline.
"What the hell!? Are those Ataleatians!?"
I shout in awe and disbelief.
Himora answers with pride.
"Yup! That's why I've been away so often!"
The aquatic warriors rushed past us, and all that could be heard was a clash of weapons and sounds of vicious battle as the two walls of fighters collided.
"NOWS OUR CHANCE TO GET INSIDE! LETS GO!"
I took the lead once more, and the three of us rushed through the crowd and stopped just outside the front gates.
Athena shouts in alarm as we all see that the gates are slowly but surely moving.
"OH, NO! THEY'RE CLOSING!"
We all push ourselves just a bit more, and we dive all at once, landing in a heap of limbs, armor, weapons, and gear just inside the giant gates, and just as they slam shut with a metallic clang!
Himora speaks first as we untangle ourselves from one another.
"Man... That was... Close."
Himora panted between breaths.
Catching my own breath, I turn to ask him what was in both Athena's and my mind.
"How did you get the Ataleatians to cooperate?"
Athena was thoroughly surprised and amused at this because for years, the Parugians and the Ataleatians had not been communicating in civil terms.
"I told them that I needed them and that we had temporarily taken care of the Leviathan, which had been attacking their cities for the past few months. Their king was not only grateful, but more than willing to lend a hand in our efforts."
Athena's shoulders relax just a bit as the notion of peace between the two peoples seems that much closer to being a real thing.
"Thank god! They came right on time!"
Athena is full of energy and ready to continue on.
"I'm glad you thought of them, Himora."
I say.
"Without them, we would still be out there fighting off that coward of a man's army."
Himora shrugged his shoulders, a smile on his face.
"I thought of this whole thing yesterday, and I knew that whether we liked it or not, we would need the backup. Hell, even if Athena had managed to get some of her captured men out, we still would be horribly outnumbered."
He was right.
"Good point..."
I think to myself as I ready my spear and check the straps of my light armor.
"No time for sightseeing and small talk!"
Athena says, growing impatient.
"We must move on...NOW!"
Himora and I lock eyes for a second before we dismiss her sudden and unwarranted attitude.
"Okay, okay. Hold your horses, lady. We're coming. You can lead since this is your home after all."
Athena rolls her eyes, climbs to her feet, and signals for us to follow, and we do, having no other choice but to move forward or go back outside.
In truth, Himora would have loved that option.
We rushed up to the castle doors, and with a wave of her hand, Athena opened both doors. She looks back at us over he shoulder with a smug smile.
"Light locks."
She says in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Light locks?"
Himora and I both ask in unison.
"Yes... Top-notch locks that only Parugians know how to work, but only those with the inherent element of light can really open a door that is locked with one."
That was an interesting fact that would come in handy later.
We ran into the main corridor, which was about 12 feet tall with massive torches lining the walls.
"Oh my god, this is magnificent."
Himora says, looking around in pure amazement.
Athena cuts in, shoving past him with a stiff shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, no time!"
We run down the hall past door after door until.
"HA! RIGHT HERE!"
Athena stops suddenly and turns to face the door to her right.
We stand and look at the giant entryway. The door itself was nearly 10 feet taller than the others.
"What's in...here?"
I ask, having a terrible gut feeling that I already knew.
Athena turns and looks me in my eyes, a splash of fear appears in hers for a split second before it evaporates.
"Our first battle."
I already knew what awaited us behind the door, but still, the more I thought about it, the more nervous I grew.
"Lets get this over with."
Himora said as he pushed past us and walked up to the door.
"So how do we get in?... Oh, yeah. Your light locks, right?"
Athena rolled her eyes at him.
"Let me handle this."
Athena steps forward and waves her hand. Tiny shards of glass appear and blink in a strange, captivating pattern, and as they do so, Athena mocks the pattern skillfully until eventually the shards fade away and the door slides open silently.
She looks back at us once again.
"Brace yourselves... We're going in."
We all take a deep, stabilizing breath before we rush into the room headfirst. Our weapons drawn and ready to fight.
But nothing was there...
At least, if there were, we couldn't see it.
"What? The Parugian bear...where is it?"
Himora asks softly.
Then, from behind us, the door swiftly slams shut, and all there is to see is a small light up ahead.
"That's the key hole foe the door leading up... But where is the..."
Athena stops mid-sentence, and the color drains from her face.
"What is it?"
I ask her, not hearing or seeing the giant beast that was rapidly approaching me from behind.
"BASTION, MOVE!"
Himora kicks me in the side, sending me flying out of the collision path of the huge, 200-pound clawed paw.
I roll over in the air and land on my feet.
"Lets do this!"
I say as I brace my spear.
Himora rushes at the giant of a beasts and swings his sword at one of its front paws, but before he could land a direct blow, the bear lifted its paw and drew several weapons of its own. Three horrible looking claws slid forth from their fleshy sheaths, Each just under a meter long.
"What the hell!?"
Himora was surprised at the speed this thing moved. It used only one paw to hold the boy off, and the lone swordsman felt as if fending off the three claws was akin to facing three men at once!
"He needs my help!"
I thought to myself as I charged at the bear.
Being a mid-ranged fighter with my spear, I knew how to handle such a beast having been an avid hunter in my past.
I launched my weapon at the beast and awaited its response. Just as I planned, it turned from Himora and used its mighty claws to block my attack, throwing my spear off to my far right.
"Perfect!"
I think aloud.
The motion that the bear took to block my spear left its midsection wide open.
"GO! NOW!"
At this, Athena ran full-speed boosting her speed and power with her stored light, and kicked it in the chest, the blow powerful enough to stun and blast the air from the bears lungs. As it stumbled backward, Himora crouched and slashed out at the back of its legs with his razor-edged blade. As the beast roared aloud in pain and tumbled over backward, I called to the earth with my power, summoning a huge boulder.
As the beast landed heavily on its back, I released the spell, letting the great boulder land atop the raging creature with a grand and terrible crash!
We all stand around the fallen beast, catching our breath from the sudden rush of action.
"That...was to easy..."
Himora pants to Athena.
"I thought it's only weakness was-"
The boulder atop the beast suddenly shatters into thousands of fist-sized stones, and the lumbering beast clambers back to its feet.
We all take a step back, readying out weapon as we do.
"Son of a bitch!"
I yell in anger.
Athena acts first.
She focuses her Aether and sends thousands of tiny rays of hardened light at the beast, paralyzing it from head to toe as they make contact.
"My chance has come."
Himora thinks aloud.
He sprints forward and kicks off of the things chest, flipping up and over its head before coming down behind it with a vicious, downward slash that split the creatures giant hump in two right down the middle.
The giant bear let out a roar so loud, so mighty, that the door at the opposing side of the room shattered into thousand of tiny stones.
We all fall to the ground in pain as the sound waves flow over us and echo in our ears.
"OoooOOOoH! MAKE IT STOP!"
Athena cries out in agony.
I roll over on my stomach and focus my eye on the far wall, sending as much Aether as I can onto it. A large crack forms and runs up and along the wall and the ceiling until it stopped right above the bear, and then... I fainted.
I don't recall much after that, but I remember Himora splashing me with frigid water just as he had done Athena out on the trail.
I sit upright in a split second, wide awake and in a slight panic.
"WHA!-What happened!? Where is that thing!"
I brace my spear for battle.
"Don't worry, it's gone...for good this time."
Himora said.
That was all I needed to hear.
I lay back down, closing my eyes as I did.
"I just need a couple of minutes, yeah? Just a couple..."
I was very much ready to be done with this mission.