Chapter 4: That Scoundrel!

Gerson: I can't tell you! The Dark Wizard would kill me!

Meg: I'm afraid this Dark Wizard of yours is currently the least of your problems.

Richard: If you help us find the girl, no harm will come to you. You have my word. Now... This is only if what you tell us leads to her rescue. As I said before, I am a Holy knight of Dalmacia. My word is my bond.

Legend didn't want to feel left out, so he decided to participate…

Legend: If you don't start talking... We'll tickle you to death!

Meg: I see interrogation isn't your forte... Best let the grownups deal with this, Legend.

Gerson was trembling in fear. He knew if he revealed secrets of his organization, he would most likely be killed. But he thought that maybe a Holy knight from Dalmacia would protect him from his masters and that he would be able to survive with his help. And so, they convinced him to tell them everything.

Gerson: I'm a part of a secret society that is working towards the coming of God.

We are monks... Mages... Even knights. The monks you saw... Well, you realized they were actually mimics. They were scouts to help us find the people that have the essence of divinity. This essence is required for completing the Tower of God, which will bring salvation to the Arkana.

Our society is led by the three most powerful people I have ever seen... a beautiful Summoner... a Spellblade knight, and the Dark Wizard. To challenge them is to challenge The Cabal... it means certain death!

Meg: The Cabal, huh... And how does young Rachel factor into bringing this salvation you speak of?

Gerson: She probably holds the highest concentration of the essence we have ever seen... With her sacrifice, we will surely bring God through the tower...

Richard: You fiend! They plan to sacrifice her! My dear sister! WHERE IS SHE????!!!

Gerson: It is for the good of the Arkana... Her sacrifice is necessary... Will you help us? We—we have to bring God to this world... He will save the Arkana... He will save me... He will save us all!

Gerson kept on rambling for a moment, driving Richard up a wall.

Richard pierced his shoulder showing him that he had started to lose patience.

Richard: FOCUS. THE GIRL. WHERE. IS SHE.

Gerson: All the—people--- were t---taken--- to our new secret--- town—Aggh!

Meg: Where?!

Richard: Stop wasting our time. THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING.

Gerson: Go to the---desert, south from here… there's a lake... A d-day's r-ide...

Richard put his sword back in its sheath. He started to head toward his horse.

Meg: By the sound of things, it appears that we're dealing with a very dangerous cult of fanatics... Richard! You can't go yet... we need to discuss--

Then suddenly, with no warning, as Richard walked toward his horse and while Meg was still talking, Gerson started glowing... His skin started to change. He seemed to be transforming into something that was not human.

Legend: What's happening to him?!

Meg: He's been cursed! Legend! Keep your distance! Don't get any closer!

While Meg warned Legend to stay away from the startling occurrence, Richard watched in confusion, now pitying the man for such an unfortunate fate.

Richard: I gave you my word. But sadly... It appears your Dark Wizard did not.

Apparently, the Dark wizard had put a curse on him. If he revealed any information he shouldn't have, he'd turn into a mindless monster. As Gerson was being transformed into a monster, with what was left of his human spirit, he begged Richard:

Gerson: Please...I beg you... Kill me!

As his voice transitioned to a more sinister-sounding tone, Richard felt bad for him and uttered the words:

Richard: I am truly sorry.

Richard assumed a special stance briefly. With blinding speed, he rushed through him with his sword. Gerson, or what was left of him, was cut into pieces. He died instantly.

Richard: I am sorry you had to see that, Legend. Let us make haste to this mysterious town.

Meg: Before we do that... Might I suggest a strategy? A plan? I assure you, things will get ugly over there.

Richard: I have no time to waste. My sister needs me!

Richard was furious and terrified. He was thinking the whole time:

Richard: {I have to save her. Will I arrive before it is too late?}

Richard got on his horse and rode desert-bound. Legend and Meg followed, even though they were a little behind due to Richard's haste.

Richard did not stop for rest or sleep. He rode overnight and arrived at dusk at a town that wasn't on any map. At the entrance of town, there was a sign that read Salvation. God is soon coming.

Over at the town Salvation, a sinister-looking Dark mage was standing in the dungeon speaking to one of his men.

Dark mage: Nimrod. Our Lord is pleased with your service. Before you go... There is some undesired company I'd like you to deal with. You will be compensated extra for this, of course.

Nimrod: Ha! Money is all I care about. I don't really understand or care about what you're doing here. So... Pay me up front, and you've got yourself a deal.

Dark mage: Very well.

Nimrod was an odd-looking fellow. It was unclear if he was a beast-man or a cursed man. His skin was made of a yellow-orange hide, which made him resistant to normal blades and nearly immune to regular physical attacks. He also had a red cloak. This was no ordinary cloak, though. It was a magical relic, and it allowed him to fly. On the exterior, he appeared to be a tough and cynical bastard. On the inside... Well... there were no friends or known associates to give any testimony about him.

~ A few days earlier~

Nimrod was flying over the desert, and suddenly his Cloak of Levitation went stiff. Completely hard as a rock. As a result, he began to fall from the sky, and before hitting the ground, he found himself hovering about one meter above the ground, and a Dark mage was in front of him.

Nimrod: Hey! What the hell is this?! You're doing this, aren't you? Release me from your spell!

Dark Mage: Would you have rathered me let you fall to your death?

Nimrod: You do make a good point... But I'm getting dizzy... And I don't know what happened to my cloak...

Dark mage: Not to worry. A temporary effect of one of my relics. I saw your potential when you were flying and decided to offer you a chance to earn good coin. Interested?

Nimrod: How much are we talking about? And what's the job?

Dark mage: I need you to retrieve a White mage for me. She is instrumental in a project of ours that needs to be quickly finalized.

Nimrod: Sounds like you want me to kidnap someone... I don't know... It might be good for my rep... But not too fond of the idea of a kidnapping... I have standards, you know?

Dark mage: One thousand gold coins.

Nimrod: So... who am I kidnapping again?

Dark mage: Rachel Pendragon. A White mage that is instrumental in our pious efforts to bring God back to this world.

Nimrod: How do I know you'll actually pay?

The Dark mage pointed at a chest filled with coins for him to take. Nimrod's eyes glowed in resonance with the gold. He thought to himself {I can finally buy my little girl a new house with this money...}

Nimrod: Where do I find her?

~A young lifetime ago~

Rachel Pendragon was never too fond of the restraints that involved being a member of royalty. Being the youngest of three siblings and being the only female in the family (her mother, the queen, had died when she was still very young), her older brothers always wanted to protect her. After reading the book A History of the Arkana at age six, Rachel was always eager to see the world, but the king didn't allow her to travel on her own. When she was still a child, the king would take her to the Ancient Library in Lybia. Just like her mother, Rachel had developed the habit of reading avidly. By the time she was seven, she had read all the books that were in the Pendragon library. Those were at least sixty books in all, not including the scrolls among them.

Rachel became a White wizard just like her mother. She had a natural affinity with magic from a very young age, which made her magic studies a lot easier. On top of all that, Rachel was a scholar. She enjoyed learning, and when her teachers didn't have the answers she sought, she would often find them herself in books.

At age 15, princess Rachel demanded her father allow her more independence. Thanks to her being so relentless in pursuing her goals, the king finally caved and assigned her the best knight in the kingdom as her personal bodyguard: Sir Lionel Ronald.

Thanks to her bodyguard, Rachel was able to go out for as long as she pleased, as long as Sir Lionel was with her. She had learned to trust him, and Sir Lionel was a loyal servant of the crown and had grown fond of the princess and even learned to admire her despite her youth.

Now at age twenty, Rachel spent more time in Lybia than in the Dalmacian capital. Most of the time, she would conceal her identity and mimic the common folk's way of speaking.

A few days ago, Rachel was in the Ancient Library of Lybia. This time she was reading about an ancient race of giants that built old civilizations and crushed their enemies with ease. They were said to be a race of warriors that only lived for battle. There hasn't been a sighting of giants in centuries.

As she read, Rachel remembered a dream she had been having about a baby that she was holding. The baby, in a few moments, grew into a very large man right out of her arms.

Rachel: {Could this mean that the giant race will return? Or maybe it's just a silly dream... nothing more.} - she wondered as she meditated about these things.

She was focused on her research about this ancient civilization when an explosion was heard coming from outside the library. Many went to see what was happening. A boy was tied up, and a mimic was tossing bombs at him. While the people nearby just watched in disbelief, Rachel rushed to the boy to try to save him, but one of the bombs hit him and blew him up to pieces before Rachel could reach him.

Up close, she realized that it wasn't a real boy. It was a mimic. Someone planted it as bait, and she had fallen for it. Sir Lionel was having some stomach issues and had gone to the privy for an emergency. When he was done, he expected to find the princess concentrating on her books as usual, but when he did not find her where he left her, and he heard the commotion coming from outside the library, he ran toward the noise, trying to find her.

Meanwhile, on the outside, someone threw powdered dwale on her, and she was instantly out cold. Nimrod flew down quickly and took her away. By the time Sir Lionel had come out of the library, Nimrod was already out of his range, leaving with the princess. Sir Lionel dispatched the mimic that had been throwing the bombs there.

Lionel: Who was that scoundrel? No matter... I shall not rest until I find him and make him pay for having the gall of abducting the princess!

He took it upon himself to find the princess and punish whoever was responsible for abducting her.

Among those that watched everything happen in disbelief was Sven. He worked at the Ancient Library as a scholar. He couldn't help but wonder if he could have done anything to prevent the princess from being taken.

Sven: {Should I have tried to stop this? Princess... I really hope that you're OK!}

~Now~

Richard arrived at the artificial town of Salvation. A very eerie atmosphere surrounded the entire area. There were a few houses there, but they all looked uninhabited. Besides the creepiness of that place, there was one thing that stood out beyond anything else: In the middle of town, there was a structure... on top of it, a tall tower that was still being built... by monsters.