Chapter Four: Flux

Ash and River made it to Flux. A beautiful town full of magic and adventure. Along with some other suprises.

The two brothers entered Flux about three quarters through the day. They had no trouble getting into Flux, the city was a center for adventure seekers, and so the guards were used to shady, wandering travelers, though probably not as young as River. Regardless it was easy getting in, and they were even welcomed warmly with smiles and a pat on the back.

The city was pretty monotonous looking, grey stone buildings lined the streets, for most of the city. Or so Ash and River thought. As they moved towards the center of the city, the houses became more lively and colorful. It happened gradually, with an occasional red brick house. Than large colored stone buildings, usually yellow limestone, appeared sporadically. And than an amazing sight came into view as the rounded a turn into the heart of Flux; a great marble building stood in the center of the main street. It was surrounded by numerous buildings of all colors, wooden, brick, many stone and even wood stone mixed buildings.


The marble building itself was three different marbles. The main structure was a white and grey marble, the dome roofing’s were a red and black marble and the two green/blue marbled towers finished the building. All manners of people were going in and away from the building. Interested, the brothers decided to get a better look at the marvelous building. As they got closer they heard laughter, sighs of awe and shocked gasps. Sounds that reminded Ash of the theater in Dusklight.

"It's a beautiful place. What do you think, want to go in?" Ash asked his little brother. "I'm curious to find out what this place is." The beauty and sounds intrigued Ash.

"Sure. Looks like an interesting place. And the sounds remind me of the theater. You know how much I enjoyed the theater." River laughed his reply.

Chuckling, Ash led the way through the colorful crowd. As they came to the entrance they noticed a sign, it read; Magic Arts Center. Ash shot River a puzzled glance than continued on inside.

The inside was dark, lit only by rows and rows of candles halfway up the wall that ran around the inner walls. Through this dim lighting, Ash marveled at the building. The inside marble walls were the exact same color as the marble outside. Paintings and murals covered the lower walls, and, to Ash and River's astonishment, some of them would periodically change. Black and white marble made up the floor of the building, and ten feet in front of them it dropped down. The higher part of the floor where the brothers stood was only the entrance. The lower base floor was a wide section with wooden seating spread out over 20 feet. The floor rose again after that, this time it was slight. This rise was a stage. Currently a man was sweeping the stage of what looked like thousands of feathers.

Just as the two brothers were about to step down into the seating area a man stopped them. He was wearing a long black coat and held up his hand.

"Next show starts soon, if you want a seat I'll need to see your ticket." He said and stuck out his hand expectantly.

"Oh. Uhm, we don't have tickets, nor the money to buy any. We didn't know." Ash replied, slightly flustered. "We will be on our way."

"Hold on." Again the man stopped them, this time with a warm smile. "Are you visiting here for you first time?"

"Yes, though most likely briefly." Ash answered.

"In that case," He swept aside and gestured to the seats. "Be our guests for this next show. It's a beauty to behold."

Surprised by the man's generosity, Ash smiled. "Thanks you sir."

With a small chuckle the man walked away leaving them to find seats on their own. Surprised by their luck, Ash and

River smiled as they stepped down into the seating area. They chose seats close to the front, only 2 rows back. They had a clear view of the entire stage, which was now empty.

River looked up to his elder brother. "I wonder what kind of show this is going to be. It doesn't seem like the theater in Dusklight." He said to Ash.

"I agree. I don't know what kind of show it will be," Ash replied. "But maybe it's some sort of play enhanced with magic."

"Could be, it is called the Magic Arts Center."

As River said this a man appeared on stage. He gestured a few times and spoke a few words quietly, performing a spell, than touched his throat. Than he addressed the audience, which was now fairly large.

"Welcome!" His voice boomed from all around the audience. "Our next performance is a unique talent. Zarquin, the Art Mage!"

The crowd cheered thunderously and whistles were occasionally let loose. Ash and River eagerly joined in with the clapping. The excitement was infectious.

A beautifully stunning women walked onto the stage. She was carrying an easel and paints. She set the easel down and the crowd hushed. Silence fell over the center. Zariquin dipped a brush into the yellow paint and made a series of broad strokes, than used another brush to paint green in finer strokes. She stepped aside revealing what she had painted. It was a yellow flower head with green vines wrapped around it. Suddenly she ripped the painting off the easel and threw it on the floor.

As the paper hit the floor it burst into a white blinding light, and disappeared. Standing where it should have been was a small flower, encased in vines. The crowd awed. Including the brothers. Though it seemed that Ash was more fixated on Zariquin.

Zariquin proceeded to paint a tree, a huge red barked tree of the east. She threw this on the ground as well, and it appeared near the flower in a flash of the same brilliant white as well.

For the next five minutes Zariquin painted and created an entire forest. When she was done, she announced that the audience was allowed to walk through and touch the paint-made forest. Ash and River were among those who wanted to walk through the painting.

As they were walking through a brush archway, Ash bumped into someone. Quickly apologizing, Ash reached out his hand to help the person. As the person grasped his hand and mumbled a thanks, Ash froze, stunned.

Standing before him, dusting herself off, was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. She was slender, had sandy blonde hair and dressed in a black dress that hugged her body with the sides barely covered.

"Thank you. I'm truly sorry about walking into you." The stunning girl apologized to Ash.

"Oh, no problem." Ash started, still awestruck. "Partly my fault though."

"Well, both of us need to pay attention more." She chuckled. "You don't seem like one who would be a patron of the arts, even if magical. Sorry if that seems rude."

"Actually, I've never seen it before today." Than Ash continued. "Very beautiful though."

"I agree." She smiled. "I happen to be an art mage myself."

"Well nice to meet you." Ash politely greeted her. "My name is Ash."

"Sairef." She grabbed his wrist as he grabbed hers, a common greeting. "Very nice to meet you as well." She smiled again.

River coughed than lightly nudged Ash. Ash had completely forgotten his brother was there. He quickly introduced him to avoid hurting his feelings.

"This is my brother, River." Ash gestured feeling foolish.

"Hello." River said, not faulting his brother.

"Hi." Sairef greeted River calmly.

"So you are an art mage." Ash said to Sairef. "Will you be performing?"

"No, I use my magic as a hobby." Sairef answered. "Though some would say I am very good at my hobby and could put on an amazing show, I don't want to go that way."

"Why not?" Ash asked, a little puzzled.

"Because I travel a lot." Sairef answered simply.

"Why not do a traveling show?" River suggested. "Like some theaters do."

"I just don't want to." Sairef said, sounding slightly bored.

"Alright." Ash said. trying to change the subject. "what are you doing at this show?"

"I heard a rumor that something interesting might happen after the show." Sarief explained.

"Like what?" Questioned Ash.

"I don't know. I only heard it would be interesting." Sairef shrugged. "But I must be going. Nice to meet you Ash." She smiled sweetly. "And you to River."

With that Sairef walked away. Ash's eyes never left her until she was out of sight. When she was gone Ash turned around to find river laughing. Ash glared at him.

"What's so funny?" Ash asked, with a slight edge to his voice.

Laughing, River replied; "You have drool on you."

Ash rolled his eyes and laughed along with his brother. He knew we had been staring, but he couldn't help it, Sairef was stunningly beautiful. Shoving River, Ash smiled at his younger brother. River pushed him back, with very little affect on Ash, and they started through the paint forest again.

After wandering through the stunningly made paint magic forest, Ash and River exited the forest. They were leaving the Magic Arts Center when they heard a commotion. Ash and River were both intrigued that Sairef had said something would happen and it now sounded like something was happening. They decided to check out the commotion. As they exited the center they saw two figures standing in the middle of a large ring of people. Ash asked a nearby man what was happening, the man told him that the two men started an argument and now were about to fight over it. The stranger also told him duels to first blood were legal in Flux, as a way to keep adventurous souls from complete violence. Curious, Ash and River pushed to the front of the crowd.

Two men stood facing each other, one in a leather tunic, the other, a white vest. the one in the tunic drew a long knife and kicked dirt at the other man. In return, the man in white spat and pulled a similarly long knife. Circling each other, both were thinking out their move. Suddenly the white vested man sprang at the other in hide, slashing at his chest. The man in the tunic rolled out of the way of the white-clad man's knife. Again they circled each other. This time it was the man in the tunic made the first move, he rushed forward lunging for the other's arm. Jumping back a step, the man in white dodged, only to find that the attack had been feigned, realizing this and how open he was the man in white tried to roll away. Yet the man in leather was faster and cut the vested man's exposed left arm. At this, both men stopped, surprising Ash and River. The two combatants put away their knives. They said something inaudible to each other, than to those watching and turned to leave. So just as suddenly as the scene appeared it ended, the ring of people disappeared quickly and the crowd thinned quickly. Ash and River were still confused as they started about exploring the town again.

"You two look like adventures," A voice behind them said. "You might like what I have to say."

The brothers turned to see a man in green and yellow with a wide brimmed hat. He was smiling and looked pleasant enough. Ash noticed two sword handles behind the man.

"I run the Gauntlet around the bend, and you two might like to check it out, if you haven't already." The man pointed to a bend in the corner to their right as he spoke.

"Gauntlet?" Ash asked. "You own a glove we might like to look at?"

The man chuckled at Ash's response. "Well you're a smart one." Than he continued. "No, it's a maze of sorts. But with traps and monsters, the stuff you adventurous types like, or so I've heard."

"Sounds dangerous." Ash stated.

"Well of course it is!" Again the man laughed. "I have a staff of Menders just in case someone gets too adventurous."

"Is there some sort of prize at the end?" River piped up. Ash laughed, figuring some sort of catch coming on.

"Anyone who makes it to and ending gets a prize." The man said. "Of course the prizes are randomly placed, but thats what makes it interesting!"

"What are the prizes than?" Ash asked, now very curious.

"It just so happens that I have a sheet of all the prizes right here." The man pulled out a rolled up sheet of parchment from his shirt and handed it to Ash.

Unrolling the sheet, Ash put the paper between him and his brother so they both could read it. The prizes ranged from menial equipment like boots and fur-lined gloves, to rare and magical items including a sword that was always aflame, a bag of exploding stones and the top prize was a set of shoulder pads that were enchanted to deflect magic. Ash had his eye on the fiery sword, and River wanted a pair of boots that increased the wearers speed and agility. The brothers looked at each other, wondering if it was really worth it. Ash knew them to be remotely safe in a city so full of magical talent. River's concern was for getting hurt, but if the man really did have that team of healing magicians, or Menders, River figured he would be fine.

"Well what do you think River?" Ash asked his little brother. "You up for giving it a shot?"

"Will we have the time?" River asked in return.

Ash turned to the man in yellow and green. "How long does it usually take?"

The man smiled. "If you can make it to an end, twenty minutes in average."

"What's the catch here?" Ash asked, convinced that was something off.

"Well there is the matter of fee. Ten gold coins gets you in." The man said smugly.

"What about healing? Is that free?" River asked.

A fake look of shock spread on the mans face. "Of course! Don't want a bunch of angry adventures trying to get revenge on me now do I?" Than he chuckled.

"Sounds fun to me." River said to Ash.

"I agree, and we can afford the cost because we don't have much need to buy food with all that Flora gave us."

Grinning the man showed them to a large and narrow bright red building. The sign above the door read; GAUNTLET and under the words a sword was clasped in a steel gauntlet. Ash laughed at the word play. Ash and River were ushered inside by the man. The room they entered was small and light by small torches, which provided the only light as there was no windows. Without a pause the man showed them to a booth to their left, where he said they could register for the Gauntlet. Than he turned with a nod and left. With a shrug at the abrupt leaving of the man, Ash walked towards the booth, with his younger close behind. A burly darker skinned man, like those of the seafaring people to the east, greeted them. He was wearing a leather vest with no undershirt. The sight of him was very impressive, yet the man looked incredibly friendly and his face was lit up in a warming smile as the brothers approached.

"'Ere at try da gauntlet?" The friendly brute in a slight accent.

"We are." Ash replied, feeling very comfortable with the man. "How do we get in?"

"‘Tis quite simple. Ya pay 'e some gold. I open da door 'ere and ye try ye luck a' da gauntlet." The man pointed to the right of the booth.

"Ten for each? The other man wasn't specific on that." Puzzled, Ash asked.

"Ay, ten for each o' ye." The burly man supplied.

Ash handed over twenty coins to the man, who then opened the door. Ash and River walked through doorway, Ash with the sack over his shoulder. The room the brothers had just walked into was small. There was three different colored doors. A green door was to the left, a blue door to the right of that, and a red door on the far right. There was a sign above each as well.

"Traps, Monsters, combination." Ash read from left to right. "What do you think that means?"

"Maybe it's what’s behind the door?" River suggested.

"That was my guess to." Ash agreed. "I vote monsters. It's what I'm good at."

"I'm good at traps, so I vote traps."

"Let's go combination than, so we can use both our strengths." Shrugging, Ash suggested.

Pausing to think for a second, River crossed his arms, than said to Ash; "Alright, sounds good."

Ash walked to the red door, glanced at the word combination over it, than opened it. From where River and Ash were standing the room seemed pitch black. With a shrug Ash stepped into the room. River hesitated following his brother, for when Ash stepped through the doorway, he disappeared from view. Yet, he didn't pause long and followed his brother into the room.

A small hallway was the room they had stepped into. Grey brick, about three people wide, made up the wall. At the end of the ten foot hall stood another door. The floor was made up of three different tiles, which seemed to be randomly placed. A shield, an axe, and a boulder were depicted on the tiles.

"No monsters." Ash started, than after a pause, "Must be a trap than."

"Yea, and one of those tiles must be safe. The other two are probably traps." River supplied.

"I'm going to go with the shield. It protects your body in a fight, so it must be safe." Ash reasoned. He looked to River to see if he agreed, trusting his little brothers skill with traps. River nodded.

Stepping onto a shield tile carefully, Ash looked back to River before fully placing his weight on the tile. A small click followed his feet coming down. the brothers froze. Suddenly a section of the floor sprang up in front of Ash. Looking at the risen block, Ash found it to be the tile that was in front of him. He could make out the boulder symbol on top of it, as the block was only about halfway to the ceiling.

Ash looked back at River. "This could get complicated.

"Maybe all three tiles are traps." River mused.

With that, River stepped onto an axe tile and prepared himself. The sound of a shifting brick drew the brothers attention. Directly to River's left, a section of the wall had opened. No sooner had their heads turned, an axe swept across the room towards River. With only a short leap back to the doorway, River dodged the axe swiftly. Ash, who had been holding hid breath, let out a deep sigh. Looking at eachother, Ash's concern and River's fear and excitment being easily conveyed to the other, both started thinking fast.

"Each step is a trap." Ash deduced. "Lucky for us, that axe dissapeared through the other side of the room." The axe had indeed gone through a simmiliar opening in the wall on the right side of the hallway. Once the axe had gone completely inside, the wall had closed back up.

"The shield creates a wall, the axe swings an axe on us and I'm willing to bet the boulder drops a rock or something of that nature." Ash said, thinking out loud. "We could jump three tiles most likely, but that still leaves two tiles till the end."

"If we trigger an axe and than trigger a wall to block the axe and stop it, we could use the axe to jump across." Remembering a mission where they had done something similar, River suggested.

"Risky." Said Ash. "But clever. Alright, I'll that wall tile there," he said pointing to a tile three from him. "You hit that axe there." This time he pointed to an axe tile to the left and one ahead of the wall tile Ash was to jump on. "Than You jump towards me and I'll grab a hold of you."

River gave his brother a nod and poised himself ready to jump. Ash leaped to the other shield tile, almost losing his balance. Before Ash could fall though, the tile to his left rose into a wall, which he braced himself against. Than he gave his brother an nod; "Go."

River sprang to the axe tile directly to the left of the second wall tile. As he landed he bent his knees and prepared to jump back to his brother. Except no axe came from the left.

Instead it came from above.

River leaped back when he heard the shifting of the brick, Ash saw the ceiling opening and grabbed River before was ready. Lucky for the both of them, Ash was strong enough to hold River steady as he almost tumbled onto a boulder tile.

Swearing, Ash watched as the axe that had nearly cleaved his younger brother in half started swinging, the metallic noise it created filled the room. Than Ash had an idea. And it was risky.

"What do we do now? This axe is still swinging instead of going away." River asked, fear creeping into his voice.

"The plan still works." Ash said. "Probably better, now actually."

"How? The axe isn't stopping."

"We jump on it and let it swing us to the door."

River thought about it for a second, than replied to his brother, "I thought my expertise was the traps."

Laughing Ash said; "It is, when actually doing them."

"Me first than?" River asked, and was answered by a small nod from his elder brother.

Again River braced himself, this time it was more than just a short movement. He had to time it right. Or he might end up hitting the blade of the axe. As the axe swayed in front of him, he tried to rock with the pace. When it nearly passed him he would rock forward, anticipating the jump. Than, after a few passes, he took a deep breathe in and readied to spring.

A small clink of boots hitting metal, a squeak as metal slid against flesh, and a heartfelt sigh happened nearly simultaneously. Than the sounds of Rivers body hitting the floor a moment later ended the anxiety that had built up in the longest seconds of Ash's life. River stood up, dusting himself off, and called to Ash.

"Your turn!" A slight quiver was noticeable in his voice.

"Open the door and see what's on the other side!" Ash called to his brother.

With the stone floor (wall) in the way, neither could see the other. So as River opened the door, all Ash could see was a small sliver of River and only a bit more of the door.

"It's dark! Like this room was!" River's voiced called out as the door was shut again.

"Alright, I'll be there in a second." Ash's came back. Quieter than River's and yet it was still audible. Funny, Ash thought, it had been hard to talk a second ago. Than Ash realized why it was easier, and quieter. The axe was gone.

Looking down Ash also discovered that the tiles on the floor had gone as well. The only remaining evidence of the traps the brothers had just navigated was the two risen wall sections. River figured the trap was magical in nature and must be set to disarm when the room had been crossed an the other door opened. He told his elder brother this, letting him know it was safe to cross. Trusting in his brothers knowledge of traps, Ash crossed the room to where River was standing.

"On to the next than." Ash said before opening the door and stepping through, again taking lead.

Like the last room, it became clear what was inside the room when they crossed the doorway. This room was as long as the tile room, and just as wide, nearly perfectly square in shape. On first glance the room was non-descript, but River noticed a small circle in the direct middle of the room, and pointed this out to his brother.

"Another trap?" Ash mused aloud. "Yet this way is supposed to be a mixture of creatures and traps. Perhaps a trap that releases monsters?"

"Could be, or maybe the rooms are randomly chosen."

"Like True-Dice?" Ash asked, referring to a game of dice where the dice's numbers where magically generated prior to the game, effectively giving no player a counting advantage.

"Right, and each doorway has a teleport charm."

"Sounds good enough to me, but to be safe..." Ash drew one of the swords and proceeded across the room. River followed close behind.

As they approached the center circle Ash paused to examine the writing and symbols that formed the circle. He gestured River over for him to see as well. Both of them having learned small amounts of other languages when dealing with their former customers. Ash was better at speaking and understand other languages than River, but River's expertise in traps helped him figure out the puzzles with languages. But before either of them could even get a clear look at what was written, the floor fell. The center circle dropped beneath the floor. The brothers quickly stood up and hustled away from the newly-created hole. An awful stench filled the room, causing the brothers to momentarily gag. Than a scraping noise swelled up from the hole.

"Monster." Ash stated simply.

And he was right.

Emerging from the hole came a blue ooze. It came slide out from the to the size of a small puddle, a small piece of something rotten floating inside it. More and more of the odd gauze came from the hole, until the small puddle had grown to a blob roughly about the size of a dog. It reminded River of a blob of blue jam, but instead of pieces of berries inside, the blob had rotten flesh and food, even a skeletal human hand was seen floating inside. That sight and the smell that wafted from the blob caused both brothers to feel nauseous, River had a weaker stomach and gagged again. And the stench only grew as it got closer to the brothers.

As it got closer, Ash heard a hissing noise along with the scraping noise. As the thing was moving closer, it left a trail of blue slime behind it, and the trail looked as if it was steaming. Than Ash noticed something that made his heart sink. Where the blob had been the stone floor was melting away. Ash knew that meant whatever the blob was leaving behind was acidic.

“I think that thing,” Ash gestured to the slow moving blob. “Is made of some sort of acid.

“Acid?” River said in surprise. “How do we kill acid?”

Ash just shrugged. He figured there might be another way out of this room. The blob didn’t move very fast, in fact it moved incredibly slow, so it was easily outran. Yet, Ash was having a hard time putting that to good use.

“We can look around the room for another way out.” Ash suggested to River. River nodded in response. “The blob doesn’t move very fast, so we should have no trouble, just don’t touch it’s trail.”

The brother’s circled the room, hoping for some sort of hidden door, but found nothing. The walls were featureless grey bricks. Both brothers were starting to think they wouldn’t go any farther.

“All that’s in the stupid room is that blob and the hole in ground!” Ash said frustrated. Suddenly he realized the one place they hadn’t look. “The hole.” He said under his breath.

“What about the hole?” River asked, hearing Ash under his breath.

“I wonder if there’s a way out down the hole. Or maybe something to fight the blob with.” Ash replied. “That blob is to close to the hole. Try and distract the blob and I’ll take a look inside the hole.”

River nodded than walked across the room. The blob, trying to follow them, had circled around near the hole until they had stopped to talk. Now it was right next to the hole it had emerged from. Splitting up, River went to the side closest to the blob, Ash on the other side. Both hoped that the blob would go for the closest thing to it.

As it turned out their hopes were right.

The closest thing to the blob was River. Slowly in it’s incredibly slow slide it came towards River. Watching as the small acidic blob got closer to his younger brother, Ash waited till the blob was closer to River than it was to the hole, than he walked to the center of the room and peered inside. A black liquid filled nearly the entire well.

“River! I think I know a way to kill this thing.” Ash called to River. “Run around that thing and get over here.”

Quickly, but cautiously, River ran over to his elder brother. He peered into the hole as well, seeing the same black ooze, River looked quizzically at Ash.

“What are you planning? And what is that stuff?” River asked.

Grinning slightly, Ash said simply. “Oil.” And with that Ash scooped up a small hand-full of the oil. He knew that all he need to create was a spark, which for a normal person would be very easy, but for Ash it was more than just gesturing. He had to do it without making it obvious that he was Marked. He knew the people at the Gauntlet must have way to see the contestant. Better to do this quick.

With the hand-full of oil, Ash ran towards the blob. Grasping towards Ash, River tried to stop his brother, not knowing what he was up to. Skidding to a stop just a foot away from the blob, Ash tossed the oil onto it. With a mischievous smirk on his face, Ash than concentrated on his power. He created a small spark that traveled to the oil. Igniting the blob. Once the flames left the oil to the acidic blob, a blaze was created.

“Sometimes you enjoy fire to much.” River said with a sigh. “Still getting the hang of your magic than?”

“Yeah, it’s not that easy.” Ash replied.

Just as the fire finally burned out the rest of blob, a small disk slid to cover the well. At the same time a door appeared on the opposite side room from where they originally came in. Ash sighed when he saw the door. It meant they had beat that challenge. With a nod to River, the brothers opened the door and stepped again into the darkness.

The next room the brothers found themselves in was small, and contained only a chest. Puzzled, River looked to Ash. Ash merely shrugged. Than as if to answer the brother’s question a voice seemingly came from nowhere.

“Don’t worry this isn’t a trap.” The voice said, neither brother could tell if the voice was male or female. “You made it through the Gauntlet. Go ahead and see what you’ve won.”

Shrugging again, Ash opened the chest. As he did, Ash jumped back, still anticipating a trap. Yet the voice didn’t lie, there was no trap. And there was a reward in the chest. Two in fact.

“What’s in there?” River asked as he walked next to his brother. “Hope it’s good.”

“Well…” Ash started peering into the chest. “It’s practical.”

Inside the chest was a scabbard and belt. Attached to each was a small note. Ash picked up both and read the cards. They respectively read: Steeling Scabbard and Light Belt. Having no idea what the items really did, Ash went for the scabbard. Handing the belt to River, Ash tried one of his swords into the scabbard. He had wished for something better, but he was glad for a scabbard so he didn’t have to just strap his blades to his sides.

Strapping the scabbard to his side, Ash looked to his little brother. “I hope these things were worth it.”

“It only cost us 20 gold. For any sort of magic item, that’s a good price.” River reassured Ash.

“Yeah I guess that’s true.”

“I just want to know what they do.”

Just than a door appeared before them and the voice came sounded again. “I’ll tell you when you get out here, and if you like I’ll point you in the direction of some for more equipment.”

Nodding to each other, glad for some help, Ash and River walked through the door.

Greeting them on the other side of the door the same man that had shown them to the Gauntlet. He smiled at the brothers and outstretched his hand. He congratulated them warmly and asked if either was hurt. Upon seeing they were fine he seemed to relax and his smile became more genuine looking.

“You said you could tell us what these rewards do?” Ash asked after the man had them sit down to relax.

“Right. That scabbard will always keep weapons sharp and brand new. Also if you put some sort of weapon in it that isn’t steel into steel, like a wooden sword.” Ash let out an audible sound of approval. The man continued his explanation with a smile. “The belt allows the wearer to move faster. Simple but effective.” River liked the sound of that.

“Thank you sir, I actually enjoyed that. Maybe when we have more time, we might do this again.” Standing to leave, Ash returned the man’s smile.

“Oh? I don’t think that would be possible.” The man stated, startling the brothers. Ash drew both his swords and stood in a ready stance. Throwing up his hands than man looked grave, shocked even. “You misunderstand me Ash. I’m not going to hurt you. I actually want your help.”

Relaxing slightly, Ash lowered his swords, but kept them drawn. “What do you mean my help?”

“Both of you. Your Marked.”

“WHAT!” Both Ash and River yelled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ash continued, regaining his composure.

Waving his hands in dismissal, the man explained further. “I saw what you did to that blob creature. It’s alright, you being Marked is why I want your help.”

Stunned, both of the brothers stood stunned. Nobody ever looked at them without fear, besides Curt. It felt good, but Ash was also skeptical.

“There’s a group of rebels out in the dessert, and they know the truth about the Marked. Please, join in our cause.”

River spoke, nearly dumbfounded. “Join your cause?”

“Yes, but we can’t talk more here. If you want to join us, or even just more information, I’ll get someone to escort you to our camp.” The man sat back down.

Knowing now that the man was being honest, Ash sheathed his sword and stabbed the other to his side. “We’ll go. Anyone who is willing to accept us deserves some looking into. Plus, I want to know why you are rebelling.”

Sighing with the relief, the man again stood up. He called out to someone through a door on the left side of the room. A teen about who looked about Ash’s age, but taller and more physically built came in. The teen had a nearly serious look to him, but his light brown curly hair and smiling eyes told of his gentle nature. “So are they really Marked?” The new teen asked.

“So it seems. They want to go to our camp. Finally, we need the help.”

Chuckling nervously, the teen nodded. “Indeed we do.” Than he turned towards the brothers. “Ready to go? The faster we leave the better.”

“We can go now. Lead the way. As long as River is ok with this as well.” Ash said. Looking towards his younger brother. River smiled and nodded. He knew his brother was smart and only had their best interest at heart. River trusted Ash with his whole heart. Seeing his brother nod, Ash started out. The other teen quickly took lead.

Before they could leave the man called out to them. “By the way, my name is Gree!”

“Thank you Gree.” Ash thanked the man.

The teen lead them to the outskirts of town, to the gate on the North side of the city. The brothers had entered from the west, so none of the buildings were the same, but they noticed the same building trend. This time it was in reverse however. The buildings got less impressive as they got closer to the gate. On this side of town however, the buildings never got worse than red brick.

The other teen looked over to the brothers. “By the way my name is Squall. I’m glad you want to help us.”

“Nice to meet you Squall. I’m Ash. And I haven’t said we were going to yet.”

“I’m River.” River chimed in.

With a smile Squall looked at Ash. “You will. Once you see more.” Than he laughed. As he said this, they reached the Norther gate of the city. “Here we go.”