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Encounter with an Antagonistic Adept
Mar. 21st, 2006 08:27 pmIt wasn't a particularly abnormal day. Jenna, Sheba, and Ivan Jenna, Sheba, and Ivan were Jenna, Sheba, and Ivan were in one of the newly-rebuilt houses listening to Echo's tales of the distant past. As one of his stories ended Echo sent out a call to Felix. ::Something's happening. Abnormal Psynergy currents are building.::
Felix rushed into the room just before Piers, who had been trying to learn the Warp ability Alex frequently demonstrated, figured it out and arrived with a splash of water. "Yes! That's how it works!" exulted Piers.
At that moment a moderately familiar voice was heard. "So, you've worked it out, have you?"
"Alex!" shouted Sheba, surprised. As the Adepts looked around for him, the Mercury Adept in question shimmered into view - more gracefully than Piers had - with a smirk on his face. He was, surprisingly, not alone; at his side were three people the Valeans had never seen before. One of the women was obviously a Mars Adept, and bore a slight resemblance to Menardi; the others were a very pale woman and a very dark man.
Without hesitation, Felix took charge. "Link! Piers?" Though terse, his instructions were clear enough; the five Adepts joined hands and Piers Warped them outside, into a small park area.
Alex and his group effortlessly followed them. He pointed to Piers. "You are sloppy. You leave ripples anyone could follow. You leave ripples anyone could follow. You cannot escape from me that way; I developed that Psynergy from a mere suspicion, based on a couple of poorly-translated records."
"Now, where is Isaac? I do hope he won't try to make things difficult."
At that same moment, without entirely realizing what he was doing, Ivan called his friends. ::Isaac, Garet, Mia! Come quickly! It's Alex!::
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Isaac had been relaxing near the place where he'd first met Flint when the call came. Without a word he rushed back to Vale, taking a side route so as to get his sword from his house before joining the others.
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Garet, rather uncharacteristically, had been attempting to learn to fish in the river near his house. On hearing the call, he immediately dropped his pole, grabbed his axe, and rushed to join his friends.
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Mia had recently returned to Imil, so she was slower than the others to arrive.
[This absence has somewhat more significance in the full (as yet unwritten) version of this scene.]
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Seven of the eight Adepts were thus gathered. Isaac, as the last to arrive, had the misfortune of particularly attracting Alex’s gaze. “Ah, there you are! Now, give me what’s mine and I won’t attack you.”
Isaac frowned. “What do you mean, what’s yours? You never gave me anything.”
“The Golden Sun, boy! I was cheated out of my reward, and I’ve come to collect.”
Felix spoke up. “If the Wise One chose to favor Isaac, that’s their business. Perhaps you should take your complaint to the Wise One, since he started the issue.”
Alex glared. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Be rid of me forever…”
Felix took his attention off Alex for a moment. ::Petra, can you buy us some time? I know you can’t stop all four, but you and Ground should be able to hold Alex and the Mars Adept, right?::
::Sorry, no can do. The other two are using an ancient power, completely different from Psynergy, and it’s shielding the Adepts.::
Isaac had apparently had a similar conversation, for he frowned briefly before calling, “Be ready!”
“Pfah!” grunted the dark man. “You can’t be ready. You’ve never seen a Plutator, so you can’t have any defenses against us.” He flared his hand at the group, and each of them fell over unconscious.
They awoke not long afterward to the worried faces of the rest of Vale’s population. “Are you all right?” asked the Mayor.
“Fine, fine. What happened?” returned Isaac.
Kyle stepped forward. “The black man did something and you all fell over. Then a golden light appeared over you and bounded away.”
Isaac sprang to his feet. “Where did it go?”
Kyle frowned. “Where did what go?”
“The light!”
“What light? Are you sure you’re all right?” It was obvious that Kyle didn’t remember what he’d just said, much less what he’d seen.
“Never mind. I’m fine.” Isaac waved him off; the crowd began to disperse.
As it did so, Mia hurried up, quite out of breath. Oddly, she was wearing ice skates and being led – and sometimes pulled – by Hail.
“Mia! How did you get here so quickly?” wondered Ivan.
She grinned. “I’ve learned to travel by ice. It’s mostly just a minor modification of Frost. Hail can pull me faster than I can walk, and large pieces of ice float down Bilibin River quite well.”
“Did you happen to pass Alex and a few strangers on your way? Or maybe see a golden light?” Isaac was convinced that the light was the piece of the Golden Sun that the Wise One had given him, and that Alex was certain to chase it.
Mia’s face darkened at the mention of Alex. “I didn’t see… him, but the light passed me when I was leaving Goma Cave. It was heading straight west.”
“Great. Let’s leave right away. We have to get it before Alex does.”
Felix rushed into the room just before Piers, who had been trying to learn the Warp ability Alex frequently demonstrated, figured it out and arrived with a splash of water. "Yes! That's how it works!" exulted Piers.
At that moment a moderately familiar voice was heard. "So, you've worked it out, have you?"
"Alex!" shouted Sheba, surprised. As the Adepts looked around for him, the Mercury Adept in question shimmered into view - more gracefully than Piers had - with a smirk on his face. He was, surprisingly, not alone; at his side were three people the Valeans had never seen before. One of the women was obviously a Mars Adept, and bore a slight resemblance to Menardi; the others were a very pale woman and a very dark man.
Without hesitation, Felix took charge. "Link! Piers?" Though terse, his instructions were clear enough; the five Adepts joined hands and Piers Warped them outside, into a small park area.
Alex and his group effortlessly followed them. He pointed to Piers. "You are sloppy. You leave ripples anyone could follow. You leave ripples anyone could follow. You cannot escape from me that way; I developed that Psynergy from a mere suspicion, based on a couple of poorly-translated records."
"Now, where is Isaac? I do hope he won't try to make things difficult."
At that same moment, without entirely realizing what he was doing, Ivan called his friends. ::Isaac, Garet, Mia! Come quickly! It's Alex!::
Isaac had been relaxing near the place where he'd first met Flint when the call came. Without a word he rushed back to Vale, taking a side route so as to get his sword from his house before joining the others.
Garet, rather uncharacteristically, had been attempting to learn to fish in the river near his house. On hearing the call, he immediately dropped his pole, grabbed his axe, and rushed to join his friends.
Mia had recently returned to Imil, so she was slower than the others to arrive.
[This absence has somewhat more significance in the full (as yet unwritten) version of this scene.]
Seven of the eight Adepts were thus gathered. Isaac, as the last to arrive, had the misfortune of particularly attracting Alex’s gaze. “Ah, there you are! Now, give me what’s mine and I won’t attack you.”
Isaac frowned. “What do you mean, what’s yours? You never gave me anything.”
“The Golden Sun, boy! I was cheated out of my reward, and I’ve come to collect.”
Felix spoke up. “If the Wise One chose to favor Isaac, that’s their business. Perhaps you should take your complaint to the Wise One, since he started the issue.”
Alex glared. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Be rid of me forever…”
Felix took his attention off Alex for a moment. ::Petra, can you buy us some time? I know you can’t stop all four, but you and Ground should be able to hold Alex and the Mars Adept, right?::
::Sorry, no can do. The other two are using an ancient power, completely different from Psynergy, and it’s shielding the Adepts.::
Isaac had apparently had a similar conversation, for he frowned briefly before calling, “Be ready!”
“Pfah!” grunted the dark man. “You can’t be ready. You’ve never seen a Plutator, so you can’t have any defenses against us.” He flared his hand at the group, and each of them fell over unconscious.
They awoke not long afterward to the worried faces of the rest of Vale’s population. “Are you all right?” asked the Mayor.
“Fine, fine. What happened?” returned Isaac.
Kyle stepped forward. “The black man did something and you all fell over. Then a golden light appeared over you and bounded away.”
Isaac sprang to his feet. “Where did it go?”
Kyle frowned. “Where did what go?”
“The light!”
“What light? Are you sure you’re all right?” It was obvious that Kyle didn’t remember what he’d just said, much less what he’d seen.
“Never mind. I’m fine.” Isaac waved him off; the crowd began to disperse.
As it did so, Mia hurried up, quite out of breath. Oddly, she was wearing ice skates and being led – and sometimes pulled – by Hail.
“Mia! How did you get here so quickly?” wondered Ivan.
She grinned. “I’ve learned to travel by ice. It’s mostly just a minor modification of Frost. Hail can pull me faster than I can walk, and large pieces of ice float down Bilibin River quite well.”
“Did you happen to pass Alex and a few strangers on your way? Or maybe see a golden light?” Isaac was convinced that the light was the piece of the Golden Sun that the Wise One had given him, and that Alex was certain to chase it.
Mia’s face darkened at the mention of Alex. “I didn’t see… him, but the light passed me when I was leaving Goma Cave. It was heading straight west.”
“Great. Let’s leave right away. We have to get it before Alex does.”