The Wise: "You risked and selfishly tried to expose our secret."
Pepper: *She looked up towards the sound of the woman's voice and squinted her eyes, due to the light.* "Thy didn't selfishly expose the secret, it is true thy want to see the outside, but-"
The Wise: "Pepper, punishment for this crime will result-" *She paused, sparking silence.*
Pepper: "..." *She focused on her breathing, as she awaited the decision.*
The Wise: "The outcome will be the loss your divine Remenistal." *An elderly man spoke with authority, causing Pepper to tilt her head to the other side.*
Pepper: (What!) "Y-You can't."
The Wise: "Too bad, we had high hopes for you. As one of The Sacred Knights and possible candidate of the chosen one-" *He paused in mid-sentence, as disappointment filled in his voice.*
Pepper: "I say, give me a chance!"
The Wise: "Don't you dare raise your voice in your current position."
Pepper: "But-"
The Wise: "In regards to the crime, when did you exit The Imperial Glacial Castle and through The Divine Path?"
Pepper: "I didn't go through The Divine Path-"
The Wise: "Lies! We will not ask again."
Pepper: (They keep interrupting me.) "Thy was intending to leave on pure curiosity, thy had no reason to reveal any secrets-"
The Wise: "The rules are the rules."
Pepper: "The rules are stupid."
*Several gasps echoed in the darkness, causing chatter to fill the divine room.*
The Wise: "These stupid rules are the very reason nobody across the lands know of our presence!"
Pepper: "But why?"
The Wise: "Remember the incident that happened with Lorilei Gales."
*Mutters reacted to the spoken name.*
Pepper: "But thy'm not like her."
The Wise: "This discussion has gone for too long."
Pepper: *She frowned, as her crystal blue eyes suddenly shined gold.* (Too long-?)
The Wise: "This sentence was inevitable, but we wanted to hear your side. Pepper, you will lose your divine Remenistal and will be banished from the city of Valhalla."
Pepper: "I say, thy do not wish to leave!" *She shook her head, as her eyes started to glaze.* "W-Where?"
The Wise: "To the place you desire so."
*Pepper looked down to the white polished floors, forming fists.*
The Wise: "We are not so cold hearted, you were one of the five members of The Sacred Knights-"
*Whispers and mutters echoed in the growing silence.*
The Wise: "If you somehow regain your divine Remenistal, then you may gain the ability to access Valhalla once again."
Pepper: "Thy'm sorry, thy'm sorry-" *She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, with a twitching frown.*
The Wise: "We have spoken. The adjustments will begin in twenty minutes."
*Whoosh-like sounds echoed, as each member of The Wise flashstepped out of the chamber.*
Pepper: "No." *She placed both hands on the floor and whimpered to herself.*
*Sounds of high-heel-like footsteps walked towards Pepper and stopped.*
?????: "Pep-per?" *A woman dressed in pure white clothing leant down, placing her arm around Pepper.*
Pepper: "Celest, they're taking me away."
Celest: *She closed her eyes to hold back her tears.* "How long have they given thou?"
Pepper: "About fifteen minutes now."
Celest: "What is to happen?"
Pepper: "They are removing my divine Remenistal and banishing me from Valhalla."
Celest: (Pepper losing her Radiatons?) "Anything else?"
Pepper: "They mentioned, if I somehow regain my powers-" *She shook her head and sighed.* "Whatever that meant, yeah?"
Celest: (Thy see.) "With things happening down there, with the Consultants."
Pepper: "The Consultants."
Celest: "This is not a good time."
Pepper: "What happened to Lorilei?"
Celest: "She was powerful in Remenistal."
Pepper: "..."
Celest: "She used one of the forbidden Remenistal, so she was able to teleport herself right out."
Pepper: *She silently stared at the ground.* "Thank you, Celest for everything-" *Gold dust-like swirls, blew out of her eyes.*
Celest: *She watched Pepper's body become transparent.* (Her eyes have reverted back to their normal colour-)
Pepper: "A-Argh-" *She grunted in pain, as her body started to disintegrate into tiny white orbs.*
Celest: "It's happening-" *She whispered on her breath and stood up, taking a step back.*
Pepper: "I say, it hurts-" *Her hands slipped, causing her head to hit the ground.* "Thy will miss-" *Her body burst into a pulse of white orbs, causing her voice to fade away.*
Celest: "Pepper." *She took a moment to herself and sighed.* "Why?" *She whispered to herself and faced a door of pure light.* "Thy cannot believe thou broke one of the most sacred rules."
*Celest walked towards the door and closed her eyes, blinded by the light outside.*
Celest: *She stood on the ledge of a massive ancient-like castle.* (Thy will watch over you.)
----------
*Tiny white orbs swirled from the sky and gathered on the ground, forming a human size silhouette. The light faded and revealed Pepper lying unconscious on the ground.*
Pepper: *She gasped into consciousness and leant up.* "I say, where am I?" *She stood up and looked around in confusion.*
----------
Lance: *He opened his eyes in a small bed, noticing stars through the cracks of old wooden panels.* (Stars?)
*Lance found himself in a very small wooden shack, causing him to throw the sheets off.*
Lance: *He stood up and staggered towards the wooden door.* (This room is tiny-) *He opened the door and nearly fell out of the tiny shack.* "Where-?" *He grunted to himself, as he looked around lost.*
Ashton: "Glad to see you're finally up."
Lance: *He looked towards the origin of the voice and noticed the party, sitting around a small fire.* "How long was I out for?" *He grunted and scratched his arm, while walking towards the fire.*
Teresa: "At least fifteen hours."
Lance: "Wait a minute-" *He placed his hand on his chest in shock, as he inspected the area.* "When that girl kicked me, I swear I heard one of my ribs breakin'."
Alicia: "I healed them." *She proudly announced with a slight smile.*
Lance: "Th-Thanks-" *He stood next to Ashton and stared into the fire.* "I guess."
Ashton: "Lance." *He motioned his head for Lance to sit down.* "We were just discussing what we're going to do from here."
Lance: "Oh, OK?" *He looked slightly disorientated, as he sat down next to Ashton.*
Alicia: "I originally planned to get a ship and travel across The Great Coast."
Teresa: "We would have been in walking distance to Surpreon."
Alicia: "B-But since Mindy's subordinates are now patrolling the area, we will have to go around The Great Coast." *She reached for a nearby stick and drew lines on the sandy ground, describing what she meant.*
Lance: "Wait." *He grunted with impatience and frustration.* "How did we end up in a forest? Wat happened to Mindy? And who's patrollin' wat?" *He prepared himself for other questions.*
Teresa: "Alicia surprised us all by using an ice element Rostical on Mindy." *She spoke with an emotionless face, as she stared at Lance.* "The attack resulted in Mindy's demise."
Lance: "Yea, I'm sorry wat?! It can use Rostickal?"
Alicia: "Y-Yep-"
Lance: "So why didn't ya use it from the start?" *He gave Alicia a feral look.*
Alicia: *She paused and looked to the ground, feeling slightly intimidated.* "W-Well, I-I need this pendant to use Rostical-"
Teresa: "If I can recall, Alicia went out of her way to heal you no? Such pointless babble is somewhat frustrating."
Lance: "..." *He stared at Teresa, as if he didn't know what to say.*
&
nbsp; Teresa: "As I was saying to your previous question. Mindy is now dead due to Alicia's Rostical, we had to leave on short notice as other warriors were heading our way."
Lance: "..." (Wateva.) *He looked away child-like, placing his hands over his head.*
Ashton: *He looked down and observed Alicia's drawings.* "Alicia, you said we had to go around The Great Coast."
Alicia: "Yep?"
Ashton: "Why do we assume that the warriors will stick around? So why not wait, then take the boat?"
Teresa: "That would be because of Mindy's death."
Alicia: *She nodded her head in response.* "..."
Ashton: "Why would that have such an impact?"
Teresa: "Only a few selective Scoldrants are strong enough to kill a single digit captain. The Consultants usually inspect the area until the matter, or reason is resolved."
Ashton: "So the Consultants will be sending more warriors to inspect what happened?"
Teresa: "Precisely."
Teresa: "To eradicate the Scoldrant of course."
Ashton: "Oh? But what if the Scoldrant attacked for defensive purposes?"
Teresa: "Such a question we both know the answer to."
Ashton: "Oh." *He looked down to his lap and formed fists.*
Lance: "So ya sayin' we need to walk the long way?"
Teresa: "Indeed."
Lance: "How far?" *He moaned on his breath like a child.*
Alicia: "U-Umm-" *She looked down to her diagram and back to Lance.* "We will need to go around The Great Coast, to the entrance of Maserio-"
Lance: "Heh? Maserio? Sounds like a friggin' computer game."
Alicia: (Compeutarh?)
Teresa: "..."
Alicia: "Maserio is the hottest and driest part on the continent."
Ashton: (That's right, the elder mentioned that before-) "Please continue."
Alicia: "After going through the entrance of Maserio, we will need to go through Gasher Hills and then to Surpreon."
Lance: *He sighed and dropped his arms on his legs.* (So much walking, I'm already tired just thinking about it.)
Alicia: "So we will head there in day break."
Ashton: "That sounds acceptable to me."
Teresa: "Due to the unfortunate circumstances, this is the best route to take."
Alicia: "Th-Thank you."
Teresa: "Hoh? I merely speak factual, there is nothing to be grateful for."
*The party awkwardly stared at Teresa.*
Ashton: "So, Alicia, since when could you use that power-?"
Teresa: "Before the discussion commences, I have a proposal I wish to discuss with you all."
Alicia: "Y-Yes?"
Teresa: "I have taken the appropriate amount of time for thought, which has established this decision."
Ashton: "What is it, Teresa?"
Teresa: "If there is no inconvenience, I wish to travel with you all, as a party. I have calculated my knowledge in a lot of aspects could serve you all greatly."
Lance: "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have had that epic plan to defeat Mindy."
Alicia: "Tee hee, ever since we met you, you have helped us a lot." *She smiled with an approving nod.*
Ashton: "Unacceptable, you had to ask?"
Teresa: "Excellent, although-" *She watched the fire dance in front of her.*
Ashton: "Although?"
Teresa: "Now that a single digit warrior is down, the Consultants will be sending several strong warriors."
Lance: "So? Who cares."
Teresa: "So we must be on guard."
Alicia: "What do you mean?"
Teresa: "The Consultants even out the experience in warriors."
Lance: "Aye?"
Teresa: "For instance, an area with two captain ranking warriors would have low numbers in the area."
Ashton: "While an area with low ranking warriors will have more numbers?"
Teresa: "Precisely."
Ashton: "Acceptable." (She knows a lot of information.)
Alicia: "So, Ashton, your question."
Ashton: "Yes." *He faced Alicia with a curious face.*
Alicia: "Okay, I will tell you all about me-"
Lance: "Sigh." *He sighed and looked away.*
Alicia: "Twenty years have past since I was born-"
Ashton: "Lance, not now."
Lance: "Wateva."
Alicia: "My mother and father were killed by warriors."
Ashton: "My condolences."
Alicia: "Th-Thank you." *She paused and slowly exhaled.* "When I was about seven years old, I was attacked by a Scoldrant. I was playing where I first met you both."
Teresa: "At the age of seven? Surviving an attack at such a young age is quite rare, I am intrigued to know what happened."
Alicia: "W-Well, it grabbed me and pulled me deep into the forest, there was a lake and it tried to drag me in. I was so scared and I kept screaming, but no one heard me."
Ashton: "Frightening."
Lance: (Attention seeker.) *He stared past Alicia with a bored expression and sighed.*
Teresa: "Please explain to the party how you survived the attack?"
Alicia: "I remember screaming as loud as I could, wanting it to stop. So I closed my eyes and felt the Scoldrant stop pulling on my leg."
Ashton: "Good grief, so the Scoldrant just attacked you for no reason?"
Alicia: "Yep. I opened my eyes and I looked down to see my pendant glowing, it was an aqua colour."
Teresa: "The colour of the pendant is trivial."
Alicia: "S-Sorry-" *She took a quick breath to continue her story.* "When I looked at the Scoldrant I noticed it was completely frozen, even the water around it."
Teresa: (She has the ability to heal? She was able to use Rostical at the age of seven? If the Consultants found out about her, things may get complicated.)
Alicia: "Well I pulled my leg back and its arm snapped off like a twig."
Ashton: "Like a twig?"
Alicia: "And its claws dug deep cuts around my ankles, so I placed my hand over it."
Ashton: "Like a normal reaction."
Alicia: "Y-Yep, and a bright light blinded me."
Ashton: "From the sun?"
Alicia: "No, my pendant. When I opened my eyes, the pain was gone and all that remained were scars."
Ashton: "That must've been very scary."
Lance: "The only thing that's scary is her horrid story telling, aye." *He chuckled and smirked to himself.*
Ashton: (Lance..) *He sighed, slowly shaking his head.*
Alicia: "It was really scary and that wasn't all. That very night I found out our village was due to be taxed. Like every other village, we were taxed a few days earlier so we obviously didn't have enough to pay."
Ashton: (Terrible.)
Alicia: "A-As a result, half of the village was slaughtered."
Ashton: "Unacceptable, you can stop if you wish?"
Alicia: "N-No, it's fine. Thank you." *She watched the wood splinter away, causing her to stare into the fire.* "Later that night, my mother rushed in covered in blood. She said she found me on a rock near Concern's Gate."
Lance: "Found? How did ya mum know where to look then?"
Alicia: "My mother and several other villagers were heading back from Surpreon after stocking up on several items. My mother said something forced her to look where I was."
Teresa: (So exploring the village's past will not explain the origin of her healing powers?) "Tcch-"
Alicia: "She later caught up with the villagers and they never really questioned it. She also told me, that I was already wearing this pendant when she found me."
Lance: "That was borin'-"
Alicia: "And that's how I found out about my powers."
Ashton: "Incredible."
Lance: "Wait, so that means the people that got killed in the village weren't ya real parents?"
Alicia: "No, but that's not the point."
Lance: "Great, then there's more creatures like Alicia runnin' around."
Teresa: "Actually, she would be like them. They can not be Alicia if they are of older age."
Lance: "W-Wateva."
Ashton: *He sighed and focused his attention to Alicia.* "This might be a stupid question, but do you know your real parents?"
Alicia: "N-No I don't." *She lowered her head and stared at the pendant.* (Lance's lame jokes are starting to annoy me.)