Reply to Re: Wild ARMs second book
If you don't have an account, just leave the password field blank.
Took quite long, cause I'm lazy. But here's the next chapter anyway. 
Chapter 3
The Statues
In a flash of light, Rudy found himself falling to the ground. He fell so fast, he was afraid he would be shattered to a million pieces when landing, but before he hit the ground, he felt as if an invisible force had grabbed him, and carefully placed him to the grassy ground.
As he pushed himself up from the ground, Rudy gazed to his left finding Jack next to him, also getting on his feet. They both looked around. It seemed they had landed in a grassy clearing in the middle of a forest. Over their heads, there were leaves flying, carried by the strong wind.
Rudy soon noticed Cecilia laying on the ground next to him. He kneeled next to her and helped her up. Cecilia shook her head in daze, and slowly got to her feet.
"Where are we?", Jack asked his two friends, even though he fully knew they couldn't provide him with an answer. Cecilia quickly answered:
"The place of the seal. Gurdijeff said he would lead us here". She then looked around the place, but her eyes did not find what they were looking for.
"But... It doesn't seem like there's anything here...", she wondered, "Mother... That's the last thing I heard before I fainted".
"You're saying the demon boss is buried somewhere around here?", Jack asked her, looking around the place. "I don't like this... Not at all... Being dragged everywhere by the Guardians and having to save the world...".
"What is this?". All of a sudden, Cecilia noticed she was holding three stone slabs. They had the carvings of the Earth Guardian, the Fire Guardian and the Wind Guardian.
"These slabs contain the spirits of Gurdijeff and the other Guardians", she explained, "What is this seal that the Guardians are willing to risk the last of their strength to protect?".
As the day passed on, the three *Dream Chasers* tried to use the map to find out where they were. Jack and Cecilia thought they had worked out where they were, as Rudy came from the forest with Hanpan. Jack explained where he thought they were:
"I believe we are on a large island south of Milama. I've never been here before, but I think the ships don't come here".
"So you are saying we can't get away from here before a ship sails by. Which could very well not happen in a long, long time?", Cecilia yelled at him.
"Hey, don't scream at me", Jack said, "It isn't my fault the Guardians sent us in the middle of nowhere". Cecilia responded:
"You know they are losing the powers. There was nothing they could do".
A silence spread, until Hanpan spoke:
"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Me and Rudy saw a sign in the forest. It said there should be a village named Baskar, just 4 miles north-east, but I don't think it's wise to leave there now. It's getting dark". Jack looked at the sun, which was setting behind the west mountains.
"I think we should leave. I've never been on this island, who knows what kind of monsters lurk in here at nights. We can walk 4 miles before the sun sets by ease. We can sleep once we get to Baskar".
"So, it's settled", Cecilia answered, "Let's get moving".
The three, along with their Wind Mouse companion, made it through the forest, where they soon found the sign Hanpan had been talking about. The sun was quickly falling behind the mountains. As the *Dream Chasers* made it through the forest, some long plains laid in front of them. The mountain range had ended within the forest, and the sun was now floating above the west seas, which could be seen in the far distance.
They continued their way through the plains, and they could see a settlement coming closer to them, step by step.
They entered in between some cliffs, that surrounded this settlement. Passing a sign, that read "Welcome to Baskar", Rudy, Jack and Cecilia saw dozens of people around them, with a dark skin and wearing feathers on their heads, as if a hat or something. The peoples' clothes were poor and dirty. There were small farms all around the place. Small buildings made of wood, and even smaller tipis were built around the town, to provide settlement for the people.
"I wonder if this place has any beds to offer for worn travellers", Jack laughed at his friends, as he saw a dog run past him. Cecilia looked around, with sad eyes. The people looked happy, but she couldn't but worry about the condition their lives were in.
"Come on", Jack said and the party made their way deeper into the village. As they walked along these people, they pointed at the outsiders and Cecilia could hear whispeing such as:
"Look. There they are" or "Just like the chief told us". The three outisders were stopped by one of the village's inhabitants, who came running at them. He took Rudy by his arm and began dragging him into the biggest house in the village.
"Come, quickly. You must see the chief", the villager said and dragged Rudy into the wooden house. Jack and Cecilia followed after.
Inside, the first thing Cecilia noticed was that there was no floor inside, but that they were standing on the grass. The wooden walls were covered in either beautiful vases hanging by ropes, or bows which were hanging by nails. There was a one big bed in the far corner of the house. The only natural light in the house, which there wasn't much at this time of the evening, came through the small hole in the roof. As they followed down the smoke which escaped through that hole, they found a small campfire, which by sat an old man, with a colorful dress and many feathers on his head. Next to him was sitting a big dog, with a long, white fur which showed the dog's old age. The old man laughed:
"Come and sit, younglings". Rudy, Jack and Cecilia looked at each other, but finally decided to sit opposite the old man, next to the campfire. The dim light didn't show much of the man's face, except the scars and wounds of many years. The old man spoke:
"I've long forgotten my name, but I am the leader of the Baskar people. I've foreseen your arrival in my dreams".
"So that's why the people seemed so weird about us", Cecilia quickly said. The Baskar chief laughed, with his deep and old voice:
"Yes. But now, listen warriors of the Guardians. As you know, our mortal enemy, the demon race, is approaching. They are after the Guardian statue in the Zenom Mountains. In order to conquer Filgaia, they must destroy the three Guardian Statues that hold the three broken pieces of their Queen's heart". Jack shook his head.
"The three Guardian Statues?", he asked, "I've never heard of those". The chief smiled at him and explained:
"During the war 1000 years ago, the demon Queen's heart was torn into three pieces and sealed in three separate Guardian Statues. They are planning an all out attack after the revival of their Queen".
"We must stop them!", Jack said, "But we are not much of a help if we cannot rest first. We've had a long journey behind us".
"Yes", the old chief spoke, "There may not be much time, but as it is said within the Baskar people, a warrior with hunger is not much of a warrior at all. You can sleep and fill your hunger in my house for the night, but when the sun rises, you must head to Zenom Mountains, and rescue the Guardian statue".
The night darkened, and to the *Dream Chaser's* amazement, the chief did not move, nor say another word during the whole evening.
"dang, how can they sleep in this cold of houses", Hanpan complained, "I mean, I've slept in the wilderness, but it's much colder in here or some reason".
"Stop complaining. Or would you rather sleep in one of those tipis?", Jack grinned at his Wind Mouse, whom was already snoring in his coat's pocket. Rudy was sitting in the corner, leaning against a wall, and checking their backpack for supplies. Jack and Cecilia were sitting on the bed.
"See? The Guardians sent us over here on purpose. To defend that Guardian statue", Cecilia told Jack, who muttered back:
"I doubt it. Besides, I don't like the way those Guardians were playing mind games on us". Cecilia sighed:
"Well, at least they gave us these runes", she held the three stone slabs in her hands, "They oughta be giving us some more power to fight the demons". Jack took one of the slabs into his hand.
"I wonder how we are supposed to summon the Guardians when we need to?", he asked Cecilia.
"I guess we'll just have to ask for their aid, or something". Jack took another of the runes from Cecilia, and threw it to Rudy, who catched it.
"I guess we all should have one. I can feel these things giving us strength, even when we only carry them".
The next morning, Jack woke up to see Rudy and Cecilia already up, talking with the chief. Hanpan was still sleeping in his pocket.
He got up and walked over to the campfire which had burned out during the night. He asked his friends:
"So, are you ready to head to the Guardian statue?". Rudy and Cecilia nodded. The old chief adviced them:
"Zenom Mountain is to the north of here. Go, warriors of the Guardians and protect the Guardian Statue. I believe that you are the callers of *Zephyr*, the west wind of hope. Go visit the *Wind Caller's Altar*. The guard there should be of some help".
Rudy, Jack and Cecilia left the chief's house, and were met by the beautiful sunshine of the morning.
"The *Wind Caller's Altar*?", Cecilia asked her two friends. Rudy shrugged.
"Maybe it has something to do with that?", Jack pointed at a small pyramid shaped altar north of the village. They walked along the people, who laughed in joy at the beautiful day. As they came over to the altar, they saw a villager guard the steps, which led to the top of the altar.
"Your party was summoned by *Zephyr*. Step up to the Wind Callers Altar and summon the west wind". Jack looked at his two friends and said:
"Alright, I guess it won't do any harm, since the chief told us to. I'll go".
"Hurry up, we are losing time!", Cecilia yelled at Jack, who was climbing the stairs up.
Cecilia and Rudy looked as Jack stood on the altar for many minutes, but nothing happened. Finally, the guard walked up the stairs and explained:
"It looks like the west wind of hope... *Zephyr* is not answering your call". Jack cursed and walked back down. As the guard followed him, he explained:
"*Zephyr* is the name of hope people have long forgotten. *Gurdijeff*, *Moa Gault*, *Fengalon*, *Stoldark*... The Guardians' names are the real names for earth, fire, wind and water, which we humans have long forgotten... It is not because of the battle with the demons, it is us humans who are responsible for the weakening of the Guardians".
"Yeah, yeah", Jack answred, "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have an important mission to accomplish". He grabbed Rudy and Cecilia by ther arms and they walked past the altar, heading north. In the distance, they could hear the guard yell:
"Come back again... The Wind will answer if you become the true caller of *Zephyr*!".
As they had travelled for a short distance, Jack began cursing:
"dang, what was the point of that? All we did was lose valuable time!". Hanpan laughed:
"Looks like someone's mad that he didn't manage to contact *Zephyr*".
"Didn't you listen to the words of the guard. That's what the Baskar chief told us to do", Cecilia spoke, "I mean...", but Jack cut him off:
"Whatever... let's just make it to Zenom Mountain before noon". They walked over three hours without stopping, and Rudy counted that they had come more than 20 miles from Baskar. They were all sweaty and tired, when they suddenly discovered a huge stone circle in the middle of the plains. In the middle of the circle, was a small altar.
"Pah, altars!", Jack sighed and Rudy and Cecilia grinned at each other. For another half an hour, they continued walking, until they saw a huge mountain range in the distance, but one of the mountains was higher than the rest, reaching all the way above the clouds.
"You wanna bet we just found Zenom Mountains?", Jack smiled at his friends.
The *Dream Chasers* had soon made their way to the mountain's wall, which seemed even higher from there.
"Ladies first", Jack winked at Cecilia. The princess began climbing the mountain wall, step by step, and to Jack's and Rudy's amazement, she was pretty good at climbing.
"Rudy?", Jack passed the backpack to the silent boy, who just nodded, put the backpack onto his back, and began climbing the wall. Jack followed soon after.
The climb was slow and long, with many moments of fear or someone about to fall. The three travellers climbed for two hours, until they noticed they were above the clouds.
"Watch out!", Cecilia yelled from above the others, "It will get slippery from here on. It's snowing here!".
"I hate snow!", Jack sighed.
Suddenly, huge rocks and boulders of ice began falling from above, and before Jack knew it, he was hanging by one hand, just avoiding one of the rocks. He took a firm grip of the stone wall with both his hands, and sighed in relief.
"Everyone ok?", he asked his friends. Rudy nodded and Cecilia answered positively. But just as she did, another boulder of ice fell and hit her straight in the head. The princess tried to hold on, but her fingers slipped and she fell down. Rudy, who was standing on a narrow ledge, noticed this and managed to catch her onto his arms.
"Thanks Rudy", Cecilia cried out.
"Jack...", Rudy groaned, trying not to fall himself, "Take my backpack, so we fit onto this ledge". Jack did as Rudy asked, and they continued climbing.
They finally found a big ledge, covered in snow. For a second, they all thought they had come to the top of the mountain, but they could see it continued even further into the sky.
"Are you ok, Cecilia?", Jack asked, as he saw her bleeding from the head, "Rudy, bandage her up before we move on". Cecilia told back:
"There's no need. I'm fine... Except for my fingers, they're freezing".
Rudy then noticed a Baskar villager standing at a small hole in the mountain wall. He pointed at him, so the others could see him too.
The three got up, and walked over to the man, who spoke:
"I am *Zephyr's* messenger. I believe you will be victorious", he looked at the cave in the mountain wall, "Go in, it is a much faster route to the top through there". The *Dream Chasers* nodded at the man, and went into the cave.
The cave was cold, but full of light, because of the burning torches on the walls. There were huge stone stairs, leading up in circles.
Rudy, Jack and Cecilia began walking the stairs, which seemed hundreds of years old. Their own breath turned visible for the three humans, because of the cold air surrounding them, but it wasn't cold for them anymore. Not after climbing the stairs for another half an hour.
As they finally made it to the end of the stairs, they found themselves at the top of the mountain. They stepped out of the cave, back into the snow. On the very edge of the ledge they were standing on, was a statue of a horned beast, staring at the three adventurers.
"Is this the statue of the God of the Seal?", Cecila asked, mostly from herself. Suddenly, a sword of lighting hit on the statue, and sent the *Dream Chasers* flying on their backs. They quickly got up though, and were by Belselk, whom was floating in the air with some sort of magic. The green demon waved his long tail with joy and yelled:
"It's too late! We undid the...", but Jack stopped him.
"Belselk?!", he yelled in anger. Belselk looked at the three humans and smiled.
"So, you got here before me... Oh well, it doesn't matter... Orga Widow, go play with them!". Suddenly, Jack noticed a shadow growing under his feet and he quickly jumped backwards, pulling his friends with him.
As Jack landed on his feet, and Rudy and Cecilia landed on their backs, a giant spider fell between the humans and the statue.
Jack pulled out his sword and took a firm position, waiting for the giant spider's next move. The spider did not move, however, and Jack grew inpatient. He jumped in the air, attempting one of his Fast Draw maneuvers, but the spider jumped aside and used one of its eight legs to send Jack flying against a rock.
Cecilia tried to cast a fireball spell against the spider, but before she could do it, the spider tried to bite him. Cecilia just barely managed to dodge the spider's big, poisonous teeth, and fell down into the snow, almost falling off the ledge. Rudy ran over to her, and helped her up. Cecila jumped away, as the spider shot a giant amount of web from its eyes. Rudy, however, got caught in the web, and couldn't move anywhere.
The spider, which Belselk called Orga Widow screamed in joy with a horrible voice, as Rudy tried to reach his sword to cut the web. Cecilia had ran over to the other side of the ledge, to help Jack. The old treasure hunter got to his feet and noticed that the giant spider was about to bite Rudy.
"Oh no!", Jack yelled, "You aren't going to get him poisoned again!". Jack ran over and cut one of Orga's hindlegs. The beast screamed, but this time in agony. It turned to face Jack, but just as it did, Rudy managed to grab his sword and cut the web loose. He charged and cut the spider's other hindleg. Again, Orga Widow screamed in horrible pain, and tried to crawl towards the three humans.
"Come on Cecilia, use some spell or something!", Jack yelled. Cecilia nodded and pointed her magic rod towards the spider. With gigantic power, Orga Widow flew off the ledge, down into the ground.
"Alright, Belselk", Jack turned to face the demon, but noticed that he was gone. They then noticed the statue had been broken into half, and they could hear a hollow voice speak into their minds:
"The power inside grows weak... The seal cannot provide me with a link to the girl...". Cecilia then noticed another stone slab in her hand, which had the carving of the Summit Rune. However, Cecilia did not care about this, but rather of the statue which was now destroyed. She cried:
"The statue of the God Seal has been broken. The return of Mother is becoming a reality. I can't believe the *Tear Drop* is being used for such horrors ". Jack looked at the statue, then spoke:
"There are two more statues left. We must defend them". He turned away and spoke quietly to himself. Rudy could hear him sighing:
"Give me the *Power*... The *Power* I need to defeat them. The *Power* to destroy everything!".
"Come on, let's go!", Cecilia said. They began heading back down. The stone stairs didn't seem as cold this time, as they followed them down.
They exited the cave, finding the Baskar villager still standing there, all by himself. As Jack was about to lower himself down the ledge, the Baskar villager grabbed him by his shoulder.
"Just now, I have felt the seal holding the Queen of the demons break. Messenger of *Zephyr*, please notify the elders of this situation. We must act quickly". Jack smiled and nodded at the man, and lowered himself down from the ledge. He started the long climb down, following Rudy and Cecilia.
Meanwhile, within the demon base, inside the cocoon which was firmly floating in the strange liquid in the big glass tube, the Mother's words grew stronger and echoed through the room.
"It's dark... I can't see...", her words became clear, "I can't hear anything... My precious Zeik... My children...Let me see you... Let me hear you...".
In front of the tube, came a tall man with pale skin and a green, tangly hair. On his back he had a sword. He laughed to himself, with a childish voice:
"That was easy... All this talk about seals... Who cares about the Quarter Knights! Now that Mother is awake! I can go on with my career. Glory's up ahead!". The man laughed as the cocoon grumbled behind him, in the tube.
Chapter 3
The Statues
In a flash of light, Rudy found himself falling to the ground. He fell so fast, he was afraid he would be shattered to a million pieces when landing, but before he hit the ground, he felt as if an invisible force had grabbed him, and carefully placed him to the grassy ground.
As he pushed himself up from the ground, Rudy gazed to his left finding Jack next to him, also getting on his feet. They both looked around. It seemed they had landed in a grassy clearing in the middle of a forest. Over their heads, there were leaves flying, carried by the strong wind.
Rudy soon noticed Cecilia laying on the ground next to him. He kneeled next to her and helped her up. Cecilia shook her head in daze, and slowly got to her feet.
"Where are we?", Jack asked his two friends, even though he fully knew they couldn't provide him with an answer. Cecilia quickly answered:
"The place of the seal. Gurdijeff said he would lead us here". She then looked around the place, but her eyes did not find what they were looking for.
"But... It doesn't seem like there's anything here...", she wondered, "Mother... That's the last thing I heard before I fainted".
"You're saying the demon boss is buried somewhere around here?", Jack asked her, looking around the place. "I don't like this... Not at all... Being dragged everywhere by the Guardians and having to save the world...".
"What is this?". All of a sudden, Cecilia noticed she was holding three stone slabs. They had the carvings of the Earth Guardian, the Fire Guardian and the Wind Guardian.
"These slabs contain the spirits of Gurdijeff and the other Guardians", she explained, "What is this seal that the Guardians are willing to risk the last of their strength to protect?".
As the day passed on, the three *Dream Chasers* tried to use the map to find out where they were. Jack and Cecilia thought they had worked out where they were, as Rudy came from the forest with Hanpan. Jack explained where he thought they were:
"I believe we are on a large island south of Milama. I've never been here before, but I think the ships don't come here".
"So you are saying we can't get away from here before a ship sails by. Which could very well not happen in a long, long time?", Cecilia yelled at him.
"Hey, don't scream at me", Jack said, "It isn't my fault the Guardians sent us in the middle of nowhere". Cecilia responded:
"You know they are losing the powers. There was nothing they could do".
A silence spread, until Hanpan spoke:
"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Me and Rudy saw a sign in the forest. It said there should be a village named Baskar, just 4 miles north-east, but I don't think it's wise to leave there now. It's getting dark". Jack looked at the sun, which was setting behind the west mountains.
"I think we should leave. I've never been on this island, who knows what kind of monsters lurk in here at nights. We can walk 4 miles before the sun sets by ease. We can sleep once we get to Baskar".
"So, it's settled", Cecilia answered, "Let's get moving".
The three, along with their Wind Mouse companion, made it through the forest, where they soon found the sign Hanpan had been talking about. The sun was quickly falling behind the mountains. As the *Dream Chasers* made it through the forest, some long plains laid in front of them. The mountain range had ended within the forest, and the sun was now floating above the west seas, which could be seen in the far distance.
They continued their way through the plains, and they could see a settlement coming closer to them, step by step.
They entered in between some cliffs, that surrounded this settlement. Passing a sign, that read "Welcome to Baskar", Rudy, Jack and Cecilia saw dozens of people around them, with a dark skin and wearing feathers on their heads, as if a hat or something. The peoples' clothes were poor and dirty. There were small farms all around the place. Small buildings made of wood, and even smaller tipis were built around the town, to provide settlement for the people.
"I wonder if this place has any beds to offer for worn travellers", Jack laughed at his friends, as he saw a dog run past him. Cecilia looked around, with sad eyes. The people looked happy, but she couldn't but worry about the condition their lives were in.
"Come on", Jack said and the party made their way deeper into the village. As they walked along these people, they pointed at the outsiders and Cecilia could hear whispeing such as:
"Look. There they are" or "Just like the chief told us". The three outisders were stopped by one of the village's inhabitants, who came running at them. He took Rudy by his arm and began dragging him into the biggest house in the village.
"Come, quickly. You must see the chief", the villager said and dragged Rudy into the wooden house. Jack and Cecilia followed after.
Inside, the first thing Cecilia noticed was that there was no floor inside, but that they were standing on the grass. The wooden walls were covered in either beautiful vases hanging by ropes, or bows which were hanging by nails. There was a one big bed in the far corner of the house. The only natural light in the house, which there wasn't much at this time of the evening, came through the small hole in the roof. As they followed down the smoke which escaped through that hole, they found a small campfire, which by sat an old man, with a colorful dress and many feathers on his head. Next to him was sitting a big dog, with a long, white fur which showed the dog's old age. The old man laughed:
"Come and sit, younglings". Rudy, Jack and Cecilia looked at each other, but finally decided to sit opposite the old man, next to the campfire. The dim light didn't show much of the man's face, except the scars and wounds of many years. The old man spoke:
"I've long forgotten my name, but I am the leader of the Baskar people. I've foreseen your arrival in my dreams".
"So that's why the people seemed so weird about us", Cecilia quickly said. The Baskar chief laughed, with his deep and old voice:
"Yes. But now, listen warriors of the Guardians. As you know, our mortal enemy, the demon race, is approaching. They are after the Guardian statue in the Zenom Mountains. In order to conquer Filgaia, they must destroy the three Guardian Statues that hold the three broken pieces of their Queen's heart". Jack shook his head.
"The three Guardian Statues?", he asked, "I've never heard of those". The chief smiled at him and explained:
"During the war 1000 years ago, the demon Queen's heart was torn into three pieces and sealed in three separate Guardian Statues. They are planning an all out attack after the revival of their Queen".
"We must stop them!", Jack said, "But we are not much of a help if we cannot rest first. We've had a long journey behind us".
"Yes", the old chief spoke, "There may not be much time, but as it is said within the Baskar people, a warrior with hunger is not much of a warrior at all. You can sleep and fill your hunger in my house for the night, but when the sun rises, you must head to Zenom Mountains, and rescue the Guardian statue".
The night darkened, and to the *Dream Chaser's* amazement, the chief did not move, nor say another word during the whole evening.
"dang, how can they sleep in this cold of houses", Hanpan complained, "I mean, I've slept in the wilderness, but it's much colder in here or some reason".
"Stop complaining. Or would you rather sleep in one of those tipis?", Jack grinned at his Wind Mouse, whom was already snoring in his coat's pocket. Rudy was sitting in the corner, leaning against a wall, and checking their backpack for supplies. Jack and Cecilia were sitting on the bed.
"See? The Guardians sent us over here on purpose. To defend that Guardian statue", Cecilia told Jack, who muttered back:
"I doubt it. Besides, I don't like the way those Guardians were playing mind games on us". Cecilia sighed:
"Well, at least they gave us these runes", she held the three stone slabs in her hands, "They oughta be giving us some more power to fight the demons". Jack took one of the slabs into his hand.
"I wonder how we are supposed to summon the Guardians when we need to?", he asked Cecilia.
"I guess we'll just have to ask for their aid, or something". Jack took another of the runes from Cecilia, and threw it to Rudy, who catched it.
"I guess we all should have one. I can feel these things giving us strength, even when we only carry them".
The next morning, Jack woke up to see Rudy and Cecilia already up, talking with the chief. Hanpan was still sleeping in his pocket.
He got up and walked over to the campfire which had burned out during the night. He asked his friends:
"So, are you ready to head to the Guardian statue?". Rudy and Cecilia nodded. The old chief adviced them:
"Zenom Mountain is to the north of here. Go, warriors of the Guardians and protect the Guardian Statue. I believe that you are the callers of *Zephyr*, the west wind of hope. Go visit the *Wind Caller's Altar*. The guard there should be of some help".
Rudy, Jack and Cecilia left the chief's house, and were met by the beautiful sunshine of the morning.
"The *Wind Caller's Altar*?", Cecilia asked her two friends. Rudy shrugged.
"Maybe it has something to do with that?", Jack pointed at a small pyramid shaped altar north of the village. They walked along the people, who laughed in joy at the beautiful day. As they came over to the altar, they saw a villager guard the steps, which led to the top of the altar.
"Your party was summoned by *Zephyr*. Step up to the Wind Callers Altar and summon the west wind". Jack looked at his two friends and said:
"Alright, I guess it won't do any harm, since the chief told us to. I'll go".
"Hurry up, we are losing time!", Cecilia yelled at Jack, who was climbing the stairs up.
Cecilia and Rudy looked as Jack stood on the altar for many minutes, but nothing happened. Finally, the guard walked up the stairs and explained:
"It looks like the west wind of hope... *Zephyr* is not answering your call". Jack cursed and walked back down. As the guard followed him, he explained:
"*Zephyr* is the name of hope people have long forgotten. *Gurdijeff*, *Moa Gault*, *Fengalon*, *Stoldark*... The Guardians' names are the real names for earth, fire, wind and water, which we humans have long forgotten... It is not because of the battle with the demons, it is us humans who are responsible for the weakening of the Guardians".
"Yeah, yeah", Jack answred, "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have an important mission to accomplish". He grabbed Rudy and Cecilia by ther arms and they walked past the altar, heading north. In the distance, they could hear the guard yell:
"Come back again... The Wind will answer if you become the true caller of *Zephyr*!".
As they had travelled for a short distance, Jack began cursing:
"dang, what was the point of that? All we did was lose valuable time!". Hanpan laughed:
"Looks like someone's mad that he didn't manage to contact *Zephyr*".
"Didn't you listen to the words of the guard. That's what the Baskar chief told us to do", Cecilia spoke, "I mean...", but Jack cut him off:
"Whatever... let's just make it to Zenom Mountain before noon". They walked over three hours without stopping, and Rudy counted that they had come more than 20 miles from Baskar. They were all sweaty and tired, when they suddenly discovered a huge stone circle in the middle of the plains. In the middle of the circle, was a small altar.
"Pah, altars!", Jack sighed and Rudy and Cecilia grinned at each other. For another half an hour, they continued walking, until they saw a huge mountain range in the distance, but one of the mountains was higher than the rest, reaching all the way above the clouds.
"You wanna bet we just found Zenom Mountains?", Jack smiled at his friends.
The *Dream Chasers* had soon made their way to the mountain's wall, which seemed even higher from there.
"Ladies first", Jack winked at Cecilia. The princess began climbing the mountain wall, step by step, and to Jack's and Rudy's amazement, she was pretty good at climbing.
"Rudy?", Jack passed the backpack to the silent boy, who just nodded, put the backpack onto his back, and began climbing the wall. Jack followed soon after.
The climb was slow and long, with many moments of fear or someone about to fall. The three travellers climbed for two hours, until they noticed they were above the clouds.
"Watch out!", Cecilia yelled from above the others, "It will get slippery from here on. It's snowing here!".
"I hate snow!", Jack sighed.
Suddenly, huge rocks and boulders of ice began falling from above, and before Jack knew it, he was hanging by one hand, just avoiding one of the rocks. He took a firm grip of the stone wall with both his hands, and sighed in relief.
"Everyone ok?", he asked his friends. Rudy nodded and Cecilia answered positively. But just as she did, another boulder of ice fell and hit her straight in the head. The princess tried to hold on, but her fingers slipped and she fell down. Rudy, who was standing on a narrow ledge, noticed this and managed to catch her onto his arms.
"Thanks Rudy", Cecilia cried out.
"Jack...", Rudy groaned, trying not to fall himself, "Take my backpack, so we fit onto this ledge". Jack did as Rudy asked, and they continued climbing.
They finally found a big ledge, covered in snow. For a second, they all thought they had come to the top of the mountain, but they could see it continued even further into the sky.
"Are you ok, Cecilia?", Jack asked, as he saw her bleeding from the head, "Rudy, bandage her up before we move on". Cecilia told back:
"There's no need. I'm fine... Except for my fingers, they're freezing".
Rudy then noticed a Baskar villager standing at a small hole in the mountain wall. He pointed at him, so the others could see him too.
The three got up, and walked over to the man, who spoke:
"I am *Zephyr's* messenger. I believe you will be victorious", he looked at the cave in the mountain wall, "Go in, it is a much faster route to the top through there". The *Dream Chasers* nodded at the man, and went into the cave.
The cave was cold, but full of light, because of the burning torches on the walls. There were huge stone stairs, leading up in circles.
Rudy, Jack and Cecilia began walking the stairs, which seemed hundreds of years old. Their own breath turned visible for the three humans, because of the cold air surrounding them, but it wasn't cold for them anymore. Not after climbing the stairs for another half an hour.
As they finally made it to the end of the stairs, they found themselves at the top of the mountain. They stepped out of the cave, back into the snow. On the very edge of the ledge they were standing on, was a statue of a horned beast, staring at the three adventurers.
"Is this the statue of the God of the Seal?", Cecila asked, mostly from herself. Suddenly, a sword of lighting hit on the statue, and sent the *Dream Chasers* flying on their backs. They quickly got up though, and were by Belselk, whom was floating in the air with some sort of magic. The green demon waved his long tail with joy and yelled:
"It's too late! We undid the...", but Jack stopped him.
"Belselk?!", he yelled in anger. Belselk looked at the three humans and smiled.
"So, you got here before me... Oh well, it doesn't matter... Orga Widow, go play with them!". Suddenly, Jack noticed a shadow growing under his feet and he quickly jumped backwards, pulling his friends with him.
As Jack landed on his feet, and Rudy and Cecilia landed on their backs, a giant spider fell between the humans and the statue.
Jack pulled out his sword and took a firm position, waiting for the giant spider's next move. The spider did not move, however, and Jack grew inpatient. He jumped in the air, attempting one of his Fast Draw maneuvers, but the spider jumped aside and used one of its eight legs to send Jack flying against a rock.
Cecilia tried to cast a fireball spell against the spider, but before she could do it, the spider tried to bite him. Cecilia just barely managed to dodge the spider's big, poisonous teeth, and fell down into the snow, almost falling off the ledge. Rudy ran over to her, and helped her up. Cecila jumped away, as the spider shot a giant amount of web from its eyes. Rudy, however, got caught in the web, and couldn't move anywhere.
The spider, which Belselk called Orga Widow screamed in joy with a horrible voice, as Rudy tried to reach his sword to cut the web. Cecilia had ran over to the other side of the ledge, to help Jack. The old treasure hunter got to his feet and noticed that the giant spider was about to bite Rudy.
"Oh no!", Jack yelled, "You aren't going to get him poisoned again!". Jack ran over and cut one of Orga's hindlegs. The beast screamed, but this time in agony. It turned to face Jack, but just as it did, Rudy managed to grab his sword and cut the web loose. He charged and cut the spider's other hindleg. Again, Orga Widow screamed in horrible pain, and tried to crawl towards the three humans.
"Come on Cecilia, use some spell or something!", Jack yelled. Cecilia nodded and pointed her magic rod towards the spider. With gigantic power, Orga Widow flew off the ledge, down into the ground.
"Alright, Belselk", Jack turned to face the demon, but noticed that he was gone. They then noticed the statue had been broken into half, and they could hear a hollow voice speak into their minds:
"The power inside grows weak... The seal cannot provide me with a link to the girl...". Cecilia then noticed another stone slab in her hand, which had the carving of the Summit Rune. However, Cecilia did not care about this, but rather of the statue which was now destroyed. She cried:
"The statue of the God Seal has been broken. The return of Mother is becoming a reality. I can't believe the *Tear Drop* is being used for such horrors ". Jack looked at the statue, then spoke:
"There are two more statues left. We must defend them". He turned away and spoke quietly to himself. Rudy could hear him sighing:
"Give me the *Power*... The *Power* I need to defeat them. The *Power* to destroy everything!".
"Come on, let's go!", Cecilia said. They began heading back down. The stone stairs didn't seem as cold this time, as they followed them down.
They exited the cave, finding the Baskar villager still standing there, all by himself. As Jack was about to lower himself down the ledge, the Baskar villager grabbed him by his shoulder.
"Just now, I have felt the seal holding the Queen of the demons break. Messenger of *Zephyr*, please notify the elders of this situation. We must act quickly". Jack smiled and nodded at the man, and lowered himself down from the ledge. He started the long climb down, following Rudy and Cecilia.
Meanwhile, within the demon base, inside the cocoon which was firmly floating in the strange liquid in the big glass tube, the Mother's words grew stronger and echoed through the room.
"It's dark... I can't see...", her words became clear, "I can't hear anything... My precious Zeik... My children...Let me see you... Let me hear you...".
In front of the tube, came a tall man with pale skin and a green, tangly hair. On his back he had a sword. He laughed to himself, with a childish voice:
"That was easy... All this talk about seals... Who cares about the Quarter Knights! Now that Mother is awake! I can go on with my career. Glory's up ahead!". The man laughed as the cocoon grumbled behind him, in the tube.
