Chapter Text
Matthew, Tyrell, and Karis stood on the bridge looking at the large Psynergy Vortex now in front of them, their minds wandering all over the place. Is this Psynergy Vortex possibly the Mourning Moon? Why here? Why now? But one thought stood out clear among all of the others; what happened to Isaac and Garet? Are they okay? Matthew turns his head around to look at the cabin, and is about to start running towards it, when they hear a voice that Karis recognizes as her father calling out. “Karis, Matthew, Tyrell!” The group turns to look at Ivan as he rushes to the start of the bridge, faster than most, and he stops unnaturally gently when he arrives at his destination. Karis makes note of the fact that his hair is messy and unbrushed, like he got out of bed and immediately began running to the cabin.
Ivan looked at the Psynergy Vortex, and then back at the Adepts and the cabin behind them. He did a slight nod before walking forward to join them on the bridge. “Dad! What are you doing here?” Karis is a bit surprised at the sudden appearance of her father, as are Matthew and Tyrell. They could've sworn Ivan was taller the last time they met him…. But then again, the last time they met him, neither of them were even ten yet. Their memories of that long ago were bound to be pretty foggy, especially given how little they've seen Ivan. Ivan's voice was soft, gentle, but full of urgency while he spoke. “I'll explain later, when we're somewhere safe. But for now, we need to do a quick search through the cabin, but regardless of the outcome, we need to leave immediately afterwards, okay?” The small group looked at each other with a bit of worry, and then looked back at Ivan and nodded.
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Matthew’s and Tyrell's heads hung low, staring at the ground they were walking across, while Karis and Ivan made up the back and front of the group respectfully. They had quickly searched the cabin, and it was fairly thorough since it wasn't too big in the first place. There was no sign of Isaac or Garet, or even Isaac's messenger pigeon. You didn't have to be able to read minds to tell how depressed the mood among the group was. The sound of walking across wood and the vibrating of the Psynergy Vortex quickly faded away into the sound of footsteps on rocks, and then into a well trodden sand path. Matthew didn't even realize how late it was, or that they had managed to make it to Patchers Place, until Ivan had lightly tapped his shoulder twice to tell him they had made it there, and that they were going to spend the night there before heading to Kalay, where they would be able to discuss these things in private and possibly with his mother, Jenna. Matthew nodded his head.
Ivan saw how Matthew nodded to his words, and he saw how Tyrell was staring at the ground and desperately trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. He also saw how Karis tried to comfort both of them with soft words, and helped guide them over to the building that housed the inn. He sort of understood how they felt. Isaac and Garet were two of his closest friends, after all. It didn't help that he knew from the start that Isaac and Garet weren't going to be at the cabin. He had woken up the previous morning from a vision of the kids staring at the Psynergy Vortex, and then running to the cabin to check for Isaac and Garet. They were unsuccessful in locating them in the cabin, and searched the Tanglewood as well. Due to how long the search took, they weren't able to escape the strong force of the Vortex pulling them in due to how big it became in that time. However, it would not become big enough to affect Patchers Place. At least, not for a good long while. “Dad?” Ivan was jolted out of his thoughts by the voice of his daughter calling him. He hadn't realized that he stopped walking when he got wrapped up in his thoughts. He was a bit embarrassed, to be honest. “Ahem, yes, Karis?” Karis looked at him with a bit of thoughtfulness and concern. She was worried about all three of them, but this wasn't the time nor place to talk about it. “C’mon, we all need some rest. I already got a room.” Ivan furrowed his brow a bit, but not enough that it was noticeable. That's right. The inn at Patchers Place was fairly small, so at least half of their group would have to sleep on the floor since two beds was generally the maximum that one room had at a time. Ivan lightly shook his head at himself, and responded to his daughter. “Thank you, Karis.” He knew also that he should address the worry in her face when she first spoke to him. “And please don't worry too much. I'll be okay. It's Matthew and Tyrell we should be worried about right now.” Karis nods her head. “I understand. Let's go to the room now.” Ivan nods at Karis’s statement, and allows her to take the lead going inside of the building. He was very worried about Isaac and Garet himself. It's not like Isaac and Garet to just… Disappear. Especially not these days. You'd normally find them somewhere nearby where Mount Aleph used to be, doing their best to research the newer phenomena that began occurring ever since the Golden Sun event. Ivan shook his head once more to clear his thoughts, and continued following his daughter to their room of the inn.
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Rief and Kraden were doing a bit of window shopping while they awaited the arrival of Piers' ship in Tonfon. The shop they were looking at right now had a wide array of crystals on display, and there were quite a few that Rief recognized and could name, in no small part he was sure, thanks to the journey he had gone on with Matthew and the others. As his eyes continued scanning the shelves, a couple of strangely shaped ones on the lowest shelf caught his eye. He crouched down to get a closer look at them, and spotted a few Psy Crystals and Psynergy Stones among them, partly in thanks to the fact that he could feel the Psynergy being exuded from them. Although there were a few others that exuded some sort of power too. It wasn't Psynergy, Rief was sure of that. When he feels the power of Psynergy, even if the Psy Crystals or Psynergy Stones haven't been used yet, he feels more energetic. Looking at the strange, Violet crystals on the shelf, he felt as if….. as if…. As if what? He couldn't quite put his finger on it. It felt familiar but he couldn't remember why it was familiar. The longer he stared at the unsettling, perfect round shape of the gem, the bigger a pit in his stomach grew, as if this was something he was never meant to see. As if it wasn't supposed to be here. As if…. As if….. “Rief?” At the sound of his name being said, and the feeling of a hand on his shoulder, Rief jumped and was startled out of his thoughts. He turned to see Kraden, a bit worried and surprised. “Good heavens, Rief! I didn't think you'd be startled that easily!” It was only Kraden, but still, Rief could feel his heart trying to beat out of his chest, and he was breathing pretty heavily. And he was embarrassed. “Sorry…” He mumbled out, hand on his chest trying to slow his heart and staring down at the ground. Kraden shook his head, and responded to his apprentice. “No no, I too would be enraptured by certain objects. You've got nothing to be sorry about! I do worry about how long I've been trying to get your attention for, though.” Rief blinked a few times. How long had he been staring at that crystal? Kraden began speaking again before Rief could re-absorb himself into his thoughts. “Well, I suppose we can chat about that later. I believe I saw Piers’ ship heading into the docks. You must be eager to see Nowell again, yes?” Rief blinked, and then nodded. The last time he had seen Nowell was down in the Konpa Caves, before he had joined Matthew, Tyrell, and Karis on their quest. It all seemed so long ago now…. “Let us make haste to the docks, then!” Rief smiled a bit, and nodded before they began walking over to the docks. As Rief walked, the Ice Queen Stone that he had been entrusted with glinted a beautiful ice blue in the sunlight.
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“We've arrived, Nowell.” Piers informed the girl standing at his side. “Is it acceptable for me to drop the anchor while you gather your belongings?” Nowell took her arms off of the railing of the ship and smiled at Piers before answering. “Yes, it is. I'll go do that now.” And with that, Nowell walked off back into the cabin. Piers inwardly sighed. It was fairly obvious the crush that Nowell had on him, though it certainly didn't affect her battle abilities to any degree. She had certainly pulled her weight on their travels, although she always did seem to look at him any chance she got, always with admiration in her eyes. To be honest, he wasn't quite sure what it was about him that drew her attention. Every so often, he would point out someone who had a similar fashion sense, or who could possibly be another Water Adept, sometimes even someone who he thought to be similar to him in personality. Nobody seemed to catch her eyes like him, though. Perhaps it was because he traveled with Mia briefly? Although he's not sure that's enough of a reason to qualify as a reason… He didn't even notice he had finished lowering the anchor until he snapped his thoughts back to the present day, where he had brought Nowell to Tonfon to reunite with Kraden and her brother. He got up from his position, and turned to look at the docks. Among the sailors and others on the dock, he managed to locate Kraden, and next to him was a rather short boy, with the same vivid sky blue hair and eyes as Mia. He must be Nowell’s brother, Rief.
Nowell checked underneath her hammock one more time, to make sure she had everything. Everything seemed to be in order! She smiled to herself and threw the strap of her bag over her shoulder. It's been so long since she's seen Rief! As she remembers the last time she saw Rief, her smile fades and she feels just a tinge of guilt. She hadn't even known if Rief was alright before she went with Piers on his ship…. She also remembered what it was like when she first remembered that. It was a pretty sunny day, with the occasional cloud floating by, and Piers was telling her a story of back when they were on the quest of lighting the Elemental Lighthouses. “When Isaac’s group joined ours, they all truly seemed like a family to one another. I'd imagine they saw our group similarly.” Nowell had her elbows on the railing of the ship, with her head in her hands, intently listening to his story. “Aww. That's kind of cute.” Piers couldn't help but make a small smile as he reminisced about the whole journey. “ Indeed. The four of them were so close, they were practically siblings.” Nowell looks at Piers, entranced, with a smile on her face and looking dreamy, before she turns her head to look in front of her. “Yeah, siblings…” She sits still for a moment before jerking out of her position with her eyes wide and both hands covering her mouth as she lets out a huge gasp. “RIEF!!” She yelled, unintentionally. Piers’ head jerked off to the other side a bit, and one of his eyes squeezed shut when Nowell yelled, as she was right next to him. And by the time they had tried to return to Belinsk, there was something strange happening with the sun and moon. They'd later learn that it was called the Grave Eclipse, and that Rief had a hand in ending it! She was so happy to learn that he was okay, and she was so proud of him, too! She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and turned to walk towards the door of the cabin. As she closed the door behind her, she looked around to see that Piers had already left the ship. As she lightly rushed to catch up with him, she heard a conversation between him and Kraden.
“Ah, Piers! It's been quite some time.” “I suppose so! It's good to see you again, Kraden.” Piers turned to look at Rief before speaking again. “And you must be Rief.” When Rief is addressed, he looks directly into Piers’ striking golden eyes, something he's certain he wouldn't have been able to do previously. “Yes sir.” He answered Piers’ inquiry with a clear and strong voice. “A pleasure to meet you.” Piers responded with a smile as he reached his hand out for a handshake. Rief accepted the offer, and they shared a firm handshake before Piers took a couple of steps backward. Less than five seconds after he'd finished walking backward, a white and sky blue blur rushed past Piers and enveloped both Rief and Kraden in a large hug. “I've missed you both so much!” Rief and Kraden used one arm each to return the hug. “It's good to see you too, Nowell!” Rief acknowledged. The three stood in that position for a few moments longer before they let go of each other, and Nowell took a few steps backward to give Kraden and Rief some space. As the three smile at each other, Nowell looks at Rief’s eyes. They look….. different. He's more confident in himself. He holds his head higher. And his gaze carries the experiences he's had. All four of them whip their heads around when they hear a commotion farther into the city. They hear someone cry out, “Thief!” They all exchange a quick glance before rushing to where they heard the cry from.
The glass from the crystal shop windows was shattered, and the crystals were scattered among the shards on the ground. Kraden spoke to the shopkeeper while Rief, Nowell, and Piers observed the damage and looked to see what was missing. The only crystals that seemed to be missing were some of the Psy Crystals, Psynergy Stones, and the strange, round, violet gem. “...And these are the only ones you're missing, correct?” The shopkeeper had a worried and confused look on his face as he answered Kraden’s question. “Yes… which is quite odd, given those specific gems don't sell that often. Although that violet gem was just recently added to my inventory.” Kraden has a perplexed look on his face. “Hmm, odd indeed…” Rief looked over the ground at the shards of glass and the crystals. It would be quite a chore for a single person to clean it all up…. Rief got up from his crouching position and walked carefully over to the shopkeeper, to avoid stepping on any of the glass shards. “Excuse me sir, could I help you clean this up?” The shopkeeper looked a bit surprised while Nowell got up as well. “I can lend a hand as well, if you'd like.” The shopkeeper turns his gaze over to Nowell at her words. “I suppose I could help as well.” Piers added. Kraden looked around at his companions before nodding and turning back to face the shopkeeper. “Well, I suppose we'll all help you out then!” The shopkeeper blinks a few times. “Thank you, all of you.” He responded. “We're just glad to help.” Rief said.
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The glass was all swept up, and the crystals were all in the back of the store, hidden from view until the shopkeeper could replace his windows. He waved bye to the group of Rief, Nowell, Kraden, and Piers as they walked away and waved back. After they put their hands down, Nowell turned to look at Rief. “So, I hear you're a hero now, huh?” She asked him with a big grin. Rief turned his head to look at Nowell, and adjusted his glasses while he spoke. “Uh, well I wouldn't exactly say that. I mostly just did healing.” Nowell started ruffling Rief's hair while she spoke. “Yeah, so what? Ya still helped, so therefore you're a hero!” Rief laughed. He had missed these kinds of interactions with Nowell, and he knew better than to try and disprove her argument. As they continued walking, a girl with white hair ran right past Rief, just close enough to cause him to spin a couple of times before he fell to the ground with an “oof.” The girl kept running, simply responding with a “Sorry, ‘scuse me.” Before she ran out of eye sight. “Watch where you're going!” Nowell yelled at her while she was still in sight, before crouching down to check if Rief was okay. Piers made a comment. “That was a bit rude. There was plenty of space to avoid running into us…” Kraden nodded his head. “Yes, there was…” “Rief, are you okay?” Nowell asked Rief. “Uh, I think so.” Rief answered. Nowell sighed. “That's a relief. Here.” Nowell stuck her hand down to help Rief up. Rief took her hand, and it wasn't long before he was back on his feet. Although, something felt strange. His neck felt lighter…? Wait. He had been wearing the Ice Queen Stone as a necklace, which had put some weight on his neck. He frantically felt around the area it had been hanging, but he didn't feel the coldness or the Psynergy of the stone anywhere. “Th-the Ice Queen Stone! It-it’s gone!” Kraden looked concerned, as did Nowell and Piers. “Ice Queen Stone?” Nowell asked. Kraden turned to look at Nowell and Piers. “It was an item that was entrusted to Rief by Matthew quite a long while ago.” Nowell nodded. It must've meant a lot to Rief, with how he was reacting. “It's missing?” Nowell asked. Rief nodded his head. “...Is it possible that young woman who ran by stole it?” Piers asked. The others looked at Piers with shock and realization, before they all turned to look in the direction that the woman had run off in. “Well then, let's get after her!” Nowell said. The others nodded before they all began running after the young woman.