Kayla�s words brought an aura of silence to the table. The white mage sat quietly and with great detail looked over each of the men sitting at the table with her. At the far end of the table sat Weazel whose expression was one of no emotion. It seemed as if the question she asked him didn�t seem to concern or bother him much at all. The truth was, this was exactly what Kayla was expecting from him.
Sitting next to Weazel was Caleb. As soon as the word left Kayla�s mouth his expression completely changed from a happy and excited look to one of immense sadness and anger. It appeared as if the black mage had something to say about Gallu but was not yet ready to speak.
Edge who sat next to Caleb did not even come close to having the same expression as the black mage. Unlike Caleb, Edge�s face was filled with determination and certainty. He sat down at the table and looked at Kayla for a moment with each of his hands clenched tightly and resting upon the table. Before he was able to speak to her and the others the silence at the table was broken.
�Well if what you say is really true then I need to get back to my time so I can stop Gallu!� Joe shouted while he banged his hand on the table. �I mean, if I can get back there now I�ll be able to warn everyone and we�ll be able to get all our militaries together and blow that thing into a billion pieces!�
�If it were only that easy.� Edge muttered.
�What�s so complicated?� Joe asked. �If we amassed all our powers to take him out there�d be no way he could fight back.�
�You don�t understand Gallu is�he�s a monster!� Caleb shouted. �There�s no way they�d ever win.�
�Well I�� Joe paused for a moment and clenched his fists tightly. The anger was boiling up inside of him. �If this is all true I can�t just stand by and let it happen! I�m not going to let this thing destroy everything I know, I just can�t let that happen!�
�Not a bad fighting spirit but from what I�ve heard Gallu is just a beast.� Weazel said.
Their conversation was interrupted as one of the waiters finally came to the table. After taking their orders the waiter retreated back to the kitchen to place them. Moments later he came back out with their drinks.
�Gallu affects me directly, Kayla.� Edge said. He paused for a moment and took a small drink. �As you may know the Naz-Gumi were created when Gallu infected a single man. That man infected two males and three females before he was able to control the disease. This is where our three tribes came from. The Gumi, Lycan and Jalon. As you all know I am from the Lycan tribe, the warrior race of our people. I am the third son of the first Naz-Lycan, it is my destiny to not only protect my people but also protect the world from Gallu when he comes again. That is the reason my journey has begun, this is what I am to set out to do, defeat Gallu, it is my destiny.�
�You set out to defeat Gallu!� Caleb shouted. He spoke mere seconds before Kayla was ready to speak. �That is insane. What a gigantic task for one man to do.�
�Aye, but I must and I will.� Edge replied.
�You say this Gallu nearly destroyed the Earth in my time, correct?� Joe asked.
�That�s right.� Kayla replied.
�If that�s true, I won�t let him do it again.� Joe said. �I don�t know how much help I�ll be to you Edge but I�m coming along with you.�
Edge nodded to Joe and smiled slightly, �I was told I would encounter friends along the way but I did not believe it would happen so quickly.�
�Hell, I�ve got nothing better to do.� Weazel muttered. �I mean running from the law really isn�t the most entertaining thing so I might as well try to have some fun along the way. I�ll come with you as well; I�m getting one of those odd feelings about this. It almost feels like I have to go so might as well go with the flow.�
�To fight Gallu�� Caleb muttered while his hands trembled slightly. �When�I left Chos on my journey of enlightenment I was told I�d find my path in life. I never dreamt it would bring me here, never dreamt it would lead me towards a fight with Gallu but I�ll come along, maybe if I learn more I can make a difference!�
The waiter returned with their food. Once the food hit the table they all began to eat it rather quickly. They were all very hungry from their long journey and several battles along the way.
�So,� Edge started. �Joe, Weazel and Caleb will accompany along on my journey. Will you be coming as well, Kayla?�
�Where Joe goes, I go.� Kayla replied. �So yes, I will be coming with you.�
�Well Joe has to go to the bathroom right now.� Joe said while he stood up. �I don�t think you�ll be following me there, huh?�
�Not a chance.� Kayla replied.
�Didn�t think so.� Joe said as he laughed. �I�ll be back in a few.�
Caleb watched as Joe made his way to the bathroom and then took another mouthful of his food. The young sorcerer then turned his attention over to Edge, �Do you really believe you�ll be able to defeat Gallu?� He asked.
�I have to.� Edge replied. �There is no thinking about it, it is what I must do.�
�I just don�t think anyone can beat him, he�s just so massive.� Caleb muttered. �It�s like�like a losing battle��
�With that attitude, yeah it is.� Weazel said. �That�s why you have to be positive and give it your best. I mean if this thing actually does come back and it plans on destroying the Earth for good, shit if I�m going to die anyways I rather at least try to take it down.�
�I suppose.� Caleb replied. This time he didn�t speak another word but just continued to eat his food. The mere though of facing Gallu was horrifying to him but Caleb was never one to go against what his masters told him. They told him he�d find his path on the journey he had begun and if this was it, then so be it.
Joe returned to the table and began to eat his food again. He chose to remain quiet for the duration of the time. The reason being, after hearing everything Kayla and the others had to say it was slowly becoming clearer to him that he was indeed far from home. In the back of his mind though he knew he�d need to see some concrete evidence before he was a hundred percent certain that was the truth.
The entire table grew quiet from the moment Joe returned until they had all finished eating. They were all still new to each other so there certainly was no true feeling of unity amongst them yet.
The first to completely finish eating was Weazel. Upon finishing he glanced out of bar window to see ERZ-1001 still frozen in his turned off position. A small smirk crept onto Weazel�s face as he looked at ERZ-1001. He was looking forward to fixing up the mislead robot, not because it was the right thing to do but because it was probably going to be a decent challenge for him.
�I think I�ll start working on the bag of bolts now.� Weazel said to his friends as he stood up from the table and started for the door. �We�ll be here for the night I�m guessing, right?�
�Yes.� Edge replied. �I believe Margel is only a few miles from here. We�ll leave for it in the morning and reach it by early afternoon without a problem.�
�Great.� Weazel replied as he opened up the bar door. �Use that money I gave you to get us some rooms at the inn. This may take me a while so don�t mind me.�
�Good luck.� Caleb said.
�Well at least he�s got something to do.� Joe muttered while watching Weazel walk over to ERZ-1001.
�I will go to the inn now.� Edge said as he stood up from his chair. �After I get us our rooms, I�ll be heading into the fields for some training. If any of you wish to come along with me feel free.�
�We�ll be needing three rooms.� Kayla said.
�I am aware.� Edge replied while making his way towards the door. �I will put one under Caleb�s name and the other under yours.�
�Maybe I�ll meet up with Edge out there after a while.� Joe said. �Figure out how to use this sword a little bit better cause I�m having one hell of a time trying to control it right now.�
�You said that was the Sword of War before, is it really?� Caleb directed his question to Kayla instead of Joe.
�Yes.� Kayla replied. �I can tell from the glow of the sword, it is indeed the Sword of War.�
�What�s so great about this sword?� Joe asked. �I mean yeah it has that white glow around it all the time and it�s super light. Well yeah, it can also shoot out beams of energy and stuff too.�
�It�s not just for those simple reasons.� Caleb said. �At least from my knowledge of it.�
�You�re right, Caleb.� Kayla said. �From what I know, there are two Swords of War. They were created one year after Gallu�s arrival. No one knows for sure who created them or what the exact purpose was but ever since their creation the two swords have been kept apart. It is said that if they were ever to be held together, either by a single person or two people with a special bond they could quite possibly be the most powerful entities on the planet.�
�Wow�� Joe said as his eyes widened in shock. �And to think those people just handed it over to me.�
�I believe everything is for a reason.� Kayla replied.
�But then where is the other sword?� Joe asked.
�I don�t know.� Kayla said.
�I see�� Joe muttered.
�Well, I don�t know about you guys but I�m done eating.� Caleb said. �I think I�ll head out to the fields and see if I can run into any unlucky beasts. I�m really dying to check out my new spell!�
�Good luck.� Joe said.
Caleb jumped out of his seat and gave the two the thumbs up side. He then made his way out of the bar and started towards the exit of the town. From outside Joe and Kayla could see Caleb meet up with Edge on the way out.
�Well, there they go.� Joe said. �Maybe I should join them.�
�Not yet.� Kayla said.
�Why?� Joe asked. �There�s nothing else to do here right now.�
�I think that we should go to the inn first.� Kayla said as she stood up and started out of the bar. �Come with me.�
�Well�alright.� Joe muttered as he stood up and followed after her.
The two exited the bar and made their way towards the inn, which was on the other side of the small town. As they walked across the town they spotted Weazel taking his sweet time working on ERZ-1001. He had the wires in his fingers out again and plugged into ERZ-1001�s back while he hummed a tune and swayed his head from side to side. It certainly looked like he was having a good time.
The town was lively once again. All the townspeople and visitors who had run for cover when ERZ-1001 showed up were now out and about continuing on with their lives. To Joe the funniest thing about these towns was the fact there seemed to be absolutely no law enforcement at all. People just seemed to deal with things in their own way and even after a big fight like before they just continued on with their lives.
�So different.� Joe said to himself.
Kayla walked into the inn with Joe not too far behind her. She walked up to the desk and got the keys off of the innkeeper. The two then made their way up the stairs and found her room.
�So why do we have to go up here?� Joe asked as he walked into the room.
Kayla pulled off her robe and tossed it onto her bed. This was the first time Joe actually got to see her. Underneath the robe Kayla was wearing a red shirt and skirt with long gray stockings that went half way up her thighs. Her white boots went up nearly half of her calf as well.
�We�re here because I need to give you something.� Kayla said.
�What do you have to give me?� Joe asked.
�As you can already tell this world is very different from the one you�re used to.� Kayla started. �There are a lot of different types of dangers here Joe. I�m not always going to be able to watch out for you, especially if we get into a really tight situation where I need to fend for myself. Now that Sword of War that you have is going to help you out a great deal, I�m aware of the shield it has and everything but still I think you could use something else.�
�Something else?� Joe asked.
�Yes.� Kayla said as she walked over to her robe and reached into one of his pockets. A moment later she turned back around with a pair of black gloves in her hands.
��Gloves�� Joe muttered. He was incredibly unimpressed by her offering. �Jeeze, I thought you were going to give me like a helmet or something��
�Shut up and put them on.� Kayla spat back at him.
�Fine.� Joe muttered. �I mean I like wearing gloves anyways, lost my favorite gloves a long time ago so I guess this is pretty good actually. I�ll take em home with me when I�m done here.�
�You�re not going to always be able to use your sword.� Kayla said. �With these gloves on you�ll be able to increase your fighting abilities. From what I remember you opted to use your own fighting skills over the gloves once already.�
Joe paused for a moment as he took the gloves off of Kayla and looked her over in shock for a moment.
�Hey�wait a minute!� Joe shouted. �When that fight happened, I hadn�t even met you yet! How the hell did-� Joe stopped in his tracks as he spotted Kayla grinning at him in an absurd teasing way. �Aw hell, fine I see you White Mages have your ways and crap, whatever.�
�Those gloves are called Ehrgeiz.� Kayla muttered. �They�ll help you�re fighting skills a great deal not just because they hurt like hell when you hit someone with them on but because they�ve been blessed.�
�Blessed?� Joe asked.
�Yes.� Kayla replied. �These gloves belonged to the person who told me to watch after you.�
�This person is going to remain a mystery, huh?� Joe muttered.
�That�s the way they want it to be for now.� Kayla replied. �But�put the gloves on already.�
�Right.� Joe said.
Joe looked over the gloves for a moment. They were black gloves but on the front was a red patch, which was sewn on it, and on each knuckle was a hard metal piece. Without any hesitation he slipped on the two gloves and clenched his fists in them several times.
�How are they?� Kayla asked.
�They feel great.� Joe said. �Kind of tight but I see they stretch out a bit. They feel really good right now and they�re thin too so I�ll be able to grip my sword like I didn�t even have a glove on, awesome!�
�I knew you�d like them.� Kayla said.
�Thanks!� Joe shouted as he ran over to Kayla and gave her a hug. Seconds later he backed off realizing he probably got a bit too excited. �Ah�eh heh heh, sorry about that, you know how it is when you get a present and stuff. Well anyways, I�m off to the fields to find Edge and Caleb. I wanna test these suckers out now and work on my sword skills a bit, so later!� Joe ran towards the door and opened it up.
�Just be careful.� Kayla warned him.
�Will do!� Joe shouted as he ran out of the room.
Kayla paused for a moment as she watched the door close. At the sound of the door closing she made her way over to the window and looked out of the inn just in time to see Joe running out of the town.
She then turned around and made her way over to her bed again. This time he lifted up her robe and tossed it on the other bed. After another moment of standing up Kayla plopped down on her bed and stretched out in an attempt to get comfortable. Too many thoughts were running through her head as she rested on the bed. It had been a long day that was for sure but it also was an eventful one.
�What did I get myself into?� She asked herself while releasing a sigh. Her mind trailed off to Joe now and the responsibility she now had to a friend. �He�s going to be a handful, that�s for sure. All that excitement mixed with anger and determination, it sure sounds familiar.�
She thought about the situation for another moment, �Well one things for sure, he�s too touchy.� Kayla smirked a bit and then shook her head. �Next time he goes to give me a hug maybe I should give him a little smack�� She paused for a moment. �or�maybe not.�
Kayla closed her eyes and stopped thinking about the entire situation. She knew what she needed right now and was determined to get it. It was time for her to relax and hopefully get some sleep.