Legend --Chronicle of Four

"How about here?" the young archer questioned her friend, a swordsman, as she pointed in the direction of Pyra Dungeon.

"Eh? The thieves’ guild hideout...?" she said with uncertainty, “But aren't there, like, undead things there...?"

The archer grinned slightly. "I think it would be fun! And besides," she started, holding her bow out in front of her, “I have arrows that can affect them!"

"Alright...I just hope no zombies kill us or anything though..." the swordsman said and started off towards the pyramid.

"Ok!" the little archer said yet again cheerfully, as she grinned. Then noticing that her friend had already begun, she ran after her. "Hey, wait up!"

As they entered the pyramid a strange hopping skeleton made its way over towards them, "Ha! These things are easy!" and with one jab the swordsman defeated it.

The archer then lowered her bow, "Great job!"

"Yeah...too bad these things don't drop better items..." she said and picked up the small jellopy the skeleton left behind.

The archer shrugged. "Maybe there's better stuff deeper in!" she said cheerfully.

"Or maybe worse skeletons..." she said, with a hint of fear in her voice, "Hate the undead..."

"Even so..." she said, and then started moving, waving her bow in the air, "Onward!"

They continued to walk but found themselves walking into dead ends every which way, "What is this place?! A MAZE?!" the swordsman cried, frustrated.

"A labyrinth." the archer said simply with a small smile.

"Whatever, it's all the same to me..." Just then she spotted someone walking down the corridor. "It's a thief...he must be a part of the guild...So he must know his way around..."

"Would it be wise to...let them know that we're trespassing...?" the archer asked somewhat nervously.

"We won't let him know...we'll just follow him..."

"But...he's a thief...won't he notice us...?"

"Maybe, but then we'll just explain that we just accidentally came in and got lost."

"But..." she started to protest again, and then sighed.”Ok..." The swordsman just smiled, having known that she would get her way, and began to move quietly after the thief. The archer followed, though still uncertain.

Through all of this, the thief didn't seem to notice them. He continued on his way through the labyrinth.

After a time of walking, the thief suddenly stopped. "Why's he stopping...?" the archer asked quietly, glancing around. They didn't seem to be near an exit of any sort.

"I don't know." the swordsman replied, thinking that the thief was merely checking his way.

But the thief turned, looking straight at them, no smile on his face. "What have we here...?" he asked.

The swordsman, Alumini, stepped forward to explain.

"Stay where you are." the thief ordered, pulling out a small dagger.

Alumini halted, and then continued. "I'm sorry, we got lost. We didn't mean to come in."

The thief smiled slightly, but it wasn't a nice one. "And that's why you've been following me straight to the guild," he accused.

"We didn't..." she attempted to start to say.

"Save it," he said, and then shifted his dagger.

That seemed to be a signal of some sort, for Kamau-the archer-suddenly uttered a whispered cry, "We're surrounded!" Alumini rotated slightly to look. It was true; there were thieves all around them. The two, almost unconsciously, moved so that they were back to back. Also almost unconsciously, their weapons were readied in their hands.

There was only one problem. While Alumini was able to work well in these conditions, Kamau was not. She was not a close-range fighter; needing room to shoot that just didn't appear to be available at the moment. But at first, the thieves didn't move. "Do...you think they'll really attack...?" Kamau asked Alumini nervously.

"I wouldn't count on that they won't..." Alumini responded. And she seemed to be right because a few of the thieves stepped forward. But instead of attacking with their daggers, they raised their hands and threw something.

Both girls cringed slightly, expecting to be hit. But instead of hitting them, the items clattered to the ground close by. Moments later, the air around them began to get darker and darker. Soon, it was pitch black. "I can't see!" Kamau cried when her vision suddenly clouded.

"I know, I know! I can't either!" Alumini responded.

By that time, the area had actually cleared up. But both girls were rendered unable to see. Something in the air had affected their sight. Thinking that the air was still clouded, the two girls readied themselves once again. This time they were rewarded. Out of nowhere, Kamau felt something zip across her arm. The noise was followed by a sharp, stinging pain. She stifled a small cry. Behind her, Alumini was receiving the same treatment.

The pain continued, never ending it seemed, with each hit. And both seemed unable to do anything because they couldn't see their attackers. Kamau managed to string and fire an arrow at one point, but by the laughter seeming to come from all sides she figured that she had missed. Alumini was even worse off. From the few times that she had swung her sword, it looked as if they were throwing the weapons that continued to hit them.

Slowly, they weakened. The hits never seemed to hit vital areas; only spots that would cause pain. It was as if the thieves were merely trying to hurt them. Soon it became too much. Kamau took another hit, which seemed to tear right through her skin, yet she didn't cry out. During that whole attack, she never once cried out. (Alumini didn't either, but we'll get to that.) The pain would have most likely caused spots to dance, except for whatever was-or had been-in the air. Though she tried to remain upright, she couldn't and slowly fell to the ground. The last thing she heard before unconsciousness claimed her was Alumini crying out, seeing as her friend had been right up against her and now was not.

Alumini had panicked when she felt her friend fall away, and quickly started to turn to go help her. A thief took that moment to throw another weapon, which hit the swordsman in the back of her head. The pain in her head exploded with a huge flash of light in front of her eyes, and Alumini fell to the ground in a heap, blacked out. The thieves exchanged triumphant grins, and then hustled over to 'deal with the intruders'.

Kamau awoke to darkness again. Every inch of her body felt as if it were on fire. It took her a moment to remember what had happened, but when she did she tried to look around. That act was pointless because whatever had affected her sight was still working. But she did have other senses. "A...Alumini...?" she called meekly, unsure of whether or not her friend was around. A small groan from across the room was her received answer. She scrambled up and, taking somewhat tentative steps in the direction, soon arrived close to whatever had made the noise. She hoped it was Alumini. "Alumini...?" she questioned once again.

Alumini opened her eyes with another small moan, but it wouldn't have made much difference at all. Everything around her was blurry, almost to the point where she couldn't see at all. She looked up to see someone above her, calling her name. She quickly recognized it, "Kamau!" she exclaimed, "You're alright!"

Hearing the swordsman, Kamau smiled a bit. "I'm glad you're alright as well."

Alumini laughed quietly for no reason. She just needed to make some sort of noise. She then reached up and embraced the younger girl in a friendly hug, which was returned.

A door close by could be heard opening. Both girls turned their heads towards the noise, whether they could see or not, moving next to each other though no longer touching. A deep, male voice laughed and a figure entered the room. Other than the small ray of light that shined upon the girls from the open door, the room was dark.

Alumini squinted, unaccustomed to the light that seemed so bright to her fuzzy vision. Kamau wasn't affected, being as the effects hadn't worn off at all. The figure walked closer, slightly into the light, which revealed him to be the same thief as the one that had gotten them into this mess. Alumini's eyes narrowed even more. She had a strong dislike for that particular thief.

The thief walked silently over to the two, too quiet for either of them to hear, then knelt down beside Kamau. His dagger glinted as the light caught on it, making Alumini draw back slightly. Kamau felt someone else nearby and turned her head, cocked slightly, so that it faced the thief. At that moment, the thief reached out and grasped Kamau's chin, thrusting it up slightly. He then peered intently into her eyes for a moment before smirking and backing off once again.

Kamau couldn't think of a moment she had been as frightened as when the hand suddenly touched her out of nowhere. It may not seem like much, but the young archer was terrified because of it. She drew back the moment she could. The thief just continued to smirk, as if pleased with the results.

"What do you want with us?!" Alumini asked, trying to cover her own nervousness with anger.

The thief flicked his gaze over to the swordsman, a sharp prick of annoyance on his face for but a moment before it was once again masked with the cocky smile. "We are merely testing...and we can't very well let you go now." he said in a somewhat pleased tone, as if he liked the idea.

"Testing...?" Kamau asked,her voice nervous and quiet. She didn't like the sound of that.

"Yeah, what do you mean by that??" Alumini asked, still angry.

The thief stood. "Heh heh...I believe you'll realize soon enough. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here, short as it may be," he said, still smirking, as he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. The sound of the lock clicking echoed through the room, and the two were engulfed in darkness once more.

"Alumini...what does he mean...?" Kamau asked her friend, her voice still nervous.

Alumini was uncertain. "I...don't know..." she admitted.

The two sat huddled in the dark together, each unwilling to let the other know how nervous she was. Though it was merely a short time that actually passed, it felt like an eternity had passed to the girls by the time that they heard the door opening once again. Both looked in the direction of the noise. Whether they could see it or not was still another story.

In swarmed about five or so thieves, each having small grins on their faces and daggers attached to their belts. Alumini tensed, watching them warily as best she could to see what they had planned. Kamau continued to look fearfully in their direction.

Two of the thieves began to move forward, the others fingering their daggers just in case. They positioned themselves on either side of Alumini. Alumini looked up and glared at those in the room, but they seemed unaffected. The two thieves both reached down, almost simultaneously, each grabbing a hold of one of the swordsman's arms. "H-hey! What are you doing?!" she cried, struggling, though to no avail. They said noting, but merely started out the door, Alumini raging the whole way.

Kamau's fear increased so much more now that she was alone. "Alumini...? Where did you...?" she started, but cut off with a startled gasp when she felt herself being lifted off the ground in the same manner that they had gathered her friend. "N-no! P-put me down!" she tried to say to them, but again they didn't listen.

The groups of thieves went in two different directions. Each girl could hear the other's voice becoming fainter and fainter as the distance grew until all that was heard was the footsteps of the thieves.

Throughout the walk that seemed to take forever, Kamau struggled weakly. As it was, the thieves seemed to have a strong grip on the spots that hurt the most, and that by itself was all she could concentrate on to keep from crying out. It was almost as if the thieves knew just that and were plainly continuing to add in extra torture from the way their grips tightened every once-in-awhile. Each time they did that, she couldn't help but cringe slightly and whimper.

Alumini was faring no better. Her head still hurt like heck, and the rest of her ached right along with it. Though, she wasn't as quiet about it as Kamau was being. She hadn't stopped yelling at the thieves that held her since they had exited the original room.

The group with Kamau made its way through the guild of the thieves, though she didn't know that. They headed down yet another flight of stairs, and then the thieves suddenly halted. She could hear the sound of another door opening, then its echo. The next few moments were full of confusion for Kamau. One moment she was being held inches above the ground, her feet dangling, and the next she was flying through the air. She tumbled to the ground, scraping both hands as she had instinctively put them in front of her before she fell. She finally cried out. She then heard a bit of cold laughter, followed by the sound of the door shutting once more.

Alumini's group headed downstairs as well, though not through the guild. Alumini thought she could see the blurry image of a door looming in the distance, but wasn't positive until moments later. It was then that the fifth thief, the one not holding on to anything, moved forward and pulled the door open. The darkness that encased them made Alumini shudder slightly. She could sense that something was down there...something evil...

The thief caught her look, and then smirked. "Better get used to it," he said to her before she was pushed in through the doorway. As she caught her balance before falling, she quickly turned to hear the thief's voice once more as the door shut in her face, "You'll be in there for a long time..."

Kamau couldn't tell where she was at all. Though she tried to hide it, she was afraid. Everything hurt, and she was alone. Alumini didn't seem to be anywhere in the area, but, clinging to a small glimmer of hope, she called out quietly anyway; "...Alumini...?"

Instead of her friend, she was met with a voice that by now she knew all too well. "Your friend isn't here to help you this time, little one," the voice said, then laughed. She edged backwards, away from where the other stood. To her fright, her back met with wall too quickly for her tastes. The thief grinned, seeming to thrive on the poor girl's terror, and began to walk forward. A small whimper emitted involuntarily from the archer as she heard the echoing footsteps coming closer.

The thief reached her, and then knelt down once again next to the girl huddled against the wall. He reached out to repeat the same procedure as he had done earlier, but this time she recoiled as if she had been hit. "L-leave me alone," she whimpered. The thief frowned somewhat angrily. He didn't like others disobeying him, as the archer soon begin to learn.

Alumini tried for some time to open the door that she had traveled through. She tried everything she could think of: pushing, pulling, ramming...but nothing seemed to work. After some time, she deducted that the door just couldn't be opened and turned to view her blurry surroundings. "Great...another maze..." she said with a sigh. But she had to get out of wherever she was somehow. She needed to find Kamau. "Anyone in here?" she called out, though her echo was her only reply. Sighing again, se began to walk, trying not to crash into anything.

To her perspective, she didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Every way she went seemed to either end in a dead end or just plain never lead anywhere. With a small frustrated yell, she kicked a wall that she was close to. "Is there any way out of this stupid place?!" she cried angrily. Of course, she didn't expect an answer. But she continued muttering from that point on while she walked, perhaps out of anger, perhaps just to hear a noise of some sort.

Kamau trembled slightly, looking away and biting her lip, expecting that the thief was preparing to do something. Silence usually meant that. But she wasn't about to do whatever it was that he wanted. Not without a fight.

The thief was now looking at the girl in front of him with a very irritated look on his face. He reached out again, uncaring this time as to what she did. She once again drew back, but he proceeded to make her open her eyes and look at him. The light blue eyes that looked stared back at him had a somewhat hazy look to them, which was a good sign to the thief, yet they still showed emotion. The thief tried to decide whether that was good or not, in the end just shrugging and continuing on. "What can you see at the moment?" he questioned the archer. He wanted to see how well the item actually worked.

Though she was technically looking right at him and unable to move her head because of his grip, she did try to look away, not answering his question. He sighed, frustrated. He didn't want to hurt the subject, but he did want answers. After a moment, he decided to go with a few idle threats. "Answer me..." he started slowly, trying to phrase it in just a way that she couldn't refuse, "or I might just have your friend 'taken care of'." He then smirked slightly. No matter what she said, her friend was most likely already dead. After all, she was down with the minotaurus.

Kamau looked towards him immediately, "Y-you wouldn't..." she stammered.

The thief smirked again, "Care to test my patience?" When she didn't answer, he continued. "Now...I'll ask you again. What can you see at the moment?"

She hesitated nervously, not wanting to answer him, but she didn't want Alumini to be hurt. "N-nothing," she finally said.

The thief nodded, pleased. Good, she's talking. he thought with a small smirk. "Nothing at all?" he asked as she shook her head, glancing around for a moment. The lights were on, though he would need to make them brighter to fully test the effects. "Alright, speak up the moment you're able to see anything at all," he told her, and then walked over to the light switch.

For a moment Kamau thought he was leaving. But when the door made no sound, she then felt otherwise. Slowly the thief raised the intensity of the light. Throughout, she didn't say a word. When the light was turned up fully, he walked back over. "Well?" he questioned. She shook her head again. "...Very well," he started, still pleased at the strength of the effects, "that is all for now."

She then looked slightly hopeful, "You mean you'll let us go now?" she asked.

He laughed, "Of course not." With a smirk, he watched the hope on her face dwindle away. Only then did he exit and shut the door, leaving the young archer alone once more.

Alumini suddenly stopped, then looked behind her warily. She was almost positive that she had heard something. Though she looked for a few minutes, there was nothing. She shook her head slightly, "Must've imagined it..." she said, starting to turn back again. There it was again. This time she spun around just in time to see a black shape scurrying into the shadows. In a way, it gave her the creeps. "Oh joy...rats..." she started to say, but cut off when the shape reemerged. She then gasped, "It's so cute!" For the shape turned out to be what seemed like a very large dog. Closer inspection, however, made her change her opinion. The dog turned out to be some sort of mummy, and it advanced towards her growling. "Back, you undead creature!" she yelled, brandishing her weapon. But it continued forward.

Just as she was about to attack it, a deafening roar shook the chamber; one that made her wish it had been her hearing taken, not her sight. She looked up to see a huge figure, one taller than she was, thundering its way towards her. And what did she do? She ran; or at least tried to. Because without her realization, another mummy dog had been creeping up behind her. "Uh oh..." she murmured before trying to attack the dog. That particular one fell with just a few hits from her sword. "That was too easy..." she muttered before remembering her other attackers. Turning, she came face to face with the other dog. This one appeared to be smarter, for it dodged her attack, and then swiftly jumped her.

She fell to the ground, the dog atop of her, slashing away at it with her weapon. But it didn't seem to be very effective, seeing as the dog just kept hitting back. Finally, after one last hit, the dog collapsed, falling on top of her. She, now covered in its blood, struggled to push it off. Panting, she heaved the corpse off of her body and stood up wobbly. That was when she heard the final attacker moving forward.

It appeared to be some sort of bull, only it held a giant axe at its side. She gulped, and then fled down the tunnel. With a roar, the bull-like creature hit the ground with its weapon, causing the ground to shake. Alumini stumbled, and then fell. Cursing, she struggled to get back up, but by the time she did so the monster was practically atop of her.

She moved backwards, sword out and ready, not taking her eye off her opponent. One wrong move and she would be as good as dead. The creature roared once more, and then charged. She felt as though her feet were like lead, unable to move fast enough to get out of its way. She tried to attack it, but her sword was pushed out of her hands to the ground where it clattered on to then went motionless. Her hands went out in front of her, her eye shut and her mouth making silent words. The creature raised its axe to finish it all.

Out of nowhere, another figure entered the fray. Yelling a few words that Alumini couldn't quite make out, he crashed into the monster. It flew backwards when the burst erupted from the figure's sword, making the ground quake and a huge light blinded Alumini momentarily. She felt her own self flying backwards from the force of the blow as well, collapsing to the ground a few feet from where she had just stood.

The creature was dead. That much she could make out as she groaned and tried to stand. The figure ran over to her, offering her a hand to help her up. For a moment she hesitated, then took it. The figure, which turned out to be a boy, hauled her up.

"Thank you..." was all she could manage at the time.

The boy grinned. "Not a problem. The name's Matsuba. Your's?" he chattered.

"Alumini," she responded with a small smile.

"Nice ta meet you!" Matsuba said cheerfully.

"Do...you know the way out?" she questioned.

The boy smiled once more. "Of course!" he said, and then began to lead her in a certain direction.

About ten minutes or so later, the boy paused. "...You don't, do you?" Alumini asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

Matsuba grinned sheepishly, which was answer enough for her. But he then cried out, "Look! A light!" as he pointed Alumini squinted, but wasn't really able to see it. Matsuba noticed this, "You need glasses or somethin'?" he questioned.

"No..." she muttered, and then told him everything.

He listened, interrupting every once-in-awhile until she yelled irritably at him, after which he remained quiet. "Sounds like you've been through a lot," he said with a nod.

"Yeah...but now I just want to find my friend..." Alumini murmured.

"Can do!" Matsuba said brightly, "Right this way!" He then led Alumini out the door, which led back to nearby where she had been let in.

The boy seemed to know his way around so well that she became suspicious. Asking the boy about it earned her a laugh and an explanation. "I came here awhile ago; he started, "to look for a sword that is said to be a rare artifact. I tracked it to this guild, and when I tried to get it I ended up here," he ended with a shrug.

Alumini listened carefully. His explanation sounded reasonable enough, so she nodded. He took that as an 'alright', so then continued on walking, leading Alumini now that he knew about her predicament. After awhile the two came to a door. Trying it, Alumini shook her head, "Locked..." she muttered. Matsuba looked about to say something, but was cut off by a yell. Both looked towards the person making the noise to see that it was a thief.

Matsuba shook his head slightly with a small grin, "Lemme handle this guy," he said then whacked the thief on the head with the blunt side of the sword. The thief fell to the ground, immediately knocked unconscious. Matsuba then proceeded to rummage through the thief's clothing.

"...What are you doing...?" Alumini asked.

Matsuba didn't answer immediately, but soon straightened and threw something towards her, "Here, catch." She fumbled for it, nearly dropping it, and then caught the item. Holding it close she could see that it appeared to be a key of some sort. "Go on, try it!" Matsuba called over cheerfully. She decided to do as he suggested, hoping that they would find her friend behind the door. The lock clicked and the door was slowly pushed open...

Kamau had been huddled in the corner since the thief had left. For the time being her knees were pulled up to her chest, her arms resting on them and her head resting on that. Her eyes started dully ahead, wondering what was going to happen. She glanced in the direction of the noise for a moment when she heard the door opening, though almost right away resumed her previous position. What difference did it make if someone came in? It was probably that same thief that came in every once-in-awhile to check on her, and why would that be something to get all worked up about? The only reasons she ever felt slightly different when the door opened were that by doing what was asked she would be helping to keep Alumini safe and that she secretly hated being alone. The door opening meant that someone would be around, and that seemed to be the biggest thing on her mind. Alone, it was so quiet, not to mention that she couldn't see anything to look at. It really unnerved her at times. And the only bad thing about it was also that someone was coming in. It terrified her to no end when someone spoke out of nowhere or anything of the sort.

Both Alumini and Matsuba had to blink a few times at the intensity of the light, but Kamau wasn't bothered at all. Alumini was the first to spot her friend, and started to rush over. "Kamau!" she called happily as she did so.

At first Kamau had begun to brace herself for what she had felt was going to happen. The thief would come over and they would repeat the same thing he had been doing all day. Nothing seemed to change. But when she heard a familiar voice call her name, she lifted her head. It couldn't be...could it...? "A...Alumini...?" she questioned, unsure of whether she had imagined it or not.

That doubt quickly left when the sound was repeated much closer. "You're alright!" Kamau said somewhat happily as she heard the quick paced footsteps come close and then stop.

Alumini grinned a bit, having been about to say along the same lines. Another friendly embrace was shared between the two before Alumini pulled Kamau to her feet. She then noticed Matsuba just standing there. "Oh yeah! Kamau, this is Matsuba. He helped me out," she said with a small smile.

"Nice ta meet you," Matsuba said politely.

Kamau smiled as well, "The same thing to you," she said with a small nod.

"What do you say we all get out of here?" Alumini asked brightly. The others both happily agreed. But they had forgotten about one small, or should one say, large, problem.

The sound of the door shutting made them all look up. "Well, well...so you've escaped the wrath of the minotaurus...and look! You've brought a friend!" the voice of the thief that they all knew to some degree spoke up in a mock-cheerful, almost sarcastic, tone. Other thieves were spread out next to him, weapons all drawn and ready.

"...I don't suppose we can talk this over?" Matsuba questioned.

The thief didn't speak, but merely gave the same signal as when he had first met the girls. The rest readied themselves.

"Watch out for what they throw!" Alumini warned Matsuba, "There’s something in it that affects your sight." Matsuba nodded, darting into close range combat before the thieves had time to throw something and began clashing weapons with those he was close to. Alumini took her sword out and joined him.

Kamau had her bow out and an arrow strung, but she had no idea where to shoot. She couldn't tell in the mass of yells who was where, nor could she distinguish which were those of Alumini and Matsuba. She didn't want to hut them, but she felt so useless at the moment.

As she looked around, she failed to notice the thief that was making its way quietly up behind her. So she was started entirely when out of nowhere she felt a piercing pain in her side add itself to the rest of her aches. She quickly spun, taking out a dagger she kept tucked away in case she ever ran out of arrows, and stabbed whoever it was. A satisfying thud made its way to her ears as she turned back around.

She suddenly heard a footstep crunch against the ground, and reflex made her lift her bow once again. A laugh that she knew all too well was all she heard before a force crashed into her hands, causing her grip to loosen and her bow to go flying. Her dagger quickly took its place after a startled moment had passed.

The thief that had caused the damage laughed, "You think you can beat me with that?"

She didn't answer, merely getting into a defensive stance.

A voice rung out from behind the thief, "I don't know if that can, but this will!"

The thief started to turn, only to be met with a force that sent him staggering backwards. But he was far from finished. "Hah...your pathetic attempts can't beat me!" he said once he had recovered.

Alumini was next. She ran forward and swung her sword towards the thief, which blocked the attack with ease. But Alumini just grinned and quickly moved out of the way just in time for Matsuba to charge the thief once again. The thief was hit and reeled backwards, right into the waiting dagger of Kamau. She had heard it all and had readied herself. The thief grunted, and then elbowed her in the chest hard enough for the breath to be knocked out of her.

The thief then lunged forward towards Matsuba. But the boy was ready, yelling out another word and then crashing into the thief once again. The thief then again fell backwards, this time straight to the ground. After a moment, he staggered back up, looking ready to attack again. But as he began to move, he slowly let out a groan and toppled forward. The hilt of a dagger stuck out from his back. It was Kamau that stood behind him, smiling somewhat innocently.

Matsuba once again moved forward and looked over the body. After a moment, he reached down and picked up a vial of some sort. He then walked it over to Alumini, who had by then moved over to Kamau, and then handed it to her.

She inspected it for a moment. "You think this is the antidote?" she questioned.

Matsuba nodded.

"Well....worth a shot...but...it doesn't look like there's enough for both of us..." Alumini said somewhat doubtfully.

"So only one of us can be cured...?" Kamau asked quietly.

"...Looks like it..." Alumini said in agreement.

"Then you use it," Kamau attempted to say, but was cut off by Alumini shaking her head firmly.

"No. You're going to use it," she told her friend.

"But--"

"No buts. You can't see at all! Everything's just blurry to me. So here," she said, then placed the vial in the archer's hand.

Kamau looked somewhat worried, but then nodded. If Alumini was so sure about it, then she would.

"Put it directly into your eyes," Matsuba suggested.

She nodded again, and then carefully applied the vial of liquid to her eyes as if it were eyedrops. For a second she winced. Whatever it was stung. When she opened her eyes again, everything was blurry, but at least she could see. Blinking a few times cleared even that up.

"Well?" Alumini asked.

Kamau looked over to her friend. "I...I can see!" she exclaimed happily.

Alumini smiled. The look on her friend's face was worth so much more than her own sight was at the moment. She then frowned for a split second. "How 'bout we get out of here now?" she asked. The blurriness was starting to get to her.

The others nodded, and together they trekked out of the cave. Once out, they rejoiced for a few minutes over their victory.

It was then that Alumini decided to get off. Her head was killing her. "Hey guys, I'm going to get off for the night," she told them.

Kamau smiled. "Alright, talk to you tomorrow!" she said cheerfully.

Matsuba merely nodded.

Alumini waved, and then logged out.

Kamau then turned to Matsuba. "I'm going to go as well. It's getting late," she said before she too logged off.

When Alumini took off the head set that connected her to Legend she frowned slightly and then blinked. "What the...?" she started, confused. Her sight seemed as blurry as it had in the game. She then shook it off. "Probably just a temporary side effect..." she murmured, then went to bed.

But when she woke up the next morning, her sight was still as bad. Though, she didn't think much of it. It wasn't that big of a deal; she would just use a pair of glasses for the time being. So she made a quick stop at the glasses store, getting a pair that worked well and then going back home. Later that day, she talked with Kamau online for awhile.

"Your sight's really still blurry?" Kamau was questioning.

"Yeah...it's really strange..." Aumini replied.

"Well, let's just hope that it'll go away...but if it doesn't, what are you going to do?"

"I guess I'll just keep using the glasses..."

"Do you think Legend has anything to do with it?"

She laughed before replying. "I doubt it."

"Alright....then I'll talk to you later...I have to go."

"See ya."

"Bye." she then signed off.

Alumini sat back against her computer chair. Of course the game has nothing to do with it... she thought.

©Pupp 2005.All rights reserved.