“When you reach Zeptik Village, show this crystal to my aunt Jevah. She will help you as best she can.”
With those words, Sarah Tovah sends Adol Christian to Zeptik Village hoping that he was indeed the swordsman that was foretold to rid the land of Ys of the evil emanating from Darm Tower.
“Good luck dear Adol,” she thinks to herself. “May the spirits of the goddesses watch over you.”
As much as Sarah tries to think positively, she cannot help but think that she may have sent Adol on a suicide mission. To task one with the future of the land is quite a burden, and if something were to happen to Adol, Sarah wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt.
“He…he’ll be okay. I…I must find something to do to occupy my mind.”
She decides to head to Pim the Barterer’s to see if he had anything interesting on sale. Upon entering his shop she could see the man staring at her from across the counter, seemingly undressing her with his eyes. She adjusts her robe and walks up to the counter.
“Ahhh, hello Miss Sarah. What can I do for you today?”
“Good afternoon Pim, I was wondering if you had any puzzles or interesting trinkets in today.”
“Puzzles? Hmm, let’s see…I might be able to dig one up. That is, assuming you’ll go out on a date with me.”
“Understanding the chauvinistic male persona is a puzzle all on it’s on, but it really isn’t what I had in mind. Do you have anything else please?”
“Hey, I had to try! Can’t blame a man for trying!”
“I can see that this is futile. Mr. Pim, thank you for your time.”
Sarah makes her way out of the shop and over to the clinic to pick up a couple of heal potions. The nurse heartily greets her at the front desk.
“Good afternoon Miss Tovah. Can I get you anything today?”
“Greetings Adrian. May I have two heal potions please?”
“Coming right up!” sings Nurse Adrian, digging behind the counter. “Is everything alright, with two potions and all?”
“Oh yes, everything is fine! I want to have them on hand just in case. Our hero shall return shortly and he might be injured.”
“Oh, that makes sense. I hope he is what you foretold him to be, for our sake.”
“So do I.” Sighs the lovely fortuneteller. “I couldn’t bear it if I sent an innocent young man to his doom.”
Sarah chats with Adrian for a little bit and then picks up a few groceries before heading back home.
She notices a small trail of blood and follows it right back to her front porch, whereupon a young man lie wounded by her apple bin. She runs up to him and notices a giant gash across his upper-left chest.
“By the goddesses, that’s an awful wound……he’s still breathing though, that’s good.”
Sarah calls for help, and Dios the armorer comes to help. He picks up the wounded man and carries him inside, placing him upon Sarah’s couch.
“Thank you Dios, I can take care of him from here.”
“Anytime Miss Sarah. Do you think we should take him to the clinic?”
“No, I can handle his injury by myself. It’s not too serious.”
Dios bids her farewell, and Sarah manages to remove the man’s strange armor and cleans his wound. As she does, she notices that he was holding on to a half-eaten apple in his gloved hand.
“Poor thing,” she thinks to herself. “He must be hungry, ignoring his wound for one singular apple.”
Sarah finishes cleaning and dressing the wound and covers the man up with a spare blanket when his golden locket falls from around his neck.
“What in the…I’ve never seen a locket such as this. There is a strange power emanating from this thing…there’s more to this mystery man than it seems.”
Sarah heads upstairs and prepares to turn in for the night. She kicks off her sandals and props her legs up on her bed, further examining the strange golden locket that her “visitor” was wearing.
“Hopefully he regains consciousness by tomorrow, I’ve a few questions to ask hi…oh!”
The medallion in the center of the locket suddenly detaches and falls down into Sarah’s lap.
“Hmm, this medallion looks like it’ll come apart. What’s in the center of…”
In the center of the medallion were two pictures. One seemed to be the man as a little boy with his parents. The other picture was him with a beautiful young lady.
“This must be his wife…funny, she looks a little like him. Oh well, there’s always the morning to ask.”
Sarah sets the locket upon her night-stand and drifts off to sleep.
