(I wrote less than 1,000 words today as I was at the temple all day and there was no available computers when I got back. I'm off my quota by a huge margin now! D: By hook or by crook I'll write 2,000+ words on day nine!) Cedric tried standing with the support of his sword, biting his lips tightly. ‘Bear with me, all right?’ he pleaded his leg, as if hoping that they would be able to listen and obey. He then started to look at his surroundings and figure out where to go next. It was magnificent that they would build this cavern under the Swordsmen Guild just for the Swordsmen Test. It was not just creepy and scary, but inhabited by aggressive Fabres and Chon Chons too. Cedric tried to avoid combat as he did not want to hurt his leg further, and was comforted by the fact that he has not come across any corpses or skeletons. Finally, he found a staircase leading to a higher level. Climbing it, Cedric found himself back at the second checkpoint, Kyle waving back at him at the ending point of the test.

‘I forgot to tell you to be careful!’ Kyle yelled cheerfully. ‘It’s dangerous if you fall down there!’

Slightly annoyed by Kyle’s statement, Cedric braced himself as he stepped onto the metal bar once more, lifting his left leg slightly to exert less pressure on it as there was not enough space for him to use his sword to support himself again. Slowly, he walked towards the other side of the room, dodging arrows as they came. Cedric was halfway there, until an arrow threatened to hit his torso, causing him to make a quick step forward to evade it. It did not help his injured leg, and Cedric slipped off again, desperately clinging onto the metal bar to avoid another fall into the caverns below. He panted rapidly, his stamina pushed to the limits as he strained his arm to push his body up.

‘Cedric, don’t strain yourself!’ Kyle called out, evidently worried about Cedric’s beaten up condition. ‘You could take a rest if you want!’

‘I… promised them… I’ll be… quick…’ Cedric wheezed. His vision was deteriorating and his arms could not take it any longer. His efforts were to no avail as he loosened his grip to meet the creepy crawlies below again.


‘No, I’ll sell them all to you for 1,200z, or no deal,’ Penelope asserted firmly to the item collector in the Izlude Market. The man was tugging onto his blue shirt, face twisting oddly as he ran out of ideas to haggle with this determined girl. Eventually, a sack of Penelope’s loots consisting of jellopies, shells, clovers and others switched hand with a bag of the merchant’s zeny. They then left the shop happily with their money bags a little heavier.

‘Gosh, Penny. If we never knew better, I’d thought you were a merchant in disguise,’ said Hirei in amazement, Penelope laughing at his imagery. ‘Anyhow, I wonder if Cedric’s done yet. It’s been hours now… Should we go check up on him at the Swordsmen Guild?’

‘There’s no need to.’

They turned around at the sound of the familiar voice. Standing in front of them was a young man with a muffler and the garment of a Swordsman, equipped with an arm guard and steel greaves, the proud emblem of the Swordsmen Guild sitting on his chest, an eager expression worn by face of Cedric Spencer.

‘Wow, Ced! Congrats!’ Hirei ran forward to congratulate him, wrapping his arms around his shoulder, hurting Cedric unintentionally as he moaned in pain. It was only then they realized that Cedric was wrapped up in bandages at his limbs and covered with bruises at almost every inch of his body. There were blood stains seeping through the surfaces of some of the bandages which were made of towels and scraps of Cedric’s old clothing.

‘Oh gosh, Cedric! You’re wounded all over!’ cried Penelope as she extracted her Bible from her bag. She stood in front of Cedric, flipping through the pages of her Bible until she reached a marked page. She started chanting softly, a magic circle appearing at her feet as she gently rested her glowing palms, gathered with spirit energy on Cedric’s wounds. ‘Heal!’

Penelope released a calming green aura around Cedric’s body. At that moment, he felt all the pain in his body lifted into the air, his stamina returned to his body and bruises disappearing significantly. The cuts were all still there, but Cedric felt much better than before.

‘That was wonderful magic, Penelope,’ said Cedric as he blinked faintly, almost in a trance with the feeling of lightness running through his body. ‘Thanks a lot.’

‘It’s all I could do to help,’ said Penelope, smiling. ‘We’ve been to every corner of Izlude while you were away. I think we should be ready to leave now. Are we headed to Geffen next? To see Aalaiyah’s parents?’

‘Yeah… I guess we are,’ an unhappy Hirei sighed, feeling the arrival of the Archer Test slipping further away from him. ‘Geffen and Payon are two really different routes. I guess it’d take a week before I can change into the Archer’s garb.’

Aalaiyah felt a pang of guilt, Hirei unaware to this. ‘I’m so sorry Hirei… for such inconvenience,’ she apologized, Hirei only half paying attention as he was still down at the thought that he was going to be the only Novice in the group after Aalaiyah turns into a Mage. ‘We could travel to Geffen on foot if you’d like to save on the cost, then I could get my father to prepare a warp for us, straight to Payon. Would that be better?’

‘Nah, it’s not all your fault. That’ll be nice, thanks,’ Hirei said lazily, lost in his own thoughts and depression. Penelope glared at Hirei, crossed at his insensitivity which had thrown Aalaiyah into a deeper state of guilt by what he said.

Cedric decided that he should take the lead, walking towards the exit of Izlude. ‘Alright then, let’s move on to our next destination: Geffen!’

Labels: NaNoMadness, The Eminent Guardians