Tim and his friends remained the only ones in the palace but were the final ones to leave outdoors. "What are we planning to do? Now that we figured out that Natan has a target far away on this island, we might want to stick around." Yumiko's suggestion seemed as if it came out of nowhere.
Tim scratched his forehead, thinking. "Hm..." he folded his arms, "That's a good question." They understood that Tim didn't have a plan to continue. "It's been a few hours, and we were supposed to return to the sea, but we still didn't receive answers," Ayuka replied, providing them with another suggestion. "I think we should hurry up and meet with Alina behind the palace." They agreed with her, but none of them noticed a silhouette moving through the rooftops, but Ayuka.
"I saw it again. What is that?" she thought to herself. "We might be able to learn more about Etuna. So, I say we go meet up with her."
They seemed a bit indecisive, even when Ralphie provided a suggestion. Tim continued rubbing his chin, but he was slowly getting exhausted. "It's our best option. So, what do you say, Tim?" wondered Yumiko.
She looked at him but noticed him standing still, unmoving, eyes closed. He breathed but remained in one spot, his right arm dangling in front of his knee.
Everybody freaked out in anger. "He's sound asleep!" they shouted simultaneously. Kou rubbed Tim's shoulders but had no luck awakening him. "Yeah... He's out." Added Kou, sharing an unfazed reaction.
Ayuka held her arms under her chest, supporting it. She seemed neutral to see him sleeping. "Well, he's not going to wake up any time soon, that's for sure." Claimed Ayuka, and Yumiko gave it a try. She slapped the top of Tim's head, but the strike didn't even faze him.
He continued snoring in silence.
"Yeah, he's out. I guess. We should leave him for a bit. He's been through quite a voyage the last few days. Not to mention that his arm still needs recovering." They were concerned about Tim's health from the wound he suffered, so they decided for Ayuka to take the role of the leader for a while.
"Psst!" Someone called. It was Alina. She was peeking from around the corner of the palace's wall. "This way, guys." Yumiko and Kou grabbed Tim's arms and dragged him behind them, sliding his back on the snow. They dropped him on the sides of the wall, not too far from them.
They approached Alina. "Let's go. There's a table behind the palace where we can sit and talk." Everybody looked throughout the vicinity, waiting to see if somebody would pass them. Nobody did, so they ran behind the palace.
They did as told and waited for Alina to talk. "We're here. Now explain, Alina. We need to know what's going on around here." Alina sighed but kept her word. "Yeah, of course. But please... when I tell you, try not to worry too much."
Ayuka stayed calm. "We won't, as long as you tell us what *we* want to know." Alina smiled kindly. "First, I should start by introducing myself. As you know, my name's Alina. I was once one of those bounty hunters, but then I became a waitress at the palace. I hope that answers your question involving my identity." Alina explained.
"This island has a ruler; Etuna. She's one of the gods that defend this island from pirates like you. She's the goddess of lightning. She's been doing a great job in protecting this island, so that's why our people have so much freedom and are happy to live here. She lives on the tallest mountain on Winterpeak, and does whatever she does to keep the peace.
"She provides us with food, fuel, and other stuff that keep our lives how they are. Not long ago, about three months, I would say, she suffered an illness. That illness ruins her condition the longer she keeps it and sometimes resolves in corruption, causing her to rampage and injure innocent for no reason. She tries to control her anger, but the corruption is like a seal she can't break or an obstacle she can't overcome no matter how hard she desires." Alina explained, ensuring that other people wouldn't notice her talking about their god.
"So, she's not a villain?" Tim's voice startled others. He came walking from around the corner. "Y-You woke up soon..." Kou stated.
Tim nodded.
"Um... no... of course, she isn't. She's viewed as a true god to our island who keeps everything in check. You know, living on an island packed with cold weather and snow isn't an easy place to live. We need an easier way to receive material and food, and that's her duty as a god of the Winterpeak. Some people see her as a friend. Others see her as an enemy, specifically those who sail the sea; the pirates. That's why I told you to be careful. If she learns you're pirates running around her island, she'll try to eradicate you. She's very secure about her people, which is us, and that is an additional reason why pirates aren't allowed to walk freely on Winterpeak Island."
Tim cocked his head to the side. "Reason being?" Tim wondered. "Pirates are seen as threats to citizens like us and tend to raid other islands for treasure and gold. If that raid were to happen, that would result in multiple lives lost. She makes sure to defend us, but it's been too hard nowadays. Her illness could be fatal to her if she overworks herself. She might not seem like it, but she hides her sorrow behind her serious face." They continued to listen without interrupting.
"You're lucky that she doesn't know that you're here, and I saw on the newspaper that, despite being pirates, you freed multiple islands from their "lords" and because of those good deeds, your lives shouldn't need to be endangered, because the lightning goddess doesn't realize your true intentions." She explained, and Tim continued being calm. "So, what you're trying to tell us, is that the goddess doesn't know what she's doing and somehow still kills people?" Wondered Yumiko, a bit concerned. "It's nothing like that. Her illness is the cause of lives lost, and that "corruption" forces her to slaughter. I've seen how sorrowful she became after killing two citizens she tried to protect.
"You might not believe me, but even if it's only two lives, the goddess cried for those, and she still lets her heart cry nowadays. We've been trying to help her out, but every time somebody approached her, they ended up dying because her powers broke out. Her powers might not be possible to control, but her heart is still the same, and she cares for other people." She explained, but then Ayuka interrupted. "Have you ever located a cure or something?"
"We're not exactly sure, but we did notice strange behavior. The goddess of lightning's powers calmed down when somebody came in contact with a mythical creature, a fire fox. Whenever the fox's warmth touched their skin, it felt as if it healed them. It cured them of the injuries as well as a hidden drug that forced that person to struggle. It saved their life, and that's why we've been trying to find that fox. People stated that the fire fox has an owner, but wherever we looked, there was no fox."
That's when Tim and the others looked at each other. "Ayuka... could it be that girl?" Yumiko wondered, confused. Ayuka reached for her chin, leaning her back against the chair. Alina seemed bewildered. "It could be... That girl clearly stated that she was looking for a fire fox, but I don't know if she's the original owner or not."
Hold on... You've met a person who was searching for that fox?" Alina asked, freaking out from surprise. She received nods. "Yeah, we came across her near the front streets of Monmouth. She was calling out the name "Flare" and asked us if we saw a fire fox. We said no, because we didn't know much about it, and we didn't know much about the fox either." Ayuka said.
Alina reached closer. "Where is she? If we find the girl, we can most certainly heal Etuna's suffering." Ayuka's mouth shivered a little, so Ralphie took over. "We don't know where she went? She went running off into the distance. We tried to help her, but she declined, so we kept moving forward, and then we came across this palace."
Alina tossed looks between others. "I see... I'm sorry... I thought she told you where she went." Sighed Alina, leaning her elbow on the table, her chin on the palm.
Tim's eyes shadowed, but there was a visible grin beneath. "So... That's it? Are you sure that that fox will cure Etuna's illness?" everybody looked at him, smiling. They already knew what was to come, but they waited for Alina to confirm. "Yeah, it must. There's nothing that we have to help her out but that fox." She told. "But bounty hunters and some other people keep trying to hunt down that fox and attack villages to find it because they're scared of goddess' rage."
Tim raised his head, holding the top of his hood, sharing a friendly grin of confidence.
"Then, let's hurry. The goddess is waiting to be rescued!"
To be continued...