Bayacrux Chapter 4

"Pyre, that's practically impossible. Don't you have something easier for me to do, like buy you groceries?"
"You promised, Shed", Pyre said smugly, as Shed remembered the hasty promise he had made one year ago.
Shed sighed. "Fine, but don't blame me if we all die"
Fre, having overheard the conversation, walked over to Shed. "We'll need all the info we can get. Let's go to the library"
Just then they saw a girl come up to the bear. she had long, wavy brown hair, and was wearing jeans and a lime green t-shirt. she had a small pistol tucked into a holster on her belt.
"hi", she said, turning toward Shed and Fre.
"Is this the girl you were talking about?", Shed asked.
"Yeah", Pyre replied.
"My name is Ladi", the girl said. She patted the lime green polar bear on it's back.

********

"Excuse me", Shed said to the librarian. "do you have any books on the Prysm Wurm?"
The librarian cracked her gum rather loudly. she was wearing a lime green shirt with the name of a popular brand of soda on it in cursive letters, and pink denim jeans. Her dirty blond hair went down to her shoulders, and she wore glasses, but they had slid down to the tip of her nose. She pushed them back up to the bridge as she typed up something on a computer.
"Aisle 3", she said, cracking her gum again. She looked no older than MM, who had come to the library with the others.
Shed walked to Aisle 3 and saw it was labled "Monsters". He looked under the "Dragons and Wurms" section until he saw the book he needed: The Legend of the Prysm Wurm. He took it off the shelf and sat down cross-legged in the middle of the aisle.
The Prysm Wurm is said to live in the Sky element part of the Octogon. It has mastery over all the elements, and the only way to defeat it is to use all the elements together...
Shed kept reading, noting sighting dates and locations, mating rituals, and nesting grounds. After making a note of everything, he went to another isle where Fre and Pyre were discussing battle strategies.
"Fre", Shed said. "We'll need 8 Mayao, each with a creature of a different element. We're going to head for the Sky area after we round up everyone"
Fre nodded as Drake walked into the aisle.
"Were you eavesdropping?", Fre asked.
Drake shrugged. "I have Darkness covered, if you'll let me come with you"

********

MM searched through the books in a dusty, forgotten section of the library. These books were different from the others. They were stories, made up tales from before the Torpedo. They had been found and saved, books of all different languages. MM pulled out a few from the old bookshelf. Harry Potter. Th City of Ember. The Giver. The covers were missing on most of them, but the titles were listed on the first page. She put the three books back, and pulled out another one, Gregor the Overlander. The torn cover informed her it was the first in a series, but the other books were hard to come by. She opened the book to a certain page, and took out a small, folded piece of paper. Stuffing it in her pocket, she joined up with the group.
"Hey, MM, what are the elements of your creatures?", Shed asked.
"Umm... why?"
"We need one creature of each element to take on the Prysm Wurm. So far we have Fire, Water, Earth, Darkness, Light, and Mystery"
"Well, that's perfect, because I have a Power creature", she said confidently.
"We still need an Air element creature", Fre said matter-of-factly.
"Well, that's no problem", she said. "Wait here"
MM went up to the desk and talked to the librarian. Soon they both came back to thr group.
"Hey, I'm Julie", the librarian said. "I'm a Traveler... and I have an Air creature" She picked a piece of gum off of her face.
"So, we have two Mages, one Cleric, Two swordspeople: one speed, one offense, Two Travelers, and a Bard. Not exactly balanced class-wise". Fre chuckled.
"Okay, I'm lost", Ladi said.
"Well", Shed began, "there are 8 classes. Wizards, Swordsmen or women, Ninjas, Bards, Archers, Fighters, Psychics, and Travelers. Wizards cast spells to attack, often focusing on a single element, and they are split up into two groups: Mages, specializing in attack magic, and Clerics, specializing in defensive and healing magic. Swordspeople use swords or other traditional weapons such as axes or scythes. They are split up into 3 groups: Attack Swordspeople, often with large, heavy weapons and light armor, Defensive swordspeople, with heavy armor and average-sized weapons, and Speed swordspeople, with light weapons and armor. Ninjas are speedy and stealthy, using throwing weapons and small daggers. Bards are able to control many creatures at a time because of their music skills. Archers use bows and crossbows to attack from a distance, Fighters excel in hand-to-hand combat, Psychics use the power of their mind to hypnotize enemies, move things around, and the like, and Travelers are the people that don't fit in any other category"
Ladi's eyelids were drooping, but she opened them as soon as Shed finished talking. "Thanks for the... education", she said, yawning.
"Anytime"

********

Everyone chattered mindlessly as they left Ryuu, city of windmills, a short subway ride away from Kurichaa.
"We're pretty close to the Water part of the Octogon, so we might encounter some of the more agressive Water creatures, but my spells can take care of most of the Air creatures we'll encounter", Shed said.
They all walked on for some time. The ground was light and springy, made of a strange white material that looked like clouds, and the fog was so close to the ground, it was like you were walking in the sky. There were many steep hills, but no cliffs. If you looked straight up, the sky was pure blue.
"Hey... uh, RWS", MM said, "is there anythign else we could call you?"
"Sure, you can call me Phizzle", he responded.
"Did you hear that?", Ladi asked, poking Shed in the back.
"Hear what? And why me?"
"Because you're the leader-"
She was cut off by strange slithering sound as an odd-looking human with a blue creature by her side greted them.
"My name is Tereya", the girl said in a voice not at all human. "I wa taken by the Kidrell and you shall be next!"
"Kidrell!" Shed half-shouted, half-whispered. "They are extremely powerful Water creatures who take control of human minds. Worst thing is, they take control of all of a Mayao's monsters!"
"Well, we're going to kill it", Fre said. "Get ready everyone!"
Shed took a flute from his pocket and put it to his lips. Fre took out a mini-gong. Drake memorized notes on a small blue ocarina. MM hummed to warm up her voice. Pyre and Ladi took the guitars strapped to their back, his electric and hers accoustic. Phizzle inhaled and put his mouth up to a kazoo. Julie took out a small triangle.
And in the moment that followed the hill erupted in music.