It had been many weeks since Lile had last seen Strago. The two had boarded a ship heading towards Thamasa until a storm stirred up the ocean waves... _________________________________________________________________ The wind blew wildly and the waves clashed together like armies at war. The ship rocked side to side and all the passengers were clinging .... desperately to anything they could lay a grip on. "Lile, where did you leave the elementals? We could sure use their help now," asked Strago as he grasped at a pole. Suddenly, the wind blew his feet off the deck of the ship and the old man tightened his grip on the pole, the only thing that prevented him from flying into the raging sea. Unfortunately, the wind and rain shrouded his message and all the sprite could see were the old man's lips moving but heard nothing else. "Speak up! I can't hear you!" "Where are Salamando, Sylphid, and Undine!" hollered the old man again. "Here are salami silk undies? Say it again! I still can't hear you!" This time, Strago raised his voice further and bellowed with all his might, "No, no, where are the elementals!" "Oh, the elementals! They're sleeping on the deck below." The waves grew fiercer and fiercer until a gigantic wave came crashing down on the ship, ripping the hull apart. The passengers were forced to abandon the ship as the ship was torn apart. The little sprite clung onto a piece of wood and watched as the mighty ship sank to the ocean floor... _____________________________________________________________________________ The last few weeks of walking had exhausted the little sprite and he was glad to be approaching a nearby town. In front of the town stood two soldiers and before Lile could enter the town, the soldiers halted him. "Stop! Who are you? What is your business here in Albrook?" "My name is Lile. I'm awfully tired and I need some food. Could I please get by?" The soldiers laughed and said, "Scram kid. We don't want you here. Go on... get!" The poor sprite turned around and prepared to leave. While he was walking away from the soldiers, a glass like stone fell from his pockets. The soldiers gazed at the stone and then whispered amongst themselves. One of them turned to the sprite and exclaimed, "Hey you! We'll let you in if you give us that stone there." Lile picked up the stone and replied, "Okay. I found this in a cave and I thought it was pretty. Do you think it is pretty too?" "Yeah, whatever kid. Just hand it over," and the soldier snatched the stone from Lile. "How many more of these do you have?" "I only have two of these kind," answered the little sprite. "Give us the other one too and we'll let you in," the other soldier demanded. Lile pulled the other one from his pocket and handed it over to the soldier. "Can I please go in now??" "Go on kid. Get in fast before I change my mind." The soldiers continued conversing with each other while the little sprite entered the town. They talked at a low voice but he overheard one of them say, "Sucker. I'm sure I'll get a lot for these diamonds he gave us!" The soldiers sounded happy to receive the stones so Lile was glad for having performed such a good deed. The sprite wandered around the town until he saw a man, wearing a red bandana with a black patch lying over his eye, hiding in a group of trees. He motioned for Lile to come over so Lile approached the man. "Hi there. Are you playing 'hide and seek'? Can I play too?" "Pssst, keep it down kid. I'm a merchant. Do you have a papa or mama?" "I don't know who my parents are. I'm still trying to find my way home." "He he. You're funny kid. Say, I have these funny looking creatures here. They've been a nuisance to me but I'm sure you'll have fun with them." The man pulled out a bag and opened it. Inside lay three funny looking creatures which Lile quickly recognized as the elementals he had lost at sea. "Let us go, you ugly smelling cockroach," fired one of the elementals, Salamando. "Sheesh, I gotta get rid of these pests. Whadda ya say kid? Show me what you have in your pockets and maybe I'll trade 'em to ya." Lile pulled out some green stones from pocket and displayed them to the merchant. The merchant examined the stones Lile was holding and an expression of glee overwhelmed his face. "I'm rich! Kid, I'll trade these freaks for those emeralds you're holding. Deal?" "Okay, it's a deal then." The little sprite handed over the gems, picked up the bag and then his curiosity propelled him to ask, "Do all merchants have a patch over their eye like you?" "Uhh, I'm a special type of merchant. I get my merchandise by swindling people. Say, which way are you heading? If you give me more of those stones, I can get you on board a ship heading to Thamasa." The sprite dug into his pocket pulled out anything left inside but he had given the last of his shiny stones to the merchant. "I don't have any more. I think I gave my last one to you. I have some other stones but they're much smaller than the ones I just gave you." "Uhh, you're holding sand kid and I don't want that. In that case, I can't help you then. Now leave me alone and go play with those pets I gave you." "Don't trust this man, Lile," said one of the elementals, Sylphid. "He's afraid of the soldiers so I think you should report this man." "No! Not the soldiers! If they discover I'm doing business without paying them commission, they'll have me hanged. Okay, kid, if you keep your mouth shut, I'll get you out of here at night. Meet me at the dock tonight and I'll slip you out of this town. I have a boat at the dock and we'll use that to reach a secret ship that will be waiting a little further out after sunset. Not a word of this to anybody - if the Empire finds out about this, I'm a dead man." "Who is Empire? Is that one of your friends? Does he like pretty stones too?" inquired the little sprite. "The Empire? With all the toys they have, you don't wanna mess with them." "Empire has lots of toys? Can I meet Empire one day?" "That's a good one kid. Remember, meet me at the dock tonight. I gotta go now. See ya." When the night approached, Lile headed towards the dock, just as the merchant had instructed. Two soldiers sitting, in some kind of vehicle that Lile had never seen before, stood guard at the dock but they were sleeping, snoring loudly as they slept and Lile easily slipped passed them. The merchant was already in his boat, waiting for the little sprite to arrive. Lile, quietly got onto the boat, carrying the elementals in his bag with him. The merchant untied the rope that held the boat to the dock and slowly rowed out to sea. Soon, they reached a ship and were helped on board by the ship's crew and within moments, the ship set sail for Thamasa. * - * - * The days passed by and Lile thought of Strago. Perhaps the two would meet again if chance would allow. Thamasa was Strago's home town and maybe the old man had found his way home. The little sprite though, spent most of his time thinking about his home and what it would look like and often wondered if his home was similar to this world. Perhaps others like him had entered this world too ....