Chapter 3

III

“Thief!”

Sarah BattleThief walked out of the Wolfminster Abbey. Regent’s Square wasn’t as neutral as she thought it would be…Something has happened.
Marleybonians ran past her making their way toward the center of the commotion. All the canines led to the Royal Museum.
Sarah came to the back of the large crowd gathered near the museum. She began to push through the pedestrians, Midnight stayed close to his owner. As she squeezed through the people, the Conjurer listened to a couple of the bystanders:
“What brings this noise on this night?”
“It is the constables’ siren.”
“Oh dear! What happened?”
“It’s…It’s a robbery. Somebody broke into the Royal Museum.”
“Oh, well! I truly think that this is the work of an O’Leary.”
“No ma’am, the robbery was caused by something magic-related. No thug would have the knowledge to use means of magic…but a Wizard.”
“A Wizard? A Wizard from Wizard City? But, how could one learn such spell, and use it against good?”
“I’m dumbfounded. That would make the two of us.”
Finally reaching up to the front of the crowd, Sarah took a look at the investigation site. A number of constable automobiles blocked at every side of the Royal Museum’s front. The police were very busy. A couple of the leading officers barked orders to their comrades and discussed complicated matter.
Sarah had felt the urge to ask one of the officers if she could help with their investigation, unfortunately, timidity began to crawl up her back. Luckily, someone she knew came into the scene.
“Mr. Bones! Over here,” she called out. Sherlock Bones turned his attention from one of the officers to Sarah.
“Ah, good evening to you, Miss BattleThief,” Bones greeted her, “What brings you here?”
“Well, I was going to go train, but then I had to see what the commotion is going on.”
“Oh, well just so you know”, Bones shared his investigational findings, “I’ve just gotten word from one of the leading officers that the thief, who broke into the museum, took an ancient relic and a royal Krokotopian lockbox off from the museum’s displays. This culprit we’re after is not an O’Leary, it apparently seems to be a Wizard, similar to you.”
The findings recalled Sarah’s memory from the couple back in the crowd. They had mentioned that a Wizard had the ability to expertly use magic to break into the museum. It is possible for an O’Leary to not be the main suspect for this crime. Cat burglars are much into breaking in buildings physically, but have no intelligence to master the arts of magic. So, now the blame goes to a Wizard… What are the odds of a Wizard breaking and entering?
Sarah was determined to find out; she stepped through the police lines and walked around the crime scene. There was no broken glass on the ground in front of the museum, so it was likely that this criminal didn’t break in through the windows nor the doors. Midnight ran up to the museum walls and sniffed along them. Sarah followed her pet, only staying behind Midnight a few feet away. He came across the corner of the building and went around into an alleyway.
The dog sniffed the ground then suddenly heard an object shift. He looked up to see an open window; a person crawls out of it with a large bag. Midnight vigorously barked and growled at the shadowy figure. Sarah came to her Heckhound quickly and catches sight of the crook. She gasped and screamed, “Thief!” But neither the policemen nor anyone was there to hear Sarah’s cry. The thief turned its head to Sarah and her angry Midnight, the crook made a run into the depths of the alley. Midnight pursued after it, with his owner behind him.
Midnight followed the thief’s trail by its scent, getting past through the maze of alleyways they passed by. Sarah kept at her pace as she focused the thief in front of her and Midnight. Both were coming in close to the Wizard… who ran into a large, thick fog; that emerged from the sewer holes in the ground. Sarah hastily went into the thief’s path; Midnight stops to sniff the air again. Sarah waited Midnight to get the scent; he caught the scent again and went back onto the thief’s trail. Both continued to run through the alley until they came upon the crook at last.
The thief had unfortunately turned to a dead end and was blocked by Sarah and the growling Midnight. Sarah now identifies the Wizard’s appearance; the Wizard was female, garbed in samurai-like robes and a flag sticking from her waist belt, a face mask with additional ears on the head, and a pair of saggy boots. Sarah had noticed that the Wizard no longer had the bag she had earlier. Cautiously, Sarah went up to talk to the Wizard. “Um… hi there,” Sarah nervously said. The Wizard was crouching and backing up step by step. “You had something the police were after and I want to do this nicely and—can you tell me where you–”
The thief threw a stern look intimidating her opponent; she withdrew a glow-emitted sword and swung it towards Sarah.
Sarah narrowly dodged the hit. Geez, why so aggressive? “Ugh, looks like we’re going to do this the casual Wizard way,” sighed Sarah. Hold it! This is my opportunity to test my skills… Alright, let’s do this! She pulled out her Glowing Peridot Wand, readying her duel against the thief:
The Wizard ran up to Sarah with her sword out and swipe at her multiple times, Sarah evaded all attempts. Angrily, she casted a Cyclops; it smashed its way from the ground and pounded his hammer heavily onto Sarah and disappears. Sarah waved her wand to summon a cluster of Blood Bats, all swarming up against the Wizard and started pecking at her. With the thief distracted, Sarah took the opportunity to equip her Mythblade spell and shield. The bats disappeared into sparkles; the thief now regained her concentration setting her eyes directly back to Sarah.
Sarah was ready for the thief to strike her, waiting for enough power for her Minotaur spell. The thief waved her sword, a Troll was summoned and slammed his club at Sarah. Oh man, I got to hit now. Sarah drew her symbol for the Minotaur spell with her wand…but fizzled. Oh no! Please don’t do this to me! Ironically, the thief was just about to use the spell also. Her successful Minotaur spell attacked the struggling Sarah; leaving her with the only option to attack with her Heckhound card. She casted the canine beast; it broke out of the doghouse and howled at the moon from above the buildings The Heckhound scorched the Wizard with the flames from its gaping mouth then dispelled.
The thief couldn’t move by the burning fire bringing her energy down each moment. Sarah took the advantage to quickly heal herself with a Pixie then attempted another Minotaur. The spell kept on fizzling, Sarah was beginning to panic. Her heart raced as the thief, covered in the flames, was coming straight at her to make a final blow with, yet again, her sword wand. “Come on! I need the protection here!” Sarah mouthed to herself, begging for a miracle for the wand to make. Sarah turned her face to the Wizard who was now just a couple of feet away, she screamed and swung her wand towards the attacker. On the moment the thief nearly came to contact, the wand glowed and a large Minotaur beast emerges. The Minotaur swung his axe with a minor hit, then making a large blow that swept the Wizard off her feet backwards onto the ground, now temporarily knocked out.
“Phew,” said the victorious Sarah as she swept the sweat from the top of her head. She heard the sound of running footsteps from the opposite side of the alley. They were the footsteps belonging to the canine policemen. They ran up to the defeated thief and cuffed her. As they took her away, Sherlock Bones came to the scene.
“Well done, Sarah,” he saluted. “You managed to catch up to the scoundrel. Luckily, we heard your cry a while ago and we tried to navigate for you. Thank you for holding up that person before we found you.”
Sarah blushed, “Aw, it was nothing, really. Just doing what a good Wizard were to do.”
“Yes, but I appreciate your help on apprehending the perpetrator,” Bones took a bow, Sarah did as well.
“Man, I think I’ve had enough of this training for the day. Well, I got to go now, see ya.” With that, Sarah ran out from the alleyways and went towards the Wolfminster Abbey.
Sarah passes by a couple police officers with the arrested Wizard. The Wizard looked up to see the person who turned her in. She glared and swore under her breath, “You stinkin’ rat. I’ll get you for this!” She dropped her head and continued to go on forward with the policemen to Scotland Yard.

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Sierra IceRiver’s class had just ended as she strolled the Commons with Sabrina RedHunter, her best friend. The sun was already high in the sky but was going to set soon.
“Ok, so we got some of the positions done, let’s think about the group name,” says Sabrina looking down at her list. “So far, I got Fire Friends, Swift Phoenixes, and Elemental Swords. What do you think?”
“Um, are the first two names only associated with your school?” Sierra asked looking at her friend’s list.
“Yea, sorry I got carried away with my class. Hehe!” Sabrina giggled and crossed out the names mentioned.
“And about Elemental Swords, Kevin is a Necromancer.”
“Well he studies in the Storm and Ice school too.”
“Oh that’s right. He’s trying to learn his Kraken spell, I heard.” Sierra went back on topic, “The only name I can come up with is AYT.”
“AYT? What does that stand for?” Sabrina tilted her head.
“Well, its an abbreviation for another language meaning: ‘Blue Snow Bird.’”
“Hmm… I like it! It sounds like: Our friendship is our freedom… And we are cool!” Sabrina says as if she were an artist viewing his vision on a blank canvas. Sierra laughed to her friend’s comment.
“Say, how is your sister?”
Sierra frowned, “Don’t know, don’t care.”
Sabrina felt concerned about her friend. “You know, I just noticed how you told your sister to go away. She looked pretty down.”
A slow-moving guilt climbed Sierra’s back. She tried to shove it off, but it stayed there like fungus. Instead, she hid the guilt, “Nah, she’s always like that. She gets over it very quick, before you can say Krokotopia.” Sierra smiled and looked at Sabrina, she looked serious.
“Sierra, why do you treat your sister like this? What has she ever done to you?”
“She almost drowned me one time,” Sierra’s anger appeared on her face, she was certain that she had remembered that incident very well.
Sabrina gasped, “But she did say that she was sorry, right?”
“Yea, but I never forgave her.”
“Why? How long has this been?”
“Hmm… about nine years now.”
“Sierra!”
“What?”
“Do you not see what you’re doing? You’re letting something that had happened years ago get in the way of you and Sarah. And you need to treat her with respect! She’s your big sister!”
“Only by two years,” Sierra mumbled. Sabrina turned her head toward the tunnel leading to Ravenwood, Sarah had emerged from it. Sabrina grabbed at both Sierra’s shoulders to face her. “This is your chance! Go up to your sister and talk to her.”
“Huh? But I…”
“Talk like you haven’t done so, darn you!” she exclaimed and startled her friend.
Sierra looked at Sarah at a distance. She sighed, “Alright, fine. But you have to come with me.”
Sierra, followed by Sabrina, went up to Sarah, who was just hiding behind a building. They approached her, she was accompanied by her Heckhound, Midnight. “H-Hi, Sarah,” Sierra weakly said.
Sarah waved her hand slightly then dropped it.
“So… how are things going for you?” Sierra tapped her foot, with both hands behind her.
“Ok, I guess,” Sarah replied, petting Midnight next to her.
Thinking that she has opened up her introduction, Sierra was going to say more, but she was cut off by a shadow casted down. She looked up to see an owl. It was Gamma.
He swooped down between the girls and stood there in midair. Gamma hooted, ”Oh, I finally found you, miss BattleThief! Headmaster Ambrose needs to see you in his office.”
“Ooh!” says both Sierra and Sabrina due to the suspense of Sarah being in trouble. Sarah gave both a smirk.
Sierra’s sister got up and followed Gamma to the Headmaster’s castle. The girls watched her go.
“Well, she’s got a thing coming,” said the relieved Sierra.
“I hope it isn’t anything bad,” Sabrina worried.
“Whatever it is, its not for us to know. Leave her with the guilt.”
Sabrina had another idea. “I know!”
“Oh great,” Sierra moaned.
“Let’s throw a surprise party!”
“A party?” Sabrina’s friend is confused.
“Yea!” Sabrina was growing in excitement, she had to tell about her new plan. “If your sister’s visit to the Headmaster’s is bad, we can cheer her up with a party!”
“How are we going to make it with only two people?”
“No worries, I am gonna get Kevin to help out, once he’s out from Storm school.”
Sierra sighs once more, “Ok, lets go do your plan.”
Sabrina clapped her hands and screeched in anticipation as she followed her friend to elsewhere.