CHAPTER 1

Penelo was uneasy. Her eyes scanned the horizon, but nothing leaped out at them. Unsurprising. Anything that leaped out to attack an airship was either stupid or strong enough to be too rare to worry about. But worry she did. Maybe it was habit by now. They'd run enough jobs as full-fledged sky pirates that she and Vaan felt at least somewhat comfortable with how things would go. But there was always that moment, that feeling, that shot of adrenaline. This time was different.

Vaan would only shrug. "You worry too much, Penelo. Relax, it'll be fine. Just like all the others. Sneak in, grab it, sneak out. Nothing to it." He put his hands behind his head and leaned to one side, totally confident. Penelo sighed. "I hope you're right, Vaan."

As they approached their destination, Penelo reviewed what she knew. It was a private residence in a remote corner of Archadia. Some rich, eccentric fellow had a rare jewel that their informant claimed belonged to his client, another rich, eccentric fellow living in Archades. Apparently, the two men had been swapping the gem for years, contriving new ways to steal it and conceal it from the other. Now, one of them had thought up the bright idea of hiring someone else to do it. So Penelo found herself flying the Galbana off to who knows where, to steal a gem for an unknown client, who communicated only through an anonymous intermediary.

She sighed again. Trust Vaan to get them a job like this. She twisted her hands in her lap nervously. They were getting close. Time to get ready.

"C'mon, Penelo, you can't possibly be nervous. Look at this place, practically ripe for the taking! Do you think he'll notice if we, y'know, take one or two other things? Little things, nothing major or anything. He'd never know!" Vaan elbowed her. "You're such a worrywart, Penelo."

Penelo rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Yes, it was practically "ripe for the taking," as Vaan had said. It was a quiet, remote house, nestled in a scenic, woody area, with no visible guards but a fence. This was making her even more nervous. It was too good to be true, something had to be wrong here. But Vaan was too eager to see an easy mark. Occuria knows they'd had enough difficulties lately. Penelo knew better, but it was hard to be cautious with Vaan around. He liked to just bludgeon his way into things, and it was usually Penelo that got them out.

Vaan was tugging at her arm now. No more delaying, better get in there and find out what was really bothering her before she turned into a nervous wreck. The two quietly approached the fence, their steps silenced by a Float spell. After a quick check for defensive magic, they each slipped over the wall and darted for the building. Getting inside wasn't so easy – they had to shimmy up a tree that was too close to the house to get at a window that they could finally pry open. Penelo felt a little better after they were forced to improvise like that, though she was still on her guard. Vaan was just excited, and she had to remind him to be quiet.

The house was lavish. Expensive decorations and plush décor surrounded them, and even Penelo couldn't help but think of the price some of the items would fetch. But they had to find their prize, and it probably wouldn't be easy. With a reminder to stick to the job and a stern foot stomp, she sent Vaan to search the top floors, while she snuck down the staircase.

The main floor was easy to search - a large entranceway and receiving area, kitchen, and a dining hall with a long table with twenty seats. Penelo shook her head and wondered what it would be like to live this way. Past the kitchen, she stopped – dead end. But she at least figured that the treasure would not be on this floor, but perhaps a hidden basement. She inspected the walls, and finally found what she was looking for. A hidden door, hidden behind a trestle table in the dining room. Gently, she shoved it aside, and pried it open. The door swung wide without a sound. Bingo.

The stairs down were very dark, and Penelo hesitated. Something's still not right here. But this is what we came for… she thought. She descended warily. It wasn't long before she found the bottom. The faint light from the dining room above illuminated little. Again she hesitated, but this time only for a moment. She breathed a few words, and a fire spell flared in front of her, casting red, dancing light on the room. She frowned. There was nothing here.

And then, there was something there. Scythe-like arms swung menacingly, a large face grinned repulsively and an eldritch glow contrasted with the red flame. An oversoul. Penelo backed up a step. This was no easy foe with a group, let alone by herself. Think! We fought these in the Necrohol of Nabudis! she thought. The undead thing began casting. Ohhh, think Penelo! It's undead, it's weak to holy… She gripped her mace tightly and began to cast, hoping that she would be quicker.

She was not. The oversoul unleashed an annul spell, and broke her concentration enough to interrupt her cast. "Vaan!" she shouted. "Help me! Vaan!" She took a swing with her mace, but it was easily dodged. She tried to keep moving around it, fishing for a mana potion. "Come on, come on, I know I've got one, I can't fight this thing without my Holy spell… Vaaaaan!" The oversoul struck at her viciously, connecting and knocking her over. She screamed. She threw what was in her hand at it – a hi-potion. Useless. It dodged that too, and struck at her again. She managed to roll away from it, but still caught a glancing blow.

The oversoul was casting again. Where was Vaan? She was shouting loud enough, he should be able to hear her! They never should have split up, she knew it was a setup, it was never supposed to be this easy, she should have known… She screamed as the oversoul's Aeroga spell hit her. She thought she heard Vaan shouting now, but it was too much. She slipped into unconsciousness.