All the locations, characters, etc. of FFXII do not belong to me. All original characters and locations do.
Information on updates will be in my profile, as per usual.
This story is a sequel to Ancient Man of Mystery, so if you're kind of confused, you might wanna go check that one out. Hopefully it'll clear some things up.
Chapter I
-Archades-
Mssr. Valkyrie, we offer you our heartiest congratulations upon felling Mark LVII, also deemed the Nightowl...
...shipment of two hi-potion packs and ten tufts of phoenix down...
...never got a chance to thank you for your help in Rabanastre last summer, and I hope you will pass my regards along to Miss Beth...
Valkyrie sighed, flipping through letter after letter. The mail held its usual score of formal thank yous and payments, but not yet what he was looking for.
True, he had been unusually successful for someone who'd only had his hunting license for three months. Of course, it helped that he had saved Ivalice from a horrible monster this summer and was "personally endorsed by Judge Magister Ffamran" (he would never forgive his cousin for that one). The Archadian prestige and fame had caused bills to simply fly across his doorstep, as well as the promised bounty that came with slaying a mark. Yes, there had been clan invitations, the most prestigious of which yet was the letter from Clan Centurio that had arrived last week. Yet...
"Still nothing," groaned Valkyrie, tossing the last letter onto the heap of post. Kicking back from the small desk, he began rummaging through his closet looking for a good winter coat. November in Archades wasn't exactly frigid, but his next commission lay in a particularly icy place. Tossing spare hangars aside, he jumped when a loud knocking rang throughout the apartment.
Tripping over a spare pair of shoes, he trundled to the door. Upon opening it, he discovered Beth, still in her school uniform.
"You look, uh, busy," she offered.
He shrugged. "Yeah, a little. Come on in."
She uncertainly entered the little apartment, taking a seat on the spare bed as Valkyrie returned to the closet, at last yanking out his coat.
"Going somewhere?" asked Beth.
"Yeah, I'm headed south as of tomorrow," said Valkyrie. "Oh, by the way, I got a letter from that Viera in Rabanastre we helped over the summer. She said to tell you hello."
"Oh, right, that's nice of her," said Beth, shifting a little on the bed. "It's really too bad you're going away. I mean, we've got a holiday coming up and all, it wouldn't kill you to take a break."
Stuffing the coat into his pack, Valkyrie turned to look at Beth. "Sorry, but this is apparently on special request from one of the nobles." He rolled his eyes. "Studies golems, looking for a special sort that only lives in the Feywood. I can't believe I have to go down there, but I'm pretty sure Ffamran would have rung my neck if I said no."
Beth nodded, sitting in silence for a moment.
"You want something to eat?" asked Valkyrie. "I went shopping earlier."
"I never see you any more, you know," she replied.
"Come on, are we going to have this conversation again?" said Valkyrie, exasperated.
"Look, I know I'm in school, and you're busy with your work, I've heard it a million times," said Beth, rolling her eyes, "but come on, you could make some sort of effort to stay in touch."
"What do you want me to do, huh? Write once a week?" growled Valkyrie.
"I see what you're doing," said Beth, crossing her arms. "Most new hunters would stick to familiar ground, but no, you're all over the map, I mean you're going to the Feywood, for the gods' sake."
Glaring at her fiercely, Valkyrie answered. "You know the reason I get these commissions. You were there. You helped."
"I heard you got an offer from Clan Centurio," she said icily, "you going to accept the offer? It's a pretty deal, you know."
"I already have a good place here," he muttered, "I don't want to have to go through the ordeal of moving to Dalmasca."
"Whatever. You'd have to move anyway."
Valkyrie closed his eyes, bending over the bed for a moment.
"Do you want to come with me this weekend?"
Beth nearly fell off the bed. "Seriously??"
"Yeah, why not. I mean, if you think you'll deal allergy-wise. I could use the company."
She jumped up, positively ecstatic. "Oh, forget that shit. I'm going home to pack right now. Bye! First thing tomorrow morning?"
"Uh...yeah."
A blur of energy streaked past him and slammed the door. Well, at least one of the two was happy.
-
A flight to Rabanastre, then a smaller ship taken to the Paramina Rift, then the trek across the frozen plains, and the entire way, Beth didn't shut up. Yeah, so she was thrilled to be out slaying monsters with him again. Mmhmm, it was great to be adventuring again just like old times.
Had he really turned into that much of an asshole in three months?
But he just couldn't help it. He didn't want to hear about what was going on at school, a venue that had been distant to him for what seemed like ages. Though he was aware of the rudeness, he couldn't help but cringe at every battle they fought. She had never been one for strength, true, but it was almost embarrassing to watch her clunk away at a beast while Valkyrie cut through each new foe like butter.
The Feywood, despite its eerie noises and chilling fog, was almost a source of relief. Here, Beth understood the meaning of silence, and he was able to focus his senses on the hunt entirely. This unsettling maze of growth with its suspense and threat, this was his element, where he belonged.
However, the Misty wood was not without its share of hosts, most annoying of which were the Deadly Nightshade, whose piercing shrieks lured other beasts to the fight with alarming regularity. It was no surprise that after defeating a particularly large group of these pesky mandragoras, Beth collapsed against a tree.
"You holding up okay?" asked Valkyrie.
"Fine," she wheezed, "it's just the allergies."
After glancing to make sure the area was clear, Valkyrie moved closer to the ailing Beth.
"We aren't too far from the rift," he said, "if you're feeling sick, it's best we go back now, before things get worse."
"No, no," said Beth, unsteadily drawing herself up, "I'll be fine. I've dealt with worse before."
Valkyrie clenched his teeth, knowing that was a lie.
"Well, I'll take you at your word for that. We'll continue on, but more slowly."
But Beth's condition continued to deteriorate. The further the two went into the Mist, the more increasingly labored Beth's breathing became. Stopping more and more often, the two finally took a long rest in a secluded corner of the tangle, Valkyrie growing more and more anxious.
"There's supposed to be a crystal not too far from here," he urged, glancing to either side of him. "As soon as you can walk again, I'm taking you straight there."
"S-sure," replied Beth, too tired to protest. "Hey…uh, why do you, keep looking around?"
"The mark," he hissed, "is supposed to be really close to here."
"So?" replied Beth, a little color returning to her face. "Aren't we dealing with a golem? They hunt by vibrations from the earth, and, we sure aren't moving."
A few piercing shrieks filled the air, followed by a roar.
"Uh, no," said Valkyrie, fingering the hilt of his sword. "See, the reason the researcher couldn't study the golems had to do with a number of his team getting eaten…"
"Eaten?!" shrieked Beth.
Another roar sounded, followed by a number of crashing footsteps.
"Goddammit Beth," said Valkyrie, drawing the Masamune. "Get ready to cast as much magick as you can muster. I'll fend it off."
A behemoth, black as night and crested with a double set of horns, came crashing out of the fog. Though its claws were already up and swiping, Valkyrie was one step ahead, already parrying the blow. Beth, nearby, was carefully eyeing the creature while drawing her pole. Recognizing the milky film in the creature's eyes, Beth fired off a quick cast of Oil. The beast shook its head wildly, and began pawing at its nose.
"It's blind!" she yelled raspily, "the scent of the oil will confuse it!"
"Thanks!" Valkyrie called back, immediately slicing away at the behemoth's legs. Agitated, the monster retaliated with Blizzaga, knocking Valkyrie to the ground. Though he was already downing a hi-potion, Beth also cast Cura, wasting the potion's effect as well as time.
Valkyrie bounded to his feet and pierced the back of the struggling beast, still trying to clear its nose and ears of the black sludge covering its body. Though she could barely stand, Beth was able to cast Fira, thoroughly crisping the mark. With a final swipe, Valkyrie decapitated the burning beast, and stepped back to let the flames burn out. He turned to congratulate Beth for a job well done, but she had fainted dead away.
"Oh gods," he muttered. Sheathing the katana, he hurried to her side, scooping her into his arms. Moving as quickly as he could while still remaining quiet, Valkyrie made a beeline for the crystal, its blue luster and warmth shining with relief.
Gently, he laid her body against the crystal, sighing with relief as the familiar blue tinge flooded her body. She didn't open her eyes, but her breathing began to steady, and it appeared as if she would soon recover. Knowing that none of the creatures would approach the crystal, he quickly stole away to gather proof of felling the mark.
Valkyrie deftly sliced away one of the smaller horns and stowed it carefully in his pack. As he turned to leave, there came an uncanny snarl from behind. He turned to see three Cerberus wolves, clearly coming to investigate the corpse of the slain behemoth. Sighing, Valkyrie readied the katana, fully prepared for the fight that was to come.
The first wolf made a headlong lunge for the swordsman; however, this was also a headlong lunge for the sword. Its throat pierced, the wolf slid off Valkyrie's blade, dead before it could even make an attack. The two companions, enraged by the fall of their leader, also leapt for Valkyrie, tusks aflame. The first combatant was easy enough to knock to the side, but the final wolf was particularly vicious, and Valkyrie did not escape the battle without a few burning scrapes. Hastily digging into his pack for salve, he paused: something glowing on the ground had caught his eye. It seemed that the tusk of the final wolf was still blazing.
Valkyrie carefully bent to cut the appendage from the monster's snout, marveling at his luck. The Hells-Gate Flame was remarkably difficult to come by, and valued for its use in swordcraft. Yet he had not so much gripped the shell when he looked up to see a thick blade staring him in the face.
"I'd suggest you drop that now, if you know what's good for you."
Valkyrie raised his eyes slightly. There was no mistaking that voice, that hair.
"Zeus!"
-
After a brief reunion and many apologies, the two hastily returned to the crystal, where Zeus agreed that it was in Beth's best interests to move her immediately. It was slow going, but the pair managed to escape the Feywood fairly unscathed and slog their way across the icy rift, where they again took a small respite at a shining blue crystal.
"So," said Valkyrie, leaning against the cliff face, "where've you been these past few months?"
She smiled apologetically. "Atak said you'd been by when I last stopped by the coast. I'm sorry, but I really haven't had much time to get back there. I've basically been all over the place."
"Doing what?" asked Valkyrie, checking the breathing of a still groggy Beth.
"Clearly, it's a secret," Zeus replied.
"Hmm," said Valkyrie, "to take a wild guess, I'm guessing you're tracking down weapons?"
"How'd you know?" she said.
"The Hells-Gate Flame is pretty much a dead giveaway," he replied.
"That's true," she said, shrugging, "though I must admit, it's slow going. How about you? How goes the hunt?"
"Pretty well, actually," he replied. "I've gotten a surprising number of commissions, though that's mostly thanks to some influence from the top, I'd suspect." He rolled his eyes moodily. "Well, let's get going. It's still a bit of a walk to the gate crystal."
Supporting Beth, the friends continued their journey.
"Any clans gotten their hooks in you yet?" asked Zeus.
Valkyrie was very grateful that Beth was still semi-conscious. "I've gotten a few requests, but, uh, nothing major."
"Huh. You think that whole 'destroying a deadly Mist monster' incident would have at least gotten Centurio sniffing around. They're always looking for heroes to add to their ranks."
"Uh, guess not," said Valkyrie, stammering slightly. "Oh, right!"
He stopped suddenly, drawing the Masamune.
"This is yours, and I should have given it back to you months ago. I'm very sorry."
Zeus eyed him quizzically.
"Naw, hold onto it for now, and give it to me when we gate out. Actually, wait," Here, she paused at the crystal, digging a teleport stone from her vest. "You wouldn't mind coming back to the coast with me, would you? It seems like a good idea to have Atak take a look at Beth."
Valkyrie nodded, slightly confused, but more than ready to leave. He'd had his fill of the cold for one day.