"Vaan, are you sure about this?" I asked him as we wove through the people of Lowtown.
We were headed for Storehouse 5, where Migelo stored his shop supplies.It also led to the Garamsythe Waterway, which in turn led, at some point, into the palace. 'I hope he isn't' I thought.
"Of course I am,"he called back to me.
He sped up, getting farther away from me.
"I was afraid of that," I said.
We stopped in front of the Storehouse and he turned to me.
"You don't have to come you know," he said, "You can go back and help Migelo with the shop."
"I'm fine," I told him, "You'll probably need my help anyway."
He made a face and opened the door.We greeted Kytes, a friend and war orphan like Vaan and many of our friends.He had figured out a way to open the door to the waterway.
"Do you guys have enough supplies?" he asked.
"Hopefully," I answered, patting my pouch on my belt.
Vaan and I made sure to stock up,well I made sure we did.
Kytes unlocked the door and we stepped inside.Our light dwindled as Kytes bid us good luck and closed the door.
"Off we go then," I commented.
We started walking, making turns whenever needed.Along the way we fought giant rats, bats, and a few ghosts.As we went I thought about our,actually Vaan's, decision to crash the party being held for the new Consul, Vayne, who just happens to be the son of the Archadian Emperor.What made him decide this is beyond me, this is such a waste of time, but I can't let him go alone.I made a promise to protect him and I was going to keep it.
"Tian! Lookout!" Vaan called, "behind you!"
I turned in time to see a gnarled, clawed hand sweeping towards my face.
"Oh crap!" I yelled.
I bent my knees and leaned back to avoid the hit.The hand sailed harmlessly over my face.I brought up my dagger and stabbed the ghost in the arm and I muttered a quick Cure spell.The combine hits caused the ghost to screaming agony and it vanished.In its place was a small bag.
"What's in it?" I asked as Vaan picked it up.
" Just a teleportation stone," he replied closing the bag and placing it in one of his pouches.
" Are we almost there?" he asked.
I pulled out our map and found our location.
"We have about five more minutes and then we're there."
"So lets move!" he cried.
He grabbed my hand and ran off in the direction we were initially headed.As we ran I couldn't help but smile, Vaan always was full of energy.My mind drifted to when we were young.
"Come on you guys!We're going to miss the fireworks!" Vaan hollered.
I was 11 and he was 10.He was holding me by the hand, dragging me with him as he ran through Rabanastre.I was holding some else by the hand and was dragging him behind with us.He was Reks, Vaan's brother.
"Slow down Vaan.They don't start for at least twenty minutes," he reminded.
He had always been a voice of reason for Vaan and I ,even though he was only one year ahead of me.We were usually the reckless ones in our trio.
We continued running until Vaan stopped us at a ladder leading up to...
"The roof," he explained as smartly as a 10 year old can sound, "is always the best place to watch fireworks."
I remember climbing up onto the roof and we all sat together holding hands while the fireworks floated in the sky...
"Hello?Are you still in there Tian?"
Vaan was waving his hand in front of my face.
"Yes,"I said waving his hand away, "Are we there yet?"
He nodded and pointed up at a ladder.He climbed up first and slowly opened the small door that was above us.He glanced around and found it clear, so he climbed all the way up.He helped me up and we both looked around more.The room was small, but not too small.It held casks of something, probably liquor of some kind.There was large amount of crates containing moon knows what and bags of what I was sure to be food.
"We must be in the cellar," I quietly announced.
"So where do we go now?" asked Vaan.
I scanned the map and plotted a route for us..Once that was done we cracked the door open and looked outside.We decided that the coast was clear.We slipped through the door and closed it behind us.We were now in the main cellar.We moved carefully, glancing to our sides, in case anyone spotted us.As we neared the other end of the room, we noticed that the room wasn't clear at all. There were people rushing about, many were just standing around.We reached the end of the room.Two guards stood at the bottom of a staircase, which according to my map, led into the palace.
Vaan and I made our way to the stairs.Our path was blocked by two swords crossing in front of us.