Part 1: These Goofballs Saved the World
Leaves rustled in the warm sunlight. Birds called through the trees and animals went about their normal ways. Even the monsters weren't intruding on this peace. Without the influence of Exdeath in the world, monsters had reverted back to animals or slunk away to hidden places. It was a peace that allowed this world, once two, to heal up and move on.
Though honestly, the peace wasn't that good for an adventure. It was good for a nap, which was exactly what Bartz planned on doing. And this tree was just perfect for it, with sturdy low branches spreading out for perfect support right here. The leaves were a lullaby and the sun was a blanket. For the moment, his left leg swung down so his bare foot caught the breeze. His soul never wanted to settle down in one place. But if he did, this patch of forest with this perfect napping tree was a tempting home.
Crush.
Bartz opened his eyes partway. Something or someone was walking through the grass nearby. Still, he wasn't worried. People greeted him joyfully wherever he went now. They recognized him as one of the world's saviors. And it couldn't be one of Exdeath's rare supporters. You knew when one of them were around; the hateful magic they bore could make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up even if that was the only indication they were around. Way out here in the middle of this forest, it was probably just an animal.
Closing his eyes again, he brought his foot back up on the branch. A hand clasped the tree, indicating that this was a someone. It'd be fine. And if it wasn't, he could save himself easily. No, his plan now was to take a nap and nobody was going to change that.
The branch he was lying on shifted. Maybe he should move, if only not to overload the branch? Bartz grumbled a bit, preparing to drop down at a moment's notice.
"BARTZ!" Whoever it was grabbed at his torso.
"Nnghuh?" His eyes flew open and before he could figure out the wild-looking face in front of him, he slipped to the side and crashed out of the tree. As he hadn't been too high up, it shouldn't have hurt much. But then the heavily geared person who'd grabbed him landed on top of him.
"It's great to see you again!" he said with a grin. "I've been looking all over for you; found everybody but you real easily, so it had me worried for a bit, but here you are!"
"Gilgamesh?" Bartz asked, still dazed.
Last he'd seen this swordsman, he'd exploded himself within the depths of the Void to save him and his friends. It was something that couldn't be helped at the time, although Bartz always felt bad over how that had ended. But here he was again, alive and looking healthy. "Yup, finally found my way back here. It was quite an adventure, since it's real easy to make a wrong turn when using the Void as a road. But I knew I'd make it. I had to make it, had to see you again."
"It's good to see you again too," Bartz said. It was a welcome surprise, even with the painful surprise of falling out of the tree.
"And I want to take you back into the Void with me!" he said happily, smiling like this was the greatest thing in existence. From this angle, the sun made some kind of halo around his head. "Well, not into the Void itself, but we can go traveling the Void to reach other worlds and have all sorts of wacky hijinks and madcap adventures. It's something of been dreaming of, because I love you and I want to show you the wonders of the kind of life I lead."
...love? Bartz wasn't sure what to make of that. He'd never thought about Gilgamesh in that way. For the most part, he was the friendliest rival Bartz had ever known. But then, to use the Void to travel to new worlds and new adventures, that was something he had thought of. And dreamed of, and wished for. He had experienced that kind of adventure at one time. Yet he always wanted more.
Not to mention, Gilgamesh had always looked amazing when he showed off his swordsmanship.
"I know it's sudden and all to you, but it drives me on and kept me going while I kept trying to find my way back here," Gilgamesh said. "I don't care if you just want to tag along for the adventure right now. Just know that I will win you over one way or another. I decided that was the happiness I most wanted to seek. And, here I am, I made it back to you."
"Gilgamesh?" He'd been smiling all along, but the way it shifted at this made Bartz feel like he could take a chance on this. And how would he react…? "You're right, it is sudden, but seeing you like this, it just makes me think..." Bartz touched Gilgamesh's forehead and smiled. "I've heard some people say that love hurts, but I never expected I'd need a hi-potion after falling in love with you. Would you mind getting off me?"
Fortunately, he laughed at that. "Good one! Oh wait, did you get hurt? I'm sorry, I just couldn't hold back." Gilgamesh moved over to sit by him instead, fishing out the mentioned hi-potion from his travel bag. All of his various gear, mostly swords from the looks of it, clanked around as he did. "Here."
"Thanks," Bartz said as he sat up to drink it. It had a different taste than he was used to, probably with a heavier plant base. But then, who knew what world he'd picked this up on. "I had a feeling you'd be back and we'd be friends, so I was hoping you'd come soon. I didn't expect your feelings would be this strong."
"I wasn't really thinking it was love either," he admitted. "But in one world I was visiting, I talked with a witch about finding this world, and you specifically. She pointed out that I was talking and thinking about you so much that it seemed like love." He snapped his fingers. "And it was like that, I knew I was! And that's how I got back here! Well, not without a few more wrong turns, but that's just normal. But I know I found my way back to you out of love."
"Well, it's been about a year for me since I last saw you," he said. "I was starting to get bored, so this is just what I was looking for. Though, I should go say goodbye to the others, especially if we have no way of knowing if or when we'll get back here."
Gilgamesh scratched his chin. "Ah, that could be trouble. Faris said she'd skewer me with a ten foot pole if I came back around; I don't know why asking her if she was any more ladylike would make her threaten me like that. Then Krile and Lenna both suggested they'd take me to see Faris, so it could be trouble for me seeing them all again."
"Faris is Faris, so let her be who she is," Bartz said. "At least let me send off some letters first."
Eblan Castle was in a sorry state: stone walls crumbled into piles of rubble, towers fallen over, holes and weak floors everywhere. There wasn't a lot that had actually burned; Edge noticed that now. Outside of the castle, there was a large stretch of ground recovering from fierce fire. That was the battlefield where Eblan started losing ground. Which foe had been behind which assault?
However, that wasn't an important matter right now. The important matter was making sure their nation recovered, perhaps better than before. "It has walls of fire blocking direct passage, switches past trap floors, and invisible floors over what seemed to be nothing," he told the seneschal as they checked over the castle grounds. "It was the most fun I've had in a long time, and we can surely do better than that!"
The old man straggled after him, short of breath and nearly slipping on some loose rubble. This guy was no ninja, but he was good with numbers and bookkeeping. "I, I see, young sire, but…" Edge stopped and glanced back at him, giving him a moment. "Shouldn't we consider the comfort of guests and… those who work in the castle like me, who'd have a hard time getting around for daily chores?"
Edge shrugged. "Eh, we could also train up the maids, kitchen staff, and others in some basic ninja maneuvering so it becomes second nature." When the seneschal gave him a disbelieving look, Edge laughed. "That would be nice, but it would be more practical to have ordinary spaces for ordinary people. It'd show that that we can be friendly too. But surely we could dedicate a tower or two to an intense practice grounds. Maybe even the dungeon, like stretch it out to meet with the caves, rig it so the passages can be closed off to invaders or opened up to allow for another evacuation if needed."
"Y-yes, that could work." The seneschal took the moment to take a deep breath and relax.
Seeing that, Edge considered where to dart off to next. Then a trail of smoke caught his eye. "That can come later, once we've got the farms and smaller towns back on their feet, and the main part of the castle is in good shape. So we had a fair number of stonemasons available, but no blacksmiths?"
He nodded. "Yes, what smiths we have are out in the towns. We're shorthanded on tools as a result, and some work simply can't be done without a smith available. If it's possible, could you speak with the dwarves and ask…?"
Edge held up a hand to him. "If we don't have any blacksmiths here, then why is the forge going?"
"Huh?" Bewildered, he looked over to the underground area where weapons for the castle forces used to be made. "Strange."
"I'll check it out," Edge said, already heading over there. If this person thought they could simply move into an empty smithy, their intentions would need to be checked out. It might also be that one of the blacksmiths who'd gone elsewhere had returned. But it might also be someone who thought they could take over Eblan with no one in the ruined castle.
As the castle forge was mostly underground and away from the rest, it was in perfectly good shape as Edge silently moved down the stairs. A hot breeze moved past him; the heavy rumble of contained fire confirmed that the forge was indeed running. A metal tool was set aside, but no hammering could be heard. Instead, there was a hiss with a magical tone to it.
Edge was careful to move into a position that would be out of sight to someone working near the forge. Normally the extra noise would cover him too. But this blacksmith was no ordinary one. He stroked the glowing metal with his bare hands instead of hammering it. As the shape of the tool satisfied him, he then pulled his hand away, drawing the bright heat straight out of it. With some heat taken out, he then gestured for a handle to float over to him so he could secure it on. It was a simple shovel.
A different sound came through, the ragged breath of someone not used to a lot of walking at once. This person was worrisome, but Edge wanted to wait until the smith was at a less dangerous stage of work. But with the seneschal coming, the old man could prove a greater distraction. "Rubicante?" Edge asked. Some anger came back, but there was uncertainty now about how much the Elemental Lord was truly responsible for.
"Hello Edge," Rubicante said, polite as always. "Would you give me a moment to complete this? I don't want any faults, even within an ordinary tool."
"Fine," he said, leaning against work table where he could keep an eye on Rubicante and the main entrance.
The adviser's steps were obvious, even if the usual din of a smithy had been around. The old man put his hand against the wall; his eyes went wide when he looked over and saw the tall man with the distinctive red and violet cloak. "R-Rubi..."
"Hush," Edge said, waving him to keep back. The seneschal was more than willing to do so, drawing back to where things seemed less dangerous.
Rubicante made sure the handle was secure, than drained all of the heat from new shovel. An ordinary smith would douse it in a bucket of water, but he had control over the heat itself. When he then gestured to the forge, the flames briefly flared up as if reclaiming the shovel's heat. He then set the shovel aside with a few other new tools. "I do not mean any harm," he said, turning to face Edge.
"But what are you doing here?" Trust him or not? And what was he doing alive anyhow? Golbez, or more likely Zemus, had restored the four Lords back to life to defend the Giant of Babel. Edge couldn't imagine Zeromus doing that again, even if some piece of that soul of hatred remained.
"You need a blacksmith to get Eblan Castle back in shape, correct?" he asked. "Allow me to work for you. Consider it a penance, as I won't require payment for my work."
"That would help, but what are you doing alive?"
Rubicante shrugged. "I am not entirely sure why, but this awakening feels different from when we were called by Zeromus. We are the Elemental Lords, part of the world as a force of nature. I think that Nature itself called us back, but I was the only one not consumed by the hatred we were called by last time. As such, I can sense entities of the other elements as being alive, but they do not feel like my past peers."
It could be something to ask Cecil and his other friends about, if other Elemental Lords had come back into the world. But Rubicante was right about one thing: they needed a smith around the castle. Edge reached over for the newly made shovel, glancing at Rubicante before grabbing it. After a nod of approval, he took the shovel and checked on it. It seemed perfectly ordinary, a little warm but not dangerous to handle at this point. It was almost disappointing that he'd made something so normal. But then, the extraordinary things could come after life in Eblan was back to normal.
"All right, we'll take your offer," Edge said.
"But sire," the seneschal started to say.
He held up a hand to hush him; they could talk later. "Since you accept it as penance, you won't get any special treatment or payment until the castle is whole again. We'll rework those terms then."
"Thank you," Rubicante said, bowing to him. "Now, what tools are you most in need of?"