CHAPTER TWO
LOCKE
And so Terra's worst fear had been realized. She was alone. Arvis was gone, and she was walking with a lamp and a drawn sword up a long tunnel toward the uncertain future, towards enemies and friends alike unknown. There were no sounds but her own breathing and footsteps. The air was dry and icy cold without the warmth of Arvis' stove, and Terra stopped to check her bag for clothes. Thankfully, there was a thick, white fur which she wrapped around herself, as well as some jerky and rock-hard bread, and a flask of water.
Now there was nothing to do while she climbed the interminable path but think about what she had been told. First, she wondered what great strength or skill she must possess if she had been a soldier, for there was no denying that she was a woman, and a small one at that. Whatever skill her arm possessed with a sword, would she have been able to stand against a full-grown man? The idea of it made her laugh, and she doubted that Arvis had been correct on that point.
Secondly, although she trusted Arvis implicitly, she didn't feel any indignation at the mention of the Empire. Was it really as evil as he said, or was he just an old man with very strong political opinions? But, of course, she would assume that he was right until she had some experience of her own. After all, was she not now fleeing from soldiers that were probably her comrades, and from whom she had nothing to fear? Was she not running to another member of Arvis' mysterious group? Undoubtedly Arvis was part of some underground resistance movement into whose hands she had fallen. Which side was the right one, if indeed there was a right side? Why not go back to the people she had been told she was part of? What business was it of hers to get involved in this conflict? All she wanted was a life of peace. Terra didn't come to any conclusion on the subject, and so she decided she might as well continue on to meet this Locke that Arvis mentioned, for if she dared turn back she would be lost forever in the tunnels.
She could make even less sense out of the circumstances under which she had been found. She'd been discovered unconscious next to the remains of two imperial soldiers? In the mountains near the last of the gods? She couldn't begin to imagine what she'd been doing there, and the thought of meeting a god filled her with dread.
After what seemed like hours of walking, Terra began to see a faint light as of daylight, and every once in a while, a whistling, roaring sound, which soon showed itself to be the wind. The wind now reached her and an icy blast blew back her hair. Terra wrapped the fur tighter around herself and continued on. The light was white, not golden, and by the time she saw the opening, she was certain that it was winter.
At last Terra found herself at the mouth of the cave, partly shielded from a mighty, roaring gale and a thick, fast-falling snow. A sudden gust picked up a powdery layer of snow and stung her face. When she looked again she saw that ahead, within a hundred meters, was a thicket of pine trees, covered in white. And when she peeked out of the cave she saw a nearby cabin in the shadow of a great boulder, a fragment of the foot of a mountain. She could not see clearly much further than this because of the snowfall, but she thought she saw distant peaks and the lights of the city of Narsha, cradled in the mountains. A sudden and inexplicable fear grew upon her as she strained to see the mountaintop, and she quickly averted her eyes.
Pulling the fur hood over her head, she left the cave and trudged through the thick snow towards the cabin, bowed a little so as not to take the full force of the biting wind in the face. She shivered terribly as she pounded on the door. Having to stand still was the worst. She knocked again but there was still no answer. She tried the door and found it locked. Terra could have screamed. Vainly she tried to shake the handle. Let me in! she thought, and then, just at that moment, the lock clicked. She paused, but whoever it was who had unlocked it did not open the door. "This Locke must be a very rude person," she said to herself, and opened the door quickly and shut it behind her, though the wind was trying to force it open.
When she turned around she found that the place was deserted, though it showed signs that its occupant had not been gone long. There was a small fire aglow in an iron stove, with a kettle and several pots on it. There was a messy assortment of things strewn about the floor and on the bed: boots, trinkets, spoons, clothes, and a lot of junk of various descriptions. "You're Locke friend is a slob and a packrat, Arvis," said Terra aloud.
She walked around, stepping lighting between piles of trash, and picked up an overturned mug on the table. When she did so she noticed that the spilled coffee was still warm—"Not just warm," thought Terra. "This is still hot."
And then several things happened all at once. There was a sudden pounding on the front door, and at the same time, the noise of a large piece of furniture moving behind her. But before Terra could turn around there were two quick footsteps and suddenly someone grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth. She struggled fiercely for a moment, but the person pulled her backwards into a secret compartment in the wall, a man's voice whispered quickly, "Not a sound!", and he pulled a lever, which caused the section of wall to slide shut again. It was not a moment too soon, for Terra heard the sound of the front door crashing open and several pairs of heavy boots trod on the floorboards.
Terra stopped struggling. Both she and her captor were very still, listening. Terra reached up carefully and removed the hand from her mouth.
"There's no one here, sir," said a voice.
"Idiots!" cried a shrill, cruel male voice. "There were footprints leading up to the door. Find her! Find her, find her!" And the shrill voice gave an excited, quivering laugh that made a cold shiver run down Terra's spine. She was not alone in this, for she felt the man's body give an involuntary shudder. If it had not been for the wicked laugh, Terra might have screamed for the soldiers. But it had struck her dumb.
She now heard the crashing and ripping sounds of the soldiers tearing the cottage apart. It sounded like there were more men knocking on the door, but to her horror, Terra realized that they were knocking on the floor and walls to see if they were hollow. They're going to find us! thought Terra, her heart pounding so loudly that she was afraid it would give them away.
And then there came the slow footsteps towards them that Terra was sure belonged to the man with the evil laugh. The footsteps stopped and Terra knew that he was standing right on the other side of the wall. The suspense was broken by the sound of the front door opening yet again, and another man saying, "General Kefka, we've discovered where the terrorists have been keeping the girl. And we've caught Arvis Theophrastus, sir; we're interrogating him now." There was a sharp intake of breath from the man behind her at this last piece of news.
"Bring me to him!" barked Kefka, and in a moment Terra heard the soldiers march out of the cottage and slam the door behind them. But something was wrong; neither Terra nor Locke (for she was sure it was him) moved, and Locke needlessly put a finger to her lips to tell her to remain silent. After a few moments of silence, Terra heard the last soldier walk out.
Locke let out a sigh of relief and hit the lever which opened the secret compartment. When they were both in the room, Terra turned to look at him. He was an attractive young man, in a grungy kind of way. He had a kind of permanent mischievous grin on his face, scraggly dirty brown hair, ragged brown clothes and black, fingerless gloves. The grin remained even when he was angry.
"It was good of you not to scream for your soldiers, you Magitek-riding imperial witch! But let's get one thing straight: if I so much as suspect you're trying to double-cross us, I'll cut your pretty little throat."
Terra stood in shock for a moment with her mouth open, and then suddenly, so suddenly in fact that she surprised herself, she retorted, "How dare you talk to me like that, you filthy little whoreson! What have I ever done to you!"
"Keep your voice down!" yelled Locke at the top of his voice. "Do you want those soldiers to come back, you imperial witch?"
"Stop calling me that!" screamed Terra, her fists trembling and a fire dancing in her eyes. Locke looked into her eyes and seemed to restrain himself from saying more.
Slowly, and in a calmer voice, he said, "Do you wash your hands of what the Empire did to Kohlingen, Miranda, Doma?" He laid special emphasis on this last name.
"I've never even heard of those people!" said Terra.
"'People'?" Locke laughed. "Those are cities."
"Well," said Terra, quieter, "I've never heard of those cities, then. I don't remember anything before waking up in Arvis's cave."
"No recollection whatsoever?"
"None."
"Oh," said Locke, and a complete change came over him, and he smiled and extended a friendly hand, saying, "The name's Locke, son of Cole—treasure hunter. Pleased to meet you. Coffee?"
"Terra, former imperial witch, and I'd love some," she replied shortly, still flustered, but charmed by his impulsiveness.
