Chapter 3: The Soul Seer
After leaving the town with the Anna sisters, Nemo and Ziggy see a large gathering of horse-drawn wagons with various other people that we could only assume to be merchants and traders. Some males, and some female.
"So, this is your caravan, I assume?" asks Nemo.
One of the Annas says, "That would be it."
"Pretty extravagant, don't you think?" responds Ziggy. "Might make you a bigger target for brigands and the like."
"Well, I suppose you two should be up for a little work protecting our caravan, right?" asks the other Anna. "After all, I'm pretty sure you must be, being the king and his knight on an important mission."
"I'm more than prepared to do a little protecting on my part." says Nemo. "After all, I don't carry this axe with me for decoration, you should know."
"We'll see." says the other Anna. "What about you, Ziggy?"
"Just as long as you have a weapon for me to wield, I'll do my best to protect this caravan." says Ziggy. "After all, my friend and I are the best at what we do."
"Just as long as you both can put your money where your mouths are." says Anna. "But then again, it seems like you two are in need of money to put in your mouths, right? Hee hee hee."
"Certainly cut to the point, don't they?" says Nemo with a whisper to Ziggy.
Ziggy replies with a whisper to Nemo, "I still don't trust them that much, milord. We'd best to not take them lightly, especially when it comes time to for them to hold to their promise."
Nemo whispers, "Don't worry, my friend. I'm many steps ahead of them."
"I certainly hope so, your majesty." Ziggy whispers back.
"Well, anyway, let's get to meeting the rest of the caravan." says the other Anna. "That way, we can get this show on the road!"
"Of course." says Ziggy.
And with that, the Annas, along with Nemo and Ziggy, head to the caravan to meet with the others.
After a few moments pass, and it seems both Nemo and Ziggy have greeted everyone, the caravan seems to be in the final throes of its preparations.
One of the Annas says, "Looking good, everyone! Now, let's just get our rears in gear and head down the road. We really need to make some money out there. After all, it is the gift that keeps on giving!"
Meanwhile, Nemo continues to look around to see the caravan nearing its completion of getting ready. Just then, from the right corner of his eye, he spots a young woman with gelled-back, shoulder-length, raven black hair that has small streaks of white running through it sitting cross-legged. Her clothes of periwinkle and white look to be the cross between that of a Grandmaster and a Swordmaster. On her back is a Killer Lance, which is being held up by a black holster going around her body starting from her left shoulder. However, what catches Nemo's attention above all else is the red blindfold around the girl's eyes, covering them up completely.
Nemo continues looking at the girl while trying to make it look like he's not staring, but as he continues to do so, the girl lifts her head up with her face completely facing Nemo, almost as if she can actually see him through the blindfold. Nemo, feeling more uncomfortable from this than the many people in the bar that stared at him not too long ago, tries to move himself away a bit as if to not be rude to her, but as he moves, the girl's face still follows him, confirming for him that she is somehow able to see him through her blindfold.
"Milord." says Ziggy as he approaches Nemo from his right. "It seems the preparations are almost complete. We'll be ready to move out soon."
"Huh?" says Nemo looking at Ziggy. "Oh yeah, that's great to hear."
"Is something the matter, milord?" asks Ziggy as he looks at the girl with the blindfold. "That girl isn't bothering you, is she?"
"Actually, I'm more worried I'm bothering her." says Nemo nervously.
"Something wrong here?" asks one of the Annas approaching Nemo from behind on his left.
Nemo turns to see the Anna there, and he says, "Well, I guess something is a bit off to me. Just... who is that girl there?"
The Anna's expression changes to one of concern and she says, "So... you noticed Saffron, didn't you? She's... a real odd one."
"I get the feeling she can still see me through that blindfold." says Nemo. "Can she?"
"A bit." says the Anna. "Though from what Saffron has told us, it's more for our protection. I don't know what she means by that, but what I do know is that she possesses a special sight that allows her to see the spiritual side of this world."
"Spiritual side of this world?" asks a curious Ziggy.
"Yes." says the Anna. "She's what's known as a 'Soul Seer'."
"A Soul Seer?" asks a shocked Nemo as he looks back at Saffron. "They really exists?"
"I know." replies the Anna. "I was shocked to learn of it as well."
"It's said that when one is born a Soul Seer, their eyes give off a light so brilliant that they have to wear blindfolds to keep themselves from blinding others around them." says Ziggy. "And through their special sight, they can see a person for who they really are, or at least... see details that they don't reveal on the surface."
"Yeah, and that most of them work for the church until they reach the age of 17 where they go on a journey of helping other people around the world to hone not only the abilities they're both with, but also to hone their fighting abilities." Nemo adds in.
"You've got it." says the Anna. "And I suspect that one has reached age as she decided to travel with us to help our caravan until we could deliver her to Ylisstol, which is where we we're headed ourselves."
Just then, we hear the voice of the other Anna go, "Alright then, if we're all ready, let's ship out!"
"Guess that's our queue!" says the Anna with Nemo and Ziggy with a smile. "Let's head on out! Business is calling, and boy, do we love business?"
As that particular Anna goes to join her other sister, Nemo and Ziggy continue to look at Saffron "looking" at them before they head off to join with the others. However, even with Nemo and Ziggy no longer in view, Saffron doesn't stop facing their direction before the scene ends.
We then get a scene of the caravan traveling across the valley of Ylisse. Time elapses as we see the time quickly change from day to evening, and finally, to night. Eventually, the caravan stops in a remote location of the valley for the night as everyone breaks for camp. After camp has been set up, the members of the caravan seem to be resting for right now while Ziggy surveys the site, making sure it is safe from any brigand attacks. As for Nemo, he sits on a log near the campfire that was made not too long ago while he has his axe sitting down beside him on his left.
After a while, Ziggy goes over to Nemo and sits beside him on his right.
"So, Nemo." says Ziggy, his tone changing now that the two of them are alone. "What do you think the first step will be after getting the Exalt to hear us out to help us with our plight?"
"I've been thinking about that for a while, my friend." says Nemo, his tone also changing due to the current situation. "We need to see about getting help from Khan Basilio and Khan Flavia of Regna Ferox, especially since we need to reunite with Camille there. If possible, we also need to see about getting help from Plegia. I hear recently, they got a new king regnant that's been much more helpful and working harder to get Plegia back in working order after the last king regnant, Validar and the whole Grima incident."
"Sounds like a good plan." says Ziggy. "What about Valm? Do you think they could spare any soldiers after what they went through with Walhart the Conqueror? I hear Queen Say'ri of Chon'sin has been working hard to get the Valmese military back in shape, as well as strengthening the armies of the Southern Dynasts, given that the spirit of her brother, Yen'fay is so strong within her."
"It'd be a crap-shoot, but if we could get the Valmese military on our side, then we could have a better chance at taking down Hugo." says Nemo. "However, my brother commands an even greater military force than all of Ylisse, Regna Ferox, Plegia and Valm combined. And not just the main army of Serris, but his private military force that are loyal only to him."
"Especially the Elite Four." says Ziggy. "And a shame, too. I was such good friends with all of them BEFORE they were recruited by Hugo. Damon, Emanuel, Phyllis and Ingrid. They were all such good people, even if Phyllis flirted with me a lot."
"Yeah, regardless of the loyalty they show my brother, they were still good people at heart." says Nemo. "But they are also the fiercest warriors Serris has, second only to my brother, Lord Oburo and Baron Zellor."
"I guess either way, it's going to be a big gamble, regardless of how big of an army we get to fight for us." says Ziggy.
Nemo then says, "Even if it is a gamble, promise me you'll continue to fight by my side, Ziggy. You've always been more of a brother to me than Hugo ever was. I want us to continue to fight together as long as we can."
Ziggy smiles a bit and says as he puts on his left hand on Nemo's right shoulder, "You know I will, old friend. I always will whenever you throw yourself into danger. We'll continue to fight like so until the end of our times."
"Thank you, Ziggy." says Nemo.
"At any rate, we better continue to watch over the place and make sure no brigands will be coming our way." says Ziggy.
"Right." says Nemo.
Just then, both hear a feminine voice go, "You two are very close, aren't you?"
Both Nemo and Ziggy turn to see Saffron standing not too far from them, and both get up looking very surprised.
"Uh... Saffron, was it not?" asks Nemo.
"That's correct." says Saffron calmly.
"We hope we didn't disturb your rest with our talking, milady." says Ziggy politely.
Nemo adds in, saying, "That's right. We'll try to be more quite if you wish to get some more sleep."
Saffron smiles cutely and says, "I wasn't sleeping. In fact, I was looking around to make sure our caravan would be secure."
"Oh, really?" asks Ziggy.
"Yes." says Saffron. "And you don't have to be formal with me, or pretend like I don't notice the obvious. You may act like a king and his knight, but I know you two are very good friends. In fact, though of no real relation, you're both basically brothers."
"She can tell that?" asks Ziggy to Nemo with a whisper.
"Of course," replies Nemo. "Or at least, I think. According to the legend of Soul Seers, you just about can't hide anything from them when it comes to what lies deep in your heart and soul."
"I know that much about the legend." says Ziggy. "I just never thought I'd be able to witness it for myself."
"Yeah, me too." says Nemo. Then, he says to Saffron, "So, how can we actually help you, Saffron?"
"Maybe... you could answer some questions for me, Troubled King." says Saffron.
"Oh, well, I'd be happy to..." Nemo starts to respond, but then says, "Wait, what did you just call me?"
"Troubled King." says Saffron. "From the way I see you, you seem to have a lot of problems you carry around on your back."
"You can tell that?" asks Nemo.
"Of course." says Saffron. "May... I see your back?"
"Why?" Nemo asks again.
"Please, just let me see your back." says Saffron.
"Oh, okay." says Nemo as he then turns his back to Saffron. "Is that good enough?"
"Perfect." says Saffron. "Oh my... you carry a lot of weight on your back."
"What do you mean?" asks Nemo. "There's nothing there besides my shirt."
"Not that." says Saffron. "I mean the slab of land on your back." We then see Nemo how Saffron sees him, and she says in describing what she sees, "A large slab that looks like a small version of a land... a kingdom or a nation. It looks like it's alive, but... I hear so much suffering coming from it. It must be hard carrying that much weight."
Going back to our normal view of Nemo in a flash of white light, Saffron says, "The nation that was on your back. It must be your nation. The nation that you rule over. Its problems seem to be stuck with you."
Nemo turns back to face Saffron from the front and says, "You Soul Seers do see everything that resides in a person's heart and soul, don't you? Amazing and terrifying at the same time."
"I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble." says Saffron.
"You haven't." says Nemo. "Like you said, I've been troubled for a while. The problems I face... have nothing to do with what you see about me. In fact, what you see about me are problems I need to fix... but not without help."
"Well, if I can be of any..." says Saffron before she pauses and looks to her left with a look of concern on her mouth.
"What's the matter, Saffron?" asks Ziggy.
"Vile miasma that's really close!" says Saffron. "Our caravan will be in danger shortly!"
"Brigands?" asks Nemo as he and Ziggy look in the direction that Saffron is looking in.
"I think so!" says Saffron. "I'd better go warn the others to hide!"
"You do that!" says Ziggy. "Nemo and I will hold them off should they come here before you get back!"
"Thank you." says Saffron. "I'll be back as quick as I can."
Saffron then takes off in the direction she came from.
Meanwhile, not too far off from the caravan are a group of men that are wearing mismatched armor and ratty clothes that seem to tell they are brigands indeed. Many of them include Barbarians, though a few seem to be dressed as either Fighters, Mercenaries, Myrmidons, Thieves, Archers, Mages or Dark Mages. An even smaller number include those that wear the outfits of either Berserkers, Warriors, Heroes, Swordmasters, Tricksters, Bow Knights, Snipers, Sages, Dark Knights or Sorcerers (at least two for each class). They seem to be preparing for a raid from the way they're readying their weapons.
Just then, a lone Barbarian approaches the group and talks to the leader, who seems to be dressed as an Assassin.
"Oy, I found somethin' that should help us strike it rich, Razul." says the Barbarian.
The Assassin, answering to the name of Razul, asks, "And what pray-tell did you find?"
"A grand, merchant caravan!" says the Barbarian. "It should be filled to the brim with gold! From the way it looks, they have to do good business!"
"Ha! That is something, alright!" says Razul with a crooked smile. "Let us go greet our guests, and show them why we control this part of Ylisse! If we should get enough gold off of our peddler friends, we'll probably even have enough to rule this whole land of Ylisse! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Alright, let's give the signal to the other boys! After that, we strike! Now, let us get into position!"
After a while, once the brigands have managed to get into position, we're taken back to the caravan's camp where Nemo and Ziggy are still stationed on guard. Just then, Saffron rejoins them. Her, Nemo and Ziggy have their backs together.
"Were you able to warn all of the merchants of the attack?" asks Nemo.
"Yes." responds Saffron. "They all went into hiding the moment I told them."
"Good." says Ziggy. "Now, we can see about dealing with these oncoming knaves."
"Right." says Saffron. "Because they're about to come... NOW!"
As Saffron says that, the brigands come out of their hiding and make for the camp. Nemo, Ziggy and Saffron begin to fight them off with swift and powerful blows of their weapons, with Nemo and Ziggy using axes and Saffron using her Killer Lance. Nemo and Ziggy seem to fight in a way that has them moving in sync with one another almost, as if they're of one mind. As for Saffron, she fights with a grace and elegance not seen in many lance fighters around the world.
One by one, the brigands fall to the weapons of the three defenders of the caravan, despite putting in their best efforts. With powerful strikes, Nemo and Ziggy take down the close ranger fighters with ease. As for the more long-range attackers, Nemo dispatches them by swinging his axe and letting loose a wave of energy that blows the brigands away from a distance.
"Careful, Nemo." says Ziggy. "Don't want them to get too much of an idea about who you are."
"Don't worry, my friend." says Nemo. "Peaceful I may be, but I'll make sure these brigands don't live to raid another merchant caravan ever again!"
Ziggy smirks and says, "I can't forget a good fight against bandits always brings out your warrior nature."
Meanwhile, Razul sees that his forces are losing to just three people, and he's starting to look pissed as he says, "How can this be? My forces easily outnumber them! It's time I intervened to show them that I really mean business!"
After a while, the brigands are on their last legs as Nemo, Ziggy and Saffron clean up what's left of them.
"So, is that it?" asks Ziggy.
"I'd be surprised if it actually was." says Nemo. "They must have a leader. We just need to find him and keep him from escaping to warn any more men he might have."
"I think it's you who won't be escaping any time soon." comes Razul's voice, which gets Nemo, Ziggy and Saffron to see the Assassin standing there with his bow ready to shoot them.
Razul let's an arrow fly at Saffron, which Nemo manages to block with his axe in time to keep Saffron from getting hurt.
"Do that one more time, scum, and I'll have no problem decapitating you!" says Nemo.
"Big words coming from a mere priest." says Razul. "But for some reason, I don't think there's anything MERE about you, seeing how regal your clothes are for a war monk."
"Since you won't live long enough, I'll tell you right now-this here is King Nemo of Serris!" says Ziggy. "And unfortunately, we're on too important of a mission to deal with a lowlife like you!"
"Serris, huh?" asks Razul with a laugh. "Well, you know we don't take too kindly to foreigners we brigands of Ylisse do. So how 'bout this? You surrender yourselves and I'll probably keep this whole deal on the hush-hush. How does that sound?"
Through Saffron's eyes, she sees Razul as a farmer's scarecrow. On Razul's right ring finger is a wedding ring that has a crack down it, and being carried on the left side of his belt is a bottle with a beating heart inside.
"I don't think they wish to do as you say, Mr. Scarecrow." says Saffron calmly and eerily.
"What did you call me, wench?" asks an angered Razul. "You're wearing a blindfold, so what could you possibly see of me?"
"I am a Soul Seer, Mr. Scarecrow." says Saffron. "I see a lot more beyond this blindfold than you think I can."
"Soul Seer?" asks Razul. "They actually exist?"
"We do indeed exist." says Saffron. "And from what I can see, I can tell you're in great pain. That wedding ring on your finger that is cracked shows me you must have been married one time, but it didn't work out and you're now divorced. And the heart in the bottle by your side must be your heart, which symbolizes you've locked your actual heart away after the divorce. Am I right?"
Razul grits his teeth, and says, "Don't claim to know my problems, you freak!"
Continuing, Saffron says, "And the fact I see you as a scarecrow must mean that you worked on a farm. You must have really enjoyed it before turning to crime. In fact, the divorce is what made you turn to becoming a brigand, wasn't it? How sad, if you only your wife remained faithful to you, you might have ended up living a happier life."
Getting really pissed, Razul readies an arrow with his bow and yells, "I SAID FOR YOU TO SHUT UP!"
Before he can fire the arrow, Saffron puts on what we can assume to be a look of hostility, and suddenly, Razul screams as he shoots his arrow in the air, missing his target completely. Razul then clutches his head in pain while fidgeting on the ground disturbingly.
"STOP IT!" shouts Razul. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
Before long, Razul starts to lose the battle, and he slowly passes out.
With him and Ziggy seeing what happened, Nemo asks Saffron, "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing too severe. I merely overpowered his will." replies Saffron. "It's another ability I possess as a Soul Seer, in which I can venture into a person's mind and will to have effects on them in various ways."
"Incredible." says Ziggy nervously. "Soul Seers are sounding scarier with each passing moment."
Saffron smiles at both Nemo and Ziggy, then says, "I better go check on the others. I have to see if they're all right."
"Oh, of course." says Nemo semi-nervously.
After that, Saffron walks away to go inform the merchants of their victory over the brigands.
Watching her even after she's gone, Nemo says, "Ziggy, remind me to never get on her bad side."
"Only if you remind me, my friend." replies Ziggy.
To Be Continued in Chapter 4.