CHAPTER 4

PORTA VISTA

"It looks like Tsunami blew us WAY off course," Mustadio said as he observed the peculiar structures on the shore. "I've never seen anything in Ivalice that was as advanced as this."

"Still, we don't know if the locals are friendly," Malak warned. "It wouldn't be wise to just sail into the harbor. Perhaps it would be better if we came ashore at a more remote area."

Mustadio piloted the boat about 3 kilometers south of the area and fired a torpedo anchor (another patented Mustadio gizmo) into the shore to secure the boat in case they needed to come back to it.

"I'll go on in and scout it out," Ramza said, hopping off the boat and onto the sandy beach. "Does anyone want to come with me?"

"You bet I will," Mustadio said, climbing down the ship and landing next to Ramza. "This place looks interesting."

"I'll come, too," Agrias said. "If we run into trouble, I'll give it back to 'em twofold."

"Not very good at rhyming, are we?" Mustadio chuckled.

"Oh, shut up," Agrias huffed.

"I'd like to come along," Rafa said. "I didn't really get to do much when we were in Ivalice."

"If you go, I'll go too," Malak said, accompanying his sister off the boat.

"OK, we'll go scout it out," Ramza said up to the others on the ship. "You guys stay here. We'll come back and tell you what it's like, OK?"

"Got it!" Rad signaled back. Ramza and company turned and walked towards the strange area.

Meanwhile, in a dark, dreary void, twelve shiny, strange-looking characters observed Ramza with a magic mirror.

"That's their leader," one said. "His name is Ramza Beoulve."

"Those who once underestimated him are now nothing but a memory," a second one said.

"We won't make that mistake," a third hissed. "He may be powerful, but he is blind to what is happening around him."

"Plus he's in trouble, I heard," a fourth growled. "On the run from the church and the leader of Ivalice."

"We'll keep him busy until the master is ready," the first said.

"Yes," the second added. "How is the plan proceeding, anyway?"

"Our mages have begun the chant to open the portal," the first reported. "However, some of them are stumbling over the ancient words and need more practice... Plus, we still need a habitable corpse."

"We haven't much time," the third snapped. "We must revive the master on schedule. We must hurry..."

"Wow," Mustadio said as the five adventurers walked into the town. A large sign on two poles read WELCOME TO PORTA VISTA.

"Porta Vista?" Malak asked. "Hmm... Where are we, anyway? Let me check my map..."

The others turned and waited for Malak to fish out his map. He looked over it carefully. "Hmm... It says here that Porta Vista is a coastal town in the country of Zeratul, a land not well known to Ivalice. Having said that, I can't give much more information."

"Well, at least we know that we were blown WAY off course," Agrias said. "Steronn's to the far east of Ivalice; Zeratul is to the far west."

"Has the church any influence here?" Rafa asked.

"A little, I suppose," Malak said. "The country's a democracy, ruled by a president and two houses of congress, the Parliament and the Duma." Malak stopped talking and looked around. "And they obviously have a different way of constructing their buildings."

Yes, the buildings were large and mostly metallic, but there were some familiar sights; Chocobo-drawn carriages plodded through the street, and there were vendors on corners selling odds and ends, just like in Ivalice.

"We'd better get some information," Ramza said. "Let's find a bar. They always have good information."

As they walked through the busy hub of commerce, Rafa walked up and tried to keep pace with Ramza. "Are you hoping we'll be able to find someone to fix our boat?" she asked.

"Maybe," Ramza said. "But this country is new to me, and it intrigues me. Perhaps we'll spend a little time here seeing sights before we leave."

"Sounds like a plan," Rafa said, smiling. "I like going on adventures with you guys."

Ramza smiled at Rafa. He couldn't help but enjoy her company. Even though she was the second youngest member of the team (she was 19, and the youngest was Rad, who was 18), she always managed to be bright and cheery, which kept everyone else optimistic.

"Mustadio, would you please stop gawking at every little thing like some dumb tourist?" Agrias asked the engineer angrily.

"But there's so much to see!" Mustadio said, his neck straining from looking upwards. "It's so interesting, and-OOF!"

Mustadio had collided with a robed figure. Both of them fell on the bottoms and were stunned for a second. Mustadio got up first.

"I'm terribly sorry," he said, holding out his hand in an attempt to help the person up. The hooded guy looked up at Mustadio. His eyes got big, and he slapped Mustadio's hand away and took off down the street. They soon lost him in the crowd.

"Well, that was weird," Malak said. "What do you suppose that was all about?"

"Maybe these folks in Zeratul are shy," Agrias suggested.

"...Or maybe some of them are just squealers," Ramza said, as he spied the hooded man coming back through the cloud, leading a church cardinal and a few monks.

"Let's get outta here!" Mustadio panicked.

"You!" the cardinal shouted. "You're that heretic from Ivalice! You made a mistake coming here, sinful dog!"

"I guess the church DOES have some influence here," Malak said, drawing his staff.

"I don't want to fight," Ramza said, backing up. "We'll leave..."

"Not alive, you won't!" the cardinal said. "Monks!"

Three monks appeared behind the group, and 3 more appeared in front. "We're here, Cardinal Zerrus," the lead one said.

"There heretics are dangerous! Eliminate them!" Cardinal Zerrus shouted, pointing at the five friends.

"You want a fight? Fine. Bring it on..." Agrias growled, her Rune Blade glistening in the morning light.

Mustadio cocked his Blast Gun and spun it around like a wild west hero. "Don't mess with us, or you'll really be sorry," he warned.

"Why must I always battle?" Ramza asked. "I don't want to fight any more..."

"Then die and remove yourself from this world!" Zerrus yelled. "ATTACK!"

The monks charged at the group, their fists flailing.

"Stasis Sword!" Agrias yelled, stunning two of the monks with one blow.

"Asura!" Rafa shouted, knocking a monk off her feet with a holy blast.

"Asura Back!" Malak added, sending a dark burst of energy at another monk.

"Leg Aim!" Mustadio yelled, stunning a monk's legs so he fell on his face.

"Hyeeeaaaaahhhhh!!!" Ramza yelled, charging through the monks and tackling the cardinal with a devastating Dash attack.

When the dust cleared, all the monks were either out cold or stunned. "Curses!" Zerrus yelled. "You shan't get away with this! I may have lost, but the church shall always triumph! Retreat!"

Zerrus took off, with the monks trailing after him. Ramza sheathed his sword and sighed. "Every time I try to get out, they just pull me back in again," he sighed.

"We showed them!" Agrias said, pumping her fist. "Agrias's still got it!"

"For all we know, Zerrus is calling for reinforcements," Mustadio said. "Maybe we'd better get out of here."

"I don't think he'll be calling for reinforcements anytime soon," Rafa giggled, pointing ahead. "Look!"

Everyone watched as two cops grabbed the cardinal and chucked him in the backseat of a wagon.

"I'm telling you, they're heretics!" Zerrus yelled. "They stink in God's nostrils and must be destroyed!"

"Yeah, yeah, tell it to the judge," one cop said. "Wait and see what he says about your assault charges."

"Sorry he caused you trouble, fellas," the second cop said, addressing Ramza and company as he munched a donut. "This country isn't as tied in with the church as other places, but we've certainly got our share of right-wing fanatics that take orders from the main church in Ivalice. Have a nice day."

"Ivalice?" Rafa asked. "But we're so far away from Ivalice. How did that cardinal know who we were?"

"I bet the church has spies out looking for us all over the place," Malak grumbled. "It's not a pleasant feeling, being hunted..."

"Whatever," Agrias said. "If they come, I'll stomp them all out! They're gonna pay for what they did to me and..."

"Agrias, calm down," Ramza said. "We know how upset you are about Ovelia. We all are."

"Argh..." Agrias growled, sheathing her sword crossly. "It just makes my blood boil to think that she trusted that snake more than her real friends like you and me, Ramza. I just wanna..."

"There they are! Over there!"

"Now what?!" Mustadio asked as an arrow whizzed past his face. Everyone whipped around to see the remaining monks standing behind them, backed up by some church knights and archers that had just appeared.

"Get 'em, boys!" the lead monk ordered.

"Uh-oh," Ramza said quickly, and the five adventurers took off down the street.

"Where can we run?" Rafa yelled. "They know this city better than any of us!"

"Psst!"

Ramza looked ahead and saw a hand sticking out from behind a building. It motioned for him to follow it into a dark alley. "Guys, this way!" he yelled, pretty much turning on a dime and leaping into wherever the hand was.

"Wait up, Ramza!" Rafa shouted as she and Malak hopped in as well.

"Come on, nerd boy!" Agrias shouted, yanking Mustadio by the arm and leaping in. The church troops stopped where they had jumped and looked in. The alley was deserted.

"Where'd they go?!" one asked.

"I dunno," another said. "Let's try this way!"

The troops took off down the alley, unaware that Ramza and company had escaped to the second story window of someone's flat.

"Are you all OK?" Ramza asked as he watched his friends gasp and wheeze on the floor.

"I'm... OK..." Rafa panted.

"Never better..." Malak grumbled.

"That was great!" Agrias laughed. "What a workout."

"Remind me not to have you as an exercise coach," Mustadio muttered as he got up.

Ramza then turned to the person who had helped them. "Thanks a lot. Who are you?"

The young man had long, blonde hair and he wore a strange disc-shaped, puffy, feathered hat that didn't go with his green and purple robes. He carried a wooden lute with three strings. His eyes were expressive and friendly, as was his smile. "Glad I could help you guys out," he said. "I'm Cinna Garnomm, Zeratul's most persistent bard. I saw you guys pound on those church dudes like it was nobody's business!"

"'Dudes?'..." Agrias asked.

"It's new-age lingo," Cinna laughed. "I'll try not to overuse it. Anyway, I heard you guys were in the neighborhood, so I came to check out Ivalice's premier unsung heroes!"

"Woah, woah, woah, woah," Mustadio said, putting his hand up. "Back up. You 'heard' about us? Who from?"

"Ah ha ha," Cinna laughed. "Listen, my friends. I was on a trip to Ivalice a while ago, and I saw you dudes go into that monastery... what was it called again? Orbonne? Ah, whatever. Anyway, I heard some folks speak real highly of ya and so I thought you guys would be real heroes some day." He looked around at them. "Apparently today isn't that day."

"Apparently," Malak agreed coldly.

"Anyway, I came back to Zeratul after whatsisname got crowned to write a ballad for you guys, but I lost my inspiration when they said you were all dead. Then I overheard some soldiers talking just a while ago that you were here, so I came to meet ya! Now I can write my ballads again!"

"Soldiers?" Ramza asked. "What kind of soldiers?"

"I dunno, but they weren't talkin' too nicely," Cinna said. "Frankly, I'd never seen their kind of uniforms before."

"Hmm..." Agrias muttered.

"Anyway, it looks like you've kinda worn out your welcome here in Porta Vista," Cinna said. "Why don't you and your merry band come along with me to my town, Berkana? We can set you up real nice there."

"You're too kind, Cinna," Rafa said. "But we really weren't looking to stay here."

"Yeah, I heard you were supposed to be in Steronn," Cinna said. "Well, if you don't want to see the huge airships that can take people anywhere they want really fast..."

"What?" Mustadio asked, his ears perking up.

"Oh, didn't I mention that? There's a huge airship plant there. They design airships; steam-powered ships that fly through the air really fast. It would get you guys to Steronn faster than a boat."

"Maybe we should go with him," Mustadio said to Ramza, an excited gleam in his eyes.

"Just so you can look at some new toys?" Agrias huffed. "No way. Let's just get outta here, fix the boat and be on our way."

"Leave?" Mustadio asked. "Sheesh. Who's taking the coward's way out now?"

"Grrrgh," Agrias growled, hating to admit that Mustadio had a point.

"Before we do anything, why don't we head back to the ship for the night?" Ramza asked. "It's getting late."

"Mind if I tag along?" Cinna asked. "I can entertain you folks with my music."

"Did anyone ask you to come?!" Agrias asked. "You're so rude."

"Well, he DID just save our lives," Rafa said. "I'm sure one night wouldn't hurt."

"Sure you can come," Ramza said. "You can meet the rest of my friends."

"Fabuloso!" Cinna laughed, plucking a few strings on his lute. "Lead on, dudes!"

"Oh, boy..." Malak sighed.

Later that night, the group built a campfire on the beach and sat out to enjoy the night sky. "Ahh, I've never felt so free in my life!" Meliadoul sighed as she leaned far back and let her hooded head lay in the sand.

"This is a great beach," Lavian agreed. "Very fine sand that doesn't get in your boots."

"Hey, I'm not seasick anymore!" Alicia said. "It's a miracle!"

"So Cinna," Ramza asked the bard as he played a few chords on his lute. "What do you do around here?"

"Well, I'm a traveling bard," Cinna said. "I wander the country looking for songs to write and play for people. Sometimes I get paid in money, other times in food or shelter. I'm a free-spirited fellow. You seem to be too, and that's why I thought it would be cool to hang out with you."

"'Cool?...'" Malak asked.

"Whoops, am I going too fast again?" Cinna chuckled. "Sorry, bud."

"'Bud?!...'" Malak asked again.

"Careful," Agrias chuckled. "Malak's head may explode."

"You play that instrument?" Alma asked as she sat down next to him.

"Sure do," Cinna laughed, striking up a hearty melody and playing it for about 30 seconds. When he was done, everyone applauded.

"I don't know if he can fight, but this fellow would be fun to have around," Orlandu said as he clapped. "A good boost for morale."

"Nobody in my time can play like that," Cloud said. "He's really good."

"So anyway," Ramza said, addressing his friends. "Cinna wants us to accompany him to Berkana, where he says he can get us an airship that can take us to Steronn. Should we accept his offer?"

"I dunno," Meliadoul said, sitting up. "I mean, how long have we known the guy? I've never met him before. Have any of you?"

"How do we know he isn't working for the church or Delita or Ajora or some other bad guy?" Rad asked.

"Well, he DID save our lives from some church cronies just now," Mustadio said. "I, for one, think he's trustworthy."

"Ahh, you just wanna get a look at those 'airships' he was talking about," Agrias growled.

"Oh, SHUT UP!" Mustadio huffed. "I really DO think he's trustworthy!"

"I agree with Mustadio," Rafa said. "Besides, we owe him a debt of gratitude."

"If he comes with us, will he favor us with more music?" Reis asked. "I simply adore his playing."

"You bet I'll play," Cinna said. "I'll play whenever you want!"

"He sure is an energetic fellow," Beowulf said. "Well, sure. Why not?"

"I guess it's settled, then," Ramza said. "Cinna, welcome to the group."

"It's a pleasure, baby!" Cinna chuckled, shaking Ramza's hand warmly.

"'Baby?'" Malak asked.

"It's OK, brother," Rafa said warmly. Malak's face became even more confused.

And so, the fire was put out and everyone turned in for the night.

"Are you gonna stay up any longer, Worker?" Cloud asked as he sat down next to Worker No.8.

"No," Worker No.8 said. "I shall recharge my systems as you do, master." His eyes dulled down, and he slumped over a bit, and mechanical grinding could be heard.

"...He snores," Cloud muttered. "Great. He snores. Cait Sith never snored. Sheesh."

"Airships... Ooh, this sounds like fun!" Mustadio chuckled to himself.

"Shut up and go to bed," Agrias growled from her sleeping bag.

"Hmph," Mustadio grumbled and turned to the other direction. "Don't let the bag bugs bite."

Ramza couldn't exactly sleep soundly. Sure he felt safe, with his sister on one hand and his friends on the other, but he kept having the strangest dream...

Ramza stood in a rather large chamber. He could hear the sound of rushing water nearby, but he couldn't see it. The chamber was eerily lit by candles that glowed with blue and purple flames. In the center of the room there was a large drawing engraved into the stone floor. The drawing showed 12 animals...

A tiger...

A snake...

A rooster...

A rat...

A dog...

A pig...

A monkey...

A sheep...

A horse...

An ox...

A rabbit...

And a dragon.

After he had walked around the circle, Ramza looked up and saw that he was not alone in the room. A figure sat in the center of the drawing, crouched and in a praying position. By the clothing it wore, Ramza could tell it was a girl. She had long, blonde hair done up in a long tail, and a flowing red cape. Ramza knew who this was.

"...Ovelia?" he asked.

The person seemed to hear him. She whirled around and instantly Ramza's wonderment turned to fear and disgust. Ovelia's body was a rotting corpse with the yellow bones visible and the flesh peeling. One of the eyes dangled from the socket. The stench of mold and death filled the room.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Ramza yelled as the creature gave a horrendous shriek like that of a harpy. She then charged at him with horrible, mutant-like claws, and...

Ramza's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly. He was still on the beach, with Alma on his left, Rafa on his right and his other friends all around him.

"What did that mean?..." Ramza asked himself. He had a very hard time getting back to sleep.