Chapter IV
-Archades-
"You called, your Excellency?"
Judge Magister Ffamran strode through the double doors of the council hall with his usual grandeur. This greatly amused Emperor Larsa Solidor; no matter how brazen the antics of his Judge Magister, Larsa always took Ffamran's actions with a grain of salt. It was refreshing to see someone in political society with a sense of humor. His companion, however, did not share these views.
"Hmph, you'd think someone of your standing could show a little more respect," said the young woman seated next to Emperor Larsa.
"Ah! But of course!" cried Ffamran, sinking to his knees. "My most humble Emperor Larsa Ferrinas Solidor and the lovely Queen Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca, how may I be at your service?"
Queen Ashelia gave a sniff of discontent, but Larsa laughed loudly.
"Oh, lighten up, Ashe," said the young emperor. "You cannot tell me that anyone in the Dalmascan court puts on such an air as our Judge Magister here?"
"I suppose that's true," said Ashe. "Well then, seeing that you're here, Ffamran, I would guess that means Emperor Larsa has decided to enlighten you of what I have just told him."
"And that would be, sire?" asked Ffamran.
"Well, Ashe cannot see why I'm taking such stock in this, and personally, I don't really know myself why I find this so important," confessed Larsa, "but at the least, it's worth looking into. You see, the Great Chief of the Garif recently transmitted a message to the Dalmascan court."
"And why was Archades not included in this little wire?" asked Ffamran.
Ashelia smirked. "I believe they're still unhappy with the invasion of last summer."
"Emperor Larsa had absolutely nothing to do with that." The Judge Magister paused. "Though, their reaction is completely understandable. Go on."
"It's the usual sort of Garif talk, the gods are angry and so on," said the Emperor. "However, they talk about the Landis Mines in their note, specifically mentioning something called an 'engraved cavern.'"
"Is that all?" said Ffamran. "The Landis Mines have been shut down for a good while now. They're hardly anything to worry about."
"No, Ffamran, that is not all," replied Queen Ashelia. "The end of their letter states that a sort of calamity will ensue that has to do with Crystal Grande. Does the twenty-seventh transport mean anything to you?"
Ffamran sighed, removing his helmet. "I couldn't say." He turned to the Emperor. "I'm presuming you want me to investigate this?"
Emperor Larsa shrugged. "You have always been one for an adventure."
Wiping his brow, Ffamran gave a grunt. "The promise of a thousand kingdoms couldn't get me back inside the Great Crystal." He donned his helmet. "However, I'll check out the mines. And my cousin travels a lot, so he might be able to provide some insight."
"Thank you, Judge Magister," said Larsa. "And take Gabranth or Cinna with you. Call me overcautious, but I'd rather you not go into those tunnels alone."
"As you wish, your Excellency. At your leave and good day to you, Queen Dalmasca." Judge Magister Ffamran bowed his head, then left the two heads of state to talk amongst themselves.
"He doesn't seem to think it is just nonsense," mused Ashe.
Larsa nodded. "That is why I called him in here. He has a good sixth sense about these sorts of things."
Ashe smiled. "He has not changed much, which is a surprising sort of comfort."
"He has changed more than you think, sadly. He's been through a lot." The Emperor stood. "If you would be obliged, kindly inform the Garif that we are looking into their plight."
Ashe nodded. "Indeed I shall, Larsa."
-
Valkyrie noted that the damp air of the Nabreus Deadlands had the faint smell of sour milk as he watched the fog roll in and out.
"This has to be the most boring way to spend the afternoon," he groaned to Zeus.
Zeus grinned. "You're just grumpy because you aren't out of your sling yet."
"Oh, shut up," he muttered back.
The two were camped out on a bridge not far from an orange crystal, waiting for Leynirs to pass by.
"You think this is bad, you should've been with me when I was hunting in the Feywood," said Zeus. "I was there for a week before I'd slain enough Cerberuses."
"I guess," said Valkyrie, staring absently into the fog. "At least we only need one more. Though who knows how long that could take."
"Ssh!"
A gigantic orb of glistening black flame floated through the thick fog. Zeus and Valkyrie remained quiet until the entite had passed on.
"Thanks," said Valkyrie. "If it'd heard me, that would've been bad news."
Zeus rolled her eyes. "We wouldn't have been attacked. It's just respectful."
"What do you mean?" asked Valkyrie.
Zeus paused, glancing off into the distance, as if searching for something. "We believe that the Vagrant Soul is the spirit of someone who has died."
"We?" asked Valkyrie.
"My parents did, at least," said Zeus. "My family's originally from Léa Monde, but I don't really remember what it was like over there."
"You were born there?" asked Valkyrie.
"My parents came to the Phon Coast when I was a baby. There was apparently some sort of political crisis and we had to leave." Zeus shrugged.
"Ah," said Valkyrie. "That's...a long way from here."
"You're a shrewd one," said Zeus, smiling a little. She stood, suddenly. "Hold on."
The silhouette of a horse had appeared on the horizon. Zeus lifted one of her guns and took steady aim. One blast of gunpowder later, the mount had dropped to the ground.
"Nice," said Valkyrie. "Let's go."
The two friends crept through the mist to inspect the Leynir's corpse. Zeus, upon bending down, shook her head.
"No band on this one either."
"Goddamn, how much more time are we going to have to spend here?" said Valkyrie. "Back to the bridge, I suppose."
As the two reassumed their previous positions, Valkyrie looked at Zeus.
"Hey, um, if you don't mind me asking," he began, "do you have a name other than Zeus?"
"Do you have a name other than Valkyrie?" she countered, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," he said dejectedly, "but I don't enjoy it."
"There you go," she said.
"Pietr."
"Hmm?" said Zeus, turning to face him.
"My full name is Pietr Ffamran Valkyrie," he said, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.
"Ffamran?" said Zeus, "Like your cousin?"
"It's a family name," replied Valkyrie. "I've always thought it was too stuffy, so I asked people to call me by my surname." He glanced up at the sky. "Beth was one of the first people to really start calling me Valkyrie. She understood about not liking your own name."
"Huh." Zeus scratched the wood of the bridge with the barrel of her gun. "Mine is worse, believe it or not."
"I doubt that," said Valkyrie.
"Ugh," she uttered. Grimacing, she finally spoke. "Beatrix Zeus Iuliana."
Valkyrie grinned widely. "Okay, yeah, that may be worse."
Zeus glared at him. "Stuff it."
"Family name as well?" he guessed.
"Sort of," she replied. "Beatrix is a famous general we're supposedly descended from. Of the three names, you can see why I prefer Zeus."
"I dunno," said Valkyrie. "Beatrix isn't that bad."
"Hrmph. Beatrix is stupid. Though not as stupid as Pietr, I suppose."
"Hey!" said Valkyrie. "Oh, actually, wait." He raised his good arm, glowing with a dark purple light. A few feet away, a bolt of lightning could be seen crisping the silhouette of a horse. Tracking down the fallen beast in the swamps, Valkyrie returned a minute later, clutching the Leynir's bridle.
"Last one," he declared triumphantly. "Time to go home."
-
Mssr. Valkyrie, my dearest cousin and all that rabble,
I wish I could say I'm writing to you out of the goodness of my heart and familial concern, but honestly there's a bit of official business I need to take care of. However, in the interest of retaining kinship, I'll go ahead and pretend I've penned this just to have a friendly chat.
Dispensing with the formalities, how are you, cousin? Because the nature of my job permits me to do so, I must admit I've been stalking you a bit. Thus, I can congratulate you on your acceptance into the Hunt Club and your good work with the Pylraster. I would encourage you to keep in touch with Fran, by the by. She's a bit distant, but what Viera isn't? Let's just keep it between us that she has more stock and character than most Humes do.
Anyhow, onto my aforementioned inquiry. There's recently been a message sent from Jahara, the whole Garif "end of the world" ballyhoo. I know it's uncharacteristic of me to think that there's any shred of truth in this, but something about their letter rubbed me the wrong way. I wanted to ask you, do you know anything about an engraved cavern in the Landis Mines? If you do not, I'd at least ask your ladyfriend; she's a particularly well-traveled sort.
I'd tell you about all the exciting happenings in the palace, but first off, I can't or I'd lose my job, and second, there's nothing happening anyway. Archadia at peace? Shocking, I know. Though you are on the road a lot, it would be nice to hear from you every so often. I long for the freedom of the road that youth affords you.
Many happy regards,
Judge Magister Ffamran
"Hmm?" inquired Zeus, looking over Valkyrie's shoulder.
"Oh, er, nothing," said Valkyrie, jumping up suddenly. "It's just a letter. From my cousin. Hey, do you know about a cavern with engravings in Landis?"
"Huh?" said Zeus, slightly confused. "The only place I can think of is the section which we took refuge in this summer when the soldiers were chasing us. Anything else?"
"N-no," stammered Valkyrie.
"Alright." Zeus shook her head. "You're acting weird. I'm going to go take a shower."
She closed the door to the bathroom, locking it behind her. Valkyrie's apartment suddenly felt all too small.
As the water of the shower thundered nearby, he reread Ffamran's letter over and over, but somehow he could only seem to focus on one word. "Ladyfriend." He knew it was just some of his cousin's overly arrogant speak, but still, that one word gave him a little glimmer of useless, fruitless hope.
Valkyrie closed his eyes, picturing their trip through the remains of Nabudis to try and find some soul powder needed to fuse an empyreal soul. He hadn't seen many monsters; as the Mist cleared from the area, the number of twisted fiends dwindled. Instead, he had been focusing on Zeus' face. She was calm and collected, but uncharacteristically grave. The two hadn't spoken much that day, and Valkyrie knew it was out of respect for her parents. Still, that hadn't stopped him from seeing every worried look and every bitten lip, and all he had wanted to do was –
Shaking his head, Valkyrie pushed the images of the necrohol out of his mind, and leaned back on his bed as other images took their place. Like how she teased him over his broken arm, always pretending to fuss over him like a nurse, making sure he reapplied potion as often as was called for. Or how her face had lit up upon seeing snow when they'd finally returned to Archades for a short break (it turned out that they'd missed the winter holidays). And the way that the pale green light of the Salikawood had offset beautifully with her cropped red hair.
He couldn't take this anymore. Grabbing a spare sheet of paper, he scribbled a note (out to grab Beth: be back before too long), tossed it on the spare bed – her bed – and stumbled out the door.