Chapter 7: The Next Task
Lloyd came out of the Library. He found the guards unconscious in the hallway. He was troubled about that emissary. Where the hell was the Conversant Monastery, anyway?
He passed through the still-crowded throne room, and found his friends.
They were talking—with each other and with the assorted nobles. Sheena looked up from where she had been quietly conversing with Presea. "Hey, Lloyd. What happened?"
"Somebody knocked out the guards, came in and introduced himself as being from the Conversant Monastery."
Sheena's eyes widened. "The Conversant Monastery? They never come out into the world!"
"Am I missing something?"
"You're not from Tethe'alla, so you'd have no chance of hearing about them. The Conversant Monks are supposed to have a hidden monastery somewhere in Tethe'alla. Not even we from Mizuho know where it is. They're that good."
Lloyd was impressed. "I wonder why that monk came here."
"Probably seeking the king's aid on their research." She changed the subject. "What are you supposed to do now?"
Lloyd glanced around. Presea had gone and was talking with Genis. Regal was conversing with a handful of dignified and richly dresses nobles. The others seemed to be busy. "I'm supposed to wait in the Crimson Chamber. Want to come with me?"
"Sure." They left as quietly as they could.
Inside the Crimson Chamber, they sat on the plush couches. Lloyd ran his fingers through his hair. "I still want to know what that monk wanted."
"Don't worry about it," Sheena said.
"What were you and Presea talking about?" he asked to change the subject.
"I was telling her to hang onto Genis." She grinned. "I get the feeling he's going to improve with age."
"Probably," Lloyd agreed. "And what was Ribs doing?"
"Our story worked. He was hanging back in a corner, and people were leaving him alone."
There was a knock at the door, and the king came in, supported by the monk, Athan. Sheena and Lloyd stood up respectfully.
"Your Majesty," Lloyd said. "What is it?"
The king let go of the monk, and limped over to the couch. He sat down. "Athan here has come to me wanting to know something. You are intimately involved in it. Would you explain, Athan?"
The muscled and tattooed young monk bowed. "For four thousand years since the end of the Great War, the brothers and sisters in the Conversant Monastery have been unable to go to Sylvarant—almost as if half the world had vanished. Then two years ago that missing half came back, and we hear that the Great Tree has sprouted again. We looked into it and the masters decided to send me to find out how this occurred. I came to the king, and he told me you are responsible for it, Lloyd."
Lloyd thought about it. "I guess I am. I'd never have been able to do it without my friends, though."
"You did not act alone?"
"Definitely not. I had plenty of help."
"I must ask you for this whole story," Athan said.
Lloyd smiled. "We'd be sitting here a month from now and I'd still be talking. The whole thing took the better part of a year."
"I've got time," the monk said with a faint smile. "I'll follow you around. I can fight and cook, if that makes any difference."
Lloyd grinned. "Cooking? That works. Right, I'm Lloyd Irving, and this is Sheena Fujibayashi, my, er..."
"I'm his girlfriend," Sheena said calmly. "But it's a bit deeper than that."
The king cleared his throat. "Athan, Lloyd is on a quest to rid the world of Exspheres. He has my permission to find plans for a replacement mechanism to the Tethe'alla bridge."
Athan narrowed his almond-shaped eyes. "Lloyd, would you like a trade?"
"Trade what for what?"
"If you will give me the story of how you changed the world, I can get you into the Monastery. We have books and records dating back to well before the Ancient War. A lot of those are about machinery and engineering. I'm sure you could find something to help."
"Sounds good," Lloyd said, trying to hide his eagerness.
The monk looked thoughtful. "If you know any dwarves, you might try them, too. This would be their territory—engineering."
Lloyd's eyes brightened. "Yeah. I could ask Dad!"
Athan looked startled. Sheena explained, "Lloyd was adopted by a dwarf."
"Let get the others," Lloyd said. "They should hear about this."
They sat around in Zelos' mansion. When they'd all gotten comfortable, Lloyd stood up. "Right, guys. This is Athan," he indicated the muscular young man. "He's from a monastery and says he'll help me find a replacement for the mechanism off the bridge. We have to tell him how we rejoined the two worlds, though."
Raine looked thoughtful. "Mainly, what we did was to take it one task at a time. First it was releasing the seals, then looking to save Colette, then severing the mana links. One thing led to another until the world was rejoined and Lloyd made Yggdrasill, the New Great Tree, sprout."
Ribs stood up so fast his chair fell over. What did you say the tree's name is? his hands asked.
"Yggdrasill."
Ribs was trembling, making his fleshless bones rattle underneath the various layers of clothes. Athan looked startled.
Zelos, who was sitting next to the monk, leaned over. "He's a walking skeleton," he whispered. "Don't worry, he's one of us." He looked at Ribs. "What's wrong, Bone Man?"
Give me my slate. I need to write, his hands said. The slate was gotten out of his pouch and given to him. He picked up a pencil from the table. His normally firm hand was shaking.
HOW DID MITHOS GET THE NEW TREE NAMED AFTER HIM?
"You knew Mithos?" Lloyd exclaimed. "How old are you, Ribs?"
I DON'T KNOW. BUT I AM CLOSE TO KNOWING. I REMEMBER AN OPTIMISTIC AND IDEALISTIC YOUNG MAN NAMED MITHOS YGGDRASILL, WHO STOPPED THE GREAT WAR.
"What?" everyone yelled.
Ribs' black-gloved hand shook as he wrote. TAKE ME TO SEE YGGDRASILL THE TREE, I BEG OF YOU. THERE IS SOMETHING THAT MUST BE DONE.
