Legends: Beginnings

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is related, remotely related, or is in the game, Illusion of Gaia. It is owned by Enix and all related companies. All Original Characters, Stories, and anything else that is not in, related to, or remotely related to the game, was solely created for creative and entertainment purposes. Thank you for your time.

Chapter Six – Kara's Keep

The ride to the island was uneventful to say the least, Michael and Katherine sitting together at the very back of what was probably considered a 'boat' but was more like a 'ship' to the natives. It was not a big boat in Kat's eyes but it was more than enough to hold more than forty people, their bags, and still have enough room for them to move about. From what Michael had told her earlier, and from the little experience Kat had with her, she wouldn't be surprise of how Crystal managed to get such a boat for such a small trip. It didn't matter how it was gotten, so long as they didn't run afoul of anything that could damage precious wildlife.

Many members of the group were shifting uncomfortably in their chairs or on their perches on the edges of the first floor of the boat, often looking longingly at the other islands they were passing. They might have been having second thoughts about coming on this trek now that they were halfway from the island known as Kara's Keep but now they could not just walk away from the trek. None, however, had the courage to jump into the water and swim back to one of the shores that the boat was careful to stay as far away as it could be. There were more than just piranhas in these parts of the world that lurked in the water.

There were some low talk about the team being spilt up during the course of the trip; Crystal had spoken true about that before they had left the island. Some would be staying with Crystal to find the other statue; others would be going in search of the boy's statue. In the short time she had been on the boat, she had heard numerous things about Crystal: she wasn't human, she had originally wanted to get both statues at once but abandoned one in lieu of the other, and she practiced some sort of secret techniques in her spare time. Things that made Kat even more determined to not be on the same team as Crystal; when she tried to speak to her father about her worries, he ignored her and had decided to talk over her.

It was then that Kat made her final decision and realization: while her father would most likely go with Crystal, she would not follow him if he should go with Crystal. If he was going with the one that made her more nervous than the trek was making her, then she was not going to be going with that group. Instead she would move along with those that felt the same way as she did.

"How much further do we have to go until we reach the island? It seems like we should have been there by now," Kat asked the person next to her instead of her father. This man she remembered Crystal calling 'Del'. He was a small man, not more than the age of thirty, with jet black hair and piercing black eyes. He wore a green shirt and a pair of jeans over his dark skin, a pair of high quality hiking boots with steel toes; on his lap sat a wide brimmed hat and a small canteen with what Kat assumed, and hoped, was water.

"I figure we have 'bout another half hour to an hour until we reach the island." Del stopped short as he looked at her. "I'm Del, just Del. And you?"

"Katherine Porter, Kat for short," she answered, shaking his outstretched hand and returning the smile she was given. Del looked between her and Michael several times, a slow realization that both of them were related. "He's my father."

"Ah, I can see the resemblance between the two of you more closely now. I have heard of your father from others who have worked with him before, I am glad that you are following your father's footsteps," Del said with a nod. Kat knew he was saying that in all honestly and beamed at the compliment.

"How did you get involved with treks and this expedition?" She asked, hoping to get a new friend in Del.

"I'm fond of the islands, from the Bahamas to Hawai'i, ever since I was a child growing up in the Carolinas. Had never been out of the States until 'bout six years ago when I met Chuck Cougar over there." Del nodded up a few rows of people to a tanned man with bleached blonde hair and stunning green eyes. He was telling several jokes to the other team members, receiving fits of laughter from the small group of people standing around him. "We went to college for a couple of years until we had an opportunity to put our skills to the test."

"What kind of skills?" She inquired, now very much interested. If she could find someone that she could learn from other then her father, it would be a big bonus for her not only on this trek but in the future as well.

"I went to several colleges, mostly for archeological and historical classes but also for some creative writing. I'm not great at finding things but I could attempt at it if I had to, that's more of Chuck's field then mine. My skills more or less lie in knowing which part of history certain artifacts came from, what they were, and to tell what they were used for." Del smiled even brighter when he saw the look of excited interest on Kat's face. "I am not going to sit here and tell you that I am perfect at what I do or nor will I ever be. I've been known to be mistaken several times in the past, so has Chuck. It is just a matter of knowing what you are doing and making sure you don't make too many mistakes that could damage thousand year old clay pots." He gave a short laugh. "I got the 'invite' about six months ago, Chuck a week later. I guess we impressed somebody to fund our way here."

Kat fought down the urge to ask if he thought Crystal may have had a hand in it but kept that question to herself. "Why did you accept the invite?"

"For the adventure mostly since my Achilles heel is adventure." Kat giggled when Del grinned widely at his joke. "But also because Chuck and I hadn't been to the main island before and figured it was a good opportunity to go to a place where we typically don't go to. I guess curiosity got the better of us. It wasn't exactly an invite but more of a letter stating little what was going on and what to expect on the expedition. But we also have other reasons why we are going on this trip."

She glanced up at the second level just as Del did, looking up at the smaller deck above. There were two levels of the boat, the second level being the shortest and smallest of both; the second level was the small crew cabin where the captain of the boat and the controls were at. The back of the upper deck allowed passengers to sit and look at the islands passing them by; there was a ladder not far from where the front of the upper deck started. Crystal was moving up on the second level, several times she moved to where Kat and her father were sitting at, however she did not linger there for long periods of time. Instead she kept mostly to the crew cabin and latched onto whatever crew member wasn't trying to steer the boat.

So that was how most of the group came to the island and why there had been originally so many; it also explained more of how her father had known more than he had originally let on. Her thoughts ran back to the boy she had seen at the docks when her and her father had first come to the islands, had his parents been given an informal invite as well? If they did the family must have 'jumped island' already once they had understood what the general idea of the trek had been or had not gotten enough information initially and decided to leave while they could. While Crystal may have been elusive in any letters she may have sent out, she didn't seem to hold much back when face with a smaller land mass.

"Do you know anything about Kara's Keep?" Kat asked after several minutes of silence.

"Very little," Del said, then lowered his voice so that Kat had to lean towards him more to hear him well. "The natives on the main island say that Kara's Keep once was the location of Edward Castle during the last recorded of the Red Star, however that isn't proven. I assume that you know what Edward Castle is?"

"Vaguely." Kat had to admit she knew little of the history of the islands but knew enough of them to piece a bit here and there; she felt ashamed that with how much she knew about certain things with her father, she didn't about others. "My father didn't tell me much about it and am sad to say I should look more into the island's history."

"There isn't much to go on about the island, or anything about Edward Castle I'm afraid." Del gave another light shrug. "I have also heard rumors that there have been sightings of the Red Star several times near the constellation of Cygnus but that, like the rumor of Kara's Keep, is just something else that needs to be proven."

"But Crystal said..." she started before Del cut her off.

"You should not listen to some of the words in which that woman speaks." Del spoke in the same low voice, his eyes flickering up to the second level for a few seconds. "I cannot say that I trust her very well, if this is the amount of information she has given us."

"You believe she's holding something back?" Kat did her best to hold her smile back. So there was someone else that thought Crystal wasn't being all truthful about why they were going to the island. Did Chuck think this as well?

"She could very well be; I am not the only one who thinks so. Some people with us are just here to find what they can so that they can get paid for it, if they ever are." Del and Kat looked over towards Michael, who had gotten and was talking and laughing with other members of the group. That was the man that Kat remembered, laughing, smiling, and giving off the feeling of that even in the worst possible conditions, everything would be alright. Michael caught her eye and gave her a big smile and a nod. "I have not had the privilege to get to know your father since we arrived here but I can tell you he is not as I have heard of. There is something today I have noticed while we were gathered on the main island earlier and cannot put the right words to it."

"He said something about Crystal messing with his mind, like he was in some sort of daze where he didn't remember things after a short amount of time. At first I thought it was just because he wasn't the one who was guiding us but now with what he said about her, I'm thinking something else is wrong here." Kat turned away from her father and back to Del. "It could be both the island and this guide that's messing with him, I'm still nervous about going on this trek."

"Miss Kat," Del started, taking both of her hands into his, "I need you to keep your eyes open and your ears listening during the weeks ahead. I may not have gone on as many expeditions as the rest of them, you and your father included, but I know when there is trouble brewing. I know that this might sound harsh but perhaps it is in your best interest if you went with the group that your father is not going to be in. We are going into a territory that few would dare to enter even if they had permission to go into it."

Kat understood the point Del was making, understood it very well. She took no offense to it, in fact it only solidified her decision that she had tossed in her mind since they boarded the boat: she would be going with those that were going after the boy's statue. Her father wouldn't like it but if she stayed around Del and Chuck, she felt like she would be safe. She could learn things from them and they from her, if it was possible to do so.

The feeling she felt when they had left she shores grew steadily worse as the boat move forwards, their journey only beginning.

XXXX

The last half hour of the trip to the island was in silence, the group becoming quiet as they neared the distant shores of Kara's Keep. Even Del's friend, Chuck, had grown still as he moved over to the side of the boat where he leaned up against the railing. There were no more jokes from him as they came ever so closer to the sandy beach; even Michael was still as they came closer to their destination. The water was a lot calmer than it had been at the main island, which was calm all on its own but the water here seemed to stand almost still. Had the boat not been moving Kat would have thought they weren't moving at all and instead were just floating in the water.

Once the boat had scraped the hard shores of the island some of the team slowly got out and tied the boat to an old stump not far from the water. One by one they filed out once the boat was secure enough so it wouldn't drift away into the unknown parts of the ocean. Bags and equipment were brought onto the shore as a human conveyer belt moved them from one hand to another. As it had been on the main island it was Crystal, Michael, and Kat that was left behind on the boat to make sure that there was nothing left behind, even the captain had already gotten off the boat. This time, however, Kat had a sinking feeling in her stomach that Crystal had wanted to keep an eye on Michael to make sure he did not give any more warnings to his daughter. There was no turning back now that they were on the island.

She had not fully known how far they had actually traveled until she had gotten up onto the embankment of the sandy beach and looked around them. From what she had seen from the other islands, they were at least two and a half to three hours away from the main island; the smaller islands in between had to be at least thirty minutes away. Even though they had traveled some distance away and this was the last island in the chain, it possibly was the second biggest one with the main island being the first. The sandy beach reached for about a half of a mile from the shore before the untamed forest jungle moved in; from here there were few sounds from the jungle.

"We're here," Crystal announced, clapping her hands together for attention. Everyone turned to her, many looking nervously at the captain as though they were urging him to start the boat up again to take them away. "As some of you might want to, there is an expedition to find the boy's statue. While I don't exactly recommend finding it, you are free to do so as you chose." She looked around the group. "Those that are going for the statue of the boy stay put while the other part of the team will move forwards. We will meet together in this same spot in three weeks' time, please mark your planners as to when we are to meet again and keep up with it. If something should go wrong, many members of both parties have the essentials to get into contact with the other team. Only use electronic devices if you cannot work it out or if there is any trouble. Move out!"

Kat did not budge as the group that was looking for the other statue went forwards, Del and Chuck being two of them that was staying behind as well. Michael, like Kat had predicted, went with the group that Crystal was leading, not taking notice that his daughter was not going with him until he had almost gotten to the jungle. It took him a moment to turn around to look to see where Kat was at.

"Kat, come on. We're going to be left behind," he called out to her.

"I'm not going," she said as soon as her father came towards her with a cross look on his face. Her voice lowered when he came near her, her eyes staring at him coldly. "Not with her leading that group. I think I'll go with the group to look for the boy's statue, you go on ahead with the other group. I'll see you in three weeks."

"Kat, this isn't like you to be separated from me besides those few times that could not be helped." Michael looked worriedly at her. "Why all the sudden you don't like to go on a trek with your own father? At the dock you were so eager to go on this trip."

"It isn't you that I don't want to go with," she said sourly, noticing that Crystal had reappeared behind her father and was moving towards them with an angry stride.

"What is going on here?" Crystal demanded when she got up to them, her eyes flickering towards the father and daughter. "Why hasn't everyone joined their groups yet?"

"Kat was getting her bags read and was left behind," Michael said when he turned half way around. "She was just…."

"I was just telling my father that I would rather go look for the boy's statue than the other one," Kat intervened, her eyes staring at Crystal. "Because…"

"…I told her on the boat that the group looking for the boy's statue would probably see the ocean route of the island then the group looking for the other statue would," Del finished, coming up behind Kat and putting his hands on her shoulders. "Miss Kat had expressed that she would like to see the outskirts of the island first before going into the jungle."

Crystal opened her mouth to retort then closed it, her face moving into the same expression that it had been when she had been giving instructions on the main island. Her mind seemed to be taking in this excuse and was thinking about the situation carefully, weighing in the possibilities of getting rid of Kat of the duration of the expedition or having to be around her for several weeks straight. Then she sighed, shaking her head at a passing thought, turning around to keep her back on the girl.

'If she wants to go, let her go. I am sure she is old and experienced enough to be out on an island by herself. Besides, she seems to be in capable hands. Michael, hurry up as soon as you are done here; we won't be waiting long," she snapped over her shoulder as she walked away from them.

"Kat, do you really want to go with them?" Michael asked Kat, who seemed to be more focused on Crystal's retreating form then her father.

"Yes I do," she said a moment later, her eyes not faltering. Only when her father started to look into his bags did she move her gaze to him. "What are you looking for? I have that device you gave to me in my bag, the locator device you should have the second one of."

"I have that as well, but as I said on the main island I have your birthday present with me. I might as well give it to you now, since we'll be separated from each other," Michael said as he handed a small brown box to her. Kat took it with a bright smile, about to open it when he put a hand on her hands to keep the box closed. "Not now, not here. Wait until you are far enough away from the prying eyes of Crystal to open it. The only warning I can give to you, other then that, is that you open it by the light of the fire. Now go on the expedition and may the watchful eye of the Earth's Spirit watch over you."

With those words, Michael gave his daughter a hug and turned around, disappearing into the green of the forest jungle. Kat watched him go, unaware that Del was still holding onto her shoulders when he gave them a squeeze. She jumped slightly, nearly dropping the box as she looked up at his stern face.

"I gave you a cover story for you, so it is best that you stick with it for the next three weeks when you are not around myself or Chuck," he said in a gruff but soothing voice. "Do not underestimate anyone on this island that is on this expedition, there are things here that we do not know of."

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking at the forest.

"We'll soon find out if we're lucky." He gave her shoulders another squeeze for comfort; he dropped his arms to his sides and turned to the small group that had been watching the other group leave without much of a goodbye. Kat put the box into one of her bags, making a note to make sure she remembered which bag she had put it in. Del addressed them just like Crystal had, but with more emotion and less nervous looks from the group. "Now that has been settled, we will make a move along the outer ridges of the island until we reach a certain point. There we will stop for lunch and rest before heading into the forest itself. There are more things on this island that have a better value than a statue. Let's head on out once we've got our equipment settled."

With a few cheers of songs echoing in her ears, Kat picked up her bags and moved on with the group, her spirits lifting as the team moved along. Perhaps she and the others were just wrong about the experience as it was the first day jitters. They would find out soon enough.

XXXX

It was the journey deep into the heart of the jungle that worried Michael the least; it was the lack of sight of his daughter that kept him worried the most. Granted he couldn't remember the last time he had been in such a nervous condition, there still was a feeling of dread that washed over him every few moments and would not let him be. However feelings he had, Michael knew Kat could take care of herself in the forests of the islands and it was not like she was alone in the thickness of this unknown territory. It was also this same unknown territory that had started this worry and the woman who guided this part of the team only made things worse.

Kara's Keep had long since been fabled to hold legendary creatures of myth and was deeply rooted in such superstition that the elders and the council had refused many treks and expeditions to the island. It had only been in recent time, in the span of a year or more, that the elders had allowed few onto this island to see what actually lay on this island. Many of those that had come to the main island had believed these tales to be true and only a small few had dared to go on this island once before. Those that had come back from this island, come with the knight's statue in tow, had given the same story the storytellers had been talking of for generations: the whispers of the haunted isle were true.

No matter how many stories he had been told of his haunted place, Michael kept walking with the group. Crystal strode up at the front of the team, her eyes often moving side to side and behind her, to make sure that her set of people were still behind her. There were looks of the other team members as well, looks out into the jungle as though they believed a ghost from the past would come up next to them. However the stories were told, it would be nothing compared to what they would see on this island.

This team seemed uneasy overall but more about Crystal then the island itself; he could not see how much of it was towards her or how much faith they had in this trek. Each person was different, either looking at the jungle for their instructions or at the guide in front of them. They could also be looking for a way out of the forest and back upon the boat without any regard to the rest of the team. Michael knew how they felt; he, too, wanted to keep off of Kara's Keep but had waited almost a lifetime to be able to set foot on this island. Regardless of how his mind was in a haze, or how he felt about their guide, he knew there would not be a chance to do this again.

"There are several places where the statue might be locates, so if you come across something that is odd make sure to yell it out," Crystal called form the front. "I don't care how long it takes, we need to find this statue. We won't eat if we can."

"Aren't we going to rest? Sounds like she is more worried about the treasures of this island rather than the health and sanity of the team," someone mumbled from behind Michael, his voice a little too high for comfort. Crystal suddenly stopped, her body turning around quickly as she stared at the team members behind Michael. Everyone stopped as well, their eyes looking around at each other and at her.

"If you want a rest, you can go with the other part of the team. We will rest but they will be far between, so I suggest taking as much from them as possible," she growled at them, turning back around and started moving again. Michael stared at the back of their guide, moving along with the group that was muttering mutinous words. There were so many questions he wanted to ask of her but he found the lack of courage fading away. He made a point to ask these questions once the expedition was over and done with so that he could back to his normal life as it were before.

Granted that anyone survived the trip.

XXXX

A pair of eyes had watched the team spilt into two different groups, one moving directly into the forest while the other took the beach route around the island. Instead of following the jungle-bound group, a shadowy figure moved along and through the outer forest. It would follow the other part of the group later, but for now it kept itself out of sight from this part of the team as possible; there would be no need to show itself just yet.

There was something about this group as a whole that it had not seen nor felt with the last one that had disturbed the island a year prior. That one there had been nothing that it could do about what had transpired, nothing that could be done now. The shadowy figure leapt onto a rock closest to the forest, keeping its body as hidden from this group as it possibly could. The stranger knelt upon one knee on the stone, its eyes starting out to one side of the rock to keep its eyes on the beach-going group; the other part of the team would not see it, as it was too far inside the forest to properly see it. The beach-side group had a better chance of spotting it then the jungle-side group had; however, there still was no real danger of being seen. Not with how much experience this shadow had.

Settling its hands on the rock, it watched the group closely in its spot until the group was no longer in sight. A sigh escaped its lips, a whisper of wind going around it before it, like the too calm water, died off into the jungle behind it. If the telling of the signs were correct, if the wind had not lied to them, then soon the disturbance that had rattled the island would come to a close. Perhaps then it could go back into its slumber that was never to have been disturbed in the first place.

Until Next Time

Author's Note: Chapters will start to be really pushing a 5,000 to 5,500 word count for the next couple of chapters, if not past 6,000 words by the end of the ninth, maybe tenth, chapter. A chapter or two may dip towards the 4,000 word area, but that has yet to be seen.