Author's Note: Here's a new chapter. I hope anybody who celebrates Thanksgiving had a great holiday!
By now, we were near our next destination: the Mosphoran Highwaste. Of course, there would be no more traveling for the time being. It was night and we were tired. We had been traveling so quickly and so constantly since emerging from the Barheim Passage. We were trying to put as much distance between us and Nalbina Fortress as quickly as we could. Besides that, the Mosphoran Highwaste was exactly the place Lamont had been planning to go after our stop at Nalbina Fortress.
Right now, we were sitting across from one another with a fire separating us. He was staring into the flames and I was staring at him, wondering what in the world he was thinking about. I knew so little about him and what was going on. I had agreed to that and I was willing to let him tell me anything he wanted to in his own time. I wasn't going to press him for hard answers. I knew this was how it would be from the beginning, in exchange for coming along.
So I wasn't trying to drag anything serious out of him when I asked "What are you thinking?"
It was a simple question. I actually was wondering what he was thinking, sitting there with the flames dancing in his eyes and a solemn look on his face. He seemed surprised as he looked over at me. "What am I thinking?"
I nodded. "Mmm-hmm. What's on your mind? What's going on in that head of yours? What are you thinking?"
He glanced over at Esabel, who had gone to sleep not too long ago. She looked like she was asleep, at least. I suppose we were thinking the same thing right now, about how we didn't want to wake her up. So from there on out, we tried to speak in hushed tones
"I was considering the Mosphoran Highwaste, actually," he said as he directed his attention toward me. I could still see the flames reflected in his eyes, only they weren't centered anymore. They glistened off the corners now.
I raised an eyebrow. "What about it?" I hadn't been there before. I had no idea what this place was like. I struck me now, just how many different places in this world I had never been before. What was out there? What was I going to see?
"The Highwaste is a rather treacherous place, really," he told me as he rested his chin in his hand and leaned forward a little. "It is quite dangerous."
I unconsciously leaned forward myself. "Yikes. We're going into treacherous and dangerous territory on purpose?"
He nodded and seemed to be thinking something over in his mind. "I. . ." he hesitated for a few moments before continuing on. "I have need of venturing there. Something will have been left there for me."
Now he definitely had my attention. Something was waiting there for him in this place he just told me was dangerous? "What is it? Who would leave something in a place like that?"
He thought about that for a few more moments. "I suppose it is high time I provided you with a few explanations."
"Lamont, you don't. . ." I started.
"Lydian," he interrupted. There it was yet again, my name coming from his lips. It sounded just as pleasant as always for some strange reason. "I have need of telling you this. Will you listen?"
I didn't want him to feel as if he had to tell me something right now. Looking at him, though, I could see that this was something he wanted to tell me. It could be a big detail or a small one. Whatever it was, though, he felt comfortable enough to get it off his chest. So I nodded.
"Going to the Mosphoran Highwaste was premeditated. It was planned before my travels even began. I gave explicit instructions to my friends to follow were something unsavory to occur in the empire. They were made aware that I would flee to Rabanastre to begin my journey. From there, I would trek to the nearest town."
"Nalbina Fortress. The town there is closest." It was a statement rather than a question. Why ask a question when we were both aware that I already knew the answer? "Why the Mosphoran Highwaste, though?"
"The danger there poses a problem for people who would attempt to travel throughout the unpopulated areas of the Highwaste. There is a remote area that would not be easily accessible for somebody not in possession of an airship. My friends were informed to impart a message upon me by leaving it in that area."
When he finished, I took all that he'd said into consideration. There they were again, these friends he'd mentioned briefly before. I wondered what they were like. I wondered what they'd been through together. I wondered if he would tell me any of that one of these days. The tone of his voice when he spoke about them told me they must be great people.
"So we're going to march right on into that Highwaste, beat up all those monsters, and find the message," I said for the sake of clarifying.
"Quite right," he told me then. "Lydian, are you up for this task?"
That was when I decided to give him a cheesy little thumb's up along with a cheesy little smile. "Of course. Count me in."
I held that cheesy little pose until he couldn't take it anymore. He looked away and started laughing. It was the loudest I'd ever heard him laugh. I felt as if I had accomplished something awesome. All too soon, though, the sounds of his laughter faded away. He suddenly remembered Esabel and glanced over to make sure we hadn't woken her up. She still looked sound asleep to me. I went to sleep that night still feeling rather accomplished. I also felt happy knowing that I now knew another piece of the puzzle that Lamont seemed to slowly be helping me put together.
I don't know what exactly I had been expecting from this dangerous and treacherous place Lamont was leading us to. I hadn't tried to imagine it, envision it. I couldn't have pictured the actual place in my mind, though. I could see what he meant about the unpopulated areas. People would have a difficult time in this place. It looked so. . .wild. There were also the big hulking monsters that were way taller than us to consider. Other than that, though, I could see a beauty to this place. It was there in the untouched nature.
Lamont and I had filled Esabel in. . .to an extent. She didn't know everything I knew, but she knew what was important to our cause. And what she did know wasn't as detailed as what I knew. Lamont had trusted me with more from the very beginning than he was trusting her with now. I had never had many friends while growing up. I had to stop being a kid the second my mom died. While others my age were hanging out and transitioning into teenagers, I was adjusting to an adult-like reality. I had to work.
There wasn't much time for hanging out. There were a couple of older people I counted as friends, but Lamont was the youngest and newest friend I'd made in a long time. I wanted to become friends with Esabel, too. Or I at least wanted to try to. When I first met her, there was some irrational feeling unleashed inside of me. I still hadn't been able to put a name to it, but it was there. I wanted to get past that feeling, though, and move forward with her as long as we were on this journey together.
In an effort to do this, I decided to ask her a couple of questions. And I started off with a compliment for good measure so I could ease us both into this. I didn't say anything I didn't mean, though. My compliment was genuine.
"Your skin is so pretty," I told her as we took a break. We had already slashed down all of the wolf-like creatures in this area. "I've never seen anybody with that tone before. Where are you from?"
She looked surprised for a second. That look shifted into something else, though, as if she'd been expecting such a question to come up at some point. It was a standard question, really, so I'm sure she could see it coming eventually.
"I would expect no less, actually," Esabel began. "I do not come from this land, after all. I don't even come from Archadia. I am from Rozarria."
I glanced over at Lamont. He didn't seem surprised by this at all. The wheels in my head were spinning, though. "Weren't Rozarria and Archadia enemies?"
Esabel nodded solemly and glanced over at Lamont briefly. "Yes, this is true. As you know, though, both were finally able to reach peace about six years ago. There is a sizable amount of bad blood there, but Rozarria plans on maintaining that peace as long as possible. As for myself. . .I do not harbor any ill will toward anybody from Archadia."
When she said that last part, she turned slightly and looked directly at Lamont. He made direct eye contact and gave her a reassuring smile. "Nor do I. It is my greatest hope that peace can continue to be maintained. This does not exclusively apply to Rozarria, though. I wish for peace to be maintained among everybody in every land. Perhaps this is a lofty ambition, but it is something I refuse to give up on."
When he spoke like that, he sounded so noble. Regal, even. There was something so. . .so princely about him. He had made quite an impression on Esabel, too. I could see it there in her eyes. In that moment, she could see what I saw within him. And she was impressed.
I had never seen the emperor of Archadia before, but for some reason I envisioned Lamont being perfect for the job. It wasn't his job, though. His loyalties were to the actual emperor. And if the emperor was so great that Lamont would go to such extremes for him, I couldn't help but admire him myself. In my mind, though, I would continue to hold onto then image of Lamont as he spoke, imagining him in some grand attire, addressing an empire of people, bestowing them with confidence through his words. Lamont had his secrets. Esabel had hers. These private thoughts of mine. . .Those would be my secrets.
Lamont blinked, confused by the looks on our faces. "What is it? Are you okay? Was it something I said?"
I smiled my secret smile. 'It was definitely something you said,' I thought as Esabel and I exchanged a knowing look. "We're fine," we told him at the same time. We gave each other an amused look, surprised at our synchronicity, and then we smiled. Maybe we were already heading toward that place I hoped we'd be: friendship.
We all talked for a while, discussing where we were from. Rabanastre, Archades, and Rozarria were described through our own words and painted into the minds of whoever hadn't been to whatever place before. Esabel was particularly interested in Lowtown. Before too long, though, our break was over. It was time to get moving once again. Lamont decided to pull me aside and show me something pretty darn helpful!
"The enemies here contain much more power than you have encountered thus far," he told me as he handed over a magick. I had been working on the ones I had purchased in Nalbina Town and I had his stamp of approval so far. "This is Aero. Some monsters here prove to be quite vulnerable to such an attack. Use it wisely, Lydian, and you will fare well during our battles."
We both knew I wasn't as strong as him and Esabel. I was definitely having a more difficult time in this place. They were having to carry my weight for me more and more here. I knew that with this, Lamont was giving me an opportunity to level the playing field and gather more strength. "Aye aye, sir," I told him with a salute, doing my best to mimic his accent. "I'll do my best not to let you down." He almost laughed at me again. The corners of his lips were twitching as he walked away.
"So this message you are to receive," Esabel began. "How are we going to reach it?"
"In the past, there existed two options to reach our destination. Our first option would be to entice a chocobo into assisting us."
At the sound of the word "chocobo," Esabel froze up. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what that was about. Lamont didn't notice it, though, and continued on.
"At the heart of the Mosphoran Highwaste, there is a place. I would not call such a place a town. There are no houses or an abundance of people. It is a crossroad, of sorts, where one can stop off and replenish their supplies. There once existed a path which would easily take us to our destination. However, this is the option that we are no longer afforded."
"Did something happen to this path?" Esabel asked nervously. This was the closest I'd ever seen her to losing her cool. Something about this situation was genuinely bothering her.
"It has since been blocked," he told her in an apologetic tone. He had caught on by now that something was bothering her.
Esabel took that in stride and considered his words before asking her next question. "So what is it, exactly, that you're suggesting we do?"
"We have no choice but to act upon our first option. We shall have to travel to the location by chocobo."
Esabel, with her beautiful golden skin, suddenly turned pale.
