RE-UPLOAD attempt 1: It boldened half the document on me! I had to cut out parts that I boldened for effect, sadly, but point being, I hate this site sometimes.
RE=UPLOAD 2: Apparnetly "dead ends" I started to write and then deleted remained coded or something, because they were in here when I re-read it. I cut ant pasted the whole thing into another file and re-uploaded to see if it helped. The site seems to be pulling another chapter 2 on me. Please forgive any formatting errors caused by this.
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Rune Factory: Frontiers of Norad
By Merryck von SIllypants the 3rd.
Just kidding! I Own Merryck, and any original characters I have ready to introduce, but not Rune Factory itself. I also do not own silly pants. If I own Merryck and I do not own silly pants, it stands to reason that Merryck does not have silly pants and Lara can stop trying to kill me for trying to sabotage her love life! Everyone wins! Except the pants...
Author's notes:
Sorry it took me so long to get this up. Despite having prior writing to work with, I ended up reworking most of what I planned, anyways! Please note that the part taking place in Materia is almost cut and pasted from before, however, if the general quality of the writing isn't exactly seamless.
I also noticed, after uploading my last chapter, that my auto spelling likes to mess up words and put them in the wrong context. If anyone uses Word 2007 and knows how to set the options more akin to the good old Microsoft Office 98, I'd appreciate it. These stupid features keep messing me up. Auto format? I try to indent the first line of a paragraph, it indents every line in the whole file! Auto spelling? Ugh. So yeah, I might just revert to notepad at this rate, then cut and paste it into word for the spell check there. Don't get me wrong! I like seeing the red line that say I spelled it wrong so I can correct it as I go and not need to dedicate one review entirely to spelling, but these darn auto-features are making my life difficult!
As for the chapter itself, there's one thing I'd really like to talk about, before we begin: in the games, you learn very little outside of your town. This means I don't have an established map of Norad to work with, so I'm kind of improvising, based on what little is revealed here. Hope no one minds some creative license.
If anyone was curious about my logic, Trampoli's exit is the southwest gate. The very name "Rune Factory Frontier" suggests the town is basically near the edge of civilization, hinting that it's near the border. As well, since Kardia is near the Sechs border, I envisioned Trampoli being relatively close, Northeast of Kardia. It doesn't make sense for Mist to follow a voice she felt was calling her in the middle of winter, and Raguna arrived in Trampoli at the start of spring, so I decided the towns were less than a day away. This of course led to the shortcut that exists in this story being built, adding an east gate to Kardia, which of course also means they don't need to pass dangerously close to the Sechs border to enter or leave town. As well, given how hilly Trampoli is, with mountains right next to it, I envisioned it nestled in the lower regions of a mountainous area.
(And for Fans of RF2, I'm imagining Alvarna a good week away, southeast, from Trampoli and Kardia. Alvarna is a port town, while both Kardia and Trampoli have beaches. If I ever draw a map, I might just make it that there's a great lake in part of Norad, and the towns are each situated along a side of it. I also mention Greenlake a few times, which Yue mentions in RF2. That's like the only other city whose name we have to work with, so I worked with it!)
So, without further delays, nonsense, or pizza (I'm broke and hungry) I present to you chapter number seven! Or, as they say in French, "Le Chapitre Numero Sept!" Yes, that's actual French, and yeah, I'm bilingual.
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Chapter Seven: Morality
This life, this war, no one wanted this
Desperation is rarely preferred to bliss"Tabatha, remind me why I'm actually helping you gather fruit again?" Bianca asked her maid, as she threw her hair back over her elegant black winter coat. She absent-mindedly waved her basket around, and a few apples fell to the ground. "My family became rich generations ago, we pay other people to work for us! Why am I being asked to collect fruit that I'm not even getting a chance to eat?" Tabatha, who was wearing a pale blue coat and carried a stepladder to reach up into the cornucopia trees with, sighed."Miss Bianca, may I remind you that I'm an elf? I can't bring myself to eat meat or fish, and without relying on trade due to the invasion, this fruit is really all I can eat, since there's not enough vegetables with all our friends from Kardia here. Why are you picking fruit? So that I can survive this ordeal, and continue to serve you in the future. Think of it as paying me without money, if you want!"
Bianca didn't reply. In silence, the two of them worked at gathering the fruit so that Tabatha might have enough to eat that day. Tabatha thought to herself that it might be nice if Bianca was trying to learn to not be so selfish, but doubted if she had higher brain functions this early in the morning. Bianca mumbled to herself inaudibly, but otherwise made no more remarks until arriving back at home.
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Meanwhile, Anette had just been ambushed along her morning mail run. Raguna had been waiting for her in the business district with a letter addressed to the king. "Merry said this needs to reach the capital." He told her, as he handed her the envelope, "Apparently Merry had Selphy look into the country's laws at the Library. Because he's a Guard Captain, officially recognized and paid for by the town, he's allowed to report any intelligence he has on the enemy directly to the king and his generals."
"Huh?" Anette asked, "We know what they're up to? I thought Merry was just guessing! Isn't that kind of dangerous to report, when we're talking about how the army will march? I- what if the Imperials threw everything they had Trampoli, while the knights were just guarding other towns!"
"He said it has information on their attack on Kardia. He was in Kardia when it happened, after all. He wrote about the kinds of weapons and armor their soldiers used, and even his predictions about them having a new weapon. He did write about his guessing about where they would strike first, but he made sure to emphasize that he was just guessing, and that we might need backup. It even has our escape route, if they learn that Trampoli was overrun."
"Okay, makes sense." Anette replied, as she put the letter in her bag, "I can probably still make it if I leave now, but I probably won't be able to return because of the imperials, will everyone be okay without me?" Anette's worst fears were confirmed, as Raguna opened the bag Merryck had passed to him. There was a sack of coins, and a map.
"He says that you have two options, and the choice is yours." Raguna told her. "You can take the money and try to wait it out in the capital. You'd be safest there, but he also gave you a second option." Pointing to the map, and not understanding how Merryck could even suggest such a thing, he told her, "Or you can try to come back, and try to mark down which towns it looks like the imperials captured. It will be very dangerous, but the information could save us. But you need to make your choice before leaving, since the gold will slow you down."
"Wait, what!" Anette asked, "But, they could have guns! And... and tanks! And gun-tanks! And maybe even tank-tanks! Can't those things light me on fire from a hundred feet away or something? I won't do it! He's insane! And why does he want me to be the scout, anyways? I may be fast, but I know that he thinks they won't see me because I'm short! You know what, nevermind, I'll talk to him myself. Lara said she's trying to make him sleep in till noon so he has time to rest, so I'll go home and rest for a few hours."
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It was still barely the 10th of Winter, but the beach was busy. Following Merryck's deduction that they soon wouldn't be able to rely on trade, the village stopped worrying about money and instead turned to maximizing productivity and rationing their supplies. It had caused some groaning at first, but Merryck managed to find a use for everyone, even some, such as Jasper, were more useful for staying out of the way than for manual labor. Kross had been hard at work building extensions to some existing buildings, and anyone with spare rooms let them be used, but some of the townsfolk were still sleeping in shifts.
Along the pier, several of the villagers were fishing. Some of them, such as Mei and Cinnamon, were experienced Fishers. Others, like Tori, had little to no experience. Everyone was trying to help one another, since they knew everyone in the village would be counting on their catches. Although they feared the fish may not be enough to last them the whole winter, they had no choice but to gamble on it, as their resources were horribly limited. While they were mostly girls, a small handful of the guys had volunteered to help today as well. Camus and Zavier had already done their tasks for the day, while Erik was simply bored and wanted to pass the time.
"So, does anyone have plans for the Night of Holies?" Melody hadn't been quiet about it, not since she found out about Lara's date. "Come on, you can't let a nun get all the fun, can you?" Catching a glance from Felicity, Melody started laughing. "What? I'm just kidding, Lara's my best friend! But still, I admit I'm curious what everyone else has planned, now! Anyone else have a date planned?"
"A date?" Uzuki inquired, "Is that one of those events where a man and a woman spend time together harmoniously? I'm not sure I approve of Lara engaging in such acts with a man who was recently a stranger to her!"
"Young Lady, just how 'harmonious' do you think they'll be?" Erik asked her, somewhat flustered at where Uzuki's comments were leading. "It sounds to me like you have the wrong idea!"
"Oh, I'll be spending some time harmoniously with someone together on the Night of Holies, all right!" Mist joined in as her friends started to laugh, while Zavier mumbled under his breath about not wanting to hear about it. "But really, it's our anniversary, so I'm not letting Raguna leave the house! Or the bed, even! Is that harmonious enough for you, Uzuki? Oh, but we'll need to eat! Do you think he'll mind if we keep a sack of turnips by the bed?"
"Um... Mist? I'm not so sure that's... what Miss Uzuki meant by harmonious..." Tori told her.
"Actually, it was." Uzuki replied, frustrated, "And I thought Lara had taken vows of chastity! That man's influence shall corrupt her and sunder her relationship with her god! I do hope he intends to marry her, else, his untoward actions are without shame, and-"
"Whoa, whoa, Uzuki, it's not like that!" Melody screamed, panicked. "They're just going to eat dinner together outdoors while watching the stars! Honest! I know her better than anyone, she's not like that! Or... well, if she is, she didn't tell me, but I'm pretty sure she's not!"
"Your lack of certainty hardly fills me with confidence." Uzuki told her, "But I suppose he cannot be all bad if he was badly wounded trying to protect others. I passed by the infirmary yesterday, in order to pick up a box of medical supplies for Rosetta to tally, and I saw the injuries he bore from the attack on the first of Winter. I began to worry about his ability as a guard when I saw the damage one brute with a knife could so, but Lara tried to assure me it was only because Merryck was unarmed."
"It's true." Camus told her, "When we left Kardia, he stayed behind to rescue Sabrina. According to her, when he escorted her out of where she was being held, corpses in imperial armor were strewn across the beach. I only got to see him fight about two people, myself, but he knows what he's doing. In fact, I was downright shocked when I saw Lara dressing his wounds afterwards, I couldn't believe he could bleed, after seeing him in action!"
"That's because Merry is an idiot who pushes himself too hard, so his wounds from that attack at the church haven't been able to heal." Melody told them, "And you know how Lara gets when a patient isn't listening!" Mist and Felicity both burst out laughing, while even Mei decided to turn her attention to the conversation for a moment.
"I feel safer at night already, knowing he can stand up to Lara!" she told them, as a few of them began to roar with laughter, Felicity outright falling over onto the sand. Erik helped her up, and turned to Tori.
"Young lady, I do have to ask, what were you referring to earlier when you said you didn't think Uzuki meant sexual relations when she said the word harmonious in that context? It was certainly the first thing on all our minds when she said it, so I'm curious as to what you thought of!"
"U-um... Mr. Erik...? I'd like to... to decline commenting..." Tori replied, but Cinnamon spoke up.
"According to a book I read, shy girls are actually the ones who like this sort of thing most. Perhaps she just thought her dirty mind was giving her the wrong idea?" she suggested. Tori turned a deep shade of red as people started to laugh again, but Zavier threw his rod down in frustration at how everyone was talking about his sister.
It was Erik who spoke next. "Interes-" He never finished his word, as everyone gasped. Zavier had punched Erik in the jaw. Erik fell to the floor, too startled to keep his balance. The rest of them stared at Zavier, dumbfounded, so he decided to defend his actions.
"I'm the only one who's allowed to make fun of my sister, and not even I tease her about this stuff!" he told them. "Yes, I can be a jerk sometimes, but at least I look out for people! Seriously, do you think I want to hear about whatever sex life my sister does or doesn't have! I..." Looking around at everyone, he sighed. "Sorry. It's just that with the invasion..."
Much to Zavier's surprise, it was Mist who spoke first. "Actually, you're right." She told him. "Normally, we wouldn't be laughing about this stuff, but we're just trying to keep our spirits up because of the invasion. Some of us lost our homes, the rest of us are making sacrifices to accommodate others, and we're all in constant danger. We have one guard, ONE, who needs to protect us from an army. How can things not look bad? We were just laughing to try to feel better, and I guess we forgot that not everyone is finding this fun... and have enough to worry about right now."
"Thank you." He replied, as he hung his head. Turning back to Erik, Zavier helped him to his feet. "Sorry about that, Erik. It's just... with all this talk of... 'harmony'... well, I guess I somehow got the impression you wanted to take advantage of Tori. I shouldn't have punched you like that."
Rubbing his cheek, Erik took a moment to see if he could taste blood. Satisfied at the distinct lack of flavour, he answered. "I understand, no harm done. I may not have a sister... but I do know how it feels to have someone you care about and seeing them with someone you don't exactly approve of!"
"Oh?" Melody asked, as she turned her focus entirely to Erik. "Now I'm curious! You seem to spend every Wednesday with Anette, but she's not seeing anyone... Unless!"
"Melody, did we not just establish that this conversation was making people feel uncomfortable and was best ended?" Uzuki asked her, "And you call me childish for Tsubute needing to bait my hook for me?"
"I never thought I'd ever say anything against Melody, but I'm with you on that..." Camus agreed. Uzuki nodded at him, but then turned back to Erik. "Aaand judging from your casual attitude about this, I take it you have an idea who it is?" Camus asked, and Uzuki merely nodded.
"I have made my statement and Melody still seems curious, so my conscience is alleviated for what I am about to reveal." Uzuki told him. "I believe Erik was talking about Lara. According to Sister Stella, Erik only began attending sermons once Lara arrived in Trampoli, and of course, she has recently become infatuated with Sir Merryck."
"I really do wonder what it is with guys and liking girls who already have boyfriends!" Felicity cut in, not even giving Erik a chance to protest. "I mean, there's what... 6 guys around our age total here? One is married, one is dating. Then we have Guys three and four, who like the girls guys one and two are with? Come on, there's like... what... sixteen of us girls? Why don't us girls just start dating each other, maybe then the guys would show an interest in us!"
"I wouldn't give them any ideas, Felicity!" Melody warned her, as she looked at Zavier and then Erik. "They might start thinking that dating their own gender is in style, and ignore us entirely!"
"I do not wish to participate in this discussion any longer." Uzuki informed everyone, "Are there any complaints to me taking our catches to Rosetta on my way to the Inn?" No one stopped her, so she picked up the overflowing box and headed towards the Business district, via the church route. Turning to her companion, Uzuki gave him new orders. "Tsubute, I'd like you to keep an eye on Sir Merryck for me. Lara has been a good friend and I do not entirely trust him yet. You know men better than I. Do what you must. I trust your judgment in this."
As she approached the church, the doors to the infirmary burst open and Merryck charged past, clutching his spear. Uzuki jumped to one side, startled, and more than a few fish fell to the ground. "Shameful." Tsubute mumbled, "Not even wearing a shirt over those bandages!" Much to their surprise, Anette and Lara came out, and began to help them with Uzuki's dropped load.
"So what exactly DID happen there, anyways?" Anette asked Lara, "All I did was shout his name and next thing I knew he was out the door, and armed! Is he that high-strung about the invasion that he sleeps with one eye open and is always ready for action?"
"He certainly tries to be..." Lara sighed. "He has a strong sense of responsibility and takes guilt poorly. He knows that this is his job and since lives are on the line..." Lara shook her head, and turned back to the fresh bandages she left on her desk. "Could you please ask me before waking him next time? Pushing himself like this are exactly why his wounds haven't been healing!"
"So it is true, then?" Uzuki asked her, "That he's a stubborn fool who refuses to rest and recover? I hear he's only happy when exerting himself, physically. Pushing his limits in an unhealthy way." As an afterthought, Uzuki decided to pull a leaf out of the books of some of her friends and disguise Lara's name in a cough.
"Well..." Lara began, and looked out the window. "When he arrived, barely two weeks ago, I never would have figured him to be this driven. He was... quite honestly, lazy! But last week, everything changed... I was attacked, and Merryck sensed it. Somehow, he had an urge to come check up on me, and arrived in time to save my life. He was unarmed, and his fighting style involves dodging attacks, but he acted as a shield for me, losing so much blood that he almost died. When he woke up from my treatments, he was convinced he had to become a guard to protect the town, and overnight became the Merryck you just saw..."
"But why?" Anette asked, "People don't just change overnight like that! Do you believe he really has amnesia? Maybe he's some bloodthirsty imperial traitor who wanted to take the side with the worst odds, so he can kill a lot of people!"
"You didn't see him that night!" Lara snapped at her, with a sharp glare. "He was looking at the blood on his hands, shaking and convulsing! In his limited memories, that was the first time he ever killed, I'd believe it even if I didn't trust him!" She shook her head, and sat down. "At the time, I thought it was strange. I was going nuts trying to treat a patient I barely knew, giving him a hard time despite him complying. He wanted to risk his life to protect a village he barely knew. But now, I see it. It was love at first sight, what other explanation is there?"
"I thought I trusted him, myself." Anette admitted, "Until he apparently asked if I could scout the imperials! Does he really think I want to get shot at? I just don't get it. He might be a guard, but I'm just a mail lady!"
"Anette, is this what that yelling was about?" Lara asked her, "If so, please understand that it was my idea. We don't know anything about their movements, and getting our escape plan to the capital can save all our lives! As it is, the money we gathered up to stay in the capital if your return was too risky was every last coin in the church's coffers! We're not forcing you to go, but if you chose to, you'd be doing everyone a huge favour!"
"Hold on, I am confused!" Tsubute interrupted. "Miss Lara, you're Sir Merryck's advisor?"
"Sister Stella is the closest thing to a mayor this city has." Lara pointed out, "So Merry works for her. In that regard, I'm a co-worker with a voice in the matter. Merry was worried about informing the Royal Knights, but didn't want to endanger anyone. But I know. I have faith in Anette. She runs faster than anyone and if anyone can do it, it's her. That's why he agreed to the plan, and why I asked Raguna to give you everything, because Merryck needs to rest and I need to administer medical treatment."
"So you're asking me to risk my life, while you're safe at home?" Anette asked, "Lara, I thought you were better than that! I thought-"
"You weren't in Kardia!" Lara snapped back at her, "Those soldiers even tried to kill the children! You want safe! None of us are safe! We even gave you the option to wait in the capital;, where it's safest of all! Have you seen Selphy limping? She took a knife to the back to protect Cecilia! We-"
"Wait, Selphy?" Anette asked, dumbfounded, "Did something heroic? And got hurt to save a kid? I... what's happening to my world! Why is nothing as it should be anymore? I... I'm so confused!"
Uzuki took a moment to pat the distraught carrier of mail on the shoulder. "At least Tsubute hasn't transformed into a giant five headed dragon, yet! Be thankful the universe is still partially intact! Though I should mention the emphasis is on that he hasn't transformed YET!"
"Just think it over, okay Anette?" Lara told her, "We're not forcing you to go, but you'd probably be saving us all if you did. Now, I have to go and find my idiot boyfriend before he becomes a human popsicle! I am not in the mood to melt him with my tongue!"
After leaving, continuing to carry the fish towards Rosetta's, Uzuki turned to her companion. "... I shall attempt to believe that I simply took that out of context and not scar myself with those mental images! Or by wondering what flavour of popsicle he is!"
"You just did, didn't you?"
"Quiet, old man!"
Tsubute held the door to Materia open, as Uzuki stumbled in with her burden. She had not been here since the Kardians arrived, and she was surprised to see that it now resembled a warehouse more than a shop. There were crates of supplies scattered around, and a clipboard lay on top of the counter. Rosetta noticed Uzuki's load, and pointed at the counter. Placing it down, Uzuki told her, "Rosetta, we wanted to save you some time so we counted these ourselves, though you may wish to check again. There are thirty-seven in all, and we are still catching more."
"Thank you, Uzuki, this will be enough for everyone to have some, tonight!" Rosetta told her, after counting the fish, "Could you please put the crate outside so they don't spoil? And be sure to thank everyone at the beach for me!" As Uzuki left, Rosetta picked up her clipboard and marked down the addition of 37 fish to their stash. "Hmm... We're doing better than I thought possible without external trade, but I still wonder why Merryck left me in charge of the rations, of all people..."
Her father, Jean, looked up from his tally of the remaining grain stashes Raguna and Erik had stored, "You've always been good with numbers, Rosetta, I wouldn't question it too much. As for the grain count, we may need to ration it a little more tightly than we first thought thought. The original idea of having a small bowl of rice served with the fish will run us out of grain a few days before the spring harvests are ready. What should we do about it?"
"We'll have to improvise." Rosetta sighed, as she shook her head, and glanced back at her clipboard. "We have more fish than expected, so we could probably give less rice without anyone complaining too much if we increase the amount of fish in their serving. If we have to, we can probably shred a little bit of our cabbage and mix it in with the meal so it looks more complete. Can you go ask Rita if she thinks that can be managed in time for everyone to eat this evening? I know it takes longer to cook fish than rice, after all."
"All right, I'll be back in a few minutes. Did you want to start on the medical supplies while I'm gone? I have to admit I'm pretty impressed Lara managed to keep herself so well stocked, I wouldn't expect small towns like Kardia or Trampoli to have that much lying around!"
Rosetta couldn't stop herself, and had to laugh. "Well, you know Lara! Remember how she used to get angry at Raguna for being reckless? That's nothing compared to what Selphy and Merryck have put her through! I'll start the bandages while you're gone, you'd better hurry back to start the energy drinks!" Jean left, and Danny took a moment to wipe the sweat off his forehead.
"It looks like the fish are going to be what save us." Danny told her, getting back on his feet, and I'm done with the remaining wood reserves. Do you think it would be okay if I went to help out? I'm pretty sure Cinnamon had a few spare fishing poles left, and we need to use every resource we have right now!"
"Just a sec!" Rosetta told him, pointing at the crate that contained the silk thread Lara used to stitch injuries, "Can you Count the threads first? They're in pretty big packages, it should only take five minutes. After that you can take the rest of the day to do what you want. Sound fair?"
Danny managed a weak chuckle, "My head is starting to spin from all this counting, but five minutes doesn't sound so bad... I'll try not to take too long!" Kneeling down beside the crate, he sighed. "I just hope my family is okay..."
"Better to wait it out than to endanger yourself finding out." Rosetta told him. "I know it's hard, but once this is over, they'll need to you be ready to help them again!"
"You're right..." He told her, "But I hate waiting like this!"
Rosetta almost laughed, but managed to hold herself back. She was amazed at how big a jerk he had been when they had first met, but proved to be a big softie inside, just like herself. She knew how hard Danny had been working to send money to his family, and she respected him for it. "I'll have my dad count those when he gets back." Rosetta smiled, "Go vent some of your frustration on the fish! No slacking, you're working till 6, don't forget! You can take your break in two hours! Now get going!"
"Huh? Really?" Danny asked her, surprised at the sudden change.
"At least I know my family is safe. We might all be in danger, but I'm not worrying about how my dad is doing. Don't push yourself too hard, okay? Take a break if you need it. Once all this is over, you'll need to start sending money again, so you should take what rest you can, now!
"Th-thanks, Rosetta." Danny replied, as he left.
Turning her attention back to the bandages, Rosetta sighed. "I wish I could be down at the pier, too. I bet most of the girls are gossiping it up right now... it's pretty lonely in here with all these crates..."
