As the vehicle got closer to Ancheim, Agnes seemed to be more agitated by something, until Edea finally asked her what was bothering her. "It's the wind," she said with a sigh. "It's not been that long, but already the wind has died down to this degree."

"I take it that's a problem?"

"Ancheim relies on the wind for its machinery, its energy," she said. "Without it…."

"They'll probably be looking for you, then," Alternis said, "wanting you to intervene with the crystal. Right?"

"Right, but… I can't. Because of the Earth Vestal. But we can't explain that to the townsfolk. I can only hope that they don't give the clerics at the temple a hard time."

"Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself?" Einheria pointed out. "Won't the townsfolk recognize your face?"

Agnes blinked. "Oh, no. You're quite correct. What should we do?"

In the back of the vehicle, Konoe sat up, then shot her hand into the air. "Konoe?" Edea asked.

The girl dug around their supplies, emerging with a cloak. Holding it up to Agnes, she pulled it around the face, hiding everything but the eyes. "A disguise, you mean," Alternis said.

Konoe wasn't done, however. Pulling out another one, she put it in Edea's hands, pulling it over the face in the same way, and then again with one to Einheria. "Now I get it," Alternis realized. "If we have one person hiding their face, it looks suspicious, but if we all do it… well, no one's looking for a group of vestals." Konoe nodded.

"I don't know how you got so good at understanding her," Edea said.

"I listen. You should try it sometime." Edea gave him a light punch in the arm in retaliation.

Once in Ancheim, they took the vehicle to a contact of the sage's, unloading what they needed: food, money, and their weapons. Cloaks wrapped around them securely, they entered the center of Ancheim, heading up the stairs toward the massive windmill. "It's stopped," Edea observed, looking up. "I guess they are in trouble."

Agnes hung her head. "All the more reason to hurry to Eisenberg," Einheria said, "and from there, to Caldis, and Eternia."

"Agreed. There's no sense in worrying about what we can't change."

"Where are the airship ports?" Edea asked. "Or more appropriately, where can we buy tickets?"

Agnes pointed, and Alternis let her lead the way. They could see the massive airships before they could see the ticket office, majestically floating a few feet off the ground. The sight made him homesick, reminding him of all the times he had seen them passing over the temple. If he couldn't be a templar like his father, he would've wanted to be a pilot.

"By the way, Konoe… Do you want to come with us to Eisenberg?" he asked. She looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "You don't have to. Here," he handed her a small bag with some of the money Olivia had given them. "That should be enough for a ticket to wherever you want to go. Take some time and think about it."

She blinked at him, still holding it in her hands as he turned back toward the ticket counter. "Four for Eisenberg, your earliest flight."

The man grunted as the money was exchanged. "Leaves at 3PM today. Don't be late."

"Konoe?" Edea called, but the girl was walking away, her head down. "Hey, where are you-"

"Leave her be," it was Einheria that spoke. "She has to make her own decision."

"Yes, but…." Edea sighed. "It was like she was family already. Well, what should we do until the ship is ready?"

Alternis would've been fine with staying near the airships, watching them, but if Eternia's forces were present in the city, he didn't want to stay in one place. "Why don't we get something to eat? We have some money left, and we can save our food until Eisenberg. What's good around here?" he directed to Agnes.

"Um… I think there are some nice shops further down…."

Their pace to the food shops below was casual, but Alternis felt himself on alert. A few more hours, and they'd have Agnes safe and sound in the sky. Even so, he listened intently to anything that might be a hint as to something going wrong. Edea took the lead in the food-buying, settling on a street vendor selling various things on sticks. The food reminded him of how they would do the same with the monster meat that Artemia would bring. "How do you think they're doing?" he mumbled to Edea.

"Who?"

"Mephilia and Artemia."

"Oh. I'm sure they're fine," she said with a wave of one hand. "They can take care of themselves. I don't know how long it will take them to reach that Susano-o, though." She gnawed on the end of the stick. "I wonder why they agreed to take Mephilia along?"

"Maybe that sailor was smitten."

Edea put a hand over her mouth to muffle her laugh. "Don't tell Einheria, or she'll kill him."

Alternis gave her a sidelong glance. "What's she going to do when you get a boyfriend?"

"Maybe I don't want a boyfriend."

He was about to reply when he saw men in uniform coming up the stairs in a block. "Soldiers?" he muttered.

"Oh, they've been all over the place today," one of the street vendors told him. "Some daft idiot started a rumor that the vestal is in town. They've been looking all over for her."

Alternis felt his blood run cold. "Why?"

The vendor pointed upward. "You must be new here. The vestal's shut down the Wind Crystal for who knows what reason. Now our windmill won't blow, our machines won't run. Right now, they're shoring them up with manual labor, but who knows how long we can keep that up?"

Alternis nodded his thanks, rejoining his companions. "Soldiers are combing the area," he told them, "looking for the vestal." He saw Agnes's back stiffen. "We don't want to get tangled up in things, so let's head back."

"We may end up entangled anyway," Einheria said, pointing. More soldiers were heading up the stairs, entering their level.

"Up," Alternis instructed, "and keep your pace casual. Don't let them think we're trying to run."

As they reached the next level, though, he realized they were already fenced in, with soldiers on either end of their level. Alternis pulled Agnes down a side street, the other two following suit. "Hey, you there!" he heard a voice behind them, and kept going.

"Alternis," Einheria asked, "do we fight?"

"Not unless we can't avoid it." He turned down another side street, and ahead of him, saw a figure moving into what appeared to be a hidden passage. "There!" Jumping forward, he thrust his shoulder into the crack. "Here, quickly!"

The young man he'd followed stared at them as Alternis shut the door behind them, listening as the soldiers passed, shouting to each other. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed after they had left. "Tryin' to draw the swords to here?"

"You know this area?" Alternis asked him. "We need to get back to the airship field without being seen."

"Well, good for you!"

He thrust the bag of money into the boy's face. "We'll pay you."

He scowled, but took the bag with a snatch, gesturing for them to follow. "If you don't want to get caught, this will take some time."

"We need to be there before three."

"Yeah, that's probably not a problem. Probably," he said, picking out a staircase from several at the end of their walkway. "Stay low, and quiet."

The stairs led to a catwalk which passed over machinery far below. Glancing over the side, Alternis could see people lining the sides of some of the gears. "Is that the manual labor they were talking about in town?"

"Yeah. I don't want no part of that, so I hide out around here. Apparently the wind vestal down south screwed up something major." Agnes winced. "Would be nice if she'd pull her head out of her ass and get this mess fixed." He coughed, covering his mouth with his arm so the noise didn't carry.

"Yeah, it'd be nice if everything went back to normal," Alternis agreed. "You okay?"

"It's just a little cough." They finished crossing the walkway, and went up the stairs to an outside path along the backside of the large clock in town. From their position, Alternis could see the airfields. "Not far now."

Once back inside, they crossed a few more hallways, staircases, and a couple of ducks through alleyways. "This door takes you to the first airfield," the boy said. "Now do me a favor and don't show up on my turf again."

"Will do," Alternis said

Agnes paused next to him, going back to the boy. "If you don't mind... could I see your throat?"

"Why? Ain't nothing special about it."

"I might be able to help." He looked at her, then pulled off the cloth covering his throat, looking embarrassed as Agnes touched her fingertips to either side of his neck. She closed her eyes, brow furrowed in concentration, and white light came to her fingertips. They stayed together for a while, neither moving, and then the light died down and she removed her hands. "Does that help?"

"Uh… I guess it's not as scratchy." He rubbed at his neck. "Feels pretty good, actually. You're a mage?"

"I have a small amount of skill in healing. Thank you for your assistance," she said with a bow, and then they left through the door, leaving the boy behind.

"The ship we're looking for is called the Heavyblow," Alternis said. "It shouldn't be that big."

Agnes pointed to a smaller ship, rather worn-looking but still serviceable. A thin man was perched on the outside, welding something in place. "Oh, you're our passengers for the three o'clock service, right?" the man said, pushing up his welding mask. "Zatz Mightee. I'm the mechanic on this ship."

"Nice to meet you," Alternis called up. "What are you working on?"

"We took some damage in a storm on our way in," he replied. "Don't worry, we'll be done by departure time. Heavyblow's never been late."

In front of them, a ramp lowered, and a man who was as large as Zatz was thin nodded to them. "Greetings, folks. I'm Datz Strongberry, the pilot. Come on up and I'll show you to your rooms."

"I don't suppose you could show me around the ship as well?" Alternis asked as he offered Agnes a hand up.

"Oh, you're an enthusiast? I suppose I can spare a little time," he said with a grin and a pat on the back. "So what brings you folks out to Eisenberg?"

"Touring," Edea told him. "We heard the Fire Temple was close to Hartschild, so we thought we would take a look while we're there. Have you seen it before?"

"Aye, I have. But you won't be able to get there right now."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"The Temple is currently surrounded by lava," Datz explained. "The volcano erupted, and now the entrances are all sealed. Of course, everyone wants to check and see if the Fire Crystal is okay, but no one can get around the lava."

"Oh, I see. Still, an erupting volcano must be something to see!"

"Datz!" Zatz's voice came from outside. "We have company. Some uniforms here to see you."

"What the hell do Ancheim forces want?" he muttered, and Alternis followed at a distance far enough to not be seen from below. "Gentlemen, how can I help you?"

"We're looking for a woman matching the description of the vestal of wind," a voice called. "We've received reports that she's traveling with companions. Yours is the only ship leaving soon, so we'd like to do an inspection of your passengers and cargo."

"Well, you're out of luck, then." Alternis turned in surprise at Datz's words. "Our passengers aren't here yet, and you can't inspect our cargo."

"Are you trying to hide something?"

"I'm trying to tactfully point out that we're an Eisenberg ship, sir, and thus under no authority to you. Soldiers aren't allowed to go poking through the bellies of international ships, unless you like causing international incidents. If you really want a crack at my cargo, you'd better get in touch with the port authorities. And you'd better hurry; this ship leaves soon."

Alternis heard the sound of quickly retreating feet. "Don't worry about them. Port Authority hates 'em too, so they'll delay them just long enough." Datz turned around. "So, which one of you is the vestal?"

"I am," Anges said from behind Alternis, stepping forward. "I am Agnes Oblige, vestal of wind."

Datz looked back at Alternis. "Is that why you folks were asking about the Fire Temple?"

"Yes, that's correct." No point in lying, so he could only hope the truth wasn't going to put them in danger. "We need to see the Fire Temple. There's something we have to do there."

He needn't have worried. "Son, you should've told me that sooner!" He gave Alternis a hearty slap on the back. "If you're going to give us a hand with the Fire Temple, I'll fly you to wherever you like. We can even leave early."

Alternis smiled, feeling himself relax ever so slightly. "No, please leave on time if we can. We're still waiting on one more."

"You think she'll come?" Einheria asked Alternis.

"I want to think so, yes."

But the minutes ticked by as Zatz finished his repairs and Datz began the engine's startup sequence, and the airfield remained empty. "It's time," he told Alternis.

"Please," he said, "just wait until the last possible second."

Just as the last ropes were released, a running figure entered the airfield, cloak streaming behind her. Alternis stuck a hand below the railing, and Konoe leapt, catching his in hers. Einheria and Edea leaned over to pull her on board. "You made it," Alternis said, catching her in his arms. "I knew you'd come."

She flung her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. "This is your friend?" Datz asked. "Are we good to go now? Oops, we're already leaving! Zatz, get off that ledge!"

The thin man jumped over the railing, landing squarely on the deck. "Ship's back at full power, Datz, and the weather looks good. If we're lucky, we'll even make it early."

"Excellent. You make our guests comfortable, and I'll go back to the wheel."

"Don't leave it in the first place, you dolt!"

Alternis laughed, giving Konoe's shoulder a brief squeeze. "Looks like we're really on our way."

"Next stop, Eisenberg!" Edea shouted. "To the Fire Temple!"