A/N: So sorry for the long delay! I kinda lost my inspiration for awhile. But the presence of ToS: DotNW under my tree got me going again-I'm already planning the sequel!

On a side note, I hope you all had a great holiday!

As always, thanks for all the reviews and alerts and faves. You guys make this worthwhile! Now on with the story!

Chapter Eight

"So where do we go next?" Crystal asked.

The group was preparing to leave Palmacosta the following morning, Lloyd having gotten over his illness.

"Back to Hakonesia Peak." Raine answered.

"Back to? Were you there before?"

"Yes, we were heading there when we learned that Magnius was in Palmacosta. We had to retrieve a statue for a man who runs a shop there, in exchange for looking at a book in his possession. We didn't get a chance to return the statue to him before heading here."

By this time the group had reached the city gate.

"It feels a bit strange to be leaving this time, not knowing when I'll be back." Crystal said with a sigh. She paused for a moment to study the scene before her, the sleepy town slowly coming to life before her eyes.

She saw men heading toward the government building, men who held power in the city, that Neil had called together to discuss what they would do with Dorr gone. Before turning away, Crystal quietly wished them well.

She could see her family in her mind—her father preparing to head to the government building, her brother and sister preparing for another day of class at the academy. Crystal herself would be staying home to care for her mother.

"Crystal, are you alright?" Colette asked, and Crystal looked up with a nod.

"Yes, I'm fine. Let's go."

The group travelled for several hours before reaching a House of Salvation, where they took a brief break. After a short time they continued on, arriving at the Hakonesia Peak an hour and a half later.

Having never been there, Crystal was surprised at what she saw—it was a simple mountain crossing, with a guard post and a small shop. Inside the shop, they spoke to the shopkeeper, an older man named Koton.

"Alright, Koton, we brought the statue, per our agreement. Can we look at the book now?" Lloyd asked, and the man nodded.

"Yes, you may now look at the Book of Regeneration as long as you like." Koton answered, gesturing toward a book on a pedestal in the corner of the room. As the group approached it, Crystal looked at the cover.

It was a leather-bound book, with intricate detailing on the front. Some of the lettering was a bit worn, and the cover was frayed, but otherwise it was in good condition. When they opened the book, however, they saw that the inside was not the same.

The pages were torn and dirty, making it hard to read. Some passages were completely torn out, so the information held within would be half-intact, at best. Still, there was nothing anyone could do about that, so without hesitation Raine and Colette began scouring the pages.

"It's written in a very old style…" Raine said, with a sigh that was equal parts frustration and reverence. She turned the pages gently, afraid to do any further damage to them.

"There's quite a lot of text. Colette, please read aloud only the parts that concern the seals. The rest can be perused at a later time."

As Colette scanned the words before speaking, Crystal couldn't help but be reminded of being in a classroom, with Raine instructing Colette to read something to the class. She nearly laughed at the thought, but held back.

"Raging flames in an ancient city deep within clouds of sand overlook the city, lighting the darkness." Colette began.

"Raging flames… that sounds like the Seal of Fire." Lloyd commented.

"Yeah, and we've already done that, so we don't have to worry about going back." Lilly added, pulling a pencil and paper out of her bag and taking notes.

"Pure flowing water floating, overflowing in an isolated land, becomes a giant pillar and rains down from the sky. Is that the Thoda Geyser?" Colette said next, and Lloyd groaned.

"Don't tell me we have to go back to that geyser again!"

"This time I really will stay behind." Raine insisted, while Lilly paled at the thought of the geyser.

"What's wrong, guys? Did you go there before?" Crystal asked, confused at their reactions.

"That was where we found the statue." Genis said.

"Those washtubs were fun! If we have to go back, then we'll get to ride them again!" Colette put in.

"Washtubs? Okay, you have to tell me about the washtubs, but before that we should get back to the book. What else does it say, Colette?" Crystal said, and Colette studied the book once again.

"Sublime wind, ancient city, the world's… Enshrined in the center of a giant stone seal lurks evil, impersonating a holy force."

"The Seal of Wind must be… the Asgard Ruin. If we travel to Asgard, we should be able to find some clues." Raine put in.

"But what about 'impersonating a holy force'?" Genis questioned.

"I'm not sure. I guess we'll have to investigate when we get there."

"Shining…gazing up at the summit of the gods, giving praise to the pillar of the world…from the top of the tower of ancient gods." Colette read next, thinking over the words before speaking.

"I think that's probably the Tower of Mana. From there, you can see the mountains around the Tower of Salvation, so that's probably the summit of the gods. The rest of the book is too damaged though. I can't read it."

"Well, at least we know where most of the seals are now. Let's get out of here." Lloyd said as he turned to Koton again.

"Thanks, Gramps."

The others thanked him as well, then they left the shop. Approaching the guard post, Raine showed the soldiers the road pass they had and they were allowed through.

"So, which seal are we going to first?" Lilly asked as they walked.

"The nearest town is Asgard—that will be our first stop. We should reach it in a little over an hour." Raine supplied.

"What about Luin?" Crystal put in.

"What?"

"You said that we could head to Luin when we left Palmacosta. And besides, isn't the Tower of Mana near there anyway? We can release the seal while we're there."

"That's right! The Tower of Mana is always locked, and the priests in Luin hold the key." Lilly answered. Raine hesitated for a moment, regretting that she had agreed to go to Luin in the first place.

"Alright, we'll go to Luin. Is that okay with you, Colette?"

"Of course! Crystal's family is there, right? We should go find them!"

Everyone else agreed, so it was decided that they would continue on to Luin without stopping at Asgard first. The small town was not out of there way, but now Colette and Lloyd were pressing to pass it by.

So they continued on, but by that time it was already late afternoon, so they had to set up camp after only a couple hours of travel. The next morning they broke camp early and moved on.

They reached Luin late that afternoon, and Raine suggested that they head to the in to rest. Once they had checked into rooms for the night, Crystal headed out to walk around the town and perhaps ask its residents if they knew Isaac.

Lilly went with her, as did Kratos, but Raine refused to let Colette, Lloyd and Genis go without resting.

Crystal headed toward the city square while Kratos went to the residential district and Lilly went to the shopping district.

As she walked around Lilly marveled at the sight of the town. There was a settled peace to the town, one that Lilly had never seen anywhere else in her travels. It was a lovely town, one that people started families in.

"'Ello there, Miss. Don't believes I've seen you here 'efore." Turning at the source if the voice, Lilly saw an older man standing a few feet behind her. He wore a dirty, torn coat, and shoes with holes in the toes.

"No, I'm new to the area. It's a very nice town."

"Aye, that it is. Perhaps you'd like to come with me—I'll show you the best sights." The man said next. Lilly shook her head and took a step backward.

"N-no, I'm sorry, I have to go. Please excuse me."

"Aw, don't be like that Missy. I know where you might like to go. Have you seen the fountain? Very lovely, like yourself." And the man took a step closer.

"No, I haven't seen it, but I must go."

Walking away from the man, Lilly headed to the residential district, hoping to get away from the man. After a few minutes she was walking down a dark alley when she heard footsteps behind her. Without bothering to turn around she called out.

"I do not want to go to the fountain with you, or anywhere else for that matter. Please, I'm very busy. So if you don't mind I really need to be on my way, and you need to be on yours. So please leave me alone."

When no one responded and she heard no footsteps she turned to see who was behind her, and found that it was not who she thought.

"Oh, sorry Kratos. I thought you were someone else."

"I assumed as much. Was someone giving you trouble?"

"Not really, just some homeless guy with nothing better to do. So what's up? Have you found anything about Crystal's family?" Lilly said, but Kratos shook his head.

"No, not yet. It appears that no one knows Isaac."

"Or maybe they just don't want to talk to someone who comes in late in the evening and starts asking questions about the town's residents. Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow, and start over."

"Yes, perhaps so. Though I doubt we will convince Crystal of the wisdom of that plan."

Then the two started toward the square, where Crystal was last seen. When they arrived they saw her speaking with a small child. When she saw them approach she sent the child back to her mother who was nearby, and turned to them.

"Any luck? No, nevermind, I can see by your faces that you haven't found anything. I haven't gotten much either, and I'm starting to get really frustrated. Hardly anyone will speak with me. That child said that she knew someone named Ichabod Aurion though, so I guess that's our next lead."

"Did she tell you where to find this Ichabod?" Lilly asked.

"He said that he could be found in the café from time to time. I'm planning to go there in the morning. For now, I guess I'll go back to the inn."

Lilly and Kratos followed her, and they prepared to settle in for the night. The next morning Crystal left the inn early and headed for the café, arriving before they even opened.

It was a small shop, white with black shutters, sitting beside the weapons shop. Its owner, a man named Lucas, was younger than Crystal would have expected him to be. He was a tall man with short black hair and green eyes, and a teasing smile. After sitting on a bench outside the café for nearly an hour Lucas came and unlocked the door, and Crystal went inside and sat at the bar.

"Coffee will be ready in ten minutes if you'd like a cup, and I'll have the muffins in the oven shortly. I assume that's why you're here, right?" Lucas asked as he started the coffee and began gathering the ingredients for the muffins.

"Well, actually I wanted to ask you about one of your customers, but I may have a cup of coffee while I'm here. Do you know a man named Ichabod Aurion?"

"Old Ichabod? Sure, comes in everyday. Always orders the same thing—black coffee and a banana muffin. You look a lot like him, you know. You a relative of his?"

"I think so. It's kinda complicated. What can you tell me about him?"

Lucas didn't answer right away, thinking over what to say as he whipped up the batter for the muffins. After a few moments he grabbed a pan and poured the batter into it, then set it in the oven.

"He's a good man. Don't let anyone tell you different." He began, turning to check on the coffee. Seeing that it was nearly ready, he set a mug on the counter in front of Crystal, along with a bowl of sugar and a small pitcher of cream.

"Why would anyone tell me he wasn't a good man?"

"He… did some bad things when he was younger. But he's changed, I know he has! He isn't the same person anymore." Lucas insisted, then shook his head.

"Some of the townspeople don't like him. They talk behind his back. They think that he's the reason the Desians keep coming to Luin."

By this time the coffee was ready, and Lucas poured Crystal a cup.

"He used to work with them, you understand. But he left them years ago. Now he's trying to atone for his crimes, and that's all anyone could ask of him. But few people really know him like I do. No one wants to spend time with him long enough to get to know him." He continued.

"That's horrible! How could anyone treat another human like that? How can they just shun him? He's trying to make it right. What more do they want?" Crystal said, taking a small sip of the steaming coffee.

"They don't want him here at all. They would be happier if he just left. He won't though. He's too stubborn, I think, to let these lowlifes chase him out of town. I'm glad for it though. He's an interesting person, and he's got a lot of great stories to tell. I hope—"

Lucas stopped abruptly when the door to the café opened. Crystal turned to see who it was, and saw a man she almost mistook for Kratos.

"Ah, Ichabod, good to see you. I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Crystal."

Okay, I know its a little short this time. Sorries! Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. Love to all my readers!