Tale 7: The Unsung
Eagrose was a rather celebrated establishment; for some time I was just another anonymous town in western Ivalice, home to the rabble of bloated nobility and disenfranchised commoners. It wasn't until the Durai Papers were published that everyone starting flocking to it as if to worship the birthplace of Ramza, though any indication of which was the true estate of his Ramza had been lost; unsung indeed.
In the following years it had turned into a bustling metropolis, though the following state of the country made its expansion impossible forever. Quite a few places in the city were uninhabited due to there not being enough people to actually live in the buildings. Eagrose seemed like a ghost town at times, but only because the ratio between building and people was severely peculiar.
Jocelyn noticed this when he and Vic went to an inn, the owner being more than happy to give them two rooms; two LARGE rooms. He was currently in this overly large suite, sharpening his sword. His door opening interrupted him, Vic walking in. He just went back to edging his blade.
"You seem to be tenser than when I last saw you." Vic crossed her arms.
"I don't know what it is about this place; something about it has me anxious."
"The Gallows, the Monastery, the Yuguewood, all places that men have left behind, treating them as ghost stories."
"There are no ghost stories Emer, just the Dark."
Jocelyn examined his sword and sheathed it. He walked past Vic over to his jacket and slipped into it. She observed him as he armed himself.
"Oaks…this is no longer about the mission, is it?"
"No, in fact I don't think it was ever meant to be."
Vic stepped in front of her partner as he went for the door. Their eyes met.
"Oaks, you can't do this, you said that you never let your personal life and your professional one meet."
He didn't answer, making Vic question whether he really heard her. He stepped around her and exited his room.
"I have to know if Catherine's blood was spilled by me." Jocelyn stopped at hearing Vic's voice say that. He backpedaled into the room, noticing that Vic was staring into blank space. She turned to see Jocelyn. "Ashley, right?"
"I don't know what he showed me, but if there's one thing I've learned it's that this world is covered in secrets."
"Then leave them be! Let them stay hidden!"
"Vic…" Jocelyn rested his hand on her shoulder "If you want to leave then go ahead, go hide somewhere quietly and peacefully, never speak of me or anyone else ever again."
"You know that would be impossible, not with everything I've seen these days."
Jocelyn strolled over to the side of his bed and picked up something wrapped in a large cloth. His tossed the thing unceremoniously to Vic who caught it awkwardly. Vic untied the black cord around the cloth and let it fall, revealing the white sword they had retrieved back at Ziekden. It was quite simple, akin to Jocelyn's plain, elegant broadsword. It had no marking or decorations, its handle white as snow along with its lacquered sheath. The blade was sharp, sharper than anyone could imagine.
"If we're to press on I can't be worrying about you every second of the day; I hope you have an idea of how to wield a sword."
"Some, I took fencing during my academy years."
"Well first of all you might want to start by holding the damn thing properly."
Jocelyn made her place bother her hands on the hilt, one near the guard the other at the pommel. He then adjusted the scabbard tucked in her belt so the edge side was facing up. Holding the thing was a bit awkward, but she did have to admit that the thing did have a certain appeal to it.
"To think I'd be using a museum piece as a weapon."
"More like you're the first person in decades who is using it for its proper purpose. Come on, let's go."
They left the inn, swords at their hips even if Vic wasn't quite used to it. If there was one problem with their current predicament it was that they didn't know exactly where in Eagrose to look. Jocelyn could at least get the idea of why Ashley lured him to the previous locations, but Eagrose didn't have a shred of the same suffocating feeling those places had. No, the Dark had no presence in the cities full of living people.
However…Jocelyn couldn't help but have something in the back of his head ever since he got here. It didn't know what it was, but it wasn't that thick, oppressing tension the Dark would give him. This was unusually airy and light, like a transparent mist during the early morning.
The two of them went through the streets together; they would have asked others for help but they didn't have a clue what they were looking for so there was no point. Hours passed as they looked amongst the streets, at the cathedrals, at the markets and nothing odd stood out.
They took a break on a bridge above the river, Jocelyn observing the slowly moving water while Vic munched at an apple she picked up at the market.
"You think Riot led us on a wild goose chase?"
"I don't see why he would do it now. I do wonder if he left out any clues on purpose."
"Trust me when I say this is one of the oldest places in Ivalice; there are castles here that have lasted longer than entire cities."
"Wait, oldest?" that word had made the gears in Jocelyn's head start to turn. He scratched his temples methodically.
"Oaks?"
"What are the oldest places here?"
"The western district, specifically the older manors. If memory serves me right a LOT of the oldest ones are unoccupied due to people not wanting them and the government not having the funds to destroy them."
Jocelyn crossed his arms and leaned against the railing of the bridge; Vic wondered what he was contemplating. It looked as though he had finally pieced together something that should have been blatant.
"Every place we met was old, ancient even." Jocelyn's eyes met Vic's "The Gallows, the Yuguewood, the Monastery, the fort, they were all around even before the Lion War. Ashley knew there was something special about those locations."
"Well, the Durai Papers mentioned them."
"And there's only one place in Eagrose like that."
It seemed that they had finally gotten what Ashley had been telling them without saying a single word. They took off into the western part of Eagrose, though they didn't notice that a silver-haired woman had been watching them the entire time.
The dusky-skinned woman looked as the two ran down the street as though their lives depended on it.
"Wot do yew think o' them?" asked a thickly accented voice next to her.
"The woman is far too green to worry about, but the Riskbreaker is another story."
"Aye, Ah cen see why Adrian an' David were shredded lahk paper."
"You're not getting anxious are you, Grieme?"
Arya glanced at the monster of a man next to her that had a wide-bladed claymore on his back. Grieme was huge, his entire body being made out of thick, cabled muscle that looked like it was going to rip the thick, furred coat he wore if he flexed even the slightest. Strangely he wore a pair of dark-lensed spectacles which concealed his eyes, adding to his intimidating appearance along with his thick, black beard and completely shaven head.
"Ah'm joost wonderin' where in the 'ell they're goin'." Grieme adjusted his spectacles "There's no' been hide nor 'air o' Riot since Banquo wen' runnin' wi' 'is tails between 'is legs."
"Yes, but currently those VKP agents are our only lead to finding him. I'm perplexed as to why Riot is constantly playing with the two of them."
"Sooch things airen't our concern, we joost hafta worry aboot findin' 'im."
"I suppose you're right, but we shouldn't be careless, especially around a Riskbreaker."
"Ach, nathin we can't deal wi'. Joost make shore no' to let 'im catch ya oof gard."
Jocelyn and Vic were soon out of the central city, going towards the older, more run-down part of the city. The place was full of old manors that had long been abandoned and as such gave off an air of the old decadence of Ivalice centuries before. The streets were so empty that you could probably hear the market on a day where there was a decent breeze to carry the sound.
"Oaks, honestly, the place can't be standing after all this time." Vic was perhaps trying to convince herself that they were on a wild goose chase.
"It shouldn't be standing, but the same could be said of the Gallows and the Monastery. Those were rotten and still they stood."
"Coincidence then."
"Emer." Jocelyn stopped in his tracks to look at her "Nothing, nothing, about this is coincidence anymore."
"People have looked for it ever since the Durai Papers and still they haven't found it."
Jocelyn didn't quite hear Vic's last words, looking straight ahead in a daze. At the far, far, far end of the narrow street they were in Jocelyn could clearly see a set of gates that were standing like rusted spears. Before he knew what happened his legs starting moving on their own with Vic trying desperately to keep up with his fast, long gait.
In no time at all Jocelyn was at the ancient gates and practically yanked them off their hinges. He burst into the old manor with such reckless abandon he nearly tripped over a hole in the floorboards. It was then that he realized how hard he had run to get in the place, beads of sweat running down his face and his breathing being fast and short. Vic stumbled in, looking about ready to vomit as she wasn't one to go chasing after someone like Jocelyn.
"So, no coincidences, eh?" Vic responded after taking a minute to catch her breath.
"Yes, none at all."
Even by the standards of a lot of the homes in Eagrose this place was absolutely ancient. It was decadent and grand, an old relic of the days when nobles tried to measure their worth in pretentiousness instead of merit. Like Jocelyn had thought, the old place was still standing despite all manner of logic that it shouldn't have been.
Vic wiped the sweat off her brow and stood by Jocelyn.
"Well, now what do we look-"
Vic didn't get to the end of her sentence, as Jocelyn raised his hand to silence her. His eyes were closed and he was listening intently for something. Vic didn't know what he was trying to hear, but to her ears the entire place was dead silent.
Her eyes were different story as she, unlike Jocelyn, could see a gray person sitting at the top of the stairs in the entrance hall. It was impossible to what his complexion was, but he was quite young, slim, and dressed in mail. His eyes met Vic's and then slowly moved towards her hip. She knew what he was looking at as she saw the exact same thing at his own waist.
"Oaks." Vic whispered and tapped him on the shoulder.
"What now, Emer?"
"There's a man sitting at the top of the steps; he is armed with the sword you gave me."
"I don't see anything, but I'll take your word for it. What else do you see?"
"He's standing and heading for the door in the back."
Vic led Jocelyn by the hand as they walked through the ancient manor. She didn't quite understand what she was seeing, but it was a clue. They continued through the huge place as they followed their spectral guide. Eventually they came do what was once an old dining hall. They finally stopped as the specter they had been following was now standing in front of a fireplace that had an enormous portrait hanging above it. By his side as well was a woman clad in armor with a long sword at her hip and her long hair braided.
"Well, what's going on n-"
For a second Vic thought Jocelyn could see the pair in front of her but instead his attention was at the portrait above the fireplace. He walked slowly to it, his eyes wide in shock. The painting was of a family, four men and a girl. Three of the men had stern, grim faces but the fourth one…the fourth one was the man they had been following.
Jocelyn turned to Vic, unaware that the man and woman were intently looking at him.
"Emer, is that man in here?"
Vic nodded.
"And…is there a woman with braided hair and a sword at his side?"
Vic was astounded, but nodded in response. Perhaps knowing the presence that was next to him Jocelyn glanced at the woman, even if he couldn't see her. Without saying another word he made for the doorway and continued down the hall. Vic followed, hearing him grumble something under his breath.
"Oaks, what is it? How did you know about that woman? Who was that man?"
"Quiet, dammit."
The two of them stopped at the entrance hall. Jocelyn, wound tight about something, leaned against the dust-covered railing and hung his head. Without turning around he answered Vic.
"That man was Richard Oaks, though far younger than the one I'm used to seeing."
"Sir Rich-" Vic stared at Jocelyn's back "Oaks, we're in the Beoulve manor, that man had to be Ramza."
"And yet it was my ancestor, so we have a little problem."
"And the woman; who was she?"
"Lady Agrippina of course; but Durai said there was a woman at Ramza's side who was with him longer than anyone: Agrias."
Vic had known the answer before Jocelyn had said it, but she had to hear it nonetheless. The two of them stood there in silence for a bit, trying to keep from talking as neither really knew how to address this. The silence dragged on until it became unbearable and Vic had to say something if just to have noise.
"Oaks, what now? Riot seems to have forgotten to leave a clue to continue his little hunt."
"Well then, Emer." Jocelyn turned around and crossed his arms "What can you tell me about Riot the Riskbreaker?"
"The only thing I can really say is that he went missing after investigating Lea Monde."
"Ah, that fairy tale. The place was said to be haunted with demons and the damned. We've been in quite a few places fitting that description, but Ramza's tale ended in a place that might as well have been Ivalice's own Lea Monde."
Vic wasn't sure if Jocelyn had gone mad or if he had hit the nail right on the head. Although being correct in this was still the same as being insane.
"Oaks, that place is under the waves, that is beyond absurd."
"Your point being?"
Vic sighed as she knew reason was no longer a part of their world. They walked outside only to find a silver-haired woman and a huge man waiting for them.
"Well, loo' wha' we 'ave 'ere."
"You took all the time sneaking around only to show yourselves openly?" it was hard to tell whether Vic or the other pair was more surprised.
"Well, I don't really understand why you're here and Riot isn't, but I would hope he left you two a clue." The woman readied her musket like some sort of spear.
"Unfortunately he became sloppy. Luckily it seems all those nights I spent reading to Catherine produced something unexpected."
"Oaks…"Vic had drawn her sword, though her hands were unsteady.
"Don't bother trying to fight people reeking of blood like these two; the last thing I need is to have to bury you here."
Vic backed away though she still had her sword drawn. Grieme wielded the huge claymore he had deftly, making Jocelyn's long sword look like a tooth pick. He kept the pair of them in his sights, though he wasn't sure who would make the first move. The woman wasn't even aiming her gun and the man's size and weapon wouldn't allow him to clear the distance in time before Jocelyn fired off one of those holy techniques he had woken to.
However, it seemed Arya had him completely fooled. Despite having her musket at her hip she fired the thing anyway and would have had its bullet hit Jocelyn in the eye if he hadn't jerked his head out of the way.
Taking this chance Grieme charged forward lik the bull he was and swung his sword down with all his might. His target, however, managed to pivot on his foot and feel the wind rush as the massive blade skimmed dangerously close to him. He was given no chance to respond despite Grieme's sword being embedded in the cobblestones.
Arya had started moving the second Grieme missed and drew the short sword at her belt. Her musket's bayonet missed its mark as well as her sword, Jocelyn spinning and parrying blows in quick succession. Even then he couldn't stop evading as Grieme made a huge swing that could have cleaved several trees. Like a harlequin Arya nimbly hopped over the swing and went back to fighting Jocelyn. Again she continued with her musket and sword, though Jocelyn frustratingly kept dodging.
Vic couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. It was like some sort of deadly acrobatic routine, though everyone had the intent to harm. It continued with no one getting a shot in and Jocelyn getting closer to fatigue with every swing and miss. Vic, no longer being able to restrain herself decided what she could do to give Jocelyn an opening: she threw her sword.
Arya went to deflect the thing but due to thinking it was a regular sword, her eyes widened like saucers when she saw her sword's blade fly off. Jocelyn, seeing her back turned, took his chance and followed up with a strike. Arya managed to get her musket in front of Jocelyn's blade, but its barrel and frame were shattered before his blade. Not letting himself lose any momentum, Jocelyn turned on his heel just as Grieme was following through with his own swing. The sound that followed was akin to an iron bar hitting a rock, cracking over the silence so loudly someone could have mistaken it for thunder.
Grieme gazed down Jocelyn's blade, astounded that his claymore had been smashed by this man's blade. Arya had already backed away, cursing at her shattered gun.
"Can you fly, Grieme?"
"Well enoof. This bahstarrd seems to have been boorn from the womb o' Lady Loock 'erself."
In a flash the two of them vanished, leaving Jocelyn and Vic in front of the manor. Jocelyn shook his head as Vic retrieved her sword from the ground.
"To Mullonde then?"
XXXXX
"Do you think 'e found it?"
"Well, he hasn't disappointed me thus far."
Ashley and Ezekiel were on a cliff overlooking the ocean, Ashley crouching at a stone circled and carving something into it with a dagger.
"Do you think this is wise?"
"Perhaps not, but it is necessary." Ashley tossed aside the dagger he had been using and placed his hand on the ground, mumbling something.
The ground glowed with an eldritch light, ancient glyphs showing brightly. He looked to Ezekiel and the girl.
"This should hold up for quite a while."
"The Blades will use it."
"Yes, yes, but again, necessary. Jocelyn must do this, just the same as you or me."
The three of them vanished into the portal, leaving no trace except for a dagger lying in the grass.
