Chapter ten… Follow the Leader
Mako ate slowly, hardly tasting the food as he struggled to absorb all that had happened since meeting Hawk.
They were supposed to find an ore in a spring and bring it back to the Master Smith. Okay.
Hawk would turn that ore into Magic Knight-worthy weapons for them. Fine.
Then they were supposed to summon forth some huge Rune God power that only one person had ever seen before in the history of Cephiro. Well, it wasn't impossible.
But this…
How on earth was he supposed to understand, much less accept, this?
Li was still standing on her chair. "Get it away!" she wailed for the seventh time. "Just grab it or something!"
Keilin had succumbed to hunger and was taking small sips of the broth Banter had offered her half an hour ago, although by now it was surely stone cold. She had long since given up trying to convince Li to sit back down. Instead of studying the ground again, however, she was watching the scene unfold with considerable interest.
Hawk had proven to have an appetite to rival Li's; he was on his third helping of everything and was much more concerned with his plate than anything else.
High Mage Banter simply sat there with his arms folded. His hands were covered under the sleeves of his robes, and it made him seem as though he had no arms at all.
Mako felt something pull at his pant leg.
Li pointed at him. "There! Mako! Grab it before it gets away! Throw it outside or something!"
"Oh, for heaven's sake," Keilin snapped, "give it here!" As Mako leaned to hand her the offending object, she snatched it out of his hands and thrust it up at Li. "Does it look like a monster?" she demanded.
The redhead recoiled. "Yeah, it does!"
"Pu," answered the monster, squirming in Keilin's hands.
"You're going to hurt it," Mako warned.
Hawk shook his head. "Nah," he said, his mouth full. "Mokona's a little ball of fluff, but he's pretty hardy. I drop-kicked him last week when he ran off with one of my tools, and he came out alright. 'Course, he was pretty dizzy, but that only lasted a few minutes—"
Mokona blew a quick, decisive raspberry at him, then settled down in Keilin's arms. "Puuuu."
Li stared at him uneasily, but after a glance at the High Mage settled reluctantly into her seat. All thoughts of eating, however, seemed to have been banished from the realms of her mind. She stared at it as though it would sprout fangs and rip her throat out the moment she turned her eyes elsewhere.
Mako doubted that anything like that was going to happen. He shoveled more food onto his plate.
Hawk had mentioned that he was giving them a very reliable guide (although he said very reliable in a way that made Mako nervous) to help them find their way around Cephiro. "After all," he'd added, turning sideways in his chair, "Banter's a busy guy too, he can't shepherd you three around the world. And I can't abandon my ship, not when we're about to add space for living quarters—man, this thing is gonna be amazing…" The High Mage, sensing danger of a three-hour description of an on-board hotel, had interrupted, and Hawk had reluctantly returned to the issue of the very reliable guide.
That was about when Mokona wiggled his way out of the baggy pant leg of the Smith's jumpsuit and bounced onto the table; Li had let out a shriek that nearly cracked glass and fell backward over her chair.
As the conversation dwindled, Mokona occupied himself by inspecting the Knights-to-be (with the exception of Li, who had brandished a fork like a sword at him), studying their faces, tugging on their Earth-style school uniforms, or, as he was doing at this very moment, playing in Keilin's sheet of honey-blonde hair.
Mako would never understand why the living marshmallow had taken to Keilin so much. Opposites attract, I guess, he thought.
The High Mage filled the silence as Hawk cleaned his third plate. "Mokona accompanied Ciela on her journey to become a Magic Knight after she had obtained the escudo. He will provide all you need, but he will not partake in any battles. Do not worry about him. He can take care of himself."
"Just don't pull on his ears," Hawk managed through a mouthful. "He doesn't like that."
Li flinched as Mokona bounced into her lap. "What is it?" she asked uncomfortably.
Hawk shrugged and swallowed. "I don't know. I don't think anyone else does either."
"It doesn't matter," Banter added. "Mokona is extremely helpful. He will help you in your search for the Spring, the ore, and the Rune Gods. You will be glad he is with you."
As if on cue, Mokona snatched the bow off Li's uniform; she grabbed for it and missed, and the creature bounced just out of reach, parading the purloined adornment on his head. "Pu-uu!"
"Give it back!" Li snapped, looking as though she were about to launch herself at the thief and take her bow back by force. "I said give it back, you little marshmallow-bunny hybrid freak!"
Mokona promptly delivered the stolen goods to Keilin and resumed playing in her hair as if nothing had happened.
The half-spent night continued to wane. Less than six hours to sunrise. Less than six hours to sleep.
Mako stared at the dark ceiling.
Hawk and Banter had gone, the former to a ship, the latter to a castle. The Knights were left with Mokona to show them the way to the Spring of Eterna. Come sunrise, they would begin their sojourn for the ore called escudo.
This was going to be impossible. A needle in a haystack. A spring in a world.
He tried not to think about it as he invited sleep to overcome him.
Curled up on the High Mage's pillow, Mokona gave a soft "puu" and twitched his feet. A dreamer.
Li fell asleep the moment she laid down. She was warm, full, exhausted, and excited about the prospect of an Escudo Quest that lay just beyond the morning: perfect conditions for going to sleep. She lay curled on her side, perfectly still.
Keilin, on the other hand, remained awake. She had never been able to just drop off into sleep. Under normal circumstances, insomnia would claim her for at least another hour.
But something was different tonight. She had felt it the moment she had gotten into bed.
For the first time in years, she felt as if she was safe and warm, sheltered, with a purpose that would rise with the sun.
She couldn't explain it. Maybe the darkness was receding. Maybe there was hope for her after all.
Then again, it could just be the food disagreeing with her digestive system.
Whatever this purposeful warmth was, she decided to enjoy it, whether it be shining hope or bacteria hard at work. She hoped it was the former.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Keilin joined Li in slumber.
When all in the room was still and peaceful, two storm-sky eyes on the window closed, and a shadowy outline vanished from the pane of glass, as if confident that all would remain well until morning.
"Pu pu! Puuuuu, puu pu puuu!" Mokona thrust Mako's boot at him for the third time, shouting—if one could call the outbursts of "pu" shouting—at him impatiently.
Mako shoved his footgear aside. "Not now," he snapped, also for the third time, and he returned his attention to his ivory-colored armor, lying in a heap that he could not make heads or tails of. "For crying out loud, how did I get out of this thing last night?" he asked of no one in particular, lifting the breastplate and the one shoulder pad and studying them in vain.
Mokona retrieved the boot with another "pu" of frustration, and Mako glared at him. "If you're so smart, then you tell me how I'm supposed to get this on again."
"Puuu," Mokona answered. "Pu, puu pu!"
"I don't know how," Mako shot back. "That's exactly the problem!"
"Puuuu."
Mako diligently ignored this. "I wonder if the girls had this much trouble," he muttered to himself, dropping the armor in defeat.
Mokona, dragging the boot behind him, scrambled up onto the bed.
"They probably didn't have any trouble at all. You weren't there with them," Mako told him, also answering his own question.
Indignantly, Mokona shoved his footwear at him again with a "puu" that sounded almost dangerous.
Mako gave the armor one final glance. "Might as well do the part I know." He slid his boot onto his foot, not paying any attention to Mokona, who was worming his way over to the impossible equipment.
"PUUU!"
A flash of ruby-red light made Mako's eyes sting; he blinked hard a few times before regaining focus. "What the heck was that?" he snapped, glaring at the creature bouncing contentedly on the mattress. "Mokona, you better not have touched my… hey, wait…"
He ran his hands over his armor, which was securely in place around his chest, back, and shoulder. Then he looked up again. "Um… thanks."
Li and Keilin were awake and ready to leave by the time Mako knocked on their door, and neither of them, as it turned out, had had any trouble with their armor.
He felt a twinge of jealousy at that.
Mokona sailed to Keilin the moment she had stepped across the threshold and landed in her arms like a giant marshmallow on springs. She caught him almost reluctantly; addressing Mako, she asked, "Why does he always come to me?"
"I don't know," Li answered, as if the question had been for her, "but it can stay with you." She was clutching the doorpost so hard her fingers were turning white.
Mako turned back to Keilin. "Have you considered the possibility that he likes you?"
"He's being too friendly," she shot back.
"He's supposed to be friendly," Mako answered her. "He's our guide."
"He's not being very much of a help," Keilin pointed out through gritted teeth as Mokona climbed to her shoulder and began batting at tassels of her hair.
Li, seizing the moment of distraction, edged along the wall to stand behind Mako.
Their journey was not off to a promising start.
Eventually, Mako managed to pry Mokona off of Keilin, and their guide, under protest, was restricted to walking only. This greatly satisfied both girls, as long as Li didn't have to walk directly behind Mokona, and so Mako took the lead with the long-eared marshmallow bouncing along directly in front of him.
The innkeeper, as a parting gift, gave them a day's worth of food wrapped in cloth packages and a solemn farewell at the door of the tavern. "You three watch out for yourselves. There's bound to be monsters out there that are stronger than that thing you fought out there last night. Don't get cocky, don't take unnecessary risks, and whatever you do, don't split up. If you kids are the only hope for finding whatever's buggin' Princess Ciela and gettin' rid of it, then by all means stay alive and do what you need to do." He looked at each of them in turn. "I'm only thinkin' of me family, here. Good luck to you." And he was gone, retreated to a further part of his inn.
Keilin stared after him. "He really believes we can do this."
Li nodded. "That's 'cause we're going to do this."
Mokona tugged on Mako's pant leg with a quiet "puu," then indicated the road leading out of the little town.
Mako nodded at him, then (without even stopping to wonder how) translated: "He says we need to go now."
Hawk had drawn for them a crude map of the surrounding area the previous night. This little town, known as Farway, was a small traveler's haven: a place to eat, rest, and continue on your journey. It was situated halfway between two other bigger towns, one to the east called Wincrest, and one to the west, Adred.
Banter had grunted when Hawk pointed out the latter. "Adred is a place you'd best avoid," he'd said darkly to Mako. "There are people there who would much rather steal whatever you're carrying or kidnap the girls than nod hello as you pass." Here he had glanced at Li for a moment before adding, "Although in some cases, this might be a good thing." Mako had forced a laugh.
Even now, though, he wasn't sure whether Banter had been kidding or not.
Hawk had brushed the High Mage's warning aside. "Adred's not all bad. They've got a good parts supplier. A coupla people from Autozam live there—my cousin, for one. He wants me to find a place there, but after I'm finished in Cephiro I'm moving home, maybe settle down, start a family, you know?"
"Still," Banter had cut in, "Adred has nothing you need. Besides, you're going north."
"Here," Hawk added, pointing to the map. "The Forest of Silence."
Li had folded her arms and interrupted here. "I thought you said you didn't know where we were supposed to go."
Hawk had shrugged at this. "I asked Mokona this morning. He says go north, and I say do whatever he says."
So here they were, doing what Mokona said, heading north across a wide plain speckled with a tree here and there. Farther up, Mako could see that the trees were becoming a little more dense. He wondered when they would be able to see the forest itself, and if there was a particular reason it was called the Forest of Silence. Maybe it's just extremely quiet in there, he thought as he walked, or maybe it was named after someone named Silence—
Without warning, the voice of a woman sounded from somewhere above him: "So it's true! Princess Ciela actually summoned the Magic Knights!"
As one, the group stopped and looked up. A silhouette of a person stood on a large branch twenty feet up the side of a towering oak. Mako tried to see her clearly, but to no avail; she stayed covered in shadow.
The woman spoke again. "From what I hear, this was a big sacrifice on her part. Too bad."
"Who are you?" Mako called up, not noticing Mokona as the guide backed away.
The woman did not hesitate. She leaped off her branch, performed a graceful flip in midair, and landed on her feet just in front of him.
The first thing Mako noticed clearly was that her hair was long and white—not with age, but as if it grew that way. The next, as she straightened herself, was that she was extremely pretty: deep blue eyes, smooth, tan skin, lips that curved up naturally. She stood tall, a full head over him, even though her short brown boots were not thick-soled. Her skirt was full-length on the sides and the back, but the hemline rose in an inverted V up past her knees. Her shirt, shorter and lower than anything Riuki was allowed to wear, exposed her navel and around three inches of skin beneath her neck, which was adorned with a thick, squareish golden necklace set with two shiny purple crystals. She held a carefully polished wooden staff with a small purple globe perched on top.
Li repeated Mako's question. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled, showing perfectly straight, white teeth. "My name is Cirrus."
"Oh," said Li, as if the name explained everything. "Well, I'm Li, this is Mako, and that's—"
Cirrus pointed her staff at Li's chest, and the redhead broke off in a scream of pain, one that she continued even while Cirrus spoke: "It really doesn't matter. I am here to kill you." She tilted the staff upwards.
As though being picked up by a giant invisible hand, Li was lifted off her feet, dangling a yard off the ground, both hands over her heart, crying out as if being struck over and over and over.