Disclaimer: I do not- urghk!
William (stabs disclaimer through the throat with his sword): DIE!!
Captain: What in the world are you doing!?
William (pulls sword out and cleans blood with a handkerchief): Ain't it obvious? I'm killing him.
Captain: That is clear sir! But why exactly are you killing him?
William (shrugs): He was getting annoying. He was pretty much saying the same thing over and over again.
Captain (shakes his head and sighs in disbelief): Because that was his job! And it is also important for him to do that!
William: Well if its that important, then I'll do it!
Captain (narrows eyes): You killed him because you wanted to do that part of the notes too, didn't you?
William (grins like a maniac): Yes, yes I did.
Captain (rubs temples): Fine I guess, what's done is done. Get it over with.
William: Well, I'm here to say that the writer of this story does not, repeat does not own Tsubasa Chronicles. Unfortunately, he owns me and this guy.
Captain (claps hand together): Thank heavens for that. If not you'd be the one owning me.
William (raises an eyebrow): What's wrong with that?
Captain: Everything.
William (narrows eyes): We'll discus this later. On with the show!
Chapter 11: The Town of Tyrl.
Tyrl, former capital of the country of Mist. 200 years ago, the town was the pride of the country. From their keep built outside the city, the king and queen ruled over their lands. After the construction of the city of Cariole, however, it became something of a border town. The former palace and keep were no longer accessible since their drawbridges had fallen into disuse and disrepair. The town had not seen much happenings, until the cursed mist befell the country. Now it was a hub for refugees, who found safety behind its thick walls and its numerous guards. On its wide cobblestone streets, once filled with merchants and travelers, were now empty; covered in snow and mist. In the middle the main road, a group of four people traveled; on top of one person's head, something white sat. The person in front the group held a lantern which helped them see through the evening air, made darker by the thick mist.
The thing, which they refer to as Mokona, spoke.
"How much further Clive?"
Clive looked back, "The inn isn't much further, don't worry."
"Hurry up," Mokona complained, "Mokona is getting hungry!"
Kurogane rolled his eyes at the bun on top of his head, "Don't you ever think of anything but food?"
"But Mokona is hungry!" she protested.
Fai put his finger to his lips, "Shh," then he gestured to the gray houses, "Keep it down, do you want to wake them up?"
"No," Kurogane replied in a lower voice, "but maybe you should tell this thing to be quiet."
Fai giggled, "Well, you really can't blame Mokona for being hungry. I am too."
Mokona jumped in glee, "Yay! Fai agrees with me!"
Kurogane shook his head, "Why do you two always team up against me?"
Fai gave a mischievous look, "Well you know..."
Kurogane grunted and rolled his eyes. From ahead, Clive said, "Don't worry, I'm sure there's plenty of food at the inn."
Mokona and Fai cheered while Kurogane told them to be quiet. Meanwhile, Syaoran paid attention to the stone buildings around them. Not that he could see much; the mist in the town was so thick they couldn't see five feet, and that was with the lamp that Clive held. From what he could see though, the buildings were two floors high and had tiled roofs. They were made of gray and black stone with wooden doors, a window on the first floor and two windows on the second floor. There were street lamps every ten feet or so, but they were emitting a very faint light that did nothing more than illuminate the lamp's immediate vicinity. The only other ways the lamps helped were by illuminating some of the establishments on the streets, thus making them useful landmarks, and by having the street signs attached to them.
Syaoran kept an eye on the street signs. So far, all they have done was walk down the main avenue. They weren't allowed to ride the horses down the avenue at night so they walked.
After a while, he asked Clive, "The town seems eerily quiet."
Clive nodded, "You noticed. At night, nobody dares venture out."
"Why?"
Clive shrugged, "Guess what happened in the past still haunts them."
"People used to get attacked inside cities?" Fai asked.
"Yeah," Clive replied, "but attacks within fortified cities are almost nonexistent now."
Kurogane looked around, "Guess people thought it's better safe than sorry."
"Not a bad way to think in these dangerous times," Clive replied.
They walked onward, until they came to a large circular area where four roads intersected. There was a fountain in the middle, but the water wasn't running since it was the middle of winter. Near the fountain were a few lamps, one of them had four signs attached. As they drew closer, the signs became readable.
"Compass pointers?" Syaoran wondered.
Kurogane, Fai and Mokona all looked at the lamppost, there were indeed compass pointers on it. The one that read north was pointed in the direction they just came from.
"What the heck is this for?" Kurogane asked.
Clive chuckled, "Well obviously it's for telling people which way north is. You'd be surprised how many people need things like this nowadays."
"Why don't they just look at the sun?" Syaoran asked, "Before noon it's always to the east, afterward it's always to the west."
Clive laughed and then said solemnly, "Around here, you'd be considered an extremely lucky person if you could get even the slightest glimpse at the sun."
His words were followed with silence. They all looked strangely at him for that strange remark.
Clive, upon noticing their face, giggled, "Don't worry about that. Anyway we're here."
He pointed at a building across the street. The building was to their left and on the street corner. It was about the size of four houses, had a total of eight windows on the second floor, with the door opening to the main road. Above the door was a wooden sign that said, "Inn"
Mokona jumped in glee, "Finally, food!"
Kurogane groaned, "Always thinking about your stomach..."
Syaoran looked at the second floor, one of windows facing the main avenue had a light on.
"So Sakura is there?"
Clive nodded, "Yes, she's with Cecelia and Celly."
Syaoran smiled and then headed for the inn. Then Mokona pulled on Kurogane's hair.
"Hey! What the hell!"
"Move it Kuro-Puu!! Mokona is hungry!!"
Kurogane tried to grab her but to no avail. Finally, he managed to grab her.
"Damn it what the heck was that for!" Kurogane thundered.
"Mokona is hungry!" she complained, "Hurry up and head to the inn!"
"Grrr..." Kurogane mumbled as he too headed for the inn.
"He seems extremely worried about Sakura," Clive observed as he and Fai followed.
Fai smiled then replied, "Yeah, well Sakura is very important to Syaoran."
"Really?" Clive replied, "But if you don't mind me asking, why exactly are you traveling?"
"Well," Fai began, then he gave a familiar excuse, "we're traveling book writers."
"That sounds like a wonderful profession," Clive told him, "so you're all members of the same family?"
"No not really," Fai replied, "I'm the book writer, Syaoran is my assistant, Sakura is my sister, and Kurogane is..."
Fai couldn't help but laugh at the memory while Clive an eyebrow, "Something the matter?"
Fai shook his head, "No, it's nothing," then he regained composure, "like I was saying, Kurogane is our servant."
Clive was very much surprised, "Kurogane? A servant! Really?"
Fai suppressed a giggle, "Yes, hard to believe isn't it?"
"Well, of course," Clive said with a confused look, "I mean, if one were to judge by his looks, he would seem to be more of a warrior."
Fai smiled and nodded, "Well, he also works as a bodyguard of sorts."
"But do you need one?" Clive replied, "you seem to be capable of defending yourselves. I mean you're a wizard and Syaoran has proven to be an extremely amazing fighter."
"Well he has other uses," Fai replied.
"That's hard to imagine," Clive said as he opened the door and gazed inside.
The inn hadn't changed since his last visit. Large rectangular room with the counter on one end near the stairs. There were a dozen tables with five chairs each. Each table had a small lamp, but only the one table near the counter still had the lamp on. There were also lamps on the support columns and most were lit since the innkeeper was still awake. Kurogane and Mokona were seated on the table with the lit lamp. When Clive saw them, he reeled a little in surprise.
Fai noticed this and walked inside, he giggled. Mokona was already indulging herself with pretty much everything on the table. Kurogane was also seated at the table and trying to get his share of the food. Syaoran was nowhere in sight.
The innkeeper, a tall brown haired man with brown eyes and a long scar from his cheek to his neck, was watching the duo eat, then he noticed Clive.
"Are these the guests you told me about Clive?"
Clive walked in and scratched his head, "Yes they are, my apologies for troubling you Drame."
Drame shook his head, "No need to apologize Clive always a pleasure to help," then he smiled, "but maybe you should have told me that their pet would be able to eat us out of the house."
Clive sighed, "Sorry, I didn't know."
He walked past the counter and headed upstairs.
Meanwhile, Fai walked towards the table and sat down, "Hey leave some for me!"
"Good luck with that," Kurogane replied while keeping Mokona away from his food.
"Hey that's mine!!"
"But Mokona wants it!!"
Kurogane grabbed the bun and pulled it away from his food for the nth time. Fai, on the other hand, was quietly taking some food before either of them noticed.
Upstairs, Clive walked past two doors before coming to stop at the door with the number 5 nailed onto it. He knocked then entered.
The room was 10 feet by 15 feet. The door was pretty much dead center of the room. Each corner of the room had four beds, each of which had a bedside table with a small lamp. Right now, the one on the table to the left next to a window was lit.
Sakura was sleeping in the bed, while Syaoran sat in a chair next to her; Cecelia stood behind him with Celly in her arms. Clive walked over and stood next to Cecelia. He wrapped his arm around her waist.
"How are you both?" he asked his wife.
"I'm alright," she replied, "and so is Celly."
"That's good to hear," then he addressed Syaoran, "you should get a bite to eat before those two finish off everything."
Syaoran didn't turn around, "I'll be down in a minute..."
"Don't worry," Clive told him, "she'll be just fine in here."
"I've asked a local physician to come see her in the morning," Cecelia informed him.
Syaoran turned to face them, "Thank you both, but we can't pay you for all of this...at least not yet."
Clive smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry about. Like my father said 'a man's life can never be repaid by any amount of gold.'"
Syaoran smiled, "Thank you both. But I noticed, you two didn't rent a room here in the inn, where will you stay?"
"I have a house not too far away from here," Clive informed him, "that's where we'll stay. Unfortunately the house was only built for two people so you'll have to stay here."
"I see, it's alright..." then Syaoran turned back to Sakura, it still didn't look like he was going to leave.
Cecelia shook her head and sighed, "I know you're really worried, but you still have to take care of yourself you know."
"I know," Syaoran replied, "but I think I'll stay here for a while longer."
Cecelia sighed, "Okay, but I hope you know what you're doing."
Syaoran nodded, then Clive and Cecelia made for the door. Clive stopped at the doorway and asked,
"What do you plan on doing tomorrow?"
Syaoran turned to look at him, "We don't have much to do yet. But we might look for some work and find our way around town."
Clive smiled, "Tell you what, I'll come pick you up in the morning, then I'll show you around town. Is that okay?"
Syaoran thought for a moment, "Okay then. Around what time will you be coming?"
"Around seven maybe, it's settled then?"
Syaoran nodded, "Yes, I'll see you then."
Clive stood there for a moment, then sighed, "I'll go inform them...but please make sure you get something to eat."
Syaoran gave a curt nod, Clive just shook his head and left.
"Extremely devoted, that one," Cecelia said.
"Very," Clive replied, "well, let's be going then my dear."
They walked off arm in arm. Back in the room, Syaoran still sat with Sakura. Moments later, a voice spoke,
"They are right, you should get some rest."
Syaoran turned to his father and replied, "I know, but I can't help but worry..."
Syaoran-kun smiled, "I know the feeling. You can't help but try and get everything done. But don't push yourself too far."
Syaoran nodded, "I won't," then he lowered his head to the bed.
Syaoran-kun put a hand on his son's head, "Rest now. You're going to need some rest for tomorrow."
Syaoran gave a slight nod, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
Hours later, Syaoran awoke.
He lifted his head, it was still dark outside and the lamp on the bedside table was still on. He looked around, he and Sakura were still the only ones in the room. But two of the beds appeared to have been used. Sakura still hasn't woken and his father was nowhere in sight.
Syaoran got up and headed downstairs. There he saw Kurogane, Fai and Mokona seated around a table. The inn's other occupants were also having breakfast at their tables.
"Good morning Syaoran!!," Mokona greeted him as he sat down.
"Good morning everyone," Syaoran said. Then he picked up some eggs and bacon.
"Eat up kid," Kurogane told him as he grabbed some fruit.
"Yeah," Fai added, "you went straight to sleep last night and didn't have any dinner."
"Was Syaoran too tired?" Mokona asked as she ate another plate full of food.
Syaoran smiled rather meekly, "Just a little."
They ate in silence for a moment, then Syaoran asked them,
"Did Clive tell you about today?"
Kurogane swallowed some bacon before answering, "Yeah, he told us just as he was leaving."
"Speaking of which," Fai said, "did he mention what time he was coming?"
Syaoran though for a moment while he chewed. Then he answered, "He said he'd come around seven."
Mokona looked outside, "What's the time right now?"
"Around six thirty," Drame answered from behind the counter.
"Thanks," Syaoran replied, "so we still have time."
"But we might as well hurry," Kurogane said as he lifted his fork to eat another bacon.
Fai shrugged, "Well, let's get going."
45 minutes later, they were walking through the mist and snow covered streets. It was still quite dark and snow was lightly falling. Unlike last night, people were now walking on the street doing their business. Clive, now dressed in a light blue shirt and black leggings, led them towards the eastern parts of town. The group were now dressed in clothes that Clive had brought along him, so now they didn't look as conspicuous.
"So what's in the east?" Syaoran asked.
"The army's base camp," Clive replied, "the unit commander, Claire, said she wanted to ask you something."
"That 'something' being?" Kurogane asked.
"She wasn't specific," Clive replied with a shrug.
Syaoran looked around, it was so dark and misty they couldn't see past the roofs of the buildings. Indicating it was still early morning.
"Why did we have to leave so early?" Mokona asked.
"Well it's better to get things done early," Clive replied with a smile.
Kurogane raised an eyebrow, "Really?"
Clive shook his head, "No I was just kidding. Claire and her regiment leaves at around eight, she wanted to talk to you before then."
Kurogane nodded, then Syaoran asked.
"How big is this town?"
"I don't know the exact dimensions," Clive said, "let's just say it's large enough to not be considered a village, but small enough to not be considered a city."
"Mokona is confused."
Clive laughed, "I know, I am too."
Fai eyed the people appearing and disappearing into the mist, "How many people live here?"
"Let's see," Clive thought, "twenty thousand would be a good estimate, and around half of that number are refugees."
"That's a lot of refugees," Syaoran commented, "where do they stay?"
"Here and there," Clive replied, then upon seeing their faces, added, "don't worry, you won't find them on the streets. The city council takes good care of them."
"That's good to hear," Syaoran said.
Moments later, they arrived at an imposing iron gate that was being guarded by two sentries, the one on the left looked rather familiar.
"Yo guys! Didn't expect to see you here!!"
"Tch," Kurogane muttered, "Glive..."
"I thought he was a lancer?" Syaoran said, "Why isn't he riding out?"
Clive snickered, "I recon Claire's got something to do with that."
Fai approached Glive, "Hey there."
"Nice to see you too mister wizard," Glive said with a smile, "so what are you guys doing here?"
"We're off to see Claire," Syaoran said, "have you seen her?"
Glive shook his head, "Ya just missed her. She left early, you know those types. Just can't wait to get to the field, those hothead and reckless types..."
They looked at him in shook. The other sentry began backing away and said, "You know Glive, that mouth of yours is what got you here in the first place. Do you want to get stuck in the mess hall for the rest of the month again?"
Glive laughed, "Nothing that hasn't happened before. Besides, what's the worst she could do?"
A gloved and armored hand grabbed him by the collar and turned him around. Glive found himself staring into Claire's angry black eyes.
"How about I stick you in the mess hall for the rest of your career," she said in an eerily calm manner.
"Told you so..." the other sentry muttered.
"Aha ha..." Glive stuttered, "you-you're not serious are you?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Claire replied, "depends on how fast you can get out of my sight."
As soon as Glive was free of Claire's grasp, he vanished into the mist faster than the wind.
"Than man," Claire growled, "doesn't know when to shut his mouth..."
Upon seeing them, Claire flashed a smile, "Hello there."
Mokona stood and waved vigorously, "Hello Claire! How have you been?"
"I've been well," she motioned towards the direction Glive vanished to, "Sorry about that. Just needed to get him back to doing his job properly."
"Does he do that a lot?" Kurogane asked.
"Yeah," Claire replied, "kinda hoped all those days I stuck him in the mess hall would break the habit."
"Guess you were wrong," Fai said with a giggle.
Claire sighed, "I guess I was. Anyway it's nice to see you all."
"Same here," Clive replied, "so for what purpose did you call us here?"
"Well," Claire replied, "I thought I should thank you for yesterday."
"Is that it?" Kurogane asked.
"Of course not," Claire replied, the she looked into the compound, "I would ask you to in, but this is a restricted area. And I'm in a bit of a hurry."
"Understandable," Syaoran said, "what was it that you wanted to ask us?"
"Oh that," Claire said, "well it's pretty plain to me that you people are foreigners; probably travelers. You can't find much work here you know."
Kurogane could see where this was going, "Is that a fact? So you're suggesting we sign up?"
Claire giggled, "Not bad, but yes; that is what I am suggesting. What do you say? People with your abilities shouldn't have any trouble with simple patrol or escort duty. Don't worry, I'll have you assigned under my command."
Syaoran thought for a moment, "Well that's true but..."
"You see," Fai intervened, "we're traveling writers, we sort of need the time to look around the legends of this country."
"Traveling writers?" Claire echoed, "Hard to believe based on your performance yesterday, but still. Does that mean you decline my offer?"
Syaoran bowed a little, "Our apologies, but we cannot accept you offer."
"It's alright," Claire replied, "but should you reconsider you know where to find me."
"Of course," Syaoran replied.
Claire was about to say something more when a silver armored lancer approached her, "Ma'am we must be going."
"I'll be there in a moment John," Claire told the lancer. Then she turned to them, "Well told you I was in a hurry, see you soon."
"Bye Claire!" Mokona said.
Claire nodded, then turned and left.
Fai approached Kurogane and asked, "I wonder why you didn't accept the offer."
"We can't afford to split up we have more important things to do," Kurogane replied, "besides, I won't be able to understand them if I come since we need that thing to communicate."
He gestured to Mokona. Fai just shook his head and turned to Clive, "Wonder why she suddenly made that offer?"
"She must be as impressed by your abilities as I am," then he asked, "I've been wondering, why do are you excellent fighters?"
Fai's grin grew a little, "Well, we've had to defend ourselves from time to time."
"Judging from you skills," Clive said as he headed back down the road, "that must've happened a lot."
"Very," Fai replied, "so where do we go now?"
"I'll take you around the city," Clive replied, motioning to the faintly visible skyline.
"What about lunch?" Mokona asked.
Clive laughed, "Don't worry, I know a nice place."
"Yay!" Mokona shouted in glee.
Kurogane rolled his eyes, "Always thinking about..."
For the rest of the morning, Clive toured them around the city. First he showed them the central portion where the central library stood, then the northern part of the city where the government buildings were housed. To the south, was the main market and the old cathedral was located to the west. The citizens of Tyrl lived in the areas between and around the main landmarks. The sights might have been more enjoyable, had it not been for the fact that it was still extremely dark.
A few hours after leaving the army camp, the group entered a small deli near the city's library.
Mokona stood on Kurogane's head, sniffed the air and said in glee, "Mmm...that smells good!"
"I know," Clive said, "this is the best deli in town."
"Without a doubt," Fai said as he examined it, "it's almost full."
Syaoran walked in, Fai wasn't kidding. Almost every table had an occupant or occupants; Clive had vanished into the crowd a little while ago, presumably to look for a table.
"Wonder why it's so full," Kurogane said. Then he looked at the sky, "it's still dark. What are they doing? Having breakfast?"
"But," Mokona said, "we left the inn at around seven fifteen, it can't still be breakfast time."
"But it can't be noon either," Syaoran said looking outside, "like Kurogane said, it's still too dark."
Fai looked at the dark sky, "Something is really weird about this country..."
They stood in silence fir a moment, then they heard Clive calling, "Guys up here!"
They looked in the direction of the voice and saw Clive on the second floor balcony.
"There's still a free table up here!"
They walked upstairs to where Clive was and began placing orders. Kurogane noticed something and asked.
"Hey guys is it just me, or is the air clearer up here?"
Syaoran looked around; he was right. There was more visibility there, they could see more of the balcony and the cathedral's spire was a visible shadow in the distance.
"That's odd," Fai commented while looking around. Then he noticed, "Where's Mokona?"
They looked around, Mokona wasn't on the table or anywhere near it. The Clive said, "Oh! There's our waiter with the food."
"...Food..." Kurogane mumbled. He turned towards the waiter and...
"OY! What are you doing eating all the food!!"
"Mokona is not eating all the food! Mokona is only eating her food!"
"You know Kurogane," Clive said, "Mokona's right...our plates are right here."
Kurogane took one look at the table, then stood up and walked towards Mokona, "Yeah our food's there. But where's mine?!"
They looked back at the table, there were only four plates...
"I get it," Fai said, "the other waiter must have been bringing over their plates, the Mokona went right ahead and started eating the food the waiter was bringing."
Clive sighed while Mokona and Kurogane argued in the background. The poor waiter was caught in between.
"Do they always argue like this?" Clive asked.
"Almost always," Fai replied, "usually at meal time."
Clive sighed, "Hope they get along soon..."
"We all do," Syaoran commented.
Kurogane managed to get his plate away from Mokona and returned to the table, the waiter then put Mokona and her plate down too. A little over half an hour later, they finished eating.
"That was GOOD!" Mokona said in a sing song voice.
"I have to agree," Syaoran said.
Fai smiled and said to Clive, "It's nice of you to buy as a meal."
"Pleasure," Clive replied, "I'll help you around until you can provide for yourselves."
"We won't be here for too long," Syaoran informed him.
"It's okay," Clive said with a smile.
Syaoran smiled, then noticed Kurogane was still looking around, "Is something wrong?"
Kurogane lowered his glass of water, "It's been almost four hours since we left the inn. But it's still dark, and I'm pretty sure we slept right."
Syaoran looked up, "You're right. It's still dark as night."
Clive looked at them strangely, "So that's what's been bothering you?"
"Yes..."
Clive pulled out a pocket watch, "It's around eleven, give or take fifteen minutes."
Kurogane was clearly surprised, "It's already midday!"
"Pretty much...so?"
"B-but," Mokona began, "the sky is still extremely dark!"
"That's just how it is around here," Clive said looking at the sky, "Come on, I want you to see something."
Clive stood up and walked away, the rest, still perplexed, followed.
Fifteen minute later, they were on the third floor of the cathedral's southern spire.
Clive sat on a chair next to the window and looked outside. While the rest looked around.
"Well," Kurogane said, "it ain't as dark up here as it is down there."
Clive smiled rather meekly, "You have no idea...look there."
He pointed down to the street. They walked over and looked, their eyes widened with shock at what they saw.
From three floors above the ground, all they could see was a thick black cloud. The small dots of light arranged in a perfect line were the still lit lampposts.
The even smaller dots of moving light were people walking up and down the streets.
"Clive, what's going on here," Syaoran asked, still in shock.
Clive looked at the sky, "What you see before is the curse that engulfs this country. The thing that people though was nothing more than a legend, had come to haunt them."
They stood up and looked at Clive, who was still looking out the window.
"What exactly is going on?" Kurogane asked in a voice that demanded answers.
"You travel and write a book about legends," Clive said, "allow me to share to you the legend in this country that has come to fruition."
He turned to them and put his hands together.
"The Legend of Black Mist..."
William: Ooooh! Legends! Creeeeeepyyyyyy!
Captain (sighs): Everyone likes a good legend you know.
William: Not me.
Captain: Of course you wouldn't be interested. You know every legend in every world and the truth behind them.
William: Why do you think I'm the master of time, and why do you think I'm not interested?
Captain (sighs...again): Anyway, the writer hopes you enjoyed the chapter.
William: He also wants to tell you that he's going to be unable to update till after the nine days.
Captain: This is because he will be going to the city. Now, he uses his netpad to write these things and he needs a wireless internet connection for that.
William: He's going to have a hell of a time looking for it in the city. So there you go.
Captain: No updates till then that is all.
William: BYE!!!