Alternis had been to Caldisla once, briefly, on his way to Yulyana for the first time, five years ago. Now, however, it was much more crowded than he remembered, so much that the innkeeper had to turn them away. "My apologies," he had told them. "We're seeing so many refugees from Eternia as of late, we're having to turn some of them away as well."
"Seems like things are worsening in Eternia," Edea said with a sigh.
"Of course they are. Kamiizumi's starting a civil war over there. So the sooner we get there, the better." Alternis unfurled the map that Zatz had lent him, the girls looking around his shoulders.
"Datz said the bridge here was out," Edea said, pointing. "Here's Lontano, but we can't park there because there's already an airship over there, and there's no other ports."
"It looks like the only other way is cutting through the mountain path to Norende, here," Agnes said. "Maybe there will be a place to spend the night."
"That's a good point. What do you think, Konoe?" She gave him a firm nod. "All right, let's go through Norende. Does anyone know anything about the town?"
"Not a thing," Edea said. "First time for everything?"
"This is my first time to Caldis," Agnes said. "It is very relaxing."
Konoe put a hand to her chin, as if trying to recall something. "Small," she recalled at last. "Farms?"
"Ah, so they're probably where Caldisla gets its food," Alternis realized. "Well, it should be a peaceful place. Hopefully friendly!"
It was early afternoon when they reached the Norende Ravine, a deep river chasm separating Norende from the rest of Caldis - and perhaps, the rest of the world. "Thoughtful of someone to put in a bridge," Edea quipped. "Shall we?"
Alternis peered down into the ravine. Down below, he could hear the sound of water - and of other things, too. "Yes, let's hurry to Norende. The canyon path seems pretty long."
He led the way, Agnes following, then Edea and Konoe bringing up the rear. The noises below intensified as they crossed. "I don't like that sound," Edea said.
"Neither do I," Alternis said. "Keep going."
"Run!" Konoe shouted abruptly, and Alternis took Agnes's hand, half-dragging her to the end of the bridge. Behind Konoe, human-like figures swarmed onto the bridge, bearing spears and bows.
"Hurry, Konoe!" Edea stretched out a hand for her as they ran, more creatures emerging from the ravine. "Why are there so many?"
"I heard this area had goblins," Alternis gasped, "but those aren't goblins!"
They broke through the tree line, entering the gentle slope of the valley of Norende. The monsters, whatever kind they were, seemed to lose interest, retreating. "What the hell was that," Edea got out. "I've never seen monsters work together like that."
"Neither have I. Where did they come from, and why did they stop when we entered Norende?" Alternis wondered.
"Not… important," Konoe said with a wave of her hand. "Here now."
"Agnes, are you all right?" Alternis asked.
She was shivering. "I don't know. Something feels very… wrong about this area. I don't think we should stay here after all."
"I see sheep," Edea said, pointing. "And a shepherd."
Alternis turned in the direction she was point. Sure enough, there was a young man sitting under a tree, sheep milling about him. "Hello!" Edea called, waving an arm. "Are you from Norende?"
He stood up at the call, giving them a cheery wave back. "Good afternoon!" he called, the sheep grumpily moving out of his way as he approached. "It's unusual to have visitors out this far. I'm Tiz Arrior, and this is Norende." He gestured over his shoulder, where some houses could be seen.
"Good afternoon," Edea greeted back. "I'm Edea Lee, and this is my brother, Alternis Dim Lee, the wind vestal Agnes Oblige, and Konoe Kikyo."
He shook each of their hands in turn, lingering a bit longer on Agnes's hand. "So what brings you out this way?"
"We were on our way to Lontano," Alternis explained, "but the bridge is out."
"Ah! That would do it. Well, Lontano's not very far, though you may not want to go with as late as it's getting. My house isn't fancy, but you're welcome to spend the night." He whistled for the sheep, who followed obediently, though keeping their distance from the strangers.
"We appreciate that," Agnes said to him. "Your hospitality is very kind. We were not even able to obtain a room in town."
He blushed, turning ahead. "Ah, because of all the refugees? The trader that came by the other day said something about that."
Konoe tugged on Alternis's sleeve, tossing her head toward one of the other houses. Now that he noticed it…. "Tiz, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, Mr. Lee."
"Alternis is fine. Tiz… Where are the other villagers?"
He didn't answer right away, continuing to lead the way into town. "Now that you mention it, I don't see any lights anywhere," Edea said.
"The other villagers… have all vanished," Tiz said. "My brother among them."
"Vanished?" Alternis frowned. "You mean they just left?"
"I don't know. One day they'd be here, the next they weren't. This has been going on for years, but it wasn't until a few months ago that the last one, my brother, vanished. So I've been out here by myself for a while."
Agnes took his hand. "That must be terribly hard on you. If we can help in any way…."
"If you know of a way to find missing people, but otherwise, I don't know what could have happened."
"One thing is for sure," Alternis said, "this isn't natural. All of their things are left out, even on tables, like they just walked away without even bothering to pack. Normal people who want to leave town at least take some things with them."
"Not to mention, if there is a common cause, where would they all be kept? Even a small village is still a village," Edea added.
"I don't feel well," Agnes muttered.
"Here, we're almost to my house. Come in and lay down, inside," Tiz urged her. "Let me just put the sheep in their pen."
Edea helped Agnes to the simple chair in the front room, letting her sit. It looked like the house had once held four, but Tiz had only mentioned a brother. Perhaps their parents were long dead, then. "Okay, sorry about that," Tiz said, entering with a bucket of water. "Let me put on a kettle. Our tea is pretty simple, but it's a local plant. I think you'll like it."
"Are you feeling better, Agnes?" Edea asked.
"A little. But there's something very… off about this place."
Tiz frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
"It is no insult to your village. Rather, I feel something evil has started to take root here." She sat up suddenly. "Why don't we ask the sage?"
"But he's in Yulyana," Alternis pointed out, "and we're not."
Agnes pulled a simple pendant necklace from around her neck, holding it out. "I use this to communicate with the sage. He gave it to me a long time ago. He said it was a bridge. Can I borrow that bucket of water, Tiz?"
"Sure," he said, setting it on the table. Agnes held the pendant over it, closing her eyes as it swayed around. Slowly, its movements became more concentrated, almost as if drawn by a magnet, and then pointed straight down.
"Sage?" Agnes spoke into the water. "Are you there?"
A pause, and then to his surprise, the sage's voice came out of the bucket. "Goodness, Agnes! It's good to hear from you, child. I was worried something had happened."
"Many things have happened, but that isn't why I'm calling," she said. "We're in Norende, and strange-"
"Norende?" he cut her off, voice sharp. "You're in Norende?"
"Should we not be?" Alternis asked.
"No, Alternis. You need to leave there as quickly as possible."
"Is there something dangerous here, Sage?" Agnes asked. "I have had an unsettling feeling since I arrived here."
"Yes, there is something very dangerous, related to the Grand Ritual. I don't know if it has to be completed, but there is a very high chance that an abyss will open up under Norende. Naturally, anyone who is there at the time will die. If you can convince the villagers to leave-"
"That's the thing, Sage," Edea said. "Most of them did already. They vanished into thin air."
"Vanished?" he echoed. "That's not supposed to happen."
"Of course it isn't, sage."
"No, that isn't what I meant… It's not one of the signs."
"Signs?"
He sighed. "I may as well explain. The reason the Grand Ritual is so dangerous is that it can doom a world even if it isn't completed. Obviously, completing it would multiply the danger exponentially, but even now, we aren't safe. Alternis, the plague that destroyed your village was also such a sign, though in that case it told us that someone would soon attempt the Grand Ritual."
"How could you know that?"
"I was told as much. By someone who came from the future." Another sigh. "I know it's difficult to understand right now, so I'll just say you need to leave Norende immediately and leave it at that."
"Understood," Agnes said. "We'll do as you say."
"Good girl."
Agnes put her necklace back around her neck, sitting back down. "Well, you heard him," Edea said. "Even though I'm not fond of the idea of travelling with those creatures out there, we'd better go."
"Tiz, please come with us," Agnes said. "We can escort you to Caldisla, or-"
"I'm not leaving here," he said. "They might come back."
"They shouldn't come back. If they come back looking for you, and the ground opens up, they'll die. Better that you wait for them in Caldisla."
"Talking about holes opening up… How do you know he really knows? Or that he's telling the truth?"
"He's not been wrong with me yet," Alternis said. "And he isn't lying."
"Please, Tiz," Agnes repeated, taking his hand. "Even just for a little while. I would worry if you were here by yourself and something were to happen. What if those monsters were to attack?"
"Monsters?"
"We were nearly caught by a bunch of goblin-like monsters," Alternis explained. "I hope that's not what happened to your villagers."
Tiz shook his head. "Then all the more reason for you not to travel at night. At least spend the night."
Agnes shook her own head, then shivered, falling against Edea. "Agnes!" she said in alarm. "What's the matter?"
"This place...it's too dark."
As she spoke, a shudder went through the earth. For a moment, Alternis feared that the earth really was going to drop out from underneath them. Tiz, however, had a different reaction, clutching at his head as if it were going to split apart. "Tiz?" Edea said, reaching out a hand to him.
Tiz let out a cry of pain as he grabbed her hand, and as she watched, his nails lengthened to claws, his skin starting to turn a hideous green. "Alternis!" she said in alarm.
He put a hand to the back of his mouth. "Those monsters in the ravine…."
"Tiz, no," Agnes groaned from Edea's arms. "I have to help him."
"Can we help him?"
"I don't know, but I want to try." She shook her head. "I'm tired of not being able to help anyone. If I could save him…."
Alternis looked over to Konoe, who nodded, then grabbed Tiz from behind, locking his arms as he flailed around, his cries turning to inhuman snarls. With Edea supporting her shoulders, Agnes stumbled to Tiz, placing one hand on his chest. "Tiz," she said, closing her eyes, "calm down. It's all right."
He let out another cry, wrenching one arm free, his claws swiping across her arm. She flinched, but didn't remove her hand, instead placing her other one next to it. A white glow spread across her skin - not just her hands, but this time coating her entire body, giving her a soft glow, like the moon. Under her hands, Tiz stopped his snarling and flailing, and slowly folded his claws over her hands. The green faded from his skin, and he relaxed in Konoe's arms, the transformation reversed. "Agnes!" Edea said, shaking her shoulder. "Good job!"
She opened her eyes at last, looking up at Edea. Giving her a little smile, she then collapsed in the other girl's arms. "Well, now he can't complain," Alternis said, pulling the unconscious Tiz onto his back with Konoe's help. "Let's make a run to Lontano. Edea, you take Agnes; Konoe, you guard us."
The sun had set by this time, with only a faint glow in the sky. Alternis put on his armor sans helmet, ready for trouble, and began a brisk pace. Edea kept step with him, and Konoe darted ahead, darted behind, wherever she thought there might be trouble.
If the monsters were out at night, they didn't see any, and at last they made it out of the valley, back onto the main road. "It shouldn't be far," Alternis muttered, shifting Tiz on his back.
Above their heads, something fluttered, and then landed in their path with a heavy 'thud'. The reptilian head, the wings…. "Dragon?" Alternis said, taking a step back.
"Kind of small for a dragon," Edea said. "And tubby."
"It's big enough!" The dragon opened its mouth to breathe fire at them.
Nearby, the door to a house swung out, and from inside: "Bahamut, what are you doing? Wait, Bahamut. Bahamut, no. Bahamut, friends." The door opened fully, and Mephilia stepped out into the twilight air, shivering in her nightclothes. "You could show up in the middle of the day, you know, big brother, Edea."
"Long story as to why we didn't." Alternis smiled. "Good to see you again, Mephilia."
"Likewise," she said with a yawn. "C'mon in, before the neighbors stare. Oh, wait, there aren't any neighbors. Ha!"
Alternis followed her inside. Artemia was curled up on a rug by the fireplace, blinking sleepily, but she sat upright when she spotted the group. "Big brother! Big sister! Agnes!" She jumped to the nearest person, Alternis, and snuggled against his side.
"Hi, Artemia," he said, patting her head as best he could without dropping Tiz. "Have you been good for your big sister?"
"Hunt lots. Got stronger. Even got a dragon!" Artemia spread her arms in demonstration.
Alternis glanced over their shoulder. Outside, he could still hear the dragon shuffling around. "Not like that one," Mephilia laughed. "Much bigger, and meaner. You would've been impressed. Here, put your sleepers over here by the fire."
Artemia pouted at giving up her spot on the rug, but let Alternis set Tiz down, Edea setting Agnes down beside him. Behind them, some thumping down stairs could be heard, and an older man emerged from above. "What's all this ra- ra- noise? Mephilia, I've t-told you, no boyf-friends."
"You think I'm dating my brother, old man? What a weird imagination you have."
"Can it, you saucy girl." He took a seat in a chair near the fire.
"Big brother, Edea, this is Ominas Crowe," Mephilia said. "He taught me a little bit when we were back in Eternia, before he moved out here."
"I re-retired," he grumbled. "S'posed to live my life in solitude. Now thi-is."
"We won't stay long," Alternis told him. "We're only here to pick up our sisters, and then we're heading back to Caldisla."
"Yes, but how are we going to get back?" Edea asked, pacing a few steps. "You'll forgive me if I don't want to go back through Norende."
"Norende, eh?" There was a glint in the man's eye, that of interest. He looked old, but he was definitely still sharp-small wonder Mephilia had chosen to come here. "Something's happened, I sup- suppo- I take it?"
"All of the villagers vanished," Alternis explained, gesturing to Tiz, "except this one. They all turned into monsters."
"How do you know that?"
"It almost happened to him, right in front of us."
"I see. Well, I'm not surprised," Ominas muttered, picking up a long twig of wood. Chewing on the end, he lit the other side with a flick of his finger.
"If you don't mind my asking, why not?" Alternis sat down on the edge of the rug, and Artemia curled up between him and Agnes.
"Since the Cr-crystals are all out of sorts and badly unbalanced, it's allowing the b-buildup of evil energies around the world. The Miasma Woods, for example," he said, the stick moving as he talked. "You think that p-poi-poisonous woods just occur normally?"
"So Norende is another such place?"
"Y- correct. To a naive people like Norende, I'm not surprised they were badly affe-ected."
"What do you mean," Tiz groaned as he sat up partway, "by naive? Where am I?"
"Calm yourself, b-boy, it's a compliment. And you're in my house, so I'll th-thank you to treat your elders with respect."
"...yes, sir."
"Do you remember what happened, Tiz?" Alternis asked him.
"Sort of. So that really happened," he said, a hand against his forehead, as if in pain. "I thought it was a bad dream."
"In some ways, it probably is."
"Mr. Crowe," Edea said, "do you know a good way to get back to Caldisla without going through Norende? The bridge is out."
"The nor- usual way people get to this area-not that there's many, m-mind you-is by the airship. But there's a lousy group of Eternians clogging the port right now." He snorted. "The sooner they leave me in peace, the b-better."
"You mean refugees?"
"No, daft girl, I mean clerics. Worse than refugees, if-f you ask me."
Alternis frowned. "Why are there cleric-soldiers in Caldis?"
Ominas let out a sigh. "They're after the fire dragon that lives in the north. Its blood is a po- it's toxic to people. Burns them alive. What with the war going on, the temple is probably looking for a secure way to k-k- take them out."
"That's sick," Edea said. "If she bombards people with it, it'll turn Eternia into a wasteland. Has she gone mad?"
"At this point, she may not even care."
"No," Konoe spoke up from her position against the wall. "Water."
Edea put hand to her mouth. "By the crystals. If she put that poison in the water supply…."
"Or worse," Konoe added. Pointing up, she said, "Snow."
"I think we may have to make a detour," Alternis said. "We have to protect that dragon."
"P-protect it?" Ominas snorted. "It's already dead, brat. They've been harvesting it for days. I imagine they're close to done."
"When does that airship leave?" Alternis asked Ominas.
"How should I know? Tomorrow, for all I know."
"Then we've got until dawn to make a plan."
The sun was just starting to peek over the mountains. The little port, currently full of Eternia cleric-soldiers, was just getting started on their morning routines. Those routines were interrupted by the appearance of a fire-breathing dragon, with a fire-breathing mage upon his back. "Revenge for our b-brethren!" he shouted, bringing flames down all around him.
"If I didn't know any better," Edea muttered, "I'd say he's enjoying this show."
"Of course he's enjoying it," Mephilia said with a wave. "The only thing he loves more than his pet dragon is setting things on fire."
Konoe was watching him with an expression of admiration. "Konoe?" Alternis questioned.
"He speaks… so well," she sighed.
Mephilia let out a giggle. "So what's the plan?" Tiz said from behind them.
Alternis gave him an aggrieved look. "You should be resting."
"You helped me. Now I'm going to help you." His expression was steadfast.
Alternis let out a sigh. "Then you stay close to Agnes and guard her with your life. You need a weapon?"
The other man held up his shepherd's staff. "I brought this."
"Oh, good. That'll work well," he sighed again.
With a rustle of the bushes, Artemia popped up next to Alternis, shaking her head free of leaves. "Entrance this way," she said. "No guards. Quiet!"
They followed in single file: Alternis, Mephilia, Agnes and Tiz, Edea and Konoe. Artemia had located a window that had been left open, or that she'd opened herself. "What do we do if there are soldiers already on it?" Mephilia asked.
"There might be, since Ominas is screaming about dragons. Try and throw them off the ship."
Waiting for Artemia's cue, Alternis followed her out into the hallway. Shouts could be heard down at the end, but no one was there to pay attention as they made their way up the stairs, heading toward the docking station for the Eternian airship. "Stop," Artemia said as they got to the door outside. "Guards."
"How many?" Alternis whispered.
"Lots. Artemia knows them."
Definitely Eternians, though Alternis wasn't sure who specifically she knew. Mephilia waved Alternis closer in. "I have an idea."
Alternis listened, then nodded, gesturing for Tiz to come close so he could give him instruction. Once they were in place, Tiz took a breath, and yelled, "Watch out! There's another dragon!"
Pointing at the door, Mephilia released Prometheus-a fully grown Promethian Fire. It tore through the door like butter, and on the outside, they could hear screams. "We gave them fair warning," Mephilia sighed. "Idiots."
"Speaking of idiots," Edea said, "what happened to that sailor boy?"
"Sulaiman? We broke up."
"Really?"
"No, but that's what you're going to tell Einheria. Good girl, Prome-pyon."
As soon as Prometheus had passed, Alternis charged out through the door, Edea following him. The soldiers appeared to have all wisely leapt from the walkway, laying on the grass below with minor burns and fear in their eyes. The only one that had remained was a single knight, singed but ready for battle. "Heinkel!" Edea said in surprise. "So you're the one she knew. What do you think you're doing?"
"I could ask you the same thing, daughter of Braev!" he said, sword at the ready. "You'd turn on your own country?"
"Do you even know what that stuff does? What Brigh is going to do to our country?"
"That's not my business," he said. "A soldier's job is to follow orders, Lee! I will not let you pass."
She drew Braev's sword, and charged him down, swinging high. He blocked, and Edea yelled, "Go!"
"I'll cover you, get going!" Alternis shouted to the rest of the group, which made for the open airship. Heinkel moved to stop them, but Edea got in his way with another swing, forcing him back.
"You too!" Edea said to Alternis. "I'll catch up!"
He paused for only a moment before running into the interior of the ship. He didn't need to worry about her swordsmanship-he knew it from his own experience. "Dumb question," Mephilia asked him. "Do you actually know how to pilot an airship?"
"Um…." He'd watched Datz do it, had questioned him endlessly about the operation, but he'd never put his hands on a wheel, let alone attempted the whole process from scratch. "We'll make do. Artemia, Konoe, you two go down to the engine room. Mephilia, you guard the door. Send us a signal if something happens. Tiz, Agnes, you're with me."
The pair followed him, Tiz clutching Agnes by the hand as they ran up the stairs to the upper deck. Flipping open the communication tubes, he started with, "Konoe, Artemia, can you hear me? Respond through the tubes!"
"Hear you!" Artemia's voice came back.
"Good. Do you see the coal furnace down there? Light it up. Then you'll need to man the bellows until the steam has properly pressurized the Sky Stone. You should see that above your heads. Let me know when that's done." He began flipping switches for the startup sequence, opening valves, toggling the air intakes. "Tiz, Agnes, carefully keep a watch down below. Keep your heads down."
They nodded, going to opposite ends. "I see Edea," Agnes told him. "They're still fighting."
"Let me know when she's won and on the ship," Alternis instructed, gripping the wheel with one hand. There were so many steps to starting an airship. Memory, don't fail me now.
Ahead of them, a pillar of flame rose well above the surrounding landscape. The old man really had to be going all out, Alternis thought, and it still surprised him that the old man had that level of ability at all. Guess that's why he's a master.
"She's on board!" Agnes shouted. "The knight fell off the walkway!"
Alternis grabbed for the ramp control, yanking it up. "Pressure!" Konoe's voice came from below. "Now what?"
"There should be a valve on either side of the sky stone chamber," he said. "The one between the furnace and the sky stone goes to the right, the other one goes to the left. Turn them both, and then help Mephilia if anyone else tries to come in. If I'm not forgetting anythi-Crap!" Turning around, he said, "Tiz, Agnes, you should see the cranks for the anchors along the edges of the deck. Turn them to the right until they stop! Edea, come up here and give them a hand."
"Big brother," Mephilia's voice. "I think they've caught on to what we're doing here. We have incoming on the ramp."
"I had a feeling. This isn't a quick process. Drive them back if you can."
"Got it. Help me open this window, Edea."
A few moments later, he saw water in his peripheral vision as Mephilia released Ziusudra, washing the soldiers back inside or against the walls. "C'mon, c'mon," he urged, watching the dials.
Another blast of water. Speaking of the elements, he hadn't seen any fire in a while. Hopefully Ominas had left, rather than having been injured. "We're clear!" Edea's voice called to him.
Alternis threw the lever next to the wheel, and the airship began to rise, creaking away from the walkway. "We're rising!" Agnes said, hugging Tiz.
"Don't celebrate yet," Alternis told her. "And hold onto something."
Something impacted against the underside of the ship, causing it to rock. Sure enough, they had brought their mages out now that they weren't fighting Ominas. "Mephilia, can you get up here and take care of these guys on the ground?"
No response, but she was up the stairs a few moments later, stumbling as the ship pitched again. "How annoying," she said. "Shall we give it a try, Susa-pyon?"
Behind her, materializing as if from rising from her shadow, a figure in armor gave her a nod, extending one arm. A massive sword, easily three times its height, formed in its hand. Bracing one foot against the railing, it pointed the weapon down, releasing scattershot bursts of energy from its tip. Mephilia leaned over the railing, watching in satisfaction and listening to the chaos below. "I think that'll do it. You're awesome, Susa-pyon." She held out her hand for a high five, and after a pause, the figure gently tapped her hand with its own.
"I'm glad you're back with us," Alternis told her.
"Why, thank you, big brother."
"What is that?" Tiz got out.
"Susano-o, the god of war and the most powerful summon in the world," Mephilia said with a smile. "And she's pretty adorable, too." Tiz stared at her, then shook his head. "The world's a big place, country boy."
"Hey!"
"Quiet, both of you; I'm trying to concentrate." Alternis steered the ship away from the camp, waiting until they were approaching untouched, uninhabited forest. "Mephilia, can Prometheus destroy that blood? Completely, without dropping any below?"
"She's Prome-pyon; of course she can. As you can see, she's gotten a lot stronger."
"All right. I'll keep us on course; the rest of you haul that stuff up and let Prometheus burn it. And be careful handling it."
With that order in place, Alternis let himself focus fully on piloting the airship, keeping it steady against the winds, doing what he had seen Datz do. He didn't have the attention for anything else at the moment.
The barrels were all taken care of by the time they reached Caldisla, removing one worry from their minds. A new one rapidly surfaced, though. "I'm really not confident in my ability to land this thing."
"So what are you going to do?" Edea asked.
"We'll try for a water landing. Either way, all of you get below and brace yourselves." Now it was just going to be him, and his nemesis the water, water that would be hard as rock if he landed too fast. He feathered the altitude controls as slowly as he could, waiting for the crunch, the impact, that would signal a failed landing, but there was nothing but a forceful splash, followed by hissing. Now that he looked at it, the surface of the sea was black, as if oil was on top of it. "You know," Mephilia said, leaning over the edge, "I get the impression that we shouldn't stay in the water long."
"I agree. Someone needs to go find Datz or Zatz and get further instructions."
Without waiting for an answer, Konoe leapt off the front of the ship onto the dock, speeding up the planks into town. "Ugh. Next time I do this, I'm getting a mentor on the ship with me."
"But you did really well," Edea said, ruffling his hair.
"So did you, though I didn't see it. Did Heinkel have anything to say?"
"No," she sighed. "His loyalty is to the state, no matter what. Though that doesn't really surprise me. At least I didn't have to kill him."
They stood there for a moment, listening to the hissing of the waves. "Oh, Tiz," Alternis called to him. "If you want to go to Caldisla, you'd better go ahead and go now. After this, we'll be heading to Eternia."
Tiz shook his head. "If I can't stay in Norende, I may as well come with you. May as well be able to do something for someone. I can't help my brother right now." His hands clenched into fists.
As a fellow big brother, Alternis could understand his feelings. "Eternia's a cold place," he warned Tiz with a grin. "You're not nearly well-dressed enough for it."
"...I can take the cold."
"Not like this, country boy. You ever even seen snow before?"
"On the mountains! Sometimes."
Alternis laughed. "Sure, why not? It'll be nice to have another guy along."
"What, us girls aren't good enough for you?" Edea said, poking him in the side.
"Nah, he just wants a crossdressing companion next time we go into Florem," Mephila said.
Tiz took a step back. "...Say what?"
Konoe returned a short while later, Zatz in tow. "Holy cannoli. I thought she was joking when she said you stole an airship."
"It's from Eternia, don't worry," Alternis called. "What should we do with it?"
"Get it out of the water, for one. The seas aren't safe right now, because of the Water Crystal. It'll rot the wood if you keep it there forever, rust the metal."
"Yeah, but… I haven't exactly done a land touchdown before." Or a water touchdown, until ten minutes ago.
"I-okay, I see your point. I'll call some guys I know and have them route it over to Eternia at some point. All of you, gather your things and leave it here for now. You've got a date with the Heavyblow, and remember, she's never late."
