Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Mana or anything Mana-related. Squaresoft does.
Author's Note: Sorry these chapters took so long to get out! I got a new computer and it took a while for me to settle things down. ^^; Oh, and to answer Predator's question, Morithane is indeed something I made up. J.
Chapter 12: Lamps of Love
Reia had never been to the Gato Grottoes before, but thankfully Syrian knew the way. The two fairies he had rescued from Escad managed to heal the wound on his shoulder, but the poison was still a problem. Fortunately, the morithane that Escad had given to Reia was real and Syrian had lasted long enough to reach Domina where he and Reia bought a new vial. The medicine was roughly 800 Lucre, which seemed very much like an outright rip-off seeing how small the bottles were. However, they didn't have much of a choice. Bud, after a bit of convincing, had been sent back home to defend the house with Lisa. Reia, on the other hand, continued to travel with Syrian to Gato. The blue-eyed swordsman protested this at first, saying how he was perfectly all right and would be able to reach the Grottoes himself, but Reia insisted that she should stay with him to make sure he got there safely.
The path was a dusty one that appeared to have been used very little over the past few months. A few recent tracks that had been made by other people marked the yellowish soil of the road, but not more than five or six. Lush green grass, leafy trees, and gorgeous flowers dotted the landscape on either side of the road, making the path they walked upon seem less foreboding. Reia glanced towards her traveling companion quietly. He had an almost unbreakable look of focus and calm on his face, despite the poison that still snaked through his veins. The young woman was not surprised when she discovered that he was a mercenary for hire. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Reia remembered how the two fairies called Syrian, "Mana Child", while they healed him. A vagrant thought came to the surface…something about Syrian being the Knight of Mana.
"Syrian, why do the fairies call you Mana Child?" Reia asked the question, half hoping it would help her figure out why the fairies called her Mana Child as well.
The mercenary continued to look straight out into the landscape, his crystalline blue eyes watching the surrounding area for any signs of danger as he picked out which road led towards Gato Grottoes.
"I really don't know why they call me that…" Came Syrian's somewhat distant reply. His voice came out smooth and even as he spoke. The sun was beginning to dip down towards the horizon and the clear blue sky took on its first fringes of pink and gold. Soon night would come and they would have to find a village to rest in before nightfall. Syrian quickened his pace a notch and Reia did the same to keep up with him. The young mercenary continued speaking as he walked onward. "I suppose… it has something to do with being part of the Tribe."
Reia blinked uncertainly. "The… Tribe?"
"The Tribe of Mana." Syrian said as he glanced towards the horizon. "A group of people, dedicated to sustaining the balance of the Mana Tree so that neither its light or dark side become too powerful… I am the last of that tribe."
The young knight looked at the position of the sun for a moment before turning his gaze towards Reia. He felt he needed to explain the Tribe of Mana better since most people hadn't even heard of it. The Tribe was all but forgotten for most people now… any memory of them had quickly been lost to the winds over the years. "The Tribe is organized into Knights and Guardians almost the same way the Jeweled People are. This is because when an Angel descended from the heavens to teach the Jumi the secret of healing tears, the Angel taught them to pair up together as Knight and Guardian much like the Mana Tribe. The reasons why the Jumi pair up and the reasons why the people of the Tribe pair up are completely different though. Another difference is that, for the Jumi, Knights and Guardians can be either male or female. For the People of Mana…"
"…The men are Knights who wield the Sword and the women are Guardians who defend the Tree…" Reia finished Syrian's sentence in a soft and quiet voice. A faraway look was in her shimmering emerald eyes and an almost ethereal glow seemed to surround her lithe form. Didn't her dream tell her to seek out the Knight and find the Sword…? A dream had told her all about the Mana Tribe. She didn't think such a group of people existed but apparently it did… and Syrian was one of the last of its people. If what she had learned in her dream was true then, were all her other dreams speaking the truth as well?
Syrian halted in his tracks at what he heard Reia say and he turned to look at her with a surprised expression he couldn't hide. Peering up at him with rounded eyes of green, it was obvious that Reia was afraid, afraid of what she had just said, afraid of what it meant, afraid that her dreams were more than just dreams… but warnings of her future reality…
Gazing at her with astonishment, the whirl of thoughts that Syrian had over the past few days came flying back to him.
-Is she… a Guardian? No, there couldn't possibly be a Mana Guardian left in Fa'Diel-
Much like Reia hadn't taken her dreams seriously in the beginning, Syrian hadn't taken most of his dreams seriously either. Although they happened often, he was always told that he was the last living member of the People of Mana. He was always told that he was only living legacy of a tribe long forgotten. It was a burden to him throughout his life because there were few who could really understand what it felt like being the last of your people. Of course there were the Jumi, who understood him more than any other race possibly could. But he hardly ever met people of that race and he yearned to meet someone else just like him. He yearned to meet another Mana Child…
"Reia?"
Before the young Knight could say another word, a dull pain slipped through his body growing more and more painful as the seconds ticked by. The morithane was wearing off and Syrian winced as the poison jolted through his blood like black lightning. It would be only one more hour before the morithane wore off completely, leaving Syrian completely vulnerable to the poison.
Trying hard to stop herself from panicking, Reia hastily reached out and steadied the weakening young swordsman. A village… she had to find a village! The Guardian's light jade eyes looked hopefully down the dirt road and her heart leapt when she saw the dim lights of a nearby town. The young woman glanced at her traveling companion, trying to decide whether he could make it there on his own two feet or not.
"Syrian, can you still walk? Do you need my help?"
"Don't worry, I can make it." The swordsman spoke gruffly, his pride forcing him to try and continue unaided. The mercenary started to move forward slowly, straining against the evil venom that coursed though his blood. He tried to hide the fact that he was struggling, but Reia was quick. She caught the pained look on his face and walked close to him, steadying him every now and then when he nearly slipped.
The sky seemed to grow dark more quickly as they stepped towards the strange new town, and when the two travelers finally got there, Reia knew the reason why. At the entrance of the city there was an aged wooden sign with the words "Lumina" carved on it. Reia recalled a time where she sat in her home library and read about the place. Lumina, the land cloaked in eternal night… the city of stars and darkness. The sun never touched this land and the full moon was always high amongst the stars, illuminating the strange town that had never seen a single beam of sunlight.
It was a rather large city, possibly even larger than Domina with all its winding alleys and strange dark tunnels. Bells could be heard tolling in the distance from clock towers that were shrouded in shadow and dogs could be heard barking to each other every few moments. Lamps were a necessity here and each house emitted a soft, spectral glow from through their windows. There were outdoor lamps on almost every corner of the town and they served as the only other light besides the moon. The streets weren't dirt and dust like they were in most towns. In this City of Night, all the roads were paved with cool, grey cobblestones with cement to hold them in place. The houses were also different from most buildings in other towns. They were composed of the same grey stone that was used to pave the streets except they were more rectangularly shaped like bricks. Sometimes the difference between the stones on the street and the stones that built the houses weren't so obvious and the road seemed to slope right into the buildings as if everything from the streets to the homes were just one huge creation that a master architect had built.
To the left of the entrance was what appeared to be an outdoor tavern. A sign with the carved words "Mischievous Spirit" was nailed against the front of a building that appeared to be the tavern-owner's home. Several wooden tables and chairs of fine craftsmanship were set out in front of the house, each with wax candles for dim lighting. Gray stone steps were set into the right side of the building and lead straight to the upper level of the outdoor tavern, which was simply the roof of the stone house. The top of house was flat and looked more like just another street. There was even another person's small home on top of there complete with a tiny wooden door and a miniature lamp in the window. The bar was on that upper level as well, and the owner of the tavern could be seen serving his patrons the finest drink he had. Strangely enough, almost of his patrons were dudbears, small puppy-like creatures with bear-like ears instead of long floppy ones. They all had beady brown eyes and were covered with reddish-brown fur. Their snouts were more tannish in color and Reia thought of them as rather adorable looking despite their strange antics. Most of them wore green or brown caps with slits in the cloth for their ears and simple green tunics. Some had purple scarves or little shiny trinkets on their clothes and all of them had huge brown-booted feet. It seemed that many dudbears lived in this town as well as people and the two races could be seen drinking, talking, and walking together. They all spoke in the dudbear language and the dudbears far outnumbered the humans. Next door to the outdoor tavern was a weapon shop called "El Hazardous", but neither Reia nor Syrian paid it any mind. The Mana Knight settled wearily into one of the tavern's wooden chairs and closed his eyes, the poison sapping constantly at his strength. Reia glanced around quietly, unsure whether or not this tavern was a safe place for Syrian to rest. The Mana Knight nodded at his friend reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Reia. Dudbears are generally friendly and I doubt that anyone else would want to cause any trouble. Nothing will happen to me here… Find the item shop and buy two bottles of morithane. Then we can see if there's an inn around here that we can rest in until day breaks." Handing Reia his money pouch, the Knight shifted his position in the chair until he gave off no visible indication that he was truly tired. He then placed his sheathed, two-handed sword on the table leaving one hand resting on the hilt. Even if the people were really venomous thieves, Syrian easily looked like the type no one wanted to get into any sort of trouble with. Who was foolish enough to bother or steal from a swordsman who didn't drink a sip of alcohol and sat alert with his sword readily at hand?
Reia took the money and nodded. "Alright, I'll try to get back to you as quickly as possible."
Hastening to the upper level of the strange outdoor tavern, Reia went straight to the tavern owner who simply referred to himself as "The Manager". The Manager was a kind and benevolent fellow who appeared to take joy in communicating with all types of people. He looked a bit strange however, looking more like a big cardboard puzzle piece than a man. He had on a neat green shirt and wore clean white gloves. His skin was a brownish tan in color and a neatly trimmed green mustache was on his face. His eyebrows were also green in color, matching his jade colored top perfectly in a slightly eerie way. Despite all the strangeness however, he was jolly individual at heart and was happy to give Reia directions to the item shop.
"It's in the Bright Moon Alley, which is down a street directly opposite the entrance of Lumina." The Manager said as he pointed towards the direction of the alley from where he stood. "There's a gem shop there called Heartbreaker Jessica's that also doubles as an item shop. Whatever you're looking for should be in there."
Reia shook the man's hand gratefully. "Thank you sir. I hope you have a wonderful night!"
The Manager laughed full-heartedly. "Why thank you! It's always night around here so I suppose it counts twice as much! Good luck finding whatever you're looking for!"
Following the bar manager's directions, Reia quickly passed into the Bright Moon Alley and walked straight to Heartbreaker Jessica's.
The shop was a modest one. Holding only the bare necessities and a few dozen glimmering gems and mana stones. A golden sprite statue stood towards the back of the shop, neatly polished and gleaming. Reia fruitlessly searched through the shelves of the shop and found absolutely nothing. Finally she headed towards the counter where a young, black-haired lady sat, filing her nails idly. She looked up, taking notice of Reia and quickly got to her feet.
"Ah, may I help you, miss?" The black-haired women ducked her head sheepishly, feeling slightly embarrassed that Reia had caught her filing her nails in the middle of work.
Reia didn't seem to notice or care at all. The Guardian gave the shop one last quick glance before asking, "Do you carry morithane? I need two vials of it."
"Morithane…?" The cashier woman frowned, repeating the word a few more times before checking the list of all her goods. After a moment or two, the young woman looked up at Reia regretfully and shook her head. "I'm sorry, miss, but we don't carry that around here. I do have pain relievers though."
Reia's face grew deathly pale. No morithane…? The Mana Guardian shook her head hastily. "No, no. I need something that can slow the effects of poison. Are you sure you don't have any?"
The black-haired woman bit her bottom lip unhappily. "I'm sorry. I don't have anything that can slow poison. I don't even carry herbs or antidotes."
Struggling to remain calm, the young Mana Child nodded her head slowly. "Alright, thank you anyway."
Leaving the store, Reia was filled with feelings of dread and dismay. If she didn't find morithane soon, Syrian would die. Heading down a street that branched off from the Bright Moon Alley, she was determined not to give up. Syrian couldn't die. Reia would not allow it.
The street turned out to be a place called Morning Moon Alley, and the thing the Guardian of Mana noticed at once was that the street split off into stairs and ramps that lead to other winding streets or simply ended off at one point or another. The way the streets and roads were structured didn't make much sense sometimes, but luckily the entire area was lined with shops and Reia visited every single place on the street, asking them if they carried the medicine called Morithane. None carried the medicine and as Reia headed morosely down the Morning Moon Alley, there was only one unvisited shop left.
"Oh, Monique! Your eyes sparkle like the stars above! You slide away from my arms like mist on a spring morning!"
Before she even reached the last store, Reia noticed a musical stranger holding a small guitar in his hands. He stood at the end one of the strange cut-off streets, which ended in an almost cliff-like drop and jutted upwards to give a good view of the city. That cliff-like part of the street was right next to the unvisited store and the stranger appeared to be singing songs of praise to a woman he adored like some Poet of Love. Blonde, shoulder-length hair was on his head and his clear greenish blue eyes were looking towards the stars. He wore a strange, pointy green hat with a single white feather protruding out from it. The stranger also wore a green, unbuttoned trench coat, leaving his chest exposed. However, this was no ordinary man. The musical stranger was a centaur. From the waist up, he was a human, and to the lower waist down he was a horse. The back of the green trench coat spilled over his horse-back like a big, decorative green saddle. His human skin was of a fair, healthy completion, and the horse part of him was covered with soft, smooth brown fur. His singing voice wasn't that bad… but his lyrics were slightly on the annoying side.
"Oh, Monique! Your beauty could make the Mana Goddess envy! You fly amongst the stars, singing your perfect glory! Oooooh Babyyyy! Siiiinging your perfect glooooory!"
Reia cringed and immediately entered the last shop which had a sign labeled "Limelight." The second the Mana Guardian entered the store, she almost burst into tears.
The store was a lamp shop. The strange little building had an unusual floor made of wood and stone, the walls arched and curved in an odd way to give the entire shop a rounded, oval-like shape. It would have been a strange and eerie place to be if it weren't for the lamps the decorated every corner of the room. Spectacular glimmering lights were everywhere, emitting an almost magical, celestial glow that was matched only by the twinkling stars. The lamps were all decorated in intricate, elegant ways with crystal dewdrops and shimmering sparkles that seemed to magnify the spectral glow of the lamps. All of them were unique and designed in ways that Reia could never have thought to be possible. There was even a large orange lamp that looked exactly like the one of the pumpkins Bud used to try to take over Domina. The Mana Guardian would have been utterly fascinated by all the mystic lamps if it weren't for the fact that she was desperately seeking morithane and there couldn't possibly be any morithane in this place. Not in a lamp shop.
Reia was about to leave when a melodious, wonderful voice called out to her in a friendly and hopeful way.
"Hello, I'm Monique the lamp maker. Would you like to buy one of my lamps?"
Turning her head towards the owner of the musical voice, Reia finally noticed a young and beautiful woman sitting by a cashier with a kind and gentle smile on her porcelain face. The young lady had reddish brown hair with silvery green eyes that seemed to glisten like the moonlight on the sea. Her face was set with delicate, attractive features and she wore a cottony pink, body-hugging shirt that was cut just above the chest and right beneath the collarbone so that her the milky white flesh of her shoulders was exposed. A pink hat, that perfectly matched the color of her shirt, sat on her head with decorative white flowers bordering its edge so that it looked like an ornamental halo of flora. Six huge and exquisite feathers extended out from her back, three on each side, greatly resembling the dazzling feathers of some fantastic peacock. Iridescent patterns of green and black decorated the feathers until the very tips, which looked more like enchanted purple lilies that had somehow attached themselves to the ends of those feathers.
Reia shook her head morosely at the pretty young lamp maker. "I'm sorry Monique. I need this money to buy special medicine for a friend…"
The lamp maker sighed in a dispirited way. Her hope of selling at least one of her lamps was dashed to the ground in one small instant. She nodded towards Reia understandingly before speaking again with her melodic voice. "It's alright, Miss. I understand. If you have any friends that might be interested in a lamp, please tell them to come here. My lamps aren't selling too well… and I only need to sell six more."
The young woman paused for a moment before thinking aloud to herself about her situation. "I really can't wait for my usual customers because they live too far… Maybe I should close this shop and go to another town?"
Suddenly there was a mad rushing of footsteps and the lyrically challenged centaur that had been singing about Monique just outside the shop quickly burst in through the door. A look of unhappy surprise was locked on his face and he shot out a hand in an almost overly dramatic way towards the pink-wearing lamp maker. "Oh no, my love!"
He hastened towards Monique's side and looked imploringly into her eyes like a desperate Romeo looking into the eyes of Juliet as he pleaded with her. "Don't say such a crazy thing! Are you saying that you're leaving your poet of love, Gilbert? I can't live without you by my side! I'll die if we can't look up at the starry sky together!"
Monique shook her head slowly, still a bit stunned by how quickly Gilbert the centaur had dashed into her store. Then she spoke up in a saddened voice. "But I will starve to death if I don't sell my lamps."
Gilbert frowned in thought for a minute or two and then lit up as an idea formed in his mind. He looked towards his "love" resolutely and grinned with a strong determination to win her affection. "Okay, listen to my idea, my love! I'll sell all six lamps for you!"
"Well!" Monique said with a touch of surprise. "That is very nice of you!"
She carefully handed over her six lamps to Gilbert and the love-struck centaur just blazed her with a brilliant smile. "Wait for me right here, my darling! Here begins our beautiful love story!"
With that, Gilbert briskly turned and dashed out the door as quickly as he came. Silence had settled in the room for a moment before Monique smiled and shook her head. "Gilbert is such a nice person… He's just a little weird though." The lamp maker turned towards Reia and smiled, in much better spirits than she was before. "I wish you good luck with finding the medicine, Miss. Have a nice day."
Reia forced a smile on her face and nodded, silently turning to walk out of the shop. As soon as she stepped out the door, a feeling of pure hopelessness overtook her and she slowly started walking back down the Bright Moon Alley to get back to Syrian.
"Oh! You! The traveler there! Take these!" A loud voice burst through to Reia and the Guardian of Mana looked up to see Gilbert, thrusting three of Monique's lamps into her arms. Reia was about to drop the lamps to the ground when she thought about how hard Monique must have worked on them. Instead, she gave Gilbert a questioning look and asked, "What are you doing? I can't take these lamps for you. You're supposed to sell them!"
Gilbert paused for a moment and then looked at Reia pleadingly, almost begging her as he spoke. "You can't leave poor Monique in distress like that, can you? Help me sell these six lamps for her! I'll buy my share of lamps and you can go sell the last three. Each one costs 1,000 Lucre. Think of how much you would help out Monique this way!"
Reia sighed and shook her head as she started to hand the three lamps back. "I can't. I'm sorry. I really would like to help Monique, but my friend is poisoned very badly and I need to find him two bottles of Morithane to slow the poison down until we get to Gato."
The love-struck centaur suddenly brightened and smiled at the Guardian eagerly. "I have morithane!! If I give you two bottles of it, will you sell the lamps?"
The Guardian of Mana could hardly believe her ears. Bobbing her head up and down hastily she almost yelled out her answer. "Of course!!"
The musical centaur quickly reached into a small leather pouch at his side and pulled out two vials of morithane. Reia accepted the medicine gratefully and after showering Gilbert with a few billion thank you's, she dashed off towards the outdoor tavern and straight to the table Syrian was sitting in.
The Mana Knight's face was contorted with pain. The hour was almost up and in a few minutes he would be completely vulnerable to the toxin coursing within him. People and dudbears were starting to take notice of the knight's condition and either moved further away from him or peered at him curiously. Reia wasted no time putting the three lamps on the table and pulling out one of the morithane vials. Syrian looked strangely at the three lamps on the table, but completely forgot about them as Reia popped open one of the morithane bottles and offered it to him. The blue-eyed mercenary speedily downed the vial's contents and after a minute of grimacing and complaining about the morithane's horrible taste, Syrian finally relaxed and the poison's effects began to wane. Reia slipped into one of the wooden chairs by the table and let out a long sigh of relief. She had been running around Lumina for quite a while and now her legs were tired. The both of them sat in comforted silence, regaining their strength before Syrian glanced questioningly towards the three small, but intricate lamps sitting on the oaken table. Reia rested herself a bit longer before explaining what happened. "None of the shops here carry morithane and I had to get some from a person named Gilbert in exchange for selling these three lamps."
The Mana Guardian allowed her emerald colored eyes to drift around the area, looking at the people surrounding them. "This tavern is the perfect place to start selling these lamps I think. They're each 1,000 lucre."
Syrian sat up, finally back to his normal self, and let out a long whistle at the price of the lamps. "1,000 lucre? I don't think the lamps will sell at that kind of price. I was listening to the people while I was sitting here and most of them don't live in Lumina, so they wouldn't be willing to pay that much for a lamp. The rest of the people are mages and know lighting spells, so they don't need lamps either."
The Guardian of Mana frowned, peering at the crowd. "So that only leaves me with the dudbears… They definitely live here, so I think they might buy them. I don't know their language, though. Do you?"
The Mana Knight shook his head. "It's all Greek to me. I suppose we could go find someone who does know the language and get them to translate for us. Some of the mages here speak the dudbear language."
Suddenly a cheery, festive voice cut through the air from the upper level of the outdoor tavern. "Duda Dubba Bubu!! Dubaba Bubu!"
Looking towards the bar, Reia and Syrian watched as the Manager was happily giving out drinks to the dudbears, celebrating with them as they all had rounds of what looked like some kind of fizzy strawberry colored drink. Reia abruptly got to her feet. "The Manager is around dudbears all the time! I'm sure he'll be able to translate for us."
Syrian nodded his head and carefully picked up the three lamps, setting two of them in a big traveling bag at his side. "Alright, let's go see him then. If selling the lamps is all we can do for the man who gave you the morithane, then I guess there's really nothing else we can do."
Climbing up the steps and heading towards the bar, Reia greeted the Manager with a kind and sweet smile while introducing herself and Syrian. Then she explained to him the situation with the morithane and the lamps. The tavern owner thought for a moment and shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry Miss Reia, but I let all of my employees have the night off so I have to stay here and serve the customers myself. If I leave the bar and the cashier behind to help you, who knows what could happen… The Dudbears are regulars here though, so I've picked up their language pretty quickly. I can teach you both the basics of the language if you like so that you can sell the lamps without me. Is that alright with you guys?"
The Mana Guardian felt a bit uncomfortable with the idea of learning a new language, but Syrian simply nodded and answered. "Yes, that would be fine."
The Manager nodded back at Syrian and slid a mug of some sort of fizzy drink to another dudbear while speaking. "Well, first there's Dub which is a greeting and also means 'Yes'. Dud means 'No' and is also used as 'Goodbye'. Duba is 'you'. Duda is 'me' and Dubba means 'friends'. Bubu means 'Dudbear' and Gugu is for all other creatures. Da means 'Light' or 'Stars' and Ba means 'Night.' Dadda means 'Lamp.' Dubababa means 'Many' or 'Very' and Du stands for 'Little'. Baba means 'Music' and trust me… if you don't like music, they won't even consider talking to you. They love music. Dada means 'Please' and Gak is used to show displeasure. Say 'Bub?' when you don't understand what they're saying and if you are trying to sell lamps say 'Dada Dudda?'
Duba Dub? ( You, yes? ) "
"Dub!" Reia grinned broadly and Syrian smiled a bit as well. The Dudbear lesson was a bit quick and sloppy, but they got the main idea.
The Manager laughed heartily at the reply and nodded his head, all smiles. "Haha! That sounds pretty good! You shouldn't have any problem selling those lamps now. Dudbears like lamps and nightlights. 1,000 lucre for just one lamp is actually pretty cheap here in Lumina. Just remember that Dudbears love music, night, and stars and you shouldn't have any trouble. Plus, if they know you consider them as friends, they'll be much more eager to buy from you, so you should try mingling and conversing with them first to buddy up with them before you ask them to buy a lamp. Otherwise they just might be disgusted with you and run around saying 'Gak! Gak! Gak!' all over the place."
"Thank you." Syrian said gratefully as he ran the dudbear lesson through his mind again. "This should make selling the lamps much easier."
The kindly tavern-owner nodded at the Mana Knight. "You and Miss Reia will be fine. The dudbears are really friendly most of the time. Good luck to the both of you."
A few dudbears nudged the Manager asking him for something in the dudbear language and the gracious bartender was happy to comply, already searching through his bar for the best snacks and drinks he could serve them.
Syrian and Reia stepped away from the bar to allow more of the dudbears to get through and the Mana Knight quietly handed Reia one of the lamps.
"Here, you sell one of them and I'll sell the other two. Things shouldn't be so hard now that we understand the dudbear language." The knight said as he eyed a potential customer sipping a drink. Reia nodded and after a moment the two travelers split up and searched for customers.
The Guardian of Mana found a dudbear looking at a lamp through the window of a house with a soft expression of longing on his face. He obviously wanted a lamp and Reia could barely believe her luck as she approached the dudbear and greeted it cheerfully in the dudbear language. "Dub!"
The little dudbear was a bit startled and blinked before turning towards Reia. When it saw who Reia was, the tiny dudbear smiled and responded in its own little voice. "Dub! Duda Bubu… Duba Bubu?" ("Hello! I'm a Dudbear! Are you a Dudbear too?")
It took the Mana Guardian a little while to understand the sentence, but she answered back confidently. "Dud, Duda Gugu." (No, I'm another type of creature.)
Reia worried that this might set off the dudbear, but he didn't seem to mind at all. He seemed to be more fascinated by the fact that she understood what he was saying. Most of the humans that talked to dudbears were mages that lived in Lumina, but Reia didn't look anything like a mage.
The dudbear spoke up again keeping his sentences simple in fear of confusing the human. "Duda Dub Ba! Duba Dub Ba?" ("I like the Night. Do you like the Night too?")
The Guardian answered that question right away, without hesitation. "Dub!"
The dudbear's eyes suddenly fell upon the lamp in Reia's hands and he was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Duba Dubababa Ba Da! Dub?" ("You have many nightlights, Yes?")
Reia looked completely baffled before realizing that the Dudbear was probably referring to the lamp as a nightlight, Ba Da, rather than Dadda, a lamp. The Mana Guardian nodded with a smile, hoping to sell him the lamp right away. "Dub!"
The dudbear reached a hand into what looked like a money pouch, but then it hesitated and looked Reia over carefully. "Duba Duda Dubba, Dub?" ("You and I are friends, Yes?")
Reia didn't give the question a second thought. "Dub!"
The dudbear smiled happily and echoed the word as he peered up at the Mana Guardian. "Dub!"
"Now's my chance." Reia thought. She grinned back cordially at the dudbear and held out the lamp as if she were offering it to him. "Dada Dadda?"
"Dub!" was the dudbear's reply, and it quickly reached into its moneybag while Reia displayed the price tag that was attached to the lamp. The dudbear was extra pleased with the lamp's price and it turned out the Manager was right. 1,000 lucre was cheap for a lamp in Lumina.
Meanwhile, Syrian wasn't experiencing the same luck as Reia. All of the dudbears that he had spotted where already deep into conversations with each other, and interrupting them would just seem rude and displeasing to them. After a while, he sat down in one of the brown oaken chairs and watched as one of the mages started to play a song a pan flute. A dudbear that happened to be sitting right next to the Knight, clapped its hands happily at the musical sounds. "Ba Baba! Da Baba!" ("Night music! Light music!")
Syrian nodded his head, also approving of the music in the dudbear tongue. "Duda Dub Baba." ("I like the music.")
The dudbear suddenly blinked and turned to look at Syrian. He obviously wasn't from around Lumina, and it was interesting to see that a warrior from out of town seemed to understand the language. He peered up at Syrian curiously, tentatively asking the mercenary a question to see if the warrior really understood the dudbear speech. "Duba Dub Ba?" ("You like Night?")
Syrian looked towards the dudbear with surprise. It was actually speaking to him? The mercenary slowly nodded as he simply replied. "Dub."
This interested the dudbear but it also made him afraid at the same time. What was this warrior doing in Lumina anyway? He looked kind of menacing… perhaps it was best to see if he was a friend first? The dudbear gathered its courage and spoke up again. "Duba Dubba?" ("You're a friend?")
The Knight of Mana nodded again, this time speaking in a much more amicable voice. "Dub!"
This put the dudbear at ease and he smiled up at the knight good-naturedly. "Duba Duda Dubba, Dub?" ("You and I are friends, Yes?")
The young mercenary chuckled at the dudbear's innocence and answered with a small smile. "Dub, Duba Duda Dubba." ("Yes, You and I are friends.")
"Dub!" The dudbear said and smiled even more. Syrian then reached into the traveling bag at his side and pulled out one of the beautiful lamps that Monique had made, holding it out for the dudbear to see.
"Dada Dadda?" Syrian asked hopefully, wondering if his question would seem odd to the dudbear in the middle of their conversation. The dudbear didn't seem to mind though, especially when he saw the lamp's price tag. The small, dog-like creature dug around a small little pouch at its waist and nodded merrily. "Dub!"
After the dudbear paid for the lamp and left to take it home, Syrian got to his feet and noticed Reia coming towards him, happily holding a bag filled with lucre coins.
"I assume you sold the lamp?" Syrian inquired, carefully pulling out the last lamp from his traveling bag.
Reia nodded. "Yes, and I saw you sell one of the lamps just now. Why don't we try selling this last one in the Morning Moon Alley where all the shops are? Most of the dudbears here are too busy to really bother with lamps right now, and the rest of them are kind of drunk."
The Mana Knight nodded. "Good idea. I really don't want to butt into any of their conversations just to sell them a lamp anyway. It makes me feel like some cheap salesman. Maybe we'll find one just wandering the streets."
The two Mana Children made their way around all the wooden tables and dudbears and headed towards their destination. They managed to get to the street right in front of Heartbreaker Jessica's and were about to head down to Morning Moon Alley when a dudbear got in their way and stopped them. He wasn't exactly the picture of sobriety and snarled at the two warriors in a shaky, drunken way.
"Duda Gak Duba…" The dudbear growled out the words bitterly.
Reia gave the dudbear a blank expression, not remembering the meaning of the word "Gak". Syrian however, did remember, and he shook his head at the dudbear's acidic words.
"What did he just say?" The Mana Guardian looked to Syrian questioningly.
The mercenary shook his head. "He said that he doesn't like us. 'Duda Gak Duba' means 'I dislike you'."
"What?" Reia looked alarmed and shook her head at the dudbear hastily. "Dud!"
The dudbear just took a step towards the Guardian and pointed a finger at her angrily with a snarl of un-sober rage. "Duba Gak Bubu!" ("You dislike Dudbears!")
Again, Reia shook her head quickly, trying to calm the enraged dudbear. "Dud! Duda Dub Bubu!" ("No! I like Dudbears!")
The small creature peered up at Reia and Syrian uncertainly for a moment before speaking again. "Bubu… Dubba…?" ("Dudbear…friends?")
This time Syrian answered, speaking in an even, smooth tone of voice. "Dub. Duda Bubu Dubba." ("Yes. I'm a friend of the Dudbears.")
A positive answer from both of them seemed to make the angry dudbear feel much better and his face broke out into a little smile as he continued speaking. "Duba Duda Dubba… Dub?" ("You and I are friends…Yes?")
"Dub!" Both Reia and Syrian answered at the same time, making the dudbear smile even more.
"Dub!" The dudbear echoed cheerily. "Duba Duda Dubba!"
Hesitantly, Syrian held out the last lamp, showing off the price tag of 1,000 lucre. "Dada Dadda…?"
Blinking at the lamp for a moment, the dudbear was quiet for a minute or two before responding, "Dub!" and reaching into its pockets for the right amount of lucre. Reia looked relieved and Syrian merely grinned a bit as the lucre coins jingled into his hands. They had sold the last lamp.
* * *
"You sold them all! What talents you both have!" Gilbert grinned broadly as Reia gave him a leather bag the size of her head, filled to the brim with shiny lucre coins. A look of pure delight was bright upon his face and the musical centaur showered both Reia and Syrian with praise before turning towards the front of Monique's store. He dramatically threw out a hand towards the door of the shop and grinned joyfully as if Monique herself was standing there.
"It's now time to open your heart to me, Sweet Monique!" Gilbert said, somehow stopping himself from bursting with excitement. Then he looked towards both Reia and Syrian and gave them a happy little nod. "Come with me… I'll show you both what true love is! The moment between Monique, my shinning star, and I, her Poet of Love!"
Gilbert turned and walked confidently into "Limelight" with the lucre in his hands. Reia and Syrian exchanged looks before following Gilbert and entering the lamp shop as well.
Inside the store, Gilbert was standing before Monique and handing her the bag of lucre with a brilliant smile on his face. "Ah, my strawberry! We sold all of your six lamps!"
The lamp maker blinked down upon the bag of lucre with an expression of surprise plain on her delicate features. She stared at the bag in disbelief before managing to find her voice and speak. "Oh my! That's wonderful! I can't believe you sold them all!"
"You put your heart into making them, baby! Of course they sold!" Gilbert's grin widened as he spoke, proud that he was making so much progress in winning Monique's affection.
Monique nodded happily, carefully stowing away the lucre in a safe place so she could use it later to buy food and other necessities. "Thank you so much. I think I'll stay here as a lamp maker."
Suddenly, Gilbert kicked into drama-king mode. He reached out towards the beautiful lamp maker and held her hands within his own as he gazed meaningfully into her silvery green eyes.
"Oh, darling…" The centaur spoke passionately. "Not as a lamp maker! You will become the sunlight that will brighten my world! Come, my Love! Let's go out to feel the shower of stars above us! The world was created just for today to happen!"
He gestured towards the front door with eloquent motions that looked as if they had come straight out of a Shakespearean play. Monique nodded towards the door with a soft, happy smile.
"I was thinking about going out there too. I've been inside six full days working on those lamps!" The lamp maker started to get up. As Gilbert turned and walked towards the door, Monique followed. She got to her feet and moved around the cashier area, revealing that her legs were covered with fluffy, soft, white feathers and her feet were like that of a bird's. The six feathers on her back moved like the wings of a butterfly and she floated gracefully behind Gilbert with a serene elegance. Syrian stared at the lamp maker with surprise and shook his head.
"She's a Siren…" He whispered to Reia, watching the centaur leave with the mystical woman. "I never imaged a Siren would live in a place like this. It's so far from the ocean."
The Guardian of Mana looked confused. "So that's what a Siren looks like? You don't suppose Gilbert is under a Siren's love spell do you? Could that be the reason why he's so obsessed with her?"
Syrian shook his head as he glanced at all the different lamps within the shop. "Not all Sirens use love spells. Besides, Sirens have power only when they're close to the sea. Their songs can have the power to destroy entire ships, but if they're too far from the ocean the only thing special about them is their ability to fly and the beauty of their voices. This town is a little too far away from the ocean for Monique to have any effect on Gilbert. And if she really was the type of Siren that went around manipulating men… I doubt she would live in Lumina as a lamp maker. I think Gilbert's infatuation with her is real."
Outside of the lamp shop, Gilbert and Monique sat together at a ledge that jutted out towards the sky to give a perfect view of both the stars above and the dimly lit city. Gilbert strummed a few melodious notes on his guitar and spoke softly to Monique as his mind whirled with all the times he had waited for this one moment. "Monique… I have a dream I wish to tell you."
The young Siren looked towards the centaur with a warm smile and nodded. "Sure Gilbert. Let's talk about our dreams."
"Just grab a passer-by, and you'll sell all your lamps." Gilbert said, strumming away on the guitar.
The Siren hesitated. "Well…the few fans of my lamps come from afar just to buy them…"
"Let those Dudbears do the dirty, messy work, my Love." Continued the centaur.
Monique gave her head a light shake. "But, I really enjoy the time and effort that I put into each lamp…"
"Let's have a famous designer make a masterpiece!" Gilbert exclaimed as if he hadn't heard her.
"I think it's fun to gather odds and ends to design and make unique lamps…" Monique said softly.
Gilbert still seemed as if he hadn't heard a single word. "That's all we'll do, Monique. With the dudbears and the famous designer… we'll be rich before we know it!"
The lamp maker turned her gaze towards the starry sky. Her voice was still as melodic as it always was, ringing tunefully with each word. "I have no income, but the joy I get out of my work is what I live for…"
"………" The centaur suddenly slowed his playing until it came to a complete stop. Then he turned towards Monique with a gloomy expression and peered at her questioningly. "Don't you have dreams? This is depressing me."
The Siren frowned and glanced at Gilbert with her sea-green eyes, quietly placing one hand over the other. "Everyday is like a dream-come-true to me. You make me feel as if I'm denying who I am."
The centaur quickly attempted to change the subject. "Come my Princess! Let's go out and see the world! I'll whisk you away from this silly illusion!"
Monique turned towards Gilbert, canting her head to one side as she gazed upon him with her soulful, oceanic eyes. "Which of my dreams do you see as an illusion, Gilbert? Happy dreams? Nightly dreams? Hopeful dreams? I love the way I live and how I go through with my life. Everyday is like a wondrous fantasy to me and I wouldn't trade this way of life for any other. My dreams are not illusions, Gilbert, they're my reality."
The musical centaur was silent, digesting Monique's words and processing them through his mind. Finally, the centaur spoke up, finishing his thought process. "Monique, our dreams don't seem to play in perfect harmony. I must leave this town to look for a new love!"
Monique blinked for a moment, but then shrugged and dramatically put her hands to her heart as if she were completely crushed by the sudden news. "Oh my, Gilbert. You came to that conclusion quickly. After I recover from this shock… I too, shall find a new love."
Gilbert started to walk off, trotting away from the ledge and moving towards the street that would eventually lead out of town. He looked back towards Monique and waved a hand to her in a way only a hopeless-romantic could. "Goodbye, Love! I shall never forget you, Baby!"
The Siren continued acting as if she were utterly crushed and waved back slowly in a theatrical, drawn-out fashion. "Goodbye Gilbert… Goodbye…"
The centaur nodded and continued walking down the cobblestone street until he eventually vanished from sight…
* * *
"Gilbert was a little bit strange, but he was a nice guy." Monique arranged the lamps in her shop around thoughtfully as she explained what happened to Reia and Syrian who where curious about what happened to the lyrically challenged centaur. "He wants a much bigger lamp than the little ones I have. Size is completely meaningless though… because all that matters is that it works, right?"
Reia smiled brightly and gave a little nod. "Right."
The Siren smiled back at the Mana Guardian and then paused, shaking her head with a sigh. "To be completely honest… I am just a little bit depressed."
Suddenly a strange sound interrupted the conversation. "Dub!!"
Monique gained a puzzled look and glanced around curiously. "What was that?"
As if on cue, the front door of the lamp shop swung open and three dudbears stepped inside, grinning cheerfully as the marched on over to Monique. One of them spoke up merrily. "Duba Dadda Dub!! Dubababababa Dub!"
Monique looked shocked. "Oh my!"
Another dudbear spoke up with even more enthusiasm. "Da Bab Dabbu! Dub! Dub! Dubab! Dubabababa Dub!"
The lamp maker's face was filled with delight and she looked flattered. "Oh wow! Really? You think so?"
"Dada!" The third dudbear shouted.
"Oh no, I'm the one who should thank you!" Monique said gratefully. The dudbears all waved and then proceeded back out the door.
Syrian looked to the lamp maker curiously. "What did they say?"
The Siren was all smiles. "The Dudbears told me that they really love my lamps! This is why I love this job! I'm so happy! I really have to thank the both of you. You've helped me out so much!"
Reia waved a hand. "All we did was sell three lamps. You don't have to thank us."
Syrian nodded, giving his traveling companion a little nudge. "We'll have to be going now Miss Monique. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and have to get an early start."
The lamp maker nodded. "Alright. You two have a wonderful night! Thanks again for coming here. I hope to see you both again one day!"
Stepping out of the shop, Syrian and Reia meandered through Lumina until they found a decent-looking inn. Both of them were tired from the whole lamp ordeal and just as they were about to step inside…
"Oh my darling Reia! You're as gorgeous as the wild red rose! Your hair shimmers like gold on a summer afternoon!"
Reia froze in her tracks and the blood drained from her face. "No… It can't be…"
"You appear like an angel from the great heavens! And disappear like dew on a sunny spring morning! Ooh Reeeeeia!! Darling Reeeia!!"
Gilbert seemed to have come out of nowhere and briskly walked on over to the Guardian of Mana with a peculiar "love-struck" expression on his face. The fanatical centaur plucked away on his guitar strings while belting out as many verses as he could muster. Syrian backed away a little as he saw Reia twitch. The mercenary looked from Reia, to Gilbert, and then back again. "Uh oh…"
"Reia! It is I! Your Poet of Love… Gilbert!!!" The centaur spread his arms out wide, reaching out towards her. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" In what seemed like mere seconds, the Guardian of Mana grabbed Syrian by the wrist and practically flew out of Lumina, dragging the Mana Knight along with her to escape the torture known only as… Gilbert.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Teaser for Chapter 13Grimacing with pain, the fire-keeper looked up at the wicked nun with clouded eyes. The sparkling ruby core that rested on his chest had gained a deep, jagged crack on one side and the core seemed to pulse with a strange, sickly sort of energy. It was as if the ruby gem was signaling to the world that the core had been fractured and desperately needed to be mended.
"What…do you… want…?" The Jumi's voice was barely audible as he strained against the pain, racking at his body.
The nun glared spitefully towards the jeweled man with contempt. Her dark jade eyes seemed to burn directly into the fire-keeper's tortured soul. She held out the sharp knife threateningly towards Rubens' chest, ready at any second to simply rip the crimson core out from the wounded Jumi's body.
"I wanna see some tears!" The nun demanded loudly. "Cry like a child and beg for your life!!"
The Ruby Jumi stared at the woman incredulously and the wicked nun began to grow impatient. "Well? Where are your tears?"
Rubens winced and barely managed to speak as the fracture in the core pulsed again, sending waves of pain through the fire-keeper's body. "But… I can't…"
The nun's voice grew venomous and sharp… like the voice of evil itself. "That's just too bad. Goodbye, Ruby Knight!"
Author's Note: Oy! This chapter was about fifteen pages long! One of the longest chapter's I've ever written! I hope people are still reading this story. ^^; I'm sorry I took so long. For all the people who have been waiting for either Larc or Sierra, Chapter 14 officially begins the Dragoon Story. I have the Trembling Spoon. ^_^
