A/N:
RK: This chapter did not want to come out. Nor did it want to be edited. I think I've been staring at this chapter for a good four days trying to edit it. But it's around the time when I normally post a chapter and I didn't want to put it off for too long or else I wouldn't do it, so it might not be the best edit but it's what I got.
So here is the next chapter!
A bit of foreshadowing, some odd occurrences and a reappearance of some folks.
As always, I hope you enjoy it!
The moment he opened his eye, Jade knew something was wrong.
Like any other time they'd gotten rooms at an inn, Valeria had been slotted to share the same room as him. Yet he heard neither the snoring of the Arka nor Valeria muttering in her sleep, like she normally did if she finally managed to get some actual sleep.
Sitting up and looking over, Jade also realized that the other bed in the room hadn't been slept on either.
So where were the girl and her Arka?
Shaking his head, Jade got ready for the day, knowing that he would have to figure out where the two had gone. He sighed, why was it always his responsibility to deal with her?
He already knew the answer, but it was still a question he occasionally had to ask himself.
Once ready, Jade made his way down to the lobby, intent on asking the receptionist if she'd seen either of the two. His steps came to a halt when he saw a golden red bundle curled up by the door of the hotel.
What was Nyla doing outside?
"Is that large dog creature a friend of yours?"
Jade looked over at the receptionist, eyebrow raised.
"Sorry, you're just the first person to notice it and not freak out about a monster being outside the doors. Unless an owner brings the pet in with them, I'm afraid we had to keep the pet outside. I believe it's been out there since last night." She explained.
Jade nodded, understanding that train of thought. However, it meant that Nyla had been either waiting for Valeria, which was unlikely since the blonde wouldn't leave her best friend out in the cold like that, or the Arka was waiting for him.
"Jade?"
Looking behind him, Jade nodded to Tear, not surprised that the Oracle Soldier was up as early as he was. "Good morning Tear."
"Is that Nyla out there?"
"I was just about to go and find out why she was out there; would you like to accompany me?"
Tear nodded slowly as Jade led the way out to the Arka.
The moment he opened the door, Nyla shook off the pile of snow that had been slowly growing on her and growled at Jade under her breath. He instantly noticed the note in the Arka's mouth, and accepted it a moment later when she offered it.
Grabbing onto Nyla's mane so she wouldn't run the moment the letter was out of her mouth, Jade passed the letter to Tear. She opened it and then passed it back to him so he could see it.
'Jade,
Left my bag with my money on the Tartarus, went to get it.
Figured you should know.
Don't worry, I plan to be back before the weapon shop closes so I can get the knives the old man is holding for me. Nyla is supposed to come get me once she gives you this note.
-Valeria'
Nyla was growling at him again, trying to get him to let go so she could run off. However Jade was beginning to understand just how bad the situation now was. He hadn't expected the blonde to run off on her own while in this town, so he hadn't kept as close an eye on her as he should have.
And if she hadn't come back by now…
"Tear, would you help Nyla and I look for Valeria?"
Tear frowned. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure… But she was supposed to be back long before now." Jade admitted, finally letting Nyla go, the Arka realizing that he would be coming with her. "Nyla, if you would track her please?"
Tear agreed to go with him and the two of them quickly set off with Nyla in the lead. It was clear to Jade that the Arka wanted to dash off and find her owner, but Nyla was smart. She probably knew that if Valeria had been gone this long then she might need help.
Jade also had to wonder just how far Nyla would go when following orders. He's seen her do some stupid moves while following Valeria's requests. He even had a feeling Valeria didn't know how far the Arka would go otherwise if she knew about it then the blonde would have Nyla dial it back a couple notches.
They reached a section in the path that had Nyla pausing to sniff for a couple of minutes before the Arka went completely off road and in the opposite direction of the port town, leaving the two of them to follow behind.
A blast of cold hit them and Jade watched as Tear clutched the coat she had purchased while in the port the other day. The cold didn't really bother him anymore, having grown up in this weather during his childhood years, but this blast of cold was odd for this time of the year. Normally around this time, the weather was a bit warmer and the air currents in this area were easier on the skin.
So what could've made this cold blast of air?
The two of them continued to follow Nyla further and further from the road, walking across the snow filled land until they reached the ocean and continued along the shore. Finally, after what seemed like at least half an hour from when they'd left the main path, they sighted something in the distance.
Was that… Ice?
Before them lay heaps of sharp icy fixtures, spiraling out in large patterns. Within the epicenter lay the largest spire of ice , upon which two artic wolves were pierced through. Jade counted at least a dozen different smaller pillars of ice between them and the center.
Nyla whined, pawing at the nearest pillar before going off in a direction to circle the formation. From the Arka's concern, it was easy to guess that Valeria was with the structure, but it was still hard to believe.
Jade actually hoped she wasn't, for he wasn't sure what exactly had done the damage to the wolves pierced by the ice. Plus there might actually be more wolves in the center.
Nyla growled loudly, alerting them that she found a way inside. Following the Arka, the two humans carefully made their way through all the ice towards the center. Once there, Jade heard Tear gasp softly.
Even more ice spread out through the bodies of four more wolves, their bodies circling a figure lying on the ground that Nyla was currently nudging. Tear dropped down next to the figure and carefully rolled it over. Neither one of them were surprised when it was revealed to be Valeria.
Tear then wasted no time running a scan arte over the girl while Jade continued to survey the damage to the area. Now that he was looking closely, the ice pillars seemed to be forming a sort of barrier that was to keep any other wild life out and protect what was inside. The pillars that had pieced all the wolves were the only ones that seemed dangerous.
"Jade… There are remnants of a poison in her…"
"What do you mean by remnants?"
Tear shook her head, confusion plain on her face. "It's as if she was already healed by something, she also had a relatively deep cut on one of her arms and a gash on her leg from something as well. But all of it has been healed recently, and I don't think it was by normal methods."
Jade looked at where she was pointing at the blonde's leg and noticed, once he actually made an attempt to look, an abundance of fourth fonons brushing against the healed injury.
"That's not normal, Jade." Tear informed him. "I'm not sure what might've done that."
Jade frowned, looking around. "We probably should leave and get back to Keterberg, you can be more thorough there and we won't have to worry about attacks."
Tear nodded and began helping Valeria onto Nyla's back.
Once ready, they picked their way across the odd ice formations and began heading back to Keterberg.
"Jade!"
They had just walked into the hotel when Jade saw Nephry and Natalia making their way over to him.
"We had tried knocking on your door but you weren't there," Natalia informed him.
"Oh? What is the matter?"
"Last night the men who went to inspect the Tartarus caught someone on the main deck. They haven't told me who it was yet but they detained him because they encountered him trying to leave after something fell into the ocean," Nephry explained, arms crossed over her chest. "I told them I'd let you know and see if you wanted to do something about it."
Jade immediately looked at Valeria, who was still unconscious across Nyla's back. The blonde's letter had said she needed to go back aboard the Tartarus to get a bag of hers, and she definitely had clearance to get back on board. And instead of being found on the Tartarus, she was found near an ocean bank miles away from the port.
"Where is the man detained?"
"They brought him here to the city; he's detained at the military outpost."
"I'll see to it after we check on Valeria."
Natalia had apparently noticed that the blonde was unconscious and had moved to talk with Tear. The two of them shot Jade a look then moved towards one of the elevators with Nyla in tow. Jade nodded to Nephry and informed her that he would call for her when he went to go deal with the issue then followed the others.
Once they made it back to Jade's room, the two healers began checking Valeria over, with Natalia using an energy replenishing arte towards the end.
"Like Tear said, the wounds were healed differently, using fourth fonons," Natalia explained to Jade. "I've never seen anything like that."
Jade understood that well enough, he'd seen many occasions where dealing with the blonde made him question whether some things were possible.
Natalia opened her mouth to say something when Valeria groaned from her spot on the bed. Everyone looked over to see her sitting up and clutching her arm. She was looking around in confusion then looked down at her arm.
"Who healed me?"
Natalia hesitated. "We were kind of hoping you would be able to answer that for us…"
Valeria shook her head. "The last thing I remember is…"
Jade narrowed his eyes when Valeria trailed off, the blonde suddenly wincing at the memory. "Something tells me I'm not going to like what you're going to say next."
Silver eyes looked at him. "I jumped into the ocean."
"Wait, what?!" Natalia demanded. "What could possibly make you want to do something like that!? It's freezing out there, let alone in the water!"
Valeria turned her gaze to the princess. "And yet out of all of us, I'm the only one not wearing any article of clothing to protect from the cold other than my normal shirt. The cold is an extension of fourth fonons vibrating together and releasing themselves into the air at faster rates. Therefore, the cold isn't a problem for me since I'm a fourth fonist."
Jade sighed. "That still didn't answer the question as to why you jumped into the ocean. Nice try diverting the question though."
"Damn it," Valeria muttered under her breath. "Fine! I was attacked, okay? And I refuse to just bow down to being attacked. If I'm going to go down, it'll be on my own terms!"
Jade's first thought was that someone from Valeria's old life tried to get her, and from the look she gave him, he had a feeling his thoughts were right. "Valeria. The men who went to check the Tartarus called the guards to apprehend someone who wasn't supposed to be there."
Valeria's eyes narrowed. "You talk to them yet?"
"No, I wanted to get your account of the situation first."
"I went back to the Tartarus to get my bag since I needed the money from it. I got the bag and made my way to the port hatch when I ran into Blaine, the doctor from Nephry's place. We talked, he drew a weapon and I retaliated to make sure I wouldn't get taken. However his weapon had a paralytic on it and he managed to nick me. Instead of allowing myself to pass out, I took matters into my own hand and dove into the ocean. The next thing I know I'm waking up with you guys over me, that's all I know."
Jade knew there was a bit more than that, but he also knew that Valeria wouldn't speak too freely with Natalia and Tear in the room. Besides, he'd already gotten everything he needed from her.
"Stay here and rest, I need to go speak with the soldiers."
Before Valeria could retort, he left the room and began heading towards the outpost.
He was allowed in without any hassle and sure enough, sitting in the cell looking annoyed was Blaine. Jade knew little about this man, since he hadn't thought to check up on him yesterday after the conversation with Nephry. So the only two things he knew was that the man was a doctor, and he'd tried to kidnap Valeria.
"Well, well, well. Colonel Jade Curtiss, your sister occasionally mentioned you when we've had our meetings— "
"What were you doing on the Tartarus?" Jade cut in.
"I was asked to go and check out the medical bay, that's all." Blaine told him.
"Oh really? I'm afraid I received different information. Not only did the soldiers at the port tell me that they hadn't allowed you on board, but I was informed by someone else that you instigated an attack while on board."
Blaine snorted. "I didn't attack anyone, that soldier is sorely mistaken."
"I never said it was a soldier who gave me the information." Jade told him, a smile threatening to form as he caught the doctor in the lie.
Blaine seemed to realize his mistake since he became quiet, eyes narrowing at Jade.
"You attacked and attempted to kidnap a member of a noble family of Malkuth. That is a serious problem as it is a crime to do such an act."
Blaine laughed outright. "A member of a noble family?! You've got to be kidding me, I attacked no one like that."
"Are you certain? I just finished talking with her before I came down here to see who might've possibly broken onto the Tartarus."
Now Blaine's eyes widened as he took in Jade's words. The black haired male narrowed his eyes moments later as he let out a soft curse under his breath. "Alright fine, you got me. But how did she survive going into the ocean? There's no way she should've been able to make it to shore."
"That is of no concern for you. As I said, you attacked a noble of Malkuth, and for that you're going to be punished."
Jade turned around and began walking out, however Blaine called out to him. "If you know her past, you should know that she's not safe anymore! He wants her back, now that he knows where to find her!"
Jade paused to look back at Blaine. "Aeron won't get to her again, not with her family supporting her."
"I'm not talking about Aeron!" Blaine laughed.
Was there someone else, Jade wondered, or was Blaine just trying to get a rise out of him. In any case, he continued on his way out, ordering the soldiers there to keep him locked up until word from the Governor came to them.
He'd just made it back to the hotel when Nephry arrived as well.
"Good, this saves me from having to find you at your home."
"I was just coming to let you all know that the repairs on the Tartarus have been completed. Did you got and speak with the soldiers? Who was it they took into custody?"
Jade explained what he found out, even telling where they'd found Valeria and what the blonde had said. When he was done, Nephry looked bothered.
"I've been dealing with Doctor Blaine for years and have never had any issues with him…"
"That's cause he hides everything he does."
The two of them looked over at Valeria, who'd just stepped out of the elevator with Nyla on her heels not looking happy. Jade suspected that the blonde had waited until the two healers had finally left before walking out. He wouldn't really put it past her, to be honest.
"How so?" Nephry asked hesitantly.
"First question, what do you know of my past?" Valeria countered.
"I... know..." Nephry told her slowly.
"That's fine, it actually makes it easier. Blaine is the Carver for the Slavers who kept me. He's the one who inscribes the brands on all of the slaves once they've been purchased or inducted."
It dawned on Jade the moment she said it. "He's the one who carved your arm as well..."
Nephry looked between the two in confusion until, with a sigh, Valeria slowly removed the glove covering her scars. The moment Nephry got her fill, the blonde wrapped it back up, not wanting it out a moment longer.
Nephry looked pained but she nodded. "Thank you for this information, I won't let it go to waste." She turned to look at Jade. "Please give your regards to His Majesty when you go to Grand Chokmah."
"I will, thank you Nephry."
The heat from the fire actually felt good for once.
Which made absolutely no sense to Valeria, since she hadn't been cold in Keterberg, so why was she cold in a forest on the way to Grand Chokmah?
Their group had quickly made their way to Rotelro bridge and was now halfway to Theor Forest, where they would either be allowed through, or they'd have some troubles.
It was night time and they'd made a decision to stop, since Ion was getting tired and the others also seemed a little worse for wear. Guy and Luke had gone out to hunt for food, Nyla had as well but she was probably hunting for herself and not the group. The two swordsmen had made it back right as Jade had gotten the fire started, which was where the blonde was sitting, warming her hands.
Now, the smell of the meat cooking was starting to make her feel a bit ill, but she was cold and wanted to sit by the fire. Nyla still hadn't returned, so Valeria wasn't able to pass out but after all the water fonons she'd felt both in Keterberg and on the ocean on their way here, she was actually a bit wired, so sleep might not even be an option for some time.
"Valeria, move away from the fire before you vomit…" Jade calmly ordered her, his tone telling her not to order. How he knew without looking up, she'll never know.
Sighing, Valeria stood and moved back to sit next to Jade when they heard footsteps coming towards them.
Almost instantly, Jade and Guy were standing near the edge of their campsite. Valeria poked her head to the side and watched with bored interest as Nyla padded over to them next to a silver haired male.
"Who are you?" Guy asked, hand still on his weapon.
Jade looked from Nyla, to Drayden and then his gaze fell on Valeria. "The two of you know him."
It wasn't a question, since Nyla had escorted him to them, but Valeria took it like one. "Yeah, he's a contact of mine. Drayden, what are you doing here?"
Walking past the two men, he sat next to Valeria with a groan. "I've been walking all day looking for you. Luckily your pooch found me while she was hunting or I might've missed you."
Nyla snorted at the silver haired man before turning around and stalking back out into the dark to hunt more.
Drayden pulled out some money and held it up. "I haven't eaten all day, would you spare some meat for me?"
Jade eyed the man for a moment before looking at Tear, who was in charge of cooking. The melodist looked at the meat they had and nodded.
"Keep the money, so long as you answer Valeria's question."
Drayden shrugged and pocketed his gald. "I was given a task for her from a mutual contact. It'd be easier for us to accomplish before all of you got to Grand Chokmah, so I came looking. Although… if two of you wouldn't mind helping us fight, it'd be appreciated."
Valeria frowned at him, the two of them only had a select few people who could be mutual contacts, and of those few, only one would have a task for her.
Drayden accepted a plate from Tear once she was done cooking and then turned to look at Valeria. "By the way, the disc was accepted and full payment will be given to you when you get to Grand Chokmah."
Valeria noticed Jade's eyes narrowing at Drayden's words. She wasn't worried about the silver haired male talking about the disk, Jade had known that the information had been for someone else, something Drayden must've picked up on.
"I'm afraid we won't be able to have Valeria or anyone else help you, we're in a hurry to get to the capitol." Jade told Drayden.
Drayden shook his head. "Yeah, no. They'll have enough time, I can promise you that. Lock-down protocols have been activated surrounding the city and they won't let anyone they don't know through Theor Forest," he paused, thinking, "although, you could probably make it through, but I highly doubt they'll let anyone else in this group go with you."
Jade looked annoyed, though only Valeria could tell. He'd probably already known that was going to happen, and now he had no real way of keeping Valeria with them. Because of this, the blonde was already considering what Drayden was asking.
"I can see the wheels turning in your head, and let me add, she's going to pay for this one as well. It needs to get done asap." Drayden murmured softly to her, talking around his food so the others wouldn't hear.
Sighing, Valeria looked at Luke then at Guy. "Would you guys like to help out? Since, after all, we're probably just going to be sitting and waiting for Jade to return."
The two swordsmen looked at each other and shared a look before Luke turned to nod his agreement.
Taking that as both of them agreeing, Drayden clapped his hands. "Great! We'll leave in the morning, I'm gonna pass out now, night!"
Valeria watched as he flopped over and rolled onto his side to fall asleep. She still wasn't sure what to think about Drayden, but he just got crazier in her book.
"That was interesting."
"Shut up, Luke." Valeria muttered.
Their group of five, seeing as Nyla wouldn't leave Valeria, made their way away from the others. A couple of hours after they'd left, monsters began appearing around them, getting stronger and stronger.
By the time Drayden called for them to stop, Valeria was wondering what exactly they were supposed to be doing. "It should be around here…"
"What?"
Drayden tilted his head to look at the red head. "The barrier that she placed around here to dissipate the aura around the thing."
Wait a sec…
Strong monsters. Out in a place where monsters can congregate. A strong aura.
"Are you kidding me!? You should have mentioned this sooner! We are in no way prepared to fight this thing!" Valeria hissed at Drayden, hitting the silver haired man in the side.
Drayden hissed out a breath at her. "What was that for!?"
"Why didn't you say that we have to fight the Sword Dancer?! We need a healer for that!"
Drayden reached behind his back and pulled out three small bags and tossed them out to each of them. "Chill, I was given a bag for each fighter filled with gels."
"Gels can't do everything!"
Valeria looked at the two swordsmen, Guy looked uneasy to fight the thing again while Luke, who hadn't fought the creature before, wasn't sure what to think. She couldn't just ask them to help her with this when they had no healer.
"Valeria, if we leave this thing any more the barrier will break and monsters will congregate and go towards a village." Drayden said calmly, as if talking to a child. "At least, what's what I was told."
Valeria cursed and looked at the others. They seemed to share her sentiments since they just continued to move onward. They hadn't even taken a few more steps before they walked across a fonic barrier, the strong presence of the sixth fonons almost making Valeria vomit as she fell to the ground.
They all looked around, not spotting a sword sticking out of the ground. Frowning, Valeria stood up shakily. "How big is the barrier created?"
"Honestly? I don't know, she just said that she had to create a powerful one so that this thing wouldn't attract too many monsters."
"On the plus side, at least since the barrier's larger, the chance of anything attacking us while we're fighting it is slim to none." Valeria reasoned.
The others nodded slowly before they began moving once more.
Within the next twenty minutes, Valeria had begun cursing under her breath about how annoying it was to look for a stupid sword in the middle of the bloody forest.
She was muttering so much that she wasn't paying attention, so she tripped over a loose rock and stumbled through yet another sixth fonon barrier, this time the amount of fonons making her heave up the remainder of her breakfast. Drayden patted her on the back once he came through the barrier and they waited for the two swordsmen to realize they'd literally stumbled upon the sword in the ground.
Standing, Valeria walked to the sword and placed her hand on it, shuddering as a cold chill ran down her spine.
"I see… You have returned… Show me your strength!"
A/N: Not gonna lie, getting into and staying in Jade's head is hard... But hey, we get to look forward to Sword Dancer next chapter! That's a plus, right?