*small fanfare* Do you know what time it is?
Neither do I.
But! Now we shall have another episode, chapter, session, whatever…of Final Fantasy: Tipa's Crystal Chronicles. *applause*
So yeah, in this chapter, mainly the gang goes to Moschet Manor. They form a plan to try and defeat Jack as soon as possible (they don't have all the time in the world).
Time to announce the return of an enemy. Remember the gremlin that Ray fought in Mushroom Forest? HE RETURNS! I have named him Gremmy, although he has no name in the story.
Other than that, not much, although the gang will be receiving letters from the mail moogle in the beginning of the chapter, and later in the next chapter after Jack gets owned.
One last thing- I gave the Tonberries funny/stupid names XD.
Time to start the show! *pulls a curtain up*
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"There's Moschet Manor," said Lianora, pointing. There was a large building looming up ahead, seeming almost as large as the Mushroom Forest, if not larger. It looked simple enough. It wouldn't take long to gather the myrrh and head home.
As the caravanners trekked toward the building, a voice rang out behind them: "KUPO!"
A mailmoogle ran up to them. "I've got mail, kupo!"
"You're supposed to wait until after we finish getting a drop of myrrh," pointed out Ray.
"Don't tell me how to do my job, kupo," retorted the moogle. "I have a lot of letters for you, so come on, take 'em."
Curious, the caravanners took the letters.
Sam opened his.
Hey there, Sam,
How have you been? Kill a lot of monsters? Is your fever better? Come on, tell me about your adventures some time. Also, try and find a girl out there. I need grandchildren!
Love, Mom.
Sam raised an eyebrow. Then he smiled, and wrote out a reply.
Star read her letter.
Star,
Thought you might need some food. I sent you some meat and some of Bessie's milk. Hope you enjoy it.
Come back safely.
Love, Dad.
Star quickly wrote a thank-you letter in reply to her father.
Garrett growled at his letter.
Hey, half-pint,
How's the adventure going? Gettin' your ass whooped by monsters? I can't wait to see how many scars you've got. Also, get back here soon- I can't do all the work myself.
Signed, Markin (Your brother, moron)
Garrett ripped his letter in half. "I'm going to kill him," he growled.
Nieta read her letter curiously.
Dear Nieta,
I haven't seen you lately, so I've been wanting to ask: will you PLEASE return to Alfitaria? It's for your own good, young lady! Please come back to your home.
Signed, Denilla.
Nieta wrote her reply on the back of the letter: No.
Lia wondered who had sent a letter to her.
Lia,
How are you doing out there? I hope you've made some friends. I remember you were so shy and quiet as a child, so you didn't make many friends. Of course, that just led you to helping around the house more.
Bah, listen to me, reminiscing like an old buffoon. Point is, be careful out there.
Love, Gramps.
Lianora giggled, before scribbling down a hasty reply.
Mika groaned when she saw her letter.
Hey, beautiful,
Remember me? The kid from Marr's Pass? I was hanging with a Selkie, two Clavats, and a Lilty? Yeah, I got a hold of your name. So listen, I was wonderin', have you ditched your boyfriend yet? If you have, then swing by Marr's Pass, and maybe we can…make amends. Eh?
Mika crumpled up her letter, and threw it aside. "No thanks," she muttered.
Creston was also dealing with romantic interests.
Dear handsome, gorgeous, Creston,
How did the funeral at Shella go? We're so sorry about your girlfriend. But listen, if you ever wanted to try and…find someone else…pick me!
Creston noticed five other letters addressed to him, each with a little heart on it. He smacked his forehead (or…at least where his forehead WOULD be).
Ray was staring at his letter.
Hey Ray,
Listen, I've got great news! The Leuda caravan came by and bought supplies from me. When I asked them where they were headed, they said they were going to Conall Curach!
I realized that this could be a chance to find out what happened to our parents! So I offered to tag along with them, and they said yes! So now I'm on the road, just like you! If I find anything out, I'll send it to you in a letter.
Be good out there, and take care of the shop when you return with myrrh for Tipa. I've already left Tipa after I sent this, so I'll probably be in Conall Curach by the time you get this. So wish me luck!
…okay, never mind the be good part. I know you won't listen. You little shit.
With Love, Your Big Sister, Dah Zul
Ray wrote a reply to her wishing her luck, and saying that they would meet up some time out on the road. He smiled. He was really close with his sister. She was the only family he had.
"Well, I'm off, kupo!" said the moogle, running off.
The caravanners moved on to the enormous manor.
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The manor was rather quiet. But all of a sudden, that changed.
BANG! Jack Moschet ran out of his chambers, roaring furiously.
"I'M STARVING!" he shouted. "WHERE'S MY DINNER!? TONBERRIES! GET OUT HERE!"
His loyal Tonberry Chefs walked out of a room. "Yes, Mr. Gigas Lora? What is it?" asked one Tonberry, named Bonkers.
"Where's my dinner," snarled the enormous Gigas. He was dressed in elegant purple clothes, as well as some fancy furs. His eyes were red, and his teeth sharp, bared in a horrible grimace. His arms and hands were hairy, as well as his entire body. He seemed to have a lot of gems and jewels in his clothing, showing off his wealth. "I'm hungry."
But before the chef could answer, a yawn was heard from another room. Suddenly, a giant Lamia emerged from another room. She two was dressed in fancy clothing.
"Jack, where's dinner?" she asked tiredly. "I just woke from my nap."
"I…er…I forgot," he mumbled. "I'm getting it made right now."
"How DARE you forget MY dinner!" bellowed Maggie at her husband.
((Author's Note: Yes, I took the above part DIRECTLY from the game))
Jack sweated under his hair. "It'll be ready soon, my dear," he assured.
"It better be," said Maggie, moving back to her room.
"Listen you," growled Jack, picking up another Tonberry named Dongle. "I want dinner made, and I want it made FAST, ya hear me?" The poor chef nodded. "Good. Come and get me when I'm ready. I'll be outside by the myrrh tree in the backyard. Got it?" The Tonberry nodded hastily, before Jack dropped him. The Tonberry scuttled away, his comrades following him. Jack, meanwhile, ran back through the doors and out of sight.
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Nieta stared widely at the doors the Gigas Lord had left through. "We have to deal with THAT?!"
The others stood around her, hiding behind the two pillars at the entrance of the manor. Star and Sam mirrored her shocked face, while Garrett and Ray grinned at the prospect of adventure. Mika was tense with anticipation, while the Yukes…well, no one could tell what the Yukes were thinking. Stupid masks.
"Well…we can't get to the myrrh tree," whispered Creston. "You heard what that thing said. He's sitting out there…probably guarding it."
"Well, what do we do?" asked Mika. "There's no way we can steal the myrrh while he's around. Even if he leaves it unguarded while he eats his dinner, I still don't want to risk it."
Garrett looked at her questioningly. "Why not just take the myrrh and go?"
Mika rolled her eyes. "We might tick him off. And if he isn't defeated, he might seek revenge."
Images of Jack Moschet tearing up Tipa flashed through Garrett's mind. He nodded, agreeing with Mika.
"Well, we can't wait for him to eat dinner!" whispered Star urgently. "It'll take too long."
"Well then…I have an idea…but it's risky," said Creston, after looking around the manor.
"Which is?" asked Lia.
"You see those switches in front of the doors?" asked Creston. "They have the symbols over the four tribes on them. My guess is that if a tribe member stands on his or her symbol, the door opens. I think this manor belonged to the four tribes long ago, but Jack stole it. So, if we can access every room in the manor, then we can carry out my plan."
"Which is?" asked Sam curiously.
"We kill all of the chefs, causing an impatient Jack Moschet to come looking for them. Once we get him out in the open, we take him out. THEN we head to the myrrh tree. But there's a small problem…"
"Which is?" asked Ray, for the third time.
"We would all have to travel room by room, which would take a while," theorized Creston. "But I think there's a risky way around it."
"What is it?" asked Star.
"We leave the chalice in the exact center of the manor. Then, all of us rush out of the crystal's barrier, and into one of the six rooms. After that, as soon as we take out all the chefs in one room, we return to the chalice before the miasma does any serious damage. The myrrh tree is fairly close, so we shouldn't suffer SEVERE damage."
"Okay…now before we go, listen," said Creston. He pointed to the closest door to the left. "No chefs are in there. Only that lamia wife, Maggie. Hopefully, we won't need to bother with her. Also, the center door furthest away is rather large. I think two people should go in that room together."
"Oh and by the way, let's take out the enemies in the courtyard first," said Ray, pointing. Two leopard creatures were prowling in the grass.
"Couerls," said Lianora. "They're very adept in magic. Be careful."
Garrett hurled his spear. It whistled as it flew through the air. It stabbed a couerl in a side. The cat let out an angry hiss, before falling over, dead.
"Or we could use that method," said Ray, shrugging. The eight caravanners rushed out into the center of the courtyard. Lianora and Sam finished off the second couerl with a thunder spell and a slash respectively. But as they were about to initiate their plan, a loud screech sounded overhead.
"Uh…guys?" asked Nieta, backing up a bit. "Are the gargoyles SUPPOSED to be alive?"
"Not necessarily," responded Creston with scorn. "Of course the Gigas Lord wouldn't have any guards stationed in his home."
"Dude, I thought I was sarcastic," muttered Ray, eyeing the stone demons apprehensively.
With a deafening shriek, the gargoyle lunged for the caravanners. Sam leaped out of the way, and tried to cut it, but his blade seemed to bounce off the stone monster.
Creston shook his head. "You have to get a gargoyle on the ground before you kill it, Sam."
"How do we do that!?" asked Garrett, stabbing furiously at the second gargoyle, who was send fire blasts at him.
"Like this," responded Creston, simply. He charge up some magical energy, and then released it. The gargoyle hit the gravity spell just cast, and fell straight to the ground, pinned there. Nieta, Star, and Ray rushed forward and finished the demon off.
Lianora did the same with the second gargoyle. As it fell, however, it almost crushed Nieta.
"Whoa, watch it!" shouted the Lilty, as they killed the second gargoyle.
"Alright," said Sam. "Mog, drop and guard the chalice right here. Put it down."
Mog did as he was told. Sam looked at the others. "Alright then. Everyone run to a room. Me and Creston are the only ones going into the same room, so if you see someone else going in a room, go to a different one, alright?" Everyone nodded.
"Okay then. GO!" shouted Sam. Everyone ran off in a different direction. Sam and Creston ran to the room directly in front of them. Garrett ran to the room directly to the right, while Mika and Star dashed for the room directly to the left. Nieta ran to the door in the upper right of the courtyard, while Lianora scurried to the door at the upper left. Ray, meanwhile, hurtled toward the door closest to the entrance on the right.
After everyone's symbols had unlocked the doors, each caravanner charged into a room.
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Nieta looked around the room she had entered. It seemed to be a small sitting room. A large fireplace was burning, but she ignored it. She was focused on the Tonberry Chef in the corner.
"Stupid Jack," he moaned pitifully. "Always making us work so hard…jerk."
Nieta snuck up behind him, ready to take him out, but bumped into a table. The lizard-like creature turned around.
"Intruder!" he gasped, before he started to move toward her slowly. He attempted to stab her with his knife, but she was too quick for him. She knocked him back with her spear. As he prepared for another attack, she stabbed him. The poor creature fell directly into the fireplace. A wimpy cry came from the burning ashes.
"Phew…," said Nieta. "I'm done."
She waited for her symbol to appear for the door, and when it did, she ran out and returned to the safety of the chalice.
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Dongle, Bonkers, and Boggle, three Tonberries, were preparing food in the kitchen, muttering how they should get paid more.
"Cheap, old Gigas," grumbled Dongle. "It's not fair. We should get paid more!"
Garrett burst into the room, spear in hand. The three chefs turned around.
"Ugh…," groaned Boggle. "More vermin to deal with." He waddled forward, knife raised, while his comrades prepared to cast slow spells on Garrett. Garrett leaped away from the magic rings, ran up to Boggle and stabbed the chef furiously. The chef clutched his stomach and fell over, groaning.
The two remaining Tonberries looked at each other. "RUN!" yelped Dongle.
"But what about Jack?" asked Bonkers.
"Who cares? He doesn't pay us enough anyway!" The two lizard creatures scrambled out of a door.
Garrett wanted to chase them, but the door wasn't on his symbol.
"Crud," he growled. When the door changed back to his symbol, he rushed into the courtyard, only to find that the Tonberries had already fled the manor. He saw Nieta, enjoying some gourd potatoes.
"Did you see those two Tonberries?" demanded Garrett, after he ran up to her.
"What Tonberries?" asked Nieta.
"Crap…," said Garrett, stomping his foot. "Cowards must've left this giant house."
"Oh well," said Nieta. "Less chefs to deal with."
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Creston and Sam were busy, with Sam battling a Couerl and Creston battling with a Tonberry Chef respectively.
"You'll never get out alive!" threatened the chef. "Jack Moschet will roast you in the oven and eat you for dinner!"
"We can try," retorted Creston coldly. He swiftly bonked the chef with his hammer, before lighting him on fire. The Tonberry wailed loudly. "But it seems that YOU'RE the one not getting out alive."
Sam, meanwhile, was keeping the Couerl at bay. It hissed at him, lunging at him with his claws. Sam got bad scratch on his arm. "OW!"
Creston whirled around. "Sam, are you okay- GAH!" Two gargoyle statues had come to life, and one had clawed Creston with a talon.
Sam was then hit by a blizzard spell, courtesy of the Couerl. "Stupid cat…," muttered the Clavat, rubbing his arm. As the Couerl lunged again, Sam swung his sword, slicing the cat's body in two. But Sam had no time to celebrate the victory. As the second gargoyle lunged for him, he slashed it with his sword. Although it hadn't defeated the creature, it had definitely unbalanced it. The gargoyle flew straight into the wall and crumpled to the floor. Sam ran over and defeated it while it was disoriented. Creston, meanwhile, had cast gravity on his gargoyle and then whacked it to death with his hammer.
"Okay…we're done," said Creston, sounding tired. He stretched his back. "Let's get back to the chalice."
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In one room, a Tonberry was sulking, while a hyper little gremlin was hopping around.
Ray was hiding under a table, unseen by either of the enemies. He aimed his racket, and fired.
A shot flew towards the chef, nailing him right in the foot. The poor creature fell over, clutching his foot. Ray went over and pummeled him severely with his paddle.
The gremlin in the corner turned to face him. It growled but did not attack.
Ray pointed his racket at the thing. "You're next."
But the gremlin growled louder, glaring at him.
"Huh? Don't you seem familiar?" asked Ray, questioningly.
Suddenly, it all clicked.
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Ray, meanwhile, was dealing with another Gremlin that appeared to help its friend. It swung his whip at him, and he caught it in his hand.
Ray growled. "That's it! I'm done with this thing."
He held the creature over his head and started to swing it around by the whip. The creature was swung around faster and faster until Ray let go. It soared through the sky and soon became a little speck in the distant clouds.
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"No way," said Ray. "You survived?"
The gremlin nodded, pointing to its injured whip on its head.
Ray had a grim smile. "Well then, shall we settle this, then?"
The Gremlin leaped forward with a shriek, swinging his whip. Ray was caught off guard and knocked backwards. The Selkie whacked the gremlin and knocked him into a wall, but the creature was stunned for only a moment. He lunged at Ray, leaping on top of him. The two foes rolled around the room, and over the symbol that opened the door. As the Selkie symbol was pressed the door opened, and the two enemies rolled out into the courtyard.
"What the…," said Creston. "Ray? What're you doing?"
"This…gremlin…as a grudge," growled Ray. Finally he got a hold on the creature. He knocked it out with his racket. The gremlin went limp. Then he did what he did before: twirled it by its whip, and threw it into the sky.
"Let's hope you're dead this time," he mumbled under his breath.
"Ray…what the heck was goin' on?" asked Garrett
"That gremlin was from Mushroom Forest," explained Ray, walking into the chalice's barrier. "Y'know that one I launched into the sky. Well, that was him, apparently."
"And he came back for vengeance?" asked Creston. "Wow. Big grudge."
"So who are we waiting on?" asked Ray.
"Star, Mika, and Lia," said Sam, scratching his back.
"Well, they better hurry…"
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Mika leaned on her staff. "You were supposed to go to a different room," she said, raising an eyebrow at Star.
The Selkie was leaning on her staff, which was on top of a dead chef's body. Star looked at her guiltily.
"I know, but Sam miscounted," said Star. "I was stuck without a room so I followed you to one."
"Well, it doesn't matter now," said Mika with a sigh. "Even if we were stuck in the same room, the chef's dead, I stole some silverware, and we can get out of this place."
"Alright," said Star. "Let's get back to Sam and the others."
"Or in your case, Sam," said Mika, smirking. Star looked back at her.
"What is that supposed to mean?" demanded the kind Clavat.
"Listen Star, it's no secret to everyone except Mr. Leader that you like Sam," said Mika. Star blushed slightly. "A little bit more than friends, right? Well, here's a tip: the guy likes you back, so take it easy and give it a little time, alright?"
"B-but…wait…how do you know?!" asked Star, flustered. Mika rolled her eyes.
"Well, it's completely obvious to everyone who isn't in love," explained Mika, shrugging. "And it's extremely easy to set up couples so long as you're not in the couple. So basically, it's not that I have experience, but it's more of a…well…gift."
"If it's a gift, why haven't you hooked up with Ray?" asked Star, with a very un-Clavat-like smirk.
"Because I'm not interested in Ray," retorted Mika. "Come on, let's go."
As the two made their way back to the chalice ring, Ray walked over to Mika.
"Hey, beautiful, did it go okay?" he asked, winking. Mika rolled her eyes AGAIN.
"Yeah it went fine," she said, giving him a smirk. But Star could see a faint blush.
"Not interested?" muttered Star. "Yeah, right."
"So, now we're waitin' on Lia," said Garrett. "Hope she hurries up."
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As the final Tonberry chef died, Lianora sighed with relief. Two dead chefs laid on the floor.
"So, I'm in the library," pondered Lia. "Might as well look around."
As she read the some of the books, she was astonished that a monster would have such a large library. But she came across a few interesting books. After she had finished reading, the Yuke was confused.
"So…after a meteor hit our world…miasma began to come forth…bringing monsters…?" stated Lia uneasily. "What could it mean?"
Suddenly, she felt her head hurt. Realizing that she was still out of the crystal's barrier, she rushed out of the room to join the other seven caravanners.
"Well…now what?" asked Nieta.
"We wait," said Creston, moving towards the entrance of the building. "We'll wait right here so we'll be safe before that monster comes out of his room."
And so they did.
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Ugh…the longest chapter yet. It was DEFINITELY not supposed to be this long. Oh well.
Favorite parts: The letters in the beginning, Jack Moschet's rampage, the Tonberries, Ray's gremlin pal, and Mika's love advice to Star.
I personally enjoyed this chapter. I good blend of foreshadowing (it's hard to spot in some places), action (DIE TONBERRY DIE!), and romantic fluff.
Jack Moschet? My image of him is a cranky, cantankerous jerk who lounges around his home like a lazy ass. Maggie? An uptight, demanding housewife. As for the Tonberries, I see them as really miserable individuals working for ol' Jack.
Three characters in this chapter shall return. Dongle and Bonkers shall return later, and Ray's gremlin isn't exactly done yet. MUAHAHAHA!
Romance is coming! Eventually! But if you all hate waiting, then here is a spoiler: Sam and Star officially get together at the end of the third year (after Daemon's Court, if you want to be specific). But for now, enjoy the fluff!
I originally wanted to include the boss fight in this chapter, but the chapter became too long for its own good…
Next Chapter: Jack Moschet can't take it anymore. Going out into his courtyard to contact his cooks, he finds out that they've all been murdered. The Tipa caravan is found, and Jack attacks them in a furious rage, avenging the loss of his cooks and his dinner. The Tipa caravan now has to deal with an angry Gigas Lord! But what will happen when his wife enters the fray?