AN: Thanks for reading my story-I hope you are enjoying it so far! I'd love to hear what you think of it! :)
I fell back into nothingness, plummeting earthwards. My only thought was of regret that I had not been able to live out my days with the woman I loved most, after all. A cry of anguish escaped my lips… only to be cut short as I jolted to a stop. Looking up, I saw Avani, flung halfway over the edge of the deck, her hand gripping mine. Her face contorted as she struggled to maintain her grip and her balance, scrambling to find purchase even while trying to pull me up. Slowly but steadily, she dragged me upwards until she was able to reach me with her other hand.
Gripping me with both of her hands, she strained back until at last I was able to reach my free hand to the edge of the gangplank. She gave a last mighty heave and fell backwards across the deck, with me sprawled across her, panting and breathless. With a stifled sob, she flung her arms around me, kissing me all over my face and neck as she gasped for air. "I… I thought I'd lost you, too," she sobbed into my neck in a strangled voice.
"Well," I said, still breathless with the sheer relief of living, "thanks to you, it looks like you'll have to put up with me for a while longer." She choked, laughing and crying as she hugged me tightly.
"Hey, you two—a little help over here?" Dylas shouted from across the deck.
We scrambled to our feet, and I retrieved my spear from the deck where it had fallen as Avani dove to gather her swords from where she'd dropped them. As she grabbed them, the dragon spun to knock her down with its tail. She jumped straight up in the air, did a back flip mid-air, and landed on the monsters back between its wings. As the dragon reared back, writhing to shake her from its back, screeching and snapping its jaws, she drove her swords into the soft spot between its wings and held on. As Dylas leapt to rain blows on one flanks and I charged with my spear leveled at the other, Avani unsheathed her massive sword. With a loud shout, she raised the sword high above her head and brought the blade crashing down on the monsters neck, severing the head entirely. It vanished, throwing Avani backwards as her dual blades clattered to the deck.
"You three are amazing!" Arthur called from the airship's helm. "You took on and defeated a small army!"
Dylas wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up at the prince with a savage grin. "Yeah, well, I have a feeling that this fight will seem like a piece of cake compared to what's coming. But whatever is waiting there for us… bring it on!"
"Then brace yourselves," Arthur called, laughing heartily. "We're nearly there—I'm going to pick up speed!" With a jolt, the airship sped onwards towards the fortress ahead. As we approached, I saw a single platform connected by a short bridge to the main island. It looked as though it might have been used for cargo drops, but whatever its intended purpose, it had one outstanding feature: it was unguarded.
"Look, down below—there are no soldiers within sight. I'm going to drop you off there, so get ready!" Arthur shouted to us. We slung our packs over our shoulders and secured our weapons, waiting for the signal. When he'd maneuvered as close to the platform as he dared, he called out to us, "Now's your chance! The Native Dragons protect you!"
Avani held her hand up in farewell, shouting, "Leave it to us, Arthur! Take care of the town while I'm away!" With that, she gave him an impudent wink, and we leaped off the deck.
We landed on the empty platform in unison, the impact enough to cause the floating quay to shudder. Avani unsheathed her dual blades, saying, "Okay, you two. We've no idea what may lie ahead, so be ready for anything." Dylas and I armed ourselves and followed as she cautiously proceeded across the bridge to the central island.
There was no sign of life on the central island—nothing but crates piled carelessly on the stone floor. There were no guards, no monsters, not even a bird or an insect—it was completely barren. Upon further exploration, we found what must be the bridge to Ethelberd's inner sanctum at the north end. The bridge was barred, however, by three massive stone barriers. Knowing his devious mind, no doubt we would find the keys to each barrier somewhere on each of the three outer islands.
In the south of the central island, adjacent to the platform where we had dropped from the airship, was a bridge, and it was there that Avani first led us. The terrain on this island simulated someplace more southerly, I thought—warm and humid with abundant plant life. The first monster we encountered there was one that I had not seen for a very, very long time—indeed, only once in my life. A massive bird with brilliant violet plumage rose up before us. With an indignant screech, it blasted us with a powerful wind from its huge wings, forcing us away from it. Rising up out of reach of our weapons, it cast lightning down upon us, forcing us to scatter from its path. Dylas took shelter behind a tree, while Avani and I crouched behind an adjacent vine-covered stump.
"What the hell is that?"Dylas hissed, watching its flight path to determine where it would next strike.
"It's a—" I started to reply, but Avani interrupted me.
"A thunderbird," she said with wonder in her voice.
I turned and looked at her in surprise. "That's right. They're not indigenous to this region, though. The only reason I know what they are is because I once saw one at a carnival when I was just a boy. The carnival's beastmaster said they were found only in the southern part of the continent. So now I'm curious—how did you know what it was?"
She looked at me, baffled. "I… I don't know. It just came to me. I don't remember ever even seeing one before."
There was no time for further discussion, however, as the giant bird wheeled and swooped down at us. I stood up, holding my spear at the ready as it dove at me, shrieking its defiance as it readied its claws to rend or grasp whatever they could. When it was near enough that its scream was deafening to my ears and the metallic stench of its feathers filled my nostrils, I hove my spear upwards. Its momentum impaled it upon my spearhead, nearly knocking me backwards even as it vanished from sight, leaving only scorch marks along the shaft of my spear and a faint crackling of electricity in the air.
We continued through the convoluted collection of platforms that comprised this island, fighting more thunderbirds as well as huge tortoises with black spiked shells, small green dragons, pepper ghosts, floating robots, and a few wildcats similar to the palm cats native to the Autumn Road but far stronger and more vicious.
We stopped after clearing out several platforms, exhausted, hungry, and in need of healing. Dylas pulled some containers of food from his pack while Avani healed my injuries. Then she healed Dylas, and I healed her. Afterwards, we sat leaning against the trunks of a cluster of chinquapin trees, eating the food that Dylas had unpacked: a sort of a pilaf made of assorted grains, pulses, and vegetables and topped with a thick vegetable stew, and dense curry-filled buns. Not my usual kind of food as a rule, but nutritious and portable. We chose not to take the time to build a fire, and so we ate our meal cold. As soon as we were done, we packed up and continued on our way.
Eventually we came to a platform near the southernmost edge of the island. Before us was an ornate gateway leading to another bridge, the only path remaining to us. We felt certain that any key hidden away on this island would be found ahead—along with whatever guardian Ethelberd had selected to protect it.
Avani stood contemplating it, chewing a handful of nuts and dried fruits for a quick energy boost before continuing onwards. "What do you think he's got guarding the key?" Dylas asked, grabbing a last handful of the mixture before packing it away.
She shrugged, brushing the powder from the nuts off her hands. "Who knows? I'm sure he didn't pick anything especially cute or cuddly, though."
I snorted as I popped the last bite of my dried fish into my mouth. Despite our break earlier, we were all tired from hours of combat under grueling conditions—fighting in the heat and humidity was altogether different from fighting in the more temperate climate to which we were all accustomed, and we felt drained by the experience.
"Well, no use standing around here. Let's do this!" Avani exclaimed, drawing her weapons and charging through the gate and over the bridge beyond. A smaller platform on the far side held only a small switch that activated a warp point, and another bridge led south. We crossed that bridge and found ourselves on the edge of a huge platform.
Waiting in the center of the platform was a massive unmanned tank, made of some extraordinarily smooth metal. Its turret spun around as we charged onto the platform, locking in on us. It fired a volley of small energy projectiles towards us, and the battle commenced.
Avani leaped to one side, I dove to the other, and Dylas sprang up in the air, landing on top of the turret. The tank shuddered from the impact, and began to spin as it attempted to knock him flying. I cast a flame wheel at it, but it barely even damaged the finish. Meanwhile, Avani swapped her dual swords for her fire-imbued longsword. She ducked down and rolled as the tank spun towards her, releasing a volley of large spheres of electrical energy as it rotated. I dove out of its path as Dylas delivered a strong kick to the top of the turret.
Landing in a crouch, I cast an earth wheel at it as it fired another volley of small projectiles. The spikes of rock rose up all around it, damaging its treads and trapping it temporarily. Avani took advantage of its immobility and charged at it, her blade leveled towards the weak point—the turret ring, where the turret joined the hull. Dylas leaped down and out of her way, landing next to me.
Her flash strike attack was a powerful attack that blasted away all that lay in her path; she flew at the tank, and when she connected, she shattered the ring, rendering the turret inoperable. Dylas stood up as she leaped out of the way and, to my great surprise, cast a dark ball at it. The small sphere of concentrated dark magic slowly wend its way around the tank, devouring all that it touched. I looked over at him in amazement. "Not bad! When did you learn to do that?"
He glanced over at me with a half smile. "I've had a lot of free time recently," he replied drily. I chuckled and rose to stand next to him. Raising my hands in front of me, I cast a water column wheel, then pulling out my spear, I leveled it and charged at the tank, diving between the powerful jets of water. I drove my spear into the side of the tank just as Avani came crashing down from above, slashing into the hull with all her might. We breached the hull, both of us, and dove out of the way as Dylas cast his signature electrical attack upon it.
Its armor compromised, the tank was now vulnerable to the magical attack. The electricity crackled all around it, entering the interior of the tank. As the three of us dove for cover, the tank began to spark and snap, exploding a moment later. A shower of debris rained down all around us, and when we looked again, the tank was gone—only a few small parts remained of it.
Avani looked around and saw another bridge to the south, and with a deep sigh of exhaustion, she headed for it. "Come on, guys—that damned key has to be around here somewhere!" Muttering things not at all ladylike under her breath, she strode across the bridge to the next platform.
This platform was empty other than some crates—and a single color-coded switch. Her eyes lit up as she exclaimed "A-ha! I'd bet that's what we're looking for!" She walked over to it, drawing her sword as a precaution, and depressed the lever. A distant rumble was accompanied by a tremor that traveled through the platforms, and we ran back to the warp point. That returned us to the first platform on this island, adjacent to the central island. We ran out and looked around, and sure enough—one of the barriers was gone.
One down, two to go.
Disclaimer: Rune Factory 4, most locations and many of the characters in the story, and the game's plot belong to Neverland Co. and XSEED Games. The story plot and some characters and locations are my own invention.