Note: Outline for the next ten chapters has been made, but I may be going over more game footage to set things up for the future more. Also, some plot divergence, but mainly to save on time, as, and while I don't want to give too much away, going from Jadd just to travel back to it seems rather pointless when everything can be done at one time.
Also, the taking back of Jadd will be included in this, as it was only reported in the game (it being how Duran got back to Valsena if he isn't in your party). It'll also serve as a means to better explain what Hawkeye and Riesz, along with Kevin and Charlotte will do while Duran and Angela are elsewhere. But rest assured, they will ALL meet in due time and become united.
That said, hope you enjoy!
Free City Maia
"Faster!"
The trio had rushed out from the gate and into the Rabite Forest, the sound of the approaching werewolves close behind them,tearing through the trees and releasing loud, animalistic growls and roars that cemented that should they catch the three, the results wouldn't be pretty.
Only question was where could they go?
Winding through the more open areas of the forest, the sight of some buildings caught their eye. Wasting no time, they all made their way in that direction and saw that, to their collective horror, the entire area was rendered little more than a collection of burnt down homes, torn through shops, and complete wrecking of anything and everything that could've been gotten ahold of. No doubt the work of those that were currently pursuing them. And that put another issue on them. There were several places to hide, yet their scents had already surely been picked up on, and they could surely be found. Yet it was then that they noticed the massive lake before them.
Molar and Fureddie pounded the ground as they ran, arms scissoring through the air and their lungs taking in and pouring out oxygen. Those three only managed to get ahead of them due to the crowd disorentating them, some of the people left behind unintentionally blocking their way. Yet now, they had no protection. Such a domain as this was little different than their own home, so dominating this place would be of little difficulty. Now all that remained was finding where those three had gone!
Stopping, both of the transformed beastmen could see that they had reached the remains of Astoria, pausing for a moment to allow their noses to adjust to the still remaining scents of burnt wood and smoke and filter out the ones they were tailing. Steadily making their way to the lake platform located near the shore, Molar lifted his head and took in a long whif, yellowed eyes darting around. Somewhere...that much he knew. Somewhere close. Fureddie sniffed as well and agreed, the two then approached. There was no sound, yet the space underneath the platform...that could've been worth looking into.
Suddenly, an ear splitting roar tore the skies, catching the attention of both werewolves. Ludgar...he was clearly angry. Most likely at them. Had he figured out what occurred in the mansion so soon? Fureddie and Molar looked to each other, uncertain of what to do. They were so close...they could literally SMELL them! Yet another roar was heard, their ears lowering in response.
Regrettably, they would have to leave things the way they were. Should they take any longer...neither of them wished to think about it. Turning tail, quite literally, they went off in the direction of the roar, the three underneath the platform peeking out to see the two making their way out of the ruined village.
"I think it's safe." Riesz noted, Hawkeye nodding in agreement. All three of them made their way from the underside of the platform and to the shoreline. "But we can't stay here." the young woman said.
"Not for long." Hawkeye added. "We need a safer place for shelter."
"And…" the Mayor began, both of the youths looking back with horrified eyes. "What?" had it become a bit breezier? "Uh oh." looking down, he then understood. Hawkeye snickers whilst Riesz only looked away.
"Sir...please...cover yourself…" she said, wishing to banish the images that repeated in her mind's eye.
"With what?" the bearded man asked, hands over his more intimate area. I don't see anything around-"
"Hey, you!" a voice suddenly spoke up. "Yeah, you three! Over there!" all three of them turned to the ruined home that lay by the shore of the lake...only to see a door rise up from the wreckage and allow a balding, grey haired man with large glasses to pop out. "Whatcha kids doing out here?"
"What are you doing here?" she asked back. "If I may be so bold, this isn't exactly a very nice place to be."
"Hm?" the old man looked around, surveying the damage. "Huh...knew all that noise meant something was up." he then looked at them. "You kids look like you've had a rough time. How about you come on in?"
"In?" Hawkeye asked, not entirely understanding.
"Don't worry! There's plenty of room! I've got a whole bunch of food and stuff in here!" he then snickered looking at the Mayor. "And a pair of pants."
Ship
Flashback
The ship stood in the harbor like a massive symbol of hope to him. One step closer in his quest to obtain a higher level of strength. The trade city held the ever present scent of sea salt in the air, stands displaying an abundance of goods, ranging from the simple necessities as fruits and vegetables to the more indulgent food such as bon-bons and chocolates, to varying weapons and armor (which he perhaps could look at, but as for weapons, all he needed was his father's sword, thank you), and several other good that couldn't be counted. One stand in particular was selling wooden carvings of the Elemental Spirits, something that, despite not being one for such things, caught Duran's eye. From the intricately designed wings of Shade and Luna to the near photorealistic, twisting roots of Dryad managed to snag his fascination. Perhaps at the end of his journey, he'd stop back here and maybe take something like this to Aunt Stella, she having always had a flair for such things. And perhaps several bon-bons for Wendy. Knowing her, she'd never forgive him for taking off like he did. A small sting of guilt plagued the young soldier, his sister not the only one he had gone and left behind. But he had come this far now, there was no turning back.
And he had sworn to himself already that he wouldn't go home. Not until he had achieved what he set out to do.
"What do you mean that you don't have any nitromyte?!" Duran was drawn from his thinking from the sound of a clearly unhappy voice, looking in the direction to see a stand having to contend with a short, stout man with a large, brown beard and equally thick eyebrows with bright, blue eyes that, despite their color, were fiery and rage filled. That said, his size and attire didn't exactly make him intimidating. He wore a jumpsuit with green and yellow stripes and a hat that looked like a jester's with two, white tassels at the ends whose main portion followed the same pattern. His cheeks were rosy and his nose was large and red, and he wore a white undershirt with leather gloves and a pouch around his neck, and simple brown boots on his feet. "Honestly!" the little man shouted, clearly frustrated. "This is the third day in the row! What's going on here?!"
"Sorry, sir, but the trade routes to Beiser and wherever the dwarves live are cut off due to the recent attack by Altenian forces." the man behind the stand explained.
"I've only got enough supply for a one way trip, and I need more! There's still a lot of tests to be done!" the short man argued. "My masterpiece cannot wait any longer!"
"I'm sorry about that, but there's nothing I can do about it." the stand keeper sighed. It seemed that he and his current customer were very well acquainted with each other. More so than the keeper would've liked.
"Oh...fine!" the small man grumbled. "Have it your own way!" he then huffed off. "Nobody understands…" he then went off. "Probably have to make a trip all the way to Beiser now. If they'll let me in…" then, the small man noticed Duran, his eyes then lighting up. "Ah!" he then ran up to him, circling around him and seemingly studying every part of him. "Hm...hmm...hmm, yes. I see…"
"Uh, excuse me?" the young man was confused, even more so when the smaller man had pulled out a measuring tape from out of nowhere. "What the...what are you doing?"
"Ah! You're perfect!" the little man cheered, his formerly despondent mood seemingly having never existed. Then, he seized Duran by the arm and began dragging him to a rather large home by the edge of the city that separated it from the ocean. "Come with me, young man!"
"The hell-"
"Oh yes! You and I are gonna make history!"
Duran said no more before wrangling out of the man's grip and going off to the ship about to depart soon. He didn't even seem to notice, and frankly, all the better in the young man's mind. "Weirdo…" he muttered as he continued his way to the dock.
Present
"Hey, you up yet?" a female voice asked from inside his head, Duran shifting a bit. "Hey, c'mon now! Haven't you been sleeping enough?"
The young man groaned, turning over, yet nonetheless, opened his eyes. "What time is it?"
"Just around dawn from what I gather." Lumina answered before sighing in contentment. "The sun never fails to feel good…"
"And we've got to get up and find the rest of the Elementals." Faerie mentioned, ignoring the inner protest of her host.
Duran got up from his bed and dressed himself, stepping out from his room and went up to the deck, momentarily blinded by the light of the sun. Looking around, he saw Angela standing out amidst the slew of people that had also come out, the wind lightly playing with her hair. "You're up too?"
Angela turned to see the young soldier approaching her. "Nothing much else to do but watch." she answered. "From what I heard, this ship's just about to reach Maia."
"Is it?" Duran questioned. 'Valsena…' he thought, clenching his fist. His vow...his journey...so far, all of it had been a complete bust. And what he had done had little to nothing to do with what he had initially set out to do. So soon, he was going back...his grip tightened on the hilt of his sword, his hand instinctively reaching to it. His entire being felt dejected. He had failed his promise, and brought back little more than some task thrust on him by some strange chance of fate. Or was it simply bad luck? It wasn't as if he was completely lacking sympathy for Faerie, but the fact was, he simply couldn't take on something like this. Thus, he had set it in his mind to find another to take the mantle of acquiring this Mana Sword.
Only thing was, how was he going to approach him when the young man had sorta up and left without a word?
"Look!" Angela shouted, pointing forward, Duran and everyone else drawing towards the edge of the railing and looking in the same direction. From afar, the sight of a bustling city filled to the brim with multiple stands and the distant sound of clamouring could be seen and heard.
Well, thought Duran, time to go and try to actually sort of this crazy mess. All the while knowing that, in some way, he had failed.
Astoria
Underground Bunker
To the neutral observer, one would have found the sight of the torn up Astoria rather depressing and pitiful, yet if they were to look closer, they would've seen something else. A strange device that looked like some sort of pair of binoculars attached to a long pole that was mostly concealed underground. This was the only piece of evidence that someone, or in this case, someones, were still in this once inhabitable village.
"Called me crazy…" the old, balding man muttered as he looked through the spy glasses. "Called me an outright looney for investing years and hundreds of lucre into this here baby!" he then pulled away from it and pulled the device down, hiding it in the ground. "Well, the moment I heard that young feller spouting off about those beastmen in Jadd, I KNEW that it'd finally come in handy!" He seemed quite proud of himself. "Still…" his features then went sour. "Doesn't mean that I wanted something like this to happen…" Riesz and Hawkeye silently agreed, they and the Mayor of Jadd having come down into this small bunker like area (and the bearded man thankfully able to get a pair of pants on him), the area large enough for them all, yet it was clearly made for only one occupant, a single bed and various candles lit all around. Yet nonetheless, he seemed to have a good enough assortment of clothes and provisions on hand. "Well," the old man began talking again. "Since we're all here now, anybody hungry?"
The red haired, bearded man's arm immediately shot up, Riesz and Hawkeye rather taken aback by his forwardness. 'Surely he can't be THAT famished.' the thief thought, looking to the man's gut. 'From the looks of it, those beastmen were feeding him TOO well.'
The man had gotten out a fresh loaf and tore off a few pieces, handing one to each of them. "So...who wants to go first?" the old man asked, no one answering at first. "Ok, then. You!" he pointed to Riesz.
"M-Me?"
"Sure thing, little miss!" the spectacle wearing hermit answered. "What's your story?"
The blonde princess was somewhat taken aback by the old man's directness, yet nonetheless, what harm was there in telling it? Eccentric as he seemed, they, quite literally, had little else they could do. "Well, suffice to say, we're somewhat stuck here for the time being."
"Hey, no problem." the old man said. "Maybe I could work on some social skills anyway."
"No, that's...not what I mean." Riesz answered. "There was a ship that came by, but we were…" she then paused.
"What is it?" Hawkeye asked, she in turn shushed him.
"Do you hear that?" he didn't understand at first, yet listening more, he heard it too. Soon, everyone else did, and there was no mistaking it.
Something was going on outside. Something that was causing quite a commotion.
Free City Maia
The sun having come over the horizon, morning had officially begun, and, from the chorus of chattering and the ringing of bells in the bazaar, so had business. Everyone was overwhelmed at first by the sudden clash of culture in comparison to the tense quiet that had perpetuated Jadd, yet a few moments to adjust was all they needed, they more than thankful and ready to take this over the alternative. As the new arrivals filed out from the ship, Duran and Angela stepped out on the stone ground and looked around, the latter fascinated by all that was around her.
"Whoa…" she said, peridot eyes wide with wonder. "It's huge…"
"Yeah, I guess." Duran answered. Truthfully, he had been in such a hurry to make it to Jadd, he hadn't exactly stopped to get a good enough look at this place.
"It IS pretty big." Faerie observed, quite curious and fascinated by what she saw herself.
"Ahh…" Lumina sighed in contentment. "This is why I love it when I get to tag along with people! All the new sights! And it's handy to see how much the world's changed in a century or two!" or in his case, a mere nineteen years since the Peddan war. Still, even that was sometimes a long enough period for the world to radically be altered.
Well, he'd be able to do that soon, just not with the same person, Duran thought. "You know...that's not how that works." Faerie sighed, though from what she saw in the young man's mind, it was clear that he wasn't going to be convinced otherwise. How long it'd take for him to figure this out...well...only time would tell. Though they didn't have too much of it.
Making their way from the port, the two youths found that several of the residents of Jadd had begun to spread out, the residents of Maia bewildered at the amount of people that had come, yet nonetheless, if a profit was to be made, then they'd take the opportunity. With little else to go, Duran and Angela went to the main square and the shouts echoed and rang throughout the area, several wares and goods put on display. It seemed things hadn't changed at all since the young soldier had last been here. "Oooh!" he was drawn by Angela's cry, she clapped her hands together and went over to a nearby stand, an assortment of colorful clothing and feminine wear presented out in the open. "Wow…" her eyes widened as she gazed upon them. "These are gorgeous…"
"Like what you see, miss?" the stout woman behind the stand answered, clearly satisfied by the intrigue and wonder in the young woman's eyes.
"Oh yes!" Angela answered, taking one of the items and removing one of her gloves, feeling the cloth with her bare skin. "Ah! This...is this silk!?"
The woman smiled. Got her. "You bet!" she exclaimed. "Finest in all of Valsena!" Angela's eyes got even wider as she looked all around at the collection of beautiful clothing before her, from dresses to cloaks and veils, all of it was magnificent! Yet then, she looked to the left and immediately left the stand, sets of magnificent, sparkling jewelry set out, glistening in the sun. Though this fascination was soon caught by another stand, then another, then another. Duran could only watch as the self-proclaimed magician went all around the square like lightning, stopping at each and every one of the stands as if she were seeing all of this for the first time. One would think she had never even been outside before at all.
"Ah! You!" the soldier was interrupted from his thoughts when he felt a tug on his hand. Looking down, Duran's eyes widened in shock at who it was. "I KNEW I'd find you eventually!"
"What the!?" it was him! The same guy that was ranting about there not being any of that nitromyte or whatever it was. "Y-You! What are you-" Duran pulled his arm back, yet the smaller man pulled him closer, his grip surprisingly strong.
"I lost you there for a bit, yet I KNEW you couldn't have gone far!" the man in the jumpsuit and hat chuckled, completely oblivious to Duran's quite audible protests. "Now that I found you, we can get right onto testing!"
"Testing?! Testing what?!" the young man got out no more before he felt himself being drug off towards a large home on the eastern edge of town. "H-Hey! Take your hand off me! Let me go!" Duran struggled, surprisingly so, against the smaller man's grip. Just how strong was this guy?! Was he just not putting as much effort into his grip before?! Regardless, it seemed that there was no hope for him, Duran being helplessly dragged by the smaller man towards what was assumedly his home, protesting and trying to get himself out of the man's hold all the way there.
"Oh dear." the man behind the stand Angela was currently checking out shook his head. "Crackpot is at it again…poor kid."
Outside of Astoria
"It's one of them!" one of the several people shouted, pointing to Kevin. "And he's got two children with him!"
"No, wait!" the young beastmen protested. "It's not like that!"
"Liar!" another shouted. "You're just using them as leverage, aren't you!?"
"Your kind really have no morals, do you?!" a woman bellowed, grabbing a rock and hurling it at the blonde young man. Soon, others followed her example, throwing everything from small stones to those the size of a fist in his direction.
"Stop it!" Mick shouted, balling his fists. "He hasn't done anything wrong! He saved our lives!"
"Yeah!" Charlotte added. "You big meanies!"
Then, Mick felt a hand seize his wrist, a woman attempting to drag him away. "Hey, let me go! Let me go!"
"Mick!" Charlotte shouted, about to go over to him to release him from the woman's grip, yet saw in the corner of her eye a rather sizable rock coming Kevin's way. "Watch out!" she shouted, leaping up and in front of the larger young man.
WHACK!
The large stone made contact with the young girl's forehead, sending her head and the rest of her flying back, she landed on the ground in a heap several feet away from the crowd. "Charlotte!" Kevin hollered, going over to the small girl and scooping her up. He then narrowed his eyes, rage filling him as he then turned to the crowd, ready to bellow a roar in their direction.
"You there!" only, he never got the chance. Looking in the direction of the voice, everyone saw a young man and woman heading their way along with a bearded, nearly naked man, the former two clearly outraged by what they had just witnessed. "Would you care to explain yourselves?!" the green dressed blonde youth bellowed, rushing over in between the crowd and Kevin and Charlotte, the violet haired young man following and joining her, the older man having decided to stay behind. "What is this?!" she demanded to know, gasping when she saw a moaning Charlotte in Kevin's arms, blood trickling down her forehead. "Throwing rocks at children...all of you should be disgusted with yourselves!"
"But...but we were aiming for him!" a man shouted, pointing to Kevin, Mick still struggling to escape from the woman pulling him back.
"Well, your aim kinda sucks, pal." Hawkeye scoffed. "Besides," he then looked to Kevin. "What's the guy done that warrants him being pelted so badly?"
"He's one of them!" another man answered. "He's with those beastmen! He's got the same clothes as them and everything!"
"No! Not true!" said beastman protested. "We came from Wendel! These two...they don't have a home anymore!"
"Like us because of what YOUR kind did!" someone shouted, about to run up and strike him, yet Hawkeye seized him by the wrist.
"Hey!" a red haired woman then yelled, the one that had taken Mick. "I'm no fan of them either, yet don't you see that poor girl's hurt? And here you are, potentially going to hurt her more in a blind rage?"
"But...but he's-"
"I know well what he is." she interrupted. "But-" she then paused, looking at the girl more closely in Kevin's arms. "Wait a moment…" she paused, observing her, then gasping upon realizing who she was. "Charlotte?!" a young, brunette boy came up beside her, he equally shocked at the sight of blood on her forehead. She was awake and aware, yet holding her head in pain.
"Who threw that?!" Kevin finally roared, unable to take the sight of it anymore. The crowd went silent, no one moving. Just then, he saw shifting behind a few people, his golden eyes centering on the figure. Looking at the red haired woman, he put Charlotte in her arms and dashed through the crowd, the figure attempting to escape, yet no such luck, he felt the scruff of his shirt being grabbed and he being dragged back to face the beastman's angered face.
Riesz began to make her move, yet Hawkeye stopped her. "What are you-"
"Hold on a minute." he told her, clearly cautious, yet not exactly ready to make a move just yet.
"I don't intend to seriously damage him." she explained.
"Still, just wait." he in turn told her.
"Uh, yeah." the Mayor, having come closer to the crowd to see what was going on nervously stated. "What he said."
Everyone looked on in fear as Kevin held the rock thrower in his grasp, the man wriggling and struggling in his grip. "H-Hey, c'mon!" he stammered. "It was an accident! I didn't mean to hit her!"
"You could've hit me too!" Mick shouted. Despite himself and the teachings of the city and temple he had resided in, he was quite eager to see the one who had hit Charlotte get what he deserved.
"P-Please!" The man continued his struggles. "Look, I'm sorry! There, I said it! I'm sorry! Now you gotta let me go! Please?"
Kevin only looked at the human in his grip, everyone still and tense, awaiting what his next move would be. Then finally, after what felt like forever, to everyone's shock, the beastman let his 'prey' fall to the ground, he then went back over to the red haired woman and centering his attention on the girl that had been struck. "Charlotte?" he asked, the aforementioned girl looking up at him. "You ok?"
"Y-Yeah." she sighed, touching the spot, but wincing when she did so, making both Kevin and the woman holding her jump a bit. "I think so." then, the blonde girl realized who was holding her. "Hey," she began. "You'we that wady! Ewisa, wight?"
"Yes, that's me." the woman, Elisa, answered.
"I'm here too!" looking down, Charlotte then saw Ralph by his mother. "But…" he then looked to Kevin. "Who are you?"
"Indeed." Kevin turned to see Riesz approaching him, Hawkeye close behind.
"Y-Yes?" the beastman asked, feeling somewhat intimidated by the firmness in her gaze.
"It's all right." she assured him. "You've shown considerable restraint just now, so for the moment...I'll bestow you the benefit of the doubt. Still…" she directed her gaze to Charlotte and Mick. Hawkeye was somewhat disappointed, yet it was clear that there was no stopping her at this point. If anything, at least she seemed to have a clearer head than Duran. "What were you doing with these two children?"
"We…" Kevin began, pausing for a moment. "We came from Wendel." he then reworded his former statement. "We escaped Wendel."
"Escaped?" Riesz's blue eyes widened. "Why? What happened?"
Kevin, Charlotte, and Mick all shared looks with each other, all releasing a collective sigh. Everyone else seemed both shocked and equally curious about this as well. It wasn't exactly a subject that either of them wished to revisit, yet they had silently agreed with each other some time ago that would probably come up some time later.
Free City Maia
What.
In the world.
Had he just been dragged into?
"Isn't she lovely?" the small man chuckled, Duran still flabbergasted at what was before him. And what was before him was a massive, monolithic cannon of blackened material with golden lining stationed in what was ultimately the 'backyard' of the small man's home. "Took me MONTHS to finally get it all done, and a good amount of lucre, but it was worth every moment and coin!"
"Wait...months?!" Faerie exclaimed inside of Duran. "H-How did he…"
"I don't know." he replied in turn. "I don't even know if what I'm seeing is real."
"So far, the tests have been hit and miss." the man continued, completely oblivious to everything else but his 'masterpiece' before him. "And it certainly doesn't help that the nitromyte's been in low supply. Honestly, where are those dwarves when you need them?"
"Dwarves?" Duran questioned, words simply pouring from his mouth due to his mind still trying to process what was before him. It was then that he remembered. Oh, yes. He had heard of dwarves living in the nearby areas. In fact, around the gap he had crossed to get to Maia was rumored to be where the dwarves had lived. While she didn't say anything, Faerie was pondering all that she was hearing, Lumina in turn just fascinated by what he was seeing.
"Yeah, dwarves." the man responded. "They sometimes come here to sell stuff, but lately, no one's been here. Which means no nitromyte." he then sighed.
'You could just use gunpowder.' the young soldier thought.
"But gunpowder doesn't pack the 'punch' I need." the man answered, Duran flabbergasted. The hell?! If he didn't know better, he would've assumed that the guy could outright read minds! "And it's not just that! Everybody thinks this whole thing is a waste of time! Even my own sister says so! But let them talk! I'll show them! I'm going to revolutionize the world!" He then went into a diatribe of how he was going to go down in history and whatnot, Duran having stopped paying attention, Lumina now having something to say.
"You guys always can go so far in your technology!" He surveyed the cannon before him. "Last time I got out, you guys had airships and everything! Wonder where those went to."
"Airships?" Duran asked.
"Yeah. Though...there was a war going on. And from what I've seen, war kinda sets things back, so…"
"Did you say something?" the man suddenly asked.
"Uh, nope! Nothing! Nothing at all!" Duran assured.
"Oh. It sorta sounded like you were talking like you had a hundred voices in your head."
A growl came from Duran's throat, Faerie only giggling nervously. A hundred voices, really? Says the guy who went on a whole talking session to himself about how he was going to change history and all that jazz with this massive contraption that he outright ADMITTED to wasting time and money in building! Well, he didn't say 'wasting', yet Duran had made up his mind that it was all a waste of time, and either the man was too blind to see it, or he was in outright denial.
"BON VOYAGE!"
The small man and Duran whirled around to see a woman covered head to toe in blackened soot, a collection of fabric in her arm that looked like some sort of parachute of sorts. Needless to say, she didn't look the least bit happy. "Oh, Jean, you're back." the man, presumably Bon Voyage (weird name for an even weirder person, Duran thought), said nonchalantly, as if all of this was completely normal. "How was the trip?"
"How was the trip, HOW WAS THE TRIP?!" the woman bellowed, getting up in the smaller man's face and nearly sending him flying from the force of her voice alone. "Oh, I'll TELL you how the trip was!" she snarled. "After you go and send me flying halfway across the country, I land DEAD center in a place completely OPPOSITE of the kingdom!"
"Oh. Well…" Bon Voyage meekly shifted his feet. "Maybe the calculations were just a LITTLE bit off."
"A bit...a bit?!" she continued on with her tirade. "I nearly slammed my head into the side of the mountain! You could've nearly killed me!" she yelled. "And not only that, on the way back, I had to deal with a swarm of these annoying Chobin Hoods shooting darts at me! And after that, I had to prove that I wasn't some sort of spy at the gate!"
"Oh, this is fantastic!" Bon Voyage then cried out, once again, completely oblivious. "Then that means I only have to add a bit more nitromyte and reposition the cannon, and surely we can get you to land right at Valsena's front door-"
"Hey, are you even listening?!"
"Only thing is, we're nearly spent, so...oooh!" the small man groaned in frustration, stomping his foot as if he were some little kid. "By this point, I might as well go and try to find some of those dwarves myself!"
"You're not going anywhere!" Jean shouted. "I'm done with all this nonsense!"
"It's not nonsense! This is going to revolutionize the world! This is going to be even bigger than airships and….well...bigger than airships! Hell, it may be bigger than ANY of the technology Pedda had during the war!"
"Oh, get off your high horse!" the woman yelled. "You're chasing a blind dream, you crackpot!"
Duran only stood there, transfixed by the scene taking place. "Um, I THINK this might be our cue." Faerie then said.
"Oh! Y-Yeah. Right." he wasted no time in exiting from the 'yard' of the mad cannon builder, making his way back into the bazaar. "Now, where is…"
"And this too!" going in the direction of the voice, he saw Angela, an abundance of items in her arms ranging from clothing to jewelry. It looked as if she had taken nearly everything from nearly every stand in the whole place. "Ah, there you are!" she said to Duran nonchalantly. "So...uh," she looked to the items she held in her hands, then to him. "You wouldn't mind sparing some change, would you? Pretty please?"
Outside Astoria
"So...it's true." Elisa bit her lip to where, had she applied any more pressure, she would've bit right through it. "Wendel has fallen." Riesz found herself turning away for a moment, unpleasant memories resurfacing.
Kevin, Charlotte, and Mick all lowered their heads. "Well...not entirely sure." Kevin then spoke up. "We left when the attack happened. But...the Priest said he'd take care of things."
"But he's so old." Mick added, fidgeting. "I don't know what he could do…"
"Hey, quiet!" Charlotte then said. "He...he's fine! He'ww make everything be fine again! You…" her tone then grew softer. "You'ww see. He'ww be ok…" having been put down by Elisa, Kevin felt the blonde girl clutching tightly to his pants leg, the fabric tightly held in her hands. Kevin was unsure of what to do at first, yet nonetheless found his hand traveling to rest on the top of her head, gently tracing his palm in small circles and applying only the lightest amount of pressure needed.
"And...the ship's already left?" Kevin questioned Riesz and Hawkeye, the two sadly nodding.
"As of now, there's no way out of here." the blonde young woman sighed, looking out in the direction of the massive lake.
"Well...we can just hide out until another ship comes back." Hawkeye suggested.
"We can, but where will they go?" Riesz gestured to the crowd of people all around them. Hawkeye realized that indeed, that would be quite the issue. "And even if we all went and made boats to get across the lake, we'd be going right into the beastman's natural territory."
"A few of us tried to pass through the cavern to get to Wendel." one of the men in the crowd spoke up. "But the barrier's still up. Or from what these three said," he looked over to Kevin, Charlotte, and Mick. "Another one's been put up."
Despite the current situation, a wave of relief came over the aforementioned three, especially Charlotte. "So gwandpa did it aftew aww…"
"But," the man continued. "Someone his age...I don't know entirely, but creating that barrier in the first place must've taken a lot of energy to make in the first place. And if he had to make a new one…"
It was then that Charlotte's relief died, panic coming to her features. "What?!" she shouted, blue eyes widening in terror. "G-Gwandpa…" She looked around, seeing the small, man made steps that led to the entrance of the cavern. She then was about to dash in that direction, yet a firm yet gentle grip on her wrist held her back. "B-But…" she began to protest, yet Kevin shook his head. She then latched onto him, burying her face in his leg, he feeling the beginning of tears creeping into the fabric. A low sigh escaped him, he went back to lightly massaging her head. And while he wasn't going to make this about him, images of a certain wolf pup entered his mind, as well as the grave that the now dead friend resided in.
Riesz and Hawkeye found themselves at a loss, only able to gaze upon the weeping girl and crowd. Indeed, the single question on everyone's mind was unanimous.
What to do now?
They couldn't have in any way been aware of what was occurring but a short distance away, yet several small, tiny eyes watched what was taking place, taking in the conversations and statements being shared by everyone present.
"Well, this is great." one of the owners of the eyes said. "Now we've got a bunch of other humans to worry about."
"It's not like they can help it." another chided. "They don't have anywhere to go."
"Still...all of them being around here will make it harder for us. It's been bad enough with those stupid beastmen and their hounds and birds, but now we've got these guys." the one that previously spoke said. "And what if one of those kids happens to see us? Say hello to having a tiny little leash and a small bowl filled with leaves or whatever they think you may or may not even eat."
Several other of the small, hidden beings conversed with each other, some arguing that this many humans being out in the open would do them no good to those that sympathized with their plight. One though, remained silent, only looking on at the crowd. Specifically, four figures amongst the now homeless townspeople. He recognized where each of them hailed from, and knew well that their collective presence here could only mean that something was occurring in the world again.
Something that, even if it hadn't completely affected them due to their ability to hide deep in the forest, would come to affect them and the rest of the world beyond simply nations invading others.
Note: It feels good being able to get started back on this. I'm thinking of maybe doing another outline for the next ten chapters after this one, as I don't want to potentially miss any chances that I have to link and develop things, as while I do love the game, there are things that kinda just happen because 'video games'.
That said, thank you all for your reviews, and I hope to hear from you all soon!