Chapter 36 "Tantalese Retreat"
~ LITHARIA SNOWFIELD ~
"Alright, that should do it," I settled the crate of treasures into place after helping the Tantalese men load the imports from Argentum. Filled precariously to the brim, the sled appeared like a basket on skis with rope reined around two stout ories up front. The operator of this archaic contraption had heroically answered the call to rescue us after we'd arrived at Genbu Port an hour ago.
"Looks like we don't have any extra room," the captain from the ship regretted to announce. "You two will have to hang onto the sides."
"Hardly a tourist activity," I muttered under my shivering breath. Nia, on the other hand, seemed quite invigorated.
"C'mon, it's part of the experience!" Her sunny take on the proposition amused our hosts.
"If you say so…" The sled's latticework felt brittle as I fiddled around for a decent grip.
"Is everybody ready?" the captain checked as he took his seat near the front. "Right, to Theosoir!" The operator cracked his whip and his two ories roared to life, straining against our added weight. The strength of these animals was quite impressive as we ascended the hill towards the capital, in the middle of a blizzard, no less.
~ FABLE ROCK ~
Even when the land branched into separate paths, our course continued on the rise. Decorating the snowy terrain were ruins of some lost civilization, the structures of which appeared like half-buried treasures. Each sharp turn around them reminded us to hold on tightly or risk being left behind.
"Kinda fun, yeah?" Nia flashed a mischievous grin over the cargo rattling between us.
"S-sure…" The fear of falling was the only thing keeping me from freezing at this point. "I don't know if this makes up for the delays."
"It's more fun than sittin' around." She wasn't wrong about that, though I wished for the ride to be over already. There was no telling what sort of amenities awaited us in the capital, if any at all. Still, I figured we'd be much warmer in there than out here, exposed to the elements. The brutal winds felt like wet feathers in my eyes, and my hands were beginning to go numb. Nia appeared to be taking it better despite her hair flying everywhere like a tattered flag.
I hadn't realized it, but our pace had decreased since we'd entered this obstacle course of ruins. After so many expeditions, we trusted that our hosts had memorized the path by now, even in these conditions.
"Whoa…" The operator abruptly yanked the reins and slowed us to a crawl.
"Why are we stopping?" Nia asked what I was about to ask, myself.
"Roadblock, it seems." The captain raised our lantern, but the light was pathetically lost in the flurry. All that we saw before us was a bulky lump. "Can't tell what it is, but it wasn't here before."
"Did it just… move?" she nearly jumped off.
"It must not be debris, then," I watched the unidentified object take a more distinctive shape.
"Oh… it's a gogol," he declared with disdain, "I recognize the stench."
"What's a gogol?" Nia didn't have long to wonder when the foul-breathed beast plodded into the light with an agitated growl. "Right…"
"These monsters aren't nocturnal," the captain claimed. "It must've been disturbed by the flare gun, earlier."
"It's disturbed, alright." I ran around to Nia's side with the sled fully parked.
"Don't let it get to the food!" he ordered his crew, paying no mind to their own safety as they shifted themselves over the goods. The gogol crept closer, appearing to recognize the edible wealth of the stash. Meanwhile, the operator was having his share of the panic wrangling with the reined ories. (Did these guys seriously not prepare for an encounter like this?)
"Come on, Nia," my stiff arm struggled to grab her scimitar off my back, "let's keep this from becoming a complete nightmare."
"Right behind ya," she powered up the weapon. Its effervescent glow illuminated the area around us, completely outshining the lantern. The gogol was in full display, beady eyes, sharp teeth, and all. Like a moth to a flame, the monster seemed attracted to the brightness of the scimitar, though perhaps it only desired to turn it off. It took one swipe at it, then a second, and eventually a third. Each time, we backed away to the side, hoping to lure it away from the sled.
"Don't keep going that way!" the captain shouted. "The cliff is right there!" As helpful as his warning was, it inevitably attracted the gogol's attention back onto the sled and the men guarding it.
"Don't do it!" I lunged as fast as my lethargic body could move in the ankle-deep snow. Ultimately, my effort was too slow as the hairy beast knocked the scimitar clear out of my hands. The numbness was proving to be a dangerous affliction, rendering me useless in what should've been a manageable situation. "Nia…?"
"Look alive!" she dove in for the rescue, having already retrieved her wayward weapon. Soon it was the gogol who was retreating as my partner expertly drove it back with powerful strikes of her own. Pleased with her performance, she turned to me with a wink. "Here, don't drop this again, yeah?"
"I didn't mean to let go," my numb fingers attempted to grip the hilt again. "I've lost feeling to my hands and…" I shook my legs around, "my feet, too."
"Then keep your distance and make sure this doesn't miss," my adept Blade moved behind me and reapplied her power.
"Right…" I knew exactly which art she had in mind. When the gogol reemerged into the light, I steadied my arms, pointed the scimitar forward, and fired a hydro blast right into the face of the feral adversary. Within seconds, its jaw was weighed down with icicles as the water froze from the cold temperature. Likewise, the splash from the attack created a slate of ice on the ground, causing further struggles for the impaired gogol. (Guess we should've expected that to happen.)
"Aye! You two, get on!" the captain called us back. "Now's our chance to flee!" The operator didn't even wait for us as he undulated the reins to get the ories trotting forward again.
"You heard the man, let's go!" Nia grabbed my arm and practically threw me against the side of the sled.
"Don't let go… of me," I pleaded. Since her power ceased coursing through me, my body felt drained.
"I've got ya, Rem," she wrapped her arm around me. Our movement was as slow as before, but in my current state, it felt like gliding. With her scimitar no longer emanating its ether glow, we were relying on the dangling, rudimentary lantern again. If the gogol was following us, we were no longer aware. Visibility in a nighttime flurry was virtually nonexistent, but once the incline leveled off, there were enough lights in the distance to paint the picture of our destination.
~ THEOSOIR MAIN GATE, of the capital ~
"We made it," the captain announced, his voice hoarse and weak. "Welcome to Theosoir."
"Whoa… Rem, look…" Nia jostled my eyes open. I hadn't even realized that I'd closed them. "We can hop off now."
"Oh, right…" I was surprised that I'd held on, considering how close I was to falling asleep on the spot.
"Please remove your crate first so we can begin distributing the goods." The captain and his men shook the snow out of their caps, a scene which might've been humorous had we not just escaped a dangerous monster.
"Hey, snap to it!" my partner shook me again.
"S-sorry." My arms and legs didn't want to cooperate, but I mustered enough strength to help her with the task. "E-excuse me, s-sir, but where's the nearest inn?"
"Anastatia's is just down these stairs and at the end of the street, to the right," he pointed before tending to the rest of the load. "Surely, they have a vacancy. We hardly get visitors…"
"Okay, c'mon, Rem, it's not far," Nia encouraged and started to move with the crate before I was ready.
"…and thanks," our host added. "You saved us, back there."
"Don't mention it," she nodded. "Keep movin', Rem. Watch your step."
"I got it, I got it," but I nearly stumbled down the stairs anyway.
~ SOPRAC MARKET ~
There was only one street that led to the rest of the city, but it was a rather snug one at that. We shuffled by a handful of market stalls, long since closed for the night. I was grateful that the inn was nearby, certain that I'd pass out within minutes.
Soon, we found ourselves in a small square where we could see Theosoir in its full glory. I kept one eye pried open, hoping to get a preview of the sights and sounds for tomorrow. There was some sort of tower in the center, but I hadn't the patience nor the energy to study it. In fact, our destination for tonight was in the exact opposite direction, tucked away.
"Just a bit more," Nia kept up the beat. "Right turn, careful… more stairs…"
~ ANASTATIA'S, the sole inn ~
If we didn't know better, we wouldn't have taken the semi-enclosed structure for an inn. In fact, it looked more like a pub with all the tables and bottles. A couple of midnight sippers kept some chairs warm while they chatted about something unintelligible, pausing only to observe the crate that we were lugging.
"Please tell me you've got space open…" Nia did the honors, sounding completely wiped out.
I must've taken a minute-long nap on my feet, for when I opened my heavy eyes next, there was a tidy bed right in front of me. Indeed, the inn did have a room for weary travelers like us, and somehow we made it in without bumping the crate against the walls. As soon as Nia shut the door behind us, I shook off my coat and shoes and fell face-forward into the quilted blankets.
And so we slept, the howling wind now a soothing noise since it could no longer stab us…
It was a little past noon when I awoke the next day, but I was completely fine with that. We'd strained ourselves and traveled far, so the extra rest was well-deserved in my book. Nia was already up, though she hadn't been for long by the looks of it. A tired smile momentarily poked through her resting face, expressing her satisfaction from curtailing the gogol. Now that there was daylight, I pulled the curtains aside, curious to see where we'd trekked.
"Gah!" My eyes bugged at the sight of the landscape, the depth of which was beyond believability. The grogginess from a minute ago disappeared instantly. "We're so high up! It's like we're floating."
"Okay… not gonna look, then," she shuddered, ears drooping. "Ignorance is bliss. You wouldn't have slept if you'd known."
"Nah, I was exhausted. I knew that this city existed over a lake, but I thought it was… you know, on the lake, with boardwalks, or a promenade." I started to slowly close the curtains, but not without another gander out the window. It really was a breathtaking view, treachery aside. "Huh, I think I see where we fought the monster last night."
"Who cares? I'd rather see the city," Nia spoke like a tourist, although we had business to do. "We might as well have fun while you seek out the… the… um… Rem, do you even know where we're supposed to take the treasures?"
"I'll ask around, but first we need to wash up and reserve the room for another few days. There's no telling what sort of reception we'll receive out there." It wouldn't be long before I found out, however, as something special was waiting for us outside our door.
"What's this?" she knelt to retrieve a bottle of flowers. "Did someone leave these for us?"
"Flowers?" I waltzed over for a sniff. "Smells… almost sugary…" The bottle was crude, but the flowers were quite lovely. (I didn't think plants could grow in this climate.)
"Oi! Do you know who left these in front of our door?" Nia asked the woman behind the counter, almost interrogatively.
"I don't know, maybe the same people who provided all of these," she stepped over to the nearest table and removed a stainless steel cover dome.
"Wha…?" My jaw just about dropped. Laid out with care was a tray full of baked goods, emitting a smell even tastier than the flowers' scent. "Someone left all this food… for us?"
"That's right." The woman poured two cups of tea and added them to the meal. "Some of the vendors set it up, earlier. They said it was for the driver and Blade who saved the imports."
"Oh…" I started to blush, even though nobody else was here. "I guess the captain and his men spread the word."
"So much for not mentioning it… although, this spread is enticing," my hasty Blade pulled up a chair. "Huh, these are odd-looking pancos."
"Pancos? Oh, you mean pancakes," the woman chuckled at Nia's variation of it. "Actually, those are Addam's Embercakes, a rather famous dish around here."
"They must be if you put Addam's name on it." Even I was aware of the great hero of Alrest who was well before my time. "Embercakes, though…"
"Might be a tad spicy," she warned.
"Ah, it's tolerable," Nia was already two bites in. "C'mon, Rem, join me, sample some Tantalese culture before we dive into it proper."
~ ELMOS SQUARE ~
After the impromptu brunch, courtesy of the grateful people of Tantal, we finally set out to tour the capital. Nearly every vendor we approached recognized us as the heroes who allowed them to open for business today and thanked us in their own ways. It didn't take long for Nia to get her fill on free offerings of oyster rolls and fried octomayo. As for me, I was gifted with multiple recommendations to seek out the reliquary of the library to complete our mission which brought us here in the first place.
Despite its size, Theosoir had a particular coziness to it. Perhaps it was the intimacy of the lady choir whose angelic voices permeated the air, contained within the ancient walls. Perhaps it was the comfort of knowing that these walls were protecting us from the gnarly winds still audible outside, wailing to break in. It felt like a snow globe, where no outer-world problems mattered anymore. The hoary, stone buildings were seemingly stacked on top of each other, reminding me of the aristocratic Dosilla City back on Prudentia.
The centerpiece and main attraction of Theosoir was, without doubt, the ornate tower that I'd spotted earlier. A mesmerizing beam of green ether extended from within the base and disappeared into the frosty mist above, like a beacon of light braving the impenetrable darkness. Additional pillars dotted the streets, bearing similar emissions of ether as well. The only other sources of light in the otherwise dreary city were the fire pots whose heat could be felt around every nook and cranny.
"I feel like we're getting warmer," I deduced upon our arrival to the opposite side of town.
"It's been fairly toasty for quite some time, yeah?" Nia rubbed her forearms, hunching a bit.
"Er… well, yes, but I meant that the eventual recipient of our treasures likely resides nearby." Situated before me was the grand entrance to Tantal's royal palace, a rather intimidating corridor, admittedly. However, the wings of my curiosity fluttered to the building next to it, Tantal's library. "Let's pop our heads in here, shall we?"
"The library?" she hesitated to follow. "Wouldn't the palace be a more appropriate place?"
"Perhaps, but I was strongly advised to start with the library," I recalled the recommendations of the residents. "We need to get the attention of a local expert, like a historian, who can verify that our treasures are Tornan. Hopefully, they can set us up with the right establishment which might not even be the royal palace at all."
"I thought Tommy's teacher and his friend already authenticated the junk," my unconvinced Blade continued to stall.
"It's not junk!" My hot reaction gave her satisfaction that she hadn't even sought. "Ahem… I doubt anyone here would believe the words of outsiders regarding something as delicate as heritage treasure. They'll have to perform their own inspections, assuming they'll agree to do so in the first place."
"Sounds tedious," she huffed. "Is that why we left the treasures back in our room?"
"Exactly," I nodded. "Wouldn't it be monstrous if we'd lugged them across town for nothing?"
"Better hope that you remembered to lock the door," she teased again. "Wouldn't it be monstrous if we'd brought 'em across the Cloud Sea only for some thief to nick 'em?"
"Don't say such things!" I shivered at the thought, not by the cold air for once.
"You're so easy, Rem," my playful Blade giggled, following me into the library at last.
~ LIBRARY PHILOSOPHIA ~
The interior was smaller than what the grand exterior had led us to believe we'd be entering. It smelled old, simply put, and yet, it smelled like the right place. The back walls were lined with ceiling-high shelves of scaly-bound tomes, aged to gritty imperfection.
The librarian and curator wandering the aisles likewise were outfitted in attire so old-fashioned that they blended right into the uncountable shades of drab. After introducing ourselves to them, I presented my proposal to donate our Tornan treasures to Theosoir on behalf of the students who found them. The two men were skeptical as expected, but they agreed to have a look themselves.
With my foot in the door, the first step was made with little fuss. The next hundred steps of carrying the crate from the inn to the library, however, were much trickier. Every hole in the ground from a missing stone tile begged us to trip into it and drop our precious cargo. After surviving last night's beastly attack, failing now through carelessness was simply not an option.
We waited several hours in the reliquary while a smattering of the curator's fellow longbeards painstakingly inspected the armor and vase for discrepancies. Nia understood how important it was for me to see this arduous task to its conclusion and sat patiently by my side without a single complaint.
The quaint dinner bells had already rung by the time the final magnifying glass rested on the table. Having made his decisions, the curator approached us with good and bad news. While he was happy to accept the armor into his dusty, pitting collection, my vase was deemed an artful reproduction and was promptly returned to me. One out of two wasn't the end of the world, and so, we left the stagnant establishment with the mission more or less accomplished. (Looks like my artifact is coming back home with me after all.)
~ RESIDENTIAL AREA ~
It was well past sundown, although in a Titan like this, it was hardly noticeable. A male choir assumed singing duties as we found ourselves wandering the quieter, upper portion of the capital where a few hobby shops footed the stacks of stone abodes. The rustling of water below was rather calming, inducing a tranquility usually given by the fountain back home. My mind slipped into reflection mode, replaying the images of yesterday.
"It feels weird, but after the hassles at Argentum and the monster attack on the hill, the mission itself was… easy." Rarely did I ever admit that a mission was easy, especially one that'd taken us this far away from home.
"Take it, enjoy it," Nia joined me at the stone railing. "You're allowed to have easy success for once. We earned it, after the way yesterday went down."
"We never did learn what happened with Mor Ardain." I surveyed the area and found not a single newspaper. "I doubt we'll hear about anything while we're here."
"Good!" she stomped involuntarily. "If there's somethin' goin' on outside, I don't wanna know about it while I'm on vacation."
"Vacation, huh?" my eyes slowly crept over to her. "What is this, a Tantalese retreat?"
"It may as well be, with the mission finished," she happily reminded me. "We're complete tourists, now."
"Y-yeah," I scratched the back of my head, "but we've seen nearly everything in this city. The next ship to Argentum doesn't leave for another few days."
"I guess we're trapped, eh? Or better yet, snowed in! Never thought I'd get to say that." Her hands balled up inside her puffy sleeves and covered her playful smile. "This is like being stuck in Uraya, except that everybody 'ere loves us."
"How dare you mention Uraya?" my fist gently jabbed her arm in jest. "Although, the cupcake you got me there was pretty sweet."
"It was, wasn't it?" Nia peered down at the courtyard, focusing on a couple of kids who'd come into view with cups of sorbets in hand. "Hmm…"
"What? Found something interesting?" I searched around as my partner left her post.
"Be right back, and don't even think about wanderin' off," she ordered.
"Okay…?" I watched her skip around the corner, nearly in a frolic. A minute later, she reappeared briefly down by the kids while they stuffed their faces with their sorbets. (There must be a patisserie below. Guess I'd better make room for dessert.)
When she returned to our level, she carried a plate of mille-feulle, a double-layered vanilla pastry with a strawberry on top. My heart warmed at the adorable sight which resurrected the only fond memory from our terrible Urayan confinement. And then it occurred to me…
"Wait… how'd you pay for that?" I gripped my belt. "I'm the one carrying the money."
"The lovely lady down there recognized me as the Blade who saved her all-important grain," Nia explained, holding the pastry in my face. "Need I say more?"
"N-no…" It seemed wrong, but my mouth was watering just the same.
"We're on vacation," she reiterated, "and it's still sort of our third anniversary."
"Well, that was last weekend…" my habitual correctness kicked in.
"Who flippin' cares?" her voice bounced off the wall. "I got this for you, anyway."
"Thanks." I accepted her tasty gift and was about to sink my teeth into it when I suddenly felt her lips warm my cheek.
"Happy anniversary, Rem," she spoke softly.
"H-happy anniversary, Nia." That familiar, fuzzy feeling filled me instantly. "I'll enjoy this, I promise."
"I hope so," her lower lip stuck out. "She only handed me one since I was alone."
"Makes sense," I noticed her pout, "although, I'm willing to sha-"
"Thanks!" she tore the top layer with the strawberry off the pastry in a flash.
"Hey!" Now I was the one pouting.
"Y'know, for a dingy ol' city, they sure know how to bake." Her face displayed full satisfaction, besides a few crumbs from her share of the dessert. "Seriously, though, thanks for takin' the mission and bringin' me 'ere. I really needed to get away from home."
"Like I said yesterday, I'm happy when you're happy." I realized at this moment how much she'd loosened up today after a week of holding herself back. Her argument with Tommy had left her mentally and emotionally exhausted, even after they'd reconciled. Stress wasn't something with which she normally dealt, and this trip had provided her with a release.
Furthermore, being in a snow globe city within a snow globe Titan meant nothing from outside could penetrate this peace. She'd already declined to discuss Mor Ardain's crisis, so I thought better than to mention it again. Still, I had a lingering feeling that we'd be contending with it once this inadvertent vacation was over.