Chasing a Lead
It was a few hours later, in the early morning, when I got up and decided to shower. I figured if we'd be travelling on foot I may as well get one in before we head off. It gave me time to properly think about what we should be packing, find a map, chart out how long it'd take on foot to get to the next town or city or some sort of settlement. I wasn't sure how any of them would handle the long treks at first but we'd all become accustomed to it either way. Long walks across continents was something I was familiar with anyway.
The only problem was if we were going to find Sephiroth where would we even begin? We couldn't just wander aimlessly.
I think our best bet was to go the Nibelheim, specifically the Reactor. It was the last place he was seen alive but, beyond that, it was a long shot. I wasn't sure how Tifa or Cloud would feel about going back; the place must be a ghost town. It may have been their home but I doubt they felt compelled to go back after their last memories of it.
I still hadn't said anything but I didn't know what to make of Cloud's story. He was a Soldier, he was at Nibelheim, he knew Sephiroth, but it was Tifa's reactions that made me feel like things weren't adding up. They were childhood friends, yet no big deal was made of their first meeting since Cloud left. He glossed over a lot of it, but maybe it was just to get to the main point. I don't know and all I could do right now was take Cloud's word for it.
When I came out of the shower everyone else was starting to waken up. It was still early enough for everyone to get ready before we check out. I actually still felt a little hungry and part of me kind of wished Cloud had included breakfast. Suppose we'd get stuff before we leave Kalm anyway.
Everyone pretty much got showered and ready when Cloud, Barrett, and Nanaki came to check on us and see if we were ready. We weren't that far off, so they waited a couple of minutes before we were sorted and head out the room. A different person was at the front desk this time, a man just getting off the phone. We handed back the keys and I was kind of glad I still had a good amount of gil on hand from Spira, plus whatever anyone else had on them, so at least our money would be covered.
"Let's see... you don't have to pay anything," we all looked at him in confusion when he said that. "It was paid last night."
"We said we would pay in the morning," Tifa said to him. He checked over the computer to see if there was a mistake.
"Hmm... no, the receipt is here. It's all paid," he insisted. "Oh, hold on... this was addressed to your room to give to you on checkout." He went under the desk and produced a box, medium sized, not desperately heavy looking. Cloud took the box and nodded. "And that's all. Thank you for staying with us. We hope to see you again soon."
We all left the Kalm Inn feeling confused. We walked away from the Inn to a quiet place down at the shops and sat at a bench. We were a little apprehensive at the box but Cloud opened it anyway. Inside were seven phones and a note on top. Cloud took the note out and we all read it quietly.
Think you'll need these.
If you don't know, there are rumours of a man in a black cape heading towards the swamps and Mythril Mines. Shinra might also be pursuing these rumours.
Be careful.
It was surprising and somewhat suspicious that someone would anonymously help us. It was probably the same person who paid for our rooms but why would anyone do that anyway? It didn't make sense but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. We had nothing right now and needed all the help we could get.
And if following a rumour of a man in a black cape was our lead... then I suppose we should follow it.
"How far away are the mines?" I asked to break the long, debating silence.
"Really Chris? You're going to trust whoever gave us these things?" Barrett gave me a disapproving look. "This could be Shinra's way of tracking us, those things could be bugged for all we know. Thought you were smarter than that."
"Right now we don't have anything else," I argued. "We need to find Sephiroth and this is our only lead. If it's a trap, at least we can prepare to counteract it."
"If he's going through the Mythril Mines there's a chance he's heading to Junon," Cloud thought aloud. He was silent for a moment, then nodded to himself. "We'll head to the mines."
"You guys are serious..." Barrett scoffed. "All right, fine, but I still think this is a Shinra trap."
Cloud handed out the phones and split us into groups to get supplies for the trip. With any luck we wouldn't get lost heading to the mines if it was easily signposted, and some of the people in town were helpful in giving directions of the quickest way to get there on foot. One thing we were warned about was the Midgar Zolom, a huge serpent creature, was acting rather aggressively recently so they had to shut down the mines temporarily until Shinra dealt with it. Through the mines was still the quickest way through the mountains and across to Junon, so we were going that way no matter what. If we get caught by the Zolom then at least we could be doing Kalm a service.
I had finished buying food supplies with Tifa, since we both knew how to cook we took over that area while everyone else got camping equipment and medicinal supplies along with anything else we might have needed. It was just the two of us so we were quick enough getting everything we needed to cook with alongside utensils and the like. Tifa was quiet, us only really talking to make sure we had enough to last us until the next town, or a bit more if we had to take longer routes. We were starting to head back to the meeting point when I decided to try ask Tifa what was on my mind.
"Did all of that happen?" I asked as we walked away from the shops. "In Nibelheim, I mean. I know the last time I asked it was a sore subject... but did all of that happen in the space of a few days?"
"... All of it happened," Tifa answered after staying in uncomfortable silence.
"I just... felt like he was kind of vague, you know?" I continued, hoping to get something out of her.
"I suppose it's still raw with Cloud," Tifa reasoned. "Trauma can... put blank spots in people's memories."
"Yeah, you're right," I nodded. We continued along the street towards the edge of town, where we'd meet everyone else. "How did you get out? Do you remember?"
"My teacher, Zangan, got me out of the Reactor," she said. "I went in and out of consciousness until we reached Midgar for medical care. After that I joined Avalanche and fought against Shinra ever since." She sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, Christie, everything that happened then... it all happened so fast sometimes I'm not what I remember is real or not."
"Tifa, it's okay," I assured her. "I'm sure whatever you remember is what actually happened... but maybe your brain is blocking out the trauma." Tifa nodded in silent agreement. I didn't pry any further, knowing I'd get nowhere.
Everyone got back to the meeting point fairly quickly, everyone meeting back about the same time. We checked over all our equipment, making sure we had everything we possibly needed until the next town over. None of us really knew how long it'd take to get to the swamp, mines, and passing through to Junon, but we were just going to have to walk it from here on out. I guess this was the real start of our journey to find Sephiroth and save the planet from him and Shinra.
