Chronicles 15: World Tour, pt. 2

Regency of Lindblum, northern continent of Mist…

"I was certain that there were no continents in the north…" Regis told Noctis.

The old king had appeared at the behest of his son. Both specter and man were confused, seeing the massive castle that looked more like a giant clockwork than a citadel. The city of Lindblum was behind the castle walls, like Insomnia, but the buildings and technology looked that of the old "medieval" period when Niflheim had first started using magitecknology. The peoples varied, with the usual humans, but with Mi'qote, dwarves…elves, and other humanoid creatures in the mix. Some even had monkey tails, to which Prompto took a picture.

Noct sighed as the Lucian delegation walked through town, as Regent Cid told them to look at the sights before their scheduled meeting. He was amazed at what he saw as it looked like something straight out of the games Radiant Hearts and Dead Fantasy. It felt like the time he first met Mrs. Matoya during the blizzard earlier that year, and he wondered if he was awake.

"Hey, Noct. Take a look at this," Gladio said, stopping at a stand that sold something that smelled…off.

An old woman dressed like the peasants of old grinned and said, "Oh, you all must be from the south. Welcome to Lindblum, the city of engineers. You wantin' 'gyshal pickles'?"

"Uh…n-no. We were just looking," Noct said, his disdain for vegetables showing.

"Well, I know they smell terrible, but get past the smell and you'll get one of the greatest on-the-go snacks. Try one for 10 gil?" the old woman said.

Prompto's eyes widened, and he said, "It's a steal…"

"Yeah, and I'm sure that the people of Lindblum aren't expecting the Lucian king to be so picky…" Gladio said, chiding Noctis.

The king glared and muttered, "If it's such a steal, then why don't you two try it?"

"I already ate," Gladio told him.

"Yeah, and I'm sure that the kids would want something from the north," Prompto added.

Noctis glare deepened, and the old woman said, "Well, don't think of them as pickles, think of them as 'green sweeties'!"

"Yeah…'green sweeties'…" Noct said, doubtful.

He reluctantly handed her 10 gil and she gave him a bag of the green stuff. The king sighed and Gladio said, "400 gil says he throws it out."

"600 gil says that he throws up," Prompto added, making the pot 1,000 gil.

Another Kingsglaive took them up on the offer, saying, "I say Majesty will spit it out instantly…So, 1,500 gil."

Cor shook his head and muttered, "2,000 says he'll actually eat it."

Noctis grumbled, not believing that his men would do such a thing. Why did he have to try the pickles? He never liked pickles. Not even when they would mash it up to make relish for hot dogs or burgers. Why couldn't they understand that vegetables and he never got along?

Fruit, he loved along with fish, red meat, and poultry. But vegetables…No, they were anathema! If he had his way, Noctis would've banned vegetables from Lucis entirely. But angry parents would've stormed the citadel, carrying torches and pitchforks, and accusing him of depriving the nation's children of nutrition. And that wouldn't be good…

"Come on, I know you wanna try it!" Prompto chided, nudging the king.

Noctis glared and said, "I hate you all…"

He pocked it and they continued their tour of the city. Reaching the church, they found that it was home to something called the "Festival of the Hunt". Gladio was immediately interested…including the specter of Somnus, the Founder King. Prompto continued taking pictures and Noct could smell a hint of the pickle that he bought. How was the smell of the pickle so strong, he thought?

The business district also was home to craftsmen, who had rare swords and other objects that weren't found in the rest of Eos. One of them was a ring called the Madain's Ring. It was supposedly used by summoners long ago, during the Solheim era, and granted immunity to the cold. Something that could be handy for any hunts if Lindblum gave Lucian hunters access to their region.

The theatre district was next and was home to a massive theatre where the plays "I Want to Be Your Canary" and "LOVELESS" were popular. Noct was sure that the two plays only existed in RPGs, but apparently, that wasn't the case. One of the famous Lindblum actors was a man named Lowell, one who played in something called "Moogle Wannabe 2". The delegation saw a legion of fans following him, squealing, and shrieking as he tried to get away.

"Poor guy…" Noct muttered.

"Aw…he's got it good…" Prompto said.

"What? Having a horde of rabid fans following you wherever you go?" Cor asked.

"Well…uh, yeah!" Prompto replied.

"Seriously, you can't be that desperate," Gladio muttered.

The last area was the industrial area, a place that Regent Cid really wanted to show them. But due to his prior commitments, he allowed for the delegation to explore the place on their own. When the engineers saw the Lucian king and company, they gave a few nervous bows, not knowing what to do with the foreign royal. One engineer approached and asked, "Mister…Um…Noctis…?"

"Yeah?" Noctis said, not offended that she didn't say "King", but Somnus' specter was.

"Regent Cid wishes for you to see his newest creation. Follow me, please. And your guards can come too," she said, giving another bow.

Not seeing any threat, the delegation followed, going through the streets, and seeing engineers and locals going about their business. It was like how it was in Lestallum, where people greeted him, but they didn't treat him like royalty. In Lindblum, they knew he was due to the entourage and Noct wondered if he could go about the place by himself without getting recognized.

Reaching a massive factory, the Lucians saw what Regent Cid had been working on. The Lindblumites…or whatever they called themselves, had been working on a ship that didn't really on something called "Mist". The malevolent fog, like the Starscourge from five years ago, was still lingering after the continent's reappearance and the regent knew that it wasn't going to last much longer. It was called the Hilda Garde, after the regent's wife, but the finalizations were slow going.

"Well, this is the airship. And you all can look, but don't touch! If anything happens and the clock is pushed back, then that's literally our heads!" the engineer told them.

The young woman reminded Noctis of Cindy, as Cindy herself was an engineer and helped make the old Regalia into an airship during their adventures years ago. He wondered if the regent would be open to seeing the Lucian continent. But after what happened with Niflheim, the king knew that he had to tread carefully.

"I don't sense any malicious intent on the part of the Lindblum…" Somnus noted.

"I as well…But…we must find out what happened to cause this entire continent to disappear. Along with the ones that have appeared in the skies," Regis added.

Noct mentally agreed and their group returned to Lindblum Castle.

Two days later…

"So, there's 'hippo people' and 'Genomes', people with blonde hair, light skin, and monkey tails…?" Luna asked.

Noctis called his wife, retelling her everything he had seen up to that point. He overheard the triplets trying to talk to him through babbling. Luna was amazed, wondering the same as he. What happened to cause the new places in Eos to disappear in the first place?

"We're still trying to find out. But meeting with the regent of this place hasn't happened yet," Noctis told her.

"Well, try to be patient. He probably didn't think that you were real. And now that he's seen you, he's probably trying to figure out what to do. But please, be careful Noctis. Don't give away too much of what you are and try to get him to come to us, to see the rest of the world," Luna said.

The guest room door opened and a servant entered, carrying in a tray of food, much of it covered by silver coverings. He placed it on a table before Noctis' bed and said, "Please enjoy, Your Majesty."

Noctis, wary, lifted up one of the covers and saw that the first plate was toast and jam…of some kind of orange-colored fruit. The second was ham, most likely not Gighee, and eggs. The last was of those retched gyshal pickles and tomatoes.

He sighed, not wanting to eat that, to which Luna said, "They gave you vegetables?"

Noct remembered that he was still on the phone and said, "Yeah…"

"Well, try to eat some of it. Don't be a bad guest…And you have antidotes on you, yes?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, but why would they try to poison me?" Noct asked.

"Just be cautious. The children need both of us," Luna said.

"Yes, dear…" Noct said, sounding a bit condescending.

Lunafreya scoffed and said an annoyed goodbye, hanging up. Once she did, Noctis stared at the food, with Regis saying, "Just try some of it. I have my doubts they would poison a guest."

"And they didn't. I watched as they prepared the meal," Somnus added, appearing at the door.

Noctis continued staring at the plate of pickles, the smell being just as bad as the pickle he threw out two days ago…effectively making Gladio win the bet. Eating around it, the man consumed the toast, which had some kind of marmalade, the ham which tasted like it came from Garulas, and eggs. But the pickles and tomatoes stared as if to say, "Are we a joke to you?"

"GAH! Why do I have to eat this?" Noct said, frustrated.

In his frustration, he took a forkful of the grape tomatoes and a pickle, stuffing it in his mouth. The tomato was quickly munched on and swallowed. But the pickle…it was odd. Confused, Noctis muttered, "Uh…what?"

The gyshal pickle actually tasted…good? What? He never liked pickles, but whatever that "Granny Pickle", the woman who sold those gyshal pickles, did made it taste…awesome. But, he dared not mention that aloud.

Stuffing the last of it into his mouth and avoiding the tomatoes like the plague, Noctis finished his meal and Prompto burst into the room. Noct, as he wasn't ready, screamed, "HEY!"

"Oh, hey bud! Uh, that Regent dude wants to see you like right now," the blonde said.

Noctis rolled his eyes, annoyed that it took so long to see the man and that Prompto had charged in. Didn't knock or anything…But he put invasion of his privacy aside as he needed answers from Lindblum's regent.

And there's the first of the Lucians seeing Lindblum. And Noct actually eating vegetables? What is the world coming to?!

Anywho, review?

-miano53