FINAL FANTASY: INQUISITION
By Thomas Knapp
Act Two- Scene Three
Yura glared at Tamara ever so suspiciously, then said, "I can't believe I agreed to search around with you."
The Inquisitor Knight didn't even return the glare. She intended to take Midas's words to heart. Maybe if she ignored Yura long enough, the summoner would eventually cool off sufficiently to be bearable.
"That Midas… I just can't resist anything when he gives me those little puppy dog eyes, even if that means I get stuck with YOU." Yura continued, noting that since the pair had gone on their way, she had been unable to draw even the slightest response from Tamara.
Finally, Yura sighed, then stepped in front of Tamara, who had to stop a little too quickly for her tastes. Noting Tamara's scowl, Yura said, "I get it… you're trying to avoid getting into a fight with me. All right… I suppose if you can attempt to be sociable, so can I."
"That's good to hear." Tamara replied almost coldly, "Now maybe you can focus on finding the summoner's cavern. I can only imagine that it was hidden quite well, if no one has found it in twenty years."
"That's the thing… oddly enough. The caverns were often hidden right in plain sight. A non-summoner could walk right by it, and not even know it was there. I on the other hand, would recognize it almost instantly."
"Why didn't you tell Midas this when he was dividing up the group?" Tamara asked, then smirked knowingly, "You were hoping that you get paired up with him."
Yura chuckled, and agreed, "I figured that was pretty obvious… now I think I was a little TOO obvious. Midas is not gonna be an easy catch, he's gonna make sure of that."
"Agreed… he doesn't want to make a choice, nor do I blame him… he's got a lot on his mind at the moment. So should I, for that matter." Tamara noted sadly, taking a seat at the bench just behind her.
Yura joined the knight, then said, "You really like him, huh?"
Tamara took a deep breath, and replied, "I don't know… I have these feelings that I just don't understand. I can't imagine that it all stems from his actions to save my life… I feel like a moth in relation to an open flame; entranced by the light, but wary of the fire."
Yura picked up the line of thought as if it came from her lips itself. "All my life, I've had to hide who I really am, and now I've finally got a chance to express it. Poor Midas, having to deal with me, I can't imagine I'm the most pleasant company at the moment."
"All I know is that everyone I'm with right now makes me feel a lot less alone, but Midas in particular makes me feel things that I've never felt before. I think that maybe in my efforts to get closer, he's getting scared." Tamara finished.
The two ladies looked at each other, realizing the thoughts that they had exchanged. Tamara smiled somewhat ruefully, and Yura said warningly, "Okay… let's clear something up here… this doesn't mean I like you. All I'm trying to say is that I understand you, and that I'll try to get along with you, that's all."
"Sounds good to me. I don't think I'll EVER be too fond of you. But I think that much was certain when we ran into each other all the time in Cairos. I NEVER really liked you, and it felt so terribly good when I was able to uncover you, and have you chased out of the castle."
"I can imagine."
Tamara stood up, and replied, "All right… if that is settled, we should keep going. We won't find the labyrinth just sitting here."
Yura followed suit, and added, "Quite. And also, let's allow things to run their course. However the object of our affections eventually chooses, let's agree to live with that."
Tamara stifled a laugh as she said, "You aren't gonna let this thing for Midas drop for one second, are you?"
"I can't… I'm not as good at managing my thoughts like you are." Yura admitted. "I wasn't raised to have to organize my feelings into a nice package."
As Tamara began to walk again, she commented, "There are positives and negatives to possessing such an ability. The negative is that it is hard to express oneself fully when the time for feelings and emotions come about."
"And the positive?"
Tamara grinned almost deviously when she concluded, "The positive is that I am able to focus on the job at hand despite any distraction. For example, when we are trying to find a summoner cavern."
Yura pursed her lips, and stated, "I hate you."
"I know." Tamara replied flippantly, and then motioned for Yura to take the lead.
Royal Palace Entrance, Moros…
"Who are you and what is your business here?" The yellow clad leader of the security detail demanded in a voice much louder than necessary.
"I am Harmon, Premier Scholar of Artica, and request an audience with your king. I do believe that this had been appointed." Harmon replied. "Of course… it might not have been…"
"His memory ain't up to snuff most times." Creed commented dryly, casting an awkward glance towards the Blue Mage.
"Who is that?" The guard asked insultingly, jerking an arm in Creed's direction.
"He is my assistant that I hired in Artica. I never bothered to ask his name." Leaning in, he whispered condescendingly, "Peasants are a dime a dozen after all, I can't bother my already fragile memory with a worm's name, can I?"
The guard laughed, and replied, "No, you cannot. That's for sure. I shall inform the king of your presence." Still chuckling, the guard disappeared into the castle.
Harmon dipped his head, and apologized to the guard detail that was most likely drafted from the peasant class, "I am deeply sorry for my comments. Sometimes you need to play the role in order to get anything done."
The detail didn't say anything, but a few of them nodded gratefully. There was a long, unnerving silence for several minutes after that. Harmon didn't know what more to say, the guards were probably under orders NOT to say anything, and Creed didn't DARE say anything.
And so, ten human beings sat at the gates of Moros Castle in total silence. Harmon shifted his feet restlessly, starting to get worried. Had the king of Moros somehow discovered where Harmon's loyalties truly lied? Were they preparing a trap for him and the rest of his team?
"Relax…" Creed whispered confidently, "If they knew who we really were lining up with, they would have just killed us at the gate. Subtlety is not needed when you are the one in power."
Harmon tried to take solace in the monk's words, but found that they fell drastically short of calming him.
Finally Creed leaned in again and said bluntly, "If you keep this up, they are going to notice you are panicking. If they notice that, we're dead. While that doesn't particularly bother me, I can imagine you have a more dear opinion of your life."
Harmon took a moment to process this, and just in time as a moment was all he had before the guard captain re-emerged, a short, plump, gray-haired man in long flowing yellow royal attire following.
"Harmon! I am glad that you arrived safely. I take it you must have slipped through the Cairos guard before they could lock down their ill-gotten gains."
"Yes…" Harmon replied, "I had to take the long way around Cairos, thus the long delay in my arrival."
The king laughed jovially, and replied, "Think nothing of it, dear professor! I am just glad you made it in one piece. I assume that you have brought everything you need?"
"Indeed." Harmon nodded, then motioned at Creed, "Come… bring in my displays with all due haste."
Creed scowled indignantly towards Harmon, yet did as the Blue Mage asked. Taking one large box under one arm, and stacking the two smaller on his shoulder, Creed staggered into the palace, taking stride beside Harmon.
"I take it this… visit… was planned ahead of time." Creed commented, noting the surprising weight inside each box of goods.
"Yes… quite." Harmon replied, "I needed some reason to come south, did I not?"
Creed had to accept this truth, and thus fell back a half step before anyone suspected something. It was generally not common protocol for a peasant to walk beside a royal or noted scholar.
They entered the throne hall, where the king took his customary seat at the throne. Harmon dutifully set up his presentation devices, as Creed assisted. The king looked around the hall, then asked, "Where is Gregorian?"
"Pardon?" Harmon asked, surprised, "Did you say Gregorian?"
"Yes. He was visiting to discuss the current situation in Cairos, but I am unsure as to where he has gotten off to."
Creed looked somewhat confused, and whispered in query towards Harmon, "The name sounds like something I should remember, but who's Gregorian?"
Harmon paused for a second in his reply, "Why do you want to know about Gregorian?"
Creed pursed his lips, and said, "Because he's here."
"He is?" Harmon nearly shouted, his head spinning as if on a swivel.
"He's not HERE, but he is somewhere in Moros." Creed answered.
"How do you know that?"
Creed dropped his head into his hand, and uttered, "They were JUST talking about it."
"They were…?" Harmon paused, then slapped his forehead. "Yes… they were, weren't they? I'm sorry… I have such a terrible memory…"
"I know, I know…" Creed replied, waving off the continued explanation he had already heard countless times, "Just tell me WHO Gregorian is."
"Why… he is the leader of the Rationalist movement, and the one who spearheaded the revolution. While he TECHNICALLY holds no power in the current regimes, there is little doubt his influence affects events all around the world."
West Business District…
Midas frowned as he stepped off to the side of the main thoroughfare, tapping his foot somewhat impatiently. How was he supposed to find a hidden cavern when he wasn't even sure what he was looking for?
He turned to the shadowed alley behind him, and asked softly, "Any luck?"
From the alley, a figure barely visible shook his head noticeably, then shrugged, somewhat baffled.
"I know what you mean…" Midas noted sourly turning back to face the road, "The summoner's cavern could be ANYWHERE, hidden in any place, with any sort of magical enchantments warding it. I probably shouldn't have split ourselves up like this… what do you think, Trigger?"
Midas looked back at the alley, but noticed that the ninja had disappeared. Midas then looked up towards the building tops, and sure enough, there was Trigger, stalking along the roof of the building a block ahead, as if stalking an unseen prey. Midas followed, trying as hard as he could to keep track of the ninja, as well as to where he was going.
The ninja then dropped back down into another alley, and Midas was ready, stepping into the alleyway just as Trigger was about to emerge. Midas blocked his path, and said, "Easy there, killer… what's gotten into you?"
Trigger motioned out to the road. Midas didn't buy it for a second, "Oh come on, Trigger. You think I don't know your tricks by now to break a person's attention? Answer the question, dear friend."
"Get out of my way."
Those five words seemed to echo in the alley a couple times. Midas starting glancing all about trying to find the source of the mysterious voice, and thus, he overlooked the only possible place the words could have come from.
Finally, Midas accepted the last option, and said somewhat incredulously, "Did you just…"
Losing all patience, Trigger then jumped, landing on Midas's shoulder, and using the body part as a springboard, emerged into the light. Midas cursed, and looked around to see if anyone had reacted to Trigger's sudden presence. At the moment, no one seemed to notice, but once Trigger started to stalk along the side of the road, Midas knew it was only a matter of time before someone did.
For a brief moment, Midas thought about casting a sleep spell or something, but realized that such an act would probably draw a negative response. With a grunt, he took off in pursuit.
Trigger meanwhile, was so engrossed in his target that he didn't notice Midas charging at him. It was a lack of focus that Trigger rarely made, and this one cost him. Midas charged into the ninja with a flying tackle, and not expecting the collision, Trigger fell back, stumbling farther than Midas anticipated.
Trigger saw the rock sculpture in front of them, but was unable to avoid what was bound to be a rather painful collision. So it came to a considerable surprise when the pair fell THROUGH the sculpture, and tumbled downwards, falling onto a dirty floor with a loud thud.
Midas groaned as he stood up, helping Trigger to his feet in the process. Finally, he turned to the ninja, and hissed, "What in the blazes were you DOING?"
Instead of responding in any fashion, Trigger just stared in query at Midas's forehead. Midas noticed this, and felt around his hairline. "What, do I have something on me?" Feeling nothing, Midas dropped his hand, and narrowed his eyes, "All right… don't try to change the subject. You better start talking buster, because I KNOW you can now…"
However, Trigger merely ignored his companion's continued demands for information, his eyes instead drawn to the strange bright aqua blue glowing on Midas's forehead…
End Scene 3
