FINAL FANTASY: INQUISITION
By Thomas Knapp
Act Four- Scene Three
"KUPO!" One of the moogle escorts chirped, coming to a stop so quickly that Harmon didn't react in time, colliding into Creed's back, who then slipped on a small upraised root, and toppled over, slamming into Tamara. Unable to hold Creed's weight, Tamara collapsed, bumping into Yura, and causing the summoner to stumble into Fredros. The White Mage threw his staff aside in order to catch the flailing summoner, but didn't watch where he had thrown it, and thus Trigger had to jump backward to avoid the flying stave. Unfortunately, Borz hadn't been watching out for such, and walked right into the leaping Trigger. The ninja fell backwards with the unexpected collision, and began to roll to his feet, forcing Midas, who at the time had been taking up the rear, to react quickly, spinning out of Trigger's way.
However, in the Red Mage's impressive display of agility, he had forgotten that he had given his small backpack to Harmon, and that it had been the moogle matriarch that was clinging to the area where his pack would have normally been. As he spun, the aged moogle lost her grip, and she careened in a smooth arc off the narrow path that the moogles had cleared and into the surrounding jungle, luckily splitting down the gap of a pair of trees by mere centimeters on each side.
Panicking, Midas, his party, and the escort of moogles rushed for the general area that the matriarch crashed in. Fortunately, the elder moogle emerged from the undergrowth with a furious flap of wings, appearing quite shaken, but not physically harmed.
"KUPO!" The matriarch exclaimed as she settled onto the ground, tired by even that small flight, thus the reason why she had been clinging to Midas's back in the first place. "That was… quite a ride…" The aged sprite added to those who couldn't understand moogle. She then regarded the escorts that were pointing excitedly towards what seemed to a rock wall with seemingly nothing out of the ordinary. "This is the place. Walk between those two moogle carvings, and the way should part for you. Once you have recovered the Crystal, the Tower of Alexander SHOULD rise."
Midas didn't particularly like the way that the matriarch had emphasized the word 'should'. However, it was very likely that in all her years, not even SHE had ever seen the five crystals together. Addressing Yura, she asked, "You want to take the first step, or should I?"
"Go ahead, Midas. You're kinda the leader after all, and you're just as good as me in opening the labyrinth." Yura deferred. With a gracious nod, Midas strode to the lead, approaching the small gap between the carvings confidently, which is why the sudden feeling of unyielding rock knocking the wind out of him took the Red Mage completely by surprise. He fell down onto the seat of his trousers, looking up in confusion at where the entrance to the labyrinth had not appeared.
The matriarch frowned, then raised a chubby finger on her right hand. "Wait… the entrance is to the LEFT of the carvings, not right down the center. My mistake."
"Right…" Midas muttered, not totally believing that the matriarch would have forgotten such a simple detail. A suspicion that the elder sprite confirmed when she said with the moogle equivalent of a smirk, "As you failed my trust, so have I failed yours. Keep in mind all that you will cause by acting the way you do."
Midas glared at the matriarch, then said with a shrug, "Always a cryptic lesson with you, ain't it?" When the matriarch didn't reply, he shook his head, and motioned for the rest of the party to follow him through the CORRECT entrance.
Inside the cavern…
This cavern, like all of its brethren, had a feel that reflected the crystal it contained within its halls. The Earth Chamber had been made almost entirely of clay, the Fire Chamber was significantly hotter than any of the others, the Wind Chamber had an unnatural breeze blowing through the halls, etc… etc…
The cavern housing the Crystal of Water was obviously quite moist. As a matter of fact, there was an ankle high river of water flooding the entire flooring of the labyrinth. While Tamara, in her mid thigh leather boots, or Midas, who was also clad in heavy footwear, was not particularly bothered, others like the sandal clad Yura found it rather uncomfortable.
"Ugh… this is so… weird feeling." Yura complained, "I'm SO glad this is almost over." She watched with a slight flush as she noticed Midas cringing visibly to that last statement. The summoner instantly knew what must have been going through the young man's mind. No doubt he was dreading making a decision that he figured he'd be feeling pressure to make very soon.
She was trying to make the seeming choice easier for him to make. She had tried to look no longer interested, and give him the means to make the announcement that he really had already decided on.
There wasn't much left to be done in order to summon Alexander, the great Guardian of the World. They are close to getting the final crystal, she had memorized the ritual for the summoning for years, and then…
It had just crossed her mind that she had no idea just what was going to happen after Alexander was summoned, or how long it would take the end the Rationalists tyranny. Then there was the question of what would happen AFTER the Rationalists fell. From what she had been learning, it wasn't like life under the Summoners was that great either. It was almost as if the theme remained the same, just different people playing different roles.
She thought about asking the others what they felt would happen when Alexander was summoned. But then, was it really going to be their concern? The moogle matriarch seemed convinced that her quest was nearing an end. Was something going to happen to them? She couldn't imagine Midas or anyone here just calling it quits once this quest was done.
'Oh dear… you gotta get a grip, Yura. Let's not make up trouble for us. We've had enough as it is!' The summoner chided herself. 'Once again… we have to actually SUMMON Alexander first.' There was still plenty that could go wrong, especially if she didn't keep focused.
Sadly for her, concentration was proving to be a titanic effort. Her mind kept drifting ahead, going over the summoning ritual over and over. Added to the somewhat chilly water squishing between her toes, and Yura was officially a mess. She certainly hoped that the others were faring better than she was.
Meanwhile…
Midas for one, was NOT doing much better than Yura at staying on task. "I'm SO glad this is almost over." Yura had said. Midas for one was not terribly looking forward to the end of all this.
He had in the back of his mind dreading the end to this quest, and now that they were in the final stretch, that dread was slowly pounding its way to the front of his mind wielding a war club. Midas had managed to use the excuse that he had more important things to worry about to postpone any decision he had to make regarding the two ladies that have been the source of several headaches and sleepless nights.
Very soon, he wouldn't have that shield, and the two combatants for his affections would demand an answer. Would he actually be able to break one heart? And why on earth were they doing this to him?
He hadn't even WANTED to meet Yura. Had it not been for Borz suddenly gaining a backbone, Midas probably would have slipped out of Cairos, and never had been the wiser. And then Tamara… well, he didn't even want to REMEMBER how they first met…
The Red Mage took a deep breath, and focused on the flooded floor ahead of him like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. He reiterated in his mind that he wasn't going to drive himself crazy until he absolutely HAD to.
So when he noticed that the water around his feet was starting to drain away, he had initially thought that he had failed, and that he had totally lost it. Fortunately, Tamara and Trigger not even a split-second later noticed the same thing. However, unfortunately, that gave Midas the impending feeling that something was about to happen, and he probably wasn't going to like it.
And when a wall of water suddenly appeared from the darkness ahead of them, bearing down upon the party like a large wave, Midas decided that he indeed did not like what was coming. As if thinking the exact same thing, Midas and Borz cast two Firaga spells almost in unison. It succeeded in vaporizing most of the water, but not enough to keep the entire group from being totally drenched.
As the eight adventurers began to wring moisture from their clothing and hair, Trigger made note that the water that was once at their feet was pooling in the hallway ahead of them. Slowly it formed into a humanoid shape, and slowly began lumbering towards the party.
"I can assume this is the guardian of the crystal." Midas noted wryly.
"That would be a rather accurate assumption." Yura retorted.
Tamara lunged forward to strike, but found that she had about as much luck wounding the creature as… well… trying to cut water. However, when the guardian of the labyrinth struck, it was as if it was hard as stone, knocking Tamara completely off her feet. Trigger reacted quickly to catch the knight before she struck the ground or walls, and thus Tamara was ready as Borz crept to her position.
"Get ready to attack again on my mark, okay?" Borz whispered conspiratorially. "I'll give your strike a little more bite."
Tamara nodded, and Midas meanwhile stepped to the fore, a fire spell on his lips, releasing the flaming energy towards the lumbering elemental. Steam and vapor rose as the two conflicting elements met, and Midas jumped out of the way of a mass of boiling water as it spilled from the guardian, but not far enough to keep droplets of scalding liquid from striking his sword arm. Miraculously, he kept a hold of his weapon, but the angry welts rising on his wrist where the water had struck bare skin was not going to be pleasant to fight through.
"NOW!" Borz shouted out, and Tamara once again charged with her sword swinging upward. As the blade met the monster's flesh, Borz's thunder spell struck the blade, and the blow carved a sparking mess across the belly of the guardian. However, the sparks also caught Tamara's armor, sending a nasty shock through the knight's frame.
Somewhat stunned, Tamara wasn't able to react fast enough to avoid the elemental's next attack, but fortunately Midas grabbed her by the shoulder, and quickly pulled her out of harm's way. She collapsed limply against his chest, and with cheeks flaming as red as his robe, Midas stood her to her feet.
He analyzed the situation, and said in conclusion, "This is NOT a good use of our resources here people."
Harmon agreed, "Indeed. The only way to harm the creature does significant harm to us as well. But how can we strike a being without resorting to dangerous alternatives?"
During this, Creed glanced up to the ceiling, and saw what might be their answer. Tapping Trigger on the shoulder, the monk pointed upwards. Trigger followed the finger, and saw that just above him, one of the bricks used to make the top of the hall had fallen away, and the several others around where that brick used to be seemed to be hanging rather precariously.
Creed smiled, and replied, "You've got a pretty good throwing arm. Think you can hit that target?"
Catching onto Creed's plan, Trigger nodded simply, his posture suggesting that he was insulted that Creed had to ask whether or not the ninja was up to the task. Creed then addressed the party, "All right, Trigger and I might have an answer to this problem, but we need you guys to lure our moistened friend to where I'm standing."
The group complied with Creed's request. Even though they weren't sure just what the monk was planning, it had to be better than what they had been doing. As they fell back, sure enough, the guardian advanced, until it lumbered under the loose bricks that Creed had designated. He turned to Trigger, and gave the signal that the ninja was waiting for.
With one giant heave, Trigger launched one of Midas's old swords that the ninja had "borrowed" from the Red Mage's backpack, sending it with blistering speed towards his target. The blade struck just above one of the bricks adjoining the hole, setting off a chain reaction that collapsed part of the roof of the tunnel, along with some of the dirt above.
"Take mix… add water." Creed commented as the dirt and clay fell upon the watery creature. As the elemental started to rise, it's essence mixed with what had fallen upon it, turning it into more of a mud monster than water. The monk smiled victoriously, then turning to Midas and Borz, added the final ingredient. "Then BAKE IT!"
A barrage of fire spells slowly engulfed the guardian, hardening the mud, and evaporating the water into the dirt. The two mages kept up the pressure until the already slow movements of the elemental had almost stopped entirely.
The creature took one more step forward, and that point it fell forward, and smashed into clumps of baked mud as it hit the floor below. Not one drop of water remained.
With a collective sigh of relief, eight wearied adventurers decided not to dwell on what had just occurred. They quickly worked their way around the remnants of the collapsed roof of the hall, and were almost sprinting down the hall to where a bluish glow could be seen with increasing clarity.
They emerged into the chamber housing the Crystal of Water at long last, and slowly stepped to the side so that Yura could approach the raised pedestal housing the last element of their quest. She paused ever so slightly before clutching the crystal, and dropping it into her satchel with the others.
Turning to those who had joined her on her chosen quest, she said uncertainly, "Well… from what I understand, the Tower of Alexander SHOULD rise somewhere, and I can go through the ritual to bring the Guardian of the World together. The problem is… I have no idea where the Tower will rise, or how we are supposed to get there."
At that moment, the five crystals began to shimmer so brightly that they shone through the satchel, their various colors mixing into a bright white light that slowly filled the entire chamber.
When the light had receded, all eight adventurers were gone.
End Scene Three