I released two chapters today, this one and the one after it, so make sure you don't miss either!


Chapter Twenty-Five

The Yensa Sandsea
Year 706 of the Old Valendian Calendar

"Oh! Look!" Penelo broke away from the group, rushing to the rig's edge. She leaned against the railing, pointing ahead. "Look, land!"
Balthier could see it. Attached to the very rig they stood on was a stairway leading off onto solid ground. Beyond the sandsea, Jagd Yensa was more a rocky wasteland then a rolling desert. Great cliffs and crags covered the landscape, paths of sand lined with cacti weaving between them. He would never have admitted it, but after two days walking over the sandsea, Balthier would be very glad to plant his feet on solid ground. It was nearly noon now; they'd walked for a good many hours and fought off a good deal of vicious wildlife that day, and finally reached dry ground.
"Wait, we're actually here?" Vaan said, wide-eyed. He joined his sister at the railing, gazing at the ground below them. "You're right, Penelo! Land!"
"How about instead of just staring at it," Balthier said with a chuckle, "we actually go walk on that land?"
"I'd second that thought," Vossler said. He was already at the top of the stairwell. Ashe stood close beside him, silent but with her eyes fixed on the landscape like it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Vaan and Penelo left the railing and rushed to join them. Balthier was about to follow, but noticed Fran wasn't moving.
"Fran? What's wrong?" he said, walking up to his Viera partner. She stared out into the horizon, face as stony as ever. As he approached, she turned to face him.
"It's nothing," she replied, shaking her head. A hot breeze off the sandsea rushed by, pulling back Fran's tall rabbit ears and lifting her ponytail of long silver hair. She turned her head towards the breeze, though Balthier didn't miss the sideways glance she cast his direction.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Balthier asked again.
"Mm," was Fran's only reply. She turned her gaze to rest on Balthier, her penetrating, searchlight stare. Her brown eyes showed nothing, as cold as stone, though Balthier was certain something hid behind them.
"Balthier," Fran began, slowly. "I…" There was a long pause. "I think we should join the others." She started off towards the waiting group. Balthier stood there a moment, frowning, then followed. It's probably nothing, just like she said, he thought. At least, that's what he wanted to believe. He had enough on his plate without worrying about Fran.

At the bottom of the stairway, the party at last planted their feet on solid ground once more. Balthier didn't ever think he'd been so glad to do so. He expected the whole group felt the same way, though the two teenagers were the only ones to express it. Vaan and Penelo laughed and jumped, not worried at all about expressing their relief. Once the wonder of terra firma had worn off, Penelo turned to Ashe.
"So, how much farther is Raithwall's Tomb?" she asked.
"I know it's somewhere here, beyond the sandsea," the princess replied. "I'm not entirely sure where, but I know it's in a valley. They say it's massive, so it shouldn't be hard to miss."
Balthier sighed. "So we don't even know where we're going?"
"I'm sure it's close!" Ashe said. "We just have to keep moving."
"It's not like we can turn back now," Vossler said. "I don't know about you and your crew, pirate, but we're here for the Dawn Shard, and we're not leaving without it. You're free to leave if you'd like."
"That is not what I meant," Balthier replied with a sigh. "I'd just like a little direction is all, rather than stumbling blindly through the dark."
"We'll find it," Vossler said, turned to Ashe. "Don't worry, princess."
"I'm not worried," Ashe replied. She took a few steps forward, eyes fixed on the desert ahead. A gust of wind washed over them, lifting the princess's golden-blond hair around her solemn face. "It's close," she said, brow furrowing as if she struggled to think. "I can... I can feel it."
"Oh, good for you," Balthier said, rolling his eyes. "Care to point us in the general direction?"
"Be polite," Vossler said, casting Balthier a glare. He walked up to stand beside Ashe. "The Shard relics are tuned to those of royal blood," he continued. "I could be she can sense it." He set a hand on Ashe's shoulder, speaking softly to her. "Do you know the way, Highness?"
Ashe's gaze fell, and she still looked confused. "I…" she said, frowning. "I think it's…" She took a few slow steps from Vossler, eyes fixed straight ahead. She was silent for a moment, then spoke with resolution.
"This way."

"So, how close did you say Raithwall's Tomb was again?" Vaan asked.
"I… I'm not sure. But it's… close," was Princess's Ashe's vague response.
Balthier let out a sigh. They camped in the desert the night before, near the edge of these cliffs. Penelo had jubilantly informed everyone of her new-found magical abilities; they'd be quite useful, Balthier thought, once Fran finished teaching her. They'd walked for a good portion of that day already, following Ashe's innate sense of direction. She led them into a maze of gullies winding between towering rocky cliffs. Hunks of rock dropped off these cliffs from time to time into the gorge below, large enough to cause serious damage if they struck someone. The massive rock walls on either side provided some shade in the morning hours, but now, with the noonday sun directly overhead, this place was no better than the open desert. Balthier hoped Ashe really could sense the Dawn Shard's presence and they weren't going on some pointless wild goose chase.
"You're sure it's this way, Highness?" Vossler asked, dropping back from his position at front to walk beside the princess.
"Yes. It's near, Vossler. I can feel it," she replied. She hadn't looked so sure about anything in a while. Vossler nodded slowly.
"You think we'll reach it soon?" he said.
Ashe nodded. "Yes. Yes, it can't be far."
"Good," Vossler said. "We need to get back to Rabanastre; we've been gone far too long already."
"I'm sure they're fine," Ashe said. "Ours are good, loyal people. They'll be fine until we get back."
Vossler let out a bitter chuckle. "Highness…" he began, then shook his head. "No, I'm… sure you're right."
"He obviously just doesn't trust Basch," Balthier said, inserting himself into the conversation. If the two were going to argue right in front of him, he might as well get involved. "The man is an alleged king slayer, after all."
"I trust Captain Basch," Vossler fired back, throwing a glare over his shoulder. "The captain was my personal instructor when I trained with the knights nine years ago; he's been a good friend of mine for a long time, and I've every faith in his abilities and motives. Yes, I had to be cautious at first, but in this business, one must see enemies in every shadow. I know now Basch is for Dalmasca."
"Then why would you be so worried?" Balthier asked.
Vossler heaved a sigh. "Not everyone there is for Dalmasca."
"Vossler!" Ashe looked aghast. "How can you say that? I know everyone there! Most have been with us since the beginning! And if there were spies, wouldn't they have reported us to the Empire by now?"
Vossler sighed again. "Highness…"
"Hey! Guys! Come look at this!" Vaan's shout cut off Vossler's next words. He and Penelo had jogged ahead and were staring wide-eyed around a sharp bend in the canyon. Balthier, Vossler, and Ashe all looked up from their discussion.
"What is it, Vaan?" Balthier called.
"I think you'd better come and see!" Vaan called back. He disappeared around the corner, and Penelo, after a moment's hesitation, followed.
"Well," Balthier said with a shrug, "why don't we go see what the kids found?"
The trio, followed by Fran rounded the corner, and waiting for them was a sight most impressive. A massive building made all of black stone, dusted grey by layers of sand, blocking the gorge entirely. The place was borderline a palace; the roof reached all the way up canyon's lip, the walls ornately carved, though without a window to be seen. A wide stairway climbed up half the structure's height, through an overhang high enough for an elephant to walk through. From there, the pathway disappeared into shadows, though Balthier imagined the doorway beyond was nothing less than stunning. The six travelers all stood staring up at it, awestruck.
"Impressive," Balthier said, breaking the stunned silence. "Quite the elaborate place for a dead man."
"Highness, I assume this is Raithwall's Tomb?" Vossler asked, turned to the princess.
"I've never seen it before," Ashe replied, "but I assume so."
"Good," Balthier said. "In that case, what are we all standing around for?"
The party proceeded up the massive stairway. Balthier felt like an ant crawling up the steps to a cellar door. The sheer width of the stairway, reaching up for more than a hundred feet, was astonishing. An army could have marched up it, rank and file with room to spare. Balthier couldn't imagine why a living king would need such a massive palace, much less a dead one. Perhaps all this grandeur was just to scare tomb raiders away from the Dawn Shard; if it was nethicite, like the Dusk Shard, that would make sense. In the wrong hands, that stone could wreak havoc. Balthier had seen that firsthand.
"Hey, princess." Vaan jogged up the steps to catch up with Ashe. "So, who was this Raithwall guy, anyway? And why did he have one of Dalmasca's treasures?"
"Are you familiar with the legend of the Dynast King?" Ashe asked.
"I've heard the name," Vaan replied. "But I don't know a lot about it."
"That Dynast King was Raithwall," Ashe replied. "He conquered all of Ivalice, uniting it under his sole rule. They say the royal lines of Nabradia and Dalmasca are his descendants."
"Ah. So the two Shards were his?" Balthier asked. It made sense; one could certainly conquer all of Ivalice with nethicite at their command.
Ashe nodded. "Yes. But there were three Shards in all. Dalmasca guarded the Dusk Shard, and Nabradia held the Midlight Shard, but they say that Shard was lost many years ago."
"And the Dawn Shard was buried with Raithwall," Balthier finished for her. Everything fell into place; there were three shards, and three pieces of nethicite Balthier knew off. Apparently, the Midlight Shard didn't stay lost. "So where did Raithwall get these Shards?" Balthier asked. "What exactly are they?"
"The legends say," Ashe replied, "the Shards were bestowed upon him by the Occuria."
"The Occuria?" Balthier said with a scoff. "You mean the fabled weavers of fate? No one's believed that old myth for centuries. Is there a real reason?"
"That's what the legend says," Ashe said. "And that's all I know."
Balthier let out a sigh but didn't say any more. It was obvious Ashe didn't have the answers he was looking for.
The party finally made it to the top of the staircase. The great overhang provided a deep shade, and though he would never have said it, Balthier was glad to have the harsh sun off his head. Inside the porch-like area the overhang created, the walls were covered with elaborate carving like the tomb's exterior, but with no door.
"What?" Vaan said, frowning. "Where's the door? We climbed up all those stairs for nothing?"
"What a moment. Look over there." Balthier pointed to a raised circular section of the floor with a pole rising out of the center, topped with what looked like an unlit lamp. Runes and symbols decorated the whole thing.
"What is that?" Vossler asked.
"It looks like a warp." Balthier walked over to the device and began to tinker with some of the dials fixed below the lamp.
"And what is a warp?" Vossler asked.
"It's a device found in most ancient ruins," Balthier replied. "They teleport things from one place to another. Nifty little machines. I'd assume this one will bring us inside, though that is only a guess."
"You mean they can teleport… people?" Vaan asked. "Is that safe?"
"Oh, of course," Balthier replied, not looking up from the controls. "Assuming it still works properly, and I think it does." The device finally responded to Balthier's button pressing and vibrated a little, the lamp on top lighting up. Its golden light bathed the walls, chasing away the shadows of the overhang. Balthier smirked in satisfaction.
"You know how to use these things?" Vossler asked.
"Of course," Balthier replied.
"How?" Vossler said, narrowing his eyes in that all-too familiar look of distrust.
"Well, Fran and I have been in our fair share of ruins," Balthier said. Plus, Draklor had a handful of warp devices extracted from ancient ruins that they experimented with. Balthier had handled them since his childhood. Unfortunately, even after many hours spent digging through the things' guts, he still didn't know how they worked; something that had frustrated scientists for years. Swallowing exasperation from years before, Balthier press a few more buttons on the device's controls.
"Alright then, everybody on," Balthier said, motioning to the warp's circular base. "And hop to it. Don't want to get left behind, now do we?"
Vossler, Ashe, Fran, Vaan, and Penelo crowded onto the warp, and Balthier twisted a few more dials. Time to go; they'd traveled far, and it was about time they started on their real purpose for coming. A click echoed from the warp, and a flood of golden light filled the air, blocking Balthier's view off the walls, the desert beyond, even his companions standing on the platform with him. The light surged, in a moment whisking them all off to who-knows-where.