I released two chapters today, this one and the one BEFORE it, so make sure you don't miss either!
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Tomb of Raithwall
Year 706 of the Old Valendian Calendar
The golden light vanished all at once, and Balthier blinked, trying to get his eyes to adjust to his new, dim surroundings. After a few moments, his vision cleared. Balthier and the others stood around another warp identical to the one they'd come from. This warp sat on a balcony in a massive room with a domed ceiling like a cathedral. A few lanterns hung on the walls here and there, but overall, gloom reigned supreme. The walls of the tomb were all covered with carvings just like the outside, but in this darkness, the designs were unclear, their grooved patterns making the walls and roof look like the bony sides of some half-starved creature, all black and dull. A strong smell filled the air, old and stony, tinged with decay. A most unwelcoming place.
"Everybody's here?" Balthier asked, turning to his group. Ashe, Vossler, Fran, Vaan, and Penelo all stood there, staring at the grand yet eerie sight of Raithwall's Tomb.
"We're all here," Vossler replied. "Now let's get moving. We're here for a reason."
"Right," Balthier said nodding. "Everyone ready? This won't be easy. I doubt this place is as friendly as it looks."
"It doesn't look very friendly," Penelo said. She stared out into the dark expanse of Raithwall's Tomb, brown eyes wide with fear. She gripped her staff so tightly it shook. "Is… Is this really a good idea?"
"Oh, I'm sure we'll be fine," Balthier said. "As long as we stay alert and at the ready, and remember this place is probably falling apart and full of traps."
"I think the pirate means we should be careful," Vossler said. "And I'm inclined to agree." He turned to Ashe. "Highness, stay behind me. We don't know what's down there." The princess nodded.
A staircase wound of each side of the balcony the warp sat on, curving artistically to the floor below. Perhaps in the light of day the design would have been lovely, but here in the shadows it served only to amplify the unnerving atmosphere. Vossler took the lead down one of the stairways; the black stone was old and crumbling, with no railings. From the stairs, Balthier could see the floor below dropped away after about fifty feet, leading to a shadowy abyss. A narrow bridge extended out over the great chasm, leading to a set of double doors on the other side, that was, as everything else, large and set with detailed carvings. There was no other place to go, so they started off down the bridge. The bridge at least had railings, unlike the stairs, with lanterns scattered along them. The small, glass cases ebbed a soft, orange light, each one flickering like it might go out at any moment. Balthier assumed these lights were powered by magicite; there was no way fire would still be burning after five hundred years.
A click sounded through the air, and everyone stopped in their tracks.
"What was that?" Vossler said, spinning around.
"I think I stepped on something," Vaan said. He glanced down and lifted one foot. The square of stone that had sunk in under his weight rose back up, resuming its place with another click.
Balthier let out a sigh. "That cannot be good."
The floor beneath them began to shake, loose stones rattling off between the railings and down into the chasm below. Balthier felt the vibrations coming from behind them, and he spun around to face the incoming threat. The far wall underneath the balcony out, rumbling over the ground towards the party. It slipped perfectly between the bridge's two railings, a massive slab of featureless black stone bearing down on them.
"Ah." Balthier frowned. "I suggest we pick up the pace. Vossler?"
Vossler wasted no time on words. He grabbed Ashe's hand and made for the doors at the far end, though the princess needed no encouragement to follow. Balthier, Fran, Vaan, and Penelo sprinted after them. The wall was moving fast, gaining on them with alarming speed. At least they had a head start.
Vossler reach the doors first. He let go of Ashe and yanked on one of the handles, but the door stuck fast.
"No! It's locked!" Vossler cried.
"Don't worry, I've got it," Balthier said, pushing past Vossler. He pulled out his lock picks and dropped to one knee at the door, sticking the small tools into the keyhole. Balthier forced himself to breath slowly and focus on the task at hand rather than the impending doom behind. Vossler planted himself between the wall and the princess, sword drawn, as if that would do an ounce of good.
"Hurry, Balthier!" Vossler shouted. "It's getting close!"
Balthier jammed the picks farther into the keyhole, but the thing was old and full of rust, and he doubted it would respond in time.
"Any time now!" Vossler called again. He and the others backed up against the door, the slab of black stone just a few feet away. No! Balthier thought. I refuse to be squished just because I can't get one measly door open!
The tension behind Balthier's lock picks suddenly gave way. It let out the faintest click, barely audible above the rumbling of the approaching wall, but Balthier heard it clear as day.
"Ah-ha!" he cried, feeling quite pleased with himself despite the perilous circumstances. Balthier grabbed the door handle and shoved it open. No one wasted a moment before diving through. When the wall crashed into the doorway with a resounding thud, they were all safely on the other side.
The six travelers lay over the floor on the other side, sprawling where they'd landed from the desperate dive through the doorway. This tunnel, lit with the same dim torches as before, ran on a ways before disappearing around a bend.
"Well, that was a little too close a call for my tastes," Balthier said, pulling himself up to a sitting position.
"That's one thing you are right on," Vossler said, sitting up also. He grabbed his sword from the floor and stood. Balthier heaved himself back to his feet as well. Vaan, Penelo, Fran and Ashe were all picking themselves up, having recovered from their near brush with death.
"Well then," Balthier said. "What don't we all watch our step from here on, hm?" He said 'all,' but let his gaze rest on Vaan in particular. The kid noticed.
"Hey, it was an accident!" he said.
"Accident or no, we all almost got killed," Balthier said. "And I think we'd all prefer to avoid that in the future."
"Agreed," Vossler said. He'd already placed his sword back in its sheath and was helping Ashe to her feet. Balthier couldn't see that the princess was in any great need of assistance, but she looked grateful anyway. "Now, if we're all done chatting," Vossler continued, "let's get going." With that he started off, taking the lead down the long, shadowy tunnel. Balthier found himself at the rear, a place he seemed resigned to spend this whole journey. He reminded himself for the hundredth that, as annoying as it was, it didn't matter. He was here for the nethicite, to keep it away from Archadia, and yes, in a small way, to help Ashe win back Dalmasca's freedom. After all, if he had done what he could two years ago, they likely would never have been conquered at all.
…
"It's kinda dark," Penelo said, glancing around nervously from where she sat in her sleeping bag. A fire crackled in the center of their camp, like it had the past several nights. Only now, instead of a brilliant sunset over the desert, they were surrounded by dim lanterns and eerily carved black walls. Balthier didn't mind so much, but apparently Penelo did. Ashe didn't seem her usual self, either, but whether that was due to the unnerving tomb, the Dawn Shard's nearness, or something else entirely, Balthier couldn't tell.
"Oh, come on, Penelo," Vaan sighed from his bedroll. He lay with his hands folded behind his head, rather than sitting up like his jumpy sister. "It's just as dark as it's been. And it's not like there're ghosts or anything."
"Ghosts?" Penelo said, eyes widening. She drew the folds of her sleeping bag closer. "You don't think there might be?"
"You know, I'm not sure," Vaan said, his voice changing from exasperated to teasing. "Maybe it's… ancient tomb robbers." A smile spread over the kid's face, and he let his voice take on a theatrical tone. "They died down here centuries ago, and now they're doomed forever to guard the king whose domain they tried to pillage."
"Ah, nice, Vaan," Balthier said. "That'd be a fine ghost story. If it were real." Balthier crouched by the fire, stoking it as everyone waited for Vossler and Fran's return. They'd gone to check the surrounding area for traps, just to make sure they didn't get squashed or something while they slept.
"It's not real, right?" Penelo squeaked.
"Well," Balthier replied, "that depends on how real you think Vaan's imagination is."
Penelo didn't reply. She glanced once down the long, shadowy corridor, then let her gaze rest on the crackling fire. Ashe sat, legs folded, on her sleeping bag, staring at something far away. The firelight painted her features, lost in thought, and set her hair to its metallic glimmer. Clearly, she hadn't heard any of their debate. Balthier decided not to disturb her.
"The good news is, no traps," Vossler's voice called out. Everyone, even Ashe, looked up to watch as he and Fran approached from down the shadowy hallway. Vossler held his sword gingerly in one hand; the blade was covered in white slime. Vossler frowned furiously at his weapon, trying to scrap off the gunk with one hand.
"What happened to you?" Balthier asked, arching one eyebrow.
"You don't want to know." With that, Vossler plopped down by the fire and continued to try and fail to remove the white ooze from his sword.
"We ran into a monster," Fran said in her usual calm manner. She sat down on her bedroll.
"You call that thing a monster?" Vossler said with a scoff.
"What kind of… monster?" Penelo asked, wide-eyed. She was alert and attentive, still jumpy from Vaan's teasing.
"A great glob of jelly," Vossler said with a huff. "The thing was quite intent on slurping us up. And now it's all over my sword."
"Well, maybe it'll poison the next thing you stab with it," Balthier said.
"Ha-ha, very funny," Vossler said, rolling his eyes. He stopped scrubbing and let the sword drop to the ground. "Hopefully, the next thing I stab with it won't just glue itself back together and ooze off, none the wiser." Vossler accentuated his irritation with flaring hand gestures.
"I said it wouldn't work," Fran said. "I was trying to cast magic, but you wouldn't move."
"Oh, this is a lost cause," Vossler sighed, shaking his head. "I'll fix it in the morning." He stood, leaving the blade on the ground, then sat down on his sleeping bag.
"Fran, do you think there could be more of those things?" Balthier asked.
Fran nodded. "The myst is incredibly thick down here," she said. "More so than I imagined. Many unusual creatures are attracted to and breed well in such myst."
"In that case," Balthier said, standing, "we'd best keep a watch tonight. I'll take first."
No one objected. Even Vossler was too cross after his defeat to worry about being shown up. So while everyone else slept, Balthier kept watch. He did his best to focus on his duties and keep his mind from wandering. With so many various things to worry about, that was a task in and of itself.
After about an hour or so- it was hard to tell in that dark crypt- a rustling attracted his attention from the ring of sleepers around the campfire, which was burning low. Princess Ashe sat up in her sleeping bag. She rubbed her face with her hands, let out a sigh, the stared into the fire's smoldering remains. Balthier stopped the pacing he'd engaged in the past while and glanced at her; the princess didn't seem to have noticed him. Everyone else was sound asleep, and she was alone in her own world of deep thought. Ashe had seemed off the evening before, Balthier noted; something was troubling her. What, Balthier could only guess; he had his guesses, but that was all they were. After a few moments, Balthier decided he wasn't going to just ignore Ashe and walked over to her.
"What's wrong, princess?" Balthier asked. "Trouble sleeping?"
"Hm?" Ashe glanced up at him. "Oh, uh… a little, I suppose," she said. "Don't worry about me, I'm… I'm fine." There was silence for several moments. Ashe stared into the fire, then down at her sleeping bag. Anxious, unsettled, confused- the princess was a lot easier to read than Fran.
Ashe raised her head suddenly, then turned to look down the hallway that led from their campsite farther into Raithwall's Tomb. She raised one hand to her heart, sucking in a breath.
"Is it the Dawn Shard?" Balthier asked.
Ashe's eyes glazed with that distant, confused look she'd born so often since they left the rigs. "I think so," she said, barely more than a whisper. "It's… close. Very close." She stared down the tunnel, and through that glaze of confusion her eyes shone with something else.
"Scared?" Balthier asked. The thought of nethicite certainly didn't make him feel at ease. But, then again, that was what he was there for.
"I…" Ashe's gaze fell, and she closed her eyes, pulling in a deep breath. "I can't afford to be."
And yet she did look terrified. Some part of Balthier pitied the poor princess, struggling so hard to find the strength she needed. But she'd made it this far, through the two years since the death of her father and husband and the destruction of her kingdom, so she must have succeeded in some way.
"Get some sleep, Ashe," Balthier said. "Hopefully, we'll find your Dawn Shard before too long."
Balthier's words pulled Ashe from her silent distress. She glanced up at him, her desperation even clearer in her blue-grey eyes. She nodded slowly, cast one last glance into the dying fire, then lay back down in bedroll.
Balthier walked back away from the ring of his sleeping companions and stared off down the tunnel. His watch would be over soon, and he was glad of it. The only thing in his thoughts now was that look of anguish in Ashe's eyes, and the glaring truth that, if only he hadn't closed his eyes to the nethicite, to his father's growing coldness, she would be happily married to Rasler, the princess of a nation prospering from its fresh alliances. If only Ffamran had had the guts to look outside his little world of perfection and fix the things desperately wrong with it. Instead, he'd sat back and ignored it. Now Reina was dead, the Dr. Cid and Archadia he knew and loved were gone, and Ffamran was gone, too. All that remained was that wretched sky pirate, running around playing mercenary, seeing all those grand sights Ffamran had dreamed of. But he couldn't ignore any more. He had to try and recover what was left. Balthier knew his life was gone, and rightly so; that had all been his fault, anyway. But if finding that nethicite and fighting against Archadia would help people like Ashe and Vaan, people still bleeding from that war he could have stopped, then he'd do it. What else could he do?
…
The next day they continued their journey, past an array of weirdly twisted creatures and vicious traps, but even down into the tomb. Ashe seemed more certain than ever about that they were nearing their prize. Fran was stony as usual, Ashe distant as she'd been. Vossler was tense with impatience; apparently that internal clock of his was going off, saying they'd taken too long. Balthier couldn't tell if he simply feared Ashe would get hurt in that death-trap of a tomb or if the resistance had some plan that needed to start soon. Penelo did remarkably well in the dark, eerie tomb, fighting off distorted, disgusting creatures and putting her healing magic to good use. She didn't even seem that nervous; apparently, she'd adjusted since last night.
The long, dimly lit hallways, with their ornately carved walls of black stone, all looked the same, every now and then turning and falling down flights of equally decorated stairs. The only thing to break the monotony were a variety of new and creative traps. Balthier assumed they were far underground by that point; but if the Dawn Shard was underground, he couldn't help but wonder what the massive tomb on the outside was for. Just more bravado by the ancient king, he guessed.
The party rounded another ninety-degree corner leading to another flight of stairs.
"How deep does this thing go, anyway?" Vaan said with a sigh. "We've been going down forever."
"We'll go as deep as we have to," Vossler replied. He walked next to Ashe, a place he'd constantly occupied since they entered the tomb. Vossler let out a sigh. "Though I hope it won't be much longer."
"Oh, it can't be," Balthier said. "I imagine the workers would've revolted if they had to dig any deeper."
Vaan let out a chuckle at that, though he was the only one.
At the bottom of the stairway, it opened up into not another dark passageway, but out onto a balcony suspended over a massive drop. The balcony continued on away from the staircase, connecting to a doorway on the opposite wall, but no looked over there. The massive drop spread out as far as the eye could see up and down, disappearing into shadow either way. The opposite side must have been a good hundred feet or more away, but Balthier couldn't see it. Filling the great void of darkness was a glowing sea of golden mist curled and twisted, a thousand wisps of glittering energy. It warped and faded like an illusion, flowing in tortuous pathways through the air, its golden light illuminating the intricate carvings that covered Raithwall's Tomb.
"Oh, wow…" Penelo walked out to the balcony's railing and leaned against them. "What is it?"
"Myst," Fran answered simply.
"You can see it?" Penelo asked. "With your eyes?"
The faintest flicker of amusement crossed Fran's lips. "You humans cannot, save where it is thickest," she said, walking up to join Penelo at the railings. "The myst runs deep in this place."
"Well, that is quite a sight," Balthier said. He refrained from voicing the long, scientific analysis of how myst could attain such density that unfolded in his brain.
"Over here!" Ashe cried out, taking everyone from their amazement over the myst. She rushed toward the door at the balcony's other end. This door, unlike the rest of Raithwall's Tomb, was carved from white marble, graced with the simply designs of two desert flowers on slender stems, one rising up each door. Ashe ran up the doorway. "I think… I think this is it," she said, breathless.
"Stand back, Highness," Vossler said. He walked up to the door and gingerly took its handle. Balthier didn't blame him for being cautious; most doors they'd opened in that tomb had kept rather nasty surprises up their sleeves. The door didn't respond to Vossler light touch, so he proceeded to heave his full strength into it, and the heavy stone door slid open. It ground against the floor, filling the otherwise still air with a resounding groan. Shoving through the stubborn door, Vossler led the way, followed closely by Ashe, the others behind.
The room beyond was as unlike the rest of Raithwall's Tomb as its door. Several magicite torches lined the walls, glowing brightly and bathing the smooth, domed ceiling above with golden light. The greatest source of light in that room came from a pedestal that stood on a dais in the room's center, before a large coffin carved from a gold-tinged stone. Atop that pedestal rested a small, spherical crystal, radiating an amethyst light that, though soft, somehow reached the farthest corners of the room. The moment they entered, Balthier felt a wave of power rush over him, ancient and cold, and he knew that feeling; if he ever doubted that thing was nethicite, he knew now.
And in its wave of power, some strangled semblance of being deep within its stony depths throbbed with desire. Some twisted perversion of what could have been life reached out in a wave of energy, a shadow of longing just edging on coherent thought. The Dawn Shard's power bombarded Balthier's mind, sending a shiver through his limbs and that familiar ache to the back of his head. He struggled not to show this discomfort to everyone else.
Ashe dashed ahead, running up the steps of the dais. The moment she stood before the Shard, its light flared, glowing in shades of chilly white and faintest lilac, like the touch of dawn painting the night sky. With it, its power swelled. Its broken thoughts took on a distorted, hollow voice, singing 'I know this blood… and I want…' Balthier sucked in a breath, blocking out its spine-chilling cry of hunger, reminding himself only he could hear it. His father's nethicite had never acted this way, but then again, it had never met Raithwall's blood.
"It's here…" Ashe breathed. "The Dawn Shard." Her voice sounded like sweetest music after the Dawn Shard's hungry rasp. Ashe took the stone in both her hands, and its pulse of soft, daybreak light flared, bathing her face in its glow. After a few moments its light fell away, leaving it only an amethyst crystal with the faintest light deep inside.
"We've found it!" Ashe said, her cry breaking the spell of silence. "Finally…"
"That we have," Balthier echoed. With the Dawn Shard's power retreated, he could finally breath again, and that throb in his head was fading.
"We have what we came for, Highness," Vossler said, walking up to stand beside Ashe on the dais. "Now let's hurry back to the surface."
"Agreed," Balthier said. "No reason to hang around this place."
Ashe nodded, closing her hands tightly around the Dawn Shard.
"We have it now, Vossler," she said, looking up at her guardian with hope in her eyes. "We really have it. We can really fight, now. Think Vossler, we'll have Dalmasca back! Things will be like they were, before…" That look of pain marred Ashe's bright face. "Before the war. We'll put things right."
Vossler stood silently for a few moments, then, letting out a light chuckle, he put a hand on Ashe's shoulder.
"Right, Highness," he said, squeezing. "Now, come on, let's go."
Vossler led Ashe down from the dais, towards the door they'd come from. Balthier followed, along with Fran, Vaan, and Penelo. They had their nethicite.
…
"Assume all those traps we set off don't reset, our journey out should be shorter than our journey in," Balthier said as the party left the staircase. "I wouldn't be surprised if we camped out in the desert tonight."
"Mm. It will be soon," Vossler said. He let out a sigh, making an effort to look perky. "That's good. Let's hurry."
Balthier frowned a moment, wondering what was wrong with the knight; he'd been all in a hurry until now.
"Yes, hurry," Balthier said, "but let's still watch our step, alright? Vaan?"
Vaan scowled. "It was only that once! I could've happened to anyone!"
"Be that as it may, try not to set that trap off again on the way out," Balthier said. "We don't need-"
Balthier broke off, freezing as he felt the ground sink under his next step. A click echoed off the walls of the narrow passageway. All eyes turned to him.
"Oh dear."
Balthier was about to suggest ducking, or looking out, or something like that, but it was too late. The intricately carved wall of black stone to his left swung out in an arch, catching him face-first. In a blur of motion, cries of surprise all around, Balthier felt himself swept around, then thrown backwards, finally skidding to a halt on his rear on the rough stone floor. Still a bit dazed from the impact, Balthier spotted Vossler and Ashe picking themselves up, and the section of wall settling perfectly back into place. The others were nowhere to be seen.
"Really?" Balthier said with a sigh. "They really couldn't come up with anything more original than a spinning wall?"
"That's the best thing you can complain about?" Vossler said, standing up and glaring at Balthier. "How about you? Don't practice what you preach, huh?"
"Well, I…" That was a hard one. Very hard. A bit too hard for Balthier's rhetoric, frustratingly. Shaking his head with a sigh, Balthier pulled himself back to his feet while Vossler helped Ashe up with great care. Balthier walked over the wall and rapped against it.
"Hello?" he called, raising his voice. Hopefully, at least Fran could hear across the wall. "Can anyone hear me?"
"We can," came Fran's muffled voice, so quiet Balthier could barely make it out.
"There has to be a way to the exit from over here," Balthier called. "We'll all meet there, got it?"
"Yes."
"Alright then," Balthier said, turning away from the wall to his two companions. "There's our plan. Let's hop to it then, hm?"
"Which way do we go?" Ashe asked. This tunnel ran off in both directions, much like the one they'd left, with another passageway breaking off perpendicularly, leading to a narrow, dimly lit stairway.
"Well, not back down," Balthier said. "And after all that spinning, I'm not entirely sure which direction we were headed."
"So we just pick one," Vossler said. "And if it goes down, we turn around and head the other way."
"Alright," Ashe said with a nod. "Let's go, then."
She started off down the tunnel, striding with that air of artificial royal pride Balthier found so amusing. After only a few steps, the ground split open under her as a trap door gave way. With a cry, Princess Ashe descended through the hidden opening. Vossler dived for her, failing to catch the princess but managing to catch the trapdoor's scissor-like jaws before they snapped closed. Balthier rushed over.
"Highness!" Vossler called down, not even looking that strained at keeping the trap door open. "Are you alright? Ashe!"
"I'm fine!" Ashe's voice drifted back up. It looked like quiet a drop, swathed in shadows so thick Balthier couldn't see the bottom.
"Ashe, do you think you can climb back out?" Balthier called, kneeling by the door opposite Vossler.
"No, it's too high," Ashe called after a few moments. "But I think there's… there's a door here. Only I can't find a way to open it!"
Balthier let out a sigh. "Well, isn't this wonderful?"
"Just stay there, Highness!" Vossler called down. "I'll come find you!"
"How?" Balthier said, arching an eyebrow at Vossler. "You gonna dive down there after her?"
"No." Vossler scowled. "See that?" He nodded towards the small staircase. "I'll take that. Her Highness says there's a door, so it must open somewhere. That leads down, where she is."
"That's risky at best," Balthier said.
"You got any better ideas?" Vossler replied. There was a moment's silent as Balthier thought of a suitable response.
"Vossler?" Ashe's voice called out of the shadows. "Balthier? Are you still there?"
Balthier was about to respond when Vossler cut him off.
"Don't worry, Highness. I'll get you. Just hang in there!" Then he released the trapdoor, and its scissor-like jaws snapped shut.
Balthier stood with a sigh. "Well then, let's go rescue us a princess, shall we?"
"Not you," Vossler said. "You go scout ahead, make sure we're taking the right path when we get back up here."
"What?" Balthier said. "And what if you run into trouble down there? What if you get caught in some other trap? I wouldn't think it wise for me to go alone, either. As annoying as it is, we stand a better chance of getting Ashe back if we work together."
"I'm going to get Ashe back!" Vossler snapped. "Not you. I thought you'd get it by now; stay away from her! Her Highness is a beautiful woman; you aren't the first who's tried this, and you won't be the last. You-"
"I'm not any of them!" Balthier said, cutting Vossler off. "Don't take this the wrong way, but that princess is a lunatic. She's all yours; you can have her!"
"Oh, well, it's… not… like that…" Vossler stammered.
Balthier let out a sigh. "Oh, please don't try and deny it. Ashe is about the only person on Ivalice who can't tell."
Vossler let out a bitter chuckle. "Heh. Well… that's true. I don't really blame her, though. We met when she was only ten. But you don't know Princess Ashe! She… She may not have as much to offer as others, but she gives all she possibly can, and she always has. That counts for something, doesn't it?"
"You don't need to convince me, Vossler," Balthier said. "I am fully persuaded of your undying love for the princess. I'm just trying to defend myself. Trust me, I've been there, done that. It…" That heartrending image of Reina's face filled Balthier's mind once more. "It didn't end well."
Vossler smirked. "What, you mean under all that charm you're really no good?"
Balthier let out a bitter chuckle. "Oh, I wish. Let's just say… I learned the hard way… that love and war don't mix."
"Heh," Vossler let out a bitter chuckle. "I'm learning."
Not a sound echoed off the finely carved walls of Raithwall's Tomb. In that place of the dead, it was silent as the grave. Balthier couldn't take it.
"Let's go, then. Don't want to keep Ashe waiting."
"Mm." Vossler just nodded, then turned silently towards the narrow stairway. Balthier let him lead the way.
…
Darkness. Thick, inky, complete, and all-encompassing. Not a sound, either. It was so dark and silent the only things Ashe could register was the rough stone beneath her, the scent of decay in the air, and the nip of a chill in the air. She crouched in a corner, from what he could tell of the wall behind her. She didn't even know how large this space was. It was large enough for her to stand, she knew, and she'd felt the crack of a door on one wall. She sat near that spot, awaiting with desperation the arrival of Balthier and Vossler. It felt like an eternity had passed in that dark place. She was so cold and alone, it was all she could do to hold in tears.
I must be strong. For Dalmasca…
But the words didn't help. Ashe closed her eyes, though it made no difference, and leaned against the wall, trying to think of some happier time, the sort of time she fought to bring back. Her husband, Rasler…
A suddenly flash of light made Ashe gasp. She sat bolt upright, searching wildly for the source of the light. On the floor of her small, dark cell lay the Dawn Shard, radiating a soft, lilac-white brilliance. It must have fallen from her pocket during the fall. Why it had suddenly lit up, she couldn't tell, but Ashe was glad for the light. She knelt next to the round crystal and reached to grab it.
A surge of light, stronger than its gentle radiance, filled the air about the Dawn Shard. Ashe drew her hand back with a gasp. As the rush of white light died away, in its place stood something impossible: a wavering, ghostly image of…
"Rasler!" Ashe cried aloud. She sprang to her feet to face the ethereal image. It was Rasler, decked in white armor like the day he rode out to Nalbina Fortress, like the last time Ashe had seen him, still and cold in his casket, ringed by galbana lilies, slain by an Archadian arrow.
"Rasler? But… what?" Ashe said, confusion whirling in her tired mind. The ghostly figure of her late husband shook its head, then turn its back and walked toward the far wall of the shadowy prison.
"No, wait!" Ashe shouted. She tried to grab his arm, but her fingers passed right through. He continued on, passing through the wall and leaving her all alone again.
Ashe stood there, staring after him, wondering if she had really seen that or not. Was she dreaming, or had she just imagined it? The Dawn Shard's soft light still illuminated her dismal surroundings, but that ghostly image of Rasler was gone without a trace.
"Rasler…"
Then a creaking filled the air, and orange torchlight, brilliant after so long in the dark, spilled into her dark tomb.
Vossler heaved open the small doorway they'd found on the level below. Balthier let him and his brute force do the heavy lifting; besides, he figured Vossler would want to greet the princess first. This door was halfway up the wall, a good four feet from the floor; perfect to access a trapdoor from the floor above.
The door swung open revealing a dark, unlit room, small and compact. Ashe stood, her back to the door, staring wide-eyed at the wall.
"Highness!" Vossler called. "Are you alright?"
Ashe turned slowly to face him, frowning in confusion.
"There was…" she stammered. "I… I thought…"
"Highness?" Worry overtook Vossler' face. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"I…" Ashe glanced back at the wall, then shook her head, banishing her confusion. "No, I'm fine, Vossler." She moved over to the doorway.
"I'll catch you," Vossler said. He did, quite happily, Balthier imagined. Vossler set Ashe down, and Balthier spotted her tucking the Dawn Shard away in her pocket.
"We should head back up, right?" Ashe said. "We should hurry."
"Right, princess," Balthier said. He nodded back the way he and Vossler came. "Right this way."
Ashe nodded and started off. That air of dazed confusion had left her, but Balthier still wondered what it was all about. He turned to follow her, and Vossler came up beside him.
"Balthier," he said slowly, staring after Ashe, "you know I'd do anything for Princess Ashe, right?"
"Well, sure," Balthier said after a few moments. "But… what are you talking about?"
Vossler let out a bitter chuckle then a heavy sigh, then followed Ashe without another word.
