FINAL FANTASY XI
CHAPTER IX
Arrival
To Magus, the battle had just been another test that would prove his strength. Even if the blunt force of Aadia's techniques of trade would be the cause of victory, he still felt as if he was getting somewhere with his lessons. The instructions for combat his master Torukoishi had provided were proving effective, but it was hard to think back to them in battle. Perhaps the mind of Aadia was better equipped to think for combat, and Magus might befall the trade of Blue Mage if there was still time for change. It was unlikely, having already reached a decent fourth of his life, that he could instantly change his method of attack and channel a different element other than the dark arts of a demon taoist.
There wasn't much time spent staring over the bodies of the defeated Galka, Magus and company had begun again on their return trip cross the border to the Windurst town of Lenna just across the border. It was a quiet village-like township, with a great presence of water about. The Tartar people enjoyed living amidst nature and what better a choice than to live on the surface of a lake by means of docks? It made sense to the inhabitants of Lenna, and Torukoishi stationed his shop there. It was a place in which one could attain a plethora of medicines and herbs, and it was now apparent to Magus that his master might have opened the door to opportunities of shipping products and materials across countries, both Windurst and others.
The federation of Windurst would pose no objection to Magus leaving with any sort of goods, and as they walked across the borders they would each be waved to by quite social Tartar guards. The tiny animal-like creatures each carried glaives, almost denoting that their fighting style was similar to Aadia's. Magus smirked; the thought of the little men leaping 20 feet in the air was quite comical to him. He tried to hide the smile in an attempt to avoid any questions, no need to answer what had caught his attention enough to make him laugh quietly to himself.
The group was no worse than they were when departing as they were when arriving. The trek was comparatively quiet when shown aside the events that had ensued for them just making means to leave Rydia. Elarisa spoke little, and the same went for Osamu, Aadia as well. With all the silence amidst Magus, he hardly had the nerve to speak in front of any of them. It occurred to him that they probably were not quiet, but had little to talk about having each just been thrown together. One might have assumed they'd start asking social questions, like where they took origin from and the like, but no sort of speech derived from any of their lips.
The entrance to the town wasn't as crowded as Magus had remembered it, and all but Aadia stepped on the wooden path constructed atop the clear water's mildly ebbing surface with ease. The face of the Dragoon seemed a bit unsettled almost annoyed with a touch of fear. Magus could assess all this from simply staring at her wondering why she had stopped, soon the sound of walking by the other two had stopped as well. Aadia almost grimaced, and shook her head, but sure enough she decided to follow them into the collections of structures.
There was a variance of Tartars and Mithra walking about, the cat like people towering over the counterparts of occupancy of the Windurst land. The only humane creatures there was an old woman taking seat on a bench facing the water, and of course Magus, Aadia, Osamu, and Elarisa. It wasn't hard to locate Torukoishi's shop, Magus had been there a dozen times, and the crew assembled behind him followed intently, even Aadia. Her reluctance was completely candid; Magus would have to talk to her about it later if he ever got the chance.
The door to Torukoishi's shop was unlocked; after the incidents he'd experienced while trying to deliver the package to Elarisa almost left him expecting the portal to be sealed. He was also growing tired to top it off, and his perception was becoming stretched and sometimes weak. A missed footstep here, or having to snap himself from the fog told him he could use nothing else but a nap. The site of the shop, his home was a relief. The shelves were lined with a wider selection than Elarisa's, and there were more of them. This was the largest building of the village-like area, and it showed from the amount of stock within. Behind the counter was a door, which led to another stock room, and from Magus's knowledge of tending to the shop, a laboratory of sorts. Further back was his quarters, and behind the counter that led to it all was the warm familiar face of his master.
The robe Torukoishi wore was still the same, a blue cloak with red cloth from the waist up. Golden filigree would accent shoulders and cuffs and buttons and such. This was the traditional garb of a Blue Mage; Magus would expect Elarisa to take a little pride in seeing it. His master was certainly a testament to the class of azure, and the apprentice mage was already happy to see his father figure. A wave, a smile, and a simple nod; thus was the greeting he usually gave to Magus, so that was what Magus would bestow in advance.
Torukoishi smiled, and even through his long silver beard and mustache that was seemingly ungroomed, but kept well, the pleasant feeling could be perceived. The long ponytail would dance along his back as he met Magus in the middle of the shop, walking calmly with his hands behind his back. It was everything Magus remembered about home, and even in the short time he'd been away, he felt too much disattachment. It was good to return, and Magus spoke the first words that had been said in a while.
"Good afternoon, master." With those words he would smile, but soon after take a seat in a chair stationed in the corner of the shop. It had just dawned on Magus that the location of the piece of furniture was in the exact location and position as the one in Elarisa's shop. It would make sense to place it there, giving patrons the opportunity to take a bit of rest while waiting for an item's preparation. Magus just needed to sit. He wouldn't use his restlessness as an excuse not to be formal in front of his master.
"This is Elarisa, sir. She's the last customer we served today. Osamu, and Aadia." Magus would laugh a bit; trying to phrase it in a way that even his master would take a humorous stance towards. "They made sure you still had an apprentice." The light smile on Torukoishi's face would denote that Magus had achieved his goal, yet the Black Mage still expected a mild lecture on combat later on away from the eyes and ears of company. Elarisa would bow politely to her superior; smiling, she took the hand Torukoishi offered in a friendly shaking manner. The customs of both Elvaan and Hume seemed to intertwine perfectly, the bow not too vacantly formal or the shake too discourteously informal. It was nice to Magus, who didn't even care about politics, to see the two races getting along.
"It's a pleasure to meet, sir." Torukoishi laughed mildly under his breath, and of course his beard. Then the Blue Mage would simply shake his head. Being around the teacher so much, Magus could tell what the joke was to his master. Everyone was trying to strictly avoid saying his lengthy birthname. But it was apparently no problem for everyone to speak in his presence, which probably made the old man feel rather young with all this youth about. Osamu took a step forward, for no apparent reason to Magus, and it seemed there was a shard of concern. He didn't speak, so there was no reason to worry about whether the samurai was about to turn sides against the group, or if he was going to say something rude. He might have even lost his footing and been ashamed of it.
"You all must be tired." Torukoishi would nod with a sense of importance, as if his words pierced the fabric of that was existence; yet it was followed by a grin. It was a possibility that the master felt he was a bit ominous, Magus smiled that he at least possessed a sense of self- importance. It had been a popular state of mind for people of the Blue Mage's age to have given up on life and settled in their ways, but Torukoishi seemed to still have a broad horizon, which he still sought out to improve. He still admired the old man, even when Magus had been in his services for the past 11 years.
"Magus could you turn out the beds?"
"You mean for us all to stay?"
"Of course, it's almost evening."
"I don't mind, do you Elarisa?"
"Not at all, I have some things to take care of with Master Torukoishi."
"Least I won't have to sleep in a Tartar house."
"What was that Aadia?"
"Nothing."
***
CHAPTER IX
Arrival
To Magus, the battle had just been another test that would prove his strength. Even if the blunt force of Aadia's techniques of trade would be the cause of victory, he still felt as if he was getting somewhere with his lessons. The instructions for combat his master Torukoishi had provided were proving effective, but it was hard to think back to them in battle. Perhaps the mind of Aadia was better equipped to think for combat, and Magus might befall the trade of Blue Mage if there was still time for change. It was unlikely, having already reached a decent fourth of his life, that he could instantly change his method of attack and channel a different element other than the dark arts of a demon taoist.
There wasn't much time spent staring over the bodies of the defeated Galka, Magus and company had begun again on their return trip cross the border to the Windurst town of Lenna just across the border. It was a quiet village-like township, with a great presence of water about. The Tartar people enjoyed living amidst nature and what better a choice than to live on the surface of a lake by means of docks? It made sense to the inhabitants of Lenna, and Torukoishi stationed his shop there. It was a place in which one could attain a plethora of medicines and herbs, and it was now apparent to Magus that his master might have opened the door to opportunities of shipping products and materials across countries, both Windurst and others.
The federation of Windurst would pose no objection to Magus leaving with any sort of goods, and as they walked across the borders they would each be waved to by quite social Tartar guards. The tiny animal-like creatures each carried glaives, almost denoting that their fighting style was similar to Aadia's. Magus smirked; the thought of the little men leaping 20 feet in the air was quite comical to him. He tried to hide the smile in an attempt to avoid any questions, no need to answer what had caught his attention enough to make him laugh quietly to himself.
The group was no worse than they were when departing as they were when arriving. The trek was comparatively quiet when shown aside the events that had ensued for them just making means to leave Rydia. Elarisa spoke little, and the same went for Osamu, Aadia as well. With all the silence amidst Magus, he hardly had the nerve to speak in front of any of them. It occurred to him that they probably were not quiet, but had little to talk about having each just been thrown together. One might have assumed they'd start asking social questions, like where they took origin from and the like, but no sort of speech derived from any of their lips.
The entrance to the town wasn't as crowded as Magus had remembered it, and all but Aadia stepped on the wooden path constructed atop the clear water's mildly ebbing surface with ease. The face of the Dragoon seemed a bit unsettled almost annoyed with a touch of fear. Magus could assess all this from simply staring at her wondering why she had stopped, soon the sound of walking by the other two had stopped as well. Aadia almost grimaced, and shook her head, but sure enough she decided to follow them into the collections of structures.
There was a variance of Tartars and Mithra walking about, the cat like people towering over the counterparts of occupancy of the Windurst land. The only humane creatures there was an old woman taking seat on a bench facing the water, and of course Magus, Aadia, Osamu, and Elarisa. It wasn't hard to locate Torukoishi's shop, Magus had been there a dozen times, and the crew assembled behind him followed intently, even Aadia. Her reluctance was completely candid; Magus would have to talk to her about it later if he ever got the chance.
The door to Torukoishi's shop was unlocked; after the incidents he'd experienced while trying to deliver the package to Elarisa almost left him expecting the portal to be sealed. He was also growing tired to top it off, and his perception was becoming stretched and sometimes weak. A missed footstep here, or having to snap himself from the fog told him he could use nothing else but a nap. The site of the shop, his home was a relief. The shelves were lined with a wider selection than Elarisa's, and there were more of them. This was the largest building of the village-like area, and it showed from the amount of stock within. Behind the counter was a door, which led to another stock room, and from Magus's knowledge of tending to the shop, a laboratory of sorts. Further back was his quarters, and behind the counter that led to it all was the warm familiar face of his master.
The robe Torukoishi wore was still the same, a blue cloak with red cloth from the waist up. Golden filigree would accent shoulders and cuffs and buttons and such. This was the traditional garb of a Blue Mage; Magus would expect Elarisa to take a little pride in seeing it. His master was certainly a testament to the class of azure, and the apprentice mage was already happy to see his father figure. A wave, a smile, and a simple nod; thus was the greeting he usually gave to Magus, so that was what Magus would bestow in advance.
Torukoishi smiled, and even through his long silver beard and mustache that was seemingly ungroomed, but kept well, the pleasant feeling could be perceived. The long ponytail would dance along his back as he met Magus in the middle of the shop, walking calmly with his hands behind his back. It was everything Magus remembered about home, and even in the short time he'd been away, he felt too much disattachment. It was good to return, and Magus spoke the first words that had been said in a while.
"Good afternoon, master." With those words he would smile, but soon after take a seat in a chair stationed in the corner of the shop. It had just dawned on Magus that the location of the piece of furniture was in the exact location and position as the one in Elarisa's shop. It would make sense to place it there, giving patrons the opportunity to take a bit of rest while waiting for an item's preparation. Magus just needed to sit. He wouldn't use his restlessness as an excuse not to be formal in front of his master.
"This is Elarisa, sir. She's the last customer we served today. Osamu, and Aadia." Magus would laugh a bit; trying to phrase it in a way that even his master would take a humorous stance towards. "They made sure you still had an apprentice." The light smile on Torukoishi's face would denote that Magus had achieved his goal, yet the Black Mage still expected a mild lecture on combat later on away from the eyes and ears of company. Elarisa would bow politely to her superior; smiling, she took the hand Torukoishi offered in a friendly shaking manner. The customs of both Elvaan and Hume seemed to intertwine perfectly, the bow not too vacantly formal or the shake too discourteously informal. It was nice to Magus, who didn't even care about politics, to see the two races getting along.
"It's a pleasure to meet, sir." Torukoishi laughed mildly under his breath, and of course his beard. Then the Blue Mage would simply shake his head. Being around the teacher so much, Magus could tell what the joke was to his master. Everyone was trying to strictly avoid saying his lengthy birthname. But it was apparently no problem for everyone to speak in his presence, which probably made the old man feel rather young with all this youth about. Osamu took a step forward, for no apparent reason to Magus, and it seemed there was a shard of concern. He didn't speak, so there was no reason to worry about whether the samurai was about to turn sides against the group, or if he was going to say something rude. He might have even lost his footing and been ashamed of it.
"You all must be tired." Torukoishi would nod with a sense of importance, as if his words pierced the fabric of that was existence; yet it was followed by a grin. It was a possibility that the master felt he was a bit ominous, Magus smiled that he at least possessed a sense of self- importance. It had been a popular state of mind for people of the Blue Mage's age to have given up on life and settled in their ways, but Torukoishi seemed to still have a broad horizon, which he still sought out to improve. He still admired the old man, even when Magus had been in his services for the past 11 years.
"Magus could you turn out the beds?"
"You mean for us all to stay?"
"Of course, it's almost evening."
"I don't mind, do you Elarisa?"
"Not at all, I have some things to take care of with Master Torukoishi."
"Least I won't have to sleep in a Tartar house."
"What was that Aadia?"
"Nothing."
***