Chapter 2: Jowston Plains

The sun was bright, the sky was burning blue and the breeze was pleasantly cool as it playfully threatened to blow Templton's hat off. The ground was soft against the boy's feet while he walked down the twisted, winding road with a jaunty gait, savoring the taste of travelling he'd sorely missed in all these months. The horizon loomed in front of him, beckoning with its mysteries of faraway lands, strange and ever stranger places, daring anyone to try to discover everything. Only after being cooped up in the castle except in times of emergencies when he was called to the front lines did Templton realized how much being on the road meant to him. To feel the sun beating on his back! He'd realized that, as someone once said, home was everything, and the whole world was his home. It was so good to be back, though if he was to say that he didn't miss the musty library and the few friends he'd made he would have been lying.

Admittedly, though, it was getting a little too bright for his tastes, and Templton frowned a bit as he shaded his eyes from the sun. No matter how good the journey had been, there were times when it might be more pleasant to just sit under a nice shade for a while and not to mention that he could hear his stomach protesting quite loudly. Chuckling, Templton decided to humor his guts and the cartographer began to wander around looking for some kind of shade. That was when he heard somebody yelling his name.

Frowning yet again, Templton squinted to see who it was, and got a surprise when the figure running up the road was no other than Lord Riou.

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Simply put, the trip back from Kyaro was miserable.

Not only was he required to walk every possible path down the not-so-pleasant memory lane, but the weather in the Misty Mountains were even worse than he remembered. He must have spent days wandering there, lost in the fog banks. When he got down to the plains the going got easier, but without the presence of war, monster activities seemed to be increasing and he often had to show them it wasn't a wise idea. Hence, the past weeks was one of those times Riou wished he had let common sense win over his rare bouts of stubbornness and bring the Blinking Mirror with him. Instead of spending a week and a half to reach Toto, he could've been back at Headquarters in a few seconds. It was, he supposed, as rotten an example of hindsight as he was likely to find.

And the surprises just kept on coming. Riou never expected to see Templton just around the bend in the road. As far as he knew, the young cartographer was still at the castle, cataloguing piles of old maps and parchments for 'future reference'. Besides, Riou remembered that he didn't seem very happy with the sight of Toto's smoking ruins and thought it unlikely that he'd be back in the area. So as to satisfy his curiousity, Riou called him with a smile and a wave. Templton answered him with a frown and a jolt.

"L--Lord Riou? What are you doing here? Where did you go? The entire civilian staff went crazy trying to find you!" the younger boy stammered.

He must be really surprised, Riou thought, I've never seen him so much as mispronounce a word before. "I went home to Kyaro to tie up some loose ends, that's all, and I'm getting back just now. What about you? I'd never thought to see you around here," he asked conversationally, settling down under the shade with no small amount of relief.

Looking a bit curious but apparently not wishing to press the issue, Templton replied "Well, the war is over so I thought I should go back to the road. I miss traveling, and I have something I'd really like to do."

Of course. Really, Riou, that was a stupid question. "I should've known, didn't think it's going to be this early though. So where are you going?"

"For the time being, Toran castle. I want to get some news of Kanakan, it's been sometime since I'd heard anything from there," a fond smile lit up the cartographer's face as he relived what must be treasured memories. Riou felt a slight pang as he watched the shifting display of emotions across his face.

"And after that?" he asked, trying to keep his growing pains out of it as much as possible. Letting go didn't mean it wouldn't hurt.

Templton's smile grew even wider. "I'll be following my heart, my Lord, wherever it and the wind will take me," a dreamy glint appeared in his eyes, which grew suddenly alive. "Someday I hope it'll take me to the edge of the world. It's every cartographer's finest dream."

Having some trouble clamping down the pangs, Riou went quiet for a moment, then finally said, "I know how you feel." Somehow it seemed the most appropriate, and somehow Templton really seemed to understand as he nodded slowly.

Their stomachs chose that moment to mutually protest. Both boys turned to look at each other with surprise, which turned into embarrassment, which soon became all-out laughter.

"Templton," Riou said, still wheezing for air, "I don't suppose you have anything to eat? The Hero of the City-States apparently didn't have enough common sense to pack enough food, I'm afraid."

"All sane travelers come prepared unless they can cook," the boy laughed again and reached into his backpack, producing two packets of dry rations. "It's no Hai Yo, my Lord, but still definitely better than what I make. Dig in." Handing one packet to Riou, he peeled his open and began to consume the gray-looking stuff with absolute indifference. Riou tried it, and found it to be (not surprisingly) tasteless, which were still miles above what he called food during most of his existence. Wasn't half-bad, he decided.

"So has everybody left yet? I'm sure quite a few of you guys have businesses to keep out there," Riou asked, still munching on another glob of the stuff.

"Hardly. Hannah left to the Grasslands, I think. She didn't say a word to anyone so all we have to go by are reports of this strange woman going that way. A day later and all the squirrels are gone, and after them most of the monsters. They say they have no business there as the war's over. After that I left, so I didn't know if anybody else were going to or not, but I would imagine they had stayed and waited for you before they go," Templton left off, giving the other boy an uneasy glance. "Uh, my Lord,---"

Riou waved him off. "I don't mind. I didn't exactly wait for farewells either. So you're saying everyone really waited for me?" Something in his heart leaped and some other thing twisted. The young hero had no more idea about how he could feel guilty and jubilant at the same time than he had about why a certain face chose to pop into his mind at that particular moment. It unnerved him yet gave a strange feeling of peace.

"I think so, my Lord." Templton replied, looking a bit guilty himself.

The conversation drifted from topic to topic after that, covering anything from the antics of the strategist's retinue to the average selling price of Celadon Urns. Then, after they finished their lunch the two boys shook hands, gave a few slaps on the back, and continued on their ways.

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Headquarters came into sight a few hours before noon on the day after.

Riou stood on a relatively low hill near Kuskus, watching the castle's reflection shimmered in the water far away, one hand fingering the changed shape of his right-handed rune absently. The Presence of the Beginning Rune was much different than the Bright's Shield's; less gentle, more...overbearing…powerful. He still couldn't get use to it, much less to the idea that it would lend him its powers. It also seemed to have a sort of...murmur that the Bright Shield Rune never had.

The image of the castle shifted as the water ebbed, and the boy quickly shook himself out of his thoughts and reminded himself of the tight schedule he was on. Besides, seeing the castle recalled that particular face back again, and one thing he didn't want was arriving only to find that its owner has left as well. Which was odd.

Easy, Riou. What is it with you and daydreaming these days? You are way, WAY past that now, buddy. Better get used to it.

He bent downward to pick up his knapsack, which he had laid on the ground a few moments earlier to relieve his protesting back, his mind darting to and fro between that face and the Chief of State chair. In that preoccupation, Riou almost didn't notice the tall grass rustling behind his back. Almost.

Whirling around with blurring speed, the young hero whipped out his trusty tonfas and blocked the incoming daggers in one fluid movement. As the blades fell to the grass, he leaped over the camouflaging leaves and brought the tonfas down in a cross-dive on his assailant. Riou felt something sharp scratching his skin, but paid it no attention as he connected his hits with the target. The man was knocked back a few feet before collapsing to the ground.

"That was a bad idea, whatever it was." Riou said in casual tones as he inspected him, carefully looking around for other concealed daggers. "My instincts tend to get the better of me. Are you all right? Can you get up?"

The man stared at him wildly, his expression somewhere between indignity and shock. "You---Riou---"

Riou's smile was rueful. He noticed some blood trickling off his forearms, and proceeded to wipe it off. "I haven't been called on a first name basis for sometime. You're a bandit, sir? I didn't even know there's any around these parts."

"Bandits," the man's eyes grew wide, and then he spat. "Bandits!"

"Careful," the boy cautioned while the voice inside his head screamed about the sheer insanity of the act. He wasn't in the mood to do anything destructive, no. "You'll get a seizure. How about I let you go and you swear you'll turn yourself in at first notice?" When pigs can fly. Yes, voice, I know. I just can't do it.

His eyes grew even wider and the look on his face changed from shock to utter realization, to horror and then to hatred in only a few seconds. Then, as Riou was blinking at the man's rapid change of emotions, his eyes glazed over.

"Hey!" he yelled, immediately going over to check the man's pulse and, sure enough, he was dead.

I didn't hit him that hard! That was the first thought that went through his mind, a jumble of facts and confusion. Then realization hit him. Poison. The man took poison. He killed himself, not something an ordinary bandit would do. Why?

Another realization shook him with a pang of horror. He was not a bandit. He was...and right here in the middle of Jowston territory, with me not even a ruler yet.

'...The defeated soldiers too will feel comforted by the fact that they were defeated by a Hero and deceived by an evil king...' Jowy's words floated through his mind. Riou didn't want to prove his friend's sacrifice wrong, but it was all he could think of. And what could he do about it?

I can't handle this, can I?

Shu. I have to go back now, he has to know this. He'll know what to do.

That particular face crept away into his head again as he recalled how worried she used to look when he went on missions without her, but in his haste Riou quickly swept it away. He had enough to busy his mind as things were, and it was a long walk to the castle.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE : And here is Riou having to seek advice from Shu yet again. Familiar scenario. ^_^ Sorry for not updating! I had to translate a 80 pages document for my dad, and I was seriously winded afterwards. Got a ten-pager as a first version, but it sucks, so I rewrote the thing. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying this! See you!