The warriors had to put up with constant attacks of gray wolves, ogres, and giant spiders in their walk through the woods, but they finally came to what must be Northeast Castle. It was an impressive castle, just as Coneria and ElfLand had, but it seemed to be deserted. When the Light Warriors entered, there suspicions were confirmed. The entire castle was deserted except for the odd bat here and there. What had happened here? The warriors wandered around the castle a bit until they found the throne room, which they entered.
Inside the chamber, sitting on the throne, was a man dressed in royal robes of maroon and emerald green. He was staring straight ahead at the Light Warriors. He stood and addressed the visitors as formally as he could.
"Greeting, noble travelers. I am King Taoso. As you can see, my kingdom was devastated and I am the only survivor. I ask your help in restoring my kingdom. A magical crown was hidden in the Marsh Caves to the south. If you find it and return it to me, all four of you will be handsomely rewarded."
Once again, Michael took another quest upon the Light Warriors. "On our honor, we will find the Crown and return it to you." The warriors left the castle and began heading for the Marsh Caves, and it would take another good three days walking just to get there. The journey would be difficult enough without monsters to worry about, but the giants and gray wolves along the path just made an already tough route nearly impossible. Three long days later, the group finally arrived at the Marsh Cave.
As soon as Michael led the group into the cave and fought off a small swarm of scorpions seemingly waiting in ambush for them, everyone started to see why conquering dungeons was a great feat to be accomplished only by heroes. On the field, one may run across an occasional monster every few hours, but dungeon crawling involved having to deal with attackers every other minutes. Fortunately for the Light Warriors, these skeletons and zombies were easily rekilled after a few well-placed sword or fist blows, and turned to dust by fire or holy magic. Still, this was no easy task. By the time the group had gotten anywhere near the crown, they had cut their way through more slimes, shadows, and undead than they cared to count.
Before the group lay a long corridor full of doors. A message carved in the stone said the crown lay behind one of the doors. Seeing no other way, they decided to check each door one by one. The room was empty, the second held a treasure chest containing a potion.
"A potion?!" said Cadoc, expecting some greater reward for all the sweat and blood he spent getting this far in the dungeon. "What insane person would go to the trouble to hide a stupid bottle of medicine in a treasure chest two miles underground?"
The next two doors held nothing as well. When Logan opened the next door down the row, she was surprised to see a huge wolf barreling out of the door straight at her. It knocked her over before Michael drove his silver sword through its head. Logan brushed herself off, thanked Michael, then slowly opened the door on the opposite side of the corridor.
As the door slowly opened, the warriors beheld a sparkling crown, made of the finest gold and gems, sitting on a pedestal in the back of the room. Cadoc moved forward to grab it, but when he was a few steps from the crown, three strange creatures in white and gold robes appeared. They were most likely human, but their faces were obscure by wooden masks, making it impossible to tell one way or the other.
"Who dares disturb my treasure?" asked the one who was in front. "I think I should show these puny surface dwellers who's boss!"
The rest of the warriors rushed to Cadoc's defense. Two of the wizards shot spells at Cadoc which made him feel kind of dizzy. The other wizard sent up more smoke, making it harder to see to target them. Aiko wasn't about to let some other wizard make a fool of him in combat. He conjured the most powerful lighting bolt he could and shot it straight at one of the wizards. The targeted wizard shuttered, then collapsed.
Michael took a stab at one of the standing wizards. He missed, and the wizard wacked him upside the head with his staff. Cadoc, meanwhile, delivered two roundhouse blows to the other wizard, making him see stars. The dazed wizard shot a flurry of ice crystals at one of the three Cadocs he saw, but it passed straight through him and hit Michael, putting him in even worse shape than before.
Aiko used the last of his magical energy to fire off one more weak bolt of electricity at one of the wizards, which was enough to knock him flat. Michael, still reeling from the blow he just took to the head, took a wild swing at the last wizard, which somehow managed to connect and split the wooden mask in two, killing him instantly. Logan cast a weak healing spell on Michael, then picked up the crown they had came for in the first place and tucked it inside her robe.
On the way out, the monsters kept their distance for the most part, seemingly afraid of the people who slaughtered the mighty wizards. Them, as everyone neared the exit of the cave and daylight could be seen in the distance, Aiko caught something out the corner of his eye. A huge scorpion, at least a foot long, was latched onto the roof of the cave above Logan's head. Obviously, nobody else could see it, and, suddenly, it let go.
At that moment, Aiko's vision changed. He was no longer in a cave, but back in his hometown eight years ago. Logan was replaced by Aiko's older sister, and a black-caped form fell from the sky towards poor Hikari. Without thinking, Aiko rushed at her as fast as he could and knocked her out of harm's way. Aiko felt the pain as a dagger slashed his back, then spun around to face his attacker. He kept stabbing the evil figure with his shining silver knife until finally it collapsed. Aiko turned around and hugged his sister, when finally reality came back into focus.
He was back in the cave. His arms were wrapped tight around Logan, as Michael and Cadoc stood watching with their eyes wide open. A scorpion lay dead on the ground. Aiko's mind took a few seconds to process what actually just happened, then he awkwardly removed his arms from around Logan.
"What in the world just happened?" asked Cadoc finally.
"I... saw that scorpion about to attack Logan and.. I had to save him."
"What did you just hug me for?" Logan inquired.
"I was... happy you were all right."
Michael knew something wasn't right, but he decided he had to let it go. Who knew what type of madness lurked in the mind of a black mage. Cadoc didn't see why Aiko would suddenly risk his own hide to save someone, but he too reasoned insanity was just part of who Aiko was.
Logan was even more disturbed. Why did an uncaring black mage risk injury to save her? On top of that, why didn't he just stay cool and fry the scorpion with a fireball or something? And when he saved her, why did he embrace her? Why?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You don't need a reason to help people."
- Zidane, FFIX
Inside the chamber, sitting on the throne, was a man dressed in royal robes of maroon and emerald green. He was staring straight ahead at the Light Warriors. He stood and addressed the visitors as formally as he could.
"Greeting, noble travelers. I am King Taoso. As you can see, my kingdom was devastated and I am the only survivor. I ask your help in restoring my kingdom. A magical crown was hidden in the Marsh Caves to the south. If you find it and return it to me, all four of you will be handsomely rewarded."
Once again, Michael took another quest upon the Light Warriors. "On our honor, we will find the Crown and return it to you." The warriors left the castle and began heading for the Marsh Caves, and it would take another good three days walking just to get there. The journey would be difficult enough without monsters to worry about, but the giants and gray wolves along the path just made an already tough route nearly impossible. Three long days later, the group finally arrived at the Marsh Cave.
As soon as Michael led the group into the cave and fought off a small swarm of scorpions seemingly waiting in ambush for them, everyone started to see why conquering dungeons was a great feat to be accomplished only by heroes. On the field, one may run across an occasional monster every few hours, but dungeon crawling involved having to deal with attackers every other minutes. Fortunately for the Light Warriors, these skeletons and zombies were easily rekilled after a few well-placed sword or fist blows, and turned to dust by fire or holy magic. Still, this was no easy task. By the time the group had gotten anywhere near the crown, they had cut their way through more slimes, shadows, and undead than they cared to count.
Before the group lay a long corridor full of doors. A message carved in the stone said the crown lay behind one of the doors. Seeing no other way, they decided to check each door one by one. The room was empty, the second held a treasure chest containing a potion.
"A potion?!" said Cadoc, expecting some greater reward for all the sweat and blood he spent getting this far in the dungeon. "What insane person would go to the trouble to hide a stupid bottle of medicine in a treasure chest two miles underground?"
The next two doors held nothing as well. When Logan opened the next door down the row, she was surprised to see a huge wolf barreling out of the door straight at her. It knocked her over before Michael drove his silver sword through its head. Logan brushed herself off, thanked Michael, then slowly opened the door on the opposite side of the corridor.
As the door slowly opened, the warriors beheld a sparkling crown, made of the finest gold and gems, sitting on a pedestal in the back of the room. Cadoc moved forward to grab it, but when he was a few steps from the crown, three strange creatures in white and gold robes appeared. They were most likely human, but their faces were obscure by wooden masks, making it impossible to tell one way or the other.
"Who dares disturb my treasure?" asked the one who was in front. "I think I should show these puny surface dwellers who's boss!"
The rest of the warriors rushed to Cadoc's defense. Two of the wizards shot spells at Cadoc which made him feel kind of dizzy. The other wizard sent up more smoke, making it harder to see to target them. Aiko wasn't about to let some other wizard make a fool of him in combat. He conjured the most powerful lighting bolt he could and shot it straight at one of the wizards. The targeted wizard shuttered, then collapsed.
Michael took a stab at one of the standing wizards. He missed, and the wizard wacked him upside the head with his staff. Cadoc, meanwhile, delivered two roundhouse blows to the other wizard, making him see stars. The dazed wizard shot a flurry of ice crystals at one of the three Cadocs he saw, but it passed straight through him and hit Michael, putting him in even worse shape than before.
Aiko used the last of his magical energy to fire off one more weak bolt of electricity at one of the wizards, which was enough to knock him flat. Michael, still reeling from the blow he just took to the head, took a wild swing at the last wizard, which somehow managed to connect and split the wooden mask in two, killing him instantly. Logan cast a weak healing spell on Michael, then picked up the crown they had came for in the first place and tucked it inside her robe.
On the way out, the monsters kept their distance for the most part, seemingly afraid of the people who slaughtered the mighty wizards. Them, as everyone neared the exit of the cave and daylight could be seen in the distance, Aiko caught something out the corner of his eye. A huge scorpion, at least a foot long, was latched onto the roof of the cave above Logan's head. Obviously, nobody else could see it, and, suddenly, it let go.
At that moment, Aiko's vision changed. He was no longer in a cave, but back in his hometown eight years ago. Logan was replaced by Aiko's older sister, and a black-caped form fell from the sky towards poor Hikari. Without thinking, Aiko rushed at her as fast as he could and knocked her out of harm's way. Aiko felt the pain as a dagger slashed his back, then spun around to face his attacker. He kept stabbing the evil figure with his shining silver knife until finally it collapsed. Aiko turned around and hugged his sister, when finally reality came back into focus.
He was back in the cave. His arms were wrapped tight around Logan, as Michael and Cadoc stood watching with their eyes wide open. A scorpion lay dead on the ground. Aiko's mind took a few seconds to process what actually just happened, then he awkwardly removed his arms from around Logan.
"What in the world just happened?" asked Cadoc finally.
"I... saw that scorpion about to attack Logan and.. I had to save him."
"What did you just hug me for?" Logan inquired.
"I was... happy you were all right."
Michael knew something wasn't right, but he decided he had to let it go. Who knew what type of madness lurked in the mind of a black mage. Cadoc didn't see why Aiko would suddenly risk his own hide to save someone, but he too reasoned insanity was just part of who Aiko was.
Logan was even more disturbed. Why did an uncaring black mage risk injury to save her? On top of that, why didn't he just stay cool and fry the scorpion with a fireball or something? And when he saved her, why did he embrace her? Why?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You don't need a reason to help people."
- Zidane, FFIX