It took the Light Warriors a week to reach Matoya's Cave. Along the way, they dealt with quite a few monsters. However, these beasts roaming the countryside became more of a nuisance than a threat. Countless miles spent walking and constant fighting resulted in the four becoming more muscular and tougher all around physically. Aiko and Logan quickly advanced in their spellcasting abilities as well: performing the gestures for the spells a bit faster, saying the mystic words of the spell a little more clearly, learning where to focus a spell for the maximum effect, all of which added up to more powerful magic.
Michael the first step into the dark cavern the witch Matoya supposedly called home. As soon as Michael's eyes began to adjust to the darkness, a strange form appeared directly in front of him. Michael unsheathed his longsword, and stood poised to lunge at his attacker, with the three behind him following suit. As Michael's vision continued to adjust, he saw that the thing standing free in front of him was a broom.
"Tceles b hsup!" said the broom. Michael's eyes blinked several times.
"Did that broom just talked?" asked Logan suspiciously.
The broom walked off, using the broomtail as two legs. It returned with another broom waddling beside it. "Su wollof," said one of the brooms. The brooms starting moving deeper into the cave, and the warriors, still shocked and lacking better ideas, followed them.
The brooms led the slightly perplexed humans onward. The light streaming in from the cave's entrance faded to where all the warriors could see were faint outlines. The two broom silhouettes suddenly stopped, then stood facing each other, with a two foot gap between them. Michael tried to walk between them, and he soon discovered the two brooms were flanking a wooden door. Michael opened the door, and saw the chamber within.
The room was certainly bizarre. Arranged around the room were several torches burning brightly. It was apparent someone lived here, for around the room sat various pieces of furniture. An antique dresser sat up against a rock wall, a bed lay in one corner of the cavern, and there sat two old trunks in the floor of the room. In the center of the room was a table, and at the table sat an elderly woman in a moth-eaten maroon dress and steepled hat. Was this the witch Matoya?
"Who is that I hear?" asked the old woman in a scratchy voice. "Who trespasses in my cave?"
"We just want one of your herbs," said Logan quickly. "It's very important!"
"Well," said the old witch shrilly, "you can't have none!"
Michael pulled a bag of gold coins out of his belt. "How many gold pieces do you want for one of your herbs?"
"I don't want gold, no," the witch said. "All I want is my crystal back."
"Your crystal?" asked Michael as he pulled the crystal won from Astos out of his pocket.
The witch shook her wrinkled fist in anger. "Yes. That naughty elf Astos stole it. He came here and swipes it from me. 'Give it back' says I, 'or I turn you into a newt!' Then he gets away before I can curse him. Without my crystal, I can't see the hand in front of my face!"
"Ma'am?" said Michael, trying to sound respectful to the ranting woman, "We killed him, and got your crystal back."
"You have it?" Matoya stood up. "Bring it to me!"
Michael walked up to Matoya and carefully handed her the crystal. Her eyes, which were before static and staring lazily into space, suddenly focused on Michael.
"I see!" she yelled joyfully. "I see again! Thank you kindly, young man."
Cadoc decided to seize the opportunity to get an herb. "Miss Matoya, can we have one of your herbs?"
"Aye. Which one was it you wanted again?"
"A sylvan herb," said Cadoc plainly. Matoya rummaged through a few baskets behind her until she found a pastel green bulb. "A ha! Here it is!" Matoya handed the herb to Cadoc.
"Do you want anything in return?" Michael asked before he put away his bag of gold pieces.
The witch smiled. "Not much. Just your souls." She saw the warriors weren't doubling over with laughter for some odd reason. "What's wrong? I made a funny! Where's your sense of humor?"
This little comment convinced Michael that Matoya really was psychotic. "Okay. Cadoc, Logan, Aiko, I think it's time to go. You have our gratitude, Matoya. Thank you."
"Come again for tea sometime!" cackled Matoya as the Light Warriors left here chamber.
"Erau Qssi Dlro Weht!" bid one of the brooms as the four filed past it on their way to the surface.
"Another week..." moaned Cadoc as the warriors walked away from Matoya's Cave. "Why are we doing this? Are we just a bunch of errand boys? Don't you think that maybe, just maybe, the elves could have sent somebody to fetch this herb themselves?"
"Cadoc," soothed Logan as the group walked along, "you do have a point, but we need to help the prince first. We'll think in ElfLand of something before we go wandering off again."
As the group made their way through the dense forest to the east of Provaka, Michael spotted something in a clearing in the woods. Quickly telling the others to quiet down, he moved as stealthily as he could to observe the goings on in the clearing.
Milling about in the clearing was a mass of imps, maybe twenty or thirty. That wasn't right; imps never grouped together like this. This many imps in one place simply couldn't be a coincidence. Michael relayed to the others what he saw, and decided for them it would be best to move on.
Nothing else of note occurred on the way back to ElfLand. Once they did arrive in ElfLand, things began moving quickly. As soon as the Warriors stepped foot in ElfLand castle, Minster Aureus greeted them and inquired about the herb. Cadoc handed it over, and Aureus quickly concocted a potion to cure the sleeping prince.
The Light Warriors walked into the royal chamber, to see the young prince lying awake in bed. He motioned for the Light Warriors to come closer. "Light Warriors? I must thank you."
The frail prince sat up in bed. "Shining Ones, how goes your quest to restore the Orbs of Power?" he inquired, looking Logan straight in the eye.
"Not too well, Your Grace," said Logan with a hint of shame in her voice. "We do not yet know how to revive the orbs..."
"So you are completely in the dark?" asked Prince Silras as he stood from his bed. With the aid of Cadoc and Minster Aureus, he limped over to his desk and picked up a heavy dust-covered tome. The prince opened the book. "Perhaps what I learned from my tutor Sage Gunnar will help you."
"Two millennia ago," began the monarch, "the world was on the verge of destruction. Four evil fiends threatened the world with destruction. In a last desperate move, a confederation of warlocks met in secret. Combining their powers, the wizards took four gray orbs, your orbs, and infused them with all the power of the elementals they could extract from nature. The warlocks prepared to use these mighty weapons to seal away the evil. However, before they could do so, the fiends disappeared."
"Disappeared?" said Cadoc with disbelief. "Things don't just disappear."
Prince Silras nodded his head. "At any rate, the fiends vanished from the map of the world. Then, four hundred years ago, the four fiends suddenly reappeared. The power of the orbs had slowly ebbed away to nothing over the years, and the only hope of the world is an ancient prophecy: when the world is in darkness, four warriors will come, each holding an orb."
"You must restore the Orbs' power. In this world, there are four shrines: the shrines of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind. You must take each Orb to its shrine, where it will be revived to its former glory."
"And the fiends?" asked Logan. "What must we do about them?"
Silras sighed. "You will have to kill them. In theory, you could seal them away once all four Orbs are activated. However, they are using the shrines as their bases. They will not let you revive the Orbs without a fight."
Michael kneeled to the prince, thanking him for the information. Now more than ever, he was sure he and his companions were up against more than they could ever handle. How could four human beings defeat ancient demons that even the world's mightiest wizards can't destroy?
"Before you go," the elven prince mentioned as the warriors turned toward the exit, "I have something for you." Prince Silras opened a drawer in the bottom of the desk and pulled out a small box wooden box that fit in the palm of his hand. He opened it, and took out a badly tarnished silver key. "This is the key to the treasury at Coneria Castle. I'm sure it will be of use."
Michael accepted the key, and slipped it in his pocket. "Your Grace, if you don't mind my asking, why do you have the key?"
The young prince smiled. "Four hundred years ago, the king of Coneria gave it to my great-great-grandfather King Sabeus for safekeeping. I trust you will use it well. Go, Light Warriors, and revive the power of the orbs!"
That evening, the Light Warriors set sail on the Enterprise once again. Having no better destination, they made for Coneria. Perhaps there, they could find out where these shrines were located. Maybe then, just maybe, they could have a shot at saving the world.
Cadoc stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the fiery sunset. He had seldom paid attention to such things before, but for some reason this phenomenon of nature that occurs every day stuck him as beautiful. No, maybe beautiful isn't the right word. It was...
Cadoc only half-noticed as the white mage stepped beside him. "Watching the sunset?" she asked him, not taking her eyes off the eerie red glow in the west.
"Yeah," he answered. "It's strange, isn't it? The sun behind the mountains, it's like they're on fire."
Logan kept gazing at the sun. "It's unsettling."
Cadoc turned his head toward Logan. "I'm going to go pray. I don't see any other way we can live through this journey."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"This should be fun. When do we leave?"
- Gogo, FFVI
Michael the first step into the dark cavern the witch Matoya supposedly called home. As soon as Michael's eyes began to adjust to the darkness, a strange form appeared directly in front of him. Michael unsheathed his longsword, and stood poised to lunge at his attacker, with the three behind him following suit. As Michael's vision continued to adjust, he saw that the thing standing free in front of him was a broom.
"Tceles b hsup!" said the broom. Michael's eyes blinked several times.
"Did that broom just talked?" asked Logan suspiciously.
The broom walked off, using the broomtail as two legs. It returned with another broom waddling beside it. "Su wollof," said one of the brooms. The brooms starting moving deeper into the cave, and the warriors, still shocked and lacking better ideas, followed them.
The brooms led the slightly perplexed humans onward. The light streaming in from the cave's entrance faded to where all the warriors could see were faint outlines. The two broom silhouettes suddenly stopped, then stood facing each other, with a two foot gap between them. Michael tried to walk between them, and he soon discovered the two brooms were flanking a wooden door. Michael opened the door, and saw the chamber within.
The room was certainly bizarre. Arranged around the room were several torches burning brightly. It was apparent someone lived here, for around the room sat various pieces of furniture. An antique dresser sat up against a rock wall, a bed lay in one corner of the cavern, and there sat two old trunks in the floor of the room. In the center of the room was a table, and at the table sat an elderly woman in a moth-eaten maroon dress and steepled hat. Was this the witch Matoya?
"Who is that I hear?" asked the old woman in a scratchy voice. "Who trespasses in my cave?"
"We just want one of your herbs," said Logan quickly. "It's very important!"
"Well," said the old witch shrilly, "you can't have none!"
Michael pulled a bag of gold coins out of his belt. "How many gold pieces do you want for one of your herbs?"
"I don't want gold, no," the witch said. "All I want is my crystal back."
"Your crystal?" asked Michael as he pulled the crystal won from Astos out of his pocket.
The witch shook her wrinkled fist in anger. "Yes. That naughty elf Astos stole it. He came here and swipes it from me. 'Give it back' says I, 'or I turn you into a newt!' Then he gets away before I can curse him. Without my crystal, I can't see the hand in front of my face!"
"Ma'am?" said Michael, trying to sound respectful to the ranting woman, "We killed him, and got your crystal back."
"You have it?" Matoya stood up. "Bring it to me!"
Michael walked up to Matoya and carefully handed her the crystal. Her eyes, which were before static and staring lazily into space, suddenly focused on Michael.
"I see!" she yelled joyfully. "I see again! Thank you kindly, young man."
Cadoc decided to seize the opportunity to get an herb. "Miss Matoya, can we have one of your herbs?"
"Aye. Which one was it you wanted again?"
"A sylvan herb," said Cadoc plainly. Matoya rummaged through a few baskets behind her until she found a pastel green bulb. "A ha! Here it is!" Matoya handed the herb to Cadoc.
"Do you want anything in return?" Michael asked before he put away his bag of gold pieces.
The witch smiled. "Not much. Just your souls." She saw the warriors weren't doubling over with laughter for some odd reason. "What's wrong? I made a funny! Where's your sense of humor?"
This little comment convinced Michael that Matoya really was psychotic. "Okay. Cadoc, Logan, Aiko, I think it's time to go. You have our gratitude, Matoya. Thank you."
"Come again for tea sometime!" cackled Matoya as the Light Warriors left here chamber.
"Erau Qssi Dlro Weht!" bid one of the brooms as the four filed past it on their way to the surface.
"Another week..." moaned Cadoc as the warriors walked away from Matoya's Cave. "Why are we doing this? Are we just a bunch of errand boys? Don't you think that maybe, just maybe, the elves could have sent somebody to fetch this herb themselves?"
"Cadoc," soothed Logan as the group walked along, "you do have a point, but we need to help the prince first. We'll think in ElfLand of something before we go wandering off again."
As the group made their way through the dense forest to the east of Provaka, Michael spotted something in a clearing in the woods. Quickly telling the others to quiet down, he moved as stealthily as he could to observe the goings on in the clearing.
Milling about in the clearing was a mass of imps, maybe twenty or thirty. That wasn't right; imps never grouped together like this. This many imps in one place simply couldn't be a coincidence. Michael relayed to the others what he saw, and decided for them it would be best to move on.
Nothing else of note occurred on the way back to ElfLand. Once they did arrive in ElfLand, things began moving quickly. As soon as the Warriors stepped foot in ElfLand castle, Minster Aureus greeted them and inquired about the herb. Cadoc handed it over, and Aureus quickly concocted a potion to cure the sleeping prince.
The Light Warriors walked into the royal chamber, to see the young prince lying awake in bed. He motioned for the Light Warriors to come closer. "Light Warriors? I must thank you."
The frail prince sat up in bed. "Shining Ones, how goes your quest to restore the Orbs of Power?" he inquired, looking Logan straight in the eye.
"Not too well, Your Grace," said Logan with a hint of shame in her voice. "We do not yet know how to revive the orbs..."
"So you are completely in the dark?" asked Prince Silras as he stood from his bed. With the aid of Cadoc and Minster Aureus, he limped over to his desk and picked up a heavy dust-covered tome. The prince opened the book. "Perhaps what I learned from my tutor Sage Gunnar will help you."
"Two millennia ago," began the monarch, "the world was on the verge of destruction. Four evil fiends threatened the world with destruction. In a last desperate move, a confederation of warlocks met in secret. Combining their powers, the wizards took four gray orbs, your orbs, and infused them with all the power of the elementals they could extract from nature. The warlocks prepared to use these mighty weapons to seal away the evil. However, before they could do so, the fiends disappeared."
"Disappeared?" said Cadoc with disbelief. "Things don't just disappear."
Prince Silras nodded his head. "At any rate, the fiends vanished from the map of the world. Then, four hundred years ago, the four fiends suddenly reappeared. The power of the orbs had slowly ebbed away to nothing over the years, and the only hope of the world is an ancient prophecy: when the world is in darkness, four warriors will come, each holding an orb."
"You must restore the Orbs' power. In this world, there are four shrines: the shrines of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind. You must take each Orb to its shrine, where it will be revived to its former glory."
"And the fiends?" asked Logan. "What must we do about them?"
Silras sighed. "You will have to kill them. In theory, you could seal them away once all four Orbs are activated. However, they are using the shrines as their bases. They will not let you revive the Orbs without a fight."
Michael kneeled to the prince, thanking him for the information. Now more than ever, he was sure he and his companions were up against more than they could ever handle. How could four human beings defeat ancient demons that even the world's mightiest wizards can't destroy?
"Before you go," the elven prince mentioned as the warriors turned toward the exit, "I have something for you." Prince Silras opened a drawer in the bottom of the desk and pulled out a small box wooden box that fit in the palm of his hand. He opened it, and took out a badly tarnished silver key. "This is the key to the treasury at Coneria Castle. I'm sure it will be of use."
Michael accepted the key, and slipped it in his pocket. "Your Grace, if you don't mind my asking, why do you have the key?"
The young prince smiled. "Four hundred years ago, the king of Coneria gave it to my great-great-grandfather King Sabeus for safekeeping. I trust you will use it well. Go, Light Warriors, and revive the power of the orbs!"
That evening, the Light Warriors set sail on the Enterprise once again. Having no better destination, they made for Coneria. Perhaps there, they could find out where these shrines were located. Maybe then, just maybe, they could have a shot at saving the world.
Cadoc stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the fiery sunset. He had seldom paid attention to such things before, but for some reason this phenomenon of nature that occurs every day stuck him as beautiful. No, maybe beautiful isn't the right word. It was...
Cadoc only half-noticed as the white mage stepped beside him. "Watching the sunset?" she asked him, not taking her eyes off the eerie red glow in the west.
"Yeah," he answered. "It's strange, isn't it? The sun behind the mountains, it's like they're on fire."
Logan kept gazing at the sun. "It's unsettling."
Cadoc turned his head toward Logan. "I'm going to go pray. I don't see any other way we can live through this journey."
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"This should be fun. When do we leave?"
- Gogo, FFVI