Two Towers
The next day, the group headed through the South Forest. Fam directed them to head east, south, west, and south at the four intersections. They then found themselves at another guide station, and a shrine that connected the two sides of land that a narrow strait divided.
Once past the strait, they walked north to the city of Jenoba. There, they learned about how you must solve the riddles of the three towers in order to find the way to Elfrea. The next destination was decided, it would be the Blue Tower, which was the closest to town.
* * *
In the Blue Tower, they fought many powerful monsters. It was then that they learned that Fam knew nothing of battle magic, only a lot of healing. After a short strategy meeting, it was decided that Fam would concentrate on healing the party, Rasha would use her magic only to fight, and Ihrie would pitch in if a real emergency occurred, as neither she nor Rasha wanted her to become a mouse.
Further on up, they saw a strange stone tablet. On it, was a message written in squirrel. Fam bent forward to read it. "It says 'Go to the Red Tower last'. I wonder what it means."
"There must be something we need to do in each tower," Rasha deduced, "Probably we need to perform some sort of magical ceremony. We need more clues."
They found two more in the course of their journey. First, was a green gem that had been left in a treasure box in the tower. The second was a pedestal that appeared to hold the gem. But for some reason, the green one was being kept back by a hidden force.
"Maybe we need this for the Green Tower. I heard some people saying that blue is first and red is last, when we were in Jenoba. They were most likely talking about this. Probably, we need to find a gem of each color, and deliver it to the proper tower in the right order," Ihrie suggested.
Lyle said, "Then let us head out for the Green Tower. Maybe the blue gem is there."
* * *
To their surprise, an inn was on the first floor of Green Tower. So they spent the night there, and began to explore the tower in the morning. Like with the Blue Tower, there was a pedestal on top, and the green gem seemed to call to it. But they were still unable to place it, as if the spell of the squirrels prevented anyone from setting the gems in reverse order.
On another floor, they found what appeared to be a red gem. But alas, it was cracked as if monsters had destroyed it. All of their hope seemed to be lost, as this would be the only place they could find one if the order of the towers and the gem's hiding places were connected in some way.
Through it all, Fam kept her spirits high. "Don't worry everyone, I'm sure we can find another ruby somewhere. I mean, there are gems hidden all over the world in mines, just waiting to be discovered by someone. We just need to find out where a ruby mine is."
"Fam!" exclaimed Lyle, "You're a genius. But where do they mine rubies that we can go to?"
"How about the old mines north of Meden? They were supposed to be rich in rubies once, how else would that princess get away with their glass Hope Ruby?" stated Rasha.
Ihrie asked, "Fam, can you get us out of here with your Escape spell? Then can you take us to the city of Medan, so we can go to the mines?"
Fam smiled. "Of course I will. I told you I'd be useful on this journey Ihrie." She began to concentrate, and they then left the tower. Another spell took them all the way back to Medan.
* * *
Once there, they headed north to the old mines. Rumors had it that they had been stripped clean of rubies many years ago. But one stubborn old man was still said to be looking for rubies in the back. Lyle and his companions decided to pay him a visit.
"Hello," the old man greeted, "It's rare to see youngsters around here. Nowadays, kids are so lazy and have no work ethic. So, why have you come to visit an old man such as myself?"
"We would like to know if you have any rubies lying around," Lyle replied.
The man stated, "The mines have been dry for some time now. I'm convinced that more rubies must be here, but no one will help me. Why do you want rubies anyway?"
Lyle looked at the man. "I would like to meet with a man named Artea."
"Artea!" exclaimed the man, "Artea of Doom Island?! The best shot out of all squirrel kind?"
"Do you know him? This is the best luck we've had all day," Rasha stated.
The old man answered, "Everyone of my generation knows of Artea. I was a little kid when he and Guy went 'round killing off the monsters. What do you want with him anyway?"
Lyle hoped that the old man believed his story. "I am Lyle Rehbart Reon, descendant of Maxim. The Sinistrael Raider has come back to life, and I fear that the others will soon follow. I must speak with Artea to learn how I might combat them, should that happen."
"If the Sinistraels have truly returned," he began, "Then the situation is serious indeed. I will give you this, the true Hope Ruby. It's the best one I've found in seventy years. Take it, and use it to save this world. I don't want to see those dark days ever return."
He handed a large ruby to Lyle with a smile. After the boy had politely thanked him for the gift, he and his friends left the cave with Fam's magic. Then, they teleported back to Jenoba, and headed for the village of Ruan, which lay at the base of the Red Tower.
- - - -
Hello, it's me, Skysplitter. I will be talking for this chapter, as Teefa needs her rest. You'd think that she could avoid typing on her day off. No, she thinks they're all days for "recreational work". But anyways, here's what happens when she reads Lord of the Rings, contrived chapter titles. Oh well, at least she wasn't doing songs like in her Wild ARMs 2 fic, Eternal Conflict.
The next day, the group headed through the South Forest. Fam directed them to head east, south, west, and south at the four intersections. They then found themselves at another guide station, and a shrine that connected the two sides of land that a narrow strait divided.
Once past the strait, they walked north to the city of Jenoba. There, they learned about how you must solve the riddles of the three towers in order to find the way to Elfrea. The next destination was decided, it would be the Blue Tower, which was the closest to town.
* * *
In the Blue Tower, they fought many powerful monsters. It was then that they learned that Fam knew nothing of battle magic, only a lot of healing. After a short strategy meeting, it was decided that Fam would concentrate on healing the party, Rasha would use her magic only to fight, and Ihrie would pitch in if a real emergency occurred, as neither she nor Rasha wanted her to become a mouse.
Further on up, they saw a strange stone tablet. On it, was a message written in squirrel. Fam bent forward to read it. "It says 'Go to the Red Tower last'. I wonder what it means."
"There must be something we need to do in each tower," Rasha deduced, "Probably we need to perform some sort of magical ceremony. We need more clues."
They found two more in the course of their journey. First, was a green gem that had been left in a treasure box in the tower. The second was a pedestal that appeared to hold the gem. But for some reason, the green one was being kept back by a hidden force.
"Maybe we need this for the Green Tower. I heard some people saying that blue is first and red is last, when we were in Jenoba. They were most likely talking about this. Probably, we need to find a gem of each color, and deliver it to the proper tower in the right order," Ihrie suggested.
Lyle said, "Then let us head out for the Green Tower. Maybe the blue gem is there."
* * *
To their surprise, an inn was on the first floor of Green Tower. So they spent the night there, and began to explore the tower in the morning. Like with the Blue Tower, there was a pedestal on top, and the green gem seemed to call to it. But they were still unable to place it, as if the spell of the squirrels prevented anyone from setting the gems in reverse order.
On another floor, they found what appeared to be a red gem. But alas, it was cracked as if monsters had destroyed it. All of their hope seemed to be lost, as this would be the only place they could find one if the order of the towers and the gem's hiding places were connected in some way.
Through it all, Fam kept her spirits high. "Don't worry everyone, I'm sure we can find another ruby somewhere. I mean, there are gems hidden all over the world in mines, just waiting to be discovered by someone. We just need to find out where a ruby mine is."
"Fam!" exclaimed Lyle, "You're a genius. But where do they mine rubies that we can go to?"
"How about the old mines north of Meden? They were supposed to be rich in rubies once, how else would that princess get away with their glass Hope Ruby?" stated Rasha.
Ihrie asked, "Fam, can you get us out of here with your Escape spell? Then can you take us to the city of Medan, so we can go to the mines?"
Fam smiled. "Of course I will. I told you I'd be useful on this journey Ihrie." She began to concentrate, and they then left the tower. Another spell took them all the way back to Medan.
* * *
Once there, they headed north to the old mines. Rumors had it that they had been stripped clean of rubies many years ago. But one stubborn old man was still said to be looking for rubies in the back. Lyle and his companions decided to pay him a visit.
"Hello," the old man greeted, "It's rare to see youngsters around here. Nowadays, kids are so lazy and have no work ethic. So, why have you come to visit an old man such as myself?"
"We would like to know if you have any rubies lying around," Lyle replied.
The man stated, "The mines have been dry for some time now. I'm convinced that more rubies must be here, but no one will help me. Why do you want rubies anyway?"
Lyle looked at the man. "I would like to meet with a man named Artea."
"Artea!" exclaimed the man, "Artea of Doom Island?! The best shot out of all squirrel kind?"
"Do you know him? This is the best luck we've had all day," Rasha stated.
The old man answered, "Everyone of my generation knows of Artea. I was a little kid when he and Guy went 'round killing off the monsters. What do you want with him anyway?"
Lyle hoped that the old man believed his story. "I am Lyle Rehbart Reon, descendant of Maxim. The Sinistrael Raider has come back to life, and I fear that the others will soon follow. I must speak with Artea to learn how I might combat them, should that happen."
"If the Sinistraels have truly returned," he began, "Then the situation is serious indeed. I will give you this, the true Hope Ruby. It's the best one I've found in seventy years. Take it, and use it to save this world. I don't want to see those dark days ever return."
He handed a large ruby to Lyle with a smile. After the boy had politely thanked him for the gift, he and his friends left the cave with Fam's magic. Then, they teleported back to Jenoba, and headed for the village of Ruan, which lay at the base of the Red Tower.
- - - -
Hello, it's me, Skysplitter. I will be talking for this chapter, as Teefa needs her rest. You'd think that she could avoid typing on her day off. No, she thinks they're all days for "recreational work". But anyways, here's what happens when she reads Lord of the Rings, contrived chapter titles. Oh well, at least she wasn't doing songs like in her Wild ARMs 2 fic, Eternal Conflict.
