Chapter Thirteen

The air, for most of the rest of the night, was somewhat subdued. They had all known that Kelke Peatsar was very powerful, but everyone around here seemed to see the Mages as kind of gods and the idea of battling one wasn't a very inspiring thought. Crono cheered up when he remembered that not only did they have Schala, but they outnumbered the Mage eight to one. Nine, if you counted Alfador. Crono did not think that Tarreiz (also a Mage, apparently) would join them in this battle.

Tarreiz being a Mage made sense. It would explain why she was breaking one of their rules, and it explained her power. Crono hadn't really seen Tarreiz use her power, but she seemed to be telepathic and have a knowledge of the future and, in Crono's books, that indicated considerable power.

The group went through their technique. It was simple, really. All they had to do was concentrate their magic - lightning, water, fire, Schala's damn-near-everything, whatever - on the blade of Magus' scythe to give him a magical attack to use to defeat Kelke and regain his magic. They had also decided to try it with the other person on the verge of passing out (because you never knew what might happen). As usual, Frog and Magus working together did it perfectly. Schala got it almost instantly, followed by Crono. Marle still had problems with it, and Lucca set everything alight except for the blade of the scythe. Tarreiz had returned as they started to practice and watched with great interest. Well, for a while.

Ayla, bored, glanced around at the area and pointed at Tarreiz. "What Tarreiz make?"

"Pardon?" Tarreiz asked, giving her creation a final pat and stepping back to admire her handiwork. "It is a snowman."

"Tarreiz make men of snow?" Ayla was astounded.

Tarreiz nodded. "It is a common past-time in this universe. I will admit, it is a hobby that I share with young children. Adults tend not to make them, but... well, I like them."

Ayla picked up a handful of snow somewhat hesitantly. "Ayla make men of snow too?"

"Of course! You start with a big ball of snow at the bottom... here, come on."

Magus yelled, dropped his scythe and stuck his fingers in his mouth. As an afterthought, he knelt to stick them in the snow instead. It was cold, but it was better than his hand burning off. "Really, Lucca! You worked so hard to get my fingers to heal properly after Ozzie broke them. Don't undo all of that work by burning them off!"

"I'm sorry!" Lucca cried, embarrassed and concerned. "I didn't really hurt you, did I? Oh, but I thought I had the hang of it... maybe I shouldn't do it any more."

"Maybe you shouldn't," Magus agreed coldly. "What in Zeal are Tarreiz and Ayla doing...?"

Crono had long tuned out of the magic practice and was watching the snowman-making lesson instead. It rarely snowed in Truce - it hadn't since Crono could remember, anyway - and he hadn't come across the concept of snowmen either. "What are you doing?"

"Making snowmen!" responded Tarreiz, picking up two sticks and inserting one on either side of the snowman to make arms.

"Can I help?" was Crono's next question.

With that, they abandoned the magic practice entirely. The others watched Tarreiz and Ayla for a while and soon set off to make snowmen of their own. Even Magus was getting into it, and Marle defied tradition to make a snowwoman. After that there was just enough time to eat something for dinner and then have another snowfight before Tarreiz declared that they really did have to get to sleep. They went their different ways - Lucca snuggling up to Magus with Alfador lying on the wizard's other side, Marle draping herself over Crono, Schala sleeping at Crono's feet as always (Marle didn't protest; if she made a fuss, Schala may very well give her a Look). Frog had admitted defeat and had allowed Ayla to curl up next to him. (She hadn't bitten him yet, but he lived in mortal fear that one night it may happen.) Robo leaned himself against a handy rock or tree and shut himself partially down for the night and if Tarreiz slept, then no one knew how, where or when she did it.

You may have thought that after a day of trudging through the snow, practicing a magic trick and then expending all that effort on a snowball fight, the group would have drifted off to sleep easily, and indeed at first they did. At first. All of them woke that night, at about the same time.

Magus was the first to wake, jerked out of his slumber by a presence that scared him more than he would ever admit to anyone, including Schala and Alfador. Schala was next although she was disturbed more by a cold wind than any kind of presence. Likewise, Lucca was stirred by the black wind. Crono and Frog, swordsmen who could never have broken their training, woke when they heard noises and were instantly on their guards. Marle woke because Crono moved, and even Ayla was roused by a bad, BAD feeling.

"Our snowmen are moving," Marle whispered to Crono.

"No," Crono hissed back, although there were dark figures illuminated by the moonlight moving amongst the snowmen. "It's Kelke. He has Tarreiz."

As a matter of fact the two were arguing, and that was probably what had woken Crono and Frog. The words were lost in the sudden wind, so strong that all of them felt it, even Ayla. Crono caught something about a "broken promise" and "Altrisiac", then Tarreiz lifted a hand as if to strike him and Kelke caught it. He trapped her other arm, holding both by the wrists, and said something to her that sounded nasty.

It was Tarreiz's cry of pain that made them move. The instant the cry left her lips, Crono was reaching for the Swallow and Frog for the Masamune. They were the first two to jump to their feet, followed by Magus, who was all prepared to strike out with his magic but then remembered and grabbed for his scythe with a curse.

"Oh, look. Your groupies have come to the rescue," said Kelke nastily, thrusting Tarreiz to one side. He reached out with his left hand to send a burst of shadow-magic at Magus, power that knocked him off his feet but didn't actually harm him.

"Leave him alone!" Lucca shouted, readying her gun.

"And how could I forget Magus' little girlfriend?" Kelke continued to himself. "You're cheating, do you know that? You can't use a Mage to find me! That's against our rules!"

"Kelke - " Tarreiz called out in protest, but she was already too late.

"She is a Mage," said Marle triumphantly.

Realising that he had given away a trade secret, Kelke faltered slightly. "Well, it doesn't matter now. You can find the Black Citadel, you can come in and find me, but you won't defeat me. It would be better for you if you didn't try. Go back. Go home. You don't belong here."

"If you give Magus his magic back - " Lucca began.

"I don't think so," Kelke laughed. "I'm having too much fun keeping him powerless should I choose to destroy him. What makes you think that he will get his magic back, even if you should defeat me? Get out of here, Tarreiz," he instructed the Mage coldly. "This is my territory. I don't want you here, I don't want any of the others here, I don't care about protecting this universe. Get. Out." He swept a glare over the others (it softened when it passed over Schala) and disappeared.

Crono went instantly to Tarreiz. "Are you all right?"

"I am fine," she assured him, getting to her feet. "He did not harm me. It is another of our rules - we are not allowed to harm another. And we are not permitted to intrude on the territory of another Mage if they have forbidden us to do so."

"You have territories?" Marle asked.

"Yes. Mine is Jeraska, which I detest. Tarkyn's is the Forest in which we stayed - that includes the Grove, but I could not take you there. Kelke's is this desolate plain - Derelict - and the Black Citadel." Tarreiz sighed. "I must leave you."

"Surely you can wait until the morning?" Crono asked.

Tarreiz shook her head. "Kelke has instructed me to leave his territory, and I must do so. You will not be able to see the Black Citadel, unless... Marle. Please come here."

Marle went. "How can we find his castle without you? Magus tells me that you said only special people can see it."

"And you are a 'special person', Marle," Tarreiz responded. "You are Mage-touched. You can sense the Mages, and we can lend you our powers. Close your eyes."

Marle complied and an instant later felt Tarreiz rest her hand lightly over them. She went a little dreamy and absent and then Tarreiz lifted her hand and said, "You may open your eyes. You will see the Citadel now, and can lead the others to it."

Marle opened her eyes but saw nothing different. "Thanks. I think."

"Are you allowed to tell us anything about Kelke?" Crono asked.

A slight hesitation. "Yes. I think so. His attacks are, in order of their power, Luminaire, Rainfall, Flare, MidNight and Cataclysm. He may have others about which I do not know. I have not encountered any of the other seven Mages for a long time."

The others were staring. "His weakest magic attack is my most powerful one," said Crono finally.

"Is it?" asked Tarreiz. "Then you do have a problem. Watch for his hands - they will glow a certain colour and that will give you warning as to which element he has chosen to use. Get him away from the black pool. That is all I can tell you. I hope that you all survive this encounter... I really must go."

"Do you have to?" Schala whined. "You were finally being friendly, and now that you've thawed, you have to leave."

"Will we see you again?" Magus asked her softly. He had been quite fond of Tarreiz, and had learned a lot of theory from her that he couldn't wait to put into practice.

"You may," Tarreiz answered. "It is yet to be seen. Get some rest, and trust Marle. She will see the way. Remember the black pool. Keep his hands away from it." She smiled at all of them and said to Lucca, "Always have faith in your friends and... others, and trust them. If you worry that you may lose them, it may not be likely that their... affection... for you is true at all. You will be happy," and to Magus, "The black wind is a double-sided curse. If you accept that those who are close to you will also be affected by it, you may learn to use the wind as a warning system. It may be useful. Get some rest," she said to the group as a whole, "for you will need it." She nodded to Schala, turned, and headed off into the snow.

"She'll be all right getting back, won't she?" Marle asked no one in particular.

"Tarreiz is very stubborn," Schala responded, "and above all else, she hates losing. She'll be fine. And you know what she said, we may see her again. We may. Come, let's get to sleep," she said firmly, and so they did.

Or at least, they tried. Their rest that night was not easy nor smooth. Just knowing that Kelke could show up at night and push someone like Tarreiz around for a bit before any of them woke up kept Magus awake all night and Crono kept waking up every half an hour for no apparent reason.

It was Frog who dragged himself up first and made the others get up. "Come on," he said to Schala, who curled herself up in a tighter ball and did her best to ignore him. "We ought to keep moving. Kelke knoweth where we art, and although I realise that he has the power to appear wherever we art I personally would feel safer if we were gone from this place." To Magus: "Rouse thyself, wizard! The sooner we arrive at the Citadel, the sooner thou regain the use of thy magic."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Magus grumbled. "Get off my cloak, Lucca," he ordered and rolled her off when she didn't respond. Standing, he picked up the cloak and brushed it down carefully before giving it a couple of shakes and then donning it.

"Lady Marle, wake," Frog ordered the princess and gave her a poke.

She stretched, yawned, then looked at him and with a shriek scrambled back. Frog was shocked and a little hurt to see a mixture of horror and fear in her eyes. Vaguely aware of Magus laughing somewhere behind him, he reached his hand out carefully to the princess. "Lady Marle? What is wrong? It is I, Frog. Or Glenn, if a name will make it easier for thee."

Marle closed her eyes and tried to regain her control. "It's not you, Frog. I don't care what you look like, you're a friend and, because I know you, I'd like you if you looked like a big purple dinosaur. I saw... for a moment, I saw..." She opened her eyes again and searched his. "It's gone now. I... hey, I'm sorry for reacting like that. It's not you."

"What did you see?" Crono asked her gently.

Marle shrugged, turned to him, tried to smile for him. "Nothing. It was... nothing. Just a flash. I don't even remember it properly now."

Crono nodded slowly, holding her eyes, and decided to let it go for now. She did not speak of seeing anything more for a long time, but Crono noticed that as they walked, the young princess' eyes drifted continuously back to Frog. There was a look in those blue eyes of hers that scared Crono. It was a sad look. Sorrowing.

Grieving.