Chapter 8: Uncovered Knowledge
It was about noon when the team had departed from Kas'ion, and they were already hiking through the open meadow, with Magus leading the way. Followed closely behind were Cid and Tidus, then behind them were Maria and Raushanna, and lingering near the back was the new recruit, JP. Maria, who was dressed in a blue tank top and matching shorts, was snacking on a small bag of chocolate pieces, tossing each one up and trying to catch it in her mouth. Tidus turned to face her and while doing so, he snatch one of the flying pieces for himself and ate it.
"Hey! Tidus! I was actually going to catch that one!" Maria scolded, tossing her brown hair behind her back.
"Well let's see, I've heard you drop the last ten pieces, and I don't think these goodies should go to waste!" he replied, tossing the piece into his mouth.
"So what's your point?"
"You can't catch things with your mouth, that's my point!"
"Yes I can!"
"No you can't."
"Oh will you two just shut the hell up!" JP came from behind and walked in front of the two bickering teenagers. The two of them looked at him. Maria took one of the pieces of chocolate and chucked it at JP. "What the-oh no you didn't! You gonna get it now girlie!" He said as he went after Maria.
Maria gave a 'yelp' and turned on her heel running to the front of the group, tossing the bag of chocolates to Raushanna on the way. JP closely chased after her. She ran up to the front of the group and created circles around them. Everyone stopped to watch Maria run while JP pursued. At one point he had almost caught her, but then she twirled out of the way just in time, and continued running. Once Maria passed in front of Magus for the forth time, he grabbed her by the waist, and hoisted her small slender body up on his shoulder, making her unreachable to JP.
"Princess, quit playing mindless games with the hooligan!" Magus said. Maria felt a warm tingling rush throughout her body from being held tightly in his arms.
'Ooh.his hair's so soft.' she thought to herself, running her fingers playfully through Magus' long blue hair.
"Princess? What is she, your girlfriend? Your hair and her attire match as well, what's up with that?" JP asked, confused.
"No, they are not dating." Cid stated bluntly. "This is Princess Maria Alexandra Leifoh Cortes, the princess of Bevelle. We are taking her safely to the kingdom of Zanarkand. That is all you need to know." Magus had then placed Maria on the ground, yet still held a firm grip on her shoulders.
"Thank you-Mr. Know-it-all." JP said in a sarcastic tone. "Wait, so you're a real princess? Heh, you look like a commoner, dressed in those clothes!"
"That's the whole point, we don't want anyone to know she's royalty." Cid explained, while everyone continued to walk and follow Magus' lead.
"Oh I see, I gotcha." He then caught sight of Maria's blue pendant encased with gold. "What's this?" he asked as he started to reach for it. Maria clutched the pendant in her hands and held it tight.
"It's a pendant I got from my father, it's very special to me." Maria said.
"It is not for anyone else to touch but her, it is a very valuable possession, and we cannot take the risk of it being harmed, or stolen." Magus informed, eyeing JP suspiciously.
"Man I can't take any more surprises! Anything else that I might wanna know? Like anyone here a powerful kick-ass mage or somethin'?!" JP stated. The group looked at Magus, then back to Maria.
"Magus and Maria are the only ones in this group with magic powers. But from what we've discovered is that Magus has mastered the most powerful magic known in this land. Maria, we're not sure of all she can do though." Cid informed the new recruit. Magus suddenly stopped and turned to everyone, his eyes looking gloomy.
"The royal family of Bevelle contains the most powerful magic in the land. It is a gift that only they can receive, and know how to use. Many people want to steal this gift and use it for themselves.but this magic is meant for good. If placed in the wrong hands, it can cause great destruction." Magus said.
"Wait, but how would someone outside of the Bevelle family get the magic?" Tidus and Raushanna asked simultaneously. Magus sighed and explained.
"They have to trick one of the royal members into their castle, and lead them into the extraction room. This is where they then lock and straps the person on a table, with crystals on either end. The person must be unconscious, and the machine's pointer.digs.deep within the person, and take the embedded jewel that lies inside the person, which contains the magic powers."
"So you're saying there's a jewel inside Maria?" Cid asked.
"Yes."
"How do you know all this?" Tidus questioned.
"I." he sighed, and glanced at Maria. "I just know the procedure, and what happens. But she was killed before it could happen." he trailed off.
"What!? Who? Who was killed before what happened?" Raushanna exclaimed. Maria looked into Magus' eyes, but he was avoiding any eye contact. Magus took a step back away from everyone.
"Its nothing, come on, we're almost at the forest." He stated, and turned to continue walking. Everyone was pondering what was just said, and kept quiet for quite a while.
An hour or so had passed, and they could finally see the entrance to a huge and dark forest. They had decided that they should stop before the entrance and eat some snacks to prepare for the journey through the forest. As Magus had said, they should be prepared to do some fighting, and it's going to be pretty hard. They were all tired from the walk, so they all sat down and set up a small picnic area where they could eat and regain their energy.
"Well this is going to be fun, ain't it?" Tidus said, munching on an apple.
"Yeah I guess so, we get to finally use these sword thingies!!" Raushanna exclaimed happily. Cid, Magus, Maria and JP chuckled at her happiness to entering a first battle using weapons.
"Man, now I can show off my awesome archer skills to all you sword- only folk!" JP bragged, pretending to shoot something in the air.
"I don't use swords, I use a scythe." Magus said, standing up and taking practice swings against nearby bushes.
"Hey man, you're pretty talented there!" JP complimented.
"Pretty talented?" Magus repeated. "I'll show you simple boy talent." He started chant, and cast a fire spell on the single bush he was chopping up earlier. The bush went up in flames, only leaving behind ashes. JP ogled at the dust.
"Damn!" he exclaimed. Everyone else was amused at his shock.
Once the group had finished eating, they cleaned up their little picnic, and started walking the short distance to the front of the Winding Forest. Magus once again stopped in front of everyone and made one last announcement before entering the forest:
"Get your weapons ready, prepare to fight, and be ready for anything."
It was about noon when the team had departed from Kas'ion, and they were already hiking through the open meadow, with Magus leading the way. Followed closely behind were Cid and Tidus, then behind them were Maria and Raushanna, and lingering near the back was the new recruit, JP. Maria, who was dressed in a blue tank top and matching shorts, was snacking on a small bag of chocolate pieces, tossing each one up and trying to catch it in her mouth. Tidus turned to face her and while doing so, he snatch one of the flying pieces for himself and ate it.
"Hey! Tidus! I was actually going to catch that one!" Maria scolded, tossing her brown hair behind her back.
"Well let's see, I've heard you drop the last ten pieces, and I don't think these goodies should go to waste!" he replied, tossing the piece into his mouth.
"So what's your point?"
"You can't catch things with your mouth, that's my point!"
"Yes I can!"
"No you can't."
"Oh will you two just shut the hell up!" JP came from behind and walked in front of the two bickering teenagers. The two of them looked at him. Maria took one of the pieces of chocolate and chucked it at JP. "What the-oh no you didn't! You gonna get it now girlie!" He said as he went after Maria.
Maria gave a 'yelp' and turned on her heel running to the front of the group, tossing the bag of chocolates to Raushanna on the way. JP closely chased after her. She ran up to the front of the group and created circles around them. Everyone stopped to watch Maria run while JP pursued. At one point he had almost caught her, but then she twirled out of the way just in time, and continued running. Once Maria passed in front of Magus for the forth time, he grabbed her by the waist, and hoisted her small slender body up on his shoulder, making her unreachable to JP.
"Princess, quit playing mindless games with the hooligan!" Magus said. Maria felt a warm tingling rush throughout her body from being held tightly in his arms.
'Ooh.his hair's so soft.' she thought to herself, running her fingers playfully through Magus' long blue hair.
"Princess? What is she, your girlfriend? Your hair and her attire match as well, what's up with that?" JP asked, confused.
"No, they are not dating." Cid stated bluntly. "This is Princess Maria Alexandra Leifoh Cortes, the princess of Bevelle. We are taking her safely to the kingdom of Zanarkand. That is all you need to know." Magus had then placed Maria on the ground, yet still held a firm grip on her shoulders.
"Thank you-Mr. Know-it-all." JP said in a sarcastic tone. "Wait, so you're a real princess? Heh, you look like a commoner, dressed in those clothes!"
"That's the whole point, we don't want anyone to know she's royalty." Cid explained, while everyone continued to walk and follow Magus' lead.
"Oh I see, I gotcha." He then caught sight of Maria's blue pendant encased with gold. "What's this?" he asked as he started to reach for it. Maria clutched the pendant in her hands and held it tight.
"It's a pendant I got from my father, it's very special to me." Maria said.
"It is not for anyone else to touch but her, it is a very valuable possession, and we cannot take the risk of it being harmed, or stolen." Magus informed, eyeing JP suspiciously.
"Man I can't take any more surprises! Anything else that I might wanna know? Like anyone here a powerful kick-ass mage or somethin'?!" JP stated. The group looked at Magus, then back to Maria.
"Magus and Maria are the only ones in this group with magic powers. But from what we've discovered is that Magus has mastered the most powerful magic known in this land. Maria, we're not sure of all she can do though." Cid informed the new recruit. Magus suddenly stopped and turned to everyone, his eyes looking gloomy.
"The royal family of Bevelle contains the most powerful magic in the land. It is a gift that only they can receive, and know how to use. Many people want to steal this gift and use it for themselves.but this magic is meant for good. If placed in the wrong hands, it can cause great destruction." Magus said.
"Wait, but how would someone outside of the Bevelle family get the magic?" Tidus and Raushanna asked simultaneously. Magus sighed and explained.
"They have to trick one of the royal members into their castle, and lead them into the extraction room. This is where they then lock and straps the person on a table, with crystals on either end. The person must be unconscious, and the machine's pointer.digs.deep within the person, and take the embedded jewel that lies inside the person, which contains the magic powers."
"So you're saying there's a jewel inside Maria?" Cid asked.
"Yes."
"How do you know all this?" Tidus questioned.
"I." he sighed, and glanced at Maria. "I just know the procedure, and what happens. But she was killed before it could happen." he trailed off.
"What!? Who? Who was killed before what happened?" Raushanna exclaimed. Maria looked into Magus' eyes, but he was avoiding any eye contact. Magus took a step back away from everyone.
"Its nothing, come on, we're almost at the forest." He stated, and turned to continue walking. Everyone was pondering what was just said, and kept quiet for quite a while.
An hour or so had passed, and they could finally see the entrance to a huge and dark forest. They had decided that they should stop before the entrance and eat some snacks to prepare for the journey through the forest. As Magus had said, they should be prepared to do some fighting, and it's going to be pretty hard. They were all tired from the walk, so they all sat down and set up a small picnic area where they could eat and regain their energy.
"Well this is going to be fun, ain't it?" Tidus said, munching on an apple.
"Yeah I guess so, we get to finally use these sword thingies!!" Raushanna exclaimed happily. Cid, Magus, Maria and JP chuckled at her happiness to entering a first battle using weapons.
"Man, now I can show off my awesome archer skills to all you sword- only folk!" JP bragged, pretending to shoot something in the air.
"I don't use swords, I use a scythe." Magus said, standing up and taking practice swings against nearby bushes.
"Hey man, you're pretty talented there!" JP complimented.
"Pretty talented?" Magus repeated. "I'll show you simple boy talent." He started chant, and cast a fire spell on the single bush he was chopping up earlier. The bush went up in flames, only leaving behind ashes. JP ogled at the dust.
"Damn!" he exclaimed. Everyone else was amused at his shock.
Once the group had finished eating, they cleaned up their little picnic, and started walking the short distance to the front of the Winding Forest. Magus once again stopped in front of everyone and made one last announcement before entering the forest:
"Get your weapons ready, prepare to fight, and be ready for anything."