After retrieving her items from the Kafra storage, Chisato ran as fast as she could to get to the Tower, dragging Cornflakes in one hand, her abundance of traps in the other, plus her quiver and bow strapped onto her back. She was almost totally out of breath by the time she had spotted Aaogan near the Tower.
"I-I'm......h-here.....f-f-finally...." she gasped as she stopped in front of him, dropping Cornflakes and her traps to the ground and almost falling over herself under the weight of the quiver on her back. She stood bent over, holding one hand over her chest and using the other to support herself against her knee, trying to catch her breath, feeling totally winded and embarrassed.
Aaogan seemed to hold back on laughing at her. "Glad to see you could make it," he said looking at her amused. He picked her traps up off the ground then ushered her over to a bench to sit down. "Take your time to catch your breath, my friend shall be here soon. She needed to grab some more supplies before we headed down."
Chisato nodded, dropping her quiver and bow to the side of the bench and plopping herself down, feeling winded. She reached back to pull out a small canteen of water from the pouch she wore around her waist. With all that running around she did this morning she hadn't realized how thirsty she was. She drank it eagerly; the cool water on her dry lips and running down her parched throat was a welcome refreshment.
Aaogan placed the chain of traps next to her, and then turned to scan the crowd. No doubt looking for his friend, Chisato thought. Her eyes started to wander around the crowd as well.
Mages and Wizards, with the occasional Sage, could be seen in abundance around them. They were the company that the city kept. The orbicular emerald green city of Geffen was the birthplace of them all.
Geffen was known as the Magical City; surrounded by mystery on its origins. Some say the first city, Geffenia, was destroyed eons ago, and the Geffen that is here today was built on top of it. Rumor has it that the Tower was the link to the old city, and the monster infested areas there today were once the majestic city of the past.
Chisato wondered if Aaogan's friend was a magician. She had never worked with one before, she has seen the power that they could possess. They relied entirely on magic as their greatest weapon, but it could also be their downfall. Monsters could have at them if they were slow to cast their spell since their defenses weren't all that great. It was also hard to get away since they couldn't move while casting the spell, except for Sages, unless it is interrupted by being hit. But then again, the more skilled one was, the deadlier their spells could become, and the faster they could cast them.
Even so, Chisato could never see herself studying magic; she had no patience at all for it. The cleverly placed traps and quick to kill arrows got her blood pumping, but they also deleted her pockets. She sighed, guessing to each their own. Every class had its pros and cons.
"Here she comes," came Aaogan's voice. Chisato slipped the canteen back into her pouch as she stood up next to Aaogan, looking very curious now to see who it was.
A small grin crept over her lips as she saw a familiar face waving to them. She glanced down at Cornflakes, who also noticed who it was, and was now hiding behind Chisato, cowering. It was the Blacksmith from yesterday.
"Well, hello there," the smith smiled as she neared them, pulling a wooden cart full of assorted items from behind her. "Fancy seeing you again," she said to Chisato as she stopped in front of them, lowering the cart down.
"The same," Chisato smiled back.
"You two have met then?" asked Aaogan, seeming surprised.
"Yes, just yesterday," said the smith as she then turned around to reexamine the contents of her cart, double checking to make sure she had everything. "Aaogan said he had found us some help. Who would have thought-" she said, starting to trail off a bit as she moved items around too look deeper into the cart. "But I never did get your name," she finished, as it seemed she was satisfied with her load and turned back around to face Chisato.
"Chisato Arkain," Chisato said, extending her hand to her.
"I'm Thoma," said the smith, shaking her hand.
"Have everything you need, Thoma?" asked Aaogan as he peered over her shoulder into the cart.
"I think so. There should be plenty of Reds and stuff for us all," she replied, sweeping over the items once more with her eyes.
She looked back over to Chisato, then noticed the large amount of traps and arrows she had left on the bench behind her. "Those yours?" she asked, pointing to the pile.
Chisato looked back and nodded, giving a slight grimace to the thought of lugging those around again.
"You can stick some of those in here if you like," she said. "Can't see you breaking your back carrying all those down there."
Chisato thanked Thoma graciously. She was starting to feel sore from running around with those strapped onto her, and it was a welcome relief not having to have to carry them all now.
"So umm, what exactly we are doing at the Tower, Aaogan? You never did tell me yesterday," Chisato finally asked, figuring now was as good a time as any.
Thoma laughed nudging Aaogan with her elbow, "Oh, you're good. You asked her to help without even telling her what we're doing?" she said, helping Chisato place the traps into her cart.
Chisato blushed. She had also accepted without even asking, and prayed Thoma wouldn't point that out next.
"I was just trying to give an honest person a chance to earn some zenny, that's all," Aaogan said looking sheepish. "But anyway," he continued without letting either comment any further, "we are hunting Whispers."
Chisato's mouth dropped. It was obvious why they were hunting them. "For- for the card?" Chisato stammered.
He nodded. "Yes, Thoma has been searching for one for ages. But then again, haven't we all," said Aaogan with a grin.
Chisato placed her hand to her forehead, looking down in disbelief.
Cards were the essence of the monsters themselves, so named because of their shape. Each looked to hold a holographic image of the monster placed on a card, and each gave the holder a specific boost or ability. They could be compounded into one's weaponry, armor, etc etc, giving them the ability to tap into this power. Some monster cards were more sought out than others, and Whisper cards were one of the better prized, giving its wearer the ability to dodge their enemies at a higher rate. They were rare and highly expensive.
"Oh wow," Chisato said, shocked. She knew it'd be a miracle if they actually found one.
"So, not going to back out now are you?" Aaogan said. "Hope you're not afraid of ghosts," he snickered. Whispers appeared similar to ghosts; like pieces of flying cloth that give the illusion of one.
"Of course not," she answered, sounding thrilled. "I wouldn't want to miss out on this." This would definitely be a challenge, and she surely wouldn't want to miss out on such a chance as to find a Whisper card. Besides, she thought, if she backed out now she would end up looking like a wuss in front of a Knight. She couldn't have that.
"Great!" Thoma replied, "Let's go then."
Chisato strapped her quiver onto her back and took her bow in hand when she noticed Cornflakes hanging very close to her feet. "Almost forgot you were there. How come you're so quiet?" she asked, raising a brow at the usual chatty Poring.
"No reason. Nope, no reason at all," he squeaked, but she noticed he shot looks up to Thoma.
Chisato grinned evilly, remember he was still afraid that Thoma might turn him into Jellopies. Thoma had caught on as she looked from Cornflakes to Chisato, then looked back to Cornflakes with a devious smiles, making the little Poring give out an "eep" as he bounced away faster into the doorway of the tower.
Entering the tower, they found themselves looking down a long, brightly lit hallway. On the left stood a set of elegant stairs heading upward, while straight ahead laid another set of stairs leading down. They headed for the stairs straight ahead of them. The small room downstairs was dimly lit, and yet another set of small stairs lay ahead. It got darker as they went down, only spotting a few people here and there sitting on the ground resting. They walked down a long corridor, boxes scattered along the sides with spider webs littering the corners. Chisato shuddered at the thought of spiders lurking about, they gave her the willies.
They finally found themselves nearing an entryway with a dim reddish purple light emitting from it. This was the first floor of the Geffen Tower. Many beginning classes came here to train, for this place was a major spawning point for Poison Spores; monsters that appeared to be big black mushrooms. Chisato found them to be extremely annoying. They died easily, but the large volume of them made them a nuisance. The trio rounded the passageways, having to fend them off as they seemed to come out of every dark corner to attack them. And as if the Spores weren't already bad, they also had to deal with Familiars, bat like creatures that swooped down at anything and everything that got too close to them; Poporings, looting monsters similar to Porings except slightly bigger and green in color; and Dustiness, non-aggressive moth like bugs. These monsters slowed them down, but didn't hinder them too much.
It wasn't long before they found themselves at the entrance of the second level. Aaogan decided to give them a sort of prep talk before heading down.
"Ok now, so you know we have to watch each others backs down here. Whispers aren't the only things we have to worry about. Argos and Jakks are down here too. But if we stick together we should be fine."
"Yeah yeah, I know Aaogan. I've been here plenty of times before," said Thoma waving him off. Chisato hadn't been though, this was her first time going to level two. Jakks, pumpkin headed monsters that sprung around on their tiny little bodies, didn't bother her; it was the Argos. She could feel a chill run down her spine at the thought of them down there. They appeared to be huge spiders and they moved at a relatively fast pace for their size. Running into them was no picnic for her, and she avoided them whenever she could. But she reassured herself that it shouldn't be so bad having Aaogan and Thoma with her. She'd try to leave those to them if at all possible.
Upon agreeing they were all ready, they headed down.