Breath Of Fire IV-Ryu's Space

Chapter 2-Reaching Sarai

Ah, yes. Now once again would I be able to resume my travel with the pretty Nina and her radiant brilliance. We had traveled along a long, winding cliff road, full of monsters of the garden variety. I was lucky Nina had given me the King's Sword, though, because I would have hated being beaten by those slimes.

Eventually we reached a large, bustling desert town. Nina told me that this was Sarai, and I took in the splendour of the merchant town. There were large cube-shaped buildings all around me, and this was all I could see of the town save for its inhabitants and animals. I walked inside, and Nina turned to me, giving me a smile.

"Well, do you think you'll be OK on your own now?" she asked me. This was a definite dilemma. I didn't know what to say-on the one hand, I wanted with all my life to stay with her, I didn't want to lose her from my life. On the other hand, I didn't want her to think I depended on her. I thought for a moment, and came out with the manly response I thought would definitely suit me-

"I don't know..." How stupid was that? I couldn't believe I'd said it. She pondered for a moment, and then said to me that I could come with her to look for her sandflier parts. This was new to me, because I obviously had been staring at her figure when she told me about it. She chuckled, and led me to an inn where we entered.

Inside was a dusty wooden room, made mostly of wooden tables and stools. There was an upper layer catwalk, however, which was taken up by a couple of drunks with bottles. Someone was smoking in the corner, and a man was slouching against the wall with a conning look in his face, completing the necessary aura of an inn.

We wandered closer to the bar, and as we did, we spotted a man eating some chicken nearby. We turned to him, and he gave us an expectant look.

"Looking for sandflier parts?" he asked us with a glint in his eye.

"Yes, you couldn't help us, could you?" asked Nina shyly. The man nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, of course I could! Tell ya what. If you buy me food and drink, I'll help you. OK?" he said. I nodded and checked my pocket for some spare zenny. Inside I found a hundred zenny coin. I wondered where it had come from for a few seconds, but I ignored it and paid for the man's meal for a few minutes. When he had finished eating, we asked him our question again.

"Yeah, OK. Go talk to the information broker outside the town entrance. He'll tell you where you need to go." the man suggested. We thanked him for his kindness and exited the inn, making our way towards the town entrance. Near a small cube-shaped building near the entrance, a man stood. He looked strange-he wore glasses, had a bald head and odd, striped clothes. We walked over to him.

"Hello, can I help you?" he asked us.

"Yes, we're looking for sandflier parts." said Nina.

"Ah, yes. Pay me an adequate price and I'll tell you where you can find them." I sighed loudly and rolled my eyes. Why did everything in this damn town have to revolve around flashing a little zenny here and there? I reached into my pockets, but this time found nothing. I shrugged at Nina, who was looking at me expectantly. I was heavily sorry to disappoint her, but she shook her head to indicate no problem, and pulled out a five hundred coin from her pocket.

"Here, take this." she told him, and flicked the coin at him. He caught it with his left hand and pocketed it swiftly.

"Alright then, I'll tell you where they are. Go back to the bar and talk to the barman. He'll admit you if you tell him the password. Only one merchant knows it, though-and he's just left town. Go and chase after him, he shouldn't have gone far." I sighed again. I was dead on my feet by now, so it was with great reluctance that I wandered after the excited Nina, who was heading to an oasis outside of town.