Chapter Twenty-six
The Next Day; Burmecia; Front Gates; Dawn
Home. Freya was finally home.
Freya and her group slipped silently into the City of Eternal Rain. Snow fell endlessly from the dark sky. Burmecia was covered in a blanket of white snow. Swiftly yet silently Freya padded through the city until she got to her house. She could see a soft light from within it, and she couldn't help but groan. She then slowly opened the door.
"You're back," a female voice from within the house hissed.
"Yes, I'm back, and you sound ever so excited," Freya replied, entering the house.
A turquoise-eyed female Burmecian glared at Freya.
"You're going to cause trouble!" the Burmecian snapped, rising to her feet. "Coming home when banned, coming to this house! Ebon's going to find you! Get out of here!"
Freya didn't move. If anything, she kept her feet even more firmly on the ground. Crossing her arms across her chest, Freya stared at the other Burmecian bitterly.
"If you don't like it, Arana, get out. It's my house. Why don't you go run away to Mike?" Freya snapped.
Arana's eyes narrowed. She spat in Freya's direction, then shoved by her sister and left the house. Freya only shook her head.
"Who and what was that?" Amarant asked.
"That was my sister. The argument was a greeting," Freya told him as she walked further into the house.
"Freya?"
Freya turned her head in the direction of the familiar voice. Standing near the stairs was a young Burmecian woman around 20 years old. Her eyes were milky white with blindness. The woman lifted her nose and sniffed the air. She then smiled.
"It is you," the blind woman said. "Arana kept saying that you weren't going to come back."
"Arana's an asshole, Anita," Freya replied. "What are you doing here?"
"Ebon is after me," Anita said. "Arana's hiding me here."
"Why is he after you?" Freya asked, her mind burning with hatred for Ebon.
"Take a guess," Anita said.
"You're blind," Amarant grunted, having entered the room.
"Exactly," Anita said as she sniffed the air tentatively. "Who are you?"
"Amarant," Amarant growled. He sat down at the table.
"You're a human," Anita said. "But there's a demon in here too."
"Yo," Meander grunted. "Demon hybrid right here."
"She can't see you," Amarant and Freya said together.
"Oops. I'm Meander," Meander grunted.
"And I'm Eiko!" Eiko chirped.
"Dominic," Dominic said quietly.
"Fratley's not with you?" Anita asked.
"Unfortunately, no," Freya said with a frown.
"What happened to him?" Anita asked.
"Even I'm not sure," Freya muttered.
"Where's the food?" Meander asked.
"Don't ask me. Arana probably put it somewhere else," Freya said quickly.
Meander shrugged helplessly. "Fine then, where are the beds?"
"Upstairs," Freya said. Her eyes then narrowed. "But keep away from my room. It's the first room you see."
Meander rolled his eyes. "Yes, ma'am."
Meander disappeared upstairs. Anita felt her way to a chair and sat down.
"So, Freya, what are you going to do?" Anita asked.
Freya stared at the cold fireplace on the east side of the wall for a while. She didn't really know what she was going to do. Everything was just so wrong, she didn't know what to tackle first.
"I'm not sure what to do," Freya muttered helplessly. "Everything is wrong."
"Would it matter if less things were wrong?" Amarant asked.
"Most likely. Then I could just concentrate on that one problem. But we have Ebon trying to kill Anita, Ebon trying to kill me, and Julius stalking me," Freya listed.
"You could solve all of those by killing Ebon," Amarant grunted.
"What am I to do, just go and kill him? I'll be jailed, and I'm not in the mood to be jailed right now. There are many things that I can do, but I'm not in a thinking mood right now. I'll sleep on it," Freya said.
Amarant seemed about to protest, but then he stopped, and nodded. Freya turned around and headed upstairs. She walked quietly into her room. Both beds were neatly made, making Freya understand that Arana had gotten up an hour ago, and that Anita did not sleep in this room. Freya walked over to the window near her bed and stared out it. The city seemed quiet, with no one outside. It was almost too quiet. Freya sighed softly. Everything was wrong. Even the city's atmosphere was wrong.
Freya took her pink coat off and threw it idly onto a chair. She placed her hat in the same place. She then lied down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. It was nice to be back home, but something was terribly wrong. It wasn't Ebon. It wasn't the city's atmosphere.
It was the strange feeling that someone was watching her.
"Seriously, ya don't have to slow down for me."
Fratley gave Rose a curious look.
"You're my mother, for God's sake," Fratley replied. "What do you expect me to do?"
Rose sighed, staring at him. "Burmecia is in serious trouble. We'd be better off to quicken our pace."
"Look, you're injured, Wanderer has a paralyzed leg, and a storm is coming. I am not quickening my pace, no matter how much I wish too," Fratley said.
The pace Fratley's group had was rather slow. A storm was slowly making its way in their direction, and therefore the weather was getting harsh. Wanderer didn't seem to do well in such weather, and though he tried to keep his pace quick, he could help but be slower. Landloper was also having trouble coping with the weather. The Great Dane's paws kept sinking in the snow, and since he wasn't made for jumping, the long legged dog couldn't just bound through. The dog was forced to shove his way through. Rose still had a slight limp, and that didn't help with the snow. Progress was awfully slow, but Fratley knew there was nothing he could do. Rose, however, felt otherwise.
"Look, I think we should be going faster!" Rose protested.
"I think you should just be quiet," Fratley muttered, walking slowly forward.
"Maybe we should take a break," Vivi suggested quietly. "The snow is pretty deep, and if I were to use a fire spell to melt it, I'd need time to power it up."
Fratley seemed to consider this idea. Then, seeing the sense in it, he nodded and called a break.
Two minutes after he called a break, Fratley heard voices in the distance.
"I'll be right back," Fratley muttered.
Before anyone could ask, Fratley was already moving. His feet lightly touched the ground, keeping him from sinking into the heavy snow. Soon he could understand what the voices were saying, and he could see two figures in the distance. Fratley knelt down and got himself flat against the snow.
"She returned? I was wondering where she had gone," growled a figure in black. "So, what are you going to do? Sit about and let me do the work?"
"Of course not," said a Burmecian Fratley recognized as Ebon. "But I can't just barge in. I have to wait until she shows herself."
"I can help you with that. That is, if I don't kill her first," the figure in black said.
"What are you proposing?" Ebon asked.
A fire spell suddenly appeared in the figure in black's hand.
"A little fire display," the figure in black said with a harsh chuckle. "I can set the house on fire – The foundation is made of wood, right?"
"Yes. The supports on the old houses are made of wood. And her house is an old one," Ebon replied.
"Right, then. I can set a few wooden objects on fire, and the supports. If the fire and smoke don't kill her, the collapsing building can. And if she's lucky enough to live through that, I may be able to kill her with a swift arrow. And if she is really lucky, and makes it through that – Then you can be on the scene, behind me and out of view," the figure in black explained.
"And if she attacks you, you'll teleport, and she'll nail me instead," Ebon finished, nodding thoughtfully.
"Exactly. Then you'll have plenty of reasons to arrest her: returning after being banned, attacking the king, danger to the citizens..."
"Ah, but there's the trail."
The figure in black's pale lips formed a smirk. "Who says the trail has to be fair? What is she going to have to use for her?"
"And her friends. What about them?"
"I'm sure you'll think of something, especially if you have this."
The figure in black took a scroll from his pocket and handed it to Ebon. Ebon took it carefully and read unseen writing on the ribbon. His dark blue eyes widened with shock.
"'Stun'? I thought these scrolls were long out of production," Ebon said with surprise.
"The COL makes its own products," the figure in black said with a harsh chuckle. "We make all kinds of scrolls: stun, weaken, warp, blind, and many others I won't dare tell you."
"Blind?" Ebon asked, surprised. He then smirked. "Do you think I could have a few of those?"
"Only if you'll pay for them. I need to make a profit if I'm going to keep the COL alive. Give me 250 Gil each for a Blind scroll, and I'll give you as many as you pay for," the figure in black growled.
"250? I know you need money, Julius, but that's ridiculous!" Ebon snarled.
"For a Blind scroll that works for two days, I think it's a fair bargain," Julius snapped.
Ebon's eyes widened. "Two days? How did you get it to work for that long?"
"Do you think I'd bother telling you? Stop yapping nonsense and give me the money. You're a king, you ass. You can afford it," Julius snarled.
Ebon's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. He instead took out a pouch of money. Though Fratley could not count the money amount from the distance he was at, he could tell it was a good amount. Julius took three scrolls of out his pocket and gave them to Ebon.
"There. What else?" Julius asked.
"Well, I have a question. Way before this time there was a war, and during this war a devastating spell called Holocaust was used greatly. All mages mastering in that spell were killed to keep it from being used. I was wondering if you possibly—"
"I'm not going to answer that question," Julius spat. "I gave you enough stuff already. You don't need a spell that can destroy mountains."
Ebon could only stare in shock. Fratley's heart was pounding. Holocaust? Fratley's memory seemed to remember something about the spell: it was used to destroy an entire city during a war hundreds of years ago. If the COL had this spell, they could destroy the world.
Fratley leapt to his feet, startled by this news. He realized his mistake too late. Both Julius and Ebon jerked their heads in the direction of the new movement. Ebon's eyes widened with shock, while Julius merely shook his head.
"A spy," Julius spat. "No bother. You asked to have Holocaust. You may see it."
Julius took out a scroll. It was red in color, with a black ribbon. Fratley turned around and began to run, but he knew it was too late. Behind him, Julius was shouting ancient words. Fratley continued to run.
Suddenly Fratley felt the ground rumble beneath him. He heard a massive roar, and suddenly the ground tore apart beneath him. Suddenly a mass explosion of red, hot liquid, rock, and ash slammed through the ground, sending a startled Fratley into the air. The mess singed his fur, and soon engulfed him. The pain was intense, but when Fratley went to scream, the liquid only filled his mouth.
Darkness came over him, but not before he heard a soothing male voice in his head.
You'll live.
A huge roar sounded near Rose and the others. When the turned their heads in the direction of the sound, they were shocked to see red, hot liquid, rock, and ash slamming through the ground. The mess was no where near them, and appeared to take up a small area, but it still scared them. Meanwhile, Wanderer's eyes glazed, while his body became motionless. The burning trails that had formed in front of his eyes disappeared.
"What is that?" Vivi asked nervously.
"Holocaust," Rose muttered fearfully. "I thought the spell went out of practice."
Suddenly, before anyone could speak, Fratley's motionless, burnt body appeared nearby Rose. Wanderer's eyes returned to normal while he let out a soft gasp. Rose immediately checked Fratley over. Tears filled her eyes, but she did sigh with relief.
"Oh my God, he's alive," Rose muttered. "But how?"
Wanderer said nothing, but he did shift. Rose immediately looked at him while Kitski rushed to Fratley's side.
"Was it you?" Rose asked.
Wanderer took a deep breath.
"I had been monitoring Fratley when he left. You did see the burning trials before my eyes, right?" Wanderer asked. When Rose nodded, he continued. "Well, I had been watching Fratley through them, and though he didn't know it, I had our minds linked. It turns out that Julius had cast the Holocaust spell – His collaboration is making the scrolls. Thankfully, he is making very few, and using them even less, but he choose to use this own, apparently to impress Ebon, who had been at the scene. When Fratley was nailed by the spell, I had to take complete control of him before I could command him to teleport. Thankfully I was able to do it before he died."
"Oh my God," Rose whispered. "You're the Dreamweaver."
"I do a lot more than weave dreams, however," Wanderer said. He looked over at Kitski. "What are you doing?"
Kitski had taken out a pouch. She opened it, ignoring Wanderer's question. Out of the pouch she took a little bit of blue powder. She then threw the stuff over Fratley. Fratley's body sparkled blue, and when the sparkling ended, he was healed of all his wounds. Rose stared with shock. She then reached out and gently placed her hand against Fratley's cheek. The skin was strong, and the fur real. Both skin and fur had been charred off by the spell, but they were now back as if they had never left.
"Oh my God," Rose whispered.
"I can heal broken bones in a heartbeat, stop endless bleeding, heal a heart that's been ripped open – as long as I get there on time, that is. The only things I can't do are bring people back from the dead and restore nerves," Kitski said in a non-boasting tone.
"So you couldn't help me," Wanderer said downheartedly.
"Unfortunately, no," Kitski said. "But you don't need help anyway, Eroy. You do fine with the paralyzed leg.
"Well well."
Everyone turned in the direction of the harsh new voice. Standing a few feet away were Julius and Ebon. Behind them, the land had turned to normal, as if it had never ruptured in a volcanic-like explosion.
"You," Rose spat at Ebon.
"Me," Ebon replied.
In a heartbeat Kitski took out a Phoenix Down and threw it onto Fratley's chest. Fiery wings appeared over him, and soon the Dragon Warrior was stirring.
"Hurry up, we have to fight," Kitski growled, rising to her feet.
"Fight? You don't want to fight, cat," Julius growled.
"I know I have to fight you asses," Kitski snapped, taking out twin blades.
"You almost killed my son," Rose growled, rising to her feet and taking out twin javelins.
"You're trying to kill Freya," Fratley said, rising shakily to his feet.
"And we do all those things with a passion," Julius replied, taking out a sleek black sword. "Fine, fight. Show me your skill – Before you die."
Wanderer rose slowly to his feet.
"Paladin of Heaven, give me the wings I need to fly!" Wanderer suddenly shouted.
A huge roar sounded over Wanderer.
"You are granted," said a deep, heavenly voice.
Suddenly a majestic pair of feathered, angel-like wings sprouted from Wanderer's back. They appeared transparent. Wanderer carefully leapt into the air, and gave his new wings a strong flap. Soon he was airborne.
Fratley took out his spear and leapt in the air. Ebon took out thin yet sharp sword. He rushed toward Rose, but Rose ran out of the way. She slashed at Ebon's side. Ebon managed to dodge most of the attack, and the most Rose did was rip his clothing. Meanwhile, Julius charged for Kitski. Kitski met his rush with surprising strength. The two were soon locked in a struggle. Vivi saw the lock, and he began to prepare a spell. Ebon ran to strike him, but Wanderer suddenly swooped down and kicked Ebon in the chin. Ebon was thrown backward. Rose tried to slash him in the air, but Ebon fell on top of her. Rose then suddenly grabbed him by the waist and threw him behind her. She then rose to her feet.
A Firaga spell sped from Vivi's hands and straight into Julius' side. Julius let out a startled yelp, while Kitski threw him backwards. She moved to slash his throat open, but she couldn't pierce the skin. Kitski cursed vilely while she ran out of the way of any upcoming attacks from Julius.
Ebon had recovered by this point and was deflecting a rush from Fratley. The two were locked in a struggle, but when Rose joined, Ebon was overthrown. He was pushed back, then Fratley and Rose both charged forward. Ebon managed to dodge Fratley's attack, but while he was, Rose was slashing him in the thigh with her javelins. She left two bloody cuts.
Wanderer suddenly swooped downward and kicked Ebon in the head. Ebon fell over, slamming into the ground. Fratley leapt forward and moved to bring his spear down on Ebon's head. Ebon managed to roll out of the way, and Fratley's spear dug into the ground. Fratley tried to pry it out, but the spear was stuck.
"Julius is gone," Kitski suddenly announced, her voice ringing in the air. "He teleported."
Ebon cursed under his breath. He tried to run, but Rose tackled him to the ground. The two stared at each other angrily for a few seconds. Ebon then suddenly slammed his fist into Rose's face. Rose retaliated by punching Ebon in return. Ebon grabbed Rose and tossed her off him. He then leapt to his feet and took out a scroll. Rose was rising to her feet while Ebon opened the scroll. Fratley's eyes widened.
"Rose, don't!" Fratley shouted.
It was too late. Ebon was shouting ancient words at the same time Rose rushed toward him. Ebon held out his hand, and as he stopped talking, a black haze slammed outward and into Rose's face. Rose screamed with surprise as she fell to the ground. The scroll turned to ash, and Ebon began to run off.
"Don't chase him," Fratley immediately shouted. "He has blinding scrolls!"
Hearing this was enough to convince everyone to let Ebon go. Rose, meanwhile, had risen into a sitting position. It was unsure whether her eyes had opened or not, however, because of a black, thick mist that had appeared in front of them. The mist was so thick it looked solid. Rose, meanwhile, was rubbing at her eyes.
"Damn it, I can't see!" she cried with panic.
"Rose! Calm down!" Wanderer suddenly shouted, flying over to her.
"Why are you telling me to calm down? I can't see!" Rose screamed. "I can't see a thing! My eyes hurt! What's going on?"
"Mamá!" Fratley shouted, rushing over to Rose. "Calm down. It's a curse, that's all!"
"I can't see! It's not just a curse! It made me God-damn blind!" Rose screamed. She suddenly rose to her feet, only to bump into Fratley and fall over again.
"Panicking isn't going to help the situation," Kitski said in a calm tone. "And neither is yelling. Calm down. Get away from her."
Fratley and Wanderer stared at Kitski with confusion. They then moved away from Rose. Rose was tossing her head about frantically, trying to see. She was shaking. Kitski carefully walked over to her. She knelt down beside her, and placed her hand against Rose's nose. Rose stopped tossing her head about and instead stiffed Kitski's hand.
"Calm down," Kitski said in a calm tone. "It's just an ancient curse. You're not blind, just cursed. In a few days you'll be able to see again."
"What am I supposed to do until then? What if someone attacks?" Rose asked, still in a panic.
"No one's going to abandon you. We're all still here," Kitski continued. "We always will be here. Calm down."
Rose did seem to be calming down.
"All right, she's approachable. Just don't scream, you'll only end up scaring her," Kitski said, rising to her feet.
Fratley approached first, kneeling down beside Rose. He allowed her to sniff his hand, and once he knew she recognizes him, Fratley gave Rose a hug.
"I'm sorry this 'appened," Fratley muttered softly, reverting to his normal accent. "I should've warned ya. But I won' let anythin' 'appen ta ya."
"Ya tried to warn me," Rose replied when Fratley released her. "I didn't listen."
"Fine then, I should've warned ya sooner," Fratley said.
Fratley rose to his feet and walked out of the way. Everyone else approached Rose, allowed her to sniff them, and gave a word of apology and "get well". Soon, everyone was sitting near Rose. Wanderer's wings had disappeared by now.
"Well, now I really think we should stop for the day," Vivi said.
"I agree," Fratley said immediately.
"Let's not slow down for me again. I was the one who was stupid enough to get blind. I'll be fine! You guys will be watching!" Rose said immediately.
Fratley sighed with disbelief. Wanderer chuckled.
"Well, what's the order?" Wanderer asked Fratley.
Fratley looked over at Rose.
"Are you sure you can travel? If not we—"Fratley began.
"Positive," Rose said.
"And if not, I can carry her," Kitski snorted.
Fratley sighed. "Well, that I guess we'll get moving."
Everyone rose to his or her feet except for Rose and Fratley. Fratley helped Rose to her feet.
"Even though we're movin', I'm not lettin' ya out of m' sight. That means ya 'ave ta travel next ta me," Fratley whispered to Rose.
Rose grinned. "Oh fine, I can deal with that."
"Ya bette', 'cause I'm not changin' m' mind," Fratley said. He then spoke in a louder tone. "Let's go, everyone!"
The group resumed walking.
Hidden by the darkness of early morning, Julius hid silently under the table in Freya's house. He knew everyone was asleep. Meander was snoozing on the couch, Dominic and Eiko had apparently taken the master bedroom, Anita had taken the room with a single bed, and Amarant and Freya occupied Freya's room. Julius slowly slipped out from under the table, making sure not to make any noise. He knew that Amarant and Meander both slept lightly, and he knew they both would kill him without a second thought. Therefore, Julius' caution was based on their behavior.
Julius examined every detail in the kitchen. He noted the wooden supports foolishly exposed. He noted the wooden table and chairs, the wood that was clearly always kept in the fireplace. He then peaked into the family room. Once again he noted the wooden supports, and he noted the flammable furniture, doorway, and door. Julius turned around and padded into the hallway. He noted with satisfaction that the stairs were wooden. He slowly walked up these stairs, making sure not to make them creak. Once on the top, Julius examined the hallway. The wooden supports supported the ceiling. When they fell, so would the ceiling. Julius nodded, then examined the doors. All were clearly wooden, as were the doorframes.
All the doors were open. Julius didn't enter most of the rooms, however. He knew better. One wrong move and he'd either be meeting an eidolon, command, demon ability, or Dragon Ability. Instead, he peeked briefly into each room. He observed the sleeping positions of the inhabitants. He could immediately tell that Freya was in her normal bed – She appeared to be most at ease. Julius nodded to himself. He took a good look at her room. Using his eyes, he found the most flammable places.
Julius did enter one room, however. He entered the room Anita slept in. He wasn't worried about her. If she panicked, he'd kill her. If she stayed asleep or woke and kept quiet, Julius would spare her.
She didn't stir. Julius walked completely around the room. He found the flammable areas. He observed the windows. He even calculated how long you would have to evacuate from the room if the house was on fire, and the window was inaccessible. He then applied this to the other rooms, instead that he added or removed a few minutes.
Julius was pleased. Everything would go well. Now all he had to do was wait for night to fall.
---------- No comment, folks. Just things are starting to show themselves to get a little nasty ;)
Had lots of reports to do (Around –counts- four to be exact) so updates kind screeched to a stop. It won't happen again, as my teachers are at last lowering the homework amount! Gosh, Level 3 is like college, it seems!
This story is copyright to me. Some characters, locations, and Gaia in general are copyright to SquareEnix.
The Next Day; Burmecia; Front Gates; Dawn
Home. Freya was finally home.
Freya and her group slipped silently into the City of Eternal Rain. Snow fell endlessly from the dark sky. Burmecia was covered in a blanket of white snow. Swiftly yet silently Freya padded through the city until she got to her house. She could see a soft light from within it, and she couldn't help but groan. She then slowly opened the door.
"You're back," a female voice from within the house hissed.
"Yes, I'm back, and you sound ever so excited," Freya replied, entering the house.
A turquoise-eyed female Burmecian glared at Freya.
"You're going to cause trouble!" the Burmecian snapped, rising to her feet. "Coming home when banned, coming to this house! Ebon's going to find you! Get out of here!"
Freya didn't move. If anything, she kept her feet even more firmly on the ground. Crossing her arms across her chest, Freya stared at the other Burmecian bitterly.
"If you don't like it, Arana, get out. It's my house. Why don't you go run away to Mike?" Freya snapped.
Arana's eyes narrowed. She spat in Freya's direction, then shoved by her sister and left the house. Freya only shook her head.
"Who and what was that?" Amarant asked.
"That was my sister. The argument was a greeting," Freya told him as she walked further into the house.
"Freya?"
Freya turned her head in the direction of the familiar voice. Standing near the stairs was a young Burmecian woman around 20 years old. Her eyes were milky white with blindness. The woman lifted her nose and sniffed the air. She then smiled.
"It is you," the blind woman said. "Arana kept saying that you weren't going to come back."
"Arana's an asshole, Anita," Freya replied. "What are you doing here?"
"Ebon is after me," Anita said. "Arana's hiding me here."
"Why is he after you?" Freya asked, her mind burning with hatred for Ebon.
"Take a guess," Anita said.
"You're blind," Amarant grunted, having entered the room.
"Exactly," Anita said as she sniffed the air tentatively. "Who are you?"
"Amarant," Amarant growled. He sat down at the table.
"You're a human," Anita said. "But there's a demon in here too."
"Yo," Meander grunted. "Demon hybrid right here."
"She can't see you," Amarant and Freya said together.
"Oops. I'm Meander," Meander grunted.
"And I'm Eiko!" Eiko chirped.
"Dominic," Dominic said quietly.
"Fratley's not with you?" Anita asked.
"Unfortunately, no," Freya said with a frown.
"What happened to him?" Anita asked.
"Even I'm not sure," Freya muttered.
"Where's the food?" Meander asked.
"Don't ask me. Arana probably put it somewhere else," Freya said quickly.
Meander shrugged helplessly. "Fine then, where are the beds?"
"Upstairs," Freya said. Her eyes then narrowed. "But keep away from my room. It's the first room you see."
Meander rolled his eyes. "Yes, ma'am."
Meander disappeared upstairs. Anita felt her way to a chair and sat down.
"So, Freya, what are you going to do?" Anita asked.
Freya stared at the cold fireplace on the east side of the wall for a while. She didn't really know what she was going to do. Everything was just so wrong, she didn't know what to tackle first.
"I'm not sure what to do," Freya muttered helplessly. "Everything is wrong."
"Would it matter if less things were wrong?" Amarant asked.
"Most likely. Then I could just concentrate on that one problem. But we have Ebon trying to kill Anita, Ebon trying to kill me, and Julius stalking me," Freya listed.
"You could solve all of those by killing Ebon," Amarant grunted.
"What am I to do, just go and kill him? I'll be jailed, and I'm not in the mood to be jailed right now. There are many things that I can do, but I'm not in a thinking mood right now. I'll sleep on it," Freya said.
Amarant seemed about to protest, but then he stopped, and nodded. Freya turned around and headed upstairs. She walked quietly into her room. Both beds were neatly made, making Freya understand that Arana had gotten up an hour ago, and that Anita did not sleep in this room. Freya walked over to the window near her bed and stared out it. The city seemed quiet, with no one outside. It was almost too quiet. Freya sighed softly. Everything was wrong. Even the city's atmosphere was wrong.
Freya took her pink coat off and threw it idly onto a chair. She placed her hat in the same place. She then lied down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. It was nice to be back home, but something was terribly wrong. It wasn't Ebon. It wasn't the city's atmosphere.
It was the strange feeling that someone was watching her.
"Seriously, ya don't have to slow down for me."
Fratley gave Rose a curious look.
"You're my mother, for God's sake," Fratley replied. "What do you expect me to do?"
Rose sighed, staring at him. "Burmecia is in serious trouble. We'd be better off to quicken our pace."
"Look, you're injured, Wanderer has a paralyzed leg, and a storm is coming. I am not quickening my pace, no matter how much I wish too," Fratley said.
The pace Fratley's group had was rather slow. A storm was slowly making its way in their direction, and therefore the weather was getting harsh. Wanderer didn't seem to do well in such weather, and though he tried to keep his pace quick, he could help but be slower. Landloper was also having trouble coping with the weather. The Great Dane's paws kept sinking in the snow, and since he wasn't made for jumping, the long legged dog couldn't just bound through. The dog was forced to shove his way through. Rose still had a slight limp, and that didn't help with the snow. Progress was awfully slow, but Fratley knew there was nothing he could do. Rose, however, felt otherwise.
"Look, I think we should be going faster!" Rose protested.
"I think you should just be quiet," Fratley muttered, walking slowly forward.
"Maybe we should take a break," Vivi suggested quietly. "The snow is pretty deep, and if I were to use a fire spell to melt it, I'd need time to power it up."
Fratley seemed to consider this idea. Then, seeing the sense in it, he nodded and called a break.
Two minutes after he called a break, Fratley heard voices in the distance.
"I'll be right back," Fratley muttered.
Before anyone could ask, Fratley was already moving. His feet lightly touched the ground, keeping him from sinking into the heavy snow. Soon he could understand what the voices were saying, and he could see two figures in the distance. Fratley knelt down and got himself flat against the snow.
"She returned? I was wondering where she had gone," growled a figure in black. "So, what are you going to do? Sit about and let me do the work?"
"Of course not," said a Burmecian Fratley recognized as Ebon. "But I can't just barge in. I have to wait until she shows herself."
"I can help you with that. That is, if I don't kill her first," the figure in black said.
"What are you proposing?" Ebon asked.
A fire spell suddenly appeared in the figure in black's hand.
"A little fire display," the figure in black said with a harsh chuckle. "I can set the house on fire – The foundation is made of wood, right?"
"Yes. The supports on the old houses are made of wood. And her house is an old one," Ebon replied.
"Right, then. I can set a few wooden objects on fire, and the supports. If the fire and smoke don't kill her, the collapsing building can. And if she's lucky enough to live through that, I may be able to kill her with a swift arrow. And if she is really lucky, and makes it through that – Then you can be on the scene, behind me and out of view," the figure in black explained.
"And if she attacks you, you'll teleport, and she'll nail me instead," Ebon finished, nodding thoughtfully.
"Exactly. Then you'll have plenty of reasons to arrest her: returning after being banned, attacking the king, danger to the citizens..."
"Ah, but there's the trail."
The figure in black's pale lips formed a smirk. "Who says the trail has to be fair? What is she going to have to use for her?"
"And her friends. What about them?"
"I'm sure you'll think of something, especially if you have this."
The figure in black took a scroll from his pocket and handed it to Ebon. Ebon took it carefully and read unseen writing on the ribbon. His dark blue eyes widened with shock.
"'Stun'? I thought these scrolls were long out of production," Ebon said with surprise.
"The COL makes its own products," the figure in black said with a harsh chuckle. "We make all kinds of scrolls: stun, weaken, warp, blind, and many others I won't dare tell you."
"Blind?" Ebon asked, surprised. He then smirked. "Do you think I could have a few of those?"
"Only if you'll pay for them. I need to make a profit if I'm going to keep the COL alive. Give me 250 Gil each for a Blind scroll, and I'll give you as many as you pay for," the figure in black growled.
"250? I know you need money, Julius, but that's ridiculous!" Ebon snarled.
"For a Blind scroll that works for two days, I think it's a fair bargain," Julius snapped.
Ebon's eyes widened. "Two days? How did you get it to work for that long?"
"Do you think I'd bother telling you? Stop yapping nonsense and give me the money. You're a king, you ass. You can afford it," Julius snarled.
Ebon's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. He instead took out a pouch of money. Though Fratley could not count the money amount from the distance he was at, he could tell it was a good amount. Julius took three scrolls of out his pocket and gave them to Ebon.
"There. What else?" Julius asked.
"Well, I have a question. Way before this time there was a war, and during this war a devastating spell called Holocaust was used greatly. All mages mastering in that spell were killed to keep it from being used. I was wondering if you possibly—"
"I'm not going to answer that question," Julius spat. "I gave you enough stuff already. You don't need a spell that can destroy mountains."
Ebon could only stare in shock. Fratley's heart was pounding. Holocaust? Fratley's memory seemed to remember something about the spell: it was used to destroy an entire city during a war hundreds of years ago. If the COL had this spell, they could destroy the world.
Fratley leapt to his feet, startled by this news. He realized his mistake too late. Both Julius and Ebon jerked their heads in the direction of the new movement. Ebon's eyes widened with shock, while Julius merely shook his head.
"A spy," Julius spat. "No bother. You asked to have Holocaust. You may see it."
Julius took out a scroll. It was red in color, with a black ribbon. Fratley turned around and began to run, but he knew it was too late. Behind him, Julius was shouting ancient words. Fratley continued to run.
Suddenly Fratley felt the ground rumble beneath him. He heard a massive roar, and suddenly the ground tore apart beneath him. Suddenly a mass explosion of red, hot liquid, rock, and ash slammed through the ground, sending a startled Fratley into the air. The mess singed his fur, and soon engulfed him. The pain was intense, but when Fratley went to scream, the liquid only filled his mouth.
Darkness came over him, but not before he heard a soothing male voice in his head.
You'll live.
A huge roar sounded near Rose and the others. When the turned their heads in the direction of the sound, they were shocked to see red, hot liquid, rock, and ash slamming through the ground. The mess was no where near them, and appeared to take up a small area, but it still scared them. Meanwhile, Wanderer's eyes glazed, while his body became motionless. The burning trails that had formed in front of his eyes disappeared.
"What is that?" Vivi asked nervously.
"Holocaust," Rose muttered fearfully. "I thought the spell went out of practice."
Suddenly, before anyone could speak, Fratley's motionless, burnt body appeared nearby Rose. Wanderer's eyes returned to normal while he let out a soft gasp. Rose immediately checked Fratley over. Tears filled her eyes, but she did sigh with relief.
"Oh my God, he's alive," Rose muttered. "But how?"
Wanderer said nothing, but he did shift. Rose immediately looked at him while Kitski rushed to Fratley's side.
"Was it you?" Rose asked.
Wanderer took a deep breath.
"I had been monitoring Fratley when he left. You did see the burning trials before my eyes, right?" Wanderer asked. When Rose nodded, he continued. "Well, I had been watching Fratley through them, and though he didn't know it, I had our minds linked. It turns out that Julius had cast the Holocaust spell – His collaboration is making the scrolls. Thankfully, he is making very few, and using them even less, but he choose to use this own, apparently to impress Ebon, who had been at the scene. When Fratley was nailed by the spell, I had to take complete control of him before I could command him to teleport. Thankfully I was able to do it before he died."
"Oh my God," Rose whispered. "You're the Dreamweaver."
"I do a lot more than weave dreams, however," Wanderer said. He looked over at Kitski. "What are you doing?"
Kitski had taken out a pouch. She opened it, ignoring Wanderer's question. Out of the pouch she took a little bit of blue powder. She then threw the stuff over Fratley. Fratley's body sparkled blue, and when the sparkling ended, he was healed of all his wounds. Rose stared with shock. She then reached out and gently placed her hand against Fratley's cheek. The skin was strong, and the fur real. Both skin and fur had been charred off by the spell, but they were now back as if they had never left.
"Oh my God," Rose whispered.
"I can heal broken bones in a heartbeat, stop endless bleeding, heal a heart that's been ripped open – as long as I get there on time, that is. The only things I can't do are bring people back from the dead and restore nerves," Kitski said in a non-boasting tone.
"So you couldn't help me," Wanderer said downheartedly.
"Unfortunately, no," Kitski said. "But you don't need help anyway, Eroy. You do fine with the paralyzed leg.
"Well well."
Everyone turned in the direction of the harsh new voice. Standing a few feet away were Julius and Ebon. Behind them, the land had turned to normal, as if it had never ruptured in a volcanic-like explosion.
"You," Rose spat at Ebon.
"Me," Ebon replied.
In a heartbeat Kitski took out a Phoenix Down and threw it onto Fratley's chest. Fiery wings appeared over him, and soon the Dragon Warrior was stirring.
"Hurry up, we have to fight," Kitski growled, rising to her feet.
"Fight? You don't want to fight, cat," Julius growled.
"I know I have to fight you asses," Kitski snapped, taking out twin blades.
"You almost killed my son," Rose growled, rising to her feet and taking out twin javelins.
"You're trying to kill Freya," Fratley said, rising shakily to his feet.
"And we do all those things with a passion," Julius replied, taking out a sleek black sword. "Fine, fight. Show me your skill – Before you die."
Wanderer rose slowly to his feet.
"Paladin of Heaven, give me the wings I need to fly!" Wanderer suddenly shouted.
A huge roar sounded over Wanderer.
"You are granted," said a deep, heavenly voice.
Suddenly a majestic pair of feathered, angel-like wings sprouted from Wanderer's back. They appeared transparent. Wanderer carefully leapt into the air, and gave his new wings a strong flap. Soon he was airborne.
Fratley took out his spear and leapt in the air. Ebon took out thin yet sharp sword. He rushed toward Rose, but Rose ran out of the way. She slashed at Ebon's side. Ebon managed to dodge most of the attack, and the most Rose did was rip his clothing. Meanwhile, Julius charged for Kitski. Kitski met his rush with surprising strength. The two were soon locked in a struggle. Vivi saw the lock, and he began to prepare a spell. Ebon ran to strike him, but Wanderer suddenly swooped down and kicked Ebon in the chin. Ebon was thrown backward. Rose tried to slash him in the air, but Ebon fell on top of her. Rose then suddenly grabbed him by the waist and threw him behind her. She then rose to her feet.
A Firaga spell sped from Vivi's hands and straight into Julius' side. Julius let out a startled yelp, while Kitski threw him backwards. She moved to slash his throat open, but she couldn't pierce the skin. Kitski cursed vilely while she ran out of the way of any upcoming attacks from Julius.
Ebon had recovered by this point and was deflecting a rush from Fratley. The two were locked in a struggle, but when Rose joined, Ebon was overthrown. He was pushed back, then Fratley and Rose both charged forward. Ebon managed to dodge Fratley's attack, but while he was, Rose was slashing him in the thigh with her javelins. She left two bloody cuts.
Wanderer suddenly swooped downward and kicked Ebon in the head. Ebon fell over, slamming into the ground. Fratley leapt forward and moved to bring his spear down on Ebon's head. Ebon managed to roll out of the way, and Fratley's spear dug into the ground. Fratley tried to pry it out, but the spear was stuck.
"Julius is gone," Kitski suddenly announced, her voice ringing in the air. "He teleported."
Ebon cursed under his breath. He tried to run, but Rose tackled him to the ground. The two stared at each other angrily for a few seconds. Ebon then suddenly slammed his fist into Rose's face. Rose retaliated by punching Ebon in return. Ebon grabbed Rose and tossed her off him. He then leapt to his feet and took out a scroll. Rose was rising to her feet while Ebon opened the scroll. Fratley's eyes widened.
"Rose, don't!" Fratley shouted.
It was too late. Ebon was shouting ancient words at the same time Rose rushed toward him. Ebon held out his hand, and as he stopped talking, a black haze slammed outward and into Rose's face. Rose screamed with surprise as she fell to the ground. The scroll turned to ash, and Ebon began to run off.
"Don't chase him," Fratley immediately shouted. "He has blinding scrolls!"
Hearing this was enough to convince everyone to let Ebon go. Rose, meanwhile, had risen into a sitting position. It was unsure whether her eyes had opened or not, however, because of a black, thick mist that had appeared in front of them. The mist was so thick it looked solid. Rose, meanwhile, was rubbing at her eyes.
"Damn it, I can't see!" she cried with panic.
"Rose! Calm down!" Wanderer suddenly shouted, flying over to her.
"Why are you telling me to calm down? I can't see!" Rose screamed. "I can't see a thing! My eyes hurt! What's going on?"
"Mamá!" Fratley shouted, rushing over to Rose. "Calm down. It's a curse, that's all!"
"I can't see! It's not just a curse! It made me God-damn blind!" Rose screamed. She suddenly rose to her feet, only to bump into Fratley and fall over again.
"Panicking isn't going to help the situation," Kitski said in a calm tone. "And neither is yelling. Calm down. Get away from her."
Fratley and Wanderer stared at Kitski with confusion. They then moved away from Rose. Rose was tossing her head about frantically, trying to see. She was shaking. Kitski carefully walked over to her. She knelt down beside her, and placed her hand against Rose's nose. Rose stopped tossing her head about and instead stiffed Kitski's hand.
"Calm down," Kitski said in a calm tone. "It's just an ancient curse. You're not blind, just cursed. In a few days you'll be able to see again."
"What am I supposed to do until then? What if someone attacks?" Rose asked, still in a panic.
"No one's going to abandon you. We're all still here," Kitski continued. "We always will be here. Calm down."
Rose did seem to be calming down.
"All right, she's approachable. Just don't scream, you'll only end up scaring her," Kitski said, rising to her feet.
Fratley approached first, kneeling down beside Rose. He allowed her to sniff his hand, and once he knew she recognizes him, Fratley gave Rose a hug.
"I'm sorry this 'appened," Fratley muttered softly, reverting to his normal accent. "I should've warned ya. But I won' let anythin' 'appen ta ya."
"Ya tried to warn me," Rose replied when Fratley released her. "I didn't listen."
"Fine then, I should've warned ya sooner," Fratley said.
Fratley rose to his feet and walked out of the way. Everyone else approached Rose, allowed her to sniff them, and gave a word of apology and "get well". Soon, everyone was sitting near Rose. Wanderer's wings had disappeared by now.
"Well, now I really think we should stop for the day," Vivi said.
"I agree," Fratley said immediately.
"Let's not slow down for me again. I was the one who was stupid enough to get blind. I'll be fine! You guys will be watching!" Rose said immediately.
Fratley sighed with disbelief. Wanderer chuckled.
"Well, what's the order?" Wanderer asked Fratley.
Fratley looked over at Rose.
"Are you sure you can travel? If not we—"Fratley began.
"Positive," Rose said.
"And if not, I can carry her," Kitski snorted.
Fratley sighed. "Well, that I guess we'll get moving."
Everyone rose to his or her feet except for Rose and Fratley. Fratley helped Rose to her feet.
"Even though we're movin', I'm not lettin' ya out of m' sight. That means ya 'ave ta travel next ta me," Fratley whispered to Rose.
Rose grinned. "Oh fine, I can deal with that."
"Ya bette', 'cause I'm not changin' m' mind," Fratley said. He then spoke in a louder tone. "Let's go, everyone!"
The group resumed walking.
Hidden by the darkness of early morning, Julius hid silently under the table in Freya's house. He knew everyone was asleep. Meander was snoozing on the couch, Dominic and Eiko had apparently taken the master bedroom, Anita had taken the room with a single bed, and Amarant and Freya occupied Freya's room. Julius slowly slipped out from under the table, making sure not to make any noise. He knew that Amarant and Meander both slept lightly, and he knew they both would kill him without a second thought. Therefore, Julius' caution was based on their behavior.
Julius examined every detail in the kitchen. He noted the wooden supports foolishly exposed. He noted the wooden table and chairs, the wood that was clearly always kept in the fireplace. He then peaked into the family room. Once again he noted the wooden supports, and he noted the flammable furniture, doorway, and door. Julius turned around and padded into the hallway. He noted with satisfaction that the stairs were wooden. He slowly walked up these stairs, making sure not to make them creak. Once on the top, Julius examined the hallway. The wooden supports supported the ceiling. When they fell, so would the ceiling. Julius nodded, then examined the doors. All were clearly wooden, as were the doorframes.
All the doors were open. Julius didn't enter most of the rooms, however. He knew better. One wrong move and he'd either be meeting an eidolon, command, demon ability, or Dragon Ability. Instead, he peeked briefly into each room. He observed the sleeping positions of the inhabitants. He could immediately tell that Freya was in her normal bed – She appeared to be most at ease. Julius nodded to himself. He took a good look at her room. Using his eyes, he found the most flammable places.
Julius did enter one room, however. He entered the room Anita slept in. He wasn't worried about her. If she panicked, he'd kill her. If she stayed asleep or woke and kept quiet, Julius would spare her.
She didn't stir. Julius walked completely around the room. He found the flammable areas. He observed the windows. He even calculated how long you would have to evacuate from the room if the house was on fire, and the window was inaccessible. He then applied this to the other rooms, instead that he added or removed a few minutes.
Julius was pleased. Everything would go well. Now all he had to do was wait for night to fall.
---------- No comment, folks. Just things are starting to show themselves to get a little nasty ;)
Had lots of reports to do (Around –counts- four to be exact) so updates kind screeched to a stop. It won't happen again, as my teachers are at last lowering the homework amount! Gosh, Level 3 is like college, it seems!
This story is copyright to me. Some characters, locations, and Gaia in general are copyright to SquareEnix.