This story belongs to me and my creative mind. However, most of the characters, names, and places all belong to their respective companies, so don't yell at me for copyright infringements! Remember, Italics represent a person's thoughts or the telling of past events.

Enjoy...

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:Faraway Dreams:

Chapter Two:

Fedrich woke up to the sound of footsteps clunking up and down the staircase near his room. He rose from his bed slowly, cracking his knuckles and yawning after his uneasy rest, then moved to pull the drapes of the small window open. Moderate light poured into the darkened room, the sun blocked by the massive walls of the city, but still able to send light to the avenue below. People were already up and working, leaving Fedrich to wonder if the city ever truly slept.

"Might as well get going." He muttered.

Opening the dresser drawers, he shed his sleeping clothes for his normal attire. He slipped into his moss green workers pants, taking his supply of dried meat and placing it into the numerous pockets on them. A similar colored vest came next, checking that he still had a few medicinal vials secure for use. He snapped on two beaded necklaces, one holding a large, serrated tooth given to him from his grandfather as a family heirloom. A large brimmed hat finished his appearance, a yellow Chocobo feather sticking out from the leather material. Fedrich grabbed the faded strap on his sword's scabbard, slung the loop across his shoulders to lay across his back, then struck out for the markets to start buying his needed items.


Fedrich stepped out of the Inn and added to the growing number of people starting their day in Lindblum. He then began his search further into the city, remembering that he didn't see any medicine shops or weapons dealers near Hunter's Gate. After several minutes of fruitless search, he passed under a large arch decorated with several colored flags and banners and entered into a massive open air market. Hundreds if not thousands of people were milling about, talking to one another and creating a din that nearly overwhelmed Fedrich's sensitive ears. Trying to block out the sound, he dove into the crowds looking for any sign that would point out a shop he needed.

This place is exactly like the Daines Market in Burmecia! Too many people and too much noise, but there was always something worth buying in the mass of vendors. Perhaps I'll have similar luck...

Fedrich pushed through a knot of shoppers, finally stopping to ask someone if they knew where he could get his items.

"Excuse me," He asked a elderly man behind a table of knickknacks. "But do you know where I can find a medicine shop or a weapons dealer?"

"Eh? Speak up, boy!" The man requested, leaning forward.

"I'd like to know where I can find a medicine shop or-" He repeated in a louder voice.

"Medicine! Stop by Miss Alice's shop and you'll find every herb and potion you could dream of!"

"Where is her shop?"

"Just head thataway!" He pointed, gnarled finger leading to a small street at the edge of the market.

"Thank you very much!" Fedrich thanked, heading towards the street.

"You need any candle snuffers or doorknob polish!?" The elderly man ased, waving his hands across his goods.

"Eh...maybe later!" The burman offered, continuing to walk.

Fedrich maneuvered through the remainder of the marketplace crowds until they eased up at the entrance of the street the old man pointed out. He walked down the significantly quieter pathway, the street opening up to a small square with a water fountain at it's center. Mainly homes occupied the area, but Fedrich smiled when he saw the familiar sword and shield picture up a flight of stairs. Left of the weapons shop, he spied a sign marked as 'Alice's Potion Stop', and further left down a small alley was a sign of a blacksmith's synthesis shop.

Rei's blessing, everything I need in a convenient location!

Fedrich first entered Alice's shop, and was presented with rows of food, medicine, and all sorts of foreign ingredients.

"Can I help you?" A honey blonde haired lady asked from behind a counter.

"Actually, I was looking for some potions and some antidotes."

"We've got plenty of those, just against the wall to your left!" She chirped.

"Thank you."

Fedrich went to the specified wall and found the items resting on a table, each separated into different spaces with prices listen on colored tags. Small, finger sized vials of a bluish liquid were marked as potions, priced for twenty gil. Antidotes were in a similar sized, square vial, but colored an unnatrually bright green and marked for sale at fifteen gil.

Okay, I'll need to save about 500 Gil for a good sword, so that leaves me with...315 Gil leftover. I suppose six, no seven potions will do for 140 Gil, and four antidotes make another sixty...a grand total of 200.

Fedrich picked up the number of potions and antidotes he wanted, then presented them all to the woman at the counter so she could count them out and make a price. She checked their prices, then scribbled down some numbers into a dog-eared recording book.

"Okay, the total comes to 200 Gil!"

Fedrich pulled out his pouch of Gil, lighter from his spending, and pulled out two one hundred Gil pieces to give to the woman. She took them eagerly and put them below her counter with a smile.

"Thank for your purchase!"

"You're welcome."

Fedrich gathered up the potions and placed them into his vest pockets, then sliding the antidotes into a pouch on his pant's belt. With a tip of his hat, he bid the woman a good day and left for the weapons dealer.


The weapons shop was as he expected. Armor, swords, maces, lances, staffs, and every conceivable weapon developed were displayed against the walls and floor, leaving a small path to the counter a large, brutish looking demi-human occupied. Fedrich looked all around the shop, feeling suddenly embarrassed to be holding a poorly maintained weapon in the face of glittering blades and polished armor suits. However, he swallowed his pride and walked to the counter, the demi-human finally looking up at the burman with a neutral expression in his furry face.

"You need something?" The man spoke, voice deep and throaty.

"I need to trade in this old sword for a new one like it. Can you help me?"

"Well, let's take a look at your blade." The demi-human began, standing to an impressive height a head taller than the burman.

Fedrich slung the scabbard from his shoulders and presented it to the man.

"Pretty old scabbard, but definitely Burmecian Knight issue." The demi-human commented, pulling the blade free of the sheath. "Oh my! This is definitely something!"

"Hmm?"

The man pushed the blade near Fedrich's eyes. "Here, take a look. See this pattern near the base of the blade? This is an old crest of the Burmecian Royal Guard, but they were disbanded a few years after the Cleyran separation group left the court. The Burmecian king ordered a highly trained group of knights to take a pilgrimage to the southern cliffs beyond the Daines-Horse basin, deep into the Aerbs Mountains. Three years afterwards, they returned as Dragon Knights, and they have been responsible for the protection of the King and the Royal Court since."

"And?" Fedrich asked, curious.

"Don't you see? Dragon Knights use lances and spears as their weapons, so no sword would bear the markings of a royal guard unless it was from before their time! Your sword here could be well over one hundred years old!"

Fedrich's thin tail went rigid, finally connecting the information.

Who on Gaia would think this rusty blade would be from such a long begone era!? It's no wonder why it looks so old and abused...

"So, what can you give me for it?"

"Normally this would be worth tens of thousands to the right man, but the poor thing's been badly treated, so it'd never sell for that much."

"But will you still take it?"

"Well," The demi-human pondered. "I've been selling and collecting weapons for a long time, and this'd really add to it. The wear looks mostly external, so I suppose a little spit 'n polish would clear it up. Does, say...2400 sound fair?"

Fedrich almost pulled a double take, but he recovered with a smile. "Fair, that's more than I ever hoped! You got a deal!"

The demi-human smiled widely and put the blade back into its scabbard, then hung it on a rack with a few other swords. He then reached for a large chest and pulled it out, rooting through it with thick hands to pull out mass numbers of coins. After a minute of fishing through, he finally presented Fedrich with three five hundred Gil pieces and nine one hundred Gil pieces.

"Okay, here's the Gil. You also wanted a sword like this one to replace it, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I've got a few swords hanging around from Burmecia, so they should be pretty close to the same one you had. Just a sec, I'll get them."

The demi-human walked around his shop, pulling random blades free of the racks they rested on and sliding them in front of Fedrich to look at. Four blades later, he finally plodded back to speak with the burman.

"Alright, these are the four I have. Most of them are around twenty years old or younger, so they'll be good for display or use in battle, whichever you prefer."

"Okay."

Fedrich picked up the various blades, looking at them for any kind of fault and giving them a few experimental swings. After checking them to the extent of what he knew, he finally looked at the worker with a questioning expression.

"Which one would you recommend? They all feel the same to me."

The demi-human chuckled a bit. "All of them are for use by the Burmecian Knights, so it's to be expected." He picked up one of the blades and look at it. "This one is the youngest of the four, just twelve years old from forging. Blades are usually in better condition in the first few years, so any kind of fault can be fixed to make it stronger. I got it two years ago from some young burman not unlike yourself. It surprised me that a kid like him would have a knight's sword at his age..."

"So how much would you want to part with it?"

"Normally a burman made blade would sell for decent money, this one for around 2000 Gil, but since you sold me that rare blade, I'll give you a discount and make it 1900. Fair?"

"More than fair." Fedrich smiled, pushing 1900 Gil back to the worker.

"Okay, here you go."

The worker have Fedrich the blade, sheathing it in its dark leather scabbard and strap. Fedrich took the strap and slung it about his shoulders, the cool leather feeling familair to his back. He then gathered the 600 Gil leftover and dropped it into his pouch, leaving him with almost the same amount of Gil as he had when arriving in Lindblum.

"Thank you very much for the sword and the sale, Mr..."

"Dragoos, kid. Be sure to come back here if you need any other weapons or armor!"

"I'll be sure to remember that." Fedrich thanked with a nod.

The burman exited the weapons shop and struck out down the street and back into the market, the noise even louder as more people were flooding in to buy and sell. He pushed through thicker crowds, ignoring the shouts of the vendors as they tried to make their wares the most desirable to those nearby. After a bit of tricky walking, he finally broke out of the crowd and started back down the main avenue of the business district. He stopped at a small stand and bought two oranges for his breakfast meal, knowing he's need something in his stomach if he actually got into a battle.

I only hope whatever fights I get into aren't beyond my skill. Father gave me many lessons with short swords so I could properly attack and defend myself in a fight, but will it be enough?

After several minutes of walking, he finally passed through Hunter's Gate, walked down the pathway to the solid ground below, and finally exited Lindblum, the limitless plains of the plateau before Fedrich's eyes. The forms of two mountains were to either of his sides. Beyond them were open forests to his left, and the vine choked wetlands named the Pinnacle Rocks were to his right.

"Alright!" Fedrich declared aloud, stepping off the paved path and onto the unguarded, open land. "Time to put this blade to use!"


* * *


Fedrich plopped onto a small rock, uncorking his canteen and taking a long drink of the tepid water. Putting it back onto his belt, he took out some of the dried meat with him and took a bite for a disappointing lunch.

This is getting me nowhere. I've been looking all over the base of these mountains for nearly five hours, and nothing has happened at all! I know that the Lindblum Plateau is home to some dangerous monsters, and that they can be fiercely territorial to intruders, but do they come for me? No, they just hide away...

His ears perked up a moment when a faint sound rose to the air, his teeth no longer chewing and all his attention focused on sound. For a few seconds, he heard nothing, but the sound of a high pitched scream raced through the air and caught his attention. Fedrich pocketed the meat and stood, scanning the horizon for any sign of the voice. A different sign appeared as an arrow whistled near his head and sank into the dirt close to his feet.

"What the-!?" He blurted, looking at the arrow.

The arrow was almost buried completely in the dirt, but enough of the shaft and the quiver were above ground to show signs as to where it came from. Fedrich looked behind him, and he guessed the arrow had come over the small vein of rock at the base of the mountain he searched. Acting quickly, he broke into a run for the rocks. Crouching low, he used his leg's strength to propel him into the air, landing near the top of the stony obstacle. Scrambling to the top, he looked over and saw a battle much larger than he expected in progress. Three humans, all armed with different weapons, were fighting off a horde of enormous arachnids that were lashing out with equally large mandibles. One arachnid near his position flailed about, screeching in pain as an arrow embedded itself into its abdomen. However, the hit wasn't enough to kill the monster, and it scrabbled to its legs and started towards it's oppressor. The archer drew another arrow into a longbow and fired, the metal tipped projectile hitting the arachnid's leg without much effect.

Come on! This is the chance you've been waiting for! Go!

Fedrich pushed his fears aside and drew his sword out, the grip firm in his hand and the blade's weight ready to be used in action. He climbed up to the top of the rocks and jumped into the winds, aiming for the arachnid as it stood its place and tried to hit the archer with wild abandon. He began his fall, bringing his sword back as his path would take him to the side of the monster. With a mighty swing, his momentum from the fall included, his blade cut clean through the leg of the arachnid and into its midsection, drawing yet another gargled screech from the beast. The archer, using the distraction as cover, strung another arrow and fired into the beast's head, killing it. Fedrich looked up from the kill at the archer he assisted, and was surprised to see it was a young, redheaded woman.

"Who're you!?" She demanded.

"Behind you!" Fedrich shouted, seeing another arachnid approaching from behind.

The woman looked back at the enemy, and she quickly ducked and rolled to her side, avoiding a potentially lethal blow to the head. With fast motions, she drew and fired an arrow into the underbelly of the arachnid, the creature lurching up as its insides were pierced. Fedrich, fast to follow, ran forward and dodged the creature's limbs, then plunged his sword deep into its head and assisted in yet another kill.

The woman got to her feet and drew another arrow. "What are you doing here!? This is dangerous work!"

"Dangerous work is what I'm looking for!" He declared proudly.

"Well, stay out of our way!" She ordered, tensing her longbow for use.

She looked to her side and fired, the arrow flying across the ground and impaling itself into a final arachnid, doing her part of the fight as the other two warriors present finished it off. Fedrich looked around the battlefield, seeing nearly a dozen corpses of arachnids lying around in various poses of death.

"Alright you two! Let's get these thing cleaned out and head home!" A commanding voice shouted.

The young woman kneeled in front of the arachnid Fedrich killed, pulling out a small dagger and cutting at the corpse.

"What are you doing?" The burman asked.

"What does it look like?" She replied, holding up a set of wicked looking fangs. "Carve spider fangs contain venom, and chemists pay well to get these and make antidotes from them."

"Really?"

"You didn't know that?"

"No..."

The young woman sighed audibly, putting the fangs into a thick pouch at her hip. "Well, what did you think we'd do with these corpses? Carry them back home?"

"This is the first time I've been out scavenging! How could've I known?"

"You could have stopped at a hide shop to find out."

"Hide shop?" Fedrich repeated.

The woman laughed at his confusion. "Gods, you don't know anything about scavenging, do you?"

"Who're you talking to, Ruthy?" Another female voice arose.

"Just some idiot who thinks he's a scavenger." She shouted back.

"Hey! I know that I've got a lot to learn, but that's no need to-"

A sudden pain lanced up his back, and he fell forwards onto the sparse grass as a booted foot lowered itself from a kick. He rolled onto his back, and he quickly used his short sword to block a strike from a much longer one wielded by a woman in black clothes. He forced all his effort into his arm to hold the sword back, but the woman drew it away and held her hand out to stop him from countering.

"Well, the kid's at least got skill enough to keep his defense up," She commented to the air. "So he's no wannabe hunter."

"And he did help me get rid of two of those spiders." Ruthy admitted.

"More like saved you from them based on what I saw."

"Ah, sis..." Ruthy droned. "I was doing fine."

"Sis?" Fedrich stated. "You're sisters?"

"Yeah. Your point?" The sword-wielding woman asked.

Fedrich looked between the two women. Ruthy, obviously the younger of the two, bore red hair in two braids and brown eyes. The elder woman had black hair and brown eyes, and looked much taller and intimidating than her younger sibling.

"Well, you don't look alike..." He observed.

"Illis takes after our father strongly, and I, my mother." Ruthy explained.

"Oh..."

"Come on, get yourself up, kid." Illis ordered, offering a gloved hand to the burman.

"My name's Fedrich." He corrected.

Fedrich accepted, and he was lifted up and stood nearly eye to eye with the dark clothed Illis. The woman sheathed her blade, then gave Fedrich a looking over with her cold eyes.

"So, you trying to make a living killing monsters?"

"Well, yes. I came here to participate in the Festival of the Hunt, so hunting monsters for Gil seems like a good idea to practice for it."

"Isn't it." She muttered, looking behind her. "Hey Gerick! Get over here! We got someone for you to see!"

"What? You can't mean-"

"Hey, if the kid wants to join, then he's free to try. At least he actually has some skill unlike some of the trash that stopped by."

"Join? Join what?" Fedrich asked.

After a few seconds, a large man with a massive battle hammer stepped into the conversation. He stood even taller than Fedrich, his bearded face locked in a perpetual smile as he stepped up to the burman.

"So what's this I hear about someone to see? Is it you?"

Fedrich was immediately nervous, the man's voice carrying an air of authority and command. "Eh...my name's Fedrich, Fedrich Castor, sir."

"Ack! Don't go callin' me sir, I've been outta that business for years. What're you doing out here, anyway?"

"I...came to Lindblum just yesterday to start training for the Festival of the Hunt. I was planning to find a place to rent, and to go scavenging to make ends meet and practice at the same time. I came out here looking for some monsters, and I stumbled onto your fight by accident."

"Ah, the dream of every young man lookin' to make his name in the Festival. Tell me, though, what kinda training you've taken for this."

"Well, the past year, before I left home in Burmecia, I practiced with my father, one of the Knights for the kingdom. I left three days ago on foot and made it here yesterday evening."

"Fight any beasts on the way?"

"Just a few imps and a fang or two."

"Well then..." Gerick pondered, stroking his chin. "Illis, you got anything against taking in a trainee?"

"Not really."

"And you, Ruthy?"

The redhead looked over Fedrich, then gave an idle smirk. "I guess there's nothing wrong with it."

"Alright, it's agreed!" Gerick announced, putting fist to hand. "Welcome to the Regulators, Fedrich."

"What, you mean that you're an organization?"

"Hell yeah, we're the ones who go out and keep the monsters from runnin' rampant around the cities! Each major city in Lindblum has a Regulator team in addition to their guards, so the army ain't busy with monster trouble."

Fedrich's eyes lit up.

Not only I meet some new people who can help me prepare for the Festival, I also got myself a job doing just that!

"Thank you very much for this chance!" He thanked.

"Don't thank me, kid. You've got the spirit for it, and that got you the position." He looked to the other women. "Alright ladies, let's get home 'n give Fedrich here a proper introduction to the others."