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 Eight:
"Heavens...I'm exhausted." Setzer sighed, dropping his quill into the well of ink by his arm.
"Sitting there all day long, I'm surprised you haven't gone blind." Illis chuckled.
"Well then, my humorous acquaintance, what say we leave this behind and have dinner?"
"It's about time you agreed with me." She reprimanded.
"I, for once, will not argue that." Gordan added.
"Ack, I am surrounded by bitter tongues." Setzer moaned playfully. "Come now, let's retire to the dining hall."
The trio stood and exited the study and walked into the hall, passing by the numerous spare guestrooms and entered the main foray of the guest manor that Setzer resided in. The front room was glittering in the evening light, the numerous crystal and glass ornaments and decorations reflecting the light all across the walls. They proceeded down the flight of stairs, then turned towards the back of the manor and entered the dining hall. Setzer spied one of the servants busily dusting the surfaces of the oak cabinets that held many different forms of artwork.
"Miss Kaerol!" He addressed of the middle-aged woman.
She quickly stopped her work and faced towards Setzer, bowing lightly. "Do you need something, Sir?"
"Would you be as so kind as to tell the cooks to prepare the evening meal?"
"Of course! Is there anything you'd request?"
"Just a simple roast and salad arrangement will suffice."
"I'll get on it right away, Sir."
"Thank you greatly, Miss." He replied with a bow of respect, facing his nephew and Illis. "Let's pass the time in the front room, I'm sure we can entertain ourselves with stories and the like."
They left the dining hall and again entered to the front room, taking seats in the ornate and overstuffed chairs around a central arrangement of flowers and statuettes.
"So..." Setzer began, drumming his fingers together. "...Do you know any good stories?"
"Not really." Illis muttered.
"Nor do I." Gordan agreed.
Setzer sighed, slouching in his seat. "I'm fresh out, too."
The group remained silent for a long minute, eyes tracing idly across the patches of sunlight in the room and thoughts wandering to the far flung corners of their minds. A different servant came into the front room with a long rod, using it to uncover the artificial lamps to spread light into all spaces of the manor, footsteps echoing loudly in the silence. Leaving as quietly as he came, the servant left the trio in their silent discussion.
"Once upon a while ago, this man, he had a dream. His wish at every time of day was wishing not to scream." Setzer ratted out in a sing song voice.
Gordan gave his uncle a strange look. "What was that?"
"That was the sound of my mind falling a little more into madness." The silver haired man muttered.
"And that's an answer?" Illis asked.
Setzer ran his fingers through his hair, growling lightly. "It is one when you're under the reaper's eye!"
"If it is the danger the assassin poses, you should not be worried." Gordan insisted.
"A man can't help it, m'boy, and I'm just as much a man as you are. Just a few days ago my life was fine, but now...now everything's gone to hell and I can't find a way to fix it!"
"Uncle?"
"I'm scared, alright! I'm scared about this assassin and I don't want to die because of something so stupid as taking over the business!" He admitted, holding his head. "I'm not used to this, Gordan, being under the threat of death. Maybe you being part of the Regulators has dulled that sensation, but facing death isn't so easy for me."
Before anyone could respond to his emotional outbursts, a plume of smoke flooded up from the ground by the door, dissipating to reveal a familiar form wrapped in a cloak. Setzer and the others stood up quickly, both Illis and Gordan pulling their swords free and assuming defensive stances.
"You had to say it, didn't you." Illis muttered. "This is the guy?"
"Yep." Gordan said plainly.
"Well, it's good to know I was expected." The assassin commented. "I won't have to deal with any fancy speeches, then."
"You will not get by either of us, fiend." Gordan declared. "Give up this futile effort and leave us in peace."
"Still hoping I'll turn tail and run?" The man chuckled, drawing his strange sword from it's sheath. "I'm sorry, but this time I won't be leaving until either I'm dead or Setzer Gestahl is."
"Then let's dance!" Illis shouted, leaping forward to attack.
Gordan jumped ahead to reach Illis' side, the two working together to attack the assassin and force him to retreat in the face of two incoming weapons. The man only smiled, then raised his sword up and reversed his hold on the hilt. With a quick motion of his fingers, a loud click sounded from the blade and it unfolded to reveal two complete swords connected by a powerful locking hinge. Stepping forward, he held the weapon firmly and blocked both attacks by the two Regulators, stunning them both.
"I'm going to make you both regret interfering with me!" He promised.
Ushering forth his strength, he again took a step forward and shoved both Regulators off balance, drawing his weapon back to attack. Lethal metal rang out as it collided with another deadly edge, the assassin finding his attack stopped by Gordan's hasty defense. Recovering, the two Regulators went on the offensive and lashed out at the assassin, swords ringing out loudly in the large room and drawing the curious looks from servants come to see what the commotion was. Despite two on one odds, the assassin managed to defend himself against the strikes with his double sized sword. Setzer, his faith in the skill of his nephew and his friend still strong, was sweating nervously as he watched the battle progress.
"Sir Setzer, w-what is this!?" A squeaky voice demanded.
Setzer looked around, seeing Kurin hovering nearby. He came up with a desperate idea. "Bless your curiosity, Kurin, I need your help!"
"What so you need?"
"You recall how to get to the Regulators Hall, yes? Go there as fast as you can and gather them here, I don't know if my nephew and Illis is enough to stop him!"
"Right!"
"The heaven's guide you, Kurin!" Setzer called out as an afterthought, watching the moogle fly out an open window.
* * *
The evening light continued to settle down, already passing by the lips of the Lindblum city walls to bathe the city in red and orange hues. The air within the walls was perpetually busy with the sounds and light of Airships moving to and fro, the tide of society and the economy ceaseless and ignorant of time and it's will. Claire made the last of her leaps into the sky to meet these surroundings, a Transit Airship passing a stone's throw from her body as she let the wind carry her to the square next to the Regulator's Hall. Landing easily, she pushed her misplaced locks of hair back behind her pointed ears and walked to the doors of the Hall, hearing Gerick's loud laughter ringing out from within. Pushing them open, she saw her comrades all sitting around the central table, the bearded man slapping his side as he continued chuckling.
"Did I miss something?" She announced.
"Hey Claire," Fedrich called. "Gerick's still excited about our luck running into that dragon, even though he got nasty bruises on his chest from it."
"Ach, its hurts 'ta laugh, but I can't help it!" Gerick said for himself, grinning widely. "Guess how much yer share is, Claire!"
"I dunno, let's see..." She pondered. "A thousand?"
"Higher." Fedrich smirked.
"Thousand and a half?"
"Still higher." Gerick continued.
Claire raised an eyebrow. "Two thousand?"
"More 'n that!"
"Jeez, how much is it, then?" She asked, exasperated over the possibilities.
"Twenty one hundred Gil!" He laughed, wincing. "People fought over those claws 'n teeth worse than Treno's nobles!"
Claire grinned as well. "That's rich work for my first day!"
"Better not get used to it, though. Normally we only make a tenth of that working all day long." Fedrich informed.
"That's still better than what I used to make. I'd have to hunt for a job that paid me well, now the money just comes to me!"
"Here ya go, Claire." Gerick spoke, offering up the pouch of Gil.
"Thanks!" She chirped, taking the heavy sack and securing it at her hip.
"So where did you go?" Fedrich asked.
"Just to the Red Riot Cafe down the street a ways. I felt like getting a sandwich, even though I'm still kinda hungry."
"There's still come coffee that Gerick hasn't got to yet." He suggested.
"Maybe in a bit, but thanks." She returned with a smile, setting her lance against the nearby weapons rack as she took a seat at the table.
"So anythin' interesting 'ta talk about, people?" Gerick asked.
"I just got a lot of money today." Claire announced.
Everyone present gave a dry laugh, Fedrich speaking up. "Brilliant. We would have never known had you not told us."
"Well, nothing's new, so you can't blame a lady for trying to be funny." She countered.
"I suppose-"
Interrupting Fedrich's reply was a loud bang against the door, spooking everyone as they looked to it expecting it to fly open at any moment. Gerick stood up and opened it, immediately seeing Kurin hovering at the door, rubbing his head as he muttered in pain.
"Eh? What're you doin' here, Kurin?" Gerick asked of the moogle.
The moogle whistled loudly, pressing itself into the elder man's face. "You've got to come, quickly! Someone's attacking Sir Setzer, and he doesn't think Sir Gordan or Miss Illis can stop him!"
Everyone got to their feet quickly, worried expressions staring at the messenger moogle.
"When did it happen!?" Ruthy demanded.
"Just ten minutes ago, I think!" Kurin answered, wringing his hands together. "Kupo! Please, there's no time to waste!"
"Everyone!" Gerick started, hesitating as he saw them all pick up their weapons and collect themselves. "...Right, let's move!"
* * *
Gordan fell back and tripped over a footrest, landing on his back as he bit back the pain emanating from a wound across his right arm. Illis kept up her furious offensive, keeping the assassin from making any counter attacks, but at the growing expense of her energy and endurance. Setzer continued to remain immobile, unable to move as he watched the fight slowly take a turn for the worse.
"Damn you!" Illis swore, gasping greedily for air. "I won't...let you...get away with this!"
"You won't have the chance once I finish you off, wench!" The assassin retorted with equal venom.
The assassin spun his double bladed sword about, hoping to catch Illis off guard and force her sword out of her grip. The woman, however, pulled her sword back and instead drove it straight forward, halting the rotation and putting the cloaked man off balance. Lashing out wildly, she added yet another long cut into the man's cloak, almost rendering it useless tatters as he backed off and resumed his stance. Not giving him a moment to rest, she strode forward and again attacked, swords colliding with deafening sounds as the battle raged on.
Setzer felt hope swell again as Illis proved her mettle, but he couldn't shake his fears away.
"S-Sir?" A meek voice came from behind.
The silver haired man looked back, seeing the young daughter of one of his servants standing nearby with a leather belt in her arms. He recognized it as his trophy throwing knife, the one weapon he trusted himself with more than a bulky sword.
"My knife..." He muttered.
"S-Sir, maybe you can...can try and help stop him." The child posed.
Setzer thought hard for a moment, wondering if he could still throw the weapon considering he hadn't touched it in more than a decade. Even more so, he wondered if it would be a mistake to try and stop the assassin himself since his defenders were having trouble, and he was much weaker than them.
Yes, it was the sport my classmates entertained themselves with, but I never was good at it, my aim was terrible at a distance. Still...could I do it now?
"I'm sure you can do it. My mum told me you were good at it." The child prodded on, fear evident on her small face.
Setzer knelt down to her level, putting a hand across her shoulder as he forced a smile on his face. "Verna, was it?"
She nodded.
"Verna...I'll give it a try." He nodded. "Let's have it, we should make him afraid of us, not us of him."
She gave a weak smile, then passed the leather sheath to the man. He took it and opened the flap, seeing the polished metal blade awaiting a hand to put it into action. He stood up and faced the fight, seeing Illis on her last legs. Stepping forward, he approached the battle until a hand at his leg stopped him.
"Uncle, you should not be here!" Gordan chided in a loud whisper, still trying to tend to his wound. "It is too dangerous!"
"I'm going to help you...even though I'm not sure if I can. I can't rely on other people forever, can I?" He posed.
"But how can you help?"
"With this." He answered, pulling out the throwing knife and holding it at the ready.
"A...throwing knife?"
"Another part of my study of the Mist Continent's wars." Setzer explained, taking careful aim at the assassin, waiting. "Let's hope my aim isn't rusty."
Luckily, the wait wasn't long as the assassin used his double sword to knock Illis off balance and force her to the ground. He raised the weapon up, spinning it with intent to end the life of the woman that troubled him so greatly.
"Hold, bastard!" Setzer bellowed.
The assassin hesitated a moment, looking to his target as the man threw the weapon for all his worth. The blade spun through the air as a blur, but the edge only caught the assassin lightly on the arm as he dodged to the side. The man grinned, but his expression changed rapidly into one of shock. He glanced down, seeing that Illis' sword was thrust into his midsection, the woman grinning wickedly.
"Game over." She declared.
Pulling the blade free, the assassin gasped in pain and clutched his stomach, blood staining his hands and clothing. Looking up, his vision was glazed over as he stared out to nothingness. After a few seconds, the double bladed sword fell out of his hands with a clatter and he wavered, falling over as death claimed his soul. Illis regained her footing, gasping heavily for air as she used her sword to prop herself up.
"Are you okay, Illis?" Gordan asked, worried.
"I'm fine." She wheezed, looking back to the nobleman. "You okay? That cut looks nasty."
"I think I have it under control for the time being, but I will need to have a doctor tend to it." He replied.
Setzer snapped out of his fear induced trance, looking at the body of the assassin. Shaking his head about, he looked to the staircase and doors to see every final servant and worker silently witnessing the event.
"Come...come now, all of you!" He declared, clapping his hands to get their eyes. "Don't be lackadaisical, someone gather the authorities and bring them here! We need medical supplies, sweepers to clean up the blood and broken glass, let's go, everyone."
The workers all made various noises to agree, the group dispersing to gather materials as a few ran for the front doors, avoiding the body by a wide radius as they sought the Guards. Setzer strode over to his nephew with renewed strength, helping the man get off the floor and onto a sitting chair to better clean the wound up. He then walked to Illis, taking her shoulders and leading her to a couch to lay down on, her face covered in sweat from the effort she made.
"Are you going to be okay?" He asked, putting the sword back into the sheath at her hip.
"I'll be fine...I just gotta catch my breath." She reassured the man, offering a weak grin.
"Hold still, I'll get you some water." He said, briskly walking to the kitchen.
The workers began swarming across the front room to reorganize it as he left, the daring ones picking up the body of the assassin and placing him on an old sheet to stop the blood from staining the wood. The front doors opened up suddenly, and the rest of the Regulators poured inside, weapons drawn and ready. Stunned at the scene, they looked in surprise as the servants gave them little notice, too absorbed by their work and current surprises. Ruthy was first to notice her older sister resting on the couch, and she let a squeal of terror escape her lips as she ran to her side.
"Illis!! Illis, are you okay!?" She asked, almost throwing herself across the woman.
"I'm fine, Ruthy." Illis said weakly. "I'm just exhausted. Gordan's the one to be worried about, help him."
Ruthy looked over to the nobleman, immediately going to his side when she saw blood staining his otherwise white dress shirt. She made quick work of cutting the excess material off, inspecting the wound thoroughly as servants came and provided her with medical bandages and herbs to speed the healing process. Fedrich went to his side as well, concern on his face.
"What happened? Did that assassin attack?" The Burman asked.
"Yes, and it was a difficult struggle to keep him from carrying out his mission." Gordan nodded.
Fedrich smiled, then stood up and looked around at the battle scene, broken glass all over the ground and some furniture overturned and cut up. Kurin, quietly catching his breath, assumed a seat in a far corner of the room as he rested his more than sore wings. The other Regulators all paced into the center of the room, waiting nervously until Setzer came back with a large decanter of water.
"Oh? Are you the Regulators?" The silver haired man asked.
"Yeah, yer messenger moogle Kurin came and got us in a mighty big hurry!" Gerick explained. "Where's the assassin?"
"Dead, thankfully." Setzer sighed, pointing to the body. "Illis managed to strike him a mortal wound when he was distracted."
"He's dead!?" Claire blurted out.
"Dead as one can get." Illis replied. "What? Thought we couldn't do it?"
"No..." She said, hesitating as she approached to stare at the body. "I'm just...upset, I didn't get a chance to fight him!"
"I'll let you have the next one, then." Illis insisted.
Gerick walked over to Gordan's side, the bearded man holding his ever present smile. "You look like ya had a fun break."
"As entertaining as any normal day in the field, I say." He said, moving his arm to encompass the room. "I would be more inclined to have been in the field instead of being stalked by assassins and injured like this."
"Hold still." Ruthy reprimanded, taking a firm hold of his shoulder.
"My apologies." Gordan said with a pained grunt.
Setzer sighed heavily, looking around at the collection of Regulators in his home. He was surprised by their diversity, even having two Burmans despite the prominent human population of Lindblum. Pouring a large glass of water, he passed it to Illis and set the decanter onto a nearby table, tugging on his coat.
"I'm sorry, Gerick, was it?" He began, addressing the bearded man. "I wouldn't have called you here if I knew we would have won. I was worried greatly that the assassin would be too strong for them."
"Ah, it's no problem. We've dealt with this kinda thing before." He said, waving the excuse away.
"Still, I am sorry that I took away two of your members from their rightful jobs."
"Ach, ya must be as noble as Gordan says, you can't let anythin' go by without havin' to apologize for it ten times over!" Gerick laughed.
"I suppose I'm guilty of that." Setzer grinned. "Please, relax and have a seat, my servants can take care of business here."
"Thanks." Gerick nodded, sitting heavily into a chair as he leaned his battle hammer against its arm.
"So, what kind-"
Before Setzer could continue with his question, a whistling sound broke through the front room and impacted strongly on his chest. He looked down as he fell back, seeing the middle part of a lance sticking out of his torso, blood beginning to stain his clothing and his vision. Setzer Gestahl fell with a quiet thud onto the wood floor, death draining his soul away as his eyes glazed over into an empty stare at the ceiling. Everyone froze, seeing the heir of the massive Airship business lying dead before their eyes, even though the assassin was long since dead.
"Target killed. The deed is done." A cold voice called from the edge of the room.
Everyone looked back to the source of the voice with slow motions, seeing the female Burman standing with her arm outstretched from her attack, a cruel grin on her lips and dark intentions circling through the depths of her eyes.
