Chapter Twenty-Seven- Strago, Master of Lore, but not of Deception

"We'll be at Thamasa any moment." Leo said, and Celes turned to face him, immediately reaching up to flick away a trailing tear. Leo raised his eyebrows, and Celes pressed her lips together for a moment, wrapping her arms around herself.

"This salty air is really getting to me." She finally lied, and Leo smiled a little, wrapping an arm around Celes' shoulder and giving her a little pat. He could very easily see through her fabrication, which actually surprised him. It never used to be like that with General Celes-- Her icy eyes and regal stance never gave her true intentions away, however, they were failing miserably now. She had definitely changed since they had last been together...he could tell the moment he had laid eyes upon her back in the Imperial Palace after being brutally beaten by Kefka. He also knew that it had been because of the Returners...

"Same here...I hate going to sea." Leo confessed. "At any rate, where do you suppose we should start our search...?"

**********

"What a cute little town!" Terra exclaimed, and Shadow raised his eyebrows as Interceptor let out a little whine. Lying ahead of the group was the quiet, little town known as Thamasa. It had been a short walk north from the nearly deserted harbor they had arrived in, at the tip of Crescent Island. Thamasa had one main cobblestone road leading down it's center that branched off every few yards to the various shops and homes that were set within. Nothing seemed to stick out too much except for the presence of a rather large mansion near the east side of town, and the small, bellflower adorned graveyard that was not too far away from the group. Locke took a deep breath and stuck his hands in his pockets as he stepped further within the town's boundaries, causing him to suddenly become the focus of many bewildered stares from the townsfolk. One woman nearly dropped her basket of baked goods when she saw the Returners, and without a second glance, ran off into the safety of a nearby shop. Terra noticed this as well and looked back at Shadow, who didn't seem moved by the odd reactions from the people. He just shrugged at her and patted Interceptor on the head.

"Maybe we should just ask a few people if they have seen anything weird..." Locke trailed off, and Terra nodded.

"Surely the Espers have passed through here...look at how nervous everyone seems..." Terra whispered, as she caught the stare of a little boy who glared at her and ran through the door of a home.

"Hey, you." Shadow suddenly grunted to a blonde haired man that was passing boy. The man jumped and whirled around the face the Returners, a look of confusion set in his eyes.

"Y...Yeah?" He asked, and Shadow put his hands on his hips.

"Have you seen any Espers flying around here?" Shadow flat-out questioned, and the man blinked, reaching up to scratch his head.

"Espers?" The man shook his head. "What in blazes are those??? If they're some sort of animal, you should talk to the old man at the northern edge of town. He knows almost everything there is about monsters and animals, even extinct ones."

"Hmmph." Shadow grunted, and waved his hand as if to dismiss the young man. Terra blinked and put her finger on her chin as he scuttled away.

"Lets go see this man." She finally decided. "He sounds like someone who can really help us!"

Without further argument, the Returners began to make their way through the rest of town to the desired location. However, along the way, more queer things about the town began to draw their attention.

The first was a young boy, probably only about seven years old, who was standing in front of a barrel that was tucked away behind the grand mansion. He was jumping up and down, letting out wild squeals as he clapped his hands together.

"FIRE!"

"What?!" Terra cried, whirling around to look at the child. However, he didn't notice her, and jumped up again, clapping his hands.

"FIRE!"

Suddenly, in a little poof of smoke, a small, ruby-red flame erupted over the barrel and quickly gave out. Terra blinked and her jaw dropped, with Locke and Shadow rather stunned themselves. Was that just...MAGIC?! The little kid finally noticed the group of people staring at him, and turned as red as the fire he had cast.

"N'ga....OH NO!" He shrieked, and with that, took off running around the furthest corner of the house. Terra turned back to the others with a confused look on her face.

"Was that..."

"It sure looked like..."

"Magic?" Shadow smirked a little and shook his head. "Impossible." Terra blinked, remembering the shocked look on Shadow's face just moments beforehand, but said nothing as she gestured for the team to continue on. Shadow was right. No one could cast magic without the aid of an Esper, with the exception of Celes and herself. It must of been a trick of the sunlight.

But, if there was one thing Terra had already learned throughout her entire journey, it was this:

There were ALWAYS exceptions to the rules.

**********

"Hmmm...the sunlight is far too bright this morning...it's bleaching out everything it touches!"

The young girl sighed and set down her still-wet paintbrush, not caring if the forest green hue dripped on the rich oak table it was resting on. The table had already been splattered with every other color from the rainbow, mostly from accidents and paint spills, although on a closer inspection, one could make out the faint mini-paintings of various animals and inanimate objects, like puppies and balloons. A half-blank canvas that looked as if it would someday become a landscape was set up on a petite easel, which the girl abandoned as she stood up and walked to her wide-open window, wincing a bit at the bright light pouring through. She had an innocent gleam in her cerulean blue gaze, and her cheeks were naturally graced with a faint pink blush that made her look as if she were always laughing. Sprays of short, golden curls were hanging out from underneath her rather large red hat that was decorated with yellow stars and flowers. A delicate pink ribbon was tied around the fluffy yellow feather piece that was also poking out of the hat, adding the dramatic final touches.

Her outfit consisted simply of a black tube top that was long enough (and tight enough) to be easily tucked underneath her rather puffy red pants that had little yellow starts embroidered among the ends of the legs. To finish that off, she was wearing a short yellow cape that fastened around her neck with a delicate black choker and a medium-sized polished pink stone, and a pair of dusty brown combat boots. Her very slim frame looked almost ridiculous underneath the large hat and puffy pants, but at the same time, there was something adorably magical about her presence.

The girl peered down and widened her eyes at a most peculiar sight. A middle-aged woman and her son that she recognized from the village were hiding in the shrubbery that acted as a border between her yard and her neighbor's. However, she immediately understood their purposes when she focused in on the child, who was crying quite loudly and holding up what looked like a very badly scratched arm. The mother was trying to assure him quietly as she gently rested her hand over the injured arm, which began to glow a faint green.

"Mama...it hurts!"

"Alright, alright...Cure..."

Suddenly a group of strangers...the girl could only count out three people...came up around the corner of the house and seemingly spotted the woman and her child. The woman of the group, a petite thing with deep green hair swept up in a ponytail let out a gasp that even the child in the window could hear, startling the mother and the boy. They quickly looked over to the group, where another member, a young man with light brown hair, raised his hand in a friendly wave. The girl widened her eyes and bit her lip. Had they seen...?

"MEDICINE!" The mother suddenly burst out, and leaped up, running away quickly through the backyard. "Where is my Cure MEDICINE!?"

"Mama!" The boy cried out desperately, running after her. "Please cast Cure on me...!"

"Idiot kid!" The girl in the window declared to herself, and turned away from the window, smirking a little as she slammed the window shut and flopped over onto her bed, making herself pop up with a little 'squeak!' noise. She shook her head and looked up at the ceiling, raising her hand to push her hat up a bit so that it didn't fall over her eyes.

"Who were those people, anyway...? We hardly get strangers in town..."

**********

"You can't deny it this time!" Terra cried. "She tried to cast Cure! You've seen that spell Locke, you know it looks like that!"

"I saw, I saw!" Locke cried nervously, almost afraid Terra would pummel him out of frantic excitement. Shadow remained silent as he looked up at the house they were beside.

"Isn't this the place?" He asked dully, and Terra stopped making a scene as she looked up at the home and looked back at Shadow.

"Yeah...I think so."

"I'll check it out." Locke said, and with that, walked up to the front door and politely used the golden doorknocker. A few moments later the door opened, and Locke was surprised to see that they had been correct in choosing homes-- right in front of him was a short, elderly man with a wild tuft of white hair flying out from the top of his otherwise shiny bald head and narrowed deep violet eyes. His bushy white eyebrows matched his mustache that was blooming from underneath his rather large and red nose. He was wearing a tight black muscle shirt that revealed a surprisingly built upper body, although the rest was hidden underneath his large red and yellow cape that hung over his arms and sides. The back of the cape came up in a scoop neck that raised up and encircled the back of his head. However, it was not to be outdone by his deep blue puffy pants that were decorated with...what else? Little yellow flowers...

Locke blinked and tried his hardest not to laugh at all when he saw the odd little man, although it took everything inside of him not to. 'This village,' he silently decided, 'is truly messed up, in every way it could be.'

"Watcha want with me?" The man asked in a twangy sort of accent, although his voice was fairly deep and almost dignified sounding. Locke blinked, nearly forgetting just WHY he had come to the door, and quickly shook his head, putting his hand on his hip.

"Sir, me and my friends..."

"Strago."

"Huh?"

"My name is Strago Magus."

"Oh...I'm Locke Cole..." Locke turned and pointed to Terra and Shadow, who had come up from behind him silently. "This young lady is Terra Branford, and this is...Shadow." Strago's eyes quickly passed over Locke and Terra right to Shadow's form, looking him up and down suspiciously. However, that awkward moment quickly passed, for Strago returned his gaze back to Locke and let out a little "Hmmph", as if to let him know to continue. Locke blinked and then remembered what he was going to say. Interceptor let out a little whine, and Shadow looked down at him concernedly.

"Mr. Magus...Have you or anyone else around here recently seen a hoard of Espers flying around?" Strago blinked and put a hand to his chin, shaking his head slowly.

"Espers? Espers... Hmm...not really familiar with that word."

"But you've heard it before?" Locke asked hopefully, and Strago blinked again, quickly shaking his head no as he hopped up and down a bit.

"Nope, uhn...uhn...Can't say I have."

"Honestly..."

"Can't say..."

"I have!!!"

"That's odd..." Terra whispered under her breath, when suddenly, there was the loud sound of a door slamming, and Strago leaped up into the air, whirling around and giving the Returners a full view of the inside of his house. A few feet behind him was another doorway, and standing in front of it was a little girl with an obnoxiously large red hat and golden curls, with her hands on her hips.

"Hey...hey!" Strago cried, bringing his hand to his chest. "What in blazes...what're you doing?!" He shook his head. "Relm Arrowny, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" The girl, apparently named Relm, looked like she couldn't give a damn regarding that matter, and ignored Strago's comment as she looked the Returners up and down, a small smile curling on her face. Somehow, she had known that those strangers had come to see Grandpa.

"Grandpa." Relm barked, and Strago glared at her heavily. "Who are these people? Friends? Can they use magic, too?"

"YAAAA!" Strago cried, and leapt over to Relm, slapping his hand over her mouth. "HUSH!" The Returners proceeded to blink in unison as they watched the mad scene unfold before them. However, at that moment, Relm spotted Interceptor, and let out an excited squeal as she rushed past Strago and dove to the floor, slapping her thighs excitedly.

"Come here boy, come here!"

Interceptor barked excitedly and ran inside to Relm's lap, leaping upon the girl's body as she laughed and playfully scratched behind his ears. Shadow let out a slight growl of discontent as Relm huggled onto Interceptor and nuzzled against his long nose.

"What a cute doggy!" She announced, and Shadow crossed his arms over his chest.

"Get away. He bites." Shadow warned, and Strago looked as if he was about to blow his top. Stomping down his foot, he pointed towards the door that Relm had come out of and let out a howl.

"GO TO YOUR ROOM!!!"

Relm looked up from the dog and smirked at Strago, sticking out her tongue defiantly.

"I will not! What a fussy old man!"

"Please..." Strago begged, his tone immediately softening. "Leave us!" Relm sighed and reluctantly stood up, brushing off her pants as she turned to go.

"Well...alright..."

Relm opened the door and disappeared behind it, but before he could be stopped, Interceptor ran in after her with an excited 'yip!'. Shadow groaned and slapped his hand to his forehead as the door slammed shut behind the pair, and Strago let out a nervous laugh as he looked over at the irritated ninja.

"Hoo boy...Seems to like your dog..."

"What a sweet puppy!!!" Relm sang out delightedly as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom.

"This is terrible..." Strago mumbled to himself, and began to pace about. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's no problem." Shadow said, much to Terra and Locke's surprise. "The dog usually doesn't like people, though..."

True that. Locke thought back miserably to many a time when Interceptor had nearly snapped his hand, foot, or other vulnerable body parts off. Just the memories made him wince in pain.

"Please excuse my granddaughter though." Strago added. "She's just young...It must be those raging hormones, eh? Ha ha ha..." Terra raised her eyebrows. She could not remember a time in her childhood where she told off her elders in such a vicious manner. But then again, kids were different these days. Generation X, or whatever...

"Umm..." Locke cleared his throat to bring an abrupt change to the subject, causing Strago to regain his composure and peer back up at the thief.

"This is just a back-water village." Strago said firmly. "We can tell you nothing about Espers..." Suddenly a tea whistle let off, and Strago deserted the team to go into his adjoining kitchen.

"I see..." Locke said between pressed lips, making it obvious that he did not believe the old man at all. Terra tugged on Locke and Shadow's arms, leaning in between them in a mini huddle.

"There's something wrong here..." Locke muttered, and Terra nodded.

"Let's have a look around."

Right then, Strago walked back in, carrying a tray with two teacups filled to the brim with steaming herbal tea. Locke looked up and gave him a friendly wave paired with a fake smile.

"Thank you for your time!" Locke declared, and Strago nodded happily, plastering a fake smile on his face right back.

"So sorry I couldn't of been more helpful!" Strago apologized cheerfully.

"Interceptor! Come!" Shadow barked, and a few moments later, the door that led upstairs opened and Interceptor came bounding out, followed by a sad-looking Relm.

"Oh...alright..." Relm pouted, and gave a wave to Interceptor and the rest of the Returners as they turned and left the house. Strago sighed and looked over at the girl as she stepped up to the front door and closed it behind them quietly.

Relm...the look on your face when you saw that dog...

For a moment, my heart stirred with some strange aching memory...

And that man...all dressed in black...his eyes...

...the same brilliant blue...

**********

"Poor Terra...she didn't look well at all when we left her back at the Inn." Locke said as he looked over a shelf full of bottles and medicines in Thamasa's Item Shop.

"It must of been the heat today." Shadow commented coolly as he picked up a bottle and looked it over. "We were out in the burning sun all day, and the summer here on Crescent Island is twice as intense as it is anywhere else. Plus, we didn't have any meals except for what we could swallow down on the ship here." Locke blinked and smiled a little as he watched Shadow read over the bottle's contents.

"How do you know the island's climate like that?" Locke asked curiously. "You study geography or something?"

"No." Shadow snapped, and with that, tossed the bottle to Locke, who caught it with one smooth motion of his hand. "That should be enough for Terra. It's supposed to cure sickness from the heat."

"Thanks." Locke said, and slid the bottle over the counter for the clerk to ring up. Shadow joined his side and let out a tired sigh as he buried his head in his hands.

"That lil' Relm though, she was a cutie." Locke smiled. "Don't see a lot of kids like that these days, all spirited and rude! Reminded me of when I was a kid..."

"Relm Arrowny?" The clerk asked casually as she placed Terra's potion in a small paper bag. "Did you know she's not really old man Strago's grandchild?"

"Wha?" Locke blinked and looked over at the clerk. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." The clerk nodded as Locke handed her 150 GP. "I hear that she is just a friend's daughter."

"Oooh...scandal in the back-water village!!" Locke laughed jokingly, and Shadow shot him a look.

"Ahem...lets go back to Terra, shall we?"

With that, Locke and Shadow returned to the Inn, and were both surprised so see how much darker the sky had gotten already. Night was quickly falling upon them. No one from the village remained outside, and the lights in all the homes above the Weapon, Item, and Armor shops were now burning brightly.

"So...we wasted a whole day's worth of searching here." Shadow muttered, and Locke looked up at him.

"Well we didn't have very many leads to go on...I guess tomorrow we'll just have to investigate outside the village." Locke sighed some and looked up at the sky. Tonight the moon was hidden behind a few dark clouds, and even the stars did not seem to shine as brightly as usual. He wondered if Celes was gazing at the moon right now too, or if she was sleeping peacefully wherever she and Leo had camped for the night. A pang of hurt tugged at his heartstrings as he remembered the hateful way he had glared at her on the ship when they last saw each other, filling him with regret. He decided that the next time they were together, no matter what, he would apologize again and not get angry if she rejected him. After all, he surely deserved it for his horrible behavior.

"Locke! Shadow!"

Locke looked up and saw Terra waving at them from the doorway of the Inn, smiling weakly. She was barefoot, and looked ready to go to bed for the night. She was paler than usual from not feeling well, but she did look better than before.

"Got you something to help you sleep." Locke smiled some, and handed her the bag.

"Thank you Locke." Terra said, and gave him a friendly hug. Locke shook his head and pointed to Shadow.

"You should really thank him, he's the one who picked it out." With that, Locke tugged on Terra's ponytail and pushed past her into the Inn. Terra smiled at Shadow and hugged him too, but only felt his body tighten up in unfamiliarity in reply. She frowned a little and pulled away, clearing her throat.

"...Thank you."

"I'm tired." Shadow grunted, and with that, went inside the Inn, following Locke's lead. Terra blinked and bit her lip as she watched him go, remembering his words to her on the ship.

"In this world are many like me who've killed their emotions. Don't forget that."

Later that night...

"HELP! LOCKE, TERRA, SHADOW!!!"

"Hey old man, what the hell do you think you're doing?! You can't just come in here in the middle of the night and start screaming...."

"Shut up!!!"

"Ugh..." Locke moaned and opened his eyes, swearing he just heard someone call his name. A moment later, Strago rushed inside his, Terra's, and Shadow's bedroom, waving his arms frantically while he banged a silvery- blue rod against the walls to help make more noise. Locke let out an agonizing cry as he sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes, Terra also rising quickly and yawning as she begged Strago to be quiet, for anyone else's sake that was in the Inn.

"This is AWFUL!" Strago cried, his eyebrows furrowing in worry. "Relm...she's..." Terra widened her eyes and cut her yawn off short.

"Relm is in danger?!" She cried, and Strago nodded, jumping up and down and nearly on the brink of tears.

"Yes! She was spending the night at a neighbor's house when a FIRE broke out..." He heaved a loud cough and began to shake. "I won't be able to stand it if something happens to her...she's all I have in this world! Please, won't you help??"

"Of course!" Terra cried, and with that, leapt out of bed and ran out of the Inn with Strago. Locke moaned and quickly crawled out of bed, turning towards Shadow. Both of the men failed to notice Interceptor slipping out of the Inn and following Terra and Strago.

"Shadow!" Locke cried. "Didn't you hear? Relm is..." Shadow let out a groan and waved a hand at Locke, as if to dismiss him, and turned in bed so that his back was facing the young man. Locke turned red with anger, but held his tongue as he quickly turned himself and ran out of the Inn, seeing that nearly the whole village was aglow with a faint red light as soon as he stepped outside.

"What the hell..." Locke muttered, and looked up when he realized what could of been so large enough to light up the entire town.

The old mansion just yards away was completely consumed in flames!

**********

Shadow sighed and reached over to gently stroke at Interceptor's ears, a little shockwave of alert running through his body when his hand fell to the bed and rather not the dog's head. He opened his eyes and looked down, confirming his fears when he saw that Interceptor was no where in sight. He sat up in bed and took a nervous breath, sweat beads forming on his forehead as he called out:

"Interceptor! ...Where are you?!"