Author's Note: Time for a confession of sorts. I've never been to Norg. I have no idea what it's like. Hence, my excuse for it being different because I'm bound to be wrong, and, as TheFrogKiller pointed out, it's not that bad of a place apparently. Well, it is now! The idea goes that during the war (this is explained this chapter anyway) hundreds of guards and military personal were killed. Of course, two huge battles over two months wiped out several of the usual enforcement. This meant in the aftermath crime could thrive. And this crime needed a home. That home became Norg (being a pirate town, according to the instruction book at least). Hence, Norg has turned into the worse pit of low lives and criminals imaginable. I dunno if that's how its portrayed in the game with the NPCs (obviously not the players!), but it's how I originally imagined it (as you can sort of see in the FFXI Chronicles 1). So here I made it as bad as I could with this excuse.

This addresses something else I am painfully aware of. I've strayed very far from the game now. Rarely to they use abilities from the game, the staffs are made up, the villains are stolen, the characters original or borrowed, and levels don't exist. I know this has gone too far, but I want it to feel like a story, not a game. This means that I don't want to sit back and say "Oh, Zinkata is a level 61 Warrior and a level 12 Paladin" because it's meant to feel like it's a real adventure. If you went out to save the world, you wouldn't be told your level, would you? That's also why Vivli is a very powerful white mage, but still has no physical abilities whatsoever and so on. Just the story telling. I hope people don't mind it's strayed too far, because it's just become something I've started to notice recently. I'll try and figure out ways of keeping it closer, but I'm not sure what I can do. My imagination tends to run away from my fairly limited knowledge of the game. I'm beginning to think I need to be careful before it stops seeming to be FFXI fan fiction at all! I'm hoping people don't mind, but if you've been thinking lately 'this story is nothing like the game anymore' then don't worry, I'm right behind ya! The real problem is deciding whether it's better this way or not. Hm. Maybe I should think about that before yacking away in the author notes like it's some kind of blog!

PART XXI

"What happened to this place?" Voldos asked, looking at the crowded streets, full of thieves and muggers, all armed, and all looking dangerous.

"I told you." Olose answered. "The war. The two major battles against Chaos nearly wiped out Vana'diel's armed forces. With the presence of guards so low, crime took over. Places like Norg have become a haven for criminals who need to sell their stolen goods, just find somewhere to hide, or trade the slaves they've captured." The three Light Warriors stopped in unison.

"We're heroes." Voldos stated. "We can't let this slave trade go on."

"What about Zinkata?" Vivli screamed hysterically.

"We need a lead to Zinkata's whereabouts." Voldos decided. "This slave trade seems to be the major criminal activity here. We'll ask them." He said, smiling slightly.

"That's all very clever," Olose grumbled, "But I've been trying to locate who heads the trade for months. I've done everything I can to stop them. I can't find where they hide out or keep the slaves. The only places I ever find are the auctions where they try to sell the slaves themselves. And believe me, I've disrupted plenty of those."

"Well, there must be a way to find out!" Voldos cried. "We can't just sit by and let this happen! It's sick and wrong!"

"The world is under threat, Voldos." Bootus reminded him. "We can come back and be heroic when this is over."

"Voldos is right." Vivli said softly. "The heads of the slave trade will know where Zinkata is. If they kidnap people from all over Vana'diel, then they can easily find out where one warrior is."

"She's got a point." Olose admitted. "Zinkata is a Light Warrior. If he arrived in Norg, they're bound to be aware of him."

"We're still missing the vital point you raised." Bootus grumbled. "How do we find them?"

"I have an idea." Vivli said nervously. The others looked at her.

"What?" Olose asked. Vivli managed a nervous smile and held out her linkshell.

"You can listen to me on this." She explained.

"Why would we listen to you on that?" Voldos asked. Vivli folded her arms, looking almost frustrated.

"Because you can tell where I am!" Vivli snapped. Voldos looked confused as Olose realised what she meant.

"What?" Yelled the werewolf. "No! No way! Not a chance in hell!"
"You know it's the only way to find them!" Vivli cried back. Voldos looked confused. Bootus sighed.

"She's going to let them kidnap her, Voldos." Bootus explained. Voldos's eyes went wide.

"No Viv!" Voldos cried, joining in with Olose. "It's too dangerous."

"It's the only way to save Zinkata!" She yelled. The others looked to each other. "It is! You know I'm right!"

"Viv, do you have an idea what they might do to you?" Olose asked. "They're not just going to take you aside you know? These are the lowest scum on the planet. It's just not safe."

"I'll do whatever I have to." Vivli whimpered, obviously not being confident. "Even if I have to die, I'll do it. To save Zinkata."

"You're not gonna die, Viv." Voldos said gently.
"Death's not the problem!" Olose protested. "They could do worse things than kill her." He said grimly.

"I'll do what I have to." Vivli told him. "Please!" She looked at each of them, staring into their eyes. "I've never been a fighter. I've never been able to help you in battle, protect you when your losing, or save you from danger. Now I can! I can help! Please! You have to let me!" Olose looked to Voldos and Bootus. They said nothing.

"Okay." He stated. "We'll listen on linkshell at all times. Don't do anything dangerous. If you get into trouble, just shout where you are and we'll be there in moments." Vivli gulped. She was extremely frightened. She didn't actually know her way around Norg at all. It was going to be very difficult for her to keep track of where she was going. But she knew she had to.

"Viv." Voldos said to her. "Take this." He handed her the Staff of Ra. "They'll take it from you, but knowing thieves, it'll be added to their loot. It means you can reclaim it at any time you need it. Also means if you get into trouble you'll be able to defend yourself." Vivli took it, nodding. She was quite clearly shaking with fear.

"Right." Bootus stated. "I never thought I'd ask this, but just how do we get Vivli kidnapped?"

"There's an alleyway where the kidnappers make frequent grabs." Olose managed to say, sounding as if he was struggling to speak. "I've tried to beat out of them where they take their victims, but never succeed. Even tried to track them. Never works." He paused. "If Vivli hangs around there for long enough, their bound to snatch her."

"Sweet Altana," Whispered Voldos, "This thing is that regular and that bad and nobody has done anything about it?"
"The cities are pushed to keep their own borders safe with the depleted guard, let alone interfere out here. They say that if you travel alone, you run the risk." Olose explained. He noticed Vivli was shaking. She had a bad feeling her anxiety was returning just when she didn't need it. Olose walked over and hugged her. "You'll be fine." He said kindly. "We'll be right there." Vivli nodded nervously.

"Right." Voldos grumbled. "Let's get this over with." He paused. "Good luck, Viv." Vivli managed a weak smile.

Vivli paced up and down, alone in the dark alley. They had made a quick custom pocket in her dress which she kept the linkshell in. She stopped, and nervously looked around. She had a feeling she was going to be mugged or murdered by somebody else very soon. She tried to calm herself down. She had to do this to save Zinkata. It was that simple. She heard footsteps and tensed up. She had a feeling that this was it.

Three scruffy looking, well built and threatening humes walked towards her.

"Hey baby!" One cried. She turned away. "What's a girl like you doing hanging around a guy like me?"

"It's 'doing in a place like this', moron!" A second cried.

"Whatever man, I'm putting an original spin on things." The first said. Vivli rolled her eyes. "So, what you doin' here, babe?" Asked the thug.

"Waiting for someone." Vivli softly explained. It was true, from a certain point of view. She had no idea if this was the someone she was waiting for, though.

"Well, I'd say you found someone." Said the thug, grabbing her and spinning her around. She found herself facing him, and was breathing very hard with fear.

"Let me go!" She squirmed. She knew that to be convincing she had to try and escape anyway, and she still wasn't convinced these were the right people. She had a feeling Norg was full of untrustworthy people. Try as she might, Vivli couldn't move in the arms of her captor. The thug smiled.

"You know you want me really." He smirked. Vivli tried desperately to pull away.

"Leave her alone." The third thug said confidently.
"What?" Asked the first.

"She's much better off back at the camp. Probably fetch a nice price." Came the explanation. "I mean, look, perfect skin, small, cute, a mithra, the boss might even let you get a cut of the price."

"I was gonna have some fun with her!" Protested the thug holding Vivli. Vivli shuddered.

"No violating the merchandise!" Snapped the other thug. Vivli shuddered again.

"Aw, you're making her shake." Vivli's captor groaned. "Look, she's all scared now." The three burst into laughter. Vivli suddenly had a very strong feeling that this had not been her best plan ever.

"Let me go." She whimpered.

"Hey, what's that in her hand?" Cried the second. The first snatched Vivli's staff from her hands.

"Aw, she was going to fight back." Smirked the first. "Cute, huh?" He tossed the staff to the third thug.

"Hey, this looks pretty valuable." He remarked. The second thug looked at it with wide eyes.
"That looks a lot like the new boss's staff." Vivli suddenly jerked her head up. "Except silver, not gold, and it doesn't have the same yellow jewel."

"Zinkata!" Vivli gasped involuntarily. The first thug looked to her.

"Aw, now she's just pleading names." He laughed. "Say bye bye to your old life, missy." He said to her with a grin. "You're coming with us now." Vivli's mind was racing. She barely cared that she was being helplessly dragged off by the thugs.

Olose looked up from the linkshell the three were gathered around.

"Zinkata?" He exclaimed. "Zinkata is behind the slave trade?" Bootus groaned.

"They said 'new boss'. Clearly he's taken over since he got here." The galka explained. "A huge group of kidnappers willing to do your bidding? Useful!"

"Be quiet." Olose whispered. "Listen carefully. They're still near the busy streets. Must be taking the alleys. Come on." The three moved, following as Olose attempted to guess the path they were going down, calling upon his failed tracking attempts and the noises they could hear for guidance.

Vivli had given up struggling. She knew they were taking her to the place she had to go anyway, and so let them drag her. There was nothing she could do against the gigantic strong arms of her captor anyway. She found it ironic. The last person's arms she had been in was for comfort. And it had worked. She thought of Olose. Then she shook her head. Why was she thinking of him? It's Zinkata she was supposed to be worried about. She sighed in confusion.

"I think she's given up." Sneered one of the two thugs watching her being dragged.

"That was easy." Laughed the other.

"No point in her struggling." The one holding her laughed. "No way she could get away. I'm far too strong."

"Yes, you're achievement at overpowering a little mithra is dazzling." Another joked. The one holding her sighed.

"Well, she hasn't been able to move even slightly." The thug taunted. This was true. Her struggling had just been futilely trying to pry herself free from his arms, but never had she even made a single bit of progress. "You sure they want a weak one like this?" Vivli sighed, feeling humiliated.

"Yeah, always got a use for those." Came the reply. "They can never escape." I've heard that before, Vivli thought, and I escaped that time! She stopped concentrating, thinking back to when Zinkata and the others had rescued her. How she had spent that time with Zinkata. She missed that. She hated the fear, but the comfort of being in Zinkata's arms was so warm. She longed for it now, instead of the steely grip that held her so tightly.

"Aw, the pretty little girl's got a rip in her dress." One of the thugs said in a patronising voice. Vivli suddenly was pulled back to reality, realising they were looking at her pocket.

"It's just a pocket!" She cried. "Nothing in it though!" She pulled it shut, protecting the link pearl inside.

"I'll be the judge of that." The thug sneered. The person holding her easily pulled her skinny arms back, exposing the pocket. Vivli struggled furiously, but couldn't move. He pulled out the link pearl. "Well, what do ya know? Look at what we have here!"

"That's mine!" Vivli cried, grunting uselessly as she tried to move. The thug took it.

"These are dangerous things. Somebody could be listening to us." He said. "Can you hear me?" He cried into the link pearl. "Forget about this little one. She's ours now." He hurled the pearl away and it rolled along the floor into the darkness.

"NO!" Vivli screamed, trying desperately to break the grip that held her, but failing completely. "NO!" She started to cry in fear and desperation. She couldn't save Zinkata alone, she needed them.

"Aw, I think she really liked it." Laughed one of the thugs.

"Probably expecting them to come and rescue her. That's why she's been so quiet." The other said.

"She's certainly struggling now!" Laughed the thug holding her. "Look at her go!" Vivli was trying everything she could think of, but simply couldn't break out. The thug that held her must have been several hundred times stronger than her, she decided, feeling him restrain her. She squirmed, crying.

"Aw, it's okay." One of the thugs came down to her face, and said in the same annoying patronising tone that they had used before. "I'll make it better." Vivli winced at his foul breath. He was clearly moving in for the kiss, but the thug holding her pulled her back.

"None of that stuff!" He snapped. "Leave her alone." Vivli sighed in relief. "We get money for that. You want to kiss her, you pay." Vivli looked up in disgust.

"Hey, if I pay, I want more than a kiss." The thug spat. Vivli shuddered, tears running down her face.

"Look. She's all upset. Maybe later." The person restraining her sighed. "Besides, they don't like it when we interfere with the merchandise." They had walked down to the sea front, the docks being deserted in the darkness. Vivli let out a sob. The sea sounds would have been a dead giveaway had she still got the link pearl.

"Fantastic!" Cried Olose angrily. "Bloody fantastic!" Voldos sighed.

"It's okay." Voldos sighed. "We can find where the sale is and save her then."

"Weren't you listening?" Olose yelled. "Zinkata's in charge! He isn't going to let them just sell Vivli! Altana knows what he's going to do with her!"

"I didn't think of that." Grumbled Voldos.

"I wanted to protect her! Not get her into this kind of trouble!" Olose screamed as he paced frantically about.

"We're just going to have to wait." Voldos sighed. "Zinkata will make a move soon. He has to."

The thugs came to a stop at a large boulder. Vivli eyed it curiously. One bent down, and began to push it with a mighty heave. Vivli decided to try and talk her way out. Beg. She was that frightened.

"Please let me go!" She wept. The thug let out a slight laugh. "I'm small and weak!" She cried. "And innocent! I haven't done anything wrong! I wont tell anybody!" She was deeply thankful Bootus wasn't around to see her being this cowardly, or else she may have never lived it down.

"Maybe we should let her push the boulder." Grunted one of the thugs.

"Ha, and then if she could do it, let her go?" Laughed another.

"Could be entertaining." Voiced the one holding her. The one pushing the boulder slid if open.

"Yeah, well, I ain't allowed a kiss, you're not allowed your fun. Come on!" The three dragged Vivli down into the dark hole now revealed beneath the boulder. One pulled it back over as he went down. Although she was silently relieved she no longer had to be made a fool of (she knew she'd never have moved the gigantic rock), she was still crying in fear, letting the tears run freely as she was pulled beneath the ground.

Her usually chronic fear of the dark was overridden by her general fear of everything else, and the thought she may never see her friends again, nor be able to save Zinkata. They eventually reached an area lit by torches. The light would usually cause Vivli to let go of her fears, but here she continued to shake and cry. A gigantic galka blocked the way to a large door.

"Got another one?" He snarled.

"Yessir!" Snapped the thug, throwing Vivli into the galka.

"A pretty one." He said, quickly restraining Vivli and she struggled desperately for freedom. "Even smells nice." He commented, sniffing at her in a way that made her skin crawl. "Very good. You will be paid for your services upon her sale." The galka snatched the staff from them. "We'll take this. Add it to the Boss's riches. Thank you for your services." The thugs grumbled something and walked back into the darkness. The galka pulled Vivli through the gigantic door. She struggled, but couldn't move a muscle. She had thought the thug previously restraining her was strong, but this galka was like a steel vice. He walked into a gigantic room and Vivli couldn't help but gasp.

Beaten and scruffy looking thugs were surrounded by literal piles of gold and jewels. Several sat on top of the piles, or looked through them with glee. There was a bubbling pool of warm water nearby, in which two hume girls were lounging and amusing a few of the male rouges. She could see they were bound by chains. A path ran up the winding cave to a raised platform. The galka marched her up to the top, where, in a gigantic golden throne, sat Zinkata, slouched with a cocky grin, now dressed in elegant clothing and golden armour, proudly holding the Staff of Lavos.

"Boss, we got another one." The galka reported.

"Excellent." Smiled Zinkata as the yellow electricity crackled in his eyes. "This is a special catch."