Fratley walked cautiously into the marsh, still keeping alert for any monsters. Soon, his sight was blinded by extremely tall dunes which towered over him. His ears detected no monsters in the maze of dunes, which was thankful as it would have proven extremely difficult to attack or defend himself. He used his lance to cut away the grossly overgrown grass and eventually he stumbled into the open.
The view in the actual marsh stunned Fratley. There was a small pool in the centre of the clearing with many different coloured frogs hopping in the water. Around the small pond was where the real eye-catching sight was. Mysterious creatures with flower-like eyes, gigantic tongues and complete chef's outfits patrolled the area around the water, all of them eyeing the frogs in the centre, waiting for an opportunity to catch one.
A small croaking sound caught Fratley's attention, he looked and saw one of the frogs hop out of the water towards him. The next thing he heard was large footsteps bounding towards him. Fratley was then nearly knocked over as one of the creatures pushed past him in a run and dived onto the frog. Fortunately for the frog, it hopped away just in time to avoid being caught in the creature's grasp. The creature rose back up, and muttered to itself.
"Aw, it get away..."
"May I help you?" Fratley stuttered, still shocked after what had just transpired.
The creature turned and looked at Fratley with a nonchalant expression. Well, it was hard for Fratley to depict any emotion from the creature's face.
"Who you?" The creature asked, its tongue rolling and flapping over its body as it spoke.
"My name is Sir Iron-Tail Fratley, a Dragon Knight from Burmecia. I am on a journey to Alexandria and I am seeking shelter for the night." Fratley answered in a formal tone. "And who are you?"
"I Quilan." The creature replied. "You have yummy-yummies?"
Fratley made an odd expression; he didn't know what to make of the question. This was unnoticed by Quilan, who merely stared at him with interest waiting for a response.
"Yummy-yummies?" Fratley repeated, confused.
"Yummy-yummies!" Quilan repeated once again loudly whilst bouncing up and down. "Food!"
"Oh." Fratley responded, moving back slightly in defence whilst realising what Quilan wanted. "Yes, I have some food."
"You give me some?" Quilan asked trying to muster a polite tone as is stood still again and eyed Fratley with interest.
Fratley paused a moment before replying, he knew he would need to make his supplies last until he reached Lindblum. Yet he dare not think of what Quilan might do if he didn't offer it any food. He quickly reached the conclusion that it would not hurt to give up a small portion of food.
"Okay." Fratley replied, reaching into his backpack whilst Quilan jumped up and down in delight. Fratley took out a small piece of bread, and he noticed the creature begin to dribble. "Here."
Quilan grabbed the piece of bread and sniffed it briefly, before consuming it in a matter of seconds. Quilan sighed with content before speaking again.
"Thanks." Quilan said gratefully.
"You're welcome." Fratley stated. "Do you know where I may find some shelter?"
"Shelter?" Quilan repeated, before thinking for a moment. "You see master! He know what to do!"
"Okay, where may I find this master?" Fratley inquired.
"I show you!" Quilan replied happily, eager to help Fratley after having the small snack.
Quilan lead Fratley away from the frog inhabited pond through some more marsh towards a wooden shack deep in the swamp. Evidently, this was where the main settlement lay, as Fratley could make out various small wooden shelters which looked poorly built. They were heading for the nearest building, which looked the better kept shack of the group. The two crossed a small wooden path and up a very small flight of wooden stairs into the shack.
As the two entered, Fratley noticed the presence of another one of these strange creatures. However, it stood out in its red apron compared to the others. The creature eyed Fratley suspiciously from behind the table it was stood behind as Quilan waddled up to greet it.
"Master, I find this man near the pool." Quilan began. "He called Fratley. He friendly, and he want shelter."
The creature kept his gaze on Fratley, and paused for a moment before responding.
"I Quale of the Qu clan." Quale introduced himself. "You can stay in this shack tonight. You get long grass for your bed. We prepare feast."
Fratley felt a little insulted at having to sleep on a pile of grass, but looking at the tribe he didn't think they would care much for decent bed construction, nor did they look like they would make a proper bed last for very long. In any case, he had some shelter for the night, which was far better than sleeping out on the plains and something he could take consolation for.
"Thank you." Fratley replied politely, before turning to leave the shack.
It wasn't long before Fratley had cut up a large pile of long grass with his lance. In only a few minutes, Fratley had such a large pile he felt he had more than enough to make a comfortable bed for the night. He took the large pile of grass to the shack and decided to spend the remaining time looking around the marsh.
It had become evident to Fratley that the Qus mainly spent their time hunting down and eating frogs. Fratley never saw them do anything else, no talking, no training in combat, no trade, the entire society circled around hunting frogs.
An awful thought then entered Fratley's mind, if these Qus, or whatever they were, were preparing a meal for him and their favourite meal was frogs, they might try to feed him the same thing. Fratley shuddered for a moment, but then realised there wasn't anything he could do. He didn't want to upset them or make them angry, and he only had just enough food for his journey tomorrow.
After his short walk around the swamp, Fratley made his way back to the shack where Quale had spoken to him. As he entered, he found that his fear had come true. A large table was set up, filled with plates of frogs cooked in different ways and a large variation of salads and breads.
Both Quale, Quilan and a few other Qus were stood around the table, many of them drooling over the feast lay out in front of them. Quale made what appeared to be smile from the end of the room.
"Ah Fratley! Welcome!" Quale said merrily motioning for Fratley to come to the table.
Fratley slowly made his way to the banquet table, looking at his hosts who were all eyeing him with interest. When Fratley stood at the table, Quale spoke again.
"Let the feast begin!" Quale announced.
At that very instant, all of the Qus at the table began ramming any food within reach into their mouths and chewing noisily. Fratley paused for a brief moment, disgusted with their table etiquette, before realising that he should begin eating if he was to get any food. He quickly grabbed a piece of bread and began munching it. Thankfully, Fratley managed to consume a variety of non-frog foods, all of which had been prepared very well, to satisfy his hunger. He did wish that there had been a better selection of meat on the table. However, he was grateful that his hosts hadn't took note of the fact he had not eaten any of the frogs on the table, they were too busy stuffing themselves they didn't pay any attention to Fratley at all.
The feast ended almost as quickly as it begun, with the Qus leaving the table one by one when they had stuffed themselves full or there was no more food left at the table, mainly the latter. One or two of them stayed to clean up the table with Quale, as they were the chefs who had prepared the meal. Fratley aided them in cleaning away after he had finished, which was a considerable amount of time after the other Qus.
After everything had been put away, everyone noticed that the sun had begun to set, and it was beginning to get dark. The Qus quickly retired to their so-called beds without bothering to change or performing any other acts of hygiene. Fratley usually would have took off most of his clothes but he thought that seeing his bed consisted of a pile of long grass in a room where the wind could easily blow through the window he decided just to take of his jacket and use it for cover.
I woke up after a rather restless sleep to be greeted to breakfast: consisting largely of frogs. Unfortunately I did not have the same good fortune as yesterday evening, all of the breads were quickly consumed by me and my hosts and they barely filled my appetite. Not wanting to leave on an empty stomach, I had no choice but to eat some frogs, which I only just managed to stomach. I'm still trying to rid my memory of the taste.
I bid farewell to my unusual hosts. The Qus are a very strange race indeed, yet they prove to me that there can be a life free from war or combat, shallow as it may be. I leave the marsh and feel dry land beneath my feet once again. Misty plains fill this part of the journey as well. As always I try to keep alert, trying to detect monsters with my ears rather than my eyes.
I could see my next destination long before I was anywhere near it. Although through the mist all I could make was what seemed like a large, man-made hill. Airships flew into the city, but they looked liked flies from where I was standing. This made it much easier to tell where I was going.
Lindblum, the grand metropolis of the Mist Continent, was to be the next stop on my journey.
Disclaimer: Everything in this story, save Frato and Redwind, does not belong to me. Do you honestly think I own the rights to Final Fantasy 9? If I did I wouldn't be writing this, I'd be making a sequel.
Author's Rants: I really am getting slow at updating now. This could have been posted earlier, but my sister likes to hog the computer and we have been busy setting up broadband for our computer. I really should try and spend more time on this story, although I have exams coming up so I might get hindered.
Saffire Raynius: I'm glad you like the grotto scene, I also wish that Square had put more of the Burmecians into the story, they really could have developed Freya's story a bit further too. They just forgot about her about halfway into Disc 2. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Strawberry Hill: A new reader! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Keep reading.
Lancer Zero: Thanks again for the critical review, I really ought to think about rewriting some of the earlier chapters. You've brought up some interesting points. Keep reading!