Chapter Two

Toku led the way to Dangruf Wadi, running with his map in hands while Aonir tried her best to warn him of rocks, holes, dips, and hills that were in the path. Toku seemed to be in a bigger rush than Aonir had been in to begin with.

"Toku, boulder in your path on the right." Aonir said quickly. Toku looked up from the map. He took a few steps to the left as he ran, and then fixed his eyes on the map once again.

"Um, Toku." Aonir said again.

"Hm?" Toku responded, his voice muffled from him looking down at the map.

"Hill!" Aonir shouted.

"What?" Toku asked in a confused voice as he looked back at Aonir. Just then, his foot hit a loose rock and he was sent tumbling down the hill.

"Toku!" Aonir rushed down the hill after him, stepping sideways so she could watch her footing. "Are you ok?"

Toku had stopped rolling but was lying face down in the dirt, his map clenched in his right hand. Toku rolled onto his back and burst into laughter. Aonir was completely confused at what was so funny but she focused on healing Toku's possible injuries.

"Hold on, Toku. I'll heal your wounds." Aonir said quickly, her voice quivering in panic.

"No, no. Ha, ha, No, no, no." Toku laughed.

"What?"

Toku sat up the best he could while fighting off the fits of laughter.

"It's funny. I fell down the hill and that arrogant Hume was notaru here to see his theory-weory shot down."

At this point, Aonir was all but convinced Toku had lost his mind.

"A few minutes before you came outside, he threatened to throw me off a cliff to see if I bounced." Toku explained as he stood up and dusted off. "I don't bounce but I do roll."

Toku burst into laughter again, this time, Aonir joined in although she was still confused. Tarutaru do not bounce and everyone knew that, or at least that is what she thought. Without giving it anymore thought, she continued to follow Toku as they went down yet another hill and past a small pond. Up in the sky flew several vultures, their caws echoing around the two travelers as they moved slowly across South Gustaburg.

Just ahead of them, Aonir spotted several pools of water surrounded by a large array of boulders. Toku and Aonir were entering the Fumaroles. Aonir had heard of this place many times from listening to Plureague but she had no idea how correct he had been about the place. The area was highly polluted and what few life forms lived in the area were horribly ill formed and mutated. Several crabs scampered across the dusty soil; most of them about the height of a Tarutaru while others lacked appendages or even portions of their shell while remaining their normal size. Some creatures that appeared to have once been hornets were about the size Aonir's head if not larger.

"Wow, what a strange place." Toku said softly, having come to a stop.

Aonir stood next to him and nodded. "Is Dangruf Wadi around in that somewhere?"

"Yeparu. Just beyond it." Toku smiled and began to run again.

Aonir followed him inside the fumaroles, her stomach feeling uneasy the closer they became to the entrance to Dangruf Wadi. Without noticing, Aonir had stopped running and was proceeding to walk and, to make matters worse, Toku had vanished from sight, which gave her even more discomfort. Aonir tried her best to keep her mind focused on the things around her but she could not shake the feeling that she was being watched.

The sun was beginning to set behind the cliffs that surrounded the Gustaburg region, casting long, unwelcoming shadows over the land. A soft gurgle-like noise rose from behind her. Aonir drew her club and spun around, her shield up as a precaution.

"W-who is there?" She said loudly. Her eyes scanned across the dimming horizon for any sign of movement. There was nothing there that she could see but the feeling of her being watched was intensifying.

She took a step back, her eyes searching the area wildly. The sound came again this time she heard movement. Aonir was now feeling a bit frightened but she tried not to let herself be taken over by it. Suddenly, a glowing set of eyes piered out from behind a boulder. The eyes were small but the thing they belonged to was several feet taller than Aonir. She backed up in shock, her head shaking as if pleading for what she was seeing to be something else.

The creature stepped from behind the boulder accompanied by two others. Aonir continued to back up until the cliff wall stopped her. She looked up to see the moon pushing itself from behind a small set of clouds. Just as the violet tinted moon pierced through she looked ahead of her and felt her heart jump into her throat.

The head plate, the shell, the beady eyes, and the scaly body sent horrible images flying through her mind. These were those creatures that had killed her family. These were Quadav. The first of the three carried a large sword in his hand; the second one who moved to the left side of the first Quadav also carried a sword. The third carried a staff and remained in the back.

"Please, don't," Aonir whispered, "let them harm me, Altana."

The first Quadav looked to its followers and appeared to be communicating with them. Aonir wished she could understand them so she would know what they were going to do. She managed to figure it out when the sword bearers rushed toward her. She quickly moved from the wall and began an attempt to defend herself.

The first Quadav slashed Aonir's doublet but managed to miss her flesh. Aonir used her shield to fend off the second Quadav the best she could but she could hear the wood beginning to splinter. She backed up as the attacks continued. At the rate she was going, she was surely going to lose her shield. She took a few swings at the first Quadav and managed to hurt him but her equipment was weak and the monster was not slowed in the least as it continued its attack. The third Quadav began to cast a spell on her but she could not direct her attention to it without risking being cut in two.

"TOKU! HELP!" She shouted just as the spell struck her. She felt a surge of electricity flow through her. The pain was horrible. She tried hard to move but the pain would fly through her whenever she tried. Her shield snapped into pieces upon the second Quadav's attack. Her arm was cut slightly from the attack and her mind was racing with fear.

"I can't let myself die. Not here." She forced herself to move her arms to her sides and begin casting. It was no use, the pain shot through her, halting the casting. Aonir began to back up again, trying hard to ignore the pain. "TOKU! SOMEONE! PLEASE, HELP ME!"

The first Quadav sliced again, this time cutting Aonir's chest slightly. Warm blood slowly rose to the surface, stinging her flesh as it slowly began to stick to her doublet. She tried again to heal herself. In her mind she prayed to Altana to allow her to live through the battle. Her prayer went through, the pain from the previous spell had dissipated and her cure spell went through. The shimmering, violet light of her spell washed over her like cooling water as it repaired her body. This act seemed to make the Quadav angrier than they already had been.

"Aonir!" Toku's voice rang out from behind her.

"Toku! Thank the goddess you've come!"

Toku drew his staff and charged toward the Quadav. "How did you manage to find these guys?"

"I didn't. They found me."

Toku put cupped his hands as he began to cast.
"Blizzard!" Toku shouted as he separated his hand, stretching his arms wide open with his palms out as the spiny blast of ice struck the first Quadav. The monster staggered then fell, almost crushing Aonir as he went down. "Run for it!"

"Huh!" Aonir said in confusion.

"We've got company!" Toku said as he took off.

Aonir looked to see several small, puppy-like creatures in masks rush out from the shadows. Aonir also noticed a skeleton walking not too far from where they were. Not wasting anymore time looking around, Aonir took off after Toku, dragging the two remaining Quadav and the masked creatures along with her. The fumaroles were a bit hard to navigate through in the dark so Aonir followed the cliff wall west until she saw something moving just ahead. The moonlight helped Aonir see that it was Toku just a few feet ahead, waving his arms wildly at her. She picked up some speed and nearly ran over Toku when she made it to his side.

"Go into the maze! That is Dangruf Wadi. We'll lose them in there." Toku instructed.

Aonir followed orders and dashed inside the maze. The air inside was rank and filled with an unfamiliar stench that made Aonir want to gag. She fought the sickness and followed Toku deeper inside Dangruf Wadi until the two found themselves at a split in the path. One end of the path led north while the other moved south. Both, in Aonir's opinion, led to a mass of uneasiness that would settle in the pit of her stomach and make her even more ill than she already was.

Toku led the way, following the north path at a brisk walking pace. Aonir kept close, especially after the first sets of turns. Toku was heading strictly north and Aonir feared that she would be separated from Toku again. This thought had her eyes glued onto Toku's every movement and only focused on him. She completely zoned out everything else including the faint sound of spraying water that grew louder and louder as they moved to another split in the path on their second left turn.

Keeping to his common path, Toku proceeded north again where he and Aonir were met with a dead end and a geyser. Aonir watched the geyser as it went silent for a few minutes then erupted again.

"Let's go." Toku said softly as he rushed over to the geyser and proceeded to clog the hole.

Aonir looked at Toku in confusion. "What are you going to do?"

Toku just gave her a smile as the water pressure beneath him began to grow. The ground rumbled as the pounds of intense pressure forced its way up from the ground, lifting Toku into the air and flinging him onto the ledge that rested behind the geyser.

"Um, Toku, I don't think that will work for me." Aonir said with a state of confusion in her voice.

Toku looked down to her with a grin. "Why do you say thataru?"

Aonir looked down at herself and her torn clothes then passed a glance to the spraying water. "I'm heavier than you."

Toku shook his head. "Did you see how high I was thrown? This geyser can tossaru you up here too. Just be sure to completely cover the hole."

Aonir looked down at the hole in the ground as the rumbling began again. She did not know if Toku were right but she would have to take his word for it. She was not sure how she could cover the hole with her own body but she squatted down and used her hands to help. The water had just touched the opening and Aonir being in the way had successfully backed it up. Unfortunately, the adrenaline rush from the previous battle and her anxiety from being in Dangruf was starting to fade and the pain from her wounds were becoming much more noticeable as she moved and strained her weight down upon the geyser. She did save herself when she cast her healing spell but it was not strong enough to heal the wound she had on her chest. The tear in her doublet was enough proof that it was there but the stinging did not help Aonir keep her focus.

Without warning, the geyser erupted beneath Aonir, drenching her in water while lifting her slightly off of the ground. In a panic, Aonir jumped toward the ledge and managed to grab hold. She struggled in climbing up the soaked rock ledge, managing to pull herself up barely but irritating the wound further. The water stung her freshly opened wound as if it were a hot knife. She winced and fell onto her side while Toku walked around touching some strange object into the soil.

"Altana's blessing." Aonir said as she forced herself up from the ground and a soft violet light washed over her.

"OK! I got what I came for." Toku exclaimed.

Aonir looked at him in total confusion. "That was it? I didn't have to come up here?"

"Hmm," Toku thought for a second before smiling and saying, "I guess not."

Aonir plopped down on the ground in exhaustion. "Can we set camp around here? I'm too tired to do anything else tonight."

"We can'taru set up here. We'll have to head back a bit so any beastmen or other aggressive animal-wanimal won't try to eat us." Toku said as he jumped down from the ledge. "Let's go."

Aonir sighed and pushed herself back to her feet. The geyser went off again, covering Aonir in a fresh coat of water and startling her. She hesitated to jump for only a moment then followed Toku with added haste. Aonir had already confirmed her utmost distaste for the area and she would rather leave the area entirely than camp but her aching muscles told her otherwise. She practically fainted when she heard Toku say they were going to camp out. Aonir had managed to disobey her teacher, anger two seasoned adventurers, make a new friend, get into a battle with beastmen, and hitch a ride on a geyser and managed to pull it off in one day.

Aonir put her head down on her bag and smiled to herself as she looked up to the sky. The moon seemed to swim through the clouds as her eyes slowly fell closed. Toku looked over at Aonir and smiled knowing that they were going to have a huge adventure one way or another.

Meanwhile, in Bastok's Metalworks building, the president of the Republic of Bastok was meeting with Plureague and Giraenis and discussing the current situation between Bastok and the other cities. The president did very little in his discussion but left the major briefing to an advisor named Lucius.

"San d'Oria seems to be up to their old tricks again. Sending out scouts disguised as mere adventurers so they manage to slip in unnoticed. The president has shown his distaste of the San d'Orian way of life and has considered it to be entirely obsolete. Windurst's methods, although they appear to be working toward a different goal, run similar with San d' Oria so there is reason to believe the two have made a peace agreement against Bastok." Lucius stated. "To see you two here looking for work again did, in fact, put the heart of the president at ease as he had told you in his office. It is that fact that I will look passed your past misdoings and your current age limitations and will give you the jobs you so fervently seek and hope that," Lucius said as he closed the folders with Plureague and Giraenis's papers in them, "I hope you've matured from when these papers were filed."

Plureague found it insulting that a young runt such as Lucius had the guts to speak as he had been. If not for the power that Lucius had, he would have knocked Lucius's head clean off his shoulders. Plureague could look at Giraenis and tell that the feeling was mutual and he kept his sly grin to himself.

"I give you my word." Plureague said in a humble tone of voice as he bowed his head.

"As do I." Giraenis stated.

Lucius smiled and shook both Plureague and Giraenis's hand. "Welcome back, Plureague the white mage and Iron Hawk the paladin. Let us hope for a repeat performance of the Windurstian Raids, shall we?"

Plureague and Giraenis bowed and proceeded outside the president's building. The two proceeded past the consulate offices and down the stairs that led into the main building. They continued to the wooden elevator that ran constantly on both sides of the building and the two waited at the end of the dock for the elevator to return to the second floor.

"What were your thoughts on our Lord Lucius?" Plureague asked with a cocky tone of voice.

Giraenis looked to Plureague and grinned. "He's a shrimp. If not for the political power he holds, he would be crawling in a hole like a worm at the sight of war."

The elevator clicked to a halt before them and four people rushed by while Giraenis and Plureague walked aboard.

"I think he suspected us to be spies for a moment. He looked at me with that glare of his more than once." Plureague said in a laugh as the elevator made its decent.

Giraenis stood in thought for a moment. "Do you think what they said was true? I've been to both Windurst and San d'Oria and I haven't seen any sign of them moving toward war. They seem completely separate."

"You can never tell with San d'Oria. The king is very clever." Plureague stated just as the elevator came to a halt at the first floor. "The ruler of the city is not our business this time. We go in and grab information and return here. We are not to engage in unnecessary combat."

"Not even a little one? Ha ha ha!" Giraenis laughed as he and Plureague made their way outside the Metalworks building.

"I was young and foolish then. This time we do all we can to stick with the mission."

"Heh heh, you got it."

The two proceeded toward Plureague's home, passing the Moogle and the many adventurers that surrounded it with little interest. They went down a small set of stairs then turned left, passing the goldsmith's guild to the house next door where Plureague lived.

"Plureague, I don't think we have time for a house call. It says on the paper that we are to be in Ru'Lude Gardens by tomorrow evening."

"So? We can make it. I just need to tell Aonir that I'll be gone."

Giraenis looked up at the night sky and shook his head. "We'll be on a chocobo the whole way so I say we leave now or risk being late. Besides, the lights are off so I'd say she's in bed early. No sense in waking the girl."

Plureague stopped for a moment then turned to face Giraenis. "You have a point, old friend. Let us be off then." Plureague led the way down the street, across the bridge in front of the guild, then down a set of stairs that led to Bastok Mines district.

"That was odd, what changed your mind so suddenly?" Giraenis asked.

Plureague stopped and smiled. "Aonir managed to take care of things when I left for that month during the Windurst Raids. I trust she will be fine here on her own."

A smile crossed Giraenis's lips. "You treat her as if she were your own, eh, Plureague?"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"You haven't told her, have you?" Giraenis asked.

"No. She doesn't need to know. She'll be happier this way."

"If she finds out on her own she may get hurt. Before going into a profession a person must know the skills their families held so he or she can control them."

Plureague spun around. "Are you saying she is at risk?"

"Not entirely. Enough about it, we're burning moonlight." Giraenis stated as he moved past Plureague and made his way into the mines district.

"Giraenis," Plureague stated quickly, stopping the Galka in his tracks, "her mother and father told me to take care of her and to keep it a secret and I plan to keep my word."

Giraenis nodded and smiled. The two continued on, into Bastok Mines, toward the Chocobo Stables. They had a mission hanging over their heads now and were in no means on a loose schedule. The stables were close to the front gates, which was convenient since they did not have to do much to get outside. It was also close by the Auction House, which meant traffic might slow them down a bit.

They forced their way into the stables and handed over eighty-three Gil to the breeder to rent a Chocobo, ninety-seven for Giraenis for his size, and the two dashed southwest bound for Jeuno. Both travelers blissfully unaware as they passed through South Gustaburg and beyond the fumaroles that Aonir was closer to them now than she had been in town.