Note: San'd Orians are not friendly to adventurers. I'm sorry if I offend anyone but I'm sure it can be understood. Please enjoy.
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Chapter Six
The sands flew up more than they had before. Aonir found it hard to walk in the soft sands of Valkurm and Toku was in a similar boat. His size made the sand almost eat him. The place was crowded, more so than Aonir had expected. Toku took a few steps but then a sand dune swallowed him. Aonir quickly dug him out and allowed him to sit on her shoulders. The sand tore at her face. The winds varied in strength but each gust picked up the sand and flung it at them.
"Amazing." Aonir whispered.
"Just follow the left wall around. We have to go through a cave somewhere around here." Toku said as he fought to keep his balance on Aonir's shoulders and keep his hat on.
"Ok. If you say so."
Aonir trudged through the storm and the soft sand that covered her feet. The sand was bright, almost white in color. Several people ran by her with goblins close behind them and others had several lizards or bats.
"This is so amazing. So beautiful and yet scary."
"Yeah," Toku said in an uninterested tone, "scary."
Aonir made it through the open area and found a tunnel. She made her way through it, guessing the bats came from where they were from the Galka that was running with some behind him. Maybe the trip through Valkurm, Aonir thought, would go smoothly.
Night was falling over the desert. Nothing too special but the wind died down as the sky darkened. She reached into her bag and grabbed a small piece of pie and began to eat it as she went. She offered some to Toku but he seemed too busy looking for monsters.
The trip was going oddly well. They had passed through the tunnel with no problem and were now heading toward a small wooded area. Aonir carefully passed through. A small rattling sound was heard but when Aonir looked back, nothing was there. With a shrug, she continued around. Toku looked behind and saw a sight that chilled him. A skeleton was walking around carrying a scythe. Sure, he had seen skeletons before. They were in every region. What scared him was that the skeleton was not just walking. The skeleton was chasing them and he was about to swing.
"AONIR, LOOK OUT!" Toku shouted.
He leapt off of her shoulders and onto the skeleton's head. The skeleton staggered, his scythe missing Aonir just barely. Aonir spun around to see Toku clinging to the skeleton as it shook wildly. She was frozen in shock.
"Run! Aonir! Run!"
The skeleton screamed. Aonir covered her ears as fast as she could to block out the ear-piercing scream. Several skeletons rose from the sands, surrounding Aonir and Toku and keeping them in the wooded area. The skeleton that was struggling with Toku managed to grab the back of Toku's doublet and throw him into one of the trees with a loud crash. Toku slid down the trunk of the tree and landed on the sand with a thud.
"Toku!"
"Just run, Aonir!" Toku shouted as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. "I can handle myself."
Aonir looked behind her at the group of skeletons slowly closing in on her and panicked. The moved in toward Toku a bit then turned to see Toku put his palms together. A dark light engulfed Toku, hiding him from her sight for a moment. When the light dispersed, Toku's clothes had changed. His hat was much bigger and his clothes were brown and black and were a much different design than the clothes he was in earlier. Aonir had seen the clothes before but only on the friends of her master, Plureague and they were seasoned black mages.
"Run, Aonir." Toku instructed as he put his fingertips together.
"Run where?" Aonir asked as she showed Toku that they were surrounded.
One of the Skeletons carrying a scythe charged forward, his weapon held high in the air. Toku did not hear her over the many screams of the undead around them but he did see the skeleton charging. Aonir had her back turned to the one charging and was backing up toward it while moving from the other skeletons. The swarm of skeletons moved in, weapons ready to strike and thirsty for blood. The charging skeleton brought his scythe around, readying a horizontal strike on the unsuspecting Aonir. Toku stopped casting and rushed over.
"AONIR!" He shouted.
Aonir spun around just in time to see Toku leap up from the ground and into the path of the scythe. The tip of the scythe pierced through Toku's clothes, ripped through his body, and then revealed itself through Toku's back. The blade of the scythe had gone straight through Toku's small body. Blood spattered onto the white sand and onto Aonir. Toku's expression was frozen in pain as the skeleton forced the scythe from the Taru's body. Toku fell to his knees and then forward onto his stomach, blood slowly staining the fine white sands a dark crimson. Aonir backed up, her mouth agape, against the tree as the monsters began moving toward her.
She looked down to Toku's body, her body shaking with fear and shock. Tears swelled into her eyes as she stared at Toku, watching and hoping for any sign of life to spark. There was none. Aonir tried to force the tears back but found she was not even strong enough to do that. She was a white mage. She could not handle much on her own, let alone a mob of skeletons. She closed her eyes and lowered her head, tears fell from her eyes and dampened the sand below her.
"Maybe Plureague was right. I'm not ready to be out on my own." Aonir said softly, her voice shaking as her tears slid down her cheeks. "Now I'm going to die from my beliefs. I'm sorry, Plureague."
Aonir had lost all hope of survival and fell to her hands and knees. Her hands curled into tight fists as they clenched the sand. She had disobeyed her master's words only to die for her foolishness. She was not ready to be on her own. Just as Aonir heard one skeleton step before her to take her head, a strange noise rang out over the sands.
"Let's get'em, Chira! YAH!"
Aonir looked up in confusion to see a man on a chocobo rushing toward her. The chocobo lowered its head and rammed into the wave of skeletons, shattering them. The man jumped from the bird and pulled out two daggers from his side sheaths and began slashing the monsters apart. Aonir stood in shock as she watched this man fight alongside a chocobo. The man had straight but shaggy black hair and his bangs were long and came in front of his face in strings. He was wearing a green beret with what looked like feathers on it and hide clothing. She watched him in awe as he and the chocobo made bone dust out of the skeletons. When it was over, the man slid his daggers into their sheaths and looked to her.
"Are you all right?" Aonir did her best to nod, tears still falling down her face and her body shaking. "Was there someone with you?"
Aonir looked to where Toku's body lay and was shocked to find that he was gone. Aonir covered her mouth, her stomach tightened and she gasped. Plureague had told her that when someone is killed, a white mage can revive them but only if the person keeps his soul. If the person surrenders their soul to Altana, they cannot be revived. The blood stained sand where Toku once was sat empty. The man looked to her then to the stain of blood and walked over to Aonir and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Um, where were you headed? Maybe I can help you." The man offered. Aonir wiped her face on the sleeve of her doublet and shook her head. "Chira can hold two people. Let me take you."
"I don't know where I'm supposed to go now. Toku was,"
The man lifted Aonir's chin and smiled. "Come with me. We'll go to San'd Oria." He said softly.
"Why San'd Oria?" Aonir asked as she watched the man mount the chocobo.
"There is a chapel there. You are a white mage, right?" He asked.
"Yes, but," Aonir said as she took his hand and hopped onto the chocobo.
"The chapel is a good place to sort out your thoughts. I'm sure whoever was with you was close to you. I'm sorry for your loss. While we're there, you can get your uniform measurements."
"Uniform?" Aonir said in confusion, her voice shaky.
"Yes." He said as he turned the chocobo around. "Hold onto me. Chira is a fast runner."
"Ok, but what uniform are you talking about?" Aonir asked as she nervously wrapped her arms around his waist, glancing once again to where Toku had been.
"Chira! Full speed to San'd Oria! YAH!"
The chocobo let out a loud 'kweh' and took off. Aonir clung to him as hard as she could after feeling herself nearly slip off of the chocobo's back. The chocobo's feathers were smooth and she felt that, if she did not use all of her strength, she would fall off.
"You got a name?" The man asked as he skillfully navigated the chocobo over Valkurm's soft sands. Aonir said nothing, her mind still on the incident that had happened only moments ago. Toku's death replaying in her mind, pushing forth more tears and pain from inside Aonir's heart.
The chocobo crossed through into La Theine Plateau just as rain began to fall over them. He took one hand off of the reigns and touched her hand, shocking her slightly. He glanced back and smiled at her, the rain sticking his hair to his face slightly. Aonir looked up from his back, the rain disguising her tears.
"If you don't want to tell me your name, I understand." He said softly.
"A-Aonir." Aonir spoke, her voice cracking slightly. "My name is Aonir."
He smiled at her, glancing forward every now and then to make sure they did not run off of the path. The raindrops began falling faster and more frequent, each drop cool to the touch. Kitaku slowed Chira down slightly so not to slide down the many hills and slopes that made up La Theine.
Aonir returned her gaze down toward the ground. Her heart ached. The tears would not stop flowing. She hated herself for it. Had she been more careful, Toku would be with her right now and not this man. She would be in the port town of Selbina and awaiting the boat's arrival. Why did she panic back there? Why did she not just run? Aonir pounded herself with questions, causing more tears to form. She should have been the one dead, not Toku. He saved her life. That attack was meant for her, not him.
Aonir felt herself slowly weakening, her eyes growing heavy. She tried to fight off the drowsiness but her struggle came to no avail. She fell into a deep slumber while on the chocobo. Kitaku felt her grip slowly slipping so he stopped Chira for a moment and dismounted, allowing Aonir to slide off into his arms. He then fixed his grip on her and remounted Chira, Aonir in his lap, and instructed Chira to continue full speed through the storm.
The trip through La Theine took about two hours but Kitaku wasted no time upon reaching West Ronfaure to proceed northeast, rushing around the mountains that filled the area. His turns were so sharp in some cases that the chocobo was almost sideways. Water splashed up from the ground as the chocobo's large talon-toed feet forced the large bird across the land. The rain continued to pour over the travelers as they neared San'd Oria's gate.
The large stone fortress that was the protective wall and gate of San'd Oria towered over Kitaku as he dismounted Chira at the gate. He picked up Aonir and made his way to the closed gate doors. With his right foot, he kicked the gate. The gate was still only for a moment until a set of Elvaan men pulled the doors open. The men looked at Kitaku and Aonir then exchanged glances to one another.
"What happened to the girl?" One asked suddenly.
"If the girl has an illness I'm afraid you are going to have to wait here, sir." The other Elvaan guard said stopping Kitaku from entering by stepping in the path. "Safety protocol."
"She's just asleep. Let her sleep, she's had a bad experience and needs time to recover." Kitaku stated defensively.
"We'll need to see her adventurer's license. We do not want any spies entering." The first guard said.
"Fine, search her." Kitaku said annoyed as he placed Aonir down gently on the soaked stone walkway. "I'll be watching you so nothing funny."
The two Elvaans proceeded to go through Aonir's belongings. Putting all the food they found to one side and everything else to the other. Kitaku crossed his arms in annoyance as he watched them dig through her bag and her pouches.
"I'm sorry but she has no license on her, sir." The second guard said as he put all the things except for the food back into the bag.
"You know the rules, sir." The first guard said. "Any adventurers found without their license is to be held until an official from their home nation picks them up."
"Why not make a quick exception?" Kitaku said quickly. "The girl just lost someone dear to her."
"I'm sorry, Sir Kitaku. No matter how well known you are across the land, the king's rules are not to be pushed aside for anyone. She is to be placed in the dungeon until her nation is contacted and we are given word that she will be picked up."
"If they claim her. Having no license is serious offense and is not good for a nation's appearance." The second guard said with a laugh.
"She's probably from Bastok. They always try to harm San'd Oria and sending an adventurer without the license may be a way of getting a mole in the system." The first guard said as he tied a rope around Aonir's wrists.
"Hey," Kitaku said angrily as he placed his hands on his daggers, "watch what you say about others. You may end up getting hurt over it."
The first guard picked up Aonir and hoisted her over his shoulder. "Whatever you say, sir."
Aonir woke up about this time and began struggling.
"Hey! Put me down!"
"Aonir!" Kitaku said with surprise.
The guards put her down in surprise that Kitaku had not lied about her being asleep.
"What's going on? Why are my hands tied?"
"Aonir, you don't have a license." Kitaku said.
"Look, I don't have one. I'm sorry. I left Bastok without my teacher's permission. That is all I lack on that thing and I'm legal." Aonir explained.
"Huh?" The first guard said scratching his head.
Water slid down Aonir's face as the rain continued to fall.
"My teacher has not signed it yet."
"Who is your teacher?" The second guard asked, showing slight interest.
"Plureague Koriliaahn."
Kitaku and the guards all looked at her in shock. Kitaku walked over to Aonir's side and looked her in the eyes. Her eyes showed that she was not making anything up. Plureague was her instructor and nothing would make her say any different.
"THE Plureague?" The second guard asked.
"As in Plureague, exiled from San'd Oria for his ruthlessness in combat?" The first guard asked.
"Ruthless? He's not ruthless. He wouldn't hurt a fly." Aonir said.
The two guards burst into laughter. Aonir did not like this one bit. Two Elvaan guards were laughing at her teacher and calling him ruthless. They did not know Plureague like she did.
"Aonir, Plureague was a ruthless white mage. He never listened to anyone and even tried to say that Altana did not exist. He was spotted in Windurst during a raid several years ago with a Galka at his side. They tried burning Windurst to the ground." Kitaku said softly.
"No!" Aonir said quickly, moving away from Kitaku. "That isn't true!"
"Take her to the dungeon." The first guard instructed the other.
The guard grabbed Aonir's shoulder and pushed her into San'd Oria. She looked at Kitaku as if pleading for him to help her. He watched as they led her into North San'd Oria, into the Chateau d'Oraguille where they proceed to practically push Aonir down several flights of stairs to the dungeon. Without kindness or regard for her being a living thing, the guard threw Aonir into a cell and closed the door with a loud clink as the lock hitched shut.
"You'll be free as soon as we find your teacher." The guard said.
Kitaku, who had followed them there, hid in the shadows of the dark dungeon and waited until the guard had gone before dashing in front of Aonir's cell. Oddly enough, Aonir was happy to see him. She had no idea why he stayed; after all, this was her fault, just like Toku's death was her fault.
"What's going on? Why did they sound so unhappy to hear about, Plureague?" Aonir asked, standing up from where the guard threw her.
"Aonir, if what you said was true, you are going to cause a lot of trouble here in San'd Oria." He said resting his hands on the bars.
"Why?" She asked.
"Plureague was exiled from San'd Oria years ago and to have him inside San'd Oria is not going to make the king a happy man."
"Why did they act that way?"
"The guards?" Kitaku asked, confused that Aonir changed the subject so quickly.
"Yes. They were even rude to you." Aonir stated.
"San'd Orians aren't keen on adventurers. It's sort of against their traditions." Kitaku explained as he tried to untie her hands.
"What tradition is that? Seems sort of pointless."
"Well," Kitaku said as he freed her hands and tucked the rope into his bag, "San'd Oria is a kingdom based on knights and such. The king's army and his adventurer's are his knights. The thought of a wanderer working with San'd Oria is sort of an insult. Not considered an honorable thing. It would be like Bastok if all they wanted was engineers as their force."
Aonir gave him an odd look and shook her head, "That comment about Bastok made no sense."
"Well, let's see, it would be like if the president of Bastok decided all he wanted was his force. The Republic Army, or something like that would be his eyes outside the walls of Bastok and the only way you yourself could go out and have adventures is if you were a part of that army."
"You don't know how to explain it in Bastok terms but I understood you before you attempted." Aonir said with a smile.
Kitaku smiled back. "Don't worry. You'll be out of here in no time."
"Um, Kitaku." Aonir said.
"Hm? What's up?"
"Why did you come down here?"
Kitaku thought for a moment then looked at her and said, "I'm not really sure. Something inside me said to."
She smiled at him but the warmth stopped when footsteps were heard walking toward them from the end of the dark hallway. Kitaku kept his hands close to his crossbow that rested on the right side of the back of his belt. Both he and Aonir looked down the hallway into the pitch-black emptiness that was the cellblock. The footsteps grew louder and closer until a figure could be seen walking toward them. Kitaku pulled his crossbow free and loaded a bolt.
"Put your weapon down, please." A man's voice said softly. "I mean you no harm."
Kitaku looked to Aonir who only shrugged. Kitaku lowered his crossbow and the man walked into what little light that was down in the dungeon. The man was an Elvaan with slightly paler skin than usual Elvaans. He wore a tunic with the hood up and slacks. The man looked to Kitaku then to Aonir and shook his head.
"Such young people should not be in a place like this." He said.
"Why is that?" Kitaku said stubbornly.
"I'm down here every day and will always be here." He said sadly.
"Why, sir?" Aonir asked with concern.
He smiled to her but Kitaku gave her a shocked look.
"I am an unwelcome creature."
"You're an Elvaan. I admit some are a bit hard to handle but that doesn't make you a creature." Kitaku said as he slid his crossbow back into his belt.
The man laughed and smiled, "I am not a normal Elvaan."
"Huh?" Kitaku asked.
"I'm a vampire. I'm searching for a cure for this illness but so far no one knows of one."
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Aonir said passionately as she reached out of the cell to him.
"Don't be, ma'am. I'm use to it." He said with a smile. "My name is Novalmauge. I take it you'll be here for a bit?"
"Yeah, she doesn't have her adventurer's license." Kitaku said leaning on the cell bars. "So until they find Plureague she's stuck here."
"Plureague, eh? I thought the old man would have kicked by now." Novalmauge said as he brought his hand to his chin.
"You and about every San'd Orian here." Aonir said in annoyance.
The two men laughed at Aonir who just sat down on the bench in the cell with her arms crossed, her body shivering from the cold. Kitaku popped his neck and sat down on the cold floor. Novalmauge looked up to the ceiling and sighed.
"I must continue my rounds. Have faith, young mage." He said, smiling at Aonir before nodding to Kitaku and walking back down the hall and vanishing in the darkness.
Kitaku took out a cape from his bag and handed it to Aonir through the bars. She looked to the cape then to him in confusion. He smiled at her and nodded, signaling that she could take the cape from him. She nervously took the cape and held it out in front of her, glancing to him in confusion. He grinned and motioned for her to cover up with it to keep warm. She smiled to him and did just that, quickly wrapping herself in the cape.
Kitaku watched as Aonir's eyes slowly closed, sending her into a world outside of the cell. He thought wherever her mind took her had to be better than this prison and he proceeded to close his eyes. He hoped his mind could make the situation go away for only a moment and he drifted off to a peaceful slumber.