CHAPTER TWO

Aragon woke up in a sweat, once again he had relived that fateful day when his caravan was attacked and his father died, ultimately causing him to join his brother in adventuring. He shook his head, reminding himself that now those events were nothing but memories, and that he was stronger now. He no longer would have to worry about the pain of that day, and the frustration of not being able to help himself, or his father in that time of need.

Aragon got out of his bed, and walked over to the mirror on the wall, as he took a flask of distilled water, and poured himself a glass. He had changed a lot in the past few months. Before he became an adventurer he was fit, but had no real muscle mass. Now it seemed like he had no fat, and that his muscles, while not bulging, were taking shape and hardening. His face even looked different, it was no longer the innocent face of youth, but the hardened face of one who had killed, and seen death.

Aragon put his glass down, and noticed his moogle already at work tidying up the small moghouse. Aragon wondered how that moogle could stand it. First thing in the morning the moogle would tidy up, and right before it was time to sleep, it would tidy up again. Not to mention it was in charge of guarding all of the items in his mog safe, getting the mail, and gardening. Aragon shrugged and looked out the window to see that it was already dawn. Damn, he was supposed to meet Ryaneth and Kore at the Metal Works today.

Aragon was very excited about today. Today was the day when he was assigned to go on his first diplomatic mission, all the way to the Federation of Windurst. He had been on missions before, and they were fine and dandy, but before now the best mission he had been on was killing Quadav's in Palborough. But finally he was going to be sent over seas to help Windurst do some 'highly important mission, which could affect the Republics ties with the Federation'.

Aragon took out his beetle gear. The harness was tough; it was made out of the shells of actual beetles. But the harness for whatever strange reason did not cover his chest very well at all. But at least the beetle subligar had leggings so that it would not look as if he was wearing metal underwear. This was his newest set of armor that he had just gotten last week. Ryaneth used it when he was training as a monk in Quifm Island, and since he had much better armor now, he gave it to Aragon.

Aragon also grabbed his Moth Axe from the wall, and secured it to his back. The Moth Axe was a huge double headed great axe that he had bought from a bazaar for a nominal cost. It was low on the defensive, but as far as offense went it was the best weapon Aragon could carry or use. He had forgotten about using his onion sword very quickly after he became an adventurer, for it was too weak. However he kept it as a keep sake item to remind him of his father.

Aragon had gotten far fast, much faster then most adventurers would. But then again he had hook ups, like his brother, who gave him a good word to Bastok's musketeer's allowing him to partake in more missions, as well he had his friend Kore to train him in the way's of a warrior.

He had met Kore only two weeks after he became an adventurer. Kore just came up to him and asked him if he wanted an axe. Aragon agreed, and took the axe, they had stayed in contact ever since. Aragon did not know that much about Kore. He was a strong warrior, and a friendly person. Kore did not talk about himself much; he said that he was not that proud of his family or parts of his past. All Aragon could figure out is that Kore's parents were proud red mages, and Kore wanted to be a warrior instead.

Not being what their parents wanted them to be seemed to be a common formula for Aragon and his friends. Aragon remembered when he first sent his mother a letter explaining what had happened to their father, and that he had chosen to become an adventurer. He could still remember that letter to this day word for word.

Dear Mother,

Well I made it to Bastok unharmed. Much to my dismay though, father did not. We were ambushed by Quadav's in Konschtat Highlands when everyone was setting up camp. Pop died trying to save me, and he succeeded in letting me live on. I know you said that pop and I often fought, and we acted like we did not care about each other. But we did, and I miss him dearly.

Despite this grave news, I have some good news. I found Ryaneth, yes my older brother, when I reached Bastok. He is doing well, though he says that he misses you and pop, and he's wanted to visit everyday, though he was too ashamed to. He has become a successful monk, and promises to teach me the basics of adventuring.

This brings me to my next news. Before father died he gave me his blessing to become an adventurer, and I have now decided to take this course in life. I believe that by being an adventurer I can not only help the country, and the people who live in it, but also avenge my father's death. I hope I have your blessings as well, and I will keep in contact with you.

Love,

Aragon

Aragon also remembered just as well the response he got back from his mother, which was not quite what he wanted to hear. The letter was stained with tear drops, and it pained Aragon to remember it.

Aragon,

I love you, but you are a fool if you think that becoming an adventurer will help anyone! And as far as avenging your father goes, I would love to see those Quadav that killed him suffer, but you should know that you'll never find the Quadav that killed him again. You are helping no one, and you will just end up like your father if you don't stop this foolishness now. Don't follow your older brother to your doom. If you have any sense you will take the next airship back to Jueno. Don't bother to write me again if you stay on this idiotic path, unless I write you back first.

Mother

Well Aragon did not write her back since then. One day he would visit her in Jueno, but unless she wrote him apologizing first, she had to learn it was his life to "throw away". Most parents would be proud if their children became adventurers, he saw parents around town bragging about how their son is the strongest Dark Knight from Bastok, or how their daughter is an aspiring summoner. But Aragon and Ryaneth's parents seemed to believe that Adventuring was nothing.

Maybe before now Aragon could not make an honest opinion on it. Adventuring was a dangerous profession, but it was fair. You got what you worked for, well for the most part at least. If you did a mission of a certain skill level you would get a Gil reward as well as a rank up. If you did a quest you would usually get rewarded, and if you hunted a notorious monster, and it dropped something of value you could get a good sum.

The day after Aragon arrived at Bastok he went straight to the Metal Works to be registered as a citizen of the Republic. He also registered as a new adventurer. He had to fill out several pages, mostly asking for information such as his name, age, and job. When someone became an adventurer they had to choose a job, usually it was something that they already had experience in. Most new adventurers started as a warrior, monk, white mage, black mage, red mage, or thief because those were what most people already had basic training in.

Aragon had never trained in any form of combat, so he chose warrior on the form since it was a basic all around combat job, and he did not think he had the mental concentration to do magic. He then had to fill out forms about his moghouse, and request a moogle to his name. After a few hours, his papers were reviewed and he was approved to be a citizen, and an adventurer.

Ryaneth helped him out quite a bit at this point. He told Aragon that in order to train he should start out with basic enemies first, the monsters that a five year old could probably take down. So Ryaneth brought Aragon out to South Gustaberg to start his training. Ryaneth instructed Aragon to seek out huge wasps and tunnel worms, because they would still put up a fight, but they were relatively easy.

Aragon remembered the small joy he found when he found a huge wasp flying back to its nest, and he attacked it. The wasp tried stinging him, but Aragon moved out of the way and swung at it with his blade. The wasp then shot it's stinger at him, injuring Aragon somewhat, but killing the wasp. Aragon gained confidence from this, and learned that a fight can bring pain. Soon Aragon could take down the wasps before they used their final sting on him, and his skills in swordsmanship rose greatly. It was not long before Aragon could even take down the younger Quadav's that roamed Gustaberg.

After a while Aragon met Kore who gave him his first axe, and advised him that if he was to train as a warrior he should use axes. Since then Aragon had become proficient in both axes, and great axes. Weeks passed, and Ryaneth brought Aragon to Konschtat once again to train, and to face his past. When Aragon fought his first Quadav there he was terrified, but when he defeated it, he got a small amount of content knowing that he could have just killed one of his fathers murderer's.

Aragon began doing quests for the people of Bastok. Many of the quests just involved delivering messages and items to the citizens. Sometimes a person would want Aragon to defeat a certain monster, and bring back proof that he killed it. After a couple of weeks he got a little bit of fame for his deeds in Bastok, and very rarely he would hear someone mention his name.

In Jueno Aragon was somewhat famous just because his parents were famous there. But in Bastok he had to start anew and get his own respect by his own deeds. He liked this much better because he felt it was only right that if he was respected, it was his own work and not somebody else's. Now the guards knew his name, and were always willing to give him a mission to further the welfare of Bastok.

Aragon's first mission had him deliver a report from the Zerhun mines to the Metal Works, regarding the productivity of the mines. It was a boring mission, except for when he got lost in the mines and chased out by a giant ameba. The strange looking glob of a sticky substance somehow noticed him, although it did not have eyes, and tried to attack him. Luckily Aragon managed to find his way to the entrance of the mines before it was too late.

After that Aragon's missions included helping the Hume engineer, and legend, Cid get items and tests for his inventions. Aragon also had to go to the Palborough mines to the north of Bastok and kill a certain amount of Quadav's. That was a standard mission that every adventurer had to do to prove that they had what it took to fight beast men.

Kore and Ryaneth both agreed that Aragon should go to Valkurm Dunes to train for a while. The Dunes were filled with Goblins, and Damsel Flies. Not to mention that at night undead came out. The undead had always scared Aragon because they were immensely stronger then any other monsters in the dunes, and they would not hesitate to fight adventurer's. How the undead came to be Aragon could not understand, what he did know was that he wished there was a way to stop them from coming back.

He had finally finished his training in the dunes last week, and had come back to Bastok to relax, and sign up for new missions. The day before Kore and Ryaneth brought Aragon to the Metal Works to sign up for a mission. The guard told them that the only mission he had available at the time was a diplomatic mission. Since both Kore and Ryaneth were somewhat seasoned, the guard decided they would be great for the job. Also the guard signed Aragon up to since Aragon had proved reliable, and because the mission, while challenging, was still simple enough for Aragon to help on. All they had to do was go to Windurst and help them make peace with the Yagudo, a bird like beast man that terrorized the Tarutaru of the area.

Aragon finished his pot of tea, ate his breakfast, and headed out fully equipped. It was a sunny day in Bastok Markets. The activity reminded him of Jueno, although it was not nearly as crowded. Adventurers browsed the auction house, shopped, and set up bazaars to sell their unwanted items. The fountain at the center of this section of the city was a great gathering place, and a sight to behold.

However today Aragon was not headed into the markets, today he was headed to the Metal Works to regroup for his mission, and then head out. Aragon walked up the grey cement stairs to the tallest building in Bastok. From here it looked as if it was nothing more then a mound of bricks, but from a distance you could see that on top it had three chimney stacks, shooting out the smoke caused from the technological advancements constantly taking place there.

Aragon walked through the large opening in the wall leading inside. The interior of this establishment was much like the outside. It was Made with nothing but stone, but the place still managed to be as grand as any a place Aragon had seen. As he walked in the Hume female guard with the short blonde hair who was always there walked up to him.

"Sir I need to see if you are permitted in the Metal Work…" she paused noticing it was Aragon, "Oh it's you. You're party is waiting in front of the President's office on the second floor."

Aragon thanked her, and gave her the standard Bastokan salute. He then proceeded into the main area on the lower level which consisted of the blacksmiths guild, as well as the under used and under kept temple of the goddess. Aragon turned to the large wooden platform which went up and down by the use of wheels and pulley's. It was always a pain to catch the lift as it would only stay on the ground for a minute before going back up. He heard the clanking of the gears as the large platform lowered itself back to the first floor. Aragon stepped on it quickly, and waited as it lifted him above the city to the second floor, not to mention highest point of Bastok, of the Metal Works.

Aragon got off, and headed into the area where the entire embassy's as well as the President's office, and cannons, were located. This area of the Metal Works remained uncovered to the sky, and was like a small village in itself. In the center stood the Presidents office, a large building heavily guarded by the Mythril Musketeers themselves. That was the place that Ryaneth and Kore were supposed to meet him.

Aragon trotted towards the building when he heard Ryaneth's voice call to him, "Hey little brother!"

Aragon hated it when Ryaneth called him that, though he was not sure why he really minded. He turned to see Ryaneth standing there with his white and black jujitsu gi, and orange temple gear. Next to him stood Kore, hosting his iron Royal Knights gear, which covered him from top to bottom in plate armor, though right now his helm, was off replaced by his shoulder length blonde hair. Aragon waved to his friends and went to meet them. He saluted them as he got nearer, and they returned the gesture.

"Hello Ara," said Kore as Aragon approached.

"Hello," Aragon returned the greeting, "So have you two been briefed yet?"

"Nah, not since when we accepted the mission anyway," Ryaneth shrugged, "Naji, one of the Mythril Musketeers is supposed to come brief us soon."

"Damn it," Aragon sighed, "I was hoping to get briefed by President Karst this time."

Kore laughed, "No Karst is too busy to do a briefing like this. Besides, Karst is an ass anyway, be glad if you never have to meet him."

They all laughed then heard the clanking steps of the fifth musketeer coming from behind them. They turned to see Naji walking up in his scale male. He was the youngest of the Mythril Musketeers, and it was easy to see that by his youthful face and his short blonde hair, which stood up some in front. Aragon was pretty sure Naji was only a few years older then he was. Also because Naji was the youngest and the newest member of the musketeers he was nick named number five by the more experienced members of the group.

The group saluted Naji as he came to a halt. Naji returned the salute then looked them over before he started the briefing, "Hello adventurer's. I am sorry that this briefing will be short and sweet, considering that it is an important mission. Now to elaborate on what was already said earlier, you are to go to Port Windurst as soon as possible. Once you are there you are to head directly to Heavens Tower, where you will meet with the Star Sybil. The Star Sybil will instruct you further.

'Basically your mission will be trying to negotiate with the Yagudo near the Federation. The Yagudo are causing more problems in Windurst, and it has been asked of San d' Oria and Bastok to help in the negotiations. The Federation believes that the Yagudo will be more intimidated if there is more then just one nation confronting them. At best it will be a simple task where a negotiator will speak to the Yagudo and the adventurers will stand back and make sure there is no trouble. At worst there will be blood shed, but luckily for us the Yagudo of Giddeus are not the best fighters.

'Aragon, since you are the newest of all the adventurers from any nation going on the mission you will have to take all commands of your superiors. You may not engage with any Yagudo unless a superior engages them first. You will also be the first to run if, in the rare case, the need arises. Ryaneth, and Kore, you know what to do. Are there any questions?"

All three of the adventurers shook their head no, so Naji put in his final word, "I hope that this goes well, as the ties between the Federation, the Republic, and even the beast men may depend on this mission. I wish you the best of luck, and I hope to hear a good report. Dismissed."

The four saluted each other again before Naji walked away. Aragon did not like the fact that he had such low rank on this mission, but decided he was one of very few adventurers with his experience who would be allowed to go on a mission like this. The group traveled out of the metal works into the markets. At that point Kore stopped and addressed the party.

"Well it seems that we are at a loss for transportation. Both Ryaneth and I are high enough of a rank to use the airship, however you are not," he pointed at Aragon, "Unless Ryan here has the Gil to get you an airship pass, we are stuck taking Chocobo's and the ferry."

"No," said Ryaneth apparently irritated by the idea of taking the long way, "I just went broke buying these Katar's, I can't afford to buy him an airship pass. I guess we're out of luck then. Just be thankful, brother, that we are willing to waste needed time to make sure you can come with us."

"Hey," Aragon said jokingly, "You just be glad I'm one of the few adventurers of my experience who already has a Chocobo license. Other wise we'd have to walk."

The group went into the moghouse complex. Known to only a few adventurers was the fact that underneath the complex was a path to every moghouse complex in Bastok. This made travel between areas much faster, though it was less scenic. Aragon climbed up the stairs from the under ground pathway into the Bastok Mines moghouse complex. The three came out into the horribly dull looking Bastok Mines.

The mines were the haven for the impoverished of Bastok. Although it was mostly populated by Galka who had no choice but to work as miners for a living, people of every race who could not afford to live in the markets or the port, lived here. The community was very tight though, and the people who lived here were usually close. They would help each other, but they would shun any outsiders. Aragon thought it was sad that the racism of some of the Humes had ended up making this place so barren, and ignored. The few Humes who thought Galka should not have any real rights forced most of the Galka population of Bastok to live here. And because of this many of the Galka here hated Humes in general, even ones like Aragon who were fond of them.

Aragon, Ryaneth, and Kore walked through the dusty grey streets to the Chocobo stables. Here they took out their Gil sacks, and each of them rented a Chocobo. The Chocobo's were led outside to South Gustaberg in front of the mines district. The keeper told them to take good care of the Chocobo's, and let them go. It was the same process every time Aragon rented a chocobo.

They set out on the giant yellow birds running through the barren wastelands of the Gustabergs towards the small fishing town of Selbina near the Valkurm Dunes, where they could catch the ferry to Windurst. Aragon and the others only stopped once for a snack that day, as they wanted to make it to Selbina before nightfall.

Finally they made it. It was night in the dunes, and bogy's and ghouls were out to end the lives of many aspiring adventurers. Aragon hated those wretched undead, and remembered several times where he had to run to survive here. It was amazing that he had made it this far because he was usually the one to take the hits. When he was partying with fellow adventurers his role was to get in front of the monster, make it angry, and take the hits while his team mates destroyed it.

He loved that feeling though. The feeling of protecting his friends, and being the center of attention in the battle. Kore said that traits like this made fine warriors. But Aragon was relieved when he went adventuring with Kore and Ryaneth because they would take the hits first. Aragon already had a couple scars from all these hits, particularly because the armor that he could afford, and use effectively, did not protect him as well as he would like. Meanwhile Kore could operate effectively in heavier armor, which actually protected him well.

They rode through the gates into Selbina, and once they were there, they dismounted their chocobo's. The chocobo's ran to the nearest out post instinctively. In front of the group lay the small town of Selbina. The town was so small that one could see the ocean where the town ended from the town's entrance. This town was originally created as a fishing town, as well as a place where San d' Oria and Bastok could trade with the nation of Windurst across the sea. There were only a few buildings in the town, and most of the buildings accommodated a couple businesses such as an inn and a shop.

The group wasted no time getting to the gates of the ferry. They decided that they could sleep on the ship after they set out, this way they could conceivably make it to Windurst in only three days. Aragon had never been on a ship before, and he was excited at the very thought. They walked up to the wooden stand where tickets were sold when a Galka came to greet them.

"Hello," the Galka said gruffly, "You have to buy a ticket to get on the ferry. If you don't want to go to Mhaura, then just turn back."

Ryaneth and Kore went immediately to the small booth next to where the Galka stood. A Mithra sat there watching them carefully. When they walked up she greeted them, "Would you like to buy a ticket to Mhaurrra?"

"Yes please," Ryaneth pulled out his Gil sack, "Actually three," he turned to Kore and Aragon, "Don't worry this trip is on me."

The two thanked him as he gave the Mithra the 600 Gil for the three tickets. They all then went to the docks and waited for the ship. The ship was not destined to arrive for around an hour, and Aragon was extraordinarily tired. He sat on the bench and closed his eyes to rest for just a few minutes.

The next thing he knew he heard Ryaneth's voice, "Hey brother. The ship is here, wake up and let's get going."

Aragon forced himself to open his eyes to see the huge mahogany ferry start to pull up to the dock. It had only one huge sail on the top, and most of the ship seemed to be the cabin area. Had he already been asleep for an hour? It didn't matter; he had to be rested up for the journey the next day. He got up and the group strolled to the ship. The Hume there who told them the schedule asked for their tickets, and a minute later they were on board.

The ship its self was not that grand. The interior cabin was just a carpeted room with a chandelier and a few maps of Vana'diel. Only a few other people were on the ship at this time of the night. One of them was a merchant, the rest were adventurers. Aragon was disappointed that there were no private rooms. He knew that the trip only lasted about four hours, but he had heard that the ships that carried important people, such as the President, or an ambassador, had private cabins. Aragon sighed, and decided not to worry about it.

After about half of an hour, Aragon felt the ship start to move, and a man walked into the cabin announcing that the boat was taking off, and the passengers could go on deck if they wanted to. Aragon immediately decided that he wanted to see the ocean, and feel the cool breeze. He ran out of the cabin and went up the stairs leading to the cabin. Here he saw the beautiful ocean; it was dark and hard to see in the night. But he still saw the moon light reflecting off it, and he could sense that the water beneath him was vastly deep.

Another thing that Aragon noticed when he went on deck was that the ship moved. This was common sense, but he did not know that the ship would sway to the waves. He felt the ferry go up on a swell then come down. It was fun, until he felt his stomach go up and down with the ship. Suddenly Aragon felt sick. It was like he was drunk, and the room was moving even though he stood still, but this time he did not have any of the false bliss from alcohol. He leaned over the side of the ship and threw up. He decided to go back down to the cabin and sleep until the ship arrived.

Once again Aragon was rudely awaken, this time by Kore, "Aragon! Hey the ship is about to hit Mhaura. Wake up, damn lazy bastard."

Aragon shook himself awake and yawned. Kore stood there in front of him, holding the bags that the group brought on board. Aragon yawned again, "Where's my brother?"

"Ah," Kore laughed a little, "He went to take a pee on the deck."

"What?" Aragon looked at him confused, "Why is he peeing on the deck?"

"No," Kore laughed more, "Technically he's peeing off the deck. I mean the ocean is the only place to pee on the ship, it's not like it hurts it any."

Aragon sighed; with in moments the same man who announced the ship was leaving Selbina announced that the ship was landing in Mhaura. Aragon, Kore, and the refreshed Ryaneth walked down the docks into the town. It was now early in the morning, and the rays of the sun made the black sky grey. Mhaura looked similar to Selbina. It was also a town made for trade.

They checked out of customs and made their way to the gates of Selbina. Ryaneth frowned again, looking at Aragon, "You know we have to walk all the way to the crag of Mea to get a chocobo."

Aragon stared questioningly at him, "Why?"

"Because you can't ride the airship," Ryaneth frowned, "and for whatever stupid reason Mhaura does not have a chocobo stable."

Aragon punched his brother playfully in the arm; it was not his fault that he was not yet famous enough to get a free airship pass. Aragon, Kore, and Ryaneth walked to the entrance of the town and started off on the peninsula.

"Um," Aragon sighed, "Why can't we sleep in Mhaura for the remainder of the night?"

"We need to make it to Windurst as quickly as possible," Kore shook his head, "Once we make it to Windurst we can sleep."

Aragon silently agreed, though he was still incredibly tired, and would give anything to sleep then. The walk across the peninsula was quite possibly the most exercise Aragon had ever gotten. The sand kept the group from running, and slowed down their pace. Aragon was even more disappointed when he learned that the next area, Tahrongi Canyon was just as bad. Several Goblins tried to attack the group, but they were quickly taken care of. Aragon loved battle, but right now Kore and Ryaneth took out the enemies with out any challenge, leaving Aragon bored.

Finally they came upon the massive crag of Mea. Although it looked the same as the crag of Dem, besides its desert location, Aragon thought it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. This was partly due to the fact that he was tired and wanted to get to Windurst, and partly because seeing the crag's never ceased to amaze him. Sprawled around the crag was more sand, but in the distance Aragon saw the entrance to the actual canyon.

By early afternoon the group reached the base of the crag, and quickly found the chocobo stables there. Every crag had a chocobo keeper, and several chocobo's since it was common for adventurers to teleport to the crags. Ryaneth quickly reminded Aragon of this detail, "Hey Ara, you see those stairs?"

"Yes, why?"

"Do you see that giant crystal at the top?" Ryaneth tilted Aragon's head to look up at the giant clear blue crystal at the top of the stairs, "Do you know what that is?"

"Of course," laughed Aragon, "If I touch the crystal I can teleport here with a white mage."

"Exactly," said Ryaneth sarcastically, "So why again are you still standing here?"

Aragon cursed as he went up the stairs to reach the giant crystal form that awaited him at the top. These crystals were at all the crags, and radiated with a massive amount of energy. It seemed that magic could be used to teleport anyone who made contact with these crystals to the crystal or telepoint itself. Aragon touched the crystal and felt the energy surge through him, his vision got blurry for a second but then he regained his balance and went back down to meet his friends.

"Thank you Altana," Aragon almost cried with joy when the group reached Windurst. The massive city covered in dirt and moss looked like a haven to someone who had not slept more then three hours on a long journey in two days. Aragon looked around to see that all of the buildings were made with large bricks, and that there was a giant tree in the center of the city. Aragon had heard that the tree, heavens tower, was the capital of Windurst.

In all honesty he could not care less about the sights and history of Windurst right now. The only thing he cared about was renting a mog house and falling asleep.

"This is Windurst waters," explained Kore to the group, "It's home to the cooking guild, the Optistery, the Rhinostery, the Aurastery, as well as a variety of shops."

Aragon stared at Kore dumbstruck, "Huh? Umm, okay but can you tell me tomorrow because personally I can not understand a word you are saying right now."

Kore laughed, "Don't worry, even if you were a bit brighter and more awake you probably wouldn't understand anyway with out someone holding your hand explaining it to you."

Ryaneth interrupted, "Okay I say we rent the mog houses then head down to the local tavern for a drink. Who's with me?"

"Not today brother," Aragon yawned, "I'm already tired enough, a sip from a drink and I'd pass out."

They walked through the Waters which unluckily was the biggest district of Windurst, to find the Residential Area. Aragon kept himself moving by thinking that each step would bring him closer to bed. They crossed a few bridges and finally reached the familiar mog house entrances. Ryaneth and Kore signed Aragon in, and after all of the paper work was done Aragon went to his room. Inside there was already a bed that was always given to adventurers who rented a mog house. But also there was a quaint little fountain. Aragon took off his armor as quickly as he could, dropped it on the ground and fell asleep to the sound of the fountain.

Aragon awoke the next day still feeling tired, but he felt much more refreshed then he had before. He wondered if he would just meet his friends in their rooms. They had not established a meeting place the night before, and since Aragon did not know the area it would not have mattered anyway. Aragon walked through the halls to the outside of the mog house. There a guard greeted him.

"Hello sir adventurrrerrr," said the Mithra guard, "Arrre you by any chance Arrragon?" Aragon nodded, the guard continued, "Your frrriends left a message forrr you."

"What," Aragon rolled his eyes when he realized Kore and Ryaneth had already gotten up, "What did they say?"

"The one that looked like you said he was going to get breakfast and a drink, the other one said he was meeting up with a frrriend frrrom his link shell."

Aragon cursed, "Do you know where they might be?"

"Yes," the Mithra proceeded to give him directions to the area where the Timbre Timbers Tavern and the cooking guild were. Aragon did not remember most of the directions, but he did remember at the first intersection head left, and keep heading in that direction until he reached a few shops. He hoped he could figure the rest out from there.

Now that Aragon was awake, and it was daylight he saw that Windurst was a beautiful city. The waters in the lake were crystal clear, unlike Bastok's muddy polluted streams. There were flowers and plants growing everywhere, and even the dirt paths had patches of grass and moss. The sky was a brilliant blue, and in the distance Aragon could see the top of a tremendous tree, known as Heaven's Tower.

In fact Aragon enjoyed the sights and Windurst's peaceful atmosphere so much that it felt like no time before he reached a wooden building with a sign over it saying Timbre Timbers Tavern. Aragon walked inside, and to little surprise he saw his brother already holding a bottle of Rolanberry 874, trying to sweet talk a pair of Mithra. Both Mithra's had short white hair, one of the two's hair was wild, and she wore a bandana; the others hair was flat with a small pony tail in back. Although Aragon preferred Hume girls he did not mind Mithra at all. He started to walk over to his Ryaneth to see what he was telling them.

"…So I fought the ram with my fists. It was a hard fight but I got a good amount for its skin," Ryaneth took a drink out of his wine bottle not even bothering to pour it in a cup, "Plus I admit I like a challenge."

The two Mithra laughed and purred at his story, Aragon could not tell if they were actually interested or just teasing Ryaneth. Now Ryaneth saw Aragon and waved him over, placing his arm around the shoulders of one of the Mithra casually as he brought his waving hand down. At first the Mithra looked at it annoyed, but she shrugged and cuddled a bit closer to Ryaneth.

"Girls this is my younger brother, Aragon," Ryaneth announced to them.

"Hello Arrragon," both Mithra giggled.

"Um, hello," Aragon had never been that great at talking with girls in any situation besides plain conversation.

"Don't worry about him Thira, he's just a bit nervous that's all," Ryaneth laughed, "Oh, brother, I'd like you to meet Thira," the Mithra with the pony tail reached out her paw for Aragon to shake, "And Naura, the beauty who I'm cuddling with right now. They are sisters, at our age, and I got Naura with me, so how about you go work your magic with Thira?"

Aragon blushed, he could not believe this was his first day in town and his brother was already drinking and setting him up on dates. Aragon could not help but feel a little excited though, Thira was one of the prettiest Mithra's he had ever seen. Her eyes were large and a vibrant blue and she looked so delicate, but at the same time confident.

Aragon sighed under his breath hoping he would not mess this up. He went down and sat next to Thira. After a moment of silence Aragon tried to start conversing, "So, uh, Thira. Um that's a nice name."

"Thanks," Thira looked uninterested.

"So, what do you do?" Aragon asked.

"Well my line of business is a bit private, but basically I'm an adventurer," Thira seemed to tip toe her way around Aragon's question.

Aragon did not understand at first that Thira did not want to give a straight answer, "Oh cool an adventurer. What's your job?"

Thira sighed, "My job is the thing that is kind of private," she lifted up a Gil bag, "But if you really want to know then check your belt."

Aragon was confused at first, check his belt? He shrugged and felt his belt and noticed his Gil bag was not there. He looked down, and realized it really was gone. He looked at Thira holding a Gil bag and noticed that it had his initials on it, "Hey you took my Gil!"

She tossed it back to him, "I'm a thief, that's why I did not really want to talk about it in a public hang out."

Aragon understood now, so he quickly changed the subject, "Well how are things going for you?"

Thira sighed, "Good. I just got moved into Windurst, my sister and I lived in Khazam. But our mother moved here, so we came too. You?"

"I'm good," Aragon paused, "I just came here on an important mission. I'm from Bastok, and before that I lived in Jueno."

Aragon felt like he had messed up already, he ordered a bottle of Rolanberry wine for himself, and poured himself a glass. He started drinking quickly, hoping that the alcohol would let him be a bit smoother. For whatever reason him drinking alone was enough. Thira looked at him and asked, "Aren't you going to pourrr me a glass?"

Aragon stuttered, "Of course." He grabbed a glass and poured Thira a glass; she drank then set it down and purred happily for a second.

"That was good," Thira smiled, "I'm sorry if I'm being a bit distant. But your brrrother seems to be getting along a little too well with my sister over there." They both looked towards Naura and Ryaneth who were sitting down laughing, drinking, and cuddling. Thira shook her head, "It's nothing against you or your brother, but I'm not sure if I'm into dating a Hume. And unlike some Mithra's I do not go all over the first good looking man I see."

She looked Aragon in the eyes as she said this. Aragon's heart throbbed a little, so he took another drink. Within the hour Aragon had his arm around Thira, and they were conversing with Ryaneth and Naura. Ryaneth took a drink, handed the bottle to Naura and spoke, "So, me and my brother are on an important mission. It's about the safety of Windurst, can't tell you much else. We could die on this mission, and well my brother is a virgin, and I have not had a woman for a long time."

"Ryaneth!" Aragon blushed, "Brother why did you say that?"

Ryaneth laughed, "Why do you think? It's true isn't it? I mean two fine ladies like these deserve to have strong men, right?"

"Yes," Aragon looked at Thira who was giggling. This was one of the most embarrassing days of his life. Aragon sighed and got up to go outside. As he left Thira looked questioningly at Ryaneth, and then got up to follow him.

"Aragon, wait," Thira walked up to him, her tail swayed as she did. Aragon stopped but did not look back. Thira walked next to him and took his hand, "What's wrrrong love?"

Aragon sighed, "Well I mean I really like you, but. You know my brother is a good guy, but he should not be saying things like that. I mean I'm not like him, I want to lose my virginity to someone I really care about. And we were having a good time, and he ruined it like that."

Thira purred and stroke Aragon's hair, "Honey, it's not like I care. Rrryaneth was the one who said that not you. I'm happy that you want to wait until you find someone you care about to, well, you know."

Aragon felt a little better, so he looked Thira in the eyes as he spoke, "Yes. I mean it's not like I don't want a relationship or anything. You are very pretty, I mean I like Hume girls usually, but you are one of the few Mithra that I would like to get to know better. Don't take that the wrong way."

Thira put her hand over Aragon's mouth to shut him up, she then took it off and closed her eyes as she lifted her head up and licked Aragon on the cheek. Aragon took a step back, and wiped his cheek. Being licked on the cheek was not what he was normally used to. She took his hand, "Let's go back inside."

Aragon entered the tavern, his brother and Naura were still drinking and it looked like Ryaneth was telling her another story. Thira walked up to her sister whispered something in her ear, and they both got up and left. Aragon walked up and sat down next to his brother. He looked at him puzzled, "What was that about? Why did they leave?"

Ryaneth shrugged, "I don't know. Oh well, that Mithra was a bit too easy for my tastes."

Aragon laughed. He did not understand his brother sometimes. Ryaneth seemed to be so confident and relaxed sometimes, but he always seemed distant. Aragon did not have any time to ask why because at that moment Kore and a Tarutaru walked into the tavern. Ryaneth and Aragon got up to greet them.

"I knew I'd find you two here," Kore chuckled, "Meet Hotsoup, he's helping us on our mission. He's in our linkshell."

Aragon and Ryaneth acknowledged him, and introduced themselves. Aragon paused then, "Hotsoup? Why is your name Hotsoup?"

The little brown haired Tarutaru chuckled, "It's not my real name. It's just my nick name. I am called that because I make the best soup in Windurst. In fact I'm the youngest black mage to get to rank 6 in twenty years, and one of the most famous cooks in the area."

Aragon was glad that they had more help. The group talked for a few minutes, and then Kore stopped. Kore pulled out a small dark grew sack, and pulled out a little pearl the same color. Kore handed the pearl to Aragon, "Welcome to the Sons of Lobo linkshell."

Aragon was honored, "What? You guys are letting me into your linkshell?"

Hotsoup laughed, "Yup. Kore, and I talked it over with the linkshell, and they decided that you sounded like someone they wanted in."

"I tried to give your brother a pearl a few weeks ago," Kore shrugged, "But he declined."

"Eh, linkshell's are not for me," said Ryaneth, once again sitting with his arms crossed, seeming like he was in a different world.

"Go ahead," Hotsoup laughed, "Put it in your ear."

Aragon looked at the pearl questioningly then put the small pearl in his ear. Right away Aragon heard Kore's voice in his head, "Welcome Aragon."

"Wow," Aragon said, "Um can you guys here me?"

"Hello Aragon," said a variety of people.

"Yes," a voice said, "When you have the linkpearl in your ear we can hear you, and you can hear us. I'm Morde by the way, the leader of this linkshell."

"Morde," Aragon said, "Thank you for letting me in this linkshell."

"No problem Ara," Morde said in his head, "I hope you enjoy it."

After talking with the linkshell for a bit the party decided to head out. Hotsoup led the group to Heavens Tower. Aragon looked up at the tower of the tree when they got to the base. The trunk seemed to go up forever, eventually breaking and spreading into hundreds of branches and leaves. It was beautiful. Aragon and the rest walked into a door at the trunk of the tree. Instead of a hallway, there was a glowing light blue spot on the ground. The group stood on the blue circle and instantly they were in a large room.

A Tarutaru dressed in knights armor walked up to them. He saluted them with the Windurstan salute. The rest of the party saluted him with their own nation's salutes. Aragon learned from Ryaneth that you should always use your own nation's salute, even when addressing officers of other nations.

The Tarutaru stopped and addressed them, "Hello. I take it you are the adventurers sent to help us with the Yagudo problem."

"Yes," said Ryaneth casually.

"Okay, come with me to the Star Sybil's chamber for a briefing," the Taru signaled them to follow and opened a door to a flight of stairs. They all walked up the stairs to the top of the tree. The Tarutaru guard opened the door and let them in. There stood the Star Sybil with her long black hair. She turned to them.

"Hello adventurers," she said mystically. They all greeted her formally, even Ryaneth. The Star Sybil then continued, "I thank you all for coming in this hour of need. The Yagudo have been breaking the treaty with Windurst. They have been killing our civilians who are in the area with no provocation. I'm afraid that we can not let this go on any longer.

'All you have to do is take the ambassador to Giddeus. Once you have arrived find the leader of the Giddeus Yagudo. The ambassador will speak to him; you are not to engage with any Yagudo unless they attack you first. That is very important. Do you understand?"

The group nodded, the Star Sybil smiled, "Okay, go outside to meet the ambassador to go with you."

The group bowed, and left the Star Sybil's chamber. They wandered to the bottom of the huge tree. Here stood the same guard who had greeted them, and another Tarutaru. This Tarutaru was dressed in robes, and had silver hair which turned into a small ponytail. The guard saluted them again, "Hello again. This is Tazman; he is to accompany you on your mission. I'm afraid no adventurers from San d' Oria showed up today, and we can not wait any longer. I wish you the best of luck."

The guard left and Tazman came up to greet them, "Hello. Shall we be off?"

Aragon nodded and they left. Soon they found themselves in the peaceful Sarutabaruta outside of Windurst. Here the grass stood tall, and trees dotted the landscape. Hotsoup and Tazman led the group, which was odd because they kept disappearing in the grass. After an hour the group reached a valley in the hills. Tazman stopped them, "I don't know if any of you have been here, but this is the Yagudo stronghold of Giddeus. It's much like the Palborough mines in Bastok."

The group followed him in. Here there were many people who were covered in black feathers, and had grey beaks and bird like talons. They all seemed to be wearing a giant bead necklace. Two of them holding spears who were apparently guards walked up to the group. Aragon saw Ryaneth cracking his knuckles, just in case. Tazman greeted them and said something to them. The guards stepped aside and let the group through.

They entered some tunnels which were to lead them to the Yagudo's leader. As they walked they found an opening to an outside area. The group kept moving as Yagudo watched them cautiously; Aragon would bet that they wanted to attack the group in a second. Right before the group reached the next tunnel Aragon looked over and noticed a Galka. The Galka was dressed in black martial arts robes, and stood in the shadows. Aragon did not know why, but the Galka seemed familiar. Ryaneth noticed what Aragon was staring at and stopped.

"I'm sorry," Ryaneth said staring towards the Galka, "You all go on ahead; I need to deal with something real fast."

Tazman looked at Ryaneth, "Come on let's get this mission done."

"No," Ryaneth sighed shaking his head, "I'm sorry but this is too important, you all go, I will catch up. Aragon you too."

Aragon then remembered that the Galka in the corner was the same one who had confronted Ryaneth several months ago. Aragon shook his head, but Ryaneth told him sternly to go, and the group continued. As soon as they were out of sight of Ryaneth Aragon dodged behind a rock, and snuck back to see what his brother was doing.

Aragon saw Ryaneth and the Galka walk towards each other and meet up. Aragon took his linkpearl out so he could hear what they were saying. Ryaneth was glaring at the Galka and spoke, "What the hell are you doing here, Shurin?"

"I think you know," the Galka shook his head, "I knew you were coming so I decided to greet you."

Ryaneth took a deep breath, "Well what do you need with me?"

Shurin laughed cynically, "I think you know the answer to that question too scum. Either that or you have a horrible memory."

Ryaneth stepped closer to him aggressively, "Really? Well refresh it then."

Shurin stopped laughing and glared at Ryaneth, "Don't even act like you forgot your sins. You know damn well what you did to master Rioten!"

Things were getting very heated now. The Galka was starting to shout, and Ryaneth was talking in monotone, which he always did when he was upset or angry. Ryaneth cracked his knuckles again, "What? I didn't do anything to master Rioten that did not need to be done."

The Galka roared at him, "You bastard! How dare you even suggest that master Rioten deserved to be betrayed, and slaughtered at the hands of his own pupil."

Ryaneth chuckled nefariously, "Oh you think that I would just betray someone I was that close to? For no reason? You are the fool here, Rioten. You know that I did what had to be done."

The Galka stepped forward again, "No I don't know what had to be done you bastard."

"You moron," Ryaneth screamed, no longer holding back, "Rioten was messing with things that should not be touched. Things that should not be played with by mere mortals…"

"You will address him as master Rioten," Shurin spat on Ryaneth again in disgust, "And he was a good man."

"Maybe he was before he started getting into necromancy," Ryaneth said defiantly.

"You fool," Shurin shook his head, "Necromancy? Is that what you call it? No wonder you are such a damn idiot. Master Rioten was trying to find a way to bring the dead back to life. A noble cause."

"Noble," Ryaneth chuckled sadistically, "Well what do you call bringing back the dead? It's called necromancy, you fool, and I did what I had to do."

"Humph," Shurin snorted, "It matters not. I'm not here to argue with you, I'm here to avenge the death of a good man."

"Really?" Ryaneth shook his head, "You know that I was Rioten's most powerful pupil. Do you really want to do this?"

The Galka laughed, "Exactly, you were Rioten's strongest pupil."

The Galka rushed at Ryaneth, but Ryaneth dodged and turned kicking the Galka in the back. The Galka turned around and grabbed Ryaneth's fist as he threw it, twisting Ryaneth's arm behind his back. Ryaneth groaned in pain, and then used his other arm to elbow the Galka in the face. They backed up and both released their tension, which gave them a little more power, Ryaneth called this technique boost.

The fight was back on, and Aragon had never seen anything so intense. The two were throwing punches, and kicks every which way. It seemed like no one landed a successful hit. If they did not dodge the others attack, they blocked it. Finally the Galka landed a hit to Ryaneth's jaw. Ryaneth was forced back. Aragon ran out from behind the rock towards Shurin, his hand on his sword.

Ryaneth stopped Aragon, "You, I told you to go with the others!"

Aragon glared at him, "I knew this might happen so I stayed behind to help."

Ryaneth shook his head, "I don't need your help. Stay out of this!"

He thrust Aragon to the ground before turning back to the Galka. Ryaneth held out his arm and a small ball of energy appeared, the energy shot right out and hit the Galka, exploding, sending Shurin flying several feet back. Ryaneth wasted no time running towards his opponent, his fist closed, ready to end the fight. But right before he reached Shurin, Shurin returned Ryaneth's favor by shooting him with his own chi.

Ryaneth fell down, but got up quickly, and he and Shurin were back at throwing fists again. They both landed several attacks on each other, but Shurin hit Ryaneth hard in the stomach, wounding him. Aragon saw now that both men were badly bruised and bleeding. Ryaneth looked at Shurin and smirked; he kicked him in the leg tripping him, then spun around jumped again and landed another kick to Shurin's face.

The Galka was now losing, but Ryaneth did not stop, he landed several more punches to the Galka, then boosted again. He stood back and hit Shurin eight more times in less then a second. The Galka kneeled over breathing heavily. Ryaneth walked up to him sadly.

"I'm sorry old friend," Ryaneth pulled out a katar, a hand to hand weapon with a blade on the end, "But you have left me with no choice."

Right as he said this Ryaneth leaned over in pain, choking. Aragon saw blood spurt out of his brother's mouth. Ryaneth stood up a little panting, and looked at his stomach. There was an arrow lodged through it. Ryaneth looked behind him to see Naura smiling, holding her bow. Aragon could not believe what was happening, and he felt powerless to do anything. Aragon got back up and charged again. He did not make it to his brother in time.

Ryaneth turned and looked one last time at Aragon. Aragon would always remember that last look on his brother's face. Ryaneth's eye was black, his nose was broken, and there was blood around his mouth. But the thing that Aragon remembered most was the look in his brother's eyes. They were glossy, and sad, Aragon saw in Ryaneth's eyes what was going to happen next. At that moment Shurin's fist smashed into Ryaneth's face, and carried Ryaneth's head to the ground, smashing it.

Aragon stopped in shock. The Galka wiped the blood off of his fist, looked at Aragon for a moment then met up with the Mithra, Naura, and they left. They just walked away calmly like nothing had happened. Aragon dropped to the ground seeing his brothers corpse lay there, blood lay around his broken skull. Aragon forced himself to go over to his body; he lifted it up and felt his heart to confirm what he already knew.

Aragon felt hot tears run down his cheeks as he held his brothers cold lifeless body. Ryaneth was the only person in the world who was there for him, and now he was gone. Aragon hit the ground and choked as he started to cry.

"Aragon, Ryaneth, mission accomp…" Tazman stopped as he saw the sight.

"You guys," came Kore's voice, "We have to get back to Bastok now, something has come up…"

Now all three of the other group members were there, and they all stopped in their tracks. There was Aragon crying in front of Ryaneth's corpse. Kore shook his head, "No…"

Tazman walked up to Aragon and put his hand on his shoulder, "I'm so sorry. What happened?"

Aragon shook his head, unable to speak. A few moments went by before anyone spoke again. Finally Hotsoup spoke, "I'm so sorry Aragon, but we need to go now. We just got a message from our linkshell, Bastok is under attack!"