I was playing through the game again, andI made the most interesting discovery. Forgive me for not knowing this sooner, but the Spirit can talk through the Bonded. It's wicked. Kalas yelled at me for it, it was great,I was all like "...wait, I can DO THAT?"
Dis: standard issue disclaimer, nothing owned, nothing gained.
"Fine. When we get to Sadal Suud, remind me to get you some Magnus."
"Deal."
"We are now approaching the Pherkad Port in Sadal Suud. Please be ready to disembark soon," the captain's voice came over the loudspeaker.
Within minutes of the announcement, they felt the ship stop completely. The friends took that as a sign to leave, and in the blink of an eye, they were standing out on the gray cobblestone streets of Pherkad.
"Wow, it looks… normal," Arietta commented. "I guess we got here in time."
"Hey, cool, this place looks awesome! Oh my god, is that a cloud? Check out the carvings on the street!" Andriana was suddenly bursting with energy, zipping around trying to see everything. Arietta caught her arm as she went by for a fourth time, and dragged her into the Magnus shop.
"Welcome, dears. How may I help you?" the shopkeeper asked. Arietta opened her mouth to say something, but never got the chance.
"Yeah, we'd like to know if there's any way to get a Magnus deck for my friend. We're pretty low on gold, since we've been traveling, but we've been running into trouble, so we really need the Magnus."
The voice was hers, she could hear it in her ears as her own, and she felt her mouth forming the words, but she wasn't in control. She felt Kalas's presence leave her being when had it entered? and her voice was suddenly her own again.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Here, I'll set up a tab for you, and once you get some gold you can pay me back. How does that sound?" the shopkeeper suggested. Arietta nodded, making sure to keep her mouth shut. Ten minutes later, or so it felt, the two girls were walking back out of the Magnus shop.
"How about we head to Cebalrai? We'll have to pass by there to get to the ruins in Moonguile, anyways," Arietta suggested as they walked.
'Moonglade,' Xelha corrected absently.
"Moonguile's cooler," Arietta replied.
'That's actually a good idea, and we can talk to the doc while we're there and see what he knows,' Kalas put in.
"'The doc'?" Andriana asked.
"Larikush," Arietta replied as they left the city.
"So… How do these things work?" Andriana asked as the two made their way through Nunki Valley. She shuffled through her new deck and picked a random Magnus.
"Hey, that's not a bad Magnus," Arietta commented, looking at the Cetaka's Sword.
"You didn't answer my question."
"Alright. Concentrate on the card. See how it's got that bubble-thing around it in your head?"
"Yeah…"
"See where the bubble thing has a seam?"
"Uh huh…"
"Pull the seam apart."
Andriana did as she was told, and soon she was holding a long, thin sword that had always reminded Arietta of a katana.
"Cool… How did we ever not have these things back home? These are awesome!" she enthused, experimentally swinging the sword as a rock.
'Because most people back home are stupid and narrow-minded…' Arietta thought, but stayed silent. 'There's a reason I never wanted to go back…' She felt shock roll through four of the six bonds and rolled her eyes. She knew Kalas and Xelha weren't shocked, because she had told them both outright that she loved where she was more than where she came from.
"Okay… So how do I make it go back to being a card?" Andriana asked.
"Push the seam back together." She did and was holding a Magnus once again. By the time they had finished their mini lesson, they had reached the entrance to Cebalrai.
"Wow… this place is…" Andriana trailed off.
"Small? Quiet?" Arietta suggested.
"Different," Andriana said.
"Well, come on, Larikush lives this way." Arietta dragged her friend through the small farm village to where she knew the Imperial lived.
"Anyone here?" she called through the open door.
"In the back! Come in!" a male voice called. The two girls followed the voice. They found the doctor in the room where Arietta first remembered waking up after the Melodia-mind-wipe episode. Larikush was at the desk in a corner, writing something down in a book. He turned around after a minute or so.
"Hello there, how can I help you?" he asked pleasantly. Arietta gave a grin that was a hair away from being a full-blown smirk. His face would be priceless… Andriana recognized the look and took a step back.
"Hey, doc, long time no see," the former Spirit said casually.
"I'm afraid I don't remember who you are," the doctor replied. Arietta shifted her body just so, and fell into the pose Kalas always took when he was relaxed. The grin turned into a smirk when she saw faint recognition cross his face.
"We have a… common acquaintance. At least I think you know him; a bit taller than me, blue hair, one Wing… Went by 'Kalas'?" Arietta said, enjoying the head games more than she probably should have.
"Kalas? May I ask how you know him?"
"I was his Guardian Spirit."
There was dead silence in the room. The look on the poor Imperial's face could not have been better. He looked like he was torn between laughing and passing out in shock.
"Arietta?"
"Hey, Larikush, like I said, long time no see."
He ushered the girls inside and closed the door.
"How have you been, have you heard from Kalas, do you know how he's doing, I've heard strange rumors, what's going on?"
"Well," Arietta started, "it's kinda like this…"
---
"And that's basically it."
"It sounds like everything is getting exciting again."
Arietta 'felt' Lyude's presence hit her, and she lost control of her ability to speak again.
"I'd like to know if anything odd has been happening lately. Creatures acting up or anything suspicious?" he asked through her.
'You're getting good at that…' she thought at them. 'Took me forever to figure out how to talk through Kalas.'
Larikush looked thoughtful.
"Actually, it's been unusually quiet. Nobody's seen any monsters around at all for about a week now, which is extremely odd for this time of year. They're usually running rampant around the old ruins in Moonguile-"
'Moonglade,' Xelha corrected again.
'Moonguile sounds cooler,' Arietta insisted. Xelha gave a sigh.
"-but there haven't been any sightings at all."
"Is that bad?" Andriana asked.
"Could be… Maybe we should have a look?" Arietta suggested.
'That's a good idea,' Savyna said.
'Yeah, maybe we can find clues as to what Eris has planned,' Gibari added.
'And we can check the Spring as well…' Kalas said.
"That sounds like a good idea, maybe we can figure out what Eris is up to," Andriana unknowingly echoed.
"You three alright with that?" Arietta asked Lyude, Mizuti, and Xelha. Getting the affirmative, she declared, "Then it's decided. Let's head into Moonguile."
Come on, you all know Moonguile sounds cooler than Moonglade. Can't deny that.
