CHAPTER FIVE: THE MISSING

"Perhaps one of us should stay behind, just in case roaming fiends should attack the Highwind in our absence?" Catherine suggested.

Alain was not sure if her suggestion was deliberately aimed at him so he did not have to meet with Rost yet or if it was genuine concern for the airship. They had landed in an open area, but out of the way. There were no Orcs or other aggressive Beastmen in the proximity, but there was always the chance they had been spotted while landing. So far there only seemed to be small amounts of animal life around and the only way up onto the main deck was via a rope ladder since they had landed on the ground.

The landing had not been the best, but Samuel was not experienced at landing on solid rock. It felt as though the deployable struts that were concealed at the base of the airship during flight almost skidded as they touched rather than immediately grind their movement to a halt. The ability to land on the ground seemed forethought during design and definitely needed work to be done right. Samuel's father had been woken by the rough landing and taken over a little earlier than planned. They had also gotten ready early since they had all been woken up by the shaking and scrapping during the landing.

"I need to stretch-wetchy my poor little legs before they go numb," Nokum-Akkum complained. "…Butaru I'd love to beataru up some nasty-wasty Beastmen to pass the time as well!"

He glanced at Catherine.

"I will stay behind," he said at last. "You two can go find Rost and convince him to come with us. Keep in touch with the pearls and let me know when you've found him. I guess I'll go back to my room. Have fun."

"You sound like you are in a mood!" his Tarutaru friend said and laughed as he turned and walked away.

Catherines voice grew quieter as he descended the stairs, "Alain…"

Upon returning to his room he lay down on the bed and starred at the, plain, low roof.

The night before he distinctly remembered having what he could only call a nightmare. The most frightening thing about it was that it seemed so familiar, like it was not a dream, but rather a fleeting memory of something that he bared witness to. Two names kept bouncing around his thoughts from that nightmare; he had clearly heard 'Raogrimm' and 'Cornelia'.

For some reason he knew that he should know the relevance of both names, but he did not. His head pounded as if in defiance of him trying to remember, as if it was deliberately fighting against him. To have such a dream in the wake of the Demons once more flowing out from the Northlands and the suggestion of the Shadowlord still being alive could not be a coincidence. If only he could remember clearly what happened to him and the others on that day.

It did not take them long to travel into familiar territory (familiar to her at least, she was not sure how well Nokum-Akkum knew that part of the world). Catherine had spent her young life in and around San d'Oria studying White Magic at the cathedral there and had, as a result, become knowledgeable of the surrounding regions.

They had landed not far from the area known as La Theine Plateau. It was an open area with a few sections of lush forest with many steep slopes and deep dips that was very prone to strong winds blowing in from the east. Beneath the mounds, hills, and knolls was an intricate cave system named Ordelle that was closely monitored by the San d'Orian military due to a heavy Goblin population.

By best guess, she put them only a few malms from the forest between them and their destination in the region of Ronfaure. It would not take them long to find their way to the city and would probably make it before the sun fully rose into the cloudless, teal blue, sky.

"Tell me, Nokum-Akkum, do you remember much about when we fought the Shadowlord?" Catherine asked as they walked on a well trodden path.

Unknown to the Tarutaru, she was worried about more than she let on, but decided not to reveal that until she could be sure that the effects of the amnesia upon them all seemed to wearing off and, as a result, caused sometimes incredibly severe pain. It had always been on her mind that something had been inflicted upon them all after the war and she had spent all her spare time since then researching any information on powerful Black Magic that might have caused their conditions.

She had wanted to speak to Alain about it, but knew it was better not to let him meet with Rost until he was sure in his mind that things between them were not as bad as they once had been. That morning Alain had seemed visibly distressed about something as well, but did not explain what.

"Not you as well Cathy! Alain has been going on aboutaru thataru so much lately itaru gives me a headache! Shadowlord this and Shadowlord thataru! He's as deady-wed as any person in a graveyard, I'm sure of itaru! Trustaru my Tarutaru instinctarus!"

"What makes you so sure the Shadowlord is truly dead if you cannot remember anything about the battle?"

Nokum-Akkum's mouth opened to reply, but then swiftly closed as he realized that he technically could not be sure. He huffed and looked away, annoyed that she had pointed out a flaw in his logic.

A recognisable sound came from the path up ahead; it was the sound of at least one Chocobo. There was another 'Kwey' and soon they saw a yellow head of a bird pop out over the horizon. From the grassy mound ahead four Chocobos being ridden by Elvaan wearing Royal Knight's armour eventually appeared. They slowed as they reached them both and enquired as to their business being out so early.

"We are travelling to San d'Oria to meet an old friend," Catherine explained.

"Very well, carry on your way," said the captain of the squad.

With that, the lead Elvaan kicked his heels into the side of the yellow creature he rode causing it to make another high pitched squawk before pulling off at considerable speed. His underlings copied and pulled off, with two muttering amongst them to be careful of stamping on Nokum-Akkum.

Furious, Nokum-Akkum nearly leapt up onto the back end of the slowest to pull away, luckily Catherine had been quick enough to grab him by the stomach with both hands and pull him back. He soon stopped resisting her restraint as he realized where his head was nestled and grinned happily until she let him drop to the floor.

They reached the boarder into West Ronfaure after another hour and a half of leisurely walking. The only visual indication of their passing from one region to the next was a single sturdy metal pole with a San d'Orian flag hanging from the top of it with a group of six Royal Knights standing guard by it. Usually there would only be one or two sentries. The guards asked what business they had in the area and upon answering they were allowed to pass with little fuss.

It seemed strange to Catherine that they would be asked such a thing and that so many would be watching the path. Usually the guards would only check up on individuals or small parties moving through controlled regions if they were specifically on the look out for someone, be it a criminal, a thief, or if their was some situation in either direction that required them to give an official warning. Both La Theine and Ronfaure were well guarded and very few Beastmen dared roam the woods so it did not seem likely the reason for their increased interest in travellers was due to any danger ahead of them. Judging by the fact that a Chocobo unit was riding around the plateau it seemed to suggest that they were looking for someone.

Setting foot inside the thicker forest still following the same path to San d'Oria, Nokum-Akkum whispered to her, "You don'taru think thataru they are looking for the Highwind, do you?"

"I don't believe anyone could have seen us at such an early hour of the morning and immediately labelled us a threat, especially since we landed beyond the western mountain range…but they are most definitely looking for someone."

Regardless of what was occupying the San d'Orian military, they still had to carry on and find Rost. While following the path they came across the West Ronfaure scout and trading outpost that was swarming with far more activity than normal for such an early hour. No less than three separate parties of Royal Knights were gathered around listening to an Elvaan clad in red and silver chain mail decorated with a small golden medal (signifying a higher rank) that was holding a handful of scrolls. Two other parties of knights with a scroll in possession of one member of each pulled off on Chocobos in different directions.

One Elvaan knight had noticed that they were both quietly watching and swiftly asked them to move on, until the one wearing a golden medal saw Catherine. He asked his troops to move away and allow them through. She smiled as she realized who it was.

"Is that you, Catherine? You have grown considerably since the last time I saw you… was it really seven years ago?"

"Yes, it was almost seven years this month I believe. It is good to see you again, Rahal," she replied.

Rahal was a kind hearted Elvaan placed in command of the entire Royal Knights unit of the San d'Orian military. They met when she was quite young and he was around five years older than her. Rahal attended ceremonies at the cathedral in North San d'Oria at least once a week and they had met while she had been going through her training as a cleric in the white arts. They had struck up a close friendship while discussing many things related to the religious writs the church followed and of many other things.

Still as formal as ever, Rahal offered out his hand and they shook. She noticed his white hair had grown longer, far below his neck line as it had once been, and his face showed more character as a result of battle experience. The war had separated them both and changed them both, but she still saw the young Elvaan lieutenant somewhere behind the adult face. She had heard a while back that he had made it to the highest rank of the Royal Knights, so she was not surprised.

Though she did not want to use her friendship in such a way, she knew their past might mean he would be more forthcoming with information about what was going on. She asked why there seemed to be such a commotion in the area.

"There was a serious situation within the city; one of my subordinates was attacked. We've managed to track down a rough description of who may have been responsible – a Hume male dressed in a black cloak. Searching the city has turned up nothing, so we have begun searching outside in the hope he has not escaped."

Her heart skipped a beat, "The person who was attacked was it…!"

Rahal nodded, but pulled her to one side and asked that she not say anything. He was one of the few people in the whole of Vana'diel that knew the identities of the Six Champions. Turning to his remaining troops, he handed the scrolls he held (which seemed to be maps with instructions scribed onto them) to a lieutenant and sent them all on their way. He checked to make sure they were now alone and signalled they could speak freely.

"So Rostaru was really attacked?" Nokum-Akkum questioned.

"Yes," the leader of the Royal Knights replied. "From what I have been able to ascertain an intruder was waiting for him when he returned home from his shift matching the description of a Hume dressed in black. A fight broke out that resulted in his home collapsing. We have found no bodies, so we should assume for now that both Rostairmar and his attacker are still alive."

His voice lowered.

"It was not revealed to the soldiers that I have sent out to search for this attacker that Rost was one of the people infamous for defeating the Shadowlord, but I feel this may play a part in the reason behind these events."

Catherine thought silently to herself for a moment before reaching into a brown pouch on her belt and revealing a small sphere. Speaking into it, she waited patiently. A few seconds later Alain's voice echoed through it. She explained what Rahal had told them.

"What? A figure in black…you don't think? Look, I'll be there as fast as I can."

Due to Rahal being next to them she could not say what she wanted to. She wanted to insist that Alain remain behind on the Highwind to make sure it did not come under attack or become discovered by the increased military patrols. She silently hoped he would reach the same conclusion himself and not leave Samuel and his father unguarded.

"Do you have information regarding this?"

She replied, "I believe the person responsible for the attack may have been the same person who was sighted in Oldton Movalpolos, or at the very least a member of the same organisation."

"Word of the lost ambassador in that hell hole reached us late last night, what does that have to do with this attack within our walls?"

The Elvaan listened as she explained that she believed it was a member of the Armathrwn Society that was responsible for both occurrences. He was taken aback by the very idea that someone under Jeuno's jurisdiction would do such a thing. Regardless, she believed her hypothesis was accurate, which meant things had already become extremely dangerous if the society deemed it necessary to try and assassinate Rost. More to the point, had the attack occurred because they were on their way to meet him?

"Rahal, my friends and I are on a mission to discover just what is going on. I know you will be aware of what this could mean if Jeuno is acting against the three nations, so I ask that you tell no one what I have just told you until we can find proof. It would be catastrophic for the alliance if this came to light without us fully understanding the Armathrwn Society's reasons. For all we know they could be acting separately from the Archduke."

The way 'friends' had been said was deliberate, and she believed that Rahal understood what she really meant was 'Champions'. He explained that he had to speak with the Ronfaure boarder patrols and moved off from them. As he left he provided them with the address of Rost's home, hoping they would be able to discover something that their investigations could not and told them that if they stayed in a room of the South San d'Orian Lion Springs Tavern he would find them to pass on any important news he came across.

A few minutes went by and they found themselves before the gates of the Kingdom of San d'Oria. It's huge dark walls with small slits for archers and watchmen to peer out of loomed over them as they walked closer to the first gate. What business they had in the city was questioned of them twice in short succession in the time it took for them to pass through the first gate and out the second set into the open area of the south courtyard. It was a walled in area with three arches providing exists into the market area of the southern district. Walkways and towers ran around the parameter of the courtyard and Catherine noticed many Royal Knights on guard.

They passed through Victory Square with little fuss as not many people were out and about yet save for the increased number of soldiers. The portcullis into Northern San d'Oria was guarded and once more their business in the district was asked of them before they were allowed to pass through.

The sunlight rising up over the tall white buildings of the northern district made them sparkle. Her eyes could not help being drawn to the east where a bright light reflected from the peak of the huge cathedral. She had spent more time in that glorious building than her own home during her stay in the city when she was younger and loved every second. It was a majestic place with a holy aura; one could feel spiritually lifted simply by walking in the front door.

"So thataru is where you spentaru your childhood, Cathy?" Nokum-Akkum asked and seemed to shiver. "I don'taru like buildings thataru tall. Spooky!"

They carried on walking along the stone path round a tight left turn and under another stone arch. On their right was the aqueducts and the sound of running water was very audible as they past. On the left were some stores, including an old looking wooden furniture seller. She remembered buying a particularly lovely armoire for her home shortly before the call to war came. Such reminiscing made her wonder what ever happened to that old thing.

Rost's home was within the rather regale looking area of the upper residential sections in the west section of Northern San d'Oria. They seemed to have treated him just as well as they had been treated in Bastok. Just as Rahal had told them, they found his directions led them to a collapsed household.

Debris spread in all directions like it had been flung by an explosion of some kind. The roof and collapsed in on itself completely crushing the second floor and bring most of that down on the first. Broken glass littered the floor as did splinters of wooden and shattered furniture.

"They had to have had a really big fightaru to cause this messy-wessy pile!"

Nokum-Akkum clambered up on some of the bigger pieces of rubble, eventually climbing up quite high. He disappeared behind a bunch of stakes poking out from a heap of stone and then reappeared leaping up on top of what had been a section of the tiled roof.

"See anything?" she asked hopefully.

"Nope…no bodies' justaru like the Elvaan said…waitaru a second, come up here Cathy!"

"This isn't the time for one of your games, Nokum-Akkum."

He bounced up and down, "I'm being serious! Come up here!"

Very slowly and with great care not to slip or fall down any of the drops and dark holes, she eventually managed to get close to where the Tarutaru was standing. He put his finger to his lips and blew, signalling for her to be silent.

After only a few seconds the thing that Nokum-Akkum wanted her to notice became obvious. From where they both stood on the ruins of Rost's home there was distinctly the sound of running water from somewhere below the rubble and sounded remarkably similar to the sounds coming from the aqueducts further up the street.

"Could a section of Bostaunieux Oubliette run under this area of the residential district?"

"Bost..Bostain...Oubi…Omola…whataru?"

"The flowing water we passed back there runs deep under the city and travels through a sort of sewage system that goes right under the dungeons of Chateau d'Oraguille…I never would have guessed the tunnels stretched this far, but it seems that they do. That may mean that during the battle Rost and his attacker were pulled down into Bostaunieux Oubliette when the collapse started. It would also explain why Rahal has had no luck finding either of them within the city or the surrounding areas."

"Then we need to find a way in!" Nokum-Akkum exclaimed.

The area directly around the destroyed house was far too unstable to risk clearing enough room to drop down and the holes that were present were far too small even for Nokum-Akkum to squeeze through. It looked as though the passage directly under the rubble had collapsed in on itself anyway, meaning if Rost and the attacker had dropped down they would have been forced to travel west of their current position.

A few strides across from the rubble, Catherine dropped to one knee and felt along the ground. It was sturdy stone and not unstable at all, yet was still close enough to the house that it probably had the tunnels running below. Calling to her friend to stand well clear of both where she knelt and the ruins, she held both hands in front of the ground before her. Taking one last look around in both directions to make sure no one was within sight, she breathed in.

"Holy."

Spreading out from her hands spread a huge pillar of white light which formed a circle of energy around the area directly in front of her. The ground within was upturned and vaporised as the cylinder shape grew in intensity and strength. At its peak it receded as a circle of power burst from the bottom up sending bits of stone in many directions. The resulting blast created a large hole in the stone floor. Cracks spread in every direction around it, but it seemed to have held strong enough not to bring down the entire section of the path. Catherine peered down the hole and listened closely. There was the sound of running water once more.

Nokum-Akkum sprung to her side and complimented her on her powerful magic. Looking down, he questioned out loud how they were going to get down as it looked like quite a drop.

"We don't have a choice, we will have to jump. It's possible that someone nearby may have heard the explosion and raised the alarm. We can't delay."

"Hey!" someone called.

Oh no, have we been discovered already?

They both turned and were astonished to see Alain running up the street. He stopped a few meters in front of them and bent over. Holding his knees he breathed deeply and almost coughed on his own dry throat. He had clearly been running for a considerable amount of time. On his back he wore his black Great Sword and had changed into some thin blue and yellow leather jerkin.

"I thought it wouldn't….be a good idea to wear black considering…the description the guards are looking…for. I came as quickly…as I could," he panted.

"What about the Highwind?" she replied. "Surely you knew you should not have left them alone, especially with so many Royal Knights searching the plateau and surrounding areas!"

He smiled, "Are you mad at me? Don't worry…I told them to take off and head west out to the sea and to wait there for our signal using our pearls to come pick us up."

Alain walked over to the remains of Rost's home and silently looked at it before returning to them and looking down into the hole. He noted the sound of running water as well and reached the same conclusion that the others had.

Drawing his Great Sword, he held it above his head as he leaped down the hole. Quite shocked he did so without checking first, he heard Catherine and Nokum-Akkum say something between them before joining him. Nokum-Akkum was next to jump down and managed to skilfully land on Alain's head. The Tarutaru apologised with a grin as he clambered down onto the ground. He shouted up and asked if Catherine wanted him to catch her, but she insisted that was not necessary and eventually lowered herself down slowly while gripping the edge.

Stepping forward immediately plunged his foot into a puddle of dirty stinking water. He took another more careful step next and once more stood on water. It was only a few inches deep, but there was no avoiding it as the tunnel's bottom was filled with it. Nokum-Akkum especially complained of the smell and the depth of the water since he was so much closer to it than them.

His short friend tugged on his leg, "Carry me!"

"…You must be joking," Alain muttered.

"Carry me!" Nokum-Akkum insisted.

With a sigh, he picked his friend up out of the mucky water and let him sit on his shoulders. Catherine laughed at the sight, but then quickly composed herself as she unhitched her silver mace from her belt.

Using her other hand, Catherine then created a ball of white light that illuminated the tunnel. The water was almost pure black, a disturbing sight to say the least. The tunnel was arched shape and spread as far as they could see (though the direction behind them had been blocked off by sections of Rost's home that had collapsed through the floor). The walls had dark green moss growing up the sides and the pungent odder in the air seemed to get stronger as they walked on.

As the light emitting from the glowing ball continued to show them what lay ahead Alain was sure something had reflected back at them. A little further down near an intersection with a north and south split they discovered a broken section of a blade. He picked it up and showed it to the others.

There was no mistaking the design; the blade had a distinct curve and judging by its size it could only be part of an Elvaan sized Great Katana – Rost's weapon of choice. It was only the top half of the blade, the hilt was no where to be seen. The weapon had to have collided with, or received a hit from, something extremely strong to break the top off. Alain wrapped the blade piece up in a piece of linen cloth and tucked it into his belt.

Both directions in the split path looked the same from where they stood. Though he could not explain it, the right path seemed to him to be the correct one to take. This path twisted three more times leading deeper into the darkness. Every so often a bat would flap down from the roof startled by the light and squeak angrily before disappearing.

"Look!" Nokum-Akkum exclaimed, almost falling from Alain's shoulders in the process.

At first they could not see what had caught the Tarutaru's attention as their eyes were not as sharp as his. Soon enough they saw what he had, the outline of a body laying against the side of the tunnel up ahead. They broke into a sprint as he tightened his grip on the hilt of his Great Sword.

Rost seemed unconscious. Nearby to his body was the other broken section of his weapon. The hilt was covered in blood as was his hands. A cut along his forehead and chest also bled out and down his armour into the water. Alain stood back with Nokum-Akkum still on his shoulders while Catherine knelt down next to Rost and began casting White Magic, not caring about the black water staining her white robes.

"Cure," she uttered as tinted green light surrounded Rost.

The green light faded and Rost stirred.

"He was not unconscious; I believe a powerful sleep spell was cast on him."

Alain said his thoughts aloud, "If his attacker was trying to kill him why did he just put him to sleep?"

"He would have died had we not found him, he has lost a lot of blood already…I would say he only had a few hours until no amount of White Magic could help him. Whoever left Rost here knew that he would die… and in an awful way. My magic has sealed the cuts and provided pain relief, but he may still be somewhat disorientated."

Slowly but surely Rost came back around and, as Catherine had guessed, was very dazed and confused. He did not seem to recognise any of them at first and was more concerned about where his weapon had landed. He felt along his forehead and chest at the wounds sealed by the curative magic and began to remember what had happened the night before.

"You three…what are you doing here?" he managed to say at last in a groggy voice. "Where…how did we get here?"

"Rost, you've lost a lot of blood. I don't really want to move you, but we can't let you stay in this polluted water. Alain put Nokum-Akkum down and help me get him to his feet."

The Elvaan did not resist, but did groan as he was lifted. Alain and Catherine took an arm each as they lifted, Rost was difficult to lift due to his size and he was silently relieved it was not Gerdinus they had found in such a situation. Although he knew that their former comrade was disorientated, he still decided that he had to try and find out what happened to the attacker.

"The Hume…I remember the floor breaking out from under us both as I released the power of Tachi Koki. After that…I just remember being lost in darkness and… Was I dreaming? I don't know what happened to that Hume, but he is definitely still alive…I could not defeat him."

The whole tunnel seemed to shake suddenly. They braced themselves as it shook again, making sure not to let Rost fall back down into the water. He felt Nokum-Akkum clinging to his left leg trying to climb up it. Catherine lit another ball of white light in her hand and held it in the direction of the quakes, but there did not seem to be anything down the tunnel. Another vibration spread up the tunnel, this time even stronger.

"What is going on?" Alain asked.

The light in Catherine's hand was extinguished and darkness surrounded them. He could no longer feel Rost's body in his arms, or Nokum-Akkum at his legs. It was as if he was floating, travelling down a stream. The sensation of falling came next and continued to get faster. He tried to speak out, but his voice was gone. He no longer felt the presence of his friends around him.

A voice spoke loudly as if the person speaking was right next to his ear, "You of the chosen six heed my words. Come before the entrance to Raogrimm's dream and hear what I must say. It is our sin that trapped him in the world of dreams and while we pray he is one day saved, a group of interlopers seek to destroy the world while Raogrimm still exists in it. Come to the entrance and speak my name; Francmage."