Today was the day. The boat's repairs had finally finished. I accompanied Ignis in making sure we had plenty of supplies, listening to some of the gossip from a few people near the road.
Interestingly enough, it appeared word of that base hadn't gotten out just yet. A few people were talking about something that caught my attention. If word was to be believed, Ravus Nox Fleuret himself had one of the royal arms. Why he had it, no one could say, but it was theorized he stole it. Even worse, it was the sword that belonged to Noctis's father.
Once we were done stocking up on supplies, we regrouped with the others and made our way to the lighthouse. "So the boat is under the lighthouse?" I asked, looking around. "It's a nice spot to hide it in, no one would expect it to be there."
"Nobody's forgetting anything?" Noctis asked before motioning to the elevator. "Let's head out."
Before we could head out, we heard a dog bark. Umbra came running toward us. Noctis knelt and pet him before grabbing the notebook. He looked at the page for a moment before writing his response and giving the notebook back to Umbra.
"It's so exciting, you're gonna see your bride-to-be!" I smiled as Noctis got back up.
"Yeah," Noctis chuckled.
"Gaia sounds more excited than you do, man," Prompto laughed before turning to me, "Any reason why you're so excited?"
"Well, I know Lunafreya is a really sweet woman, and I am just excited for both of them. I wish I could find someone like that," I admitted.
"What about that guy you have a crush on," Prompto winked.
I rolled my eyes, laughing. "We are not going there, Prompto, I could call you out on your crushes too."
"Sounds like we'll have some entertainment on the ride then," Noctis laughed. "Now come on you two." Gladio and Ignis were already waiting in the elevator. Once we all got in, it was just a short ride before we made it to where the boat was waiting.
Talcott was the first to greet us. "Look, Prince Noctis! Even the marshal came to say goodbye!" We made our way down to the boat, where, just as Talcott said, Cor was waiting.
He approached Noctis. "There's something I have to get off my chest," he said in his usual stern tone.
"What's that?" Noctis asked. He looked over at a photo that was sitting nearby. I glanced at it, noticing it showed a group not so dissimilar to Noctis and his friends. That must be King Regis and his friends, I realized.
"I'm sorry. Sorry I wasn't there for your father. I swore an oath to protect the king, but I wasn't strong enough to uphold it." Prompto and I looked over at each other, unsure if we should say anything. We remained silent.
"Ain't nothing nobody could've done to stop what happened," Another man spoke. He was much older, and one look at his outfit made me realize who he was. This must have been Cindy's grandfather. I looked back at the photo, now recognizing two of the people. Along with Regis, there was that man and Cor, along with someone I didn't recognize.
"Yeah, I realize that," Noctis said softly.
"But you need to realize just what you mean to the boys by your side."
I didn't say anything, as much as I wanted to make a joke about being there too. It was clear that this wasn't the time.
"I do," Noctis responded.
The man continued speaking, sitting down in front of us. "Even if they can't solve your problems, you can't hide what's going on from them. It hurts like hell." He leaned forward. "Remember. Those ain't your bodyguards, they're your brothers. Trust in them. Always."
After Prompto insisted on taking a photo, the man left and got on the boat. He was the one that was going to be taking us to Altissia. We took that as our sign to get on as well.
"I've never been on a boat before," I mumbled as I carefully got on board.
"It's not just any boat either, this is a royal one," Prompto laughed. "Oh man, I can't wait!"
"Hopefully I don't get seasick," I responded.
Hours passed and we were still at sea.
"So, how long are you two going to keep quiet about who Gaia seems to have a crush on?" Noctis asked, looking over at me and Prompto.
"Gaia, do you want to say it?" Prompto asked, a stupid grin on his face.
"For fucks sake, I don't have a crush on Ravus!" I laughed, covering my face.
Ignis chuckled. "That reaction says otherwise."
"I don't! Why, of all the people, would I have a crush on my former commander?"
"Oh, that's right, technically speaking he was your former commander," Noctis laughed. "That's gotta be awkward for you."
Gladio just huffed and shook his head. I could already tell what he was thinking. Something along the lines of 'damn MT still has ties to the empire after all.'
"So next on the docket is Leviathan," Prompto said, changing the subject. He got up and was taking pictures of the ocean.
"What sort of deity are we dealing with?" Gladio asked.
"A serpent said to embody the roar and rage of the sea," Ignis responded. Leave it to Ignis to know a thing or two about the gods we're going to encounter.
"We'll have to 'sea' for ourselves," Noctis smirked.
"Boo, bad pun," I teased.
"You know, I was thinking back to our encounter with Ravus," Ignis said after a moment, looking over at Noctis.
"Oh boy, bringing up Gaia's crush again!" Prompto teased, elbowing me playfully.
Noctis ignored Prompto, instead choosing to pay attention to Ignis. "What about it?"
"Do you recall an apparatus in place of his arm?"
"Yeah, I remember," Gladio muttered. He was still bitter over the encounter.
"Seems he lost his old one in the invasion," Ignis continued.
"Do you know anything more about that?" Noctis turned around in his seat to look at me.
"No, I wasn't there. I just remember one day he had both arms, and then after the invasion, he only had the one," I shrugged.
"But in its place, he seems to have acquired new power," Ignis continued.
"Power?" Noctis repeated.
"That would help explain how a son of Tenebrae suddenly came to command Niflheim's army," Gladio added, still sounding annoyed. Just the mere mention of Ravus seemed to piss him off.
"Now that you mention it, his strength did seem sorta supernatural," Prompto spoke after a moment. "I just chalked it up to the Oracle lineage."
Gladio turned to look at the ocean. "His ancestry may be part of it, but that alone wouldn't account for his freakish strength."
"Freakish? I'd say it's more akin to Herculean," I laughed.
"I wonder what could've happened to him?" Noctis asked.
"I just know he changed after that day," I responded. "He did something that cost an arm, literally. And now he's the High Commander."
"There's a disturbing rumor about. Lord Ravus has taken to brandishing His Majesty's sword," Ignis said after a moment.
"Yeah, that's right, I heard that when we were getting supplies!" I pointed at Ignis.
"My dad's?" Noctis asked.
"His power's the same as the power of kings?" Prompto asked.
Ignis shook his head. "I cannot say for sure, but I have my doubts. Ravus wears the sword, yet does not wield it."
"If we are to believe his word, Ravus says it was a gift. Others think he stole it," I elaborated.
"For all his newfound power, he's still the chancellor's lapdog," Gladio huffed, "Holding on to the enemy king's sword like some badge of honor."
We continued talking about the empire, speculating their next move. We could only guess that they would show up to try to put a stop to Noctis's meeting with Leviathan.
"Lodgings are our first order of business," Ignis said after a while.
"All work and no play," Prompto began.
Noctis finished his sentence, "Makes Ignis a dull boy."
I stifled a laugh. "How many times have you two said that to the point of instantly knowing when one is going to say it?" I asked. "But of course, Ignis is worried about where to sleep."
"Someone has to babysit you three," Gladio stated. It was almost like he was waiting for the chance to say it.
"And you're welcome to sleep in the wild," Ignis responded.
The old man, I learned his name was Cid, spoke up. "Ain't no hotel, but I know a fella has a place."
"Hey now," Gladio smirked.
"Weskham. Ran with Reggie and me way back when," Cid elaborated.
"Oh, was he the other one in that photo at the garage?" Prompto asked.
"Yep. Runs himself a diner or cafe or somethin'. Go and see for yourselves."
"Oh, a cafe sounds really nice!" I smiled.
"Does the place have a name?" Gladio asked.
Cid struggled to remember the name for a bit before telling us the correct one: Maagho. Interesting name, we can't miss it, I thought.
The radio suddenly started up, and we knew we were about to arrive. After getting past a guard, we were finally allowed entry to the city. I was in awe. Altissia was much different than Lestallum, and it was beautiful. Waterfalls and amazing architecture galore.
We finally got off the boat, and I had to take a moment to adjust to being on land again.
"Finally back on land!" Prompto cheered as he made his way to enter the city.
Gladio followed after him. "Barely. They call it the 'walls of water', but it ain't just the walls. It's the whole damn city."
"Which is why we can't traverse the town by conventional means. We'll need to rely on gondolas instead," Ignis added.
"Yaay, more boats," Prompto said sarcastically.
"I think it's lovely!" I responded, running after Prompto. "This place looks so romantic!"
Before we could stray too far, Cid yelled at Noctis to catch something. I peeked over Noctis's shoulder to see what was just thrown, and it was the keys to the boat. With that out of the way, now we could pass through immigration. Oh boy, I thought.
"Sir, what is the purpose of your visit?" A guard asked Noctis.
Instead of answering, Noctis turned to Ignis.
"Utterly hopeless," Ignis muttered before answering, "We are scholars of the culinary arts, and we've come to study the renowned cuisine of your fair nation."
Of course, he brought up cooking. I tried not to laugh. The guard nodded. "Is that so? I wish you an enlightening stay," He said as he let us through.
Ignis turned to Noctis as we walked away. "Another one you owe me," He whispered.
"Ignis has a whole IOU set up?" I asked. "I don't want to be put on it."
"We should probably get looking for Maagho," Gladio suggested.
"Maybe we should split up?" I asked.
Ignis looked over to Noctis. "If we do so, we should meet back at the hotel at dusk."
"I don't see why we can't split up," Noctis shrugged. "Would make finding it a lot easier if we all went to different areas."
"Then it's settled!" Prompto smiled. "See you guys later!"
I nodded before making my way down one of the streets. I couldn't wait to take in all the sights of a new city.
