Chapter 2: Research
Gurdy had taken a bit of his 'patrol time' to flip his reversible coat and hat around, so it was on the pattern he preferred. While he couldn't do much about the white pants and shoes, it wasn't that noticeable. The clothes seemed freshly cleaned, which was really nice. A traveler often had to dust their clothes off, attend to stains quickly or learn to ignore them, and take that as the best cleaning while on the road. Best of all, the socks were dry. He wasn't sure why that was best, other than wet socks sounded unpleasant and the thought popped into his mind when he'd been checking on his shoes.
Leon sounded tired, but he insisted on setting out once they were done cleaning up after lunch. That meant going back through the maze of cobwebs across Tida again. Strangely, the monsters they'd killed hadn't respawned yet. The ones they ignored were still there and Leon got distracted a bit in fighting off some near the darkened crystal.
Unlike normal shining crystals, the ones that had lost their shine didn't reflect well. Gurdy could see a shadowy image of himself when he looked into it. Was there another crystal so large that had lost its shine? Stories shifted through his mind, known although their origins were forgotten. There were tales of travelers who'd neglected to refresh compact crystals; they'd either barely survived a long exposure to miasma or been discovered as remains. There were no stories he heard of an entire town's crystal fading other than this one,
The crystal under a beautiful blue sky… something was eluding him. It had to be some memory of here. "Each chalice has a unique reaction to the myrrh trees," he said, finding some comfort against the missing memory by reciting what he'd heard. "That is why… the myrrh trees only give one drop to a chalice every other year. It matters not if caravans from Alfitaria, Marr's Pass, and Shella come here in one year. As long as they have not come the previous, they will each get one and exactly one drop of myrrh from the tree. This is because..."
A few streaks of light sparkled on the dark crystal. Looking up at them, he realized it was the reflection of the sun. Not from the crystal itself.
"This is because the chalice, when in a certain radius of the tree, saps away at the memories of those who travel under its protection," Gurdy continued. This wasn't the usual kind of story he told. "It is a slow drain that won't be noticed, but those who travel in a caravan for several years will find their memories blurring together as their mind tries to account for the missing ones. When it is seen that the tree is giving a drop of myrrh, it is unseen that the chalice sends its gathered memories to the tree, where they are gathered by Raem who rations out the myrrh and calls upon the monsters. The myrrh blesses the crystal to shine and keep away the miasma, but it is also cursed to drain the memories of those who live under it as well. This is Raem's curse, and the reason why miasma flows more strongly as time progress."
But what would happen now with the miasma gone? How long would it remain away?
The parasite is dead.
"Hmm?" He looked to where the voice came from… within the crystal?
The surface of the crystal wavered like a pond disturbed by a breeze. Leon must have dispatched the monsters since he was coming up the stairs to the crystal's side. "What's it doing?" he asked.
"I'm not sure, but I think the crystal is trying to talk to us," Gurdy said.
An image appeared on the crystal, of two teenaged boys standing where they were now, also a clavat and a lilty. The clavat had a familiar hairstyle, long blond hair curled neatly and evenly. "If we can do it, we ought to try. We can't just accept this way of life forever."
The other boy sighed in exasperation. He didn't seem much like Leon, since his dark sprigs spread out like a fountain. "Face it, your father was a charlatan trying to make money off fairy tales, and you'll end up the same way if you keep doing as he does. It's the way all so-called priests are."
"He was not a charlatan," the clavat said, sounding hurt. Ah, that must have been Hurdy. "This is no fairy tale, it's the hidden truth. We really believe in it, that we could save the world. But he's gone now and I want to fulfill his dream."
The lilty hopped off the stone platform. "Hah, you can't follow dreams when you're awake. I won't let the caravan get distracted in such fancies; you'd better just quit now and make your own way."
"But I want to get to Shella!" Hurdy said, jumping off and running after the lilty.
"That seems to have been my brother," Gurdy said.
"Did your family come from here?" Leon asked.
He shrugged. "I don't think so, but the crystal has seen him, so Hurdy was here at some time. I wonder if it's seen you or me."
The images had blurred away already, but became crisp once more. This time, it showed another lilty, one whose sprigs fanned out like Leon's did. He wasn't in his distinctive armor nor did he have the dark sword in hand. But he did have the standard armor of Alfitaria's knights. "Why did they stay so long?" he asked. "Too long; they would have been welcomed in Alfiaria, if we knew sooner."
"It remembers me as I was," Leon said, saddened. "I don't, but I guess memory of me hasn't disappeared from the world yet."
On the crystal's surface, the past Leon tightened his grip on his spear. "We can't let any other towns fall like this. There must be some way to be rid of the miasma for good. But, who would know? And would Jona be okay if I took such a risk?" He looked troubled at that thought, but the memory ended there.
I don't recall anything more, just glimpses. Sorry.
Leon went still at the crystal's voice, then reached out to it. "It's fine, at least it's within you. I just hope I can remember seeing it."
You should. The memory eaters were defeated; the parasite is dead.
"Are they?" Gurdy asked, shocked to hear this. "That's incredible! Hurdy will be glad to hear of that. But, who could defeat Raem?"
"Did they truly defeat Raem?" Leon asked, skeptical of it.
Yes, they did. A pair from Tipa Village, a young selkie woman and a moogle.
The Tida crystal then showed them another memory of the cursed town. The selkie had short hair the color of wheat and carried a large racket as her weapon. Without monsters nearby, she was taking a moment to pause and remember. "Lightning brings the cactus pain; now it all begins again."
That was immediately familiar to him. "Hmm? That's..."
"Of crumbled inn few reminisce, its faulty beams will not be missed," she recited on.
"I know that poem," Gurdy said.
"You do?" Leon asked.
"Lonely mushroom bursts to flame, in the land that quicksands claim. Three rocks await winter's kiss, one by one they receive their bliss."
"I am a storyteller," he said. "That one is important. Somehow."
"It should be clear once we get there," she said, not finishing the poem. "That is, if Gurdy isn't spinning wild tales again. But he always seems so serious when he recites this poem, not the same as when he's lying. How am I going to convince them to go clear to Lynari Desert, even for myrrh? He still gets after me for suggesting Conall Curach. Maybe next year when I can take over leadership..."
"Souffle!" someone called, barely coming into the crystal's sight.
The selkie scowled briefly, then turned around and jumped with a flip off the platform. "It's Tsu Fai, not Souffle! Cut it out!" Whoever it was laughed at her and the memory ended.
"That name got written down in one of my journals," Gurdy said. "So that's who she is."
"She beat Raem?" Leon asked, still unsure of it. "But Raem is unbeatable. I could never win against him, only lose over and over."
Everyone was forgetful because of the memory eaters, but she wrote things down and read them back often, including how she felt about what she experienced. Tsu Fai retained more memories than most people in that way. With the strength of her memories, she was able to defeat Raem before he could steal more than a few memories. Raem was unbeatable without such diligence.
Writing things down was the actual key to winning an unwinnable fight? That was strange. Gurdy was fairly certain that Hurdy had always kept a journal. What was the difference that let Tsu Fai win?
"But I don't remember anything more than what I've been told!" Leon said, in a desperate way that was at odds with the armor he wore. "Did we have to kill Raem ourselves to get our memories back?"
Your memories were consumed. We are sorry, there was nothing we could do splintered as we are. There was nothing you could do either even if you found a way past the need of strong memories to defeat Raem. But you can finally retain new memories and build your lives from there.
"But there's nothing to build a life out of for us," Leon said, looking down.
"We do have this day, and any more that come," Gurdy said, then laughed at himself. "Ah, my brother would be better at encouragement. I just live from day to day, so it makes sense for me to just start from where I am."
"I suppose we must," Leon said, although he sounded dissatisfied at it.
You're travelers. May I ask something of you? I wish to go home; take me, please.
"Don't you belong here?" Leon asked.
"No," Gurdy said, stories coming into mind. "The parasite crashed into our world, on the home of the Great Crystal. The Crystal shattered from the impact, but its will to protect the world was enough for it to cast its fragments in places where people gathered. This fragment fell in Tida, but it belongs..." his mind went fuzzy, abruptly interrupting his words. "Uhh… I should know."
The Great Crystal resided at Mount Vellenge. However, our will has changed. The world still needs more healing. I have been called to a new home in Tipa. Will you take me there?
Gurdy thought about it for a moment. There was no way to make a profit off transporting a crystal. And that was with him being able to figure out lots of creative ways to make money. Still, he could just imagine his brother insisting that the Great Crystal was the source of all life and helping its fragments was for the benefit of the whole world. Hurdy was a goody-two-shoes like that, and naive on top of that. "How would we even move you?" Gurdy asked.
"I would like to help, but yes, you're much bigger than any of these houses," Leon said.
It's not an obstacle. The crystal shimmer light deepening shadows, then shrank down to the size of a striped apple. How about now?
Leon reached out to take the crystal floating in midair. "That's fine, we could easily take you to Tipa. Maybe not immediately; we'd like to go to Moschet Manor to find a book on how I could become a paladin.
That will be a good place for you to start. Thank you.
"Moschet Manor huh?" Gurdy asked, recalling a story that always seemed humorous until one was going to that monster mansion. "There's books there?"
Leon nodded. "One of the rooms is a library. I can't think of seeing it, but I know there was advice to always check the library as there's often chefs searching cookbooks. We should hurry since it'll be easier to find places to hide for the night inside the manor."
And when Leon said to hurry, he meant it. His stride was walking and yet Gurdy found himself jogging at points to keep up. They made wide berth around Alfitaria as Leon did not want to get found by anyone from there. Off to the southwest of the city, there was a massive heavy stone palace that no human had ruled from. Instead, a giant ogre and his lamia wife lived there. They didn't rule over anyone, just staying in their manor in luxury and locking away a myrhh tree to where caravaners had to fight them to claim a drop.
They weren't after the mryhh now, but they did need something inside. Gurdy hoped they could search through the books without being bothered. In the central courtyard, there were a group of gargoyles and courels. They were nasty enemies to fight, but they could stick to the shadows of the corridors to avoid them. In the northwest corner of the manor, there was the library. It was a tall room with walls turned to bookshelves that were packed full of books. Interestingly, they were all normal sized books instead of giant for the giant owner of this place.
"I have no idea how one is supposed to search this efficiently," Leon said, looking over at a moogle hovering near one of the higher shelves. "I'm likely only good for fighting, sorry."
"Well you could keep the tonberries away from me when they show up," Gurdy said, more worried about the hunchbacked chefs hanging around with several sharp knives on their belts (and possibly more under their large white coats). But once the knight nodded, Gurdy went over to the shelves below the moogle. "Hey, fellow, do you know this library well?"
"Kupo?" The moogle looked down at them, then closed her book and flew down. "Kupo! Hey, always nice to have visitors. I do because I borrow books from here all the time, but I don't know all the books. What're you looking for, kupo?"
"A reference to how to become a paladin, whether it's a part of a book or the whole subject of it. Preferably the latter. Have you seen one in here?"
"Hmm..." the moogle thought, flipping her bonbon. "I know I've read stories of famous knights and even paladins, but I can't think of where they'd be. But I'm pretty sure there's one somewhere in here titled Path of the Paladin. Can't tell you where it is, though. The tonberry that takes care of this room doesn't care about how things are organized as long as there's no dust and everything's put away somewhere quickly."
"Well it's here," Gurdy said. But why was he here doing this? Leon had nothing but the things he carried, and he probably didn't have any gil. Helping him become a paladin would create a legend, yes, which would be a great story to tell. But, then Gurdy couldn't really profit off a story like that. He sometimes got tips for being really passionate and compelling in his stories, but it wasn't much to get by on. The journey had to be tough too, without anything to directly benefit him.
"That's a dizzying amount of books," Leon said, sounding very weary as he looked up. Gurdy glanced over to see him wobbling right before he slipped backwards with a heavy thump.
"Kupo!" the moogle called, dropping down to his side.
"Leon?" Gurdy knelt by him and moved the faceplate to check on him. "He's breathing heavily, but I don't know what's up."
"I'm not too sure about lilty health," the moogle said, worried.
Why should he care? Hurdy would care, but Gurdy wasn't Hurdy. He didn't have any responsibility towards Leon. And if leaving caused trouble, he could convince Hurdy that Leon was too dangerous to help. He didn't like lying to his brother, but if it kept him calm and happier in ignorance, it could be worth it.
He should just forget about it all… pretend it was a haze and he didn't know what to do… actually, that was like how he felt…
Everything was white, slowly darkening and taking form, taking color. Who was he? Hurdy, that was simple to answer. Where was he? Why was he waking up while kneeling on a hard floor? Those answers were nowhere to be found in his head. There were faint images lingering in mind, but what were they?
"Mmm," Hurdy rubbed his eyes, then looked in front of him. There was a lilty collapsed on the floor there, along with a moogle worriedly patting the lilty's chin. Who was this? The lilty seemed familiar, one of those faint images. "What happened?" he asked, his mind clearing up with concern. Information came out of hiding.
The moogle looked up at him. "I don't know, kupo. He said he was dizzy and just fell over. You came in with him, right?"
"Sorry, my mind is all foggy," Hurdy said, slipping his fingers under the neck guard to check the lilty's pulse. It was difficult with the snug armor. "I only know what's happening right now, it's all white."
"Kupo," the moogle said, sounding concerned. "You're a strange pair, but misfortunate it seems. I'd like to help, but he looks much too heavy for me to move."
"Same for me," Hurdy said, taking his fingers out and looking them over. There was grime there, old sweat. This heart rate and ragged breathing… a spell came to mind, which he used to get a greater amount of information on him. It was confusing at first, but then his mind sorted it out on its own. "He's extremely exhausted, may have been up and active for a week."
"What?" the moogle asked, shocked.
"From this grime, it might not be the first time he's done this," Hurdy added. "He certainly hasn't taken off his armor in a long time." Some tales and gossip came into mind, no sources but the information was there. "He's the Black Knight, right? He may have worn it for years without removing it. If we can get his armor off, I could carry him out of the way so he can sleep. He needs a lot of sleep, and a bath when he wakes up."
"Kupo, we can take care of it!" the moogle said. "My family and I live in the next room, so we can clean up his armor and have a bath ready when he wakes up. You guys can sleep in our guest room too, just in case the monsters show back up."
Hurdy smiled, thinking that moogles were wonderfully helpful beings. More people should be like them. But why did he think that? No, it didn't matter. They were helping someone now. "That's great, thank you. I'd like to be able to do more, but healing magic can't fix exhaustion."
"It's okay, kupo," the moogle said. "You… hmmm… I know! He's interested in becoming a paladin, to make up for all the scary tales told about him as the Black Knight. He came here looking for an old book called Path of the Paladin to figure out how it's done even though he says he's no good at study. While I know the book is here somewhere, I don't know where. You can look for it and then study it for him."
"That should be something I'm good at," Hurdy said, looking around them. They were in a room sized for someone thrice his size, with massive wall shelves packed full of books. That was a lot to search through. But knowing the title of the book, he could scan the spines fairly quickly.
More information popped up, looking down at the Black Knight's armor. This kind of style wasn't something one could take on and off alone. Searching near the waist, he found a black tool that he used to unlatch the armor and remove it. There was leather armor under the metal, and a thin cloth coat under that, both of which needed to be replaced soon. These weren't meant for living in, especially not for years on end.
Opening up his bag, Hurdy found a nightshirt that was big on a lilty but would do for now. He and the moogle, named Mogmei, undressed the Black Knight, got him in the nightshirt, then pulled him aside to rest on a bedroll that Hurdy had. Mogmei left to fetch one of her children to keep an eye on the Black Knight while Hurdy began searching the shelves. There were ladders and ramps around the room to help with searching the shelves. After some time, another of Mogmei's children came by to offer him a drink of lemonade.
There was a time or two that he wondered why he was doing this. The answer to that was clear: he was just trying to help someone out. As someone said, helping others was reason enough to do things. He just had to find the book here.
"Kupo!" A flutter of wings rushed off.
"Kupo?" he muttered, trying to shake off the haze of dreams. His body felt strangely light. Where was he?
Moschet Manor. He'd come here with a clavat named Gurdy to search for the methods of becoming a paladin. According to the Tida crystal, Raem and something called a meteor parasite were dead, leading to the end of miasma.
Leon came awake instantly, startled into sitting up. He regretted it immediately as his head spun as though his body wasn't prepared to move. Thankfully, someone quickly had a hand behind his shoulders. "Careful now," a clavat said. He had symmetrically curled hair and the outfit of a preacher. "Though it is nice to see you awake."
"Gurdy?" Leon asked, feeling strange. His memories should be gone since he'd fallen asleep.
He shook his head, strangely. "Sorry, that's my brother. I'm Hurdy. And you're Leon?"
"Yes," he said, then grabbed Hurdy's arm and grinned in a sort of delirium. "I remember yesterday! I do, not all too well but I do remember why I'm here. And you were cursed by Raem too, but he's dead now! We're not going to forget anymore!"
Hurdy's eyes brightened at that news. "Really? I thought I was just being unusually lucid the past few days. That's wonderful news."
"Yes," Leon said, then realized what he'd said. "Wait, a few days?"
Nodding, he said, "You've been asleep for three days straight. But you really needed it; you were exhausted almost to the point where it could have killed you."
"I couldn't sleep because the light would always get me," he said. But he didn't need to worry about that any more. There was something to worry about in that he was only wearing an overly large shirt. "But what happened to my gear? I only had what I was carrying."
"We had to get rid of the cloth and leather armor since it was worn out," Hurdy said. "The metal armor is at Mogmei's place in the other room, all cleaned up for you. Her husband Mogmatt went to Alfitaria to pick up replacements and clothes for you. And they should have a bath ready for you soon."
This all felt strange; he was expecting a catch somewhere. "Really? They're quite generous, but I don't have anything to give them."
"Don't worry, I had some money to help cover their efforts. Moogles are wonderful creatures, great examples for us to follow." Then he smiled as he brought out a book with a dark brown cover. "And look, we've found Path of the Paladin! The early chapters are about the kind of dedication and spirit a paladin needs to maintain their status. You'll want to read those at least."
"Kupo!" A small moogle flew up to them. "Kupo, we've got a bath ready if you want it, and Mom's working on a meal for everybody too."
"That sounds good," Leon said.
There should be monsters in the courtyard, making him self-conscious for going around unarmed in an over-sized nightshirt. Thankfully, they didn't see any monsters around. The moogles lived in a hole in the floor, beneath a giant table with a draping white cloth. In a side room, Mogmei had set up a bath in a large wooden bathtub, at least to the moogles and himself as a lilty.
"Your new clothes are over there," she said, pointing out a bag on the table. "And be sure to put any towels you use in the smaller bin there, not the larger one."
It was her house rules. "Sure," Leon said. "Thank you for your help with everything, it means a lot to me."
"We're happy to help, kupo!" Mogmei said, bouncing her pompom. "Oh, but there's something I want to tell you, since I heard you both have memory problems. It's about your friends Gurdy and Hurdy."
"They're the only people I remember," he said. Which was as good as friends for now.
Mogmei nodded. "I understand that, but they're not actually brothers. They're the same person."
"Are they? Hurdy didn't seem to remember me."
"Well that's how it happens in books, right?" Mogmei asked. "He has a split personality, and Hurdy and Gurdy don't share the same memories. I realized it when you collapsed. While he said he was Gurdy, he went dazed for a little bit and didn't know what was going on. He told me he was Hurdy, so I knew something was up. I don't know why he changes personalities or when, unless you're right there to see it. I just thought you should know, if you mean to travel with him."
He thought about it while he was washing up. Did he want to travel with Gurdy and Hurdy? They were simply the first person he could remember now, although he had a feeling they had some other connection than Raem. Or did he want to find his family? He wouldn't know them anymore, but they'd know him. It'd be a way to find himself… his old self, at least. Would they find him to be a different person now?
Or did he want to attempt to become a paladin?
A flicker of light distracted him, making Leon tense. Then he realized it was simply a reflection of light across the bathwater, not the light of Raem. Raem was supposed to be dead. And yet, he couldn't shake the caution of his battle against the memory eater. How could he expect to be a paladin like this? Paladins protected others. This paranoia was going to actively work against that.
Did the world even need a paladin now? The miasma was gone and the crystal seemed certain that it was gone for good. It was hard to say what would happen to the monsters. Although, old tales mentioned monsters being around before the miasma. The monsters would still be around. And the Tida crystal wanted to be moved. Did the other crystals want to be moved too? It was for the healing of the world; that might be something that a paladin could help with. It would also be a goal for himself when he had nothing.
What little he remembered included Raem taunting him and Gurdy about being hollow people without memories. That was true, as they were practically nothing except what happened since they met up on the hill to Tida. But being practically nothing wasn't being nothing. And like Gurdy had said, they could take things one day at a time, building themselves back up to being somebody.
Gurdy and Hurdy… being with someone who might be someone completely different in a brief time could be a problem. He didn't know them all that well, but he noticed they had some differences already. Gurdy was more worldly and pessimistic; Hurdy was excitable and kind. Then again, they also had some of the problems he had. Other people would get frustrated or annoyed with them without realizing why they were like they were.
When he thought about it, Leon realized that he was feeling more confidant because he had someone else who'd suffered like he had. It might be more valuable to someone like Hurdy and Gurdy. Gurdy at least was great with magic. Hurdy seemed to be a scholar of some kind, which was already being useful. As his personality seemed interested in this quest, it might be good to take him along. The company would help them both recover.
Perhaps even if he didn't succeed in this quest, they'd be rewarded for trying in ways most people wouldn't understand.
Having decided what he wanted to do, Leon finished washing up. He found the leather armor they'd got him and put it on with some of the clothes. It didn't feel right to not have any armor. After talking with the moogle family some, he went to investigate the other rooms of Moschet Manor. It'd be good to take care of their security in gratitude of their help.
But on clearing rooms, he found no monsters in Moschet Manor. The myrrh tree was already greatly wilted. A few days passed and the manor remained quiet.
