Chapter 3
The party headed for the entrance of the city, en route to the Oresoren village to see Jay. However, they found that there was no need to visit the village, as they found Jay entering Werites Beacon as they reached the entrance.
"Oh, Jay, good timing," Senel said. "We wanted to talk to you."
"What is it?" Jay asked.
"We wanted to ask you about the 'small matter' that you attended to yesterday," Will said.
Jay put his hands behind his back and his right heel forward. "It's all right. The small matter has been taken care of. There's no need to worry."
"Well, we wouldn't worry if Moses wasn't acting strange," Senel said.
"Hey JJ, have you seen Red?" Norma asked. "He's, like, totally afraid of Spot now."
Jay's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Csaba said it was because Sandor had a nightmare last night," Chloe added. "Did you have any nightmares, Jay?"
"Uh...n-no! I never remember my dreams."
Will stroked his chin. "I see..."
"Is that all you needed?" Jay asked. "I'm getting tired of you ganging up on me about the small matter. As I said, it's just a small matter."
Norma decided to try a little experiment, and slowly snuck around behind Jay.
"Norma..." Will said sternly, shaking his head.
"Aww..." Norma dropped her head.
Jay turned around and staggered back upon seeing Norma. "Wh...what are you doing!?"
"Uh...nothing."
"Don't scare me like that!" Jay ran past the group and down the road.
Norma scratched her head. "Okay...JJ's acting kind of weird, too."
Senel shrugged. "How do we convince them to tell us what happened?"
"We can't force them to tell us," Will said. "But I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."
-------------
Jay explored the town, using his enhanced senses to search for Moses. He eventually walked past the bandits' camp, where he spotted Giet in front of the water mill.
"Giet?" Jay approached the galf at the base of the wooden stairs. "Is Moses in there?"
"Woof!" Giet barked in the affirmative.
As Jay walked up the stairs to the door, Giet and ran towards the camp. Jay didn't seem to notice as he gently knocked on the door. A moment of silence passed until Moses finally opened the door. There was another paused as the small information dealer and the red-haired bandit stared at each other, no particular emotions crossing their faces. Then, without warning, Moses seemed to fall forward, grabbing onto Jay with a full embrace.
"Jay...somethin' awful happened to me!" he cried. "I had this dream last night, and now I'm scared as all get-out!"
Jay's eyes widened. "You, too?"
Moses straightened himself. "What do you mean?"
"The same thing happened to me. I too had a nightmare, and since then, I haven't been able to face the Oresoren. I still love them like my family, and yet I...I..."
"Yeah...Giet scares me like nothin' else now."
"Moses...what was your dream about?"
"I dreamed that a whole bunch of galves were attackin' me..." Moses broke out in tears as he embraced Jay again. "They were rippin' me to pieces!"
"My dream was about the Oresoren," Jay said shakily. "They were bouncing all over me and feeding me scallops...they were force feeding me."
"Why did this happen to us?"
"I'm not certain, but I believe it may have to do with that gas that Solon gave us yesterday."
"Damn it...what are we gonna do when we're all scared?"
Before they could come up with an answer, Norma called out to them.
"Ah ha, we found you!"
"Ack!" Moses fled back into the water mill, yanking Jay inside, and slammed the door.
"Hey, that's not very nice!" Norma yelled as the rest of the party gathered behind her.
"Norma, that's enough," Will said.
"I'm really curious to know what's up with those two," Senel said.
"Well, duh!" Norma replied. "They're getting hot and horny."
"Hot and horny?" It took Senel a moment to realize what that meant. He then shook it off quickly. "No, I'm not talking about that! I'm talking about them being afraid of everything!"
"Let's see if we can talk to them and find out what's going on. Will walked up to the door and knocked gently. "Are you two all right in there?"
"Yeah, we're fine!" Moses called from within.
"Come on out and talk to us. We really want to know what's going on. We really want to help."
Another pause.
"Oh...very well," Jay said.
The door opened, and Moses and Jay stood beside each other, looking up at the natural historian. For some reason, Will looked much more intimidating than he usually did.
"Let's talk more at my house," Will said.
------------
When the party arrived at Will's house, they eagerly waited to hear Moses and Jay's story.
"Well...there's no point in hiding the truth anymore," Jay said.
"Like there was ever a point..." Norma spat.
Will bonked her on the head, causing her to yelp. Jay continued his story.
"When Moses and I investigated the Waterways, we encountered Solon. He sprayed some gas at us, yet it didn't have any effect at the time. However, last night we experienced some frightening nightmares, and then we've just been skittish ever since. I couldn't bear to face the Oresoren, and Moses has been afraid of Giet."
"I don't understand anything anymore..." Moses whined. "I still love Giet like always, but I can't let him get near me."
"What's worse is that we don't even know if our experience is related to Solon's gas," Jay added.
"Well, it sure doesn't sound like a coincidence," Senel remarked.
"All right, it's time to get that So-So!" Norma announced. "Charge!"
Everyone looked at her blankly.
"Uh, guys," she said. "I'm sensing some hesitation here."
Grune raised her fist after finally coming to grips on what was happening. "Charge!"
"Yeah, that's my G-Girl!" Norma cheered.
"We don't have any reason to go after Solon," Will said. "We don't have any evidence that he truly is behind this mess."
"Oh, come on!"
"We'd better wait and see if Solon makes a follow-up move. We'll deal with him then."
"So what do we do?" Moses asked.
"All we can do is go on with our day," Will said. "I'll spend the day with Madame Musette, and then head to the Fountain Plaza this evening for her birthday celebration."
"Oh yeah, they're supposed to shoot fireworks tonight!" Norma added. "They're gonna go, 'Whoosh!' And then, 'Kaboom!!'"
"Ahh!" Moses and Jay jumped back with a start.
"Ha! You're just a couple of wimps now!" Norma said.
Will bonked her on the head again.
"Will...I think we'll just stay here tonight," Jay said, "if it's all right with you."
"Yeah, I don't wanna see no fireworks," Moses added.
Will sighed. "Very well. We'll see you later tonight. Let's go, everyone."
"Yeah, why don't you two babies hold hands?" Norma teased. "And don't do anything naughty."
Will raised his fist to bonk her again, but Norma dashed out the front door before he could do so. The rest of the party left as well, leaving Moses and Jay alone.