This chapter is the longest so far, mainly because I loved writing the interaction with the men. I thought it was great, especially with the age differences. But any hoo…here it is and see if you can guess what it is they are after. Larsa also makes a small little cameo.
ACQUIRING PERFECTION
"Vaan, do you mind where you swing that thing?"
"Sorry."
"That's okay…just….try not to kill me in future. Save that for the fiends. All right?"
Vaan nodded and held his sword down at his side.
He and Balthier watched Basch ahead of them (they could just about make him out in the mist dense fog) and admired the way the tall knight moved. Every step through these marshes was steady, Basch's Scorpion Tail axe was grasped in a strong hold and he was so serious and atoned to what was going on around him. He was a Hunter, stalking his prey, stealthy and alert. Yet Balthier noticed a difference in the judge's overall behaviour.
When he had been in the Dalmascan sands, Basch had hunted and killed off the fiends in an excited and fierce determination. There would be traces of a smile on his face as he did so, a satisfied cry as he ended the life of the fiend and upon seeing the carcass of wolves, Basch's head would bob approvingly at his work. Pleased and feeling so much better. He had accomplished something and released whatever grudge or problem he had been feeling. Not so now.
There was sadness in his eyes, the Nabudis wastelands haunted everyone, but Basch was definitely different. Was there a small hint of doubt about this hunt? Did he really want to do this?
"This is hell." Vaan moaned as he took another step forward and sank three more inches into the bog. "I stink, this place stinks, you stink and it's cold! And how does Basch not sink in this stuff? Does he walk on water?"
"What did I say about annoying me, Vaan?" said Balthier as he flicked a piece of boggy grass off his waistcoat.
"Not to do it?"
"Well done." Balthier sighed.
"I'm surprised we were asked to come along. Well….Basch didn't exactly ask you did he?"
"Its impossible to say no to a man who has a Scorpion Tail axe trained at your nether-regions. Although not directly to me, he did mention something about the gift."
"Huh?"
"A story….he mentioned something about a story?"
"What kinda story?"
"Haven't the foggiest." Balthier sighed a frustrated exhalation as he, like Vaan, sank further down into the boggy and slime infested waters. Any deeper and his boots would be flooded and that just wouldn't do. How did Basch remain above all this?
"OI!"
Vaan's startled cry caused Balthier to turn round sharply. (As much as he could in this marsh.) The young boy was stumbling and tipping over, his hands reaching for the older man to steady him. Balthier wanted to move, but it was too late, Vaan's hands latched onto his coat and pulled Balthier down with him into the foul smelling bog.
"That does it!" Balthier scrambled for his gun and then pointed it in Vaan's direction. "Stay absolutely still and this will be painless!"
"That Baknamy just nicked my gil!"
Vaan pointed to a goblin like creature cackling in the marshes. Through the grasses and dense mist fog, Balthier saw there were others, maybe six in total.
He took aim and shot one of them with ease. The others screamed, lunged from their hiding places and like feral beasts they howled as they ran towards them. Balthier got off another shot, killing one more of the goblins.
"Don't just sit there!" Balthier shoved Vaan away from him. "Do something!"
Vaan tried to get to his feet, but the bog was holding him down. Balthier got another shot off. Now there were only three Baknamy's left. They were getting closer…until…
All three were felled by something slicing through the air. Their little bodies splattered in the mud and once again the air was silent from their hissing screeches.
"Give me my money back you little shit!" Vaan crawled over to the bodies, furious and covered in mud ( and god knows what else.) and he began to fumble at the corpse for his gil bag.
Balthier just fumed. He had hoped not to get more covered than he already was, but now as he still sat in the squelching sinking sludge, he knew that hope was dashed, just like his hope to be sitting in a nice comfortable bath relaxing. Damn him for letting Basch approach him!
"Gentlemen…" there was a hint of deep annoyance in Basch's growling tone. "When you've quite finished alerting the whole of the area to our presence…we have work to do."
There didn't appear to be a single speck of mud or dirt on Basch or his armour, save for the small splattering around his boots. Boots which Balthier noted, weren't sinking beneath the muddy ground.
Balthier got to his feet and felt the dripping mud and grasses slide down his back, front and legs. He was not happy. Though…was that a hint of a smile on Basch's face?
"What are we doing here?" asked Vaan, whining. "I thought you were supposed to be looking for the Queen's gift….."
"We are." said Basch. "It is here. Do you not know your old Nabradian folklore?"
"Nah."
"Thought as much. I brought both of you here, because this hunt is important. It is not just enough that I kill this creature. It is part of Nabradia's past and revered by so many in Ivalice. There are rituals….blessings and procedures to this hunt…I need….both of you."
"You need us to pray?" asked Balthier. Basch looked straight at the younger Sky Pirate, there was no amused smile now. The anger was there behind that furrowed brow, but Balthier didn't think that Basch would ever really kill him. There was too much honour and goodness in this man.
"No. I need you to help me give this creature an honourable death."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I need the boy to hold the sugar cubes and be the bait."
"Oh….that's all right, then."
Balthier nudged Vaan's elbow. The boy looked up and grinned.
"My money is still all there." he said beaming.
He hadn't listened at all. Vaan had tuned off from the moment Basch had mentioned rituals and blessings. He simply waved his gil bag in the air and then attached it back on to his belt. As he trudged off through the bog, Balthier went to follow. But as soon as Basch had picked up his Scorpion axe from one of Baknamy bodies, the knight called for him to halt.
A heavy gloved hand clasped onto Balthier's shoulder and squeezed just a little too tightly.
"Hear this, Balthier." he said. "Now that the boy is out of ear shot. I maybe…a little unwise in the ways and business of Miss Noola's boutique, but I could not stand your blatant disrespect for the Queen. I was angry and I still am that you could think her majesty is just another name in your long list of conquests. I lost my temper and I was…wrong to hit you. Since coming here and after some thinking, I came to realise that you do not intend to pursue Asheila's affections or to lay with her….."
Squeaky! Screech! Balthier was wondering when Basch's armour was going to start up again.
"That I didn't plan to have sex with her?"
SCREECH
"Er,…yes. I only wanted to apologise for my shameful outburst. Your methods do have a lot to be desired, but you were only trying to make me angry. To make me admit to something that…."
Scree. Scree…eeseech.
"Admit to what?" Balthier smiled.
"That….I…" Basch coughed. His armour rattled and made a noise Balthier hadn't heard before.
"That you?"
Clang. Clang. Clonk. Screechy. Basch's head bowed and his jaw locked in a fierce battle of restraint and admittance.
"I…love her. Dammit….Balthier….I….I love her."
Bloody hell, he had finally said it. Balthier grinned. If only Penelo could be here now.
"That took some guts." said the Sky Pirate patting a slimy mud hand on Basch's back. It left a smear on the shiny gleaming metal "We all knew of course. We also know that Ashe feels the same for you. Well done that man….now it's just a birthday gift away from that kiss and then the giggling under the bed sheets."
"I love her…but I cannot ever be with her." Basch stated ignoring the 'Giggling under the sheets line.' "It is not for a Knight or Judge Magister to be a Queen's consort…husband or lover. It has never been so or will it ever be allowed. The Queen has to be married to a lord or prince of noble blood. That is not me. It can never be me and that is why I have always refrained from openly sharing my worthless feelings. I will always honour my vows to serve her…to keep her safe, but I serve Larsa also. I have to be with the young lord and make sure he grows to become the great Emperor, Archadia needs. Ashe…..Asheila can and will cope without me."
That was the only thing Balthier disagreed with. Ashe could never cope without him. No matter what she or anybody said.
"Have you got alcohol in your water canteen?" asked Balthier. "You're not drunk whilst you're admitting to all this? Because you never would have told me. No. You have to be intoxicated."
"No alcohol. Just a little holy water."
"Huh?"
"It's quite pleasant. Gives you a boost and it tastes vaguely of cherries. Plus we do need some of it for the blessing of the weapons."
"Blessing of the weapons?!" Balthier was starting to worry about what this hunt was to entail. "We're not on some holy crusade are we?"
The hand clenched once more on Balthier's shoulder. This squeeze was a lot harder.
"Oh yes…I almost forgot." Basch smiled, but there was no fondness or happiness behind it. "I don't know why you did it….or how…but that spear is dear to me. It is unique, no other has ever been made in Ivalice….I would like you to return it to me once we get back to Rabanastre. All right?"
Balthier frowned.
"Erm….sure."
"Good. Now….we need to progress from here and find the route to the Lifeless Strand."
Basch strode onwards, again, his boots never sinking below the wet gross mud. Balthier was just left confused. His spear? Basch thought he had taken his Zodiac?
He would never do such a thing! Well…not to Basch anyhow.
00000000000000000000
Larsa was like a giddy child when he picked up the letter. He had been waiting for this for quite a while, so he didn't even bother to use the silver letter opener, instead ripping the envelope open with his fingers. He took out the letter and began to read. It didn't take long.
The last line made the boy's smile broaden into a big beaming grin.
We accept the proposal, Emperor Solidor and we look forward to your visit to the palace on Her Majesty's birthday. Our sincerest regards and thanks.
Larsa put the letter down on the table and clapped his hands in joy. There would be nothing to stop him now! He would help make this peace in Ivalice a lasting one and all of the past deeds of his family would be nothing but a sorry shadow. It would be Larsa Solidor who would make history.
Oh how he loved his little schemes!
He got up and the smile vanished immediately. The chair had scraped back so harshly on the floor that the screech grinded in his ears. The marks on the floor were deep and horrid, Larsa cursed at such taunting.
"I must think about getting some carpet laid down in here."
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"Stay still Vaan!" cried Basch. "Don't taunt her!"
The boy didn't move. The creature circled him, sniffing and snarling, the long silver blade kept bowing down along with the head and Vaan didn't dare move. He didn't want to be slashed open.
Basch had doused his axe with the holy water and even took a quick swig from the bottle, as Balthier read from the scrap of paper, the blessing.
Balthier grabbed at the holy water as well and when he tasted it…Basch had been right. It does taste of cherries. With a slight hint of strawberry.
"This has to be done quick, for the other will be along soon and he would no doubt be furied at such an invasion." said Basch, as he flipped the axe to his other hand.
"Is this necessary?" asked Balthier, once he had finished reading the wordy and tongue twisting verse. "It's a fiend! Can't we just kill her?"
"To kill this creature as any other fiend would be an affront to the memory of this place and to what they had once been!" Basch said, as he then began douse Balthier's guns and bullets with the water. "No, they have to be released not just killed. It is owed to them! Vaan!! Keep still!"
Vaan didn't respond, but the proximity of the creature and the unnerving lack of attack from it, was scaring him. Why…when they had entered here, did this beast come to him and ignore the others? Why was she sniffing him in this manner?
He tried to just look at what the others were doing, his head jerking to look round the fiend.
"Are you going to help me?!" he yelled. Which was a mistake.
The creature screamed and bared her teeth. A foul snorted breath heaved from her flared nostrils and sent Vaan falling back into the bog. The scream of the fiend echoed all around and to everyone's horror, there was a reply.
Vaan was confused, he looked up and saw that she had raised on her hind legs and was about to come crashing down on top of him. He tried to roll, but the ground was too wet and sludgy. He couldn't budge.
Then he heard the shot. Balthier had fired but missed. The fiend spun round and crashed down right next to Vaan's head. Her focus was now on the others.
Vaan got to his knees and saw that Basch was now face to face with this fiend. He had approached her and was holding his weapon in a prepared striking blow. He looked so sad.
"I am so sorry." he said. "I'm sorry for your pain and that you had to endure this. I'm here to help you. I'm here to give you your release."
She bowed her head. Vaan was confused. Did she understand? Was she even listening to the words Basch said?
The striking blow that sent the Judge finally slamming into the dirt, told Vaan otherwise. No, this fiend was still a fiend. It would kill. So too would the other one who now appeared through the mist.
"Bollocks!"
00000000000000000000000000
"That's it?!" Vaan screwed his face up in disgust. "We had to sit for two hours, smelling those disgusting corpses? We're all for just that?"
Basch didn't reply. He simply wrapped up the item in a cloth and placed it lovingly in one of his bags. He stood at the two graves and muttered some more words under his breath.
"Part of the ritual." Balthier said. "I don't know why….but Basch insisted on it. When he's finished saying his words…we can get back to the ship and have a nice hot shower! There are things in places I don't really want to think about."
"But we killed those things….which Basch seems upset about….we came away with no real loot or useful items. Just….that! And he's going to give it to the Queen? She won't be impressed."
"Oh…I don't think that will be the case. You have no idea what he's got there, Vaan. It's a lot better than those cards. A lot better than anything in this world."
"There's nothing wrong with the cards. He sends them to me and Penelo."
"Fran picks up the ones he leaves in the Archades Aerodrome for us. Quite quaint actually, that he thinks of us rogues...though he does address them to Fran and partner."
"Cares enough to make me the bait." Vaan threw the small pouch at the Sky pirate. "What did he douse these with that made them come to me?"
Balthier smiled. The pair of creatures had a heightened sense of smell and the sugar cubes laced with darkness powder was an ingenious lure. It had worked wonders.
Vaan had narrowly missed being trampled by the female, as her hind legs kicked the Judge off his feet and it allowed the young teen to really show that he could fight. He had sliced at her hard exterior shell, but unfortunately for him, his weapon hadn't been blessed. It hurt her a little, but not enough.
Vaan was a good fighter, Balthier admitted, but he was the decoy so Basch could fix on the male fiend. The one he was truly after.
"So…" Vaan sighed when Basch still hadn't finished "praying" at the graves. "What have you got the Queen?"
"I might have to reconsider my original idea."
"Oh?"
"I think the Queen's birthday might go extremely well and she'll need something to celebrate in the appropriate manner."
"Oh. I just got her some vouchers for Yugri's magic shop."
"Queen Asheila will love it."
"You think so?"
Balthier laughed. Sarcasm was lost on the boy at times.
Eventually, Basch rose from his knees and joined the two companions. The bag that contained Asheila's gift was clutched tightly to his side and there was a small sad smile on his face.
"Thank you gentlemen. You have been of great help."
"Well….next time…tell me I'm the bait!" said Vaan. Basch chuckled and patted the teen on the shoulder.
"You fight well, but you have a lot to learn. It's not always about the kill. Killing for the sake of it, is never right. Know your enemies…know their purpose and your own and the fight will be righteous."
"Blah blah blah." Vaan swiped some mud that was dripping down his face.
The smile widened on Basch's grimy face.
"That attitude is precisely why I don't tell you, you're going to be the bait."
"Gents." Balthier swiped the holy water bottle from Basch's belt. "The Strahl awaits! First one back gets to have a shower and all the hot water!"
There was a mad scramble in the dirt. A few punches were thrown and a race ensued between the three men back through the Nabudis wastelands.
NEXT: Nerves.