A/N: Look, an update! Yay! And I was planning on having them actually go talk to Kratos and reveal the Tower of Salvation and everything, but then I got to what felt like a good stopping point and decided to do that next chapter. So no more Kratos yet but there is fighting, which is always fun. :)
It was early the next morning when Yuan left the inn. He'd spent the night trying to figure out how in the world he was going to make this journey work, and had finally given up when the sky had started to brighten. His main problem was the two young children he'd promised to let tag along. Not only would they get in the way and be in danger, they'd also be stranded at the Tower when all was said and done, their brother a soulless angel and Yuan disappearing back to Derris-Kharlan. Not to mention Aiden himself, who Yuan was not looking forward to having as a traveling companion. It wasn't just that he was simply a pain in the ass, but Yuan was afraid that if Aiden did face an untimely death, it would most likely be at the angel's own hand, considering how their first meeting had gone. And that would cause a whole lot of fuss on Mithos's part.
The town was practically deserted at this hour, with most people still sound asleep in their beds. Heavy cloud cover gave the illusion that it was earlier than it really was, with a few fluffy snowflakes already drifting down. Yuan just hoped the harmless snowfall didn't turn into one of Flanoir's all-too-frequent blizzards. It would make crossing the island to the Temple of Ice extremely difficult and unsafe, even for him.
It only took a couple minutes to return to the Norfel household. Like all the other residential buildings nearby, it was dark and quiet, nothing like the household of a small group that was planning on leaving soon. Admittedly, Yuan hadn't specified what time they were leaving, but the silence still wasn't encouraging. Most people about to embark on a long journey tended to get up earlier than necessary, in order to make sure they'd packed everything they needed. The fact that not even Eli, who had seemed the kind of child to wake up at three a.m. on his birthday due to excitement, seemed to be up or moving did nothing to lift Yuan's mood.
The angel rapped sharply on the door and then stood back, hands clasped behind his back. There was no response and after a minute he knocked again, harder. The force of the knock shook the door slightly in its too-small frame, and somewhere down the road, a dog started yapping. Still nothing happened and Yuan frowned. He highly doubted that anyone inside was actually sleeping through his knocks - they were loud and probably sounded even worse inside. So either they'd already gone, something Yuan highly doubted considering Aiden's attitude toward the whole adventure, or he was being avoided. He'd bet one hundred Gald that it was the second one.
Yuan glanced around quickly to make sure there were no staring citizens that would try and get him arrested before forcibly pushing the door open. It stuck and protested, but he got it open after a moment of violent persuasion. He'd won against a mechanical screwdriver-stealing door; he was not going to be bested by some poorly constructed block of wood. The door hit the wall with a little more force than Yuan had anticipated and the angel winced. At the very least, both door and wall still seemed to be intact.
Eli and Audrey were sitting in the short hallway, staring at him with wide eyes. Audrey held a small red ball in her hands and was poised to throw it. Yuan assumed that this was how the two kids had been entertaining themselves while staying so quiet. Just past them were the two doorways that led to the back bedrooms, one of which was closed. Overall, it looked like his bet had been correct - he was being avoided.
Sighing heavily, Yuan pushed the door closed with his foot, having to give it a firm kick when it refused to slide neatly into the frame. "Aiden can't still be asleep," he said. His words were apparently the trigger needed to break the Norfel children from their frozen states, since as soon as he spoke, Audrey let her arms drop to her lap, though she still held the ball, and Eli leaped to his feet. It was only now that Yuan noticed the young half-elf's ridiculously bright blue pajamas, which made the boy's hair seemed just that much more vibrant.
"No, he's awake," Eli said, pointing to the closed door. "He's just mopey. And he wouldn't let us answer the door." Audrey shook her head, her attention fixed on the ball she was spinning around between her hands. She looked a little guilty.
"Well, that didn't work very well, did it?" Yuan snorted, and Eli shook his head quickly, grinning. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to rouse your brother from bed. I'd appreciate it if you two, at the very least, pack your things and prepare to leave shortly." Eli hurried off without a word, disappearing into the other bedroom with a huge grin still plastered on his face. Audrey pushed herself up and hesitated, shooting a quick glance at Yuan.
"Sorry for not answering, Mr. Ka-Fai," she said quietly before quickly following her little brother. As soon as she entered the room, she gently closed the door behind her. Through the door, Yuan could hear Eli scurrying about and Audrey's patient, "Slow down, Eli. Just get dressed first, then you can find what you need."
Leaving the kids to figure out packing on their own, Yuan knocked on Aiden's bedroom door. As he expected, there was no response; he'd only really bothered because it was polite, though he was quickly finding out that Aiden didn't seem to react much to politeness. Not even bothering to knock a second time, Yuan just pushed his way into the room. It was dark, as there were no windows and the lamps hadn't been lit, and Yuan was glad for his heightened eyesight, since he could still make out what was inside.
The room was sparsely furnished, with a bed, a small dresser, and a table that was overflowing with clothing and random junk. The mess on the table had spread to the floor, leaving very little floor space still visible. Aiden lay curled up on his bed, his back to the door, and he didn't even move when Yuan entered. "Aiden," he said briskly, lingering the doorway where the floor was clear. Still there was no answer and Yuan huffed out a breath, stomping into the room as best he could while also trying to carefully maneuver around the clutter.
"This is ridiculous. Get up, Chosen. We need to be leaving soon," Yuan grumbled, stopping over the boy's bed and crossing his arms over his chest. Finally Aiden moved, flipping over onto his back and propping himself up on his elbows. He didn't appear to be all that thrilled about finding the angel in his room.
"Don't call me that," he griped, his expression annoyed. "I'm not the Chosen." Before Yuan could protest, Aiden rolled over again and said loudly, in order to cut over Yuan's words, "I changed my mind after you left. I don't want to be the Chosen of Mana. So go away."
Yuan scowled, just barely resisting the urge to smack Aiden upside the head until he saw sense. "You can't just change your mind," he said. "Besides, what happened to being the Chosen in order to protect your siblings? Or did you forget about that?" Aiden groaned and finally pushed himself up into a full sitting position, crossing his legs.
"No, I didn't forget," Aiden snapped, matching Yuan's scowl. "I just decided that I wouldn't let them go anywhere with Desians. So there, problem solved. Now I don't have to go on some stupid journey in the name of a false goddess. Now get out of my room."
There was a tense silence as Yuan tried to come up with reasons why electricuting him with magic was a poor idea. It would most likely change Aiden's mind back, not to mention get rid of some of his attitude. But Yuan would never hear the end of it in Derris-Kharlan. And he could possibly incapacitate the Chosen, which wasn't exactly what he wanted. So instead of calling up a Lightning spell, Yuan just took a moment to rub at a headache that was creeping up on him as he tried to form a new argument.
Aiden was still scowling at the angel, silently daring him to dispute the teen's decision. Yuan just wished he could look as dark and menacing as Kratos. "Forbidding your siblings from leaving will only work for so long. What happens when you finally die, and Eli is set to live for another couple centuries? I highly doubt you'll be able to come back and haunt him." Unless he finished the journey and became a soulless angel and managed to find his way back to Flanoir, of course, but that was about as likely as Aiden becoming a ghost. It would also be pointless, since in that scenario, the Desians would have already moved back to Sylvarant.
"By then, I'm sure you'll have roped someone else into all of this," Aiden countered, crossing his arms smugly over his chest. Yuan had to admit that that was true, especially with how frequently Mithos had been picking out Tethe'allan Chosens. That left almost no arguments he could give, except for one that made Yuan feel silly even considering. However, he was out of options, and he had to at least try everything before calling this whole trip a bust.
"You already promised to be the Chosen," Yuan said quickly. The argument was weak and childish and honestly a little whiny, though it at least pulled Aiden up short.
"I... What?" the teenager asked, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion. "That's not even a real argument!"
"Sure it is," Yuan said briskly, deciding to roll with it. At the very least, Aiden didn't have an immediate come-back. "You promised last night, when you said that you'd be the 'stupid Chosen'. For Cruxis, that's as good as a contract. You promise to go through with it, you're expected to." As he spoke, Yuan hoped it wasn't obvious that he was just making it all up as he went. In fact, there wasn't a single thing similar to a contract in the Chosen's journey, probably because the others hadn't fought every step of the way and hadn't needed one.
Aiden narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "If my promise is so important, what are you gonna do if I back out?" he challenged. Yuan didn't even have to consider what the consequences would be for his new made-up rule.
"Then Cruxis will smite you and your siblings," Yuan deadpanned. Aiden blinked and the angel nodded gravely, though he was trying very hard to fight back an oncoming smile. "It'll be quick but painful. A large, super-charged bolt of lightning will come from the sky and strike you where you stand. Leave little more than a pile of ashes afterward. It sometimes has a bad backlash and has been known to destroy whole towns, so Cruxis doesn't do it often. But they won't hesitate to do it to you. We'd just have to rebuild Flanoir afterward."
Aiden squirmed uncomfortably on his bed, trying to figure out whether or not Yuan was really telling the truth. Finally, when Yuan was sure he wouldn't be able to keep a straight face for much longer, the teenager groaned and let his arms drop. "Fine. Now get out, so I can get dressed," he grumbled reluctantly. Yuan did, allowing his smile to surface as soon as his back was turned. If only he'd known threatening to smite Aiden would have actually worked, he would have done it earlier.
It took another hour for the three to get ready. Nothing had been packed the night before, so they had to work to find clothing, weapons, food that would be good for traveling, bed rolls, their tent, first aid supplies, and cooking utensils. Audrey managed to scrounge up a couple gels, two apples and one orange, and those were also thrown into the packs. Finally, everyone had to wait another five minutes as Aiden tried to remember where he'd stashed their emergency Gald. Yuan was pretty sure he had taken so much time just so that he could stall leaving, since the small drawstring bag had only been beneath the boy's pillow.
But finally they were ready to go, an hour and a half after Yuan had initially wanted to leave. However, he wasn't going to complain about the delay. He was just relieved they were leaving at all.
The streets outside were busier than when Yuan had left the inn, since the delay had given the citizens enough time to wake up and move about. Children walked or ran down the road, heading toward the little schoolhouse, while parents either accompanied them or went their own separate ways. A few adults paused to give Yuan suspicious, accusing looks, as if he was attempting to kidnap the three children. One man even stopped to ask Aiden if they were alright and if they needed any help. Yuan ignored them, though he couldn't wait until he'd be able to leave Tethe'alla behind.
It had never made sense to Yuan why Mithos had thought it a good idea to assign him to Tethe'alla. This world was less tolerant of half-elves that Sylvarant, probably because it wasn't just humans encouraging the discrimination, but there were also the full-blooded elves. It would have made more sense to send Kratos, the only human of the three, to deal with the racism that was Tethe'alla. But instead, Mithos had left Yuan to suffer the dark looks and scathing comments. The angel could only hope that it would get better as they continued.
Even though Flanoir had a very large and magnificent chapel on the other side of town, they had to go out to the temple that sat about half a mile from the city. The temple had been the original Church of Martel for the town, back when the religion was just taking off a couple centuries ago. Since then, they'd moved locations, but the old temple still housed the alter for the Chosen of Mana, and it was still the only religious place in the area where one could teleport from Derris-Kharlan. At the very least, it was bound to be empty of people.
The temple was tall for the area at three stories, though it was rather shapeless. The entire building was a long, narrow block with a flat roof and regularly-spaced rectangular windows. A scaled-down rectangle formed the upper level, which rested comfortably in the middle of the structure. The stone had started to crumble and fall into disrepair, and hardy brown vines hung from the cracks. There weren't any lights but fresh torches hung in brackets ready to be lit, their tops coated in a layer of snow that had no doubt soaked the wood.
Looking at the rundown building, Eli nervously clutched his staff to his chest, though Yuan was hesitant to call it a "staff". It was barely more than a glorified tree branch with the twigs cut off. Audrey's fingers brushed the fletching of the arrows that sat in a quiver at her hip, her other hand curled tightly around the simple, undecorated wooden bow that had already been strung. Even Aiden seemed a little nervous, his hand creeping up to wrap around the strap of his pack, just inches away from the hilt of the giant two-handed sword he had slung across his back.
"We have to go in there?" Eli asked, looking up at Yuan, his expression almost pleading.
"You and Audrey can wait here if you'd prefer. Only Aiden and myself need to go inside," Yuan answered and Eli chewed on his lip before finally shaking his head.
"No, it's okay. I don't want to wait out here," the young half-elf said with shaky determination, his grip tightening on his staff. Audrey didn't say anything, but Yuan assumed she was also accompanying them when she nocked an arrow.
Aiden clapped his brother on the shoulder, offering a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Eli. If we see any monsters, just pretend they're your practice targets," the teenager advised, and Eli nodded slowly. Looking over at Yuan, the teenager's expression became more surly and he demanded, "Well, aren't we going in?"
Sighing, Yuan made his way inside the building, the Norfel children trailing behind him. "You were just as capable of entering as I was," he said over his shoulder.
"I know. I just wanted to make sure it was safe before going in," Aiden said. Yuan turned to glare at him, his look darkening at the boy's smug smirk, as Audrey smacked her brother's arm. Aiden jumped at the sudden hit, his pleased expression dropping in surprise, and he rubbed at his arm.
"Be nice," Audrey admonished with a small frown. "You know it's safe. You're just picking fights." Aiden blinked at her for a moment before moodily crossing his arms over his chest. Audrey flashed Yuan a quick, apologetic smile before turning to make sure Eli was doing alright.
The inside of the temple was in an even greater state of disrepair than outside. The stones had also crumbled here, leaving loose bits of rock lying in the hall. The furniture had all been made of wood that was now rotted, letting the furniture collapse and fall apart. At one point, they came across a wall that had collapsed inward, scattering large blocks of stone everywhere. The debris created a large number of rough patches and difficult piles that had to be climbed over. The three Norfel children continued in silence, concentrating on their footing and staying on the look-out for monsters. Yuan just flew over the worst of the blockage and waited for his new traveling companions on the other side.
As they went, Yuan worked on lighting any torches he could find, with the help of the Sorcerer's Ring. It had taken a little bit of coaxing, but the wingpack had finally relinquished the little metal band. The Sorcerer's Ring had practically lived in the little box ever since Kratos gave it up after his journey with Spiritua, and Yuan was glad he'd kept it there, as Fireball was not one of his stronger spells.
The entire first floor was surprisingly devoid of monsters, and by the time they climbed up to the second floor, Aiden, Audrey, and Eli had relaxed significantly. Audrey and Eli had put their weapons away and all of them were slowly growing more talkative, though it was still little more than warnings or observations. Not ten feet from the top of the stairs, they encountered a blockade of collapsed bookshelves, and Aiden loudly declared Yuan a cheater when the angel flew over it. That obstacle required Yuan to go back just a few seconds later and get Eli, who had gotten a foot stuck between a couple pieces of wood, and fly him over as well.
"Why can't you just fly us all?" Aiden complained as he carefully made his way down from the book and wood pile. Near the end, he slipped on a loose piece of paper and pinwheeled his arms to keep his balance, almost hitting Audrey upside the head as she slid past him. His attempt to stay upright failed and he landed heavily on his rear, glaring at the offending paper. "It'd be faster and no one would break their legs."
"No one has broken their legs," Yuan pointed out, speaking over the giggle fit that had suddenly struck Eli. "You're also quite capable of crossing these obstacles yourself, provided thin sheets of paper stay out from under your boots." The comment did nothing to stop the younger half-elf's giggling, though he tried to smother it behind his hand when Aiden frowned at him. Even Audrey was trying not to laugh as her older brother picked himself up and brushed dirt and wood splinters from his clothing.
Aiden opened his mouth, probably to throw out some scathing comment, but a rumbling growl from down the hall cut him off. Eli immediately stopped giggling, his eyes going wide as he very slowly scooted behind Yuan. Audrey's hand dropped to her quiver, the other grasping at her bow. Further down the hall, Yuan could see movement in the shadowed corners, and the movement suggested more than one creature. There was a torch sitting in a bracket just a couple feet further and Yuan aimed the Sorcerer's Ring at it, igniting the wood and revealing the creatures.
"They're just lobo pups," Yuan said in disbelief, looking at the three young monsters that stood blinking in the sudden light and growling. They resembled wolves, though only in their body shape. Their fur was mostly blue, with patches of white on their paws, bellies, and tails, and they had a large white fringe of fur running down their spines. Their eyes were red and their teeth, while ridiculously tiny, seemed razor-sharp.
The sound of Aiden's sword sliding out of its sheath rang in the relative silence, and the pups growled louder, occasional squeaks breaking their menacing appearance. One of them slowly stalked closer and let out a sharp, high-pitched bark, the other two flanking it. Yuan held his hands out to his sides, silently asking the three to stay back, and frowned down the hall. The pups appeared very young, too young to survive long without their mother, and yet they appeared to be alone.
"Why aren't they attacking?" Audrey asked nervously, swinging her bow slightly as she tried to figure out if she should raise it or keep it by her side. While the pups sounded mean, they hardly looked the part and were doing little more than acting tough, their white fringes raising around their shoulders.
"Pups rarely do, provided there's an older one around to do the attacking instead," Yuan said slowly, a chill running down his spine at his own words. If they weren't attacking, then it meant the pups considered themselves protected, and yet it appeared to just be them.
Something shifted in the pile behind them, the faint sound almost lost amid the pups' growling. Yuan spun around and mentally cursed himself for not having considered that the mother might be out hunting. A fully grown lobo, nearly four times the size of the pups, stood atop the bookshelf pile, a dead ice spider clutched in its jaws. Her eyes were locked onto the four intruders, her lips rising into a snarl around her catch. As one, the pups stopped growling and slunk away to find a safe place to hole up until their mother was finished.
Audrey fumbled with her bow and Eli let out a tiny squeak, grabbing on tightly to Yuan's cape. For a moment, the lobo stared them down, red eyes flicking between each of them. Then it lunged, dropping the spider and going for Aiden with jaws wide open, its teeth shining red with the spider's blood. The teenager jumped out of the way, swinging his giant sword downward in the same motion. The weapon bounced off the lobo's fringe as it passed, dealing its shoulder just the smallest cut. The lobo snarled and turned on its paws, muscles rippling beneath its fur.
The attack seemed to snap Eli out of whatever trance he'd gone into and he scrambled back, holding his staff out in front of him and closing his eyes in concentration. A ring of red mana spun slowly around his feet and his mouth moved quickly in a silent incantation. Yuan was quicker, striking the monster's back with a well-placed Lightning spell, just as an arrow went skittering off the white fur on its neck. The smell of singed fur filled the room and the lobo bellowed, eyes narrowed angrily.
Aiden swung his sword like a bat, catching the lobo across the muzzle. Blood dripped down from the cut, staining the area around its nose a dark purple and the lobo snapped back, its teeth snapping together inches from Aiden's arm. While the monster was distracted with Aiden, Yuan called out his weapon, the Swallow jumping out of the wingpack with surprisingly little resistance. A fireball zipped past the angel's head, smacking into the monster's leg and exploding in a shower of sparks.
Now fully pissed, the lobo lunged again, paws outstretched, displaying the long, gleaming claws on the end of each toe. Two of the claws ripped through Aiden's coat, tearing twin marks into his arm, and the teenager shouted out in surprise and pain. Yuan flashed his weapon down to intercept another swipe, sparks rising from where the claws scraped against the double-bladed weapon, and the Swallow's sharp edge sliced neatly into the lobo's paw pad. Two more arrows shot past in rapid succession, one finding a home in the lobo's flank, the other stabbing it in the nose.
The lobo turned as if to flee after its pups, the hard white fringe rising like a porcupine's quills. "Down!" Yuan shouted, grabbing Aiden's jacket and forcing the boy to the ground just as sharp white spikes shot out of the fur. The spikes sprayed out, bouncing off the stone walls and sticking into cracks or softer rubble. The lobo turned again, more slowly this time, and got an arrow in its throat. The monster stopped, choking, and reached up a paw to swat at the arrow. The shaft broke off, falling to the ground, and blood flowed down its neck. It darted weakly forward and Aiden scrambled back, easily avoiding its desperate attack. Its legs shook and then it collapsed, continuing to breathe in great, gurgling gasps for a moment before whimpering and going still. Blood continued to pool around its head slowly.
Eli looked ill, his face green and arms shaking as he continued to stare at the dead monster with wide eyes. He was still on the ground, having stopped his casting and dropped at Yuan's warning. Audrey sat next to him, looking only marginally more composed, and he grabbed for her arm, clutching it tightly. Aiden pushed himself up, quietly cursing as he held his bleeding arm to his chest.
Yuan leaned against the wall with his eyes closed and jaw clenched, his breath caught in his throat. He hadn't been quite as fast getting down, having moved to get Aiden out of the way first, and one of the spikes had pierced his shoulder. The six-inch dart stuck halfway out of his arm, the sharp end not quite going all the way through to the other side of his shoulder. It hurt like hell, and a string of profanities ran through his head, though he fought to keep them there and not to shout them out.
"Are you okay?" Audrey gasped and Yuan finally let out his held breath, opening his eyes to look down at the young girl. She was looking between him and Aiden with wide, worried eyes and quickly came to her feet, dragging Eli up with her. "You're bleeding." Yuan wasn't entirely sure who she was talking to, and she didn't seem to know either, eyes darting back and forth before they finally settled on Aiden.
"I'm fine, it's just a scratch," Aiden said, waving his hand dismissively. "I, at least, didn't let myself get stabbed."
"It was hardly part of my plan," Yuan ground out through clenched teeth, glaring darkly at the teenager. Audrey appeared to be ignoring them as she rummaged around in one of the bags, though Eli looked between them nervously. "Maybe next time I'll just leave you to get stuck with spikes and save myself."
"You should. I didn't need help. I could have gotten out of the way on my own," Aiden snorted. Yuan almost snapped back before realizing it definitely wasn't worth the effort. Instead, he just glowered and hunted down an apple gel or two. The wingpack was reluctant to give them up, and Yuan was sure the thing was enjoying his suffering.
Audrey found the bandages they'd packed and hurried over to wrap up Aiden's cuts, though it took a lot of persuasion for him to let her. While they worked on that, Yuan gulped down the two gels he'd managed to get from the wingpack, feeling the light tingling around his shoulder as they started to take effect. The bleeding slowed and the pain died down, though he left the spike where it was. He'd take it out later, when they had more time and weren't standing in a lobo den where three pups still lurked.
"Here, you dropped this," Eli said, his voice shaky and a little strained. Yuan glanced down and saw the boy propping the angel's Swallow against the wall, the heavy weapon easily larger than the little half-elf and causing him a little bit of trouble. Yuan thanked him and grabbed the weapon using the non-injured arm, stowing it away again. Eli glanced back over his shoulder to where the monster lay forgotten and shuddered. "Are there going to be lots of monsters like that?" he asked.
"Probably. Though hopefully most of them won't take us by surprise like this one did," Yuan said, pleased to note that the pain had died down enough that he could speak somewhat normally. His words were still strained, and he could still feel his breath catching, but it was at least a bit better. Eli nodded, not looking too much calmer at the prospect.
It only took another minute for Audrey to finish seeing to her brother and to put the rest of the bandages away. Aiden still held his arm close and grimaced when he had to use it to grab his sword and put it away, but besides his initial cursing, he had no complaints. As soon as the teenager was ready, Yuan pushed off from the wall, keeping his injured arm as stationary as possible, and started down the hallway again. "The stairs should be straight ahead," he said over his shoulder. "And then we can get this wrapped up and leave this damn place."