The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2
Chapter 8: "The Town of Adventures"
"Same as usual?"
"Maybe something with a little more pep, if you would."
"Coming right up then missie."
The bartender took out a glass mug from under the counter and filled it up with a cloudy bluish liquid. With a flourish, he set it down in front of the girl. She didn't drink it, but instead swirled the contents inside it lazily.
"Something the matter?" The bartender asked, a little worried about his patron. The girl flicked her long, silvery hair back and sighed. She waved her hand in the air as if to wave his question away.
"Nothing, it's nothing." She sighed again and drank deeply from the mug.
It's sweet, She thought as she swallowed more of the beverage, Too bad I don't feel sweet today.
Feeling more depressed, the girl put down the mug and laid her head onto the counter. A rebellious strand of her hair flitted down onto her nose, tickling it. She sneezed and nearly spilled her drink on herself. Standing up, she brushed away the irritating strand and frowned angrily.
"Aaaargh!" She yelled out suddenly, releasing her pent up frustration. "I'm so angry!"
The girl thought back to everything that had happened to her since the morning began. After spending her entire day yesterday trying to hunt for a rare loot, it ended up being nothing more than a false lead. And to make things worse, the pair of shoes that she wanted to buy with the loot had sold out during her search. Needless to say, she was very frustrated when she went to bed.
"I've never had such a bad day in my entire life..." The silver haired girl lamented as she slumped onto the counter of the bar.
"Say, have you ever heard of this saying before?" The barman said in a kind voice, "When you're at rock bottom, the only path left is up."
"Ha." The girl raised her head slightly to face the turbaned barman, "I'd like to meet whoever made that saying. I would make him repay me for all the time I lost yesterday."
The barman could only give a small smile as the girl finished off her drink and left a few coins on the counter as she walked out of the bar.
Walking outside into the streets of the town, the girl looked up to the sky and thought to herself.
The only path is up huh? Heh, it's not like me to mope like this at all. If I have time to feel sorry for myself, then I have time to make up what I did wrong yesterday.
She flung her hair back and began to walk down the street.
"There it is. The Town of Adventures, Camoa!" Cid shouted, pointing ahead of him.
Straining his eyes against the billowing wind, Luso leaned out from behind his chocobo and followed the revgaji's pointing finger. A large sprawling town, made completely out of stone had risen from the hills in front of them.
"Wow!" He exclaimed as he saw the sprawling town rise from in front of him, "That's Camoa? It's huge!"
As they rode past the two large stone pillars that designated the town boundaries, the group stopped in the middle of the crowded town streets. Enthusiastically, Luso leapt off his chocobo and looked around him. There were people everywhere, completely unlike the small and quaint Wood Village. Street vendors had stalls set up outside buildings and peddling weapons or accessories. A few chocobos could be seen roaming the streets, carrying luggage for people.
But what was the most amazing to Luso was the sheer amount of different races he saw. While in Wood Village, all he saw was humes like him, and maybe a nu mou or two. But here in Camoa, he could see multitudes of different races. From large, muscular bangaas to small, fuzzy little moogles flying through the air.
"Camoa is the largest settlement in the continent of Loar." Edyal explained, struggling slightly to dismount her chocobo. "Naturally, races of all kinds flock to this town in search of adventures. Which, I might also add, is the also origin of the nickname, 'Town of Adventures.'"
"Which is also the reason we've came here." Added Lynd, "Targ doesn't give much in the way of questing and rewards. Aahh, I can't wait to see what kinds of hunts we'll find here in Camoa."
"Aye, and perhaps some better work as well." Cid went over and helped Edyal off her chocobo. He turned towards Melanee, who had gingerly dismounted her own chocobo, "You're going to go and look for that medicine for the doctor, right?"
"Yes. He had written directions for me here...um..." She fumbled around her robe pockets, pulling them all inside out. Her expression quickly darkening, she began to panic and nearly took off her entire robe until Edyal had stopped her. "It's not here! I don't have it with me! I must've dropped it!"
Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground, tears welling up in her eyes. Edyal gave her a hug and patted her on the back while Cid, Lynd, and Luso scanned the ground around them. Other than a few pieces of litter and various town–related debris, there was nothing that remotely resembled a slip of paper. Curious onlookers were beginning to form around them, wondering what was going on.
"Hrm... let's head over to the pub and get our bearings straight first." Cid took the reins of the chocobos and began walking down the street, "Come on, before we get even more gawkers."
After safely tying up the chocobos outside, the group had entered the local pub. A loud, jubliant atmosphere welcomed them inside. As far as the eye can see, people of all kinds were seated inside the pub, the complete opposite of Wood Village's bar. A group of black mages were sitting in the corner, darkly discussing some sort of newly devised arcane magick while bangaa warriors and human fighters were having a mock exhibition duel in the center of the bar, and there were even several vieras dancing and singing on a makeshift stage made from a couple long tables.
Finding them a quiet spot in the far corner of the pub, away from the raucous yells and cheers, Cid sat the sniffling Melanee down at a table. Edyal and Luso both sat down next to her while Lynd eyed the fighting exhibition.
"So." Cid said, sitting down himself, "That slip of paper that the good doctor had written for you is missing?"
"Y–yes..." She said in a broken voice, "I can't believe I messed up like this..."
Shaking his head, Cid replied, "You don't have to worry. I have a certain contact in this town that can probably help you. A streetear that hears many things."
Hearing that, Lynd turned around and said, "A streetear? Knowing those types of people, you'll be paying through your nose for a sliver of information, Cid."
"Thanks for the warning, but this specific streetear is an acquaintance of mine." Cid said, "I don't think he'd try to rob me if all I'm asking for is the location of a certain medicine ingredient."
"You're the boss, now if you wouldn't mind..." Lynd pointed at the brawl in the middle of the bar. Cid sighed and waved his hand, allowing Lynd to go and join in the festivities. Shaking her head, Edyal muttered underneath her breath while Luso laughed at the bangaa's enthusiasm.
"Oh, right. Luso." Cid called the boy's attention towards him, "Your sword was destroyed yesterday, right?"
"Yeah. It's all rusted and filled with holes." Luso said, with a tinge of anger in his voice. Cid reached into his pocked and withdrew a small leather pouch. He tossed it to Luso. It made a small jingling sound as he shook it in his hands.
"There's about three hundred gil in that pouch." Cid pointed at the small pouch, "I've written directions to the local blacksmith here inside it. Use that money and ask him to fix your sword. Or just buy a new one, it's your decision."
"Seriously?" Luso said incredulously, "Thanks Cid!"
"Think of it as a gift in commemoration of your first duel." He laughed and patted the boy on the head. Luso smiled and quickly stood up. He eagerly stuck the gil pouch in his side pocket.
"Then I'll be going now!" He said, already beginning to head towards the exit, "I'll be back really fast, don't worry!"
"Aye, stay out of trouble then. And watch out for thieves!" Cid called towards his retreating back. Seeing this scene, Edyal laughed to herself. "What's funny?"
"Oh, it is nothing." Edyal said, taking off her large straw hat, "I am just amused at how much you treat the boy like a son."
"Okay, so let's see..." Luso pulled out the small, handwritten slip of paper that Cid had stuck inside the gil pouch, "Take a left...no, a right? Wait..."
Walking around town, Luso tried to make heads or tails of where he was currently. Cid's note had a small, crude map drawn on the back, but even that wasn't helping his current situation. He considered asking someone on the street to help point him in the correct decision.
No! He argued to himself, I can do this. I can find that blacksmith by myself, bad directions or not!
Pumping his fists, he read the note again. "When you see a staircase heading down into the lowtown, go down and head towards the right...oh, that must be the stairs!" He glanced over to the large staircase between two buildings. A large sign hung overhead, with the words 'Lowtown' painted on it.
Silently cheering, Luso pushed past a pair of vieras and went down the stairs. Once he was down there, a he stood in front of a large iron gate. He pushed the gate open and squeezed inside. There, a large spectacle awaited him.
"Whoa!" He said, amazed, "This is all underneath the town?"
He was standing in the middle of what could be described as another town. A mazelike structure, with windows and doors jutting out of the walls haphazardly. A large glistening pool of water was in the middle of the underground town. Kids of all races were splashing inside the pool, playing and gambooling for fun. For a split second, Luso felt like joining them.
He shook his head to get the thought out of his head, "I have to get this sword fixed first! I'll play later." He put his hand in his pocket and fingered the bulky leather pouch to reinforce his resolve.
He turned around and began to walk towards the right. He kept his eyes on the signs sticking out of the walls. An accessory shop...a magick store...technicks...
"Where's the blacksmith?" He asked aloud.
"If you're looking for the weapons store. It's behind you, to the left." Came an unexpected reply, "You've been going the wrong way."
He turned around to see who it was. It was a hume girl, probably no older than Luso was. The girl was dressed in a simple pink top, and short pants that was complimented with a skirt made of some sort of transparent material.
On her head, a large bow lied on top of her shiny silver hair. It resembled a pair of ears that one would find on a cat. Looking down, Luso noticed that she was wearing an exceptionally long belt, which was hanging loose behind her, giving her what could be described as a makeshift cat's tail.
She looks like my old housecat... Luso mused to himself, thinking back to the cat that he once took care of until his Auntie found out.
"Don't you know it's rude to gawk?" Her yellow eyes flashed with slight irritation. Luso quickly returned his vision to her face.
"Oh, um...sorry." He apologized quickly. Scratching his head, he felt slightly flustered for some reason, "Thanks for your help."
The girl sighed and began to swing a small pouch by it's string. "You should be careful. You never know when someone might just come up and steal your belongings."
"Ahaha...thanks for your advice." Luso said, laughing embarrassedly for no reason. The girl smiled and turned around. She lifted a hand and waved goodbye.
"See you around, maybe." With that, she walked off and disappeared into the crowd. Leaving Luso standing there and feeling awkward.
"I wonder who that was...?" He said, "Oh well... at least I know where that blacksmith is now."
Feeling his enthusiasm returning, Luso turned around as well and began to head in the opposite way. His body feeling lighter, almost as if he had lost a few pounds of weight.
Streetears, a noble profession in the many towns around Jylland. Experienced gatherers of information that amass various snippets of gossip or fancy that passes by their sharp ears. For the right price, the all–knowing company of a streetear will tell you all you need to know.
And in the famous Town of Adventurers, there is no better streetear than the noble seeq that stands atop the tallest building in all of Camoa. For his words are always true, and always well informed. There has never been a time when this legendary streetear has ever failed a client!
"Aye, that's nice and all, but will you get down from there and greet one of your clients?"
"Wha–! Whoa!" Tumbling down from his high perch. The large pig–like braggart rolled down the sloped incline of the roof and skidded to a stop next to the revgaji's feet. Melanee poked her head out from behind Cid to peek at the strange person.
"'Lo Ribs, long time no see." Cid greeted.
"That voice..?!" With surprising agility, the rotund seeq jumped up from his ungainly position on the ground and faced the two. His snout twitched wildly as he grabbed onto Cid's hand, shaking it. "Master Cid! Why, how long as it been? One year? Two? Maybe even three?"
"Far too short for my likings," Pushing the streetear away, Cid coughed and moved aside. Melanee warily tiptoed out from behind the large revgaji.
"Aaahehehehaa!" The seeq snorted, "You've picked up a pretty one there, Master Cid. But don't you think she's a bit youn–?"
Cid shut the seeq's mouth by clamping a large hand over his head firmly. "I'm not here for small talk Ribs. And stop calling me 'Master.' I've forsook my dark past, and I have no interest in dredging it up again."
"Aaahehehehaa! but you'll always be Master Cid in my heart." Ribs snorted again, pushing the revgaji's hand off his head. Cid sighed and placed his palm over his face, shaking his head.
"I said...oh, nevermind. We'll be requiring your services, Ribs."
"Is that the reason behind this fateful meeting, Master Cid? And here I was hoping you'd take me to the pub and get a drink, for old time's sake!" Sniggering one more time, "I'm assuming what you want to ask is related to the girl, eh?"
"Sharp." Cid nodded. "Melanee, tell him your question."
"Um..." She fidgeted with the hem of her robe, "I'm...looking for a medicinal component...or at least, somewhere that sells it..."
Ribs snorted and crossed his stubby arms, "Speak up girlie, I might be a streetear, but even I don't like to strain to hear unless I really need to."
"Um..." She fell silent again at the seeq's forceful words. The seeq began to snigger at her reaction until he caught sight of Cid's angry glare. He quickly fell silent.
"All right, all right. I'm just jesting with you." Ribs quickly said, glancing over to Cid again, "What was that you said? A medicinal component? What kind? There's all sorts of them being sold all around Camoa."
"C–c..." Melanee's voice began to trail off again. She gestured for Cid to come closer. Cid bent down and Melanee whispered something into his ear.
"Cactus Fruit." Cid said, standing back up. "The component she's looking for is Cactus Fruit."
"Cactus Fruit...?" Ribs closed his eyes and began to think. "Hmm...I remember hearing several alchemists the other day talking about there being a surplus in Cactus Fruit down by the Apothecary. Some vieras were also chatting about Cactus Fruit being perfect for good skin, and some hume girlies were thinking of using them as an ingredient for a love potion. Then I also heard some bangaas say that the Fruit could be used as strengthening agents..."
"That's enough." Cid interrupted, "Thank you for your information Ribs. Let's go Melanee, I know where the Apothecary is."
"Hang on Master Cid!" Ribs grabbed a hold of the back of Cid's vest, "You're forgetting something very, very important."
"And that would be?"
"Payment, obviously!" Ribs grunted, "Don't think that just because it's been a long time that I'll let you use my services for free!"
With a sigh, Cid took out his gil pouch, "How much?"
"No, no, no, no!" The seeq pushed his gil pouch away, "I can't take money from you Master Cid. It's not right."
"Ugh..." The revgaji scratched his head in irritation. "Then what is it you want for payment?"
"Stalks! Tomato Stalks!" His mouth slightly drooled as he said the word. Melanee recoiled in disgust, "The perfectly sublime, delicious, tender and beautifully shaped Tomato Stalks!"
"Then it's too bad." Cid took out his gil pouch again, "We don't have any stalks. Just take some gil and buy them yourself."
"Aaah, that's where you're wrong Master Cid." Ribs said with a sneaky gleam in his eye, "I heard that there is a new bill on the hunts board looking for someone to cut down the Tomato population roaming around 'Adventurer's Rest.'"
"And you want me to go and hunt them for you?" Cid replied dryly.
"You have a clan, don't you?" Ribs nodded, "Why else would the great Master Cid be hanging around a white mage viera like that?"
"Fine." Shrugging, the revgaji decided that it would be best to appease the greedy seeq, "I'll go accept the hunt."
"Aaahehehehaa!" Ribs threw his head back and laughed happily, "I'll be waiting here then, Master Cid! Pleasure doing business with you!"
Grumbling, Cid began to walk down the sloped roof and back onto the streets with Melanee struggling to catch up to his long strides. She looked back at the waving Ribs, wondering the reason behind the seeq's insistence on calling him 'Master'...
"This must be it." Luso said as he stopped in front of a large, cast iron door. He looked around the door. The windows were barred with iron bars and there was a large battle–axe hanging overhead that served as a signpost. Gulping, he cautiously pushed open the door and peeked inside.
CLANG.
He jumped. A loud metallic noise suddenly rang out from inside the smithy, followed by even more clanging noises. Slightly afraid, he sidled through a gap between the door and the wall. As he snuck inside, the iron door suddenly crashed shut.
"Who's there?!" A loud, gruff voice came from the direction inside the smithy, "I'm warning ye, if yer a thief, then ye better hope ye made peace with whatever god ye believe in!"
"No! No!" Luso quickly blabbed out, "I'm not a thief! I'm a customer! A patron! Someone that wants your help!"
"A likely story!" A large curtain lining the back wall of the smithy flew open. A massive bangaa came walking out of the furnace, wielding an equally massive sledgehammer. "Now who is it that dares enter my store with such a loud racket?!"
"M–me!" Luso raised his hand slowly, "I'm the racket maker...person."
The large bangaa grunted and tossed the sledgehammer forwards. The massive stone hammer landed on top of the bangaa's counter with a loud crashing noise. Several cracks began to spread from where the hammer landed. He took off his work apron and covered the mess he made with it.
Viewing this spectacle, Luso thought that maybe coming here was a bad idea after all.
"So!" The blacksmith bellowed, "What is it that ye come here for, runt?"
"Um..." Quivering, Luso drew his ruined sword and laid it atop the counter. "M–my sw–sword. C–can you f–fix it?"
The blacksmith snatched up the sword. In his massive hands, the shortsword might as well have been a twig from a tree. His beady eyes narrowed as he examined the rust covering the blade. With a snort, he gripped the sword's blade with both his hands and snapped it in half.
"This blade is completely worthless!" He tossed the two halves of the sword away and faced Luso. "A Knot of Rust, kah! Fighting cowards, were ye?"
"Ah...ah..." Scared out of his wits, Luso could only stammer out a few nonsense sounds.
"In any case, yer sword is beyond all hope." He stomped around his counter and grabbed Luso by the back of his clothes. He lifted him up high into the air and made him face the multitudes of swords lying on the shelf. "Now, these here are all swords I've personally forged in this here smithy 'o mine. If ye are looking for a good weapon for ye to trust yerself to, look no further than the swords here!"
Luso looked around at the various blades glimmering in front of him. There were some that were short and stubby, long and thin, and all sorts of combinations in between. Curved sabers, sharp fencing foils and even a keen looking katana.
"So, what is it yer lookin' for?" He dropped the boy onto the ground. Luso grimaced as he stood up, rubbing his behind. Looking back up, he took another look at all the swords lying on the shelf. He reached up and took the closest one he can reach.
"A broadsword, eh?" The bangaa leaned down and inspected the blade, "Not a bad choice for a novice like yerself. I'll sell it to ye with a discount, 280 gil. Not a bad trade, if I do say so myself."
Luso gave the broadsword a few test swings, "Whoa! Ack!" Reeling from the weight of the sword, he keeled over and fell flat on his face. The sword flew out of his hands and skittered away from him. He pushed himself up, rubbing his face until a sudden impact from above him pushed him down again.
"Oi, kid!" The bangaa bellowed, "Just because I'm selling ye a sword on discount doesn't mean I'm going to allow ye to destroy it like yer old one!"
"S–sorry!" Luso quickly apologized and pushed himself up on the ground as fast as he could. He rushed over to the sword and picked it up. "S–so, it's 280 gil, right?"
He reached inside his pocket and dug around for the gil pouch Cid had given him for this very purpose. His fingers groped around, trying to find the small leather bag that housed around a few hundred gil, but he felt nothing but the inside of his pocket.
Eh...? He stuck his hand back in again, but with the same results. The gil pouch was not inside his pocket. In fact, his entire side pocket was empty, which included his notebook as well. Eh? Eh? EHHHH?
"What's the matter kid? No gil?" He leaned down and glanced inside his pocket, "Oho. Yer flat broke, aren't ye?"
"It's not like that!" Luso quickly replied, "I had an entire bag of gil in here earlier! I must've dropped it or something!"
The blacksmith took another look at his pocket. There was a wide slit cut in the lining of the pocket, just about the size of a fist. The incision was too precise to be a normal rip in the fabric. The bangaa snorted and stood back up to face the poor boy.
"Ye didn't drop yer gil, boy." He said, crossing his arms, "Ye've been the victim of a thievery. There's a cut inside yer pocket there. Someone must've sliced yer pants while ye weren't looking and nicked yer gil pouch."
"Thievery?!" Luso exclaimed, detaching his side pocket and pulling it wide open. Sure enough, there was a wide cut stretching from the top to the bottom of the pocket. The thief's dexterous hand must've cut it and took the gil and his notebook while he wasn't looking.
The blacksmith shook his head and took the sword from Luso's hands. "It's a pity. But if ye have no gil, then ye can't buy a weapon."
"Wait!" Luso said, "Then is there something I can do for you? An errand or something!"
"Why are ye so interested?"
"Well..." Luso glanced inside the pocket again. I can't go back and tell Cid I lost his money. That would be disappointing him. He trusted me with this money, and I can't let him down now!
"Ach...well." The bangaa scratched his head and thought for a second. "Oh, that's right! I do have something for ye to work on."
"Really? What is it?"
"Here, take this." He walked behind his counter and retrieved a piece of paper from underneath it. "This is a hunt request from yers truly."
"A hunt request?" He handed the paper over to Luso, who read over it. There was a large illustration of what resembles a large red tomato. "Is this a tomato?"
"That's right. There's been problems all around Adventurer's Rest. Tomato population's been too high, and I need someone to cut'em down before the entire field is covered in tomatoes. My own supplies and materials all come from that direction, so the overgrowth is a problem for the caravans."
So he wants me to go and pick some tomatoes off the fields? Sounds easy enough, but why is this called a 'hunt?' Luso pondered to himself.
"Clear the field of tomatoes, and bring me their stalks." The bangaa continued, "If ye bring me around...say, fifteen of them, I'll give you that sword. Free of charge."
"Really?" Luso asked, "No catch?"
"No catch." The bangaa said, tossing Luso the broadsword. "But if ye don't bring back fifteen, then ye'll have to give that sword back. Understand?"
"Crystal clear!" Saluting, Luso replaced his old sword sheath with his new broadsword. He rushed towards the metal door and opened it.
"Don't worry about a thing, I'll get those tomatoes out of the way in less than a hour!" He waved back energetically, "I'll be back soon!"
"Don't get hurt now." The bangaa replied, but the boy was already out and gone. "...he's an energetic one. I hope he knows what he's doing, those tomatoes aren't just fresh produce."
He walked over and picked up the two halves of his old sword. Smiling ruefully, he pocketed the two pieces and walked back into his workshop.
A/N: The original draft of this chapter involved Luso actually getting a defined job class, Cid visiting Ribs by himself, and Melanee actually having her instructions. Just goes to show how much a story can change during writing.
Town Info: Camoa is a large town located in the continent of Loar. The town is split between the overground 'Uptown' and the underground 'Lowtown.' Most of the residential houses and buildings are located in the Uptown, as well as the local pub and Poacher's Den. The Lowtown consists of a labyrinthine area, separated from the uptown by a flight of stairs and a large iron gate. The Lowtown is where all the stores and shops are located, as well as various other seedy places of interest.