The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2
Chapter 14: "For Tonight"
"Thanks for your hard work." The barman tipped his head and plunked a hefty bag of gil onto the counter. Cid opened it and plucked out one fat gold coin out of the bag. He placed it back into the barman's hand.
"Get me a drink, would you?"
The barman nodded and hustled off to fill a glass for the Revgaji. Cid took the rest of the bag and secured it onto his belt. The rest will be used for the clan's dinner tonight.
The tired Revgaji leaned back on his chair. It was only their second day here at Camoa, and it's already been quite an adventure. Cid smiled to himself. That boy's been handling himself rather well, despite being thrust into dangerous situations again and again. Mentally, he praised Luso for his fortitude.
"..!"
However, his smile suddenly disappeared off his face. A thought flashed through his mind, completely wiping away his previously happy feeling. His face creased into a dark frown. Right at this time, the barman had returned with a rather large mug of drink.
He instantly spotted Cid's sullen expression and said, "Why the long face? I thought you were pretty pleased with your hunt today."
"Oh," Cid looked up, now just realizing the return of the barman, "It's nothing, nothing. Just remembering a few bad memories, is all. My apologies."
"Ahaha, you don't have to apologize," the barman placed the mug down onto the counter with a wide smile, "I've had quite a lot of patrons here, drowning their sorrows in drink. It's nothing new here."
"I would expect so," Cid grasped the mug and raised it up to his mouth to drink, "Cheers."
He had barely began to drink before he was interrupted by a very familiar sound...
"Aaahehehehaa! Well if it isn't Master Cid!"
Cid choked on his drink and spent a few good seconds pounding his chest. He swiveled around to glare at the source of the laughter. Ribs, who had just emerged from a private room somewhere deeper in the tavern, was approaching him with his typical hearty laughter. Cid grunted in annoyance and was just about to look away until something beside Ribs caught his eye.
"Who's your friend?" he asked, gesturing to the raggedy looking man beside the Seeq. Ribs snorted and patted the man on the arm, the highest he can reach with his stubby legs.
"Just a client of mine! Just a client!" With another loud snort, he plopped himself down next to Cid. The man tipped his hood, nodded, and walked towards the exit of the tavern.
"Quite an odd friend you have there, Ribs." Cid remarked dryly, watching the man disappear into the crowd outside.
"Aaahehehehaa!" the Seeq laughed and withdrew his sack of stalks and began to feast on the green leafy vegetables. Cid drained the rest of his mug and set it back down.
"So how did your day go, Master Cid?"
"Went well enough," Cid replied while trying to flag down the barman with his hand, "Recruited someone into our clan, made a decent amount of gil, and got a nice workout. 'Twas a nice day."
"Aheha, that's right, You're in a clan now, Master Cid." He grabbed another fistful of stalks and shoved them all inside his mouth. A moment of loud chewing and gulping later, the Seeq wiped his mouth with his forearm and let out a loud belch. He turned around to face the Revgaji beside him, who was doubled over trying to keep the contents of his stomach inside of him, "What's wrong, Master Cid?"
"...I just suddenly remembered why you were banned from this place, Ribs." Cid grunted, "I'm assuming you were invited in by that hooded man?"
"Aye, I was. Nice person, I'd say. Even gave me this entire sack of stalks before I even told him my name!"
"Hm..." Cid straightened himself and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I don't think I've ever seen that man before. Was he a local?"
"Nah, he was a drifter." Ribs replied, "You won't get much information out of be about that man, Master Cid. Even I don't know who he is."
"A drifter, eh?"
"He did seem like he had a very important mission or whatever." The Seeq shrugged and dug inside his bag for another stalk. Only to find that the bag was completely empty. He picked it up and turned it upside down over his head, looking inside for any stalks left.
"All gone?" Cid said, with a slight relieved tone in his voice.
Ribs sighed and tossed the bag over his shoulder, "Aye..."
At that moment, the barman suddenly reappeared behind the counter. His face showing a strange expression of disgust and irritation. He took Cid's mug and refilled it with a pitcher he held in his other hand. Ribs grinned widely and waved.
"Why hello there barman, remember me?"
"Unfortunately. You're still on the blacklist, you know." The barman's reply was laced with venom. He pointed to a paper list tacked up beside the hunts board. Ribs' name was scribbled at the top of the list, right underneath the word "Blacklist."
"Aaahehehehaa!" Ribs laughed as he saw his name, "Well, how about we let bygones be bygones?"
"I still remember how your eating habits managed to scare around half of my customers out of my tavern. There wouldn't be a chance in hell that I would allow you back in here as a regular customer. Today was just an exception."
"Your memory's as admirable as always, old man!" the Seeq chuckled, "How about a drink? For old time's sake?"
"Errgh..." begrudgingly, the barman pulled up another mug and slammed it in front of the Seeq. "Just remember to pay before you leave."
"Aaahehehehaa!" Ribs simply reached towards his belt and extracted a single gil coin from his money pouch. The ends of the barman's mouth curled as he accepted the coin, filling the Seeq's mug in the process.
Cid drained his second mug and pushed himself up from the counter.
"Leaving already, Master Cid?"
"Just going out for some fresh air."
"I'll keep your drink safe for you, Aaahehehehaa!"
"...and that's how I've ended up here." Luso concluded. He looked up from his spot on the ground to see how Adelle would react to his recounting.
A pillow to the face greeted his efforts.
"Pfft! Ahahahaha!" Adelle laughed as Luso tried to get rid of the fluffy obstruction on his face.
"Why are you laughing?" Luso pulled off the pillow and stood up angrily, "You're the one who asked me to tell you!"
"Fffhahaha!" Adelle rolled back onto the bed while kicking her legs, "Ooh, that was a nice story boy. You'll be a good writer someday."
"What do you mean a nice story?" Luso challenged, "It's the truth! It really happened to me!"
"So let me get this straight," leaping off the bed, Adelle held up her hand and began to count off her fingers, "you opened a book in a library, wrote your name in it, and it somehow transported you from your world to Ivalice by the means of a magickal tornado?"
"That's right."
"And then you landed in the middle of Targ Woods, fought off a gigantic Crushatrice and joined that Revgaji's clan?" Adelle finsihed, closing off her fist.
"That's what I've just told you! Is it that hard to believe?"
"Naturally." Adelle brushed her hair back and flicked Luso on the forehead, "Even the most spooniest of bards wouldn't spin such a silly tale."
"Spoo–?!" Luso's words were cut short as he quickly turned around, as Adelle had begun to undress again.
"That was a nice little excursion, but if you wouldn't mind..." The girl lobbed the rest of her clothes over to the hapless boy and crawled underneath the bed covers. "Thanks for the bedtime story."
She rolled over and fell asleep. Leaving Luso standing there, hands full of clothes and utterly dumbstruck about what had just happened. Deciding that it would be a pointless venture to try and reclaim his room, the boy left through the door and closed it behind him with his foot. Mentally, he made a note to retrieve his belongings from inside tomorrow.
"Aaagh..." a groaning noise from somewhere around his side caught Luso's attention. He peeked around the side of his large clothing pile.
"Oh, hey there Lynd. Are you feeling better?"
The battered looking Bangaa supported his tired–looking body by leaning against the wall, "I've seen better days," he glanced over at the pile of clothes in the boy's arms, "what's with the mountain of clothes you have there? Thinking of opening a tailor shop?"
"Haha...no. I'm just going to take these to somewhere where they can be washed."
"I see," Lynd gingerly edged over towards Luso and pulled an article of clothing off his pile, "...but isn't this that woman's shirt?"
"Yeah...they're all Adelle's..." Luso admitted. Lynd raised an eyebrow at his listless response.
"That girl hasn't been with us for more than a day, and she's already had you wrapped all around her little finger?" the Bangaa chuckled to himself, "You're quite worthless with women, kid."
"W–what do you mean?!" the kid sputtered, "I'm just doing this because she asked me to!"
"Don't worry about it kid. I'm just joking," Lynd liberated half of the clothes from Luso's pile and carried it over his shoulder, "though, I do have a piece of advice for you."
"What?"
"Women are tough, troublesome creatures. Don't you ever let yourself get taken advantage by her."
"Huh?" Luso replied, confused. Lynd simply shook his head and headed down the stairs.
"You'll understand someday. Now come on, I feel a little parched as well."
While Luso and Lynd were busy trying to locate a water source for their own services, Edyal was busy with her own problems. Camoa isn't a dangerous city by any stretch of imagination, but all large cities have a common problem at night.
"It is too late..." Edyal muttered. The store she was standing in front of–Kint's Magick Depository–was already long closed. She had been planning on purchasing several more magickal spells before the end of the day, for the sake of practice. "Looks like that is not happening today..."
She sighed and shook her head, "Shame. If only we had returned a little earlier. Dragging that Bangaa's limp body took longer than I had expected. Maybe freezing him was not the best of choices after all..."
As the Nu Mou reflected on her own deeds by herself outside the store, a shadow slowly approached her in the dark alleyway. Edyal's sharp ears picking up the noise of a stranger's footsteps, she quickly materialized her staff and pointed it at the direction of the noise.
"Who is there?" Edyal commanded towards the darkness, "Show yourself!"
"Fufufu...your skills have not dulled one bit since you have left, Edyal..."
A Nu Mou emerged from out of the darkness, clutching a long rod. The Nu Mou tapped the ground with the rod once, and light spread out from the jewel set in the rod's tip, illuminating the deserted street. The Nu Mou pulled his hood back, revealing an old, wizened looking face. A jewel was embedded into the middle of his forehead, resembling the same one topping his rod. He smiled as he approached the Black Mage.
"Madreth," Edyal said, putting her staff away, "It has been a while."
"Yes, for much too long." Madreth replied genially, spreading his arms out in a gesture of affection, "How have you been?"
"I've been fine. What are you doing here?" Edyal backed up, avoiding the old Nu Mou's arms.
"Terse as always, Edyal. I'm hurt." Madreth's smile widened. He lowered his arms and approached Edyal, stopping right in front of her, "This is how you greet an old friend? Who specifically came all this way to meet you?"
"I was under the impression..." Edyal replied darkly, "...that I had made it known that I no longer want to have any dealings with the Nobles."
Madreth chuckled and patted her shoulder with a wrinkled hand. Edyal wrinkled her nose in disgust and slapped his hand off non–too–gently.
"I see you are still quite feisty," the scorned Arcanist pulled back his hand and narrowed his eyes, "however..."
In a deft movement, one of his arms shot out with an astonishing speed, grabbing onto Edyal's hand and pinning her against the wall. With his other hand, he held the rod against her face, pressed against her left cheek. Edyal winced as the bright light shined next to her eyes.
"What is this, Madreth?" Edyal said angrily, "Are you attempting to threaten me?"
"Oh no," the Arcanist replied, "I am no Bangaa. I am here to give you an offer."
"An offer?" Edyal attempted to push Madreth's body away from her, but he only pressed harder.
"That is correct. Either you rejoin the Nobles and assist us in our battle against the Brotherhood, or else..."
"Or else...?"
Madreth's rod began to shine brighter. It's ambient heat was beginning to sear into Edyal's skin. The message was clear.
"What will your answer be...Edyal?"
"Get out of my sight! And get that nasty thing away from my face!" with that outburst, Edyal spat into Madreth's grinning face. He recoiled and inadvertently released his grip on Edyal, allowing her to get away and rematerialize her staff. She twirled it once and began to murmur the incantation for a magick spell.
"You imbecile!" wiping the saliva away from his eyes, Madreth leapt back and also began to incant a spell. The two of them glared daggers at each other, both racing to see who will finish their incantations first.
"The roaring beast that devours nature..."
"The filthy blood of a monster that desires revenge..."
"Hm..?" Lynd looked up into the night sky, taking a pause from his washing. Luso looked up as well, confused.
"What is it Lynd?"
"I thought I just heard something..." he raised up one of his large, floppy ears and closed his eyes.
The two of them had reached the center of the town, now deserted and silent. Only the sound of splashing water from the solitary fountain surrounded them.
"Are you sure?" Luso said skeptically, attempting to wash a delicate piece of fabric with his eyes closed, "because all I can hear is the water running..."
"Yeah, I definitely hear something." Lynd stood up, letting the washpail drop from his hands. He picked up his sword and fastened it to his belt.
"Hey!" Luso opened his eyes, "where are you going?"
"I don't know, but something doesn't feel right." Lynd growled ominously, "you just wait here and finish washing those undergarments. I'll be back in a minute."
"Wait!" The boy's yells fell on deaf ears as the Bangaa tore off into the dark streets, leaving Luso behind holding a very questionable article of clothing. "Dang it! What was that all about?"
Turning back to the fountain, Luso tossed the triangle shaped cloth into a spare washpail and plucked out Adelle's pink shirt out of the pile.
"...huh," Luso looked down at the shirt. The conversation he had with Adelle suddenly flooded back into his mind. His world...the world that he had mysteriously vanished from, only to reappear in a different world altogether.
The recent events had gone by so fast, he didn't really have much time to reflect upon what might've happened while he was gone. He had disappeared from his world, and appeared in this one. So what is going on there while he is here? What about his Auntie? His friends? Do they know that he is gone?
Are they worried about me? He wondered to himself, I've been gone for almost four days now, my Auntie must know that something is wrong...
He gazed up into the night sky. A bright moon was shining in the middle of all the stars.
What is going to happen to me?
"Fire!"
"Poison!"
A jet of fire flew out of the tip of Edyal's staff and collided with a glob of green goo in midair. The two magicks cancelled each other out and sent out a large shockwave of dust towards both combatants. Taking this chance, Edyal swiftly swung her staff to her side and instantly began to incant another spell.
"Do as I know! Do as I live...!"
"My my, you are quick to recompose yourself." Madreth cleared away the dust with one twirl of his rod, "Superb! You are making me more and more excited!"
"Turn into a baleful form! Begone from my sight, you cretin!"
"However...!" the Arcanist pointed the tip the rod straight at the Black Mage standing in front of him, "Such little parlor tricks will not defeat me! Madreth Mardereth, leader of the Nu Mou Nobles!"
"Frog!" Edyal spun her staff once and swung it towards the ground. Right as the head made contact with the cobblestone road, a large amount of purple gas began to spew out from the ground, as if she had struck some sort of gas geyser.
Twirling her staff like a conductor's baton, she directed the spraying gas like a snake charmer with his snake. Glaring straight at the Arcanist, Edyal pointed her staff directly at him. Instantly, the mass of purple rocketed towards Madreth like a gigantic arrow.
"How riveting!" Madreth watched as the gaseous snake began to approach him at a high speed, "But what is with your pathetic magick? Did I not provide you with a veritable amount of magick spells in the past?"
"I have long discarded everything that you have given me, Madreth!" Edyal declared, glaring straight at him, "I have forgotten all of those horrible spells you have implanted inside me, and I will never allow you to tamper with my magick again!"
"So ungrateful!" The mass of purple enveloped Madreth as soon as it reached him, obscuring his body completely. Edyal stared into the cloud, not letting down her guard for a second. Knowing Madreth, a basic Frog spell would not be enough to take him down.
"You were always my favorite, Edyal." Madreth's voice echoed out from inside the purple cloud, "It hurts me as your mentor to have to do this..."
"Twist the very fabric of our universe! Drive a nail deep into our very own logic!"
The purple gas clouds around Madreth were suddenly blown away, as if a bomb had exploded from underneath his feet. His rod was glowing a vibrant blue color, with it he began to trace an intricate pattern in the air, like a painter on a canvas. The blue light from the rod stained the very air as if it was painting the very air itself.
"Oh no...!" Recognizing the spell, Edyal attempted to run away from the Arcanist. However, her body had suddenly become extremely heavy. It felt as though her arms and legs were being shackled to the very ground itself.
"Are you ready for this, Edyal? GRAVITY!"
The pattern of light in the air shimmered for a few seconds, then fizzled away like an old television set. In a flash, however, the same pattern reappeared underneath Edyal's feet. Suddenly, the entire area around her became wildly distorted.
"Ggghhhhaaaa!!" Edyal could see her vision becoming more and more unfocused, as if the entire world was wobbling in front of her eyes. The weight was slowly becoming more and more unbearable. She dropped her staff and fell down to her knees.
"So, Edyal," pleased at the results of his spell, Madreth walked over to the struggling Black Mage and knelt down. He cupped her chin with his hand and lifted her head up to look at him, "Are you having second thoughts about your choice?"
Finding speech to be a difficult task to do in this situation, all Edyal could do was glare angrily back at her assailant. Madreth grinned. He took his rod and waved it over Edyal's body. Instantly, she could feel the gravity around her nearly double in pressure. She fell off her knees and was now being pressed against the ground face first. Her pointed straw hat was nearly completely flattened now.
"A pity. I did not want to resort to doing this." Madreth shrugged, pulling out a small corked vial from inside his robes, "but you are such a pain to deal with, and I do not have all the time in the world to play with you. So let us wrap this up, shall we?"
He uncorked the vial and swirled the liquid inside ominously.
"...beast that devours...nature..."
"Hm...?" Madreth leaned down, placing his ears next to Edyal's face, "Did you say something? My dear?"
"...crimson flame...into...ashes..."
Madreth's eyes widened. He laughed loudly and stood up, "An incantation? In the state you're in? I am quite impressed, Edyal!"
"Fire...!"
The tip of Edyal's staff flared up. A bright red glow expanded from inside the wooden head like a freshly lit lantern. With the last of her strength, Edyal swung her arm out and hit the staff, rotating the head towards Madreth.
However, Madreth simply walked up to the staff and kicked it away, making it fire it's spell into the air. A bright red streak flew into the night sky, blazing across the white moon.
"That was a nice try, Edyal." he commented as he watched the fire dissipate into a spread of colorful sparks, "but that was just what it was. A nice try."
Madreth looked back down at Edyal. For some reason, she was sporting a smile on her face.
"What's so funny, Edyal?"
"...so here's where the noise was coming from..." a stranger's voice suddenly cut into their midst, making the Arcanist look around for the source of the intrusion.
"Who's there?!"
Lynd emerged from the entrance of the street, sword drawn and staring intently at the Nu Mou in front of him. Madreth quickly spun around and twirled his rod in preparation for a spell. In that instant, Lynd sped towards the Arcanist.
"A Bang–?!" Madreth's exclamation was cut short as a silver sword suddenly descended in front of his face, making him close his eyes in shock. When he opened them again, his rod had been severed. The jeweled head lied on the ground, rolling away.
"That's right, a Bangaa." Lynd knocked the rest of the rod out of Madreth's hands. The Arcanist quickly thrust his hands inside his robes and withdrew a small hidden dagger, but Lynd simply struck his hands with the hilt of his sword and made him drop that as well. The Bangaa grabbed Madreth by the collar and lifted him up with incredible ease.
"A dirty lizard! What are you doing here?" Madreth spat out, his expression a mask of rage and fury, "Do not tell me you are here to help out Edyal, a Nu Mou!"
"...Edyal?" Lynd looked over Madreth's head. Edyal was busy trying to pull herself back up, "What a surprise! I didn't expect you to be here as well."
"Likewise." Edyal grunted. Her entire body was beginning to ache and chafe uncomfortably. Even trying to get up to one knee was proving to be a difficult task. Lynd smirked and said.
"I guess this makes us even, eh?"
Lynd returned his attention back to his captive, who was busy trying to pound on Lynd's muscular fist with his own, with little success. In response, Lynd spun around powerfully, taking the Arcanist with him. At the end of his spin, he let go of Madreth's robes, letting the Nu Mou fly into the nearest wall. He landed with a satisfying thump and crumpled weakly onto the ground.
"That was for calling me a lizard, by the way." Lynd walked over to Edyal and extended a hand to help her up. The ailing Nu Mou looked up at Lynd's smug, smiling face and frowned. She slapped his hand away and said coldly,
"I do not need your help. I can get up myself, you brute."
"Tch, even insulting someone who just saved your life. You ungrateful woman..."
Regardless, Lynd reached down and hoisted Edyal up by the back of her black mage robes. Forcefully placing her back on her feet, albeit awkwardly. She stumbled around a bit before accidentally colliding into Lynd's body.
"What are you doing here anyway?" She asked, pushing herself away from him, "I fired off that last fire spell because I thought Cid or someone else was around! I thought you were still resting due to that little sojourn you had in the ice block!"
"And whose fault was that?" Lynd shot back angrily, "Half of my body still hurts like hell because of that little stunt you pulled there!"
"You deserved it."
"What did I do to deserve that?!"
Edyal crossed her arms and looked away with a huff.
"Gah, I hate dealing with you!" Lynd stamped the ground angrily and looked away. Madreth had recovered from his impact and was beginning to pull himself up as well. Lynd gave a low whistle.
"You're tougher than you look, Nu Mou!" Madreth snarled and glared at Lynd. He pointed a shaking finger at Edyal,
"Youuuu!" He shouted angrily, "You would dare betray your own race and associate with this...this...this lizard!"
"You're seriously getting on my nerves there, Nu Mou," Lynd growled, raising his sword back up, "call me lizard one more time, I dare you."
"Calm it, Lynd." Edyal pushed Lynd's raised sword down with her staff. She glared at the snarling Arcanist with a look of pure venom. Lynd was surprised at her expression. He had never seen Edyal give that sort of look to anyone else before, not even to himself.
"I will give you my answer, Madreth." Edyal pointed the tip of her staff at him, "You stay away from me, for I will never rejoin the Nu Mou Nobles. You understand me?"
"Tch..." Madreth glanced down. A strange white liquid was spilling out of the vial he had uncorked earlier. It splattered onto the street and formed small rivers in the grooves between the cobblestones before being absorbed into the dirt.
"So whatever nefarious plan you had in store for me, you had better give them up now."
"Just you wait, Edyal. I will get you back on our side soon enough. The Nu Mou Nobles will achieve victory in the end. You shall see!"
"Oh shut up and leave already." Edyal responded in an uncharacteristically harsh voice. Madreth opened his mouth, apparently intent on having the last word. He glanced over at the Bangaa, who still had his sword drawn and ready to cut him at any time. Instead of restarting the conversation again, he decided to reach inside his robes instead. He withdrew a small yellow crystal.
"We will meet again, Edyal."
A glow and a flash later, Madreth had disappeared from the street. Leaving only the Bangaa and the Nu Mou behind. Edyal sighed and leaned on her staff, her body still tired and aching from that battle. Lynd crossed his hands behind his head and turned towards the Nu Mou and asked,
"So what was that all about? Old friend of yours?"
"Hardly."
"What was he talking about? What are the Nu Mou Nobles?"
"I don't know. And you shut up too. The last thing I need now is some brute like you assaulting me with questions."
"Tch," Lynd snorted. He sheathed his sword and turned towards the entrance of the street, "That's fine with me. I'm heading back to the inn now. You try not to be attacked again on the streets, woman."
As he began to walk away, Edyal stared at his retreating back for a few moments before,
"Wait."
"What is it now?"
"...I do not..." Edyal mumbled, a red blush creeping up her cheeks. Lynd turned around, staring at the Nu Mou with a quizzical expression on his face.
"I didn't hear that, can you repeat it?"
"..." Edyal's face became more and more red as the seconds trickled by, "...I...do not have any energy left to walk..."
"Yeah, and?"
"...I need someone to carry me back..." Edyal looked down, ashamed at her own words.
Suddenly, she could feel herself being lifted high up from the ground. Lynd had grabbed her by the waist, and was now carrying her over his shoulder effortlessly.
"H–hey! What do you think you are doing?"
"You said carry you back, right?" Lynd stated matter–of–factly, "So that's what I'm doing, carrying you back."
"You brute!" Edyal began to kick and swing her fists, only to fall limp in a few seconds due to her own exhaustion.
"Just clam it for tonight." Lynd retorted, "for your information, I'm not enjoying this either."
Edyal grumbled for a few seconds before falling silent. Edyal sneaked a glance at Lynd's face. He looked carefree, almost unaffected by the fact that he is carrying someone who nearly hurts him on a daily basis. She thought to herself, why was it that they were always fighting?
Only she knew the reason.
A/N: The biggest problem I had with writing this chapter was the name of the Nu Mou Noble guy. Was it Madreth or was it Mardereth? My new save on FFTA2 wasn't far enough to have those quests, so I had to go check on the wikia. Unfortunately, it didn't clear up whether or not it was Madreth or Mardereth either. Ay.
This is the first time Edyal ever lost her cool. Truly, a momentous occasion.