Oops...made a mistake...some of the previous chaper was accidentally submitted with this one so here's the REAL chapter ;;;
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"Oh..he wandered off again. Probably took Tomo to a casino or something. He's always doing stuff like that", Leslie said with exasperation.
"I'll find them. Don't you worry", Sakaki said from behind us.
"You sure, Sakaki?", Yomi asked.
"Yea, I don't mind. You can all go find the palace and we'll meet you there.", Sakaki said with a small smile.
"Ok, if you say so. Give Tomo a kick for me and I'll kick her myself when we meet up.", Yomi grinned. Sakaki smiled at this and walked away from us and into the swirling mass of people.
"You trust her with the task?", Leslie asked.
"Of course. I've known her forever.", Yomi responded.
"If you say so. Come, let's find the palace.", Leslie said with a hint of jealousy in her voice. Yomi was way ahead of us.
"Excuse me, Sir", she tapped the shoulder of a passing man in deep black armour. It seemed that every part of it was either spiked or resembled something atrociously evil. Certainly a go-getter in my book.
"Yes, madame?", the horn-helmeted man responded in a voice about two octaves higher than it should be for a beastly male his size.
"Um...do you happen to know where the palace is?", Yomi asked the scary looking guy.
"Ah! You mean the Ru'Lude Palace!", he squeaked. "Simply go to the intersection down there.", he pointed a gauntleted finger at a small atrium. "From there take a left and keep following the stairs up. You'll reach teh gardens in no time.", he certainly was cheery for a man with a black scythe on his back.
"Why thank you, Sir.", Yomi bowed.
"Anytime, sweetie.", he giggled a fairly feminine giggle and plodded off.
"No use standing around here.", Yomi said.
We followed the man's directions. The atrium was bustling with people, as if the rest of the city isn't, right? At the center of the atrium was a stone compass that had an arrow pointing west. Whatever the hell that stood for. We climbed the stairs...and found another atrium. We climbed MORE stairs...and found another atrium. We climbed EVEN MORE stairs and finally, FINALLY came to the most glorious place I have ever seen. The entire garden was a garden of stone. White marble covered every inch of space. Except for the giant basalt obelisk in the center, of course. Looking over the side one could see the clouds below. It was absolutely beautiful. Across the garden from us stood the palace. Another edifice of white stone with arches galore. That was our goal. When the three of us recovered from glory shock we began our trek to the palace. The doors stood wide and guards were positioned nearby. As we approached one of the large pale creatures that composed one of the sentient races of this world blocked our path in his gold and white armour.
"Halt! What business do you have in the palace?", he accosted us in a gruff tone.
"We need to speak wi...", Leslie began, but I finished.
"We need to speak with Verechant"
The creature raised an eyebrow. "Verechant? Who are you"
"We're..", Leslie began again and I finished once more.
"We're representatives of a friend of his. Jahlo Teshkondo"
"Jahlo? ...By Altana..Please excuse me good people"
He moved his tremendous form back to his place by the door. "Erik. Please take these guests to see Verechant.", he told the human guard who stood guard on the other end of the doorway.
"Yes, Sir", the man saluted. "This way.", he motioned for us to follow.
As we entered the palace Leslie whispered in my ear. "How on Vana'diel did you come up with that"
"I'll tell you later", and I did plan to tell everyone about my nighttime visions of Jahlo.
The man in clattering armour led us to a simple oak door on the second floor of the palace proper. He knocked softly.
"S..Sir Verechant"
"Yeeesss?", came the extended reply from beyond the door.
"You have guests"
"Who? I'm not expecting any guests!", the voice was becoming rather irritated.
"T...they say they know Jahlo Teshkondo"
"WHAT?", the door flew open and scared the holy hell out of all of us. Even the guard recoiled as the man swung the door back and stood in the doorway, flushed red. He was taller than any of us and had his flowing white hair tied back in a single braid that ran to the middle of his back. Spectacles rested atop his nose as he stood in the doorway dressed in regal red suitcoat and well pressed pants. He cast a acidic gaze across the people gathered before him.
"You know Jahlo?", he addressed us from between clenched teeth. Yomi, Leslie and I each nodded, mouth slightly hung open. The Soulforged just stared, like she always does. He gave a short cough and stood straight to adjust his jacket.
"Do come in.", he held the door wide so we could enter. "Please excuse the mess"
Mess was right. Papers of all shapes and sizes lay strewn about the room. And where they could lay they floated upon invisible air currents around the vacinity. Every piece of furniture was absolutely covered in paper. It was my kind of place.
"Oh, hehe.", Verechant chuckled in embarassment and cleaned us off a large couch to sit upon.
"Now,", he said pacing the floor, "how do you know Miss Jahlo"
"Umm...she saved me from some Mamool Ja near Al Zahbi and we travelled together to try and save my friend, which is the real reason we wanted to see...", I said, but was interrupted by Verechant's morbidly loud laughter.
"I see she's still making friends with strangers. By the way where is she?", he asked, excited.
"Ummm...", I didn't want to tell him of her fate. Well, I didn't, but apparently Leslie did.
"She..is umm...deceased...sadly...I'm sorry..", she hung her head.
Verechant was silent. He sat down wordlessly on a chair covered in papers. Pieces fluttered to the ground and went unnoticed. He let out a long sigh.
"How?", he asked the wall.
"She sacrificed herself to save us...", I told him.
"...What do you want from me?", he muttered.
"A guy in black took a friend of mine and he said he was working for Lord Eald'narche. Jahlo told me to come see you.", I said quickly. Leslie squinted her eyes at me. She obviously didn't know about the Jahlo thing.
"...Was this friend of yours young and female?", he asked. I nodded.
He gave a long sigh and stood up. "Was the man dressed in a black robe and wearing a metal eyeglass on one eye?" It's like he read my damn mind. Yomi, Leslie, and I all nodded vehemently.
"...The Armathrwn Society. Altana damn them!", he swished the papers that lay on the floor as he walked swiftly to a box that sat atop a chest of drawers in the corner. We sat politely, casting glances at one another as he rummaged through the box throwing a myriad of items into the air. Eventually he came up for air holding a scroll of paper and a glistening black metal mace. Oh, it was my wet dream.
He walked the items over to us and clearned his throat.
"Eald'narche has really done it this time. Allow me to explain. Many years ago,when I was but a young man in the service of him and his brother Lord Kam'lanaut, they used a girl named Verena to open the long sealed Portal of the Gods. The plot to become gods was unsuccessful. They did not find Paradise. Years have passed and apparently he has found another 'living key' in the form of your friend. There is no time to waste, but I came prepared.", he explained to us. We could do nothing, but stare slack-jawed at him as he spoke. It was all too much to take in at once.
"I expected this...are you listening?", we nodded in response. "Good. So, I have here a scroll, written upon it Ber'shakk's Lexicon. It's a spoken spell of unimaginable power used to magically seal places off from the rest of the world"
"Ber'shakk's Lexicon?", Leslie practically fell out of her seat. "That spell is legendary"
"Of course it is. And I just happen to have one of the few copies in existance. Bought it off a Goblin for twelve gil and a steel sword. Poor bastard had no idea what it was.", Verechant responded.
I put two and two together and made five. "So,...what you gonna use that spell for"
"To seal the Gate of the Gods of course. I am very glad I planned ahead for this day.", he gave a small cough.
"Oh,...and the mace?", I drooled.
"Oh, this? This is Azura. Say hi, Azura", Verechant said to the weapon.
"Wut up?", came the response in a low voice from the weapon itself.
"Gah!", the three sentient ones of the group yelled in suprise and drew back. The Soulforged kept sitting and staring blankly straight ahead.
"HAHA!", Verechant laughed, "Azura has quite the sense of humour. Alas, he was once a Shrinekeeper of Ru'Avitau. He now resides in this weapon and can allow the user to draw upon his powers. Quite the advantage if you ask me"
"What exactly..umm...does he do?", Yomi asked.
"...I'm sure you'll figure that out!", he said and tossed us the two items. I caught Azura, it was weighted perfectly and felt great. I decided to adopt it as a replacement for Orphus. Poor Orphus. I wonder where he is now... Anyhow, Leslie caught the scroll and began to pick at the wax seal upon it.
Verechant quickly stayed her hands.
"For the love of Altana don't open it!", he gritted his teeth. "Phew, you could have sealed us all in the Empyrean forever"
Yea, that certainly made me feel better. "You expect US to use them? We don't even know where to FIND Eald'narche or that guy that took Kaorin"
"Oh, haha! Just ask Azura, I'm sure he knows.", Verechant smirked as he herded us out of his room. "Well, time for me to get back to work. You all hav e fun"
He gave a grin and closed the door behind us rather loudly.
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Peril awaits! yea, so comment if you wish ;; I love reviews