(I do not own Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, or any of the places I use in here. Nor any of the NPC's from the games. OC's are mine. But what they are based off of is not.)
Wow, so here's chapter four, where the gang finally sets out on their journey for myrrh.
Enjoy yourselves….
000
The town was abuzz with movement. Two weeks had passed since the tragedy of its past caravan, and the new one was just about to set off. The twelve had all packed up and were packing the caravan with needed supplies.
"I can't believe that just two weeks ago I was dreaming about being in the caravan, and now I'm a member!" Malik cheerfully said to his caravan mate Canestre as they were lifting a box in the old caravan.
"I have to agree, I'm pretty excited too. Now we get to finally see the world outside of Tipa." They set the box down and went for more boxes. Towards the front of the caravan Kayle was tying the papaomus to the reins with the help of Ezekian.
"Now be sure to take care of Palpei, okay? She's served the last three caravans, and she's a strong girl. She'll get you where you need to go." Ezekian said as he tied the last rein.
"I'll be sure to. Having an animal to take care of will keep me less homesick, I guess" Kayle said as he patted her back.
"Don't worry Kayle; we'll all be here to greet you when you get back. We have faith in you, just be sure to take care of each other out there, you hear?" Ezekian said as he squeezed Kayle's shoulder and walked back to the others.
"So how long do you think it'll take us to get all of the myrrh we need for the year? " Alie asked Joitieu as both of them walked towards the caravan. "I hope not too long…"
"I'm not sure, but it'll have to be less than a year. We'll have to plan ahead and stick to it." The yuke girl replied.
"Oh will you two just stop being such worry warts!" Tanyia squealed as her and Naiya ran to join their friends.
"Yeah, think about all the adventures we're about to have! Get excited!" Naiya screamed as her and Tanyia jumped into the caravan.
"Ha-ha, they're right Joit. We're about to experience the world. We shouldn't be worrying about this now." Alie said as she climbed on the back seat of the caravan and sat down.
"I guess not Alie; we shouldn't worry just yet…" Joitieu said as she sat and joined her friend on the caravan. "Wait, where's your brother? Shouldn't he be here by now? We're leaving in a half an hour Alie."
"I know, I know. But he wanted to spend a little more time at the farm before we left."
"Why?" Ele asked, as she nonchalantly joined the conversation, throwing her bag into the caravan. "I myself am pretty excited to finally step foot out of this town."
"Yeah but being the first time leaving Tipa, it's pretty overwhelming. Even I said goodbye to the fish before I left the river." Giza said as he walked towards the caravan with his pack over his shoulder.
"I guess so…hey! Ezekian! Hycanth! When can we get this show on the road and leave this town?" Ele yelled at their two former teachers.
"As soon as everyone gets here, Ele." Hycanth spoke as she looked over the caravanners. "I see almost everyone…but where's Cross, Ryden Koe, and Viera?"
"Viera, here at your service. Sorry for being a tad late, I almost forgot to bring my back-up outfit, horrid right?" Viera said as she ignored the blank stares from her fellow caravanners and threw her large tote into the caravan.
"Oh darn! I forgot mine! Now what will I ever wear to the ball?" Kayle whispered to Giza and Ele as they broke into fits of laughter.
"Where's Ryden Koe and Cross though?" Malik asked impatiently. "We can't wait here forever."
"I'm sure they'll be here soon" Canestre said calmly as usual.
000
"Bye Mom! Bye Dad! I love you! And I'll be back before you know it!" Ryden yelled as he walked out his front door and through his garden. Looking at the bright flowers made him happier, since he was leaving his parents behind. He walked down the road to the caravan, but he heard some crying as he passed the farmers house. Even though he thought that the farmers would be down seeing the caravanners off, Ryden peaked inside the gate to see who was crying.
"Hello?" Ryden asked as he looked around. "Is anything wrong?"
"Nothing! I'll be there in a second." A boy's voice responded. It could only be one person Ryden Koe thought. Cross was sitting next to his brother's memorial crying, trying to say his last goodbyes.
"Oh Cross I'm sorry. I'll just leave you to grieve in peace…" Ryden said as he walked away.
"No! No it's okay, I'm done now anyways." He said as he sat up. "There's no use crying before we leave when we're coming back in less than a year, huh?"
"I guess not" Ryden Koe said, as he smiled at his fellow caravanner and friend. "Wouldn't mind walking with me to the caravan now, would you?"
"No, I wouldn't mind at all."
000
"Finally!" Tanyia screamed. "We were waiting for you guys!"
"Yeah slowpokes! Think you could've gone any slower?" Naiya yelled after her sister.
"Jeez I just got a little sidetracked in the garden, so Cross came to get me." Ryden said as he winked at Cross to hide the truth of how he actually found him.
"Well, now that you're all here, I can finally say my piece!" Roland said as he gathered the caravanners in a half circle around him. "Now, it'll be tough out there being your first year, but just remember what's at stake. Keep each other in line, and help in any way. We all have faith in you." As Roland finished the crowd began to cheer. "Oh and Kayle, here is the crystal chalice keep it safe. It'll hold the myrrh for you."
Kayle grabbed the chalice and set it in the caravan, and took his place at the front between Giza and Ele. Canestre sat in the front seat with the reins, while Ryden and Viera walked on one side of Palpei, and Cross on the other. Tanyia and Naiya sat on the inside, while Alie and Joitieu occupied the back seat. Malik stood behind it watching his younger caravanners. They all waved and said their goodbyes until they reached the edge of town and finally stepped foot out of Tipa.
000
The caravanners moved in silence at first, observing their surroundings. They were taken by the features beyond the caravanning road, but didn't stray for the fear of monsters.
"So, where do we go first Kayle?" Giza asked curiously.
"Well…I'm actually not too sure…."
"What? You mean your leading all of us and you don't even know where we're headed?" Ele snapped.
"It's okay! I have a map!" Malik screamed from the back. "We're going to head straight down this road and take the next path to the right. That'll be our next destination. "
"Isn't that River Belle Path?" Alie asked from her seat.
"Yeah it is. " Canestre answered. "A lot of goblins reside there now, so we have to be on guard."
The caravanners nodded to the advice. They walked in more silence until they saw figures ahead on the road.
"I think we're about to meet up with another caravan guys." Cross said pointing towards the figures.
"You know, it really is rude to point at people." Viera hissed at him.
"Guys, shush up, they've spotted us." Ryden said as he waved at the fellow caravan. As they walked up they saw that the other caravan was made up of lilties in similar armor that covered their whole body.
"Hello fellow caravan!" shouted the apparent leader of the caravan. "How are you today? My name is Sol Racht and I'm the leader of the great caravan of Alfitaria. I see you have some lilties in your caravan, good show! Now, would you be the new caravan from Tipa?"
"Yes, umm sir, that would be us." Joitieu replied.
"Very good. I'm sad to hear of your loss, but I'm glad that they chose such fine men and women to fill the new caravan. Now I have someone I would like you to meet. Stiltzkin! If you may!" An old moogle in traveling garbs hobbled over from behind the caravan. "Now this moogle is very wise, having traveled over the entire world. It would do you some good to listen to him. "
"Oh Sol, you're too kind to an old moogle like me. I simply love to travel, but if you'd like I could train you in combat?" He asked the young caravanners.
"Oh no thanks," Tanyia replied. "We've already been trained."
"Yeah! Mr. Ezekian and Mrs. Hycanth trained us!" Naiya agreed.
"Oh then you guys have had all the training you need I presume." Stiltzkin replied.
"Pretty much," Malik nonchalantly replied.
"Well I guess we shall be on our way," Canestre said polity.
"Wait Kupos!" screamed a tiny voice. "I can help you carry the chalice so you don't have to worry about it!"A tiny Moogle flew around the armored lilties and to the young caravanners.
"That's a wonderful idea Mog! You can travel with them and help them." Sol Racht agreed.
"I don't see a problem with it. Any of you guys?" Ele asked her fellow caravanners. No one did, and Mog flew into the caravan to be petted by Tanyia and Naiya, which he seemed to enjoy.
"We shall see you soon!" Stiltzkin screamed after the caravan.
"They were quite nice" Alie commented "I hope other people we meet out here are nice too."
"I don't think you'll have to worry about people as much as the monsters" Malik chimed in.
000
The caravanners stood, facing the entrance to River Belle Path with their weapons in hand; unsure of what dangers would face them if they moved forward.
"So…are we going to go in? Or just stay here speechless like some fishes with their heads cut off?" Giza asked sarcastically.
"Well duh we're going in" Viera responded as she twirled her candy striped wand. "But we can't just run in."
"Viera's right" Malik put in. "If we run in, all of our training will be of no use."
"Right you are Kupo!" Mog sang as he held the chalice with his tiny moogle feet.
The caravanners nodded as they slowly walked into their first encounter with monsters…
000
They walked into the passage of River Belle Path, unsure of what they would see first.
"Okay, so remember what we were taught, stay calm, and don't stray and…OH MY GAWD IT'S A GOBLIN!" Kayle screamed as they came up upon a lonely goblin that started charging at them all.
"And this is why girls should be in charge." Ele muttered as she clobbered the goblin with her racket and jumped away from its hatchet's swing. Giza finished it off with an arrow to the throat, and everyone stared at Kayle.
"What? I was surprised…" Everyone laughed and trotted down the path. They came upon a hedgepie that left some nasty burns on Tanyia's shoes, but it was quickly killed by a hit from Canestre's blizzard. They met a few more goblins on the path that were quickly dealt with by Malik's mace. Then they came upon a gate.
"How're we supposed to get through it?" Alie asked eyeing the tall wooden contraption.
"It seems it can be opened if we place a key in this pedestal," Canestre stated looking at the stone object.
"Would this be it?" Naiya asked as she bounced the stone key on her head. "I tripped over it after the last goblin dissolved and I thought it would be useful. Guess I was right." She placed it in the slot, and the gate opened. They all ran through to a clearing which was filled with two goblins and a chieftain.
"Alright guys! Let's get this!" Giza cheerfully screamed as he fired arrows toward a goblin. It struck the goblin's arm and the goblin dropped his hatchet. Canestre froze it, while Joitieu finished it off with a strike of her hammer. Kayle, Alie and Ele were working on the other goblin. Kayle had managed to disarm it, while Ele stunned it with a blast from her racket. Alie made the killing shot with a quick stab of her rapier. The other caravanners were working on the large chieftain. Ryden had already managed to petrify both of its legs with his daggers, so the chieftain stood in place and swung at the others. Malik broke one its arms with a swing of his mace, while Tanyia was hitting its other arm with her hammers. While it was distracted Naiya ran up and stabbed it in the chest with her spear. It fell backwards and Cross quickly finished it with his ax. Malik and Cross gained some nasty bruises during the fights, so Viera healed them with some quick castings of cure, and they set off again.
The caravan met a few more goblins, hedgepies, and chieftains on their way until they came to another large clearing. There were two chieftains, two goblins, a hedgepie and some mus.
"Alright guys. We're going to have to be extra careful with these fights okay?" Canestre said as he gathered everyone up. "We're going have to decide who gets what monster before we rush in."
After a minute of deliberation, the caravanners set off to fight. Alie, Kayle, Malik, Cross, and Naiya went to fight the chieftains, while Canestre took on the hedgepie. Joitieu, Tanyia, Ele, and Giza took on the goblins, while Viera, Ryden and Mog went towards the mus. Joitieu and Tanyia took the goblins head on while Ele and Giza hit them from afar. Joitieu's arm was hit, but she sent both goblins flying with a thunder hit in return. Ryden sliced a mu with his poisoned dagger, but not before another bit his leg. Mog hit it away with the chalice and Viera hit it with a stop so Ryden could stab the mu with his dagger. The mus dissolved and they went to help the others with the chieftains. They had backed the two into a corner, and they both had battle wounds. One fell as Alie finally stabbed it in the throat, and Cross and Naiya finally cut the throat of the other. The caravanners looked at each other and smiled at their victory. Viera wrapped Ryden's leg, and then treated Joitieu's arm. Nothing was broken, so they set off for the final time.
000
After walking through a small cavern, the caravanners entered a beautiful opening. There was a large waterfall with a rainbow across it. The water seemed cool and refreshing. The caravanners got closer to admire the vast waterfall.
"Look, it's the myrrh tree!" Alie shouted as she pointed towards it. It was a greenish tree with a mossy bottom. It had crystal leaves, and a calm aura around it.
"Woo! We made it guys, our first drop of myrrh!" Kayle screamed as he punched his fist in the air for victory. But a gurgling noise could be heard behind the waterfall, as a dark figure showed up. It jumped out of the water and onto the land in front of the teens. It was a giant crab, and no way was it going to let them pass without a fight. The caravanners tightened their grips on their weapons as they knew what they had to do. The crab snapped its pincers as if it was saying it was ready to fight.
"Now be careful guys, this isn't just a regular monster." Canestre warned.
"A monster's a monster in my book." Giza said as he pulled back an arrow and hit the crab square in the eye. The monster screamed in pain and knocked Giza away with a swipe of its claw. The crab slammed its head claw down but Naiya and Ryden rolled out of the way. Cross, on the other hand, went in for a strike, hitting the crab in the head. It shook him off, but Canestre and Viera combined spells for a Blizzara. The crab squealed and scurried away from the caravanners. It took its arm and rubbed his head claw creating a thunder blast.
"Get out of the way!" Malik screamed. Almost everyone ran, but Canestre, and Tanyia weren't so lucky. They were paralyzed, so the crab hurried to them to go in for an attack. Kayle, Ele, Joitieu and Alie met it head on to stop it in its path. Viera quickly healed the two while the crab was occupied.
Kayle and Ele got a few hits it before being knocked away. Joitieu prepared a fire blast but ran into a slow bubble. The crab went in for a hit but Alie blocked it with her rapier. Joitieu whispered thanks before running off to be healed. Alie was fighting head on with the crab; it then brought in its side arm for a quick attack.
CRACK!
The crab reeled back in pain as Alie had torn its arm off with her shield and rapier.
"Now get it while it's down!" Kayle screamed. Ele and Giza hit it from far away, and Canestre burned it with a few casts of Fire. Tanyia swung with her hammer and hit it in the same eye as Giza had earlier knocking out the arrow, and part of its eye. It screamed and threw her back. Naiya then ran up and sliced at its head claw, making a cut through it. It smashed the claw down, pinning the poor lilty. Before it could bring it up and smash her again, Ryden jumped on it, distracting it. The crab ran and swung around trying to be rid of the selkie. Ryden jumped off the crab but not before casting a petrify spell on its claw. The claw fell off of the crab and dissolved into the miasma.
The crab looked angry at the caravanners for ridding it of both of its claws. It started casting a thundara spell but all the caravanners ran away from it. Malik straight for the spell. He brought his mace back and made a full swing at the beast. It hit the spot where Cross had pierced before. The mace pierced through its head. The crab looked at Malik dazed until falling down and dissolving into the miasma.
The caravanners looked at each other before yelling in triumph. They did it. They had beaten the monster and done their first myrrh quest. The honors of getting the myrrh went to Malik for killing the crab and they all walked forward and watched their first drop of myrrh fall into the chalice.
"So what now?" Tanyia asked her fellow caravanners.
"How about a swim!" Ryden yelled as he took his outer clothes off and jumped into the water. The caravanners laughed and enjoyed the rest of the day before heading back to their caravan and setting off with the first drop of myrrh successfully in their crystal chalice.
000
Alright, first drop of myrrh complete! How did you like River Belle Path? What were your favorite parts?
Tell me in a review! Mine would have to be…Joitieu smashing the goblins into the air, Mog hitting a mu, Kayle screaming about goblins, or Ryden riding the crab. All pretty funny things to imagine you have to admit XD.
Next chapter…the caravanners come to their second myrrh tree located in the tall, dark and long…Mushroom Forest…