(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.)
So here's chapter seven! The caravan had just gotten their second drop of myrrh! But it's no time of celebration since Alie has been severely cursed. They rush to the nearest town…
Here we go…
000
"Hurry guys! We're almost to the caravan!" Canestre yelled as he ran with the chalice in his arm. Everyone followed him in a clump, with Cross and Viera towards the back carrying Alie. She was still covered in sweat, and wasn't getting much better. Viera had remover her black outer coat, though that didn't stop the sweating. It was dark outside, and the caravanners were going by the light of the chalice. It had taken them a day to find their way back through the forest, and they were almost to the caravan.
"Guys, look it's the caravan!" Tanyia screamed as she ran towards Palpei to untie her. They all ran to the caravan, with Tanyia and Malik untying the papaomus, and Viera and Cross jumping into the caravan with Alie. Everyone else packed up.
"Ryden, please soak this towel in water." Viera asked calmly. "Naiya, can you bring me a bowl of apple juice?" They handed her the items while she laid the towel on Alie's forehead and soaked another in the juice.
"What will the juice do?" Ele asked Viera. The news of Alie had seemed to drain the conflict away from everyone. They all worked silently together, in fear of their caravanner and friend.
"The juice of a striped apple is said to have healing powers against curses." Viera stated as she wrapped up a couple places on Alie in soaked bandages.
"Alright guys, we're heading out. We're going to go faster than usual, with no stops, so eat while you walk, and keep up." Kayle ordered as he tugged on the reins and headed off into the black night.
000
"Anyone there?" Alie asked the pitch black darkness. "Cross? Kayle? Joitieu? Anyone?" Alie was looking around the darkness and couldn't see anyone. It seemed that Alie had been in this dark place forever, calling for her friends and not finding anyone. There was an eerie purple light that always seemed to be behind her though.
"Come with me Alie…" said a whispered voice from the light. Alie turned to the light, looking towards it. She could see the outline of something tangled and grotesque. "It's much safer with me; your friends will never come for you. I'm the only friend you need."
"You're lying, they will come for me. I can promise you that." Alie said to the shape.
"How can you be so sure? They don't need you. They'll be much stronger without you." Laughed the voice. Alie looked at the light as it started coming towards her, and all she could see was purple.
000
"Alie! Alie, please wake up." Cross said as he held his sister. Alie was shaking and kicking uncontrollably. The sun was just rising as the caravan kept moving towards Marr's Pass. The night passed in quiet episodes. The only sounds to be heard were the whispered tones of the caravanners, and the moans of Alie.
"She's probably just having another nightmare." Ryden said as he soaked another towel in the apple juice and gave it to Cross, who put it on Alie's forehead, calming her for a moment. "She was cursed, so the darkness of the spell is probably taking control of her mind too." Ryden Koe was currently helping Cross with Alie, relieving Viera of her post so she could rest for a bit.
"Guys, look I see a town in the distance!" Tanyia screamed from the front of the caravan. Everyone looked, and they could see the shadow of a town in the distance.
"It looks about a day's distance still." Canestre stated looking at Malik's map.
"Well then let's keep going." Giza said as he patted Palpei's back to keep her walking.
000
At about midday the next day, the caravan had finally reached Marr's Pass. The town was bustling with merchants, and people buying wares. They took Palpei to the papaomus' stalls, tied her up, and decided on a plan. Malik, Tanyia, Mog, Giza Tra, and Kayle would run around town looking for, and asking about any town healers. Canestre, Joitieu, Ele Yana, and Ryden Koe would go to the merchant's and alchemist's looking for any healing books, or dust's they could find. While Viera, Naiya and Cross would go check in at the inn with Alie, so she could lay down comfortably.
Viera and Naiya tried to navigate through the crowds, with Viera in the lead, as she had been here many times with her parents, and Cross in the back carrying Alie. When they finally made it to the inn, they all squished inside and Viera walked towards the counter.
"Excuse me; we would like to book a caravan suite please." Viera politely spoke to the clavat inn keeper.
"Sure" said the clavat flipping through the inn book. "How many beds do you all need?"
"Twelve." Naiya replied as she peeked over the counter.
"Twelve? Alright we'll come and get you when it's ready. You can sit at the tables till then." He said, waving them off.
000
Malik had been running around for almost a half an hour, with no success. Barely even anyone noticed him because of his height. And when they did, they gave him no answer. He bumped into Giza, who had the same luck as him. They decided to head back to the inn to see if anyone else had found anything.
000
"1000 gil? Isn't that a little pricey?" Canestre asked the selkie merchant. He and Joitieu had partnered up, and let Ele and Ryden go to the other merchants.
"This dust is pretty hard to get your hands on, and I almost lost an arm getting this pouch right here." He said grinning at the yukes.
"Canestre, maybe we should just give him the money. Alie really needs it." Joitieu whispered to her friend, while eyeing the greedy merchant behind her spoon helm.
"That's 1000 gil down the drain, but it is for Alie…we'll take the pouch" Canestre said as he started to gather gil from his money bag.
"Hey guys, what have you found?" Ryden said as he walked up to the stand.
"Just this cure dust for 1000 gil."Joitieu solemnly responded.
"1000?" Ryden asked as he looked at the merchant. "Let me see that dust," He said as he looked through the bag. "Well I wouldn't pay over 450 for this dust. It has clear dust in it too. It's not pure; I bet hardly even half cure."
"Seriously?" Canestre asked as he dropped his money back down.
"Wait! Wait, I'm sure we can come to a deal. How about 550 gil for the pouch?" The merchant hurriedly asked, looking to see if anyone in the crowds would notice the ordeal.
"450 and we'll take it." Ryden said as he grinned at the merchant. The merchant agreed, they paid him the gil, and they headed off for the inn.
"How did you know that it wasn't completely pure Ryden?" Joitieu asked her selkie friend.
"I didn't, I just figured he was trying to rip you off somehow. So I bluffed, and he fell for it." He said as he chuckled.
"Hmm, we may just have you purchase everything from now on."Canestre said as they headed through the inn doors.
000
In the suite, all the caravanners sat around the provided table to look over, and talked about everything they had found.
"So what supplies did you guys find?" Naiya asked.
"Well I found this cure book that the moogles were selling at their house." Ele said as she set an old book down on the table.
"And we found some cure dust at the merchants." Canestre stated as he set the pouch next to the book.
"It's pure too." Ryden said with a grin.
"Alright that should do for now, but did anybody find any information on the healer or anything?" Viera asked as she collected the items in her arms.
"I couldn't find anything." Malik bluntly stated.
"Neither could I. Everyone kind of ignored me." Giza agreed.
"I figured out that the healer isn't in town this week. He's off selling wares in other towns." Tanyia said.
"That's just great." Cross huffed. "What about my sister?"
"It'll be okay" Kayle started. "I talked to his neighbor. She said that curses can be taken care of without his help. We just have to keep her hair wrapped in apple juice soaked bandages." Kayle finished.
"Alright, we can do that. Don't worry Cross; your sister will be fine." Canestre reassuringly said.
"If only I could read this book though." Viera huffed. "It's not written in English. No wonder the moogles wanted to sell it."
"What kind of language is it in?" Naiya asked curiously.
"Let me see." Malik said as he grabbed the book. "It's not a language I've ever seen before."
"It seems to be selkic." Canestre stated as he looked over the lilty's shoulder. "Only selkies know this, and very few in present times. Any of you know how to read it?" He asked as he looked at the selkies.
"I've never been taught." Ele stated as she looked at the book confused.
"Me either, I only found out we used to have our own language a year ago." Giza said as he looked at Canestre with a grin.
"How about you Ryden?" Cross asked his friend.
"My parents taught me how to read, write and speak it. So I guess I'm fluent in it." He said while he looked in a mirror.
"Great, how about you translate this for us!" Tanyia cheered.
"Alright, let me see." Ryden said as he took the book and sat at the table. He opened the cover and read the inside. "Scriptum remedio curare colitur posteritatem fratres belli, which means this cure book, is developed to heal our brethren after times of battle."
"Well that's good, but what does it say about curses?" Kayle asked as he pressed on the selkie.
"Give me a second. It says it's on ducenta tria pages, page 203." He flipped through the book and found the page. "It says carere effectus maledicto uti succo pomi, et panem de inebriat bannock eius. Coxit autem viginti panem horis ad nutriet sacer stultus sub lunam. non sacer transeuntes nemo perire monstrum malum. Et in voluntate sicut inquietum statu, usque ad sollemne factum est. Which means, to be rid of the effects of a curse, use the juice of an apple, and soak a loaf of bread in it. Bake the loaf for twenty hours, and feed it to the cursed under the fool moon. The cursed will not pass on. No one can die from a monster curse. They will just be in a restless state until the ceremony is done." The selkie said as he looked at his fellow caravanners.
"That's all?" Ele asked.
"It seems so. It goes on to say stuff about the different affects of the moon, and where you get your apples from, but that's pretty much it." Ryden said as he closed the book.
"Perfect, I can start on it right away." Viera stated.
"Wait, I think we all could use some rest." Cross said as he stood. "We haven't slept since the Mushroom Forest, and we're all pretty tired. Let's sleep and wait to start it in the morning. She's not in any immediate danger it seems."
"That is true. I agree with Cross. We can all be prepared to start in the morning." Canestre offered. Everyone agreed and settled into their respective beds. They all soon fell into deep sleeps, not realizing how tired they were till now.
000
Cross woke up and looked around the suite. He didn't see anyone else in the room. He got up, stretched, and looked out the window. It looked about noon outside; he looked down at the passing people below before shutting it and heading downstairs.
He got down to the cafeteria and saw his friends. He sat down at the end, and they all turned from their conversation. "So what're you guys up to?" He asked as he ate a grape from the bowl in front of him.
"We were just discussing about what to do about this situation." Tanyia explained.
"So what's the plan?"
"Well we were deciding that Viera should stay back with Alie to heal her while we go for the last drop of myrrh. " Canestre said as he was examining the selkic book with Ryden.
"Why should we do that?" Cross asked.
"Cross, you do realize we're working on a time limit, don't you?" Joitieu said as she looked at the clavat.
"Yeah we don't want the village to end up like Tida…" Malik spoke as he played with her spoon. Everyone was silent at the thought of that word. Tida had been a village like theirs. Until one day the caravan never came back. The villagers perished and now it serves as a haven for monsters guarding the myrrh tree. It could've happen to Tipa before, and probably anytime now.
"Let's focus on this now." Kayle instructed, tearing people away from the thought of failure in their minds. "Now we can't just leave Viera here by herself. She'll have to have help. Ryden I think you should stay since you can read selkic and can assist her with the book and spells. "
"I agree with you Kayle, and I'll be happy to help Alie in any way." Ryden said as he looked at Cross and smiled.
"Alright, is anyone else willing to volunteer to stay back as well?" Kayle asked as he looked around. No one really looked willing to skip a dungeon and wait here.
"I'll do it!" Naiya said. "I may not be good with magic, but I'm willing to help a friend in need."
"I appreciate it, but I think I'll need one more person. Ryden can read the book and help with spells while Naiya is getting ingredients, but I need someone to prepare them so I don't run out." Viera spoke as she looked at everyone.
"Why not you Ele?" Malik offered. "Can't you cook?"
"Are you saying that just because I'm a girl?" Ele said while she stood up in her chair.
"You're a girl?" Giza said as he chuckled. Ele hit him and went to hit Malik too.
"Ele! Calm down, we don't need any more stress. I'll volunteer to stay back." Kayle said as he stood up. Everyone looked at him. "I'm the leader, and it's my fault she was cursed in the first place. I'll stay back and assist."
"Okay so Kayle, Naiya, Ryden and Viera stay back with Alie, while the rest of us set out for the next place." Canestre stated as he wrote more down.
"What is the next place by the way?" Tanyia asked.
"The Mines of Cathuriges," Joitieu quietly spoke.
"WHAT? So we're going in down five people in one of the most feared places?" Ele screamed. People around the cafeteria stared at them all.
"I know it sounds bad, but we can do this. It's our third stop, we can handle it." Malik spoke.
"Dude, haven't you heard the stories? People get lost and swear they see ghosts of old liltian army men, and dead clavatian workers. We won't stand a chance." Giza said as he put his hand on Ele to calm her down.
"Those are just scary stories you're told as a kid to scare you." Tanyia scoffed.
"Whatever, don't be scared. But if something happens, don't say we didn't warn you guys." Giza stated.
"So who will be leader while you're gone Kayle?" Ele asked her friend.
"Well, can I pick them?" Kayle asked his caravanners.
"I guess so, since you're the leader." Ryden put in.
"Well I choose Cross to fill in this one." Kayle said. Everyone looked at him, and Giza even dropped his roll.
"Really?" Cross asked surprised.
"Yeah, I can't think of anyone better." Kayle said. "Now, we have a lot ahead of us. Viera, Naiya, Ryden and I have to start preparing. And you guys should start too, especially under new leadership." As he spoke everyone cleaned up and started to leave for the day.
"Wait where is Alie?" Cross asked as everyone was leaving.
"She's at the alchemist's house. That's where we're doing the ceremony. Here, you can come and see her," Ryden said as he grabbed Cross' arm to take him there.
"Thanks Ryden." Cross said as he took his arm away. "But I'll find it later on my own. I have to start planning." Cross said as he ran to the others and left Ryden to go tend to his sister.
000
"Where am I?" Alie asked no one in general as she walked through the never ending darkness.
"You're nowhere, but everywhere. You're here, and there." The voice teased.
"Oh please, riddles? I'm not five." Alie sneered back.
"I could turn you five again, with the powers I possess. If you knew what I really was, you'd never talk to me like that."
"What are you anyways then?"
"Something you'll come to know soon enough" the voice said as it chuckled very maliciously.
000
Alright! End of this chapter.
So Alie's not dead, just severely cursed. But what do you feel about the voice now? Where is she? And who is she speaking to?
What about Kayle giving Cross leader after their fight, and Viera being nice? Tell me what you think about those, and anything else in a review. :D
Next chapter: They start planning for the mine and preparing for the ceremony. The talk of relationships starts and just other teenage stuff.