Two Destinies Chapter 13: The Frozen City
Author's Note: So, I'm finally getting the story underway once again. I have a surprise waiting, too. Anyways, time to get this story rolling again. The characters do not belong to me!
"We'll be arriving in Peruti shortly." Chat's voice echoed through the hallways of the Van Eltia thanks to a loudspeaker. "Prepare to disembark."
"Wow, that was really fast." Reid said. "I just finished eating…"
"Brr…" Meredy said. "It is getting cold in here…" Quickie curled up into a ball on the fluffy purple hair of the Celestian girl.
"Hmm…" Keele said "Meredy's right… The temperature has decreased quite a bit. I wonder why…"
"Why do I have a feeling it has something to do with that ice?" Reid said, looking out a window.
"Ice?" Meredy said. "Peruti is a port town. There should not be any ice in Peruti."
"No, that definitely looks like ice to me…" Reid said. "I mean, what else is white, blocky, and could explain a drop in temperature?"
"You have a point…" Keele said.
"Why is there ice in Peruti?" Meredy asked.
"There's ice in Peruti? Is there not supposed to be?" Kyle said, entering the room. Reala came in behind him.
"Apparently." Keele said. "Anyways, let's get ready to go."
"It's so cold…" Reala said, shivering. Kyle wrapped his arms around Reala.
"Don't worry, I'll keep you warm." He said.
"I'm surprised…" Keele said. "With your belly showing like that, I'm surprised you're not complaining about the cold…"
"I'm trying not to think about it." Reid said. "That usually keeps me going in the cold."
"Not you." Keele said. "But true, you also should put on more clothes, Reid. I was talking to Kyle, though."
"I'm trying to do the same as Reid." Kyle said. "I'm not thinking about the cold. Besides, I also have fire magic that I can use to warm myself up, remember?"
"Oh, right…" Farah said. "That's true."
"Guys! Hold on!" Chat's voice echoed through the Van Eltia once again. "The port is completely frozen over! We're gonna be experiencing a little..." Just then, the entire boat shook furiously. Everybody fell over. "...Turbulence..." The pirate girl finally finished her sentence. Just as everybody recovered, a loud feedback noise caused them to recoil and place their hands over their ears. Soon, the noise subsided. "Sorry about that!" Chat said. "I knocked over the microphone during that first collision... Anyways, we're not done with trudging through the ice yet... So hold on for a little longer!" Just then, the boat began to shake again.
"Ugh, this shaking..." Keele said. "I'm gonna be sick pretty soon..."
"Is this ship strong enough to be doing this kind of ice breaking?" Reid said. "Because it sure didn't look that way from the outside..."
"Well, we seem to be making our way through this quickly..." Farah said. "Looks can be deceiving, I guess..."
"What is with this ice?" Meredy asked. "Why is it so hard?"
"Well..." Keele began. "Hard ice is formed in places of extreme cold over long periods of time... But Meredy, you said that Peruti shouldn't have ice, right? Then how did this ice get to be this hard?" Just then, the shaking started to decrease in magnitude.
"Hey, it seems the ice isn't as hard packed near the shore as it is out at sea." Chat said. "The rest of this ride should be smoother sailing. Be ready to get off."
"Well, you guys, I think we should head for the loading dock now." Farah said. "You heard Chat- we're gonna get off soon."
Within a minute or two, the team had made their way to the loading dock. Not soon after they arrived, the ship came to a complete stop. Within a minute, Chat had also found her way to the loading deck, where she was surprised to see everybody.
"Nobody's staying onboard the ship?" She asked. Everybody nodded. Chat crossed her arms. "Then how are we supposed to ensure that my boat will be here when we return?"
"We?" Reid asked. "Are you coming with us, Chat?" The pirate girl nodded.
"I'm going to observe my new pirate crew." She said. "I just want to make sure that you don't mutiny on me..."
"What about if monsters attack?" Kyle asked. Chat laughed.
"I'm perfectly capable of defending myself from monsters." She said. "Here..." Chat swung the bag she was wearing to the front of her body.
"What's in there?" Reid asked.
"Throwing spheres." Chat answered, pulling one out of her bag. "I can throw these at enemies and they'll take damage. I also have these..." She pulled a red hammer with a yellow handle out of her bag.
"What do those do?" Reala asked.
"This is a Pow Hammer." Chat explained. "When this falls on an enemy's head, they'll get stunned."
"So, what about securing the ship?" Keele asked.
"Well, I think what I can do is try putting the ship into its special 'lockout mode'..." Chat chuckled after saying this.
"What's 'lockout mode'?" Kyle asked. Chat spun around to press a button near the entrance of the ship.
"Basically, my great-grandfather installed it." She said after she finished holding down the button. "You have to give voice identification, or otherwise it rains tons of Pow Hammers onto your head. I still need to add your voices, though." Everybody stared at Chat for a couple seconds while she opened a door on the side of the ship. "Well, you guys coming?" She asked, beckoning them out the door. Everybody rushed outside at that moment.
Snow was lightly falling on the quiet town. Almost nobody was outside due to the weather, and anybody who was wore warm clothes. The adventurers, in their comparatively thin outfits, looked out of place.
"Hey!" An unknown man yelled out. "You guys should head inside! This is no weather to be dressing like that! The hotel here has a fire pit for you to warm up with!"
"We should follow his advice." Keele said. "I'm freezing, and I'm wearing more layers than any of you." The team headed towards the man who had yelled out to them, when, all of a sudden, Reala fell to her knees. Kyle stopped and turned around.
"We need to get you inside at once." He said, extending a hand to Reala. "You can't withstand this cold..." Reala took his hand and rose to her feet, brushing snow off of her dress.
"Yes, you're right." She said. "I'm sorry for being a burden..."
"Hey, it's all right." Kyle said, smiling. "Let's just head for shelter for right now." He took Reala's hand and ran off towards the hotel and quickly entered the building.
Once inside, the team gathered around a glowing pit and held out their hands to receive warmth. The man from before came inside and coughed.
"So, it seems you made it through the ice..." He said. "But you aren't really well prepared for this strange weather..."
"So, this weather is strange, huh?" Keele said, scratching his chin.
"What could have caused this?" Farah asked.
"This is probably due to the Greater Craymel who lives in the mountain north of here." The man said. "I'm assuming the Craymel is angry for some reason and caused the storm that brought us all this snow."
"A Greater Caramel caused this?" Kyle said, after which he got a jab in the side from Keele's elbow, alerting the boy to his error. This in turn caused Kyle to glare at Keele, who, as a result, gave a glare back to him.
"This must be due to Celsius!" Meredy said.
"So, Celsius is the Greater Craymel of Ice, then?" Farah said. Meredy nodded.
"We must go calm Celsius down!" Meredy responded, moving to attempt to warm up another part of her body.
"Oh, so you're gonna try to tame the Craymel?" The man said, apparently still listening.
"Looks like it." Chat said while removing her hat.
"Not in those clothes, you aren't." The man said, crossing his arms.
"Then what shall we wear?" Reid said. The man laughed.
"I'll arrange for your mountain-climbing gear." He said. "I'm Guston, by the way. What are your names?"
"I'm Keele Zeibel." The blue-haired scholar spoke up. "And there's also Reid Hershel, Farah Oersted, Meredy, Kyle Dunamis, Reala, and Chat." As he said each person's name, they waved to Guston. When Keele finished, Guston chuckled.
"What an interesting group of people..." He said. "More than half of you are Inferian, am I right?"
"That's right." Farah said, cutting Kyle off from saying something he would have probably regretted later if Farah hadn't spoken up.
"So, then that'll be seven outfits, one for each of you?" Guston asked, counting the adventurers.
"Actually, we only need six." Kyle said. Everybody looked at him as if he had three heads.
"You do realize that I AM accompanying you on this mission, right, Kyle?" Chat said, crossing her arms. Kyle nodded.
"Of course I do." He said.
"Then either you can't count or you're just talking nonsense..." Keele said. "Seven, please."
"No, six..." Kyle said, starting to get irritated. "The reason why is because I want Reala to stay behind."
"Huh?" Reala asked. "Why?"
"I'm worried about you, that's why..." He said. "You saw what happened just a few minutes ago, right?" Reala nodded. "Even with warmer clothes on, you still lose body heat faster than any of us do."
"That's right." Farah said, realizing Kyle's concerns and thinking back to the incident where Reala fainted before in Gnome's mine due to lack of heat. "I understand. If you come with us, you'll probably freeze to death much sooner than any of us will."
"And the closer we get to Celsius, the colder it will get." Keele said, now in agreement. "Kyle's right, you should probably stay here."
"V-very well..." Reala said. "But you must come back with Celsius and allow me to receive the Craymel's enchantment."
"Of course." Reid said. "So, no objections, then?"
"Well, I guess I have no choice..." Reala said somberly. "You're all so intent on convincing me to stay..."
"You can stay here while you wait for the others to return." Guston said. "There's no problem in that. At least you'll be able to stay warm here." Reala nodded. "So, six outfits it is, then. You guys follow me to the clothing shop." The adventurers followed Guston out of the hotel, with Reala staying behind. Just before he left, however, Kyle stopped and turned back towards Reala.
"If it wasn't for your condition... I'd love for you to come with us..." He said somewhat regretfully.
"Thank you, Kyle..." She said. "You're always looking out for me. You're right. I only wish that you return safe and sound." The blond haired boy smiled.
"Of course I will." He said. "Goodbye! See you later!" Kyle waved to Reala, who waved back to him, and then left the warm building to head into the cold outdoors.
"All right." Guston said. "You guys choose whatever outfits suit you. It's on the house."
"Well then..." Keele said. "We should choose clothes that will keep us adequately warm."
"Hmm..." Farah grabbed an outfit off of the rack. "I wonder if this fits... Looks rather cozy..." She headed for the dressing rooms nearby and closed the curtain behind her.
"Meredy likes this!" The purple haired girl said, grabbing an outfit off the rack and rushing into the dressing room and disappearing behind the curtain.
"Hmm... I need to try this on to see if it will be adequately warm enough..." Keele said, examining a coat on the rack. "I'll be right back." He too vanished behind a dressing room curtain, cutting in front of Chat.
"Hey! I was going to use that dressing room, Keele!" She said. "The captain should get first dibs on the last open dressing room!"
"Wait your turn, Chat..." Reid said, sighing. Just then, from behind one of the dressing room curtains came a hand holding a coat out.
"Hey, Reid!" Farah said. "This coat is too big. Mind putting it back and grabbing me something else to try on?" The red haired hunter sighed.
"Meredy's is too small!" Meredy said, protruding her outfit from the fitting room curtain. "Put that back as well, Reid?"
"Why me?" Reid said. "I am not a chore boy..." Regardless, he took the two outfits and returned them to the shelves, grabbing two random outfits off of the shelves and giving them to the girls. Just then, Keele came out of the dressing room to look in the mirror. He was wearing a heavy blue cloak now. After examining himself for a few seconds, he addressed the three waiting customers.
"So..." He said. "How does it look? It sure is sufficiently warm..."
"It matches your hair... Somewhat..." Reid said.
"Wow, you really like covering up your body, doncha Keele?" Kyle taunted. "Body issues, eh?" Keele groaned.
"So much for asking the two idiots..." He muttered. Aloud, he turned to Chat and asked. "What do you think, Chat?"
"Well, it looks pretty good, I guess..." She said. "If I say yes, can I use the dressing room next?"
"Then this it is..." Keele said, ignoring the snickering from Reid and Kyle. "The dressing room's all yours, Chat." Chat ran into the dressing room and pulled the curtain shut. Keele shrugged and then walked over to the cashier. Just then, Meredy came out of the dressing room. She was dressed up like a wooly sheep, with two curly orange horns sticking out from the top of the suit's head.
"Meredy thinks this is cute!" Said the girl in the sheep suit. "Baiba!" At that moment, Kyle jumped backward and ran behind Reid. The red haired hunter looked at the cowering child behind him. Keele was laughing at this scene from nearby.
"What's wrong, Kyle?" Reid asked. "You're shaking like a leaf..."
"T-that c-c-costume..." He stuttered, trying to stop shaking. "I-it's..."
"It's cute, right, Kyle?" Meredy asked. Kyle shook his head violently.
"N-no way!" He said. "I'm..." He took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm... afraid of sheep..." Kyle looked away from Meredy and Reid. Keele laughed even harder.
"Afraid of sheep?!?" Keele said between two bursts of laughter. "What's there to be afraid of? They don't even eat meat, for Seyfert's sake!"
"There's a long story behind that..." Kyle said. "It goes back to when I was very young, though..."
"Meredy understands." The purple haired girl said. "Meredy will try on something else." Meredy disappeared back into the dressing room. However, her voice returned a couple seconds later. "Meredy needs another outfit to try on, Reid!" Reid sighed and searched the rack for something else for Meredy to wear.
"No... no... NO!" Chat's voice came from her dressing room. "T-there has to be another color of this in my size!"
"What's wrong, Chat?" Keele said. Just then, Chat came out of the dressing room wearing a hot pink parka and looking rather miserable.
"This..." She pointed to the coat she was wearing. "...is the only item in this entire store that fits me... I hate the color pink!"
"If the shoe - or parka - fits, wear it." Reid said. "Besides, you don't look half bad in that." Chat sighed.
"Fine..." She said, putting her hat back on. "Just as long as I don't need to wear this after we get back from the mountain."
"Deal." Reid said, giving Chat a thumbs up. At that moment, Farah stepped out of her dressing room wearing a red, black, and white outfit.
"Gimme your Gald!" She blurted out randomly. "Search Gald!" She chuckled. "That's what it said on the tag, by the way. Anyways, how does it look?"
"Not bad..." Reid said, whistling a little after saying this.
"Looks better than what I'm wearing..." Chat said a bit begrudgingly.
"...You look like my mom..." Kyle said, gawking at Farah. Farah put her hands on her hips, insulted.
"What was that supposed to mean, Kyle?!?" She said. "Don't make me hurt you..."
"No seriously!" Kyle said, putting his hands up in anticipation for an attack from Farah. "My mom used to wear that very same outfit when she was adventuring with my dad and the other people in their group! I mean, you even used one of her catch phrases, so it can't be coincidence!" Farah said nothing for a few seconds, and then started chuckling sheepishly.
"Umm... I'm gonna find something else to wear, then..." She said, going over to a rack and grabbing an outfit. "I'll be back out shortly..." She disappeared back into the dressing room. Reid and Keele stared at Kyle.
"What?" He said. "It's true!" Somewhat embarrassed, he grabbed something off the rack nearby. "I-it looks like it's my turn to try stuff on..." Kyle rushed into the dressing room that Chat had come out of and quickly pulled the curtain into place. Almost as instantly as Kyle disappeared, Meredy reappeared wearing a lavender coat. She spun around once and smiled.
"This coat is cute, too." She said. "Do you guys like it?"
"Meredy, that coat doesn't really look sufficiently warm..." Keele noted.
"Meredy does not get cold that easily." She said. "Meredy will be fine with this. Now it is Reid's turn to try on an outfit." Meredy walked over to where Keele is. Keele blushed as the girl stood right beside him. Taking a cue from Meredy, Chat also moved to where Keele was. Reid shrugged, and then he too disappeared into the dressing room after grabbing an outfit from one of the racks.
When Reid came out of the dressing room, Farah and Kyle were already out of their dressing rooms, Farah wearing a long red poncho and Kyle wearing a green coat with a white scarf draped over his shoulders.
"Well, that looks good, Reid." Farah said.
"So does your outfit." Reid responded.
"Then we're set." Keele said. The team turned to look at Guston. "Well, it looks like we're all set, so now we're gonna head out for the mountain where the Craymel lives."
"Mt. Celsius lies north of Peruti." Guston said. "Good luck, young adventurers, and safe travels."
"Thank you." Farah said. "We'll be sure to return quickly." To her friends, Farah added. "Okay then, let's go! We're headed north!" The six adventurers left the clothing store and headed outside to brave the cold and head for the mountain.
The driving snow got heavier and heavier the closer to the mountain the adventurers got.
"Wow, this is getting ridiculous..." Farah said. "I can't even see where I'm going!"
"Are we even heading in the right direction?!?" Chat yelled over the howling of the wind. "What if we're going the wrong way?"
"I think it's safe to assume that we're going the right way, Chat..." Keele said. "The snow is getting stronger and stronger, meaning we're getting closer to the center of the storm."
"Meredy thinks we should call Efreet to warm things up!" Meredy yelled as the wind picked up.
"Great idea!" Keele said, pulling out his Craymel Cage. However, all of a sudden, the wind blew even harder and Keele, not expecting this, not only had to recoil in surprise, but accidently let go of his Craymel Cage, and it fell out of sight.
"Oh, dammit..." Reid said. "This is bad... Now what do we do?"
"I've got an idea..." Kyle said. There was a faint red glow that permiated through the snow drift for a couple seconds. When it faded, Kyle's hand began to glow red as he thrust it into the air. "Burn Strike!" He yelled. Just then, the flames descended around the adventurers, melting some of the snow nearby, which in turn revealed where Keele's Craymel Cage had dropped. It had landed near Chat's feet. However, the raging snow drift was quickly filling in the hole that Kyle's spell had created, and the Craymel Cage was once again beginning to disappear. However, Chat bent over and scooped up the Craymel Cage just before it disappeared under the snow once again.
"Here you go, Keele." Chat said, handing Keele his Craymel Cage back. Keele nodded, and held his cage into the air.
"Come, Efreet!" He called. "Let's warm things up around here!" Just then, a red glow seemed to spread from the Craymel Cage, and, not long later, the temperature of the surrounding air had increased. "Efreet, protect us from the cold!" Nothing visibly changed, but the increased temperature remained the same, and the wind no longer blew snow into the faces of the adventurers.
"Good thinking!" Farah said. "Now, let's find our bearings and head for the mountain."
"Guys... That's a big mountain..." Reid said, pointing in front of him. The others turned to look at what Reid was pointing at, and then turned their heads upwards towards the peak of the mountain.
"Umm..." Chat said. "Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Everybody nodded.
"Now guys, there's just one thing I have to tell you..." Keele said. "We have to stay relatively close together to stay within the effect of the spell I cast. If you guys get too far away, the power of the snow storm will probably overwhelm you... Got that?" He looked at the two not-so-intelligent members of the party to make sure they understood. Everybody nodded, and, together, they all headed off to start climbing Mt. Celsius.
Back in Peruti, Reala was sipping a cup of hot chocolate and sitting near the fire pit, trying to keep herself warm. She was trying to get her mind off of her worries for the safety of her friends. However, no matter what she did, her thoughts always returned to their worrisome state. "I hope they come back soon..." She said quietly, staring into her cup of hot chocolate. A person near her shuffled a little bit to get closer to the heat. Another person sneezed.
Just then, the doors to the hotel opened up. Two people walked in. They seemed to be arguing amongst themselves. Reala looked up from her drink to observe these newcomers. Just then, she gasped and dropped her hot chocolate. What?!? She thought. It can't be! But that appearance is unmistakable... It's... Just then, her eyes met those of one of the people who came into the door - the one that she had just so happened to be the person who she thought it was. A dark laugh erupted from the other person as he made his way towards Reala.
"What's this?" He said in his deep voice. "Looks like I've found you..."
"What are you doing here?" Reala said, standing up. The man laughed darkly once again.
"I came here looking for you..." He said. "Not only that, but your little blond haired 'hero', too... Where is he?"
"Why do you want to know?" Reala said. Just then, the approaching man pulled out his weapon and shattered the glowing fireplace, causing some embers to fly all over the floor and others to attach to his weapon. The people gathered around the fire place screamed and fled from the area as small flames started to dance across the wooden floors. Reala, too, gasped at seeing this.
"Don't mess with me, Reala..." The man said, aiming his glowing weapon at Reala. "WHERE IS HE?!?" He slashed at Reala, who screamed and leaped away from the blow, which, thanks to the embers from the fireplace, ignited the chair that she had been sitting on. She unsheathed her staff and aimed it at her assailant, who only chuckled.
"You aren't nearly strong enough to defeat me... So just give up and tell me where he is!" Reala started walking backwards away from the oncoming attacker, but she eventually ran into the wall. A couple seconds later, as the attack was almost on top of her, she darted out from under his grasp and tried to run away from the attacker. He growled loudly and chased after his victim, slashing hotel furniture and people alike who were in his way. Near the door, the other person who had entered the hotel with the attacker was watching this scene and laughing evily, wondering when he should join in on his companion's fun. However, he was currently plotting something evil... Something that could possibly let him and his companion fufill their goals... And it was all thanks to discovering that this girl was here...
Author's Nota Bene: Well, this was an entertaining chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I know I sure enjoyed writing the scene where everybody's trying on clothes. Just so you know, the whole sheep phobia thing is an inside joke. If you don't get it, don't worry about it. I won't bring it up again. And trouble's brewing once again... This probably isn't gonna end well... Anyways, look for the next chapter!