Chapter 2 Hunting
"Ah Vaan, how are you my boy?" Rasped the rather elderly bangaa as he saw
the boy approach. Vaan sighed, Migelo was nice enough but he really didn't
want this kind of work.
"Penelo said you needed something?" He asked dully.
"Ah yes, I had me some pakages supposed to be arriving by courier this morning,
perhaps he ran into some trouble out in the desert." Migelo
explained ignoring Vaan's tone. "Now I've no foodstuffs to prepare for
the banquet tonight." Vaan's face lit up. Perhaps this little job could be fun after all.
"So," He said eagerly. "You want me to go into the desert and find this courier of yours?"
Migelo looked slightly taken aback. "No no no no no the desert teams with trouble,
I'd be sending you to an early grave my boy." He said hurridly. "No, I've arranged
for Tomaj down at the Sandsea to replace the goods." Vaan groaned, this job was
getting duller by the minute.
"So you want me to go to the tavern and pick 'em up?" He grumbled. Again Migelo
shook his head.
"Actually I asked Kytes to do that and wouldn't you know it he's gone missing on me too."
Vaan sniggered, Kytes was probably listening to stories around the tavern.
"And whats my part in all this?" He said with mock enthusiasm.
"Well, I can't leave my shop and I've Penelo on another chore at the moment. What I want you
to do is run on over to the sandsea and fetch Kytes back. " For a moment Vaan couldn't believe
his ears. He was a messenger boy.
"What d'you say?" Migelo finished. Vaan put on a dead face.
"Sounds wild!" He moaned, this was quickly stopped when Migelo cuffed his ear playfully.
"It's easy work and you'll thank me for it someday." He said wisely. Vaan left, there
was no point arguing with him.
The Sandsea pub was at the northern end of Rabanastre at a run it would take you
twenty minutes to get there from Migelo's sundries, Vaan made it in fifteen, he knew
all the backstreets and he wanted this errand overwith as soon as possible. He took a moment
to get his breath back, straightened up and walked in. The bar was packed with travellers,
merchants, peddlers, refugees and just as He'd suspected, Kytes was busy examining a
board on the wall. Vaan shook his head as he approached him. The attention span of a knat.
"There you are kytes," He shouted over the din. "Stop loafing around." But he got no further
Kytes was excited out of his mind and pointing to the board frantically.
"Look Vaan look, this is it." He squealed, pointing to a hunters wanted poster. "That's why Migelo's
courier didn't get here."
Vaan took a closer look. It was small had a baglike body and a fruit like head. Vaan looked again,
it didn't look particularly dangerous, but this was the Estersand. Perhaps this had some merit to it,
but before he could think any further on this a voice called for him.
"Vaan," The Bartender called as he strode towards him. "Migelo send you too did he? He's a
busy man these days though I say so myself."
Vaan smiled back. Tomaj was a little forward but always let him have a sip of his drink.
"Hey Tomaj," He said curiously. "What's this?" He pointed to the board. Tomaj took one look
at the Tomato like thing and grimaced.
"Urgh, don't remind me. That nastyness has been out in the desert stopping all my couriers, and
that means shortages all round." Vaan had an electric look in his eye.
"Killing monsters, getting rewards. That's work, it sound ten times better than running errands."
Kytes joined him
"Yeah Vaan, you should give it a shot!" Vaan wheeled on him.
"And you should be getting back to Migelo." Kytes looked disapointed. "Now Kytes,
he was waiting for you."
The entire city was occupied by Archadia. The only known ways in or out of the city
were the four gates. North, south, east and west. And Juha Groms was gate captain of
the east gate. The thought gave him good ideas for the future like general.
"Excuse me?"
Juha jolted, lost in his dream he hadn't even noticed a small boy sneak up to him.
He'd never make general with reflexes like that. He quickly recovered.
"Er, you there." Good start, manly and bossy. "Let's see some papers boy."
The boy cocked his head to one side. Juha sighed, time to kick it up a notch.
"There is no public passage on account of the lord consol's parade." He stated proudly.
The boy didn't seem at all phased and answered immediately.
"Aw geez, that's too bad." He said "You see it just so Happens that your provisioner for the fate
tonight, he sent me to pick up a few choice morsels for the consol's dining pleasure."
Juha was a little taken aback. This was believable enough but could also be a lie. "He
wants 'em quick." The boy added. "See, I've got the rite of transit here." He pulled from his pocket an ancient
looking piece of parchment. "See. It's signed. Migelo."
Captain Groms was still unsure of whether to let him through, the boy seemed to sense this as
he added. "I'd just hate to see the Consol angry cause his food wasn't ready in time, and I'd certainly
hate to see him take it out on you."
Now Juha was in the line of fire and he didn't like it.
"The Consol is a great man." He thundered. "And not one to take offence in such trivial matters."
Though he was trying to convince himself as much as the boy. He looked around, his shout had drawn quite a crowd
and so what if he was lying, one less urchin in the city.
"Move along boy, wouldn't do to keep the Consol waiting."
As the gates closed behind him Vaan let out his laugh.
"Imperials," He said to himself. "How thick can you get?"
The Estersands. The desert that spanned the area around Rabanastre from east to west.
To the north there was a beach and the south the plains. now the best route to the city was through
this barren wasteland. And somewhere here was his prize, that ugly tomato creature. Vaan took
a deep breath, drew his sword and set off into the desert.
It had been hours, and was now late afternoon when Vaan finally sat down on a slightly smoother rock
than its surroundings.
"Screw this." He murmered. "How am I supposed to find such a small creature in such a huge desert."
He lay back on the rock and thought. He thought about this new Consol. The Empire's caretaker
of Rabanastre. Who needed a caretaker? As Vaan was wondering this he noticed his belt felt
considerable lighter. When he looked he saw to his horror that the pouch he had stolen earlier was gone.
He cursed and jumped to his feet searching for it, nothing but sand all around. He was about to have a
tantrum and give up when he heard the smallest of clinks. The clink of gil rubbing together. There
it was again, to his left, just behind that sand dune. As quickly and quietly as he dared he crept to
the edge of the dune, and came face to face with his target. It was much bigger than he had
imagined. In the badly drawn picture on the poster it looked the size of a doll bit in reality it was as
big as a large dog, and the poster had left out its vicious looking fangs. Still Vaan thought,
it didn't look tough enough to take down a whole courier caravan. Then it hit him, the creature
didn't destroy the caravans, it stole from them. On that note Vaan saw his pouch dangling
from its nimble fingers, whether it stole or destroyed he was here to kill it. With one motion he drew
his sword and charged. He drove his sword with a thrust towards its fat head but the creature
saw and responded with surprising speed. Vaan's weapon hit nothing but air and in the
opening the monster hit him across the face with his own pouch. Vaan stumbled and fell
flat on his face. The creature didn't run away but laughed at him. Pulling his face out of the
dirt the valiant hunter tried again, this time opting for a more cautious attack. Circling his
foe and taking the odd swip at him. Again he was frustrated. With every strike the tomato
head danced out of reach. Vaan pulled back, there must be a way to kill this thing. But in
this moment of thought the bizzare creature had taken the offensive, it latched it's huge
teeth onto Vaan's sword arm and refused to let go. Vaan yelled and fell to the ground and
the pair wrestled back and forth for control of the sword when a mistimed pull from vaan
sent the weapon flying through the air and onto a rock where the blade shattered. Vaan groaned,
that sword had cost him a lot. But the beast was already running to retrieve the ruined blade. It grasped a
shard of the sword in its hand like a shortsword and charged again. It seemed it would not stop until Vaan
was dead, but it hadn't noticed the Vaan had already got to his feet and unsheathed his dagger. And
as the creature turned with it's sword to face him, he had thrown in neatly through its forhead. It froze there
like some grotesque sculpture before falling down and it moved no more.
Vaan looked over the body.
"Four kills in one day, I am on a roll." he said to himself, cutting off the beasts head which
had shrunk after dying like a bad tomato. He took up the head and was about to leave for the city
when something caught his eye. Amongst the desert yellow and brown there appeared something red.
"Galbana lillies?" Vaan said astonished. "They hardly ever grow out here." He stooped to admire
the flowers, and took a moment to relive memories. Then he picked them and set off home. They would
make a nice souvenir.