Chapter 50, Mjrn
"And that," Fran said heavily. "Is my story."
The group sat huddled round a fire on the eastern edge of the Ozmone plains, all were paying apt attention. It wasn't everyday you got to hear about the past of one of your companions least of all Fran. Vaan as usual was the first to react.
"...What?" He exclaimed. "You had a thing with Dalan?"
"So what happened?" Ashe asked, kicking Vaan for good measure.
Fran looked down at her lap. "We crashed again in the middle of the plains, I went for help while he fixed the ship. I crawled up the steps of Jahara half dead, when I returned he was gone. I never found him again."
Penelo and Vaan squirmed uncomfortably, wondering if they should tell her they knew exactly where Dalan was.
"I am sorry." Basch said quietly, "I know what it's like to lose a loved one."
Fran nodded curtly. "And I am possibly about to lose another." She mused. "Mjrn has already left the woods for too long, if we do not return her soon Jote will have no choice but to turn her away."
"So what makes you think she's here?" Penelo quipped, gesturing to the cave mouth behind their campfire.
"You heard madam Jote." Larsa pointed out. "She said this Mjrn was wandering warrens of men with clothes of cold iron. The Henne mines are the only place that fits that description."
"What worries me," Balthier said quietly. "Is we've been sitting outside one of the Empire's primary sources of magicite and we haven't had sight nor sound of a welcome of any sort."
Ashe glanced nervously at the entrance. "Maybe we shouldn't camp so near." She murmured.
Fran shook her head. "I've been listening intently, there are no signs of life larger than a dire rat in there."
"Which begs the question." Basch growled. "What happened to the garrison that was stationed here. And what was Fran's sister doing here with them."
The morning shed some light on their situation. As they passed into the cave's gaping maw a wave of air struck them. It smelt of misery, grief and fear. Penelo and Larsa had to leave the cave, the smell was unmistakable. The stench of death.
"How did I not smell this before?" Fran muttered incredulously.
Everywhere they looked in the dim torchlight there were bodies, soldiers in full armour to peasants in plain cloth. None had escaped the slaughter. Basch bent down and examined one of the corpses.
"Looks to me like some sort of animal attack, his throat has been clawed clean out."
Ashe shivered. "What sort of animal could do this to a garrison of soldiers?"
"Suppose it's still here." Penelo whimpered.
"Suppose it's not." Vaan said grimly.
"It does not matter." Balthier said calmly, halting the hysteria. "We are going into these mines and we are not coming back out without Fran's sister."
Everyone stared dumbstruck at him.
"Balthier." Basch managed at last. "Are you feeling alright?"
"I was simply trying to get this horrendous quest over and done with." Balthier snapped, a little faster than was natural.
"Wait!" Larsa's voice echoed through the cavern. "I know this uniform."
The group turned to see Larsa crouching beside a body wearing bright blue embroidered with mauve designs.
"This man was a researcher of the Draklor laboratory. What was he doing here?"
Balthier turned away and placed a hand on a vein of magicite in the wall. "Research." He said darkly.
The mines had a variation of rooms and chambers, long hallways for transporting materials, mess halls for eating and living, huge caverns for mining. All had only one thing in common, the presence of the dead. These mysterious corpses that were struck down by some unseen nightmare, the sight of them didn't make the trip any easier.
It was around four hours since they left the daylight when Fran's ears twitched. She sniffed, again more intently.
"I've found her." She whispered.
Before anyone could question her she set off at a brisk pace down a dark corridor, how she could smell her sister amongst all the death was beyond them. She took a left, then a right, another right down train tracks for wagons carrying huge loads of ore, gradually working her way deeper into the mines. It was unnerving, watching her stride so full of confidence through a place that would be enough to terrify even the most level headed man. Then again, her sister was at stake. Then again, who was to say Mjrn hadn't fallen to the same horror these humes had. Suddenly the viera stopped prompting Vaan to run right into her, she ignored him. They faced a four way divide in the road each with strong looking gates to hold the monsters of the tunnels back, the middle path had been torn off it's hinges.
"I'm no tracker." Balthier said. "But I think that's our path."
Fran nodded. "My sister is definitely through here." She strode forwards out of Balthier's earshot. "Or her body."
"How can she be so sure?" Penelo whispered to Balthier. "How can she smell anything through this?"
Balthier shrugged. "I suppose it's less of a smell and more of a feel, or perhaps a sound. She doesn't have those big ears for nothing."
Penelo huffed. "I'm sick of this place, I'm sick of bodies and..."
Balthier never did find out exactly what else Penelo was sick of because at that moment something crashed down on the pair of them from above. Balthier was thrown clear but Penelo was caught. Vaan wheeled round to find himself facing one of the most bizarre creatures he had ever seen. It looked vaguely like a flan but was completely transparent with Penelo floating inside it's quivering blue mass, It turned it's sunken eyes towards him. Vann reached for his sword but more of them were dropping from the ceiling. They rained down on the hapless party like hailstones, squelching like a muddy bog. Weapons were drawn on all sides but Fran was the first to react.
"Get down." It was not a loud order, yet somehow everyone heard and instantly hit the floor. The Viera turned her eyes on the creatures. "My sister is at stake here monsters, if you value your foul skins you shall leave us be." She did not give them a chance to reply.
What followed was perhaps one of the most unique experiences in the whole journey, to this very day Vaan could not remember another time when he had seen so much fire in one place. The monsters scattered, they slithered down drains and into cracks, anywhere but in the firing range of this demon. The last one slipped off Penelo and disappeared into a hole in the wall.
"I HATE FLANS!" Penelo shrieked as she writhed on the ground, trying to wipe the slime off her.
"Technically it was a variation known as a jelly." Balthier said quietly.
"I don't care." Penelo shrieked as she staggered to her feet. "I just want to get out of these stupid, dirty, corpse infested mines."
"Shh!"
Fran's voice cut through the gloom and Penelo resigned herself to silence.
"Vaan." Larsa whispered. "I'm not sure I like your adventures after all."
Vann grinned. "Well adventures aren't all heroics you know."
"I said quiet!" Fran snapped, her ears twitching.
She set off again down another tunnel prompting the others to follow her.
"Look at this." Larsa breathed stroking the wall of the tunnel. Bright lines of magicite glowed through the rock. "Just like the ones in Lhusu. Draklor must be searching for new sources of ore."
"Exactly." Balthier muttered darkly. "If the resistance moves, the Empire won't be mining Bhujerba any time soon."
"Stop." Fran hissed. "Wait here." The group watched curiously as Fran stepped forward. The torches ran out on this passage so the only light came from a small flame conjured in Fran's hand. Slowly it illuminated a locker, a large table, chains bolted to a wall and finally...
"Mjrn." Fran whispered. She was older than she remembered her, she had shed and was taller now. Her hair was still in the same style though dirty and bedraggled and her ears had lost their speckles, becoming pure white. She was curled up in the corner, eyes wide, muttering feverishly.
"The stench of humes... The stench of power..."
Ashe approached. "What's wrong with her..." She began, then jumped back gasping. The young viera's hands were soaked in blood.
Balthier raised an eyebrow. "I think we've found our culprit for the recent massacre of this mine."
Ashe leant over again to get a closer look. "She does look like you." She said kindly.
Mjrn's head snapped up to face her. "It's you." She mumbled. "You're the one he talks about."
"I don't..." Ashe began, but Mjrn leaped to her feet suddenly and screamed at her.
"Stay away, power needy hume."
"No one here will hurt you Mjrn." Fran said gently. "It's me"
But Mjrn was having none of it, she half ran half dragged herself down a passageway with Fran in hot pursuit.
"What happened?" Penelo shouted as they ran.
"You remember when Ghis blew up the eighth fleet?" Balthier called back. "I imagine something similar happened here. Fran's sister probably went into a frenzy and slaughtered the whole mine."
"Stay back!" Shrieked Mjrn, finally cornered.
"Mjrn, please listen to me." Fran begged.
Mjrn was breathing heavily now, her eyes were rolling up in their sockets and she was staggering on her feet. She fell heavily to her knees and something round and sparkling fell out of her hand. Larsa gasped as he saw rolling on the floor a small glass bottle containing a piece of nethicite, identical to the one he had given Penelo.
Mjrn's head drooped and lolled as her body began to spasm violently.
"It's alright sister." Fran said kindly. "We'll take you..."
What happened next nobody was quite sure of, perhaps it was a trick of the light, perhaps it was the stress of the mines affecting them. Regardless of theories, as the light from a nearby opening caught Mjrn for a split second something was visible behind her. It had no specific shape though it seemed to have some sort of body but no limbs, a basic head, but the most horrible thing about it were it's eyes. Fierce white eyes that burnt a hole into your soul, it loomed over Mjrn like the reaper of death. Then the light faded, and with it the phantom vanished, Mjrn gave a great shudder and collapsed into Fran's arms.
"What was that?" Vaan whispered but nobody answered him. They were all preoccupied with the scene before them. Slowly Mjrn's eyes fluttered open.
"Is it you?" She finally managed.
Fran nodded. "Yes."
And then the tears came, Fran held her sister close as she clung to her shoulder crying uncontrollably.
Told you it wouldn't be long, I've got a flow going again so this should be the first of many chapters in succession. Until next time then.