Chapter 4: A Helping Hand
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The sun had almost vanished beyond the horizon. Only a quarter of the sky was still bright; it was like fire against a blanket of dark blue. But soon it would be completely dark and the three-man party would have to stop for the night.
Cecil had been warily keeping his eye on the rapidly sinking sun; they were only about a mile away from the base of the mountain, but he wasn't sure if the twins could keep pace with him if he hurried.
"We'll have to stop soon," he announced. "If we're lucky, we might be able to get really close to the mountain before the light's gone."
Palom made a dismissive noise. "We can keep going after dark; if I put up a fire spell, we'll have plenty of light. Maybe we can even get started on the mountain and not have to stop at all."
"But we've been walking all day," Porom whined. "I'm tired and hungry; I want to stop as soon as we can."
Sensing another argument building, Cecil decided to compromise with them.
"How about this: I don't think we'll be able to make it to the base of the mountain before the sun sets completely. However, instead of pitching camp as soon as the light is gone, Palom can cast him fire spell and we'll make it to the mountain. But we won't start up the mountain until tomorrow morning. This way, each of you gets what you want. How does that sound to you?"
"What about you?" Porom asked. "What do you want?"
"I just want to get up the mountain as soon as possible and come back down with no one dead. I think this compromise will suit everyone's needs: Palom gets to light the way with his fire spell, Porom gets to bed at a reasonable stopping point, and I get to the base of the mountain on the first day. That sounds good to me; how 'bout you?"
"Sure."
"That's sounds good, I guess."
"Swell. Palom, you can go ahead and cast the spell, if you want; the light's about to go out."
Palom beamed and chanted his spell. An orb of light appeared in his hand, hovering over his palm. It was like a beacon in the gathering darkness, casting wavering shadows. With the new light, the three started off once more.
"If you're in such a hurry to save your girlfriend," Palom asked Cecil, "why don't you just run to the top? You'd get there a lot faster if you had left us in Mysidia and gone on your own, you know."
"That's right," Porom added. "You wouldn't have had to bring so much stuff and you wouldn't have to worry about us getting hurt and things like that."
"Okay, first of all, Rosa isn't my girlfriend," Cecil corrected. "And second of all, I've had a lot of experience with kids. I don't mind so much, really. In fact, I think it's made me healthier."
"Whose kids? Yours?" Palom asked.
"I don't have kids," Cecil informed.
"So whose kids were they?"
"It was just one kid; she was an orphan and I took care of her for a while."
"Where is she now?" Porom asked.
"I… I wish I knew. I hope she's okay."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. If she is alive, I'm sure that she's alright."
The twins didn't ask questions again for the rest of the walk. Another half hour brought them to the base of the mountain at last. Cecil took command of setting the camp, telling the twins to starts up a fire and decide on something for dinner while he built the tent. The two scurried about the area, looking for fire wood, but kept their eyes one Cecil, who was wrestling with the tent.
"He seems depressed," Porom noted.
"I know. Do you think it was about the girl he was talking about?"
"Probably. Think there's anything we can do to help him?"
"Well, we've found plenty of firewood. Let's put it down and see if he needs help with the tent," Palom suggested.
"Really? You want to help him now?"
"It's just kinda wild to see him sad. It would be nice if he perked up a little," he admitted.
They dropped their firewood in a pile a safe distance from the tent and ran over to Cecil.
"Can we help you, Cecil? It looks like you're having some trouble," Porom asked.
"I could use some help," he agreed. "I'm used to having another person or two to help me. Can you guys set up the two poles on the end?"
"We'll try; we've never set a tent before," Palom said nervously, and raced to the other side of the half-made scaffolding. There were four long poles that were spiked into the ground, and a big sheet-like cover was placed over them. What Cecil had managed on his own—the first and half of the second poles in the front—didn't look like it was going to be much of anything. Though after another ten minutes, the tent was finally done and ready to be slept in.
"I didn't think you could make a tent out of something that looked like a bunch of sticks poking out of the ground," Palom said, sounding impressed, as he started the fire.
"It's pretty amazing how you can make so much out of what seems like nothing, isn't it?" Cecil agreed.
"Cecil," Porom asked, "did we upset you earlier? You seem so sad."
"Well, maybe just a little bit," the knight admitted. "It's been a rough couple of months. My best friend betrayed me, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember," Porom agreed.
"I don't," Palom complained. (He hadn't been with them for that conversation.)
"Well, he did; he was brainwashed, I think, by a man named Golbez. They kidnapped Rosa a few weeks ago. My remaining three companions and I left the kingdom of Fabul by ship to return to Baron; we needed an airship, you see.
"However, our ship was attacked by Leviathan. The ship was completely destroyed, and I don't know if anyone else on board survived."
"Was the kid you were talking about on the ship?" Palom asked tentatively.
"She was," the knight answered bluntly.
"It explains a lot," Palom stated. "I expected you to be kinda mean and grouchy. You're actually pretty nice. What was her name, anyway?"
"Her name was Rydia."
"That's a really pretty name," Porom said sweetly.
"Yeah… You're probably both starving, huh?"
"You bet!" Palom agreed. "I've never been hungrier in my life!"
"What kind of food do we have left?" Porom asked.
"Mostly vegetables and bread," Cecil cautioned, reaching for his bag. "It's hard to transport meat on long trips like this; I'm sorry."
"That's okay; we like vegetables alright," Palom said brightly.
"And I love bread; it's one of my favorite foods," Porom added.
"Then I think we'll do well for supper," Cecil said, sounding relieved. "It was harder with Rydia; she was always picky with her vegetables. It drove Rosa crazy."
The twins both smiled. It sounded like the life of a real family.
I hope he finds them, Porom thought.
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Sheila knocked on Mira's door, hoping that she was home. The door opened with a creaking sound to reveal a weary-looking Mira. Her violet eyes were red and her dress was covered with wet patches.
"Um, good evening, Mira," Sheila greeted shyly. "Do you have a minute? Dharma found something."
Mira stood up straight. "He did? What is it? Come right on in, please," she said excitedly, ushering Sheila into the house. The white mage came in and headed for the kitchen, where Mira always took visitors.
"Can I get you something, Sheila?" Mira asked.
"Um…" Sheila gazed around the kitchen until she spied the brown and white cookie jar on the counter. "Are there any cookies in there?" she asked.
"Oh, yes there are. Oatmeal and oatmeal raisin; would you like one or two?"
"Yes, with some milk. I haven't eaten well all day," Sheila informed. "We've searched the entire city, top to bottom, looking for the twins. We can't find them anywhere."
This was a small lie, since she knew exactly where they had gone. It was almost 9:00, the sun having long disappeared. She wondered vaguely how far they had gotten before the sun had gone down.
However, as much as they respected Rai, she and Dharma were convinced that the twins were in danger; if not from Cecil, from the monsters they were sure to encounter. So they were going to give Mira as many clues as it took for her to figure out what had happened, without letting the Elder know that they had given them.
"If you haven't found them anywhere, what did Dharma find?" Mira asked.
Sheila reached inside her white robe and pulled out two magic textbooks. One was on black magic, and the other was on white magic.
"They left their textbooks in the tower on a school day," she explained. "The Elder always gives them homework for which they need these books."
"What are you insinuating, Sheila?" Mira asked, pouring her guest a glass of milk.
"I'm saying that the twins left their books in the tower, instead of bringing them home for homework. That means that they weren't given homework yesterday; either that or they decided to blow it off, which isn't like Porom to do. Yet here is her book."
"That is strange," Mira agreed. She took the cookie jar from the counter and opened the lid.
"Hm…"
"What is it, Mira?"
"This jar was almost full yesterday. Now there are only a few cookies left inside."
"What do you think that means?" Sheila asked, acting confused.
"We'll see," Mira informed, sounding much more stable than she had all day.
An idea is beginning to form in her head, Sheila thought to herself. The unsure, almost impossible idea that Rai broke his promise and sent the twins to the mountain. When she figures this out, I wonder what will happen?
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"Oh dear," Cecil muttered. He hadn't expected the wall of fire that blocked the path up the mountain. It was a good thing he had a black mage with him.
"Palom, can you do something about this?"
The boy stepped up with his chest puffed out like a bird. He rubbed his hands together gleefully and grinned.
"That's my queue then," he said proudly. He held his hands up to the wall of fire and began to chant.
"BLIZZARD!"
His voice echoed through the mountain, and an icy breeze brushed across the path. Snow appeared out of nowhere above the wall and rained down onto it. The snow melted into water, which put the flames out in under a minute.
"That is why they call me a prodigy," Palom informed cockily. Porom whacked him over the head.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"You need to learn some humility. The Elder isn't vain like you."
"Let's just keep going, okay?" Cecil suggested, jerking a thumb at the clear path.
So the three kept to the path for the next hour or so. There was much to look at and much to talk about, and the twins never ran out of questions about the scenery or about Cecil's travels.
"Yesterday, I asked you if your parents were mad at you for stealing our crystal and Dharma didn't give you a chance to answer," Palom remembered. "What did they say?"
"I don't have parents. I mean, I'm sure that I do, but I have no idea who they are. I was raised by the king."
"Really? That's pretty cool."
"But he's been acting strange lately. I knew that something was wrong when he sent us for the crystal, but I was too afraid at the time to stand up and say that it was wrong."
"So you ran away?" Porom guessed.
"More like defected. But, theoretically, yes, I ran away. It was difficult, because I didn't want to question the man who raised me; he's the only father I've ever known."
"Oh. We don't know who our father is either," Porom said.
"What happened to him?" Cecil asked.
The twins both shrugged.
KERPOW!!
The ground shook and the twins fell down on the ground. Cecil almost lost his balance, but stayed upright. Up ahead, at the top of an incline, smoke and dust was rising up in clouds. Someone was coughing and muttering curses under his breath.
"Who do you suppose did that?" Porom wondered.
"Hey…" Cecil looked excited about something. "I know that muttering," he said and sprinted up the incline. The twins both followed him.
An old man stood at the top with his back to the party. He wore a billowing purple cloak, and his wild gray hair stuck out all over the place. In one hand he carried a wooden staff.
"Darned incantation," the old man was muttering. "Why can't I remember it? I used to know the Firaja spell like the back of my…"
Cecil's eyes were the size of tea saucers. He seemed to almost not believe what he was seeing.
"Tellah? Is that you?" he asked.
The old man whirled around to see who was addressing him. He had a long gray beard and purple-lensed glasses that looked like giant bug eyes. His gray eyebrows arced when he saw them.
"Cecil? Can it really be you, lad? Why, what are you doing here? Have you come for the Meteor spell as well?" the man asked.
"Come for… what? No, I've been sent for a test which lies at the top of the mountain. What are you doing here?"
"I've come looking for the—wait, now. Who are these youngsters? They're a bit young to be up here, aren't they?" The man cast a bony finger at the confused twins.
"Oh, forgive me," Cecil said and cleared his throat. "Palom, Porom, this is Tellah the sage. He's an acquaintance of mine, though I haven't seen him in about two months."
The twins gasped in surprise.
"Tellah? You mean the Tellah?" Palom asked.
"The great sage that mom and the Elder are always talking about!" Porom added.
Palom rushed over to Tellah and started bouncing up and down. "I can't believe that it's really you! I've heard about you my whole life, but I never thought Id get to meet you up here! This is my lucky day!" he exclaimed. Porom marched up and whacked him again.
"Calm down. You're embarrassing me," she scolded. She cleared her throat for emphasis and curtsied politely to the sage. "My name is Porom, and that annoying one over there is my twin, Palom," she greeted.
"Mysidian children," Tellah noted with concern in his voice. "Whatever happened to Edward and Rydia?" he asked Cecil. "That spoony pansy didn't get so annoying that you traded him for little children, did he?"
"Um…"
"Oh, insults can come later. How are they?" Tellah inquired.
"I, they… Both were lost in a shipwreck a few days ago," Cecil informed sadly.
Tellah's eyebrows rose so high that his eyes showed over the tops of his glasses. "Both?! That's just… that's terrible," he said. "And you washed up on Mysidian shores, eh? Talk about ironic."
"Perhaps. Even though few of the people are willing to forgive me for what I've done, the Elder has given me a second chance," Cecil explained. "There is some sort of test at the summit of this mountain, and if I pass it I will become a paladin. Or so he tells me."
"Huh. And he sent mere children to guard you? A fine idea," Tellah scolded, regarding the twins.
"I'm not just a kid, you know," Palom informed hotly. "I am a great magical prodigy. In fact, I am the most advanced student of my age." Porom glared at him and threatened to hit him again. He cringed and added, "My wonderful sister is also a prodigy, by the way." Porom lowered her fist but not her glare.
"Ha. Someone as young as you couldn't possibly know a spell higher than the fire spell," Tellah dismissed. "Unless, of course, you're of the Faraxhae family. A fine old line, those Faraxhaes; talent is in their being."
"We are; we're Palom and Porom Faraxhae, sir," Porom informed.
"Surely you've heard of us," Palom insisted. "We're famous."
"No, I haven't. But now that I look at you, you do seem to have that look about you," Tellah admitted. "You, lad, you have those eyes."
"Huh?" Palom asked.
"Violet eyes are a trademark symbol of the Faraxhae family, particularly in boys; they are the only Mysidian family to have violet eyes in their gene pool."
"Really? Cool!"
"I suppose that I owe you two an apology; I didn't expect to see such young people in a treacherous place like this," Tellah admitted.
"What about Rydia?" Cecil asked. "She was—is—only a year older than them and she's been all kinds of places where normal children shouldn't go. The waterway, Antlion cave, Mount Hobbs—"
"Wait a minute, what? I knew about the water way, but I never heard about any of this," Tellah said.
"You shouldn't have left so suddenly," Cecil scolded. "Which brings me back to my original question: what are you doing up here?"
"Oh, I remember. I was saying that I've come up here seeking the spell called Meteor," Tellah answered. "Remember how I've sworn vengeance on Golbez for Anna's death a few months ago?" Cecil nodded, though Tellah didn't pause. "Well, I don't have the power on my own to stop him, so I've come to learn Meteor; with the power behind that spell, I could blast that bastard to smithereens!" Tellah cried.
The twins looked horrified.
"But the Meteor spell is forbidden!" Porom cried.
"Even I know that," Palom added.
"If a man of your age were to—"
"Don't call me old and I won't call you little," Tellah interrupted. "For the record, I am well aware of the dangers this spell holds. But I'm willing to take the risks, if it means that my precious Anna will be avenged."
"Perhaps you should come with us," Cecil suggested. "Your magic should be a great help to us. We've seen no monsters just yet, but I'm sure they will come. And who knows: maybe you'll find your spell at the top of the mountain."
"A splendid idea, my old friend," Tellah agreed. "Let's be off, then!" He tapped the end of his staff on the ground twice like a gavel.
Hisssssss...
Everyone tensed. Cecil drew his sword and Tellah moved his staff into a defensive position.
"Palom, what was that for? Can't you see how it freaked everyone out?" Porom scolded.
"What? You think I did that? Porom, I am shocked! Blaming me, your only brother..."
"What else could it have been?" she asked.
"Let's just keep going," Cecil interrupted, "and keep on your guard. I have the feeling that things will get very dangerous from here on up."
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This could be the last chapter for a while. I'm not sure just yet. I have a full schedule for this month. It's a real shame: I've been away for the better part of the busy season and now school's starting in a few weeks. T.T
Well, adopt, adapt, and improve. I'd might as well make the most of the most of the time I've got left. Better get back to work!