Chapter 5: Archfiend of Earth and Death
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Mira paced the kitchen floor, thinking about the textbooks that Sheila had recovered the day before. She also though about the cookies in the cookie jar; she deliberately pushed the jar back against the counter so the twins couldn't reach it without help.
It seems like they planned for something... But I can't imagine why they would want to leave. If this has anything to do with the dark knight, I'll ring their necks!
She thought about it all for another minute. Didn't Palom hate the man as much as everyone else? And Porom wouldn't just disobey her like that without a good reason. Yet they had left their textbooks behind, eaten most of the cookies for breakfast, and, upon examining their rooms, had taken ethers, potions, and their backpacks with them. They had packed for something.
Wait a second: whose idea was it in the first place? Could it be that Rai broke his promise? If so, I'm going to ring his neck as well!
She grabbed her cloak from the coat rack and ran out of the house.
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Hisssssssss...
"There it goes again," Cecil groaned, sounding annoyed.
"Palom, you've seriously got to cut that hissing out!" Porom snapped.
"But it's not me! I swear it!" Palom insisted indignantly.
"Look, I know it's you; if something happens, it's always you."
"I'm not doing it! Cecil, Tellah, tell Porom that I'm not the one doing that!" he begged.
"Porom, I have to agree with him: I think something else is making that hissing," Cecil admitted.
"I know it seems like something he'd do; aside from talent, mischief also runs in his blood," Tellah added.
"How did you know that?" Porom asked.
"I'm very close to the Faraxhae family. I've known them for a long time," the sage answered. "I can't tell you how many pranks Rai Faraxhae has played on me; he wouldn't happen to be your father?" he asked, trying to redirect the conversation.
"No, our uncle," Palom corrected. "We don't know who our dad is."
"Oh... Then Mira would be your mother?" Tellah guessed.
"That's right. You're an old friend of theirs, huh?" Porom said. "Where have you been? They talk about you all the time."
"I've been away. The competitive environment was no place for my daughter to learn proper magic."
"Oh. She's the one who died recently, right?" Palom asked. Porom whacked him again.
"You're so tactless; it's embarrassing," she informed.
"To answer your question, young man, yes she is the very same. Her name was Anna, and she was a talented—if unknown—mage. Then she decided to run off with a bard who turned out to be a prince; it ultimately led to her doom. Ever since, I've been out to avenge the man who killed her," Tellah explained.
"Our Elder says that revenge is bad for your health," said Palom.
"I don't care," Tellah answered evenly.
Hissssssss...
"Don't even start with me this time," Palom ordered his sister. "It's not me."
"But I know that it's you."
"It's not!"
"Yes, it is!"
Hissss...
Porom's eyes darted around nervously. She had been staring straight at her twin when she heard the hissing noise, and definitely hadn't come from him.
"There! You see? I told you it wasn't me!" he said.
"Hisss... No, it wasn't it. It wasss me!!"
"Something evil is coming," Tellah muttered and raised his staff. "Kids, come get behind Cecil and I; it will be safer if you stay in the back."
The twins didn't hesitate to scurry behind the two men, who were brandishing weapons more impressive than their own. "What should we do?" Palom asked, eyeing his flame staff doubtfully.
"Your best bet is your magic," Tellah told him. "The creatures on this mountain are undead, weak to fire spells and cure spells. If all else fails, your staffs should provide sufficient damage to distract the creature while we escape. I will assist you with the spells."
"And your attacks will be the biggest part of the battle; my dark power does so little against the undead," Cecil added. "Be very careful; I sense something evil, as Tellah said."
Something laughed wickedly and a sudden fog gathered around before them. The icy water droplets had an awful stench in them, and it made the four gag.
"What's that awful smell?" Palom asked from behind his hands.
"I've smelled it too many times before," Cecil said grimly. "It's the smell of death."
"This is no ordinary monster," Tellah guessed. "This is something much bigger and far worse."
The fog flashed with a bright light and dissipated as if it had never been there. In its place was a horrid mass of reeking brown tatters. It looked like a cloak, or like it might have been one once. The hood was drawn over the thing's head, covering the face in shadow; a pair of glowing yellow eyes peered out of the shadows. A pair of giant hands stuck out of the ripped sleeves, stripped of flesh and skin.
The twins shrieked, and the men gasped in terror.
"What is that horrible thing?!" Porom screamed.
"I am Scarmiglione, the archfiend of earth," the thing answered, "and your guide into the fires of hell!"
"I don't want to go to hell," Palom whimpered. "Can we beat it?"
"Surely we can," Cecil assured him, brandishing his dark blade. "All monsters can be slain. This one will be no different."
"We will see," Scarmiglione snarled and lunged at the knight with a feral scream.
"FIRA!" Tellah shouted, his voice carrying on the wind. The echo was sustained longer, the spell being more powerful than Palom's puny Fire spell. A large column of fire spilled out of nowhere and hit the monster on the head. It staggered back and roared with fury, but didn't fall.
"Porom, cast your Cure spell," Tellah commanded. "And, Palom, get on your Fire spell. I can't kill this thing on my own!"
Though their teeth were chattering, they both started chanting the incantations for their respective spells. Palom finished first, and cast the spell.
"FIRE!"
More fire rained down on the creature, though not as much as Tellah had made. Instead of smashing into it, the small firry stones rather plunked down on its head and robe, inflicting small singes. Even though he was scared half to death, Palom felt tiny and insignificant next to the sage's Fira spell. It was only a step higher than Fire, but it seemed so much bigger.
"C—C—CURE!"
Considering she stammered it, Porom's spell hit the monster's chest as a lightning-like streak of white light. It took a small step back and screamed again. Palom blushed because Porom's spell had more impact than his. Black magic was supposed to be better than white magic!
The thing screamed like a maniac. "I care not for you mages, I'm here but for him!" It cast its skeleton finger at Cecil, who slashed at the hand with the sword. The hand fell off at the wrist, but the thing didn't seem to be in pain. The angry snarl seemed to be more out of anger than out of pain.
"Pay for your impudence," it growled, "with the blood of your friends!" It pulled his good hand back and raked it before the mages. They all dodged the first time and prepared to dodge the next attack.
"Die!" the thing yelled, and swiped in Tellah's direction. The long fingers caught the sage by the arm and he fell to his knees, clutching the bleeding gash.
"Oh no! Tellah, are you okay?" Porom cried and began chanting her Cure spell once more. She was cut off as the hand swept across her chest and knocked her to the ground.
"Haha! Now bask in the knowledge that your own selfish pursuits led to the death of a dear one!" it cried.
"Porom!" Palom screamed and chanted his fire spell again. He was so mad at that monster, he could kill it himself! If it dared to put its rotted fingers on his little sister again, it had better pray for mercy! What were the words for the Fira spell...?
"FIRA!"
A pillar of fire, much like the one Tellah had produced, shot out of the sky and hit the creature so hard that it fell over on its back. Its ragged cloak was on fire, burning like a bonfire.
"NOOOOO! I can't die this easily...!" it wailed, waving its arms wildly in an effort to douse the flames. The gruesome spectacle was over in a matter of minutes, as the thing dissolved into a mass of shrieking, smoking ashes.
Cecil and Tellah stood back, breathing hard and looking for any monsters that might want to take advantage of their weakened state. The terrible thing that called itself Scarmiglione seemed to have scared away every monster within a mile with its rancid smell and icy presence.
"That thing… I've never encountered a creature such as that," Tellah breathed. Cecil wasn't paying attention: he'd lost sight of the twins.
"Where are Palom and Porom?" he wondered, scanning the area for them. He let out a sigh of relief when he spotted them near the mountain wall. His heart constricted with worry once more when he realized that Palom was crying over his sister's limp body.
"Tellah…"
"Oh dear," the sage muttered and hurried to the child's side. "Palom? Palom! What happened?" he asked. Palom didn't seem to register the question. He just kept muttering Porom's name over and over again, as if saying it enough would make her wake up.
"Tellah, she's not…?" Cecil couldn't bring himself to say the last word.
"It looks more like she's just unconscious," Tellah corrected, placing his hand over the girl's heart and feeling a slow heartbeat beneath his hand.
"That big word means the same as dead, doesn't it," Palom sobbed.
"No, it just means she's been hurt so bad she fell asleep so her body could recover," Tellah explained. It can be just like being asleep in bed; often you can have strange dreams. Lord knows I've been knocked out enough times in my life. Fortunately for us, I know a spell that will revive her." He rocked back on his heels and cracked his knuckles and Palom illuminated.
"You do? You can bring her back?"
"Certainly. I know enough white magic to do so," Tellah informed. He began reciting a spell; this one took more time to finish, since it was so advanced.
"RAISE!"
A soft, ethereal light suddenly drifted down from the sky and focused on Porom, like a spotlight. There was a voice somewhere in the distance, singing a mysterious lullaby, and a person robed in white floated down through the shaft of light; the person was a young woman with red hair, and she carried a harp. She smiled down at them all, though she didn't say a word. She nodded to Tellah, who nodded back understandingly.
The angel floated closer to the ground, but hovered above it as of suspended from wires in a theatre. She touched her fingertips to Porom's forehead and whispered something in a strange tongue; it sounded like a spell, but at the same time seemed to be something different entirely. As soon as she finished her whispering, the light vanished in a flash and took her away with it.
As soon as the flash faded, Porom's eyes popped open and she sat straight up. She gazed about, looking disoriented.
"Huh? What happened?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "I remember that thing hit Tellah, and then I went to heal him, and then the last thing I remember was a big bony hand coming right for my—Agh!"
She didn't get to finish because Palom glomped onto her.
"I thought you were dead!" he cried into her shoulder. "Don't ever scare me like that again, or I'll kill you myself!"
"What? What did I do?" she asked, confused.
Tellah laughed good-naturedly to himself. "I believe that the monster knocked her out while she was distracted with her spell. Nothing a quick Raise spell wouldn't fix up. Perhaps we should plan our use of spells before we start casting them," he suggested.
"Tellah, that angel who revived Porom looked familiar," Cecil stated, looking up in the direction the light had come from.
"I was wondering if you would recognize her," Tellah said as he stood back up.
"The red hair, those brown eyes… it was Anna, wasn't it?" the knight guessed.
"The Raise spell summons an angel the caster knows; everyone knows at least one person who has died by the time they've learned the spell," Tellah explained. "It used to be my wife, who died when Anna was a small child; but it's been Anna who had appeared these past two months. I just wish she had chosen a different instrument to carry around than that infernal harp; bit of insult to injury, you know? I suppose it's fitting for us both, though."
"Sounds like a great spell," Porom chimed in, prying her brother off of her. "I can't wait to learn it."
Tellah turned back to the twins, whom he had momentarily forgotten about. "At the rate you've learned things sp far, I'm sure you should have the spell under your belt in no time, my dear."
Porom beamed. "You really think so?"
"Certainly," Tellah assured her.
Cecil sighed and looked up the path. Ahead of them was a glowing circle surrounded by four small pillars. The circle was just big enough for a small campsite.
"Aha! There's a place to rest just up ahead of us," he announced. "And we could certainly use a rest, I believe."
"Indeed," Tellah agreed. "I've spent two days up here, looking for that spot, and my feet are killing me. Get up, kids; we've got to get up there and set up a tent and a fire and such."
"Can I use my new Fira spell to start the fire?" Palom asked.
"Certainly you may," Tellah consented.
"And I'm really hungry," Porom added. "What kind of bread is there left?"
"Plenty," Cecil answered. "You can eat as much as you want when we get up there, okay?"
"We ought to have a good rest," Tellah advised. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Why? We beat that thing, didn't we?" Palom pointed out.
"Yes, we did; and that just the problem," Tellah answered. "An elemental archfiend, eh? That was far too easy."
"What do you think could happen?" Porom asked.
"I'm sure I don't know. Best to keep your eyes and ears open."
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Rai knew he was in trouble again when he heard the front door fly open and crash into the wall. The door had probably broken into several pieces with the kind of force he heard.
"Rai! Rai Faraxhae, you come out here right now! I know you're here!"
Oh crap. She knows!
The door to the study opened a jar and Dharma stuck his hooded head shyly into the room.
"Um, sir? Your sister is here to see you," he announced.
Rai sighed and closed his book slowly.
"Er, can you tell her I'm indisposed right now?" he asked.
"I'm afraid not, sir. She knows that you're here; Sheila tried to stall for you, but Mira won't listen."
"I'll… be right down, Dharma."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure."
"Like you were about sending the twins off with the dark knight? If you hadn't done that, you wouldn't be in this mess."
"Who did you want me to send? You and Sheila? You would abandon the boy and leave him to his death."
"And they wouldn't?"
"They may be advanced for their age, but they are only six years old; they need him up there as much as he needs them. You and Sheila, not so much. See? I thought you would have figured this out by now."
"So what are you going to say to Mira?"
"I'm going to have to tell her the truth. I broke my promise and sent her children with Sir Cecil to Mount Ordeals, and I have no idea where any of them are right now."
"You're not really going to say that, are you? Mira will blow your head off with her Firaja spell!"
"I know. But she does have to know; they are her only children. I'm shaking in my boots; she handles the Firaja spell like no one I know…"
Rai peeked out of the door, which led to a veranda which led to the stairs. Below on the floor, he saw Mira waiting in the middle of the isle, tapping her foot impatiently. Sheila was standing nearby, nibbling her fingernails on one hand and nursing a bruise on her cheek with the other hand. He took a deep breath and stepped out onto the veranda, catching Mira's firry glare.
"Hello, Rai," she said with a sweetness that was obviously fake. "Guess what I figured out?"
"Uh…. How to turn coal into gold without a philosopher's stone?" Rai attempted.
"Don't play smart-ass with me!" Mira snapped. "I know exactly where my children have gone, and I know it was you who sent them!"
"I…"
"Don't bother defending yourself, you double-crosser! I don't want to hear your excuses, I just want you to find a way to bring them back!"
"Mira, let me explain," Rai begged and started down the stairs.
"There's nothing to explain, Rai."
"You don't understand—"
"I understand plenty."
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do."
"No, you don't!"
"Yes, I do!"
"No, you do not! And another thing, if you hit my assistants again, I'll tear you a new one!"
Mira shrieked and flew at Rai with a Firaja spell on her lips. Rai braced himself and began a Blizzaja to counter it. Before either spell was finished, she lunged at him and knocked him to the floor, pounding him with her fists.
"You'll tear me a new one for your precious interns, huh? What about my kids, then? I'll tear you five new ones for their sake!"
Rai hit her back and pushed her onto her back, doing his best to pin her down.
"You don't understand, Mira! He needed them, so they're who he got!"
"They're children!"
"They can take care of themselves fine!"
Mira kicked Rai off and he was sent a few yards back.
"YOU BROKE YOUR PROMISE!!" she screamed.
Her voice echoed as if she had cast one of the forbidden spells in the high-ceilinged tower. Rai shrank away from his little sister, and Sheila cowered in a corner. All three of them remained there in silence for a few moments, breathing hard. Mira sniffled, as surprised as everyone else to see she was crying.
"You broke your promise," she repeated more quietly. "You promised me that you would leave Palom and Porom out of your crazy scheming, and you completely blew me off. Now they're out in the wilderness, maybe lost, probably hurt, and I don't know if I'll ever see them again. And it's all your fault!" She pointed accusingly at her brother, tears streaming down her face.
"Cecil had nothing to do with it," Rai defended. "He had no idea you didn't know; it will stay that way unless the twins tell him."
Mira looked at him incredulously. "So you broke your promise to me, smuggled my children out of the city with a monster, lied to the monster, and made your interns lie to me as well? And you call yourself and Elder of Mysidia! I could do it better than you! And why do you want to help that man, anyway?"
"I don't trust him completely, but if he can pass the paladin test at the top of the mountain he could become the best ally we've ever had."
"The paladin test? Rai, you've lost your mind! Only five people have been accepted for it, and only three have passed that test in 1000 years! And I can guarantee you that that murderer won't be the sixth. He doesn't have what it takes."
"How do you know that? Are you a friend of his? Have you talked to him? Have ever even looked at him? You don't know a thing about the boy!"
"And I suppose that you do? Enough to send my kids to help him?"
"Not just to help him, to keep their eyes on him," Rai corrected. "Like I said, I don't trust him completely. I won't trust him until he comes back with a paladin sword."
"You'd best pray that he does, and that he has my children safe with him," Mira growled, rising to her feet and brushing off her torn, dusty dress. "Because if he doesn't, I'm never talking to you again!" She stormed to the door, which was in fact split across the middle. She flung it back open and stalked out, slamming the door with a bang.
Rai sighed, on the brink of tears himself.
"I don't doubt that she'll speak to me again," he said to no one in particular. "But she'll never trust me again."
If I keep doing things like this, I'll never hear from any of my family again.
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Ooh, tension! Doesn't it just eat you alive inside??
You know, the song "Crazy on You" by Heart came on my iPod when I started writing about Mura pummeling Rai. It kinda fit the scene, until she started crying. I love it when things like that happen. )
Well, I guess that's all I have to say right now. Of course, there is another fight coming up. Better get on it; hopefully Palom won't freak out this time.