Chapter 10: Preparations
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"Where are you going?" Dharma asked casually.
"Back to the market district," Cecil informed. "Most of our supplies are gone; we'll need more hi-potions, and tents. We're also low on food; the way Porom eats, I'm surprised that there's ever any food in the tower, or in her house."
"She certainly does eat a lot," Dharma agreed. "Need any help with your shopping?"
"I think I'll be alright, but thank you for the offer."
"Oh, but I need to go out anyway; grocery shopping to be done, you know? Sadly, there are still things I need to get done here. Perhaps I shall catch up with you a little later."
"Why not send Sheila in your place?" Cecil suggested.
Dharma nodded. "That is an excellent idea! I shall go fetch her right away." He scurried off to find the white mage in the kitchen.
Cecil sighed and checked the contents of his purse once more. He hadn't anticipated company, but it would be nice to have some, all the same. Satisfied with the number of shiny gil in his purse, he closed the small bag and stuffed it back in his pocket. He wondered vaguely where Tellah and the twins had gone, and if he and Sheila would run into them at the market.
Sheila appeared in the doorway with a wicker basket and a list. Dressed in a light white mage's robe, with her pink hair pulled back in a pony-tail, she looked happy and excited, if not just a little sheepish.
"Are you ready to go?" she asked sweetly.
"Yes, I am. Let's go," Cecil said happily. He started off for the door and Sheila followed him.
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Tellah hesitated to knock on the door, and Palom couldn't understand why. If he had been away from his little sister for, what, 23 years, he would have been tearing the door down to see her.
"Just knock already," he pressed impatiently. "What are you waiting for?"
"I… I don't know," Tellah admitted. "I was so excited to see Mira again, but I'm suddenly a little nervous."
"Why be nervous?" Porom asked. "She's your sister; she'll be happy to see you again, won't she? She mentions you all the time. She's always saying things like, "If only Tellah were here", and, "Tellah would have known what to do", and other things like that."
"But what would I say to her?"
"Tell her about where you went," Porom offered. "I've never heard of the town you went to, but you lived there for a long time, so you must have liked it."
"That is true," Tellah agreed. "But… I'm just too nervous."
"Then we'll knock for you," Palom announced and pounded on the door. Porom smacked him again.
"Let him knock! He's a grown-up; he doesn't need help," she scolded.
As she finished speaking, the door opened.
"Is that you, kids?" Mira asked excitedly, coming onto the front step. She beamed to see her children, and then stared curiously at the stranger.
"…Who's this?" she asked.
The twins looked up at Tellah, waiting for him to answer. At first, Tellah didn't seem to know what to say.
"…You're looking good, Mira," he stammered.
Mira cocked her head to one side. "Have we met?"
"You still look so pretty in purple; almost all the clothing in your closet was some shade of purple when you were a little girl, remember?"
Mira scoffed. "Now, I know that I had a blue parka at some point. I only wore it in winter, but it's something."
"You mean the one with the black buttons, and the fur lining?"
Mira nodded proudly. "That's the one… How did you know that?"
Tellah flicked his purple-tinted glasses down his nose, revealing his violet eyes.
"I was the one who accidentally set it on fire when you were seven, remember?"
Mira gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth, breathing deeply.
"I… I know that I've been gone for a long time," Tellah started, "but I was on the mountaintop, and—"
Mira shrieked in an alarmingly gleeful fashion and jumped at Tellah. She threw her arms around him, crying. The twins backed away, slightly unnerved by their mother's outburst.
"You came back! You've come home at last! I can't believe it!" she sobbed into Tellah's shoulder.
Tellah hugged her back. "Yes, so I have."
Mira stepped back, gazing at her oldest brother. "When did you get here? Where have you been? How is—"
"I was up on the mountain," Tellah interjected.
"The mountain…Meteor?" Mira guessed.
Tellah grinned. "At long last, the spell is mine."
"We found him halfway to the summit a few days ago and he came with us," Porom explained.
"Yeah. He'd forgotten most of his cool spells, but then he remembered them when Cecil became a paladin. It was really cool," Palom added.
"I've been at the tower, talking with Rai all night. As you can imagine, we had a lot to catch up on," Tellah concluded.
Mira's eyes darted around, a sign that she was trying to figure something out. "I don't understand. You disappeared for 23 years, and then suddenly return to get Meteor on a whim? I know you've always wanted the spell, but it's not like you to do something like this so suddenly."
"I know. It's just something that I had to do; like when Sammy and I fled the island."
"Then… why?"
"My daughter was killed, and I aim to avenge her with Meteor."
Mira's eye widened. "You had a daughter? Wh—who killed her? What has happened?" she asked.
"Perhaps we should go inside," Tellah suggested.
"Do you need us to come too?" Palom asked.
"You and Porom go find out what Cecil's doing; surely he needs help preparing for the next journey," Tellah advised.
Happy to be of help, the twins nodded and dashed off.
"Explaining about Anna and that Golbez guy is going to take him a long time," Porom pointed out. "He might stay behind all together to hang around with mom."
"I hope not," Palom said, shaking his head. "We just learned Cura and Fira; we need him when we go to Baron."
"That's a good point. I wonder if Cecil's buying more of those yummy sweet rolls?"
"I hope so. We'll have to remind him to buy twice as many, so the rest of us can actually have some this time."
"You had some too."
"I had one, because you ate them all, by yourself."
"I did not!"
"Yes, you did!"
"No, I didn't!"
"Whatever. Do you think I can trade in my crumby fire staff for something better? Maybe I can get a dagger! There was a really cool model in stock at the weapon store last week."
Porom rolled her eyes. "I want a muffin," she stated. "Let's go get some!"
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Cecil stepped out of the inn, where the sundry shop was located. He had been inside for 20 minutes, buying, selling, and haggling with the woman at the counter, who evidently still didn't trust him. The sun shone bright and blinded him momentarily, though it gave off little warmth. It was October, and chilly winds blew through the streets.
It's going to be pretty cold in Baron as well, he realized. I'll have to make sure that Palom and Porom have coats before we leave.
Sheila was standing near the door, her wicker basket full and both hands on the handle. She was staring off into space, thinking to herself.
"Have you been waiting out here all this time?" Cecil asked, pulling Sheila's attention out of space.
"I have been," she answered.
"But your basket is so full, and it's so chilly," he pointed out. "You should head back to the tower with all that stuff, get yourself out of the cold."
"It's sweet of you to worry, but I'm really alright," she insisted. "I'd like to continue to accompany you. I've had a wonderful time."
"Would you like me to carry that basket for you?" Cecil asked, reaching out and taking the basket without waiting for a response.
"You don't have to do that; I've got it under control. And you've already got so much to carry. We've been out for nearly three hours, and you're not done yet."
"I've carried loads twice the heavy through caverns and mountains on my back, and then carried a child when she got to weary to go on," Cecil explained. "This is nothing." He began walking down the sidewalk, prompting Sheila to follow.
"What did you say the little girl's name was?"
"Rydia. She was about a year older than the twins when—when it happened."
"I'm truly sorry for your loss. You've been through so much, and so suddenly; I wish that there was something I could do to help."
"It's a burden that I wouldn't wish on anyone. The journey is mine, but some people just insist on helping me and there isn't anything that I can do about it," Cecil explained.
"Like the twins? And Tellah?"
"Yes; and others in the past. It makes me nervous, because the last time a group of people volunteered to help me, they all died in a shipwreck... I think. If anything like that were to happen to the twins, I don't know if I could live with myself."
"You and Tellah will protect them; I know it," Sheila comforted.
"I'm glad I have your confidence," Cecil replied, smiling down at her. "It so—Hey! I think I see the twins up ahead."
"Really? Where?" Sheila used her hand as a visor and peered through the crowd. Sure enough, Palom and Porom were about 30 yards ahead of them, peering into a shop window. She and Cecil ran over to them.
"Hey, kids," Cecil greeted, prying their attention away form the window. "What's up?"
"We've been looking for you, Cecil," Porom said cheerily. "We've been searching for about two hours."
"Yeah," Palom added. "We though we'd never find you in this crowd."
Cecil looked into the shop window. "What are you looking at?"
"It's an armor shop," Porom informed. She and Palom looked back into the window.
"Check out that Gaia gear," Palom said, pointing to a cuirass made of a brown metal. "It's so cool!"
"I really like that plumed hat," Porom said dreamily, indicating a red-brown leather hat with a fluffy white feather in the brim.
"How does a hat count as armor?" Palom scoffed, earning a firm whack.
"Is there anything that Tellah and I can use?" Cecil wondered out loud. "Want to go and check it out?"
"You bet we do!" Palom agreed. "We wanted to go inside, but the shopkeeper won't let us in without an adult because he says we're irresponsible."
"Maybe that's because he's smart," Cecil suggested and walked in the door, prompting the other three to follow him in. He hadn't realized how numb his fingers and nose had grown until he stepped inside the warm shop, and wondered if the shop also sold coats and sweaters.
All that he could see was metal shields, breastplates, and helmets. In addition, the place also carried leather armor for beginners. He decided to ask the owner of the shop if there was any cold-weather armor sold here. The woman at the desk was a black mage; at least, he took it that the mage was a woman from her curves and the floral design on her gold-on-blue robe.
"My friends and I are about to depart for Baron," he explained. "You wouldn't happen to sell coats here?"
"No, sir, I'm sorry. We're strictly armor," she informed politely.
"Oh. Can you tell me where I could buy some? I've got small children accompanying me."
The mage's shaded gold eyes grew. "Oh! You're the dark knight-turned-paladin that Palom and Porom Faraxhae went with, aren't you!" She sounded excited.
"Yes, I am." Cecil extended his hand to the mage, who excepted it warmly. "I'm Cecil Harvey."
"My name is Luna," the mage introduced. "I've been pulling for you since you showed up. My father, the owner, he said that you were no good, but I knew that you would make it back from the mountain! I was so glad when I heard of your return this morning."
"Thank you, Luna."
Luna snapped her fingers. "I have something for you," she said and dashed from the counter, disappearing behind a nearby door. She returned carrying a large wooden crate with straw sticking out of the gaps. She set it down on the counter, gasping when the weight was released.
"Father keeps all this stuff in the closet, awaiting the day when a paladin comes forth to claim it," Luna explained, prying the top off the crate with a nearby pencil. Cecil stepped up to help her pull it off. Together they cleared away a top layer of straw, tossing it on the counter and floor to be cleaned up later. Sheila and the twins wandered over to see what was going on.
Cecil finally pulled a gleaming breastplate from the crate and cleared off the straw dust. The thing wasn't made of material as unnatural as the one he'd received on the mountain, but it definitely looked sturdier and well made.
"What is that?" Sheila asked, admiring the breastplate.
"Father says that it's called Luminous armor. There's this breastplate, a shield, a helmet, and some silver gauntlets," Luna explained. "But it's reserved for paladins."
"It's beautiful," Cecil praised. "How much is it?"
"You would pay for it?" Luna sounded just a little shy about taking money from him.
"Certainly; surely it will take a lot of money to order a new set for the next paladin who comes along," Cecil pointed out.
"Oh, true. Shall we say, 2000 gil for the whole set?"
"I can certainly do that," Cecil agreed, setting the breastplate to the side and reaching for his purse. He pulled out the money and handed it to the overwhelmed black mage.
"Is... Is there anything else?" she asked.
Cecil glanced down at the twins, who were still awed by the amazing new armor but holding the piece of armor they wanted in their hands.
"We also need a suit of Gaia gear and a plumed hat, for my little friends," Cecil added, reaching for more gil.
Luna accepted the money happily. "The twins are going with you again, eh? They must have been great help on the mountain."
"I couldn't have done it without them," Cecil agreed. "I just can't seem to say it enough."
"There is also a clothing shop down the street where you can buy some coats and other things like that," Luna informed.
"Thank you, Luna. You've been a great help," Cecil said, eyeing the crate and trying to figure out how he would get it back to the tower. He couldn't juggle the crate with his pack and Sheila's basket, and he doubted any of his companions could carry it back to the tower.
"Can I ask you one more favor, Luna?"
"Anything, sir."
"Do you think you can have this crate delivered back to the tower before tomorrow?"
"Of course! I do deliveries all the time."
"Many thanks, once again."
"Any time you're in Mysidia, feel free to come by," Luna insisted. "Don't be a stranger."
The four walked back out of the shop and down towards the clothing shop Luna had mentioned, shivering as a breeze whipped down the street.
"It wasn't this cold when we were on the mountain," Palom complained, trying to pull his Gaia gear over his head while he walked.
"The magical energy creates a climate-control barrier around the whole mountain, so it usually sustains a fairly constant temperature," Sheila explained. "In general, it's about 78 degrees on Mount Ordeals at all times."
"Cool," Porom said, stopping to admire her new hat in a window. "I look so pretty with a hat; why don't I have more?" she wondered.
"You're mother would laugh out loud to see you acting so vain," Sheila giggled. "Have you been back to see her yet? Does she know that you're leaving again?"
"We were going to tell her this morning, but she saw uncle Tellah and lost it," Palom explained, adjusting his Gaia gear. "Cecil, is Gaia gear supposed to be this tight? I don't think it fits right."
"Gaia gear grows or shrinks to fit the wearer; if you wear it for the rest of the day, it should fit just right by tomorrow morning," Cecil explained.
"Oh, and we need to talk about food supplies," Palom remembered. "You need to get more of those awesome sweet rolls than you did last time, 'cause Porom ate most of them before the rest of us got any."
Porom blushed. "I told you already, I did not!"
"You did, Porom," Cecil informed.
Porom pouted and her hat slipped down over her face.
"So, after we buy you two some thick, sturdy coats, we head back to the tower, drop off what I have so far, and head back out to get some food?" Cecil suggested.
"That sounds great!" Palom agreed. "Can Sheila come with us again too?"
"Um, what do you think, Sheila? Do you want to come too?" Cecil asked the blushing mage.
"Well, I guess I can come," she agreed sweetly. "I'd love to."
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Mira had listened patiently to Tellah's story for almost an hour. She had guessed easily that Tellah and Sammy had married and had children, but she hadn't guessed they would only have one. A part of her ached terribly to learn that Sammy had died suddenly a few years ago, even though they hadn't spoken to each other since Jackie had uncovered the scandal. She was slightly amused to learn that their daughter, Anna, had run off with a bard, and dismayed to learn that Anna had been killed. The fact that the bard had turned out to be a prince in disguise was a bit of a surprise, and learning that he had already known Cecil and a young summoner by the name of Rydia was such a coincidence that it almost tickled her. Finally, Tellah's quest for the Meteor spell wrapped the story up and she sat back in her chair, trying to take in her brother's amazing story.
"That is... quite a story," she said finally, not sure what else to say. "What did Rai have to say about your quest for revenge?"
"What else would he have to say?" Tellah inquired. "He was shocked and dismayed, and then he tried to talk me out of it. Cecil and I are departing from Baron on the morrow; are Palom and Porom coming with us?"
"Oh, uh..." Mira rubbed the back of her neck as if it ached.
"It would mean a lot to us both if they accompanied us. I'm just an old man; I can't deal all the magic."
"I don't want them to go. I was scared to death when they vanished."
"I understand that Rai never said a word to you about it. I didn't know he was capable of being so sneaky."
"What did they have to say about the trip? The mentioned something about it last night when I dropped them off, but I didn't really take it seriously. I mean, they just got back last night, and now they want to run off again? Part of me just can't believe it."
Tellah raised an eyebrow at his sister. "Only part of you?"
"...They do seem to have grown attached to Cecil, and I assume that they've grown stronger."
"They can perform the twincast. They figured it out all on their own," Tellah informed.
"What level magic do they know?"
"Porom just learned Cura yesterday afternoon. His Thundara and Blizzara still have a way to go, but Palom has mastered the Fira. The –Ga spells are well within their grasp."
Mira sat back again and sighed. They had done such a good job. They seemed so enthusiastic. But still, they were only children. They needed to be at home, where they would be safe. Cecil and Tellah were walking headlong into the fog of war; they couldn't expect her to just let her children—her only children—follow them into that. War is no place for little ones.
They have to go.
No, they don't.
Yes, they do; they should go.
No, they don't...!
Something at the back of Mira's brain kept her second guessing herself. Palom and Porom could get hurt—or worse—if they went to Baron. But something kept poking her in the side, saying that, no matter how much she didn't like it, they simply had to go or something terrible would happen.
She wondered if this was what made Rai go behind her back so blatantly. It's highly unlike any Mysidian to just listen to an impulse or sudden premonition, but something was definitely up.
"I suppose they can go with you, if they were such a help to you last time," Mira consented. Tellah beamed, pleased with her answer.
"That doesn't mean that I have to like it, though," she added petulantly.
"If it eases you any, I could write to you every now and again of our travels," Tellah offered.
Mira scoffed. "You never write."
"I will now; you're children are involved. You ought to know what is going on. You may not be able to write back, though. We'll be moving about quickly, and you probably won't catch us in time."
"Where exactly do you plan to go after you're done in Baron?" Mira asked.
"We go to Baron seeking a man by the name of Cid Pollendina; he's an airship engineer and a friend of Cecil's. He'll give us an airship so that we can find where this villain Golbez has taken one Lady Rosa and rescue her," Tellah explained.
"Rosa? A friend of Cecil's?" Mira guessed.
"He is in love with the girl, and Golbez has taken her hostage. Cecil is absolutely determined to save her life; I truly believe that he would follow Golbez to the moon and back to retrieve her."
"And to say nothing of Anna's murder," Mira added.
"Indeed not." Tellah gazed off wistfully into space. "I haven't met Rosa; when last I heard, she was sick with desert fever—that's how I met Cecil and Rydia, on their way to get the cure. I certainly do hope to meet Miss Rosa sometime in the near future. I hope that she's okay."
Mira hoped to meet Rosa one day as well. She lifted the tea pot and topped off her lukewarm mug. She glanced at the clock: it read 12:30.
"More tea, big brother?"
"Oh. Yes please, little sister."
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Rai seemed amused when he saw Porom in her new hat.
"That hat suits you," he complemented.
"Thank you, sir," she said with a girlish grin.
"We do need to go back out for a bit," Cecil informed the elder, setting the newly purchased items down with his other things. "We'll be back for dinner, but we'll grab lunch at the market."
"Very well. Take your time," Rai insisted. "By the way, I got a delivery a little while ago. It was a large, heavy crate."
"I, er, came across some new armor," Cecil explained, selecting two small, sturdy new coats from the pile of new items. One was dark rusty red and the other was pine green, both trimmed and lined in soft, warm fleece.
"Those look very nice; are they for the twins?" Rai asked.
"They are; it's going to be cold, whether Mira lets them come or not."
"True," Rai agreed. "It's foolish to just assume that they're coming along. Mira isn't going to say yes, and that will break their hearts," he added since the twins weren't listening.
"I've got to get them to come with me," Cecil insisted.
"I know; I feel it too. I'd like to help, but I don't know if I could manage to smuggle them out unnoticed again. Mira will be watching them like a mother hawk."
"I'll figure something out," Cecil insisted, though he sounded like he was already lost in thought.
"Just be done as soon as you can; you'll need all your strength to cross Devil's Road successfully. The road warps you across the ocean quickly, but it takes a bit of a physical toll on the body since things began happening. One poor guy tried to warp to Baron to check things out a few weeks ago, and returned a few hours completely loopy. Another guy has wound up displaced; we used Sight to try and locate him, and found that he had been warped to Eblan instead of Baron."
"Eblan? But that's the complete opposite direction," Cecil pointed out, startled and now a bit nervous.
"We haven't been able to find a way to warp him back either. It's been driving our workers mad."
Cecil sighed and glanced at the twins, modeling their new gear for Dharma.
"So, are you saying that Devil's Road might not take us to Baron, there's no way to know if it's going to malfunction, and there's no way to get us back if it, say, decided to take us to Eblan and quit working in the middle of the sea?"
Rai inhaled slowly. "If you can concentrate hard enough, you should be able to bend the warping spells to your will. Most white spells respond more readily to a paladin's holy magic. I'm pretty sure you should be able to transport yourself and Tellah safely to Baron."
"And the twins," Cecil added stubbornly.
"Whatever you say."
"I note that all of those sentences were not definite. I should be able to, most spells, you're pretty sure I can do it—I'm sorry, sir, I mean no disrespect, but you're not really helping."
"You ought to know. Just prepare yourself for tomorrow, okay? Everything should go off without a hitch," Rai comforted.
Cecil sighed, still nervous, and checked the weight of his belt purse. There was still plenty of gil left. He and his companions would be able to spend a lot of money on food before dinner time. He turned to his companions.
"Kids, are you ready to go?"
The twins stopped what they were doing and dashed over like excited puppies.
"We're ready!" they chorused.
"Where's Sheila? I thought she was coming with us?"
"I'm not sure," Porom admitted. A door slammed shut on the veranda, and Sheila appeared at the steps. She raced down to join them.
"Are we ready to go?" She asked. The twins stared up at her with bewildered looks on their faces.
"You look different," Palom stated, trying to figure out what was new. "...Were your lips always so red?"
"And your eyelids are all sparkly and blue," Porom added.
Sheila tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Well, I, uh..."
"You look very pretty, Sheila," Cecil offered, trying to ease her unrest. It seemed like she couldn't stop being sheepish today. Despite his attempt, she blushed harder. If she had bothered with rouge, she would have looked like she was burning with a fever.
There's something not quite right going on here, he thought to himself, making a mental note to watch Sheila extra close for the rest of the day.
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OMG! 10 whole pages! That's the longest chapter this story's seen so far! (The average length is eight.)
There was going to be more, but I think it was dragging out a bit. So, we'll just leave off here for a few days and I'll try to plunk out the next chapter very soon. In the meantime, let's have a preview.
In the next chapter…
The trip across Devil's road turns into a fight for Palom's life!
"Palom!" Cecil yelled and caught hold of the boy's fading hand. He pulled him back from the darkness and clung to him, trying to keep him from slipping away. "You have to concentrate; bend the spell to your will!" He explained. "I know it's hard, but you must! Don't let yourself slip away!"
"It's so hard!" Palom protested into Cecil's shoulder.
"But you have to do it! If you let go, you could die!"
An uneasy return to Baron leads to a surprise encounter and a desperate fight.
Cecil stared back in disbelief. "Yang! You survived!"
Yang's brow furrowed seriously. He cast a finger in Cecil's direction.
"Seize him!" he commanded the loitering guards. "Seize the traitor; take the others for questioning!"
And now, for the question you've all been waiting for, what is up with Sheila??
It seemed an eternity before she released him. She stared hard into his bright blue eyes, as if searching for something.
"Good luck in Baron. I hope you find what you are looking for," Sheila said finally. She stepped back slowly, reluctantly, and retreated to her room on top of the veranda.
Cecil stood paralyzed in the doorway, still not quite sure how it had happened. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and it came away smeared with Sheila's red lipstick. His paled skin finally flushed, and he prayed that no one would ever mention this kiss again.
Stay tuned! The Faraxhae Family Circus will return after this short break!