In through the nose, out through the clenched teeth. It's how I breathed jogging thirty something odd miles uphill and downhill through the shallow, muddy frost. Elevation and altitudes are incredible things. It was June and the water bubbled on my patio, but there still was melting snow up in the mountains, sliding in slow chunks down the rocky slope.
I could afford good shoes, clothes that kept my body temperature regulated. It really made a difference, even if it was all psychological, during something as draining as a thirty mile jog through unfriendly terrain.
I had to get there by nightfall, which was more than feasible considering I left my house before sunrise, scribbling a note for Leila on the table to only come by twice a week to check on the place until further notice. No classes were going to be held this week, but the guys could drill together and work out. Marcus would lead the workouts. I didn't want anyone sparring when I wasn't around. I worry about my guys. It's why I wouldn't franchise with other instructors.
I stopped around what I reckoned was four in the afternoon to drink some tea I'd pre-brewed in a jar with a big amount of honey in it. I was burning up so much energy traveling that I needed to replenish it frequently. Sweet stuff and caffine worked as a small pick me up, though I'd burn out if the journey was any longer than it was going to be. I'd need sleep and real food. The tea was incredibly sweet, but my tastebuds were pretty thankful for the sudden explosion of flavor. I sat on a smooth black rock near a slowly melting plate of ice, gliding past on a cushion of moss.
The black plumes of smoke from the forges and stoves of Narshe drifted over the mountains, visible from the bottom of the steep pathway up to town. I hadn't been to Narshe in about two years. Hadn't seen such thick snow.
Nothing melted, secure in the thick barrier of mountains that trapped the cold in. The coal burning furnaces weren't enough to counter the almost supernatural, dry chill that blanketed everything in Narshe. It was always winter here. The air was thin, and it strained my very exhausted lungs.
One last hill. Ironically, the steepest of the journey, the pathway into the city. You could chuck a snowball down the path and it'd be the size of a person by the time it hit the bottom. If any army ever tried to take the city by storm, this might very well be a valid defense measure.
I frowned at the first things that greeted me, workers and miners huddled around fires built in metal drums. Maybe their homes weren't heated, maybe they didn't have homes. I had no idea what to expect, getting such an urgent message to come without much of an explanation. Without any explanation, really.
No one seemed to pay attention to me. I knew some of them must have remember days I was a supporter of the Returners, but how many of them died when the continent fell? How many of them even really cared who I was? When you're freezing and starving, nothing much matters besides food and warmth.
It made me feel like a chump for buying into my "hero" status. Yeah, I did my part to save the world, but the World of Ruin was a shitty world to save. I could beat a crazy god-to-be, but I couldn't do anything to put food on someone's table or a stove in their house. I was humbled walking through town, I figured I'd take the quickest route to Arvis' house. If I could only remember where that was…
Noise. Horrible noise. I heard an awful, guttural mechanical buzzing tearing through the snow toward me from a snow bank to my right. Wet powdery flakes misted my hair and eyes as a gleaming black beast burst into view. I dove and rolled, tucking my chin when I hit the ground. I sprung up, my fists in front of my jaws.
The thing swiveled to a T with me, spraying me with a second arc of snow, which I lashed away using my sleeve. Through my puffs of breath I could see more clearly. It was an armored man on some sort of machine. My jaw unclenched a little and I stepped forward, my rear hand still up, ready to punch through this guy's helmet should he make the wrong move.
My brother Edgar's garish blonde hair popped out from underneath the helmet as he took it off, shaking his head in the cool air. We stared at each other for a moment, trying to read each other's expressions. I don't know why, but I swallowed some of the snowflakes on my lip. They were starting to bother me.
He rolled his eyes.
"Well, aren't you going to ask me what it is?" He asked, annoyed.
"There's other ways to show me…"
"It's a snowmobile."
"…besides driving them at me at high speeds…"
"First prototype, the hovercraft wont work in the snow, the jets burn too hot and they muddy the ground, can't drive worth a damn."
"…you almost hit me with your…"
"Snowmobile." He grinned. "I took Terra on a ride this morning. Loved it." He said that bit with some obvious bait. He was wooing her already, and he wanted me to be jealous. Whatever. It's Terra. Terra's…weird.
"How is she?" I asked, awkwardly standing there in the middle of town with people staring at us from shop windows.
"Come see for yourself. Want to drive?"
"No." I said, emphatically.
"Good, because I wouldn't let you anyway. Get on the back?"
I groaned. I didn't like airships, boats, undead trains, snowmobiles, anything that wasn't connected to the ground firmly. Your body isn't meant to move faster than it can move itself. That in mind, my feet were absolutely killing me, and I really couldn't remember where Arvis lived. I swung my leg over the back of the rear seat and held on to Edgar reluctantly. I'm pretty sure I could make out the sound of him laughing. I wondered to myself how many "lucky" girls would sit where I was sitting in the future.
Behind every one of my brother's toys was a scheme to get some pretty lady out of her dress.
I'd already walked past the house, ironically. I'd just been wandering, afraid to ask anyone for fear of the secrecy involved. Edgar had taken the snowmobile out for a spin, always testing his inventions, so he "happened" to "happen" upon me, as he said. I stomped off my boots as I headed up the steps to Arvis' house.
I didn't get the chance to knock on the thick, gnarly door. Terra eased it open, her luminous green hair catching my eye. It was tied back high on her head in a ponytail. Her curious eyes smiled at me more than her lips, which turned upward slighltly.
"Sabin." She said, tipping her head to the side, her ponytail dangling behind her. I grinned at her, yanking her to me in a bear hug and hoisting her up off the floor. She made a slightly excited noise. I kissed her on the cheek.
"Hey, honey." I could feel how thin she'd gotten through her loose, warm clothing. It was probably men's clothing, probably Arvis'. Back when I knew Terra, she was never one to dress warm. I could feel the ridges in her ribs against my arms; she felt almost fragile. A little uneasy, I put her down gently. She gave me another one of her curious looks and smiled a little wider.
"How was your trip?"
"Ah, it was…"
"Damn fool should have let me pick him up at his house, man. My hovercraft could've gotten him out here in an hour." Edgar was coming up the steps behind me, talking over me as usual. I nodded and went to move past Terra into the house, but she was awkwardly still standing in my way. I looked at her comically, wondering why she hadn't moved out of the doorway.
"Oops…" She backed up a few steps, letting me past. Edgar was still talking in the background, telling her she needed to try driving the snowmobile around the outskirts of town, maybe down the slope at the entranceway. Of course, he'd have to drive for that one, she'd have hold him tight for safety on the way down…
I started unbuttoning my heavy wool coat, now that I was out of the dry, sharply cold air.
"You'd best leave that on, Sir Sabin Rene. We need to leave at once." An elderly stout man with a gray beard and a cap made his way out of the kitchen, limping on a cane with surprising dexterity.
"Arvis. Hi." I stepped forward and shook his hand. He barely grasped it and moved briskly past.
"Let us hurry, folks" Arvis said, the pipe in the corner of his mouth warping some of his words. "Time is of some essence."
"Yeah, we've been waiting around for half a day for you, meathead. Arvis, next time you need us, just send me the letter. I'll pick him up on the way. If I remember…" Edgar poked me in the side. I faked a punch to his face. Terra's face warmed up a little. I guess the sight of us bickering was a funny familiar memory for her.
"Say, where are we going anyway?" I asked, suddenly realizing I didn't know why I was here.
"To the mines!" Arvis called, already outdoors on the front steps. I ran after him. For a crippled old man, that bastard could really move.
The blind leading the blind, basically. We were following Arvis in a straight line through the mines north of town. I was close behind in second place, looking side to side for wolves or bats. The mines were still infested with fiends, even though they were regularly used. It made mining a really tough line of work. Edgar was chewing Terra's ear off about what he'd been doing the past year or so.
"It's not quite ready yet, but I should be able to take Figaro castle out on the open water after a few more modifications. See, it's all built on the subterranean travel mechanism. I'm installing a buoyancy operating system…"
He was trying to make it sound as interesting as possible, but I had a feeling it was falling on her pale ears as word salad. I shot her a quick look over my shoulder, moving my hand subtly like a jabbering mouth. Her eyes caught my movement and she grinned just for a second, continuing to listen. He was boring the hell out of me, but she actually seemed to be listening. I guess she was being polite.
"Arvis, what are we looking for, exactly?" I asked, wiping my nose on my sleeve. My sinuses had made the switch from damp heat to bitter cold in one day, and my nose was paying the price.
"Gideon!" He proclaimed, proudly. Arvis had gotten a bit senile since the World of Ruin came to be. Apparently he lost a lot of his mobility as a result of it, hence the cane.
"Right, Gideon." I repeated. "And Gideon would be…?"
"Gideon!" He exclaimed again, in the same tone, hobbling with double speed toward the ridged, dripping cave wall to our right. He brushed pebbles and bits of rock dust off the middle of the wall. I couldn't see what he was doing. I moseyed over to the opposite wall and picked up a rusty, unlit oil lantern.
"Ed. Blowtorch?" I muttered over my shoulder. Edgar raised an eyebrow and turned his head toward me.
"What makes you think I carry that thing on my person?"
"Figured I'd ask…Terra I guess there's no chance you still remember some of that magic of yours, huh?" I turned around, looking at her. She blushed a little.
"No, I'm sorry…see, there's no more Warring-"
"I know, I know." I cut her off. I couldn't see shit and I was pretty frustrated about it.
"At least the good half of you survived." Edgar smiled at her. I'm sure she was still blushing but I wasn't looking. I decided to make myself useful and get a closer glimpse of whatever old man Arvis was jabbering about.
"A plaque?" I looked over his shoulder and made out a foot-long brass inscription on the wall. Sure enough, it said "GIDEON".
"Not just any plaque. A burial placard." Arvis said, matter-of-factly.
"So something is buried down here?"
"Not so much. Something is most likely entombed in the wall…see, step back! Look at the way this section of the mine wall is darker than the rest. It has more moisture from being disturbed, however long ago this Gideon was buried." His speech was surprisingly coherent. He must have prepared it in advance, wanting something to tell us. We all nodded and gazed at the wall. I guess it looked a little darker…
"So…Arvis…" Edgar asked, his hands in the pockets of his long coat.
"Yes?"
"What did you want us to see this…Gideon for?" Arvis began to chuckle.
"Arvis thinks Gideon could be an Esper!" Terra blurted out, excitedly. I scratched my head. Edgar tried to hide a smile.
"Love, weren't all your shiny friends, you know, unable to sustain themselves in a world without magic?" He reasoned. She frowned a little, her eyes darkening.
"Precisely, but you remember that Esper you found in here years ago? The one Ms. Branford came looking for in her big riding armor?" Arvis asked. I shrugged. Did I remember? I never liked the Espers too much, to be honest. I liked to stick with what I knew.
"Tritoch, yes." Edgar remembered.
"Arvis thinks maybe the ice in the cave could have preserved an Esper…you know, like how things freeze to death but stay intact…maybe they can be brought back." She explained.
"Sorta like Locke's girlfriend?" I asked, confused. Edgar smirked.
"Wonderfully sensitive of you…yes, sort of like that…"
"I get a feeling in my old bones whenever one of those Espers has ever been near…it's been years since I felt it, but you never forget that feeling, and son, I believe I'm feeling it once again. Rather strongly." Arvis patted his hand on the cold rough stone. I sighed, looking at Terra, who was looking at Edgar and I, reading our faces.
"Okay, well, if he is an Esper, then what?" I asked her, my arms crossed.
"I'd…really love to meet him…" She said, quietly. "Maybe all the magic in the world might not be dead after all…who knows. I just…" She trailed off.
"Well we won't know if we don't give it a whirl." Edgar said, trying to make himself sound encouraging. "I've got the demolition gear stowed in my snowmobile. Drill, chainsaw, blowtorch…I'll just need someone to do the heavy lifting." He glanced at me. I shrugged.
"Hey man, I'm puny." We gave each other a hint of a grin. Terra smiled warmly.
"Thank you, guys."
"Work quickly, gentlemen" Arvis called. "Who knows if he'll thaw out and disappear!"
We nodded, turning toward the cave entrance.
"Let's get your gear, Ed."
