CHAPTER SEVEN

RAIDERS

"That's impossible!" said Terra in astonishment, staring into the sand where a castle had stood a moment ago.

"Not impossible," said Edgar, with obvious delight at her reaction, "You see, my dear, in addition to being a king I am also an inventor. From my earliest youth, I have always been fascinated—some say obsessed—with wheels and gears. I read everything I could get my hands on concerning mechanics and engineering. I was even tutored for a number of years by a man named Cid, the chief mechanical engineer of the Empire, and advisor to the Emperor himself.

"Anyway, I was finally successful in inventing a method of transportation which made the size and weight of the object—however incredible—pose little difficulty. Then I thought of building a castle on this principle. And by a shaft and a track along which the castle could move through a soil with low density (sand or water), my castle could be conveyed underground. Figaro Castle is at this moment transporting itself to the desert of Kohlingen."

Even with this explanation, which was almost incomprehensible, Terra found it difficult to believe. But as she had seen it with her own eyes, she had no choice.

"Well, we'd best be going," said Edgar, still apparently coming down from his euphoria.

"But how?" said Terra, "We have no Chocobo."

"Always be prepared," said Edgar with a wink, and he opened a door hidden in the bunker to reveal three Chocobo, two of which Terra and Locke recognized as their own.

"But what about your people?" said Terra, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "How can you, a king, leave your people and go off with us like a commoner? And you don't even have your royal guard with you."

Edgar smiled. "I can assure you, my dear, that I am neither so negligent as to leave my people without a ruler (the Lord Chancellor will rule in my stead), nor as defenseless as you might think without my royal guard and the luxuries of kingship"—"That's not what I meant," Terra thought—"I can," Edgar went on, "go about incognito and—how do you say?—'rough it.'"

And so Terra and Locke resumed their journey together, with Edgar as their companion disguised in the trail-worn clothes of a common traveler. They struck a path east, going by discreet and secret ways through dunes and oases, always on the lookout for imperial troops. It was too hot and dreary a ride to talk, so discussion was limited to camps.

"What is magitek?" asked Terra one evening, remembering those machines bombing the castle.

"Magitek comes from magic and technology," said Edgar. "The basic premise, my dear, is the combination of the two to make highly advanced weapons. Those riding armor chaises are the first of a line of weapons that the Empire uses to lay siege to castles and cities. With such great power, it seems only a matter of time before all the free cities of the world fall under the reign of Emperor Gestahl." As he spoke he smiled at Terra, as if he was thinking more about her than about what he was saying.

"Terra, can I talk to you for a moment?" said Locke abruptly. The pained manner in which he had said it, like one struggling to say something, reminded Terra that he had been strangely quiet lately. "Alone?" he added.

Terra looked at Edgar, who simply tended the fire as if he hadn't heard or didn't care.

"Sure," said Terra, walking off with Locke into the moonlit dunes. Locke wore his inscrutable grin, though from other things (namely his eyes) Terra could tell that he was somewhat nervous and (unlike himself) found it difficult to speak.

When they were out of earshot, Locke said, "Hey, kid; hell of an adventure, eh?"

"Yes," said Terra, waiting for him to get to the point.

"Listen," said Locke, abandoning pretense, "You're like a sister to me. But Edgar...you see...he's...well...he's a 'lady's man.' He may seem like the romantic type, but he's never taken a queen. What I mean is, he's not the settling-down type, and I would not want you to think—"

"Why does everyone seem to think I'm a silly little girl ready to throw herself at first man that comes her way!" said Terra perhaps more heatedly than she meant to.

"So you're not...?"

"No! I think Edgar's an arrogant, self-satisfied, lecherous, pompous, stuffed peacock! The only thing keeping me from giving him a piece of my mind is the fact that he's your friend and may help us get where we're going. But if he tries anything, Locke, you can be sure I'm going to introduce him to pain."

Locke's spirits seemed to rally again, and he, as if granted permission to stop pretending to be a gentleman, was himself again.

"Damn, kid, don't be too hard on him," he said with a smile. "Or there's not much hope for the rest of us."

"Then what did you ask me for!" said Terra in mock anger, and she punched him in the shoulder. Just as playfully, Locke pushed her off balance and she nearly fell into a sand hill. Soon they were laughing and wrestling, and Terra was on top of him on the ground, punching and pinching him, and throwing sand in his face as Locke guarded his head and laughed and cried for help, sputtering and spitting out sand.

"What the hell's going on!" said Edgar, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Terra got off Locke and, still laughing, they got to their feet.

Locke spat out the sand and said merrily, "Never mind—false alarm."

Edgar smiled too, apparently trying to look delighted at the play fighting, but Terra could tell that beneath the expression Edgar must have felt that he'd suffered a defeat. Terra, of course, didn't try to explain, because if Edgar thought that she and Locke were together, Edgar wouldn't flirt with her so much. Edgar's problem, Terra thought, with a sense of pity, was that there was no playfulness in him, no childishness. Everything was serious with him, which was probably why he couldn't see the innocence of their fighting. A little innocence might do him good; maybe then he'd be able to treat a woman like a real person.

They walked back in silence. But before they reached camp, Edgar suddenly grabbed Terra's arm and gestured to them to be quiet. Terra freed herself and listened. There were sounds of movement coming from camp. Terra heard her Chocobo squawking nervously. Somehow she could tell from the sound that the Chocobo were frightened by strangers.

"Soldiers?" whispered Terra to her companions. But Edgar was still and silent, and when she looked, Locke was nowhere to be found. Soon, however, Locke reappeared out of the darkness.

"Raiders," he hissed. "Three of them." Luckily Edgar and Locke were armed, though Edgar's shield was still at the camp. "How do you want to do this?" he addressed Edgar.

Edgar suddenly smiled, and Terra could see that, besides being a sly bureaucrat, he was a valiant warrior. "I prefer an indirect approach. Locke, I doubt you'll have any trouble sneaking up behind the buffoons. Terra, darling, you stay behind me, in case they have companions in the area. I'll draw their attention."

Locke disappeared once again with uncanny stealth.

"Don't be afraid, my dear," said Edgar.

"I'm not."

Edgar drew his long broadsword, which shone silver in the moonlight, and stepped out into the firelight, with Terra behind him with a drawn short sword. "Ha! Thought you could sneak away with our things like rats, did you, villains!" Immediately two of the raiders dropped the bags they were rifling through (the third was untying the Chocobo), stood up, and drew their swords. They were ugly men, scarred, their skin baked and blistered, and with greedy, vile looks on their faces. They surveyed the man who had addressed them with (Terra thought) a little too courtly a manner for his disguise. His speech and accent perhaps betrayed a little too much.

"Oi! look what we have here!" said one mockingly. "A knight and his fairy princess."

"What a pretty flower," said another, leering at her.

"I'd like to pluck that flower," said the first, unaware that Locke was sneaking up behind him.

Then things began happening very fast. While the raider was enumerating the things he was planning to do to Terra, Locke cut his throat, and the skirmish broke out instantly. Edgar took several great strides and began fighting with one of the raiders while his companion grasped his throat, writhing on the ground, futilely fighting to keep the life from pouring out of him. Locke engaged the third with his knives and lightning-quick movements, parrying and thrusting, and watching for the opportune moment, which came soon when the raider made a foolish attack, leaving himself open. Locke's knives flashed and the man took three stabs in the chest before he even hit the ground.

Edgar fought with skill and power, wielding his great sword with surprising speed and agility (considering its size). His foe also was soon lying at his feet.

Then, one after another, the raiders' eyes went black, and from each of their mouths a tiny blue light, no larger than a firefly, came out and drifted slowly up into the starry sky, where they disappeared. Their spirits had passed out of their bodies with their expiring breaths.

Terra hardly had time to watch this mysterious departure, for without warning someone had grabbed her from behind, momentarily lifting her up, and putting a knife to her throat.

"Hello, poppet!" said the man with nauseating breath as she struggled to be free. "Ah, ah, ah!" said the man to Edgar and Locke, who had taken a step closer. Locke wore his grin even now, but Terra had learned that it was his eyes that showed his true feelings—and in them now she saw an unspeakable wrath. Edgar, too, looked like murder.