Chapter 30
Hours and hours and hours on a boat.
Tiger kicked the railing as he lay on his back on the deck. "Uhg." He felt kind of drained and figured it was due to inactivity.
Zelos had wandered off to find ladies to flirt with. Alvin was writing in a journal or something nearby, occasionally muttering things about margins and venues. The man looked over at him and raised a brow. "Well, I did tell you it was going to be boring for the most part."
"I'm not complaining," Tiger said sullenly.
"Right."
Propping up on his elbows, Tiger put his feet on the deck. "I was just hoping it would look different. Like, I dunno, a red sky and green water or or trees that grew upside down. But it all looks exactly the same as Aselia and that's boring."
Alvin shrugged a little. "Elympios is a bit different... but in more of a 'lifeless' sort of different?"
"Sylvarant is pretty dead too," Tiger pointed out.
"Once you've seen Elympios, you'll probably appreciate Sylvarant more," Alvin suggested. "We should be in sight of land now."
Tiger leapt to his feet and leaned against the railing to look. Squinting, he could make out was brown cliffs. "All I see is rocks."
"Yep."
"Oh come on, that can't be all of Elympios," Tiger looked down at Alvin.
The brunet grinned at him. "Well, except where people live, yeah. That's Elympios. A bunch of dead rocks and dust. Sometimes sand storms kick up and bury cities that have died out. But otherwise, the scenery is pretty much the same across the entire world. That's what spyrix does."
Frowning at the horizon again, Tiger leaned on the railing. "I don't want that in my world," he said.
"We're working on getting rid of it here too, kid." Alvin closed his book and stood, tucking it and the pen he had been using into an inner pocket of his coat. "There's just been some opposition from the people who like the current power structure."
"How much longer are we gonna be on this boat?" Tiger interrupted.
Rolling his eyes, Alvin sighed. "Another half hour."
"I'm hungry," he grumbled, playing with the amulet Raine had given him. He looked down at it and sighed. 'Dad's dead, Raine's dead...' he remembered the battlefield and swallowed hard. 'Not hungry anymore...'
"There will be food at the party... We won't have time to pick up anything along the way," Alvin said.
"Coulda roasted the guy's pet," Tiger suggested with a sly grin.
"Have you ever had fried rappig ears? Hmm! Nothing like it!"
"We don't have rappigs in Aselia," Tiger said, staring down at the water. He couldn't even see fish.
"No? Really?" Alvin pulled out his notebook again and quickly wrote something down, grinning ear to ear. "I'll have to do something about that."
Someone whistled and Tiger started, then turned to look, finding Zelos striding towards them. "Now that's impressive."
Tiger looked back towards where they were going. They had rounded a cliff and were entering a bay in which a city had been built. The buildings stood impossibly high, and even in the afternoon, he could see lights blinking red and white at the tops.
"That would be Trigleph," Alvin said as he tucked his book away again. "Only thriving city left in Elympios. Everyone else is still trying to scrape by out in the dunes, eating monster meat for all I know."
"Let's talk strategy then," Zelos said. "Where are we going and how will we get there?"
"There are rail cars that we can board that will take us across the city. The Svent mansion is that building there," he pointed to a sprawling facility on the far right of the bay. "With the dock. They're going to be checking for invitations at the door, but there is more than one way into the place."
Tiger looked up at him. "What other ways? Like sneaking through the sewers?"
"I've done that a time or two," Zelos said. "Not as glamorous as it sounds."
"I'm hoping to just walk in the front door," Alvin said. "But yes, there's an underground access I know of. We can also go through the guard station. I've still got a few friends that work there."
"We should split up," Tiger suggested excitedly.
"No," Alvin and Zelos said at the same time.
Kicking the railing, Tiger grumbled.
"You said you got banned from the mansion a while ago, how would you walk through the front door?" Zelos asked.
"Despite how I've protested that I'm not up to anything... certain branches of the family have made it clear to me that should I need help... well..." Alvin lifted his hands in a shrug. "I could easily get in contact with someone and have them get us in."
Zelos folded his arms and shifted his weight to one hip. "Still sounds like it has its risks. How about the guard station?"
"Harder to get around to, but easier to get through," Alvin said. "Though they might have changed security habits since the last time I broke in."
"So that leaves the underground!" Tiger enthused.
"Which requires crawling through mud," Alvin retorted. "And very tight spaces. I'm not even sure I'd fit through there anymore. I haven't seen it since I was a kid."
Tiger sighed.
"Yeah, I'll pass on that," Zelos said. "Is there some kind of wall around the place?"
"Yes."
"We could just have Tiger smash it," Zelos suggested and glanced at him with a mischievous grin.
"Oh, I like that idea!" Clenching his fist, Tiger raised it.
Alvin looked from Zelos to Tiger, then back to Zelos. "How about we stick with slightly more feasible plans?"
Laughing, Zelos shook his hair off his shoulders. "You're no fun," he elbowed Tiger with a wink. "Let's take the front door. Sounds like it would be the least expected."
"All right," Alvin said. "Then we'll meet Balan, get our party clothes and change in the restrooms of the tram."
"Do we need to?" Tiger asked.
"It would be best if we want to blend in," Alvin said. "Otherwise we'll get kicked out pretty much immediately."
Tiger looked ahead towards their destination. They had reached the pier on the other side of the city from where they needed to go. Squinting up at the buildings, Tiger shook his head. "How did they make them so tall?"
"Huh?" Alvin asked, then followed Tiger's gaze. "From the ground, I would assume."
"Don't be a jerk," Tiger grumbled.
Alvin lifted both hands in a shrug. "Sorry kid, buildings and architecture aren't really my forte. Now if you'd asked me about guns or swords, I could tell you plenty."
Tiger looked at his hands. "I'm doing pretty good with these," he said. "Swords are neat and all, but I like the feeling of bones breaking as I knock demons into the ground."
Brows raising, Alvin blinked. "Vicious... Jude uses his fists too. You should ask him for some pointers later."
"Awesome! Sparring Time!"
Alvin cringed. "You - we should get moving if we want to get off the boat first," he hurried away.
Zelos and Tiger exchanged glances and shrugs, then moved to follow. The three of them got to the gangplank first and had to wait as the boat was tied off and the ramp extended. More people had gathered behind them by the time gate was opened. Tiger hurried ahead, jogging down to the dock. Zelos and Alvin walked at a more leisurely pace, though Alvin looked worried.
"I didn't see Balan where he's supposed to meet us," Alvin said. "Did see someone I don't want to talk to, though."
"What does that mean?" Tiger asked. He had to clear his throat, the air here was uncomfortable to breathe for some reason.
"It means our plans have changed. We're going straight there." Alvin gestured for them to follow and hurried down the dock and into the crowd. Tiger kept close to Zelos as they pushed through to the other side of a large plaza. The brunet led the way down a side street, bypassing the main road. The side street was empty except for a bald man in a grey outfit that stepped out of a recessed doorway.
"Alfred Svent," the man cracked his knuckles. "You've been told before to stay out of Elympios."
"Like the Svent family owns the whole city," Alvin retorted. "I go where I want to."
"Then I suppose we're going to have to agree to disagree." He dropped into a fighting crouch, fists lifted.
Hearing something behind him, Tiger turned to find another man with a sparking stick stepping up behind them, a smirk curling his lips as he gazed over the top of his dark glasses.
"I'll knock this guy out, you two take care of that one," Tiger said.
"If we get in a fight here, we could get arrested," Alvin cautioned.
"Then let's make it quick and make sure we win," Zelos said. He drew his sword, then spun and blocked an attack by the man with the sparking stick as Tiger ducked and kicked the man's leg out from under him.
Hearing the man's leg break with a sick snap as he went down, Tiger added a kick to the face and sent the man crashing backwards into a trash bin. Behind him, he heard Zelos and Alvin still fighting the bald man. He turned just in time for Alvin to take the man out with a slam of his fist on the back of the guy's head, knocking his dark glasses off.
"Taken care of?" Alvin asked and looked back at him. "Let's move."
Tiger swept up the glasses on his way past and stuck them over his eyes, following after the two taller men as they jogged out the other side of the side street and back onto a main road. They hurried past buildings that looked like shops, lit with signs that glowed in unnatural colors. One of the signs caught his attention and he had to double take. Flushing, Tiger turned away again and ran into someone. "Sorry!" he said and dodged around the smelly man to catch up with Alvin and Zelos. The other two were halfway up a set of stairs that led to a platform. Mounting the steps, he panted for air at the top and coughed hard, hand going to his chest to clutch the amulet Raine had given him, only to find it gone.
"Hurry up! The tram is about to leave!" Alvin yelled at him.
"But..." Tiger looked back down the stairs and only saw a sea of people. Biting his lower lip, he turned away to jump through the closing doors Alvin was holding open despite the angry looks by people who looked like authorities. Alvin let the door close behind Tiger and stepped back with a sigh.
"Where did you get those?" Zelos asked.
"Spoils of battle," Tiger said and pushed the shaded glasses on top of his head. "Zelos, someone stole my amulet."
"You can get a new one," Alvin said.
"But Raine gave me that one."
Alvin was shaking his head. "It's gone, kid. Sorry."
Zelos looked mildly disappointed as well, but said, "Did you really need it?"
Sighing, Tiger looked out the window and yelped when the whole room he was in moved. He grabbed a bar next to him, nearly falling on a lady seated on a bench next to the door. She glared at him. Not wanting to admit to his tendency towards illness, Tiger straightened and looked out the window again as the carriage they were standing in with about twenty other people picked up speed and flew over the city.
"Here." Zelos startled him by pulling something around his neck. "Don't lose this one, all right?"
Embarrassed, Tiger looked down at the item, finding it was the one that woman had given him in Xian Du. He tucked it into the neck of his shirt and pretended to be clearing his throat as he coughed into his forearm.
"So who were those guys?" Zelos asked as he stepped back and dropped onto the bench behind him, crossing his legs and extending his arms over the back of the seat to either side.
Tiger only partly listened as he pressed against the window in awe as they flew over the city. Night had begun to fall, which made the lights look even brighter. He leaned against the window trying to figure out what kind of horses were pulling the carriage so fast.
"Red and Gando. My cousin's guys. The only reason they would have been here is because they were told to intercept me. Which means Vance knows I'm coming." Alvin sighed. "Hope Balan is all right."
"Is going in through the front no longer an option?" Zelos asked.
"They'd expect me to use the security station. So front's the only option now."
"Could use the underground-" Tiger said against the window.
"No. How many times do I have to veto that?" Alvin sighed. "We'll have to switch tams in three stops. Should at least get us there with a few minutes to spare."
...
The dry, gritty air was almost as irritating to his throat and lungs as the humidity of Palmacosta. Tiger coughed again, aware that Zelos had taken notice, though he had yet to say anything. As of the moment, it was only a minor discomfort and not full-blown coughing fit that would leave him breathless.
Alvin had led them off the first tram, onto a second, which they road for a little longer before finally disembarking. Tiger took a moment to turn and looked out across the rails that had been built over the city, between buildings. Carriages without anything to pull them rolled on roads below the tracks and everything in this city seemed to function without any visible means of propulsion. 'Must all be driven by mana then. Like the rheairds.'
He hurried down the stairs to catch up with Zelos and Alvin, keeping a hand on his new amulet, even though he wasn't sure what this one did, it certainly wasn't keeping him from being susceptible to the bad air in Trigleph. Their native guide led them down a street lined on one side with a tall metal wall. Tiger looked up, squinting at the lights lining the top that outlined coiled wire with sharp barbs. "They don't want people climbing this wall, do they?"
"No. That's generally why walls are built. To keep people out," Alvin pointed out.
"Alfred," someone hissed, suddenly coming up against Alvin's side and pushing him against the wall. "I can't believe you actually showed up! Don't you realize how dangerous this is?"
Alvin looked down at the man and cringed slightly. "I'm guessing I was officially uninvited to this party?"
"Is this Balan?" Zelos asked. Tiger squinted at the man who had accosted Alvin. He was a little shorter than their friend, brown hair and a black mole the size of a bead on his chin. The man was thin and dressed in what Tiger supposed was an expensive outfit of sickly brown-yellow pants with a matching jacket.
"No," Alvin said and gestured at the brunet man. "Another cousin, though. Zach, have you seen Balan?"
"Not at all, he sent me a message asking me to make sure you got in, though." The man tapped his finger against a mole on his chin in thought. "I suppose we can get you through the security station?"
"Not likely. They'll be looking there," Alvin said. "I was going to go in through the front."
Zach stared at him.
"They wouldn't dare shoot me down in front of other guests," Alvin said with a sly grin. "And, who would think that I had anything against this party? Maybe I'm here to make some business deals?"
"...It's possible," Zach said slowly. "I guess... Though I don't think you should attend this. It's a little too early for any of us to go against..." The man cleared his throat. "The others might think something was... up."
"There's more going on than family politics, Zach. I can't skip this."
Zach gripped Alvin's sleeve. "Please reconsider? You move now and it might blow the rest of your support..."
Squeezing his eyes shut, Alvin sighed. "You all have the wrong idea about what I'm after anyway." He removed Zach's hand and started walking again. "Besides, I've spent twenty years getting into places I wasn't invited. This is a piece of cake. Give me your invite."
Reluctantly pulling out a card, Zach handed it over and followed along with Tiger and Zelos as they rounded a corner and came to a large gate where guards were checking people as they arrived in carriages and on foot. Walking straight up to a guard, Alvin held up the card.
"Alfred Svent," the guard said, apparently recognizing Alvin. "We were told not to let you in..."
"Obviously Vance has changed his mind. Sent me this at the last minute. I didn't even have time to change." Alvin gestured at himself. "I'm escorting some important guests," he gestured at Zelos and Tiger. "Lord Wilder and his page."
Tiger tried to keep a straight face at being relegated to Zelos's servant. Zelos stepped forward with a suave air. "As representative of the government of Tethe'alla, I am highly offended by this delay."
The guard looked from Alvin to Zelos. "You realize I'm not that stupid, right? Making up things isn't going to get you past." He reached for a black box attached to the front of his vest and looked like he was about to speak into it when a shimmering light erupted from Zelos's back, unfurling and fanning out to form his iridescent wings.
"While I appreciate that Lord Alfred Svent is not exactly welcomed by his family, he is the liaison chosen by the government of Tethe'alla to guide me in negotiating trade agreements between Aselia and Elympios. I do not appreciate the delay you are causing," Zelos intoned as he lifted off the ground several inches.
Alvin successfully looked like he had completely expected that, Tiger wasn't sure about his own face, but was certain no one was paying the least bit of attention to him. Zelos glided forward effortlessly and leaned down to stare into the man's eyes.
"Is there still a problem or do you need further demonstration that I am not from this world?"
"N-no-sir..." the guard stepped back out of the way.
Zelos smiled and lowered to the ground, his wings disappearing in a puff of sparks. He strode past the guard, following Alvin. Tiger quick-stepped to keep up and refrained from looking at the guard as they passed through the gate. Beyond the wall was a large expanse of paved ground with wildly imaginative pieces of art that Tiger guessed were made of glass and supposed to resemble trees and plants. They were lit by lights from below or inside and sparkled unnaturally like some kind of fairy garden, but as enchanting as it might have looked, Tiger couldn't help but feel that the whole place was utterly dead in a way that went beyond how hollow the city itself had felt. The city at least had people to counteract, but this place was only populated by the handful of people in rich clothes boarding a train of cars at the gate.
Alvin led them over to one of the cars and took a seat as if he was totally supposed to be there. "That was a neat trick, Zelos," he said in a low voice so that the people in the cart ahead of them wouldn't hear. Zach sat stiffly beside Tiger, looking utterly frozen as if his fate had been sealed by getting hauled into this by Alvin.
"No trick," Zelos said.
"Can he do it?" Alvin gestured at Tiger with a flick of his finger.
Tiger shook his head. He was beginning to feel a little tired, as if the ground itself were sucking the life out of him. He caught Zelos looking at him with a suspicious squint and put on a brave face.
The train started moving, hauling the passengers towards a large house built close to the water.
"How tacky," Zelos said, as he looked at the house. "This whole place feels so lifeless." He reached out to brush the feather-leaves of an artfully created bush. It almost looked real. Almost.
"That would be because it is," Alvin said. "Spyrix has used up all the mana in Elympios."
Tiger leaned against the side of the cart and grumbled. "Feels like its sucking the life out of me," he complained and caught Zelos looking at him again. "I'm fine." He forced himself to sit up and held his breath on a coughing fit that tickled the back of his throat.
Their ride stopped at the front steps of the mansion and Tiger simply vaulted over the side of the open cart. "One thing about this place," he said to Zelos. "No bugs."
"Which I think is sad. I happen to like some of them," Zelos said, ticking off his fingers. "Bees for example. They're fluffy, cute, and help things grow."
Stepping out of the cart via the proper door, the three adults headed up the steps with the other guests and onto an open air front porch decorated with columns and a fountain at the center. Guests were already chatting with each other, enjoying refreshments they took off trays carried by men and women dressed in black and white. One of the men passed Tiger and he reached out and boldly grabbed a small plate with a tiny sandwich. The waiter briefly looked perturbed, then continued on as if nothing had happened.
"Alfred Svent," a woman in a burgundy dress said as she approached. "How surprising to find you here." Her green-eyed gaze flicked to Zelos, completely skipping over Tiger.
"Well, you know how Vance changes his mind," Alvin said with a shrug. "Invited me last minute."
"I highly doubt that," she said.
"Allow me to introduce Lord Zelos Wilder, Chosen of Tethe'alla and representative of Aselia," Alvin said. "Miss Scarlett is head of the mining facilities that are currently producing the most Spirit Fossils in Elympios."
Zelos took the woman's hand and bowed over it with a graceful sweep. "The pleasure is mine," he said with a charming smile. "Do parties here in Elympios include dancing?" he asked. "I would be honored if you would grace me with your company later."
Even Scarlett looked surprised when she blushed.
Her answer was interrupted when a heavy hand landed on Tiger's shoulder. He turned to look, finding a man dressed in metal plate armor and a fancy headdress. "Alfred Svent, you and your lackeys were not invited. You are ordered to leave immediately." The man's hand tightened on Tiger's shoulder.
Suddenly realizing that he was being used as a device to encourage Zelos and Alvin to leave, Tiger decided he was tired of being ignored. "Get your hands off me before I knock you flat!" Tiger yelled and pulled free of the guard. Two other guards had arrived. Scarlett looked around nervously and was backing away. Alvin sighed at Tiger with a disapproving look.
The guard burst out laughing. "Knock me flat? A skinny kid like you couldn't even dent my armor!"
"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?" Tiger yelled, lifting his fist.
Alvin slapped a hand over his eyes and groaned.
"The odds of that would be very low indeed," one of the other guests nearby said. They all laughed. "But if you want to bet, fine. Five gald on the guard."
"Ten-thousand on Tiger," Zelos said cheerfully. "And if he wins, we get to stay."
"What are you doing?" Alvin wheezed.
Zelos elbowed him and grinned. "You said betting was a national past time, I'm just joining in the fun."
"You're going to lose ten-thousand gald," Alvin whispered. "Do you even have ten-thousand gald?"
"Interesting proposition," the noble said. "In that case, I'll match. Anyone else?"
"This is ridiculous. Double or nothing," someone else added. Everyone laughed.
"All right, kid. I'll go easy on you, give you first shot," the guard said, holding his hands out to either side.
"Go get em, Tiger!" Zelos cheered.
Tiger shoved the plate he was holding at Zach, forcing the man to take it as he backed up a pace, sizing up his opponent. The man wasn't even standing in a guard position. Grinning, he launched forward, cocking his fist back and put everything he had into it. "Tiger SMASH!"
His fist connected with the man's armored chest, the plate dented, the man's backwards motion was stopped by the fountain when he flipped over the rim and landed head first in the water.
Shaking the sting out of his knuckles, Tiger turned to look around with a self satisfied smirk.
"Tiger, you didn't kill him, did you?" Zelos asked as the guard's friends were pulling the man out of the fountain.
"I don't know." Tiger shrugged.
"So... That was about thirty-thousand?" Zelos asked as he strode over to one of the waiters carrying a tray of champagne. He took a glass and raised it cheerfully.
"How did he do that?" Tiger overheard Alvin ask Zelos. "How'd you know he could? I thought you said he wasn't special?"
"That kid's got the power of belief. Don't tell him he can't do something. Or do. The results are usually pretty funny."
Tiger blinked and looked down at his fist as he thought about that statement; deciding that if Zelos was right, he didn't want to break his powers by thinking about it too hard.
The man who had made the initial bet approached Zelos, his gray bushy brows raised. "Interesting child you have there," he said and looked at Tiger. "Where was it you said you were from?"
"Aselia, latest world to be connected to Elympios and Rieze Maxia," Zelos said.
Bushy-brows looked at Alvin briefly. "I am Orland, Patriarch of the Menzel family." He held out his hand, which Zelos took in a firm shake. "I suppose you are the surprise Patriarch Vance had promised." Though Tiger suspected the man thought that wasn't actually the case.
Zelos smiled. "I'm always the life of the party, or so I've been told."
"You've certainly made an impression," Orland said. "I heard a rumor about a man who could fly...?"
"That was me," Zelos agreed. "I am Chosen of Tethe'alla, blessed with the blood of Angels, leader of the Church of Martel." His wings flashed into being again and he flicked them a few times like the wings of a butterfly. Zelos had the attention of the entire patio now and Tiger felt someone tap his shoulder. Looking back, he found Alvin flicked his head slightly in a 'come with me' gesture and slipped away, heading for a table with an icy fountain spraying dark red liquid into a bowl.
Curious, Tiger followed and found that not only was the fountain neat, but the table had food. He grabbed a plate and piled several pastries on it before turning to Alvin. The tall man was giving him an incredulous look and sighed. "Guess it does take something to power punches like that..."
"Nah. Just natural talent," Tiger said and shoved a pastry in his mouth. "We going somewhere or did you just want to show me where the food was?"