A chapter with 5,085 words, just like I promised Ninja Addy! I have to upload this NOW, because on Sunday I'll be busy working on a psychology project that I should have at least STARTED, but... meh. The Prince is lazy, and tends to procrastinate on schoolwork. I'm having my long-time friend of roughly seven years, Mel, do some beta reading of the first few chapters of the First story in the PMD trilogy. Also, there is a small thing in here that is between Mel and I, 'cuz I promised him and shit.
Alice tumbled out of the large blue oak tree, smacking her head against one of the unveiled roots. Sheila was hanging from one leg of her legs, which Iris was gripping like her life depended on it. Marine, meanwhile, was just nonchalantly sitting in the tree, having been born and raised in the wild. Alice groaned, gripping her hair with both hands. She opened her eye, and saw that everything was spinning.
Gah...! Stella is the WORST driver! I highly doubt she is the "best flyer". Alice sniffed, and almost jumped when she suddenly noticed a pair of feet in front of her. Literally, feet. The person in front of her was wearing absolutely NO shoes. Looking up, Alice inspected the person thoroughly. The person (whether they were male or female, Alice couldn't quite tell) had short, dark green hair, and hazel eyes. Their skin color was relatively normal, and he/she was covered, from head to toe, in dragon armor. Well, not exactly. Instead of a helmet of any kind, the person in question was wearing a plush hat that just happened to be shaped like a dragon's head. Their hands were on their hips, looking down at Alice, confusion clear on their face.
"...Are you okay? That looked like a hell of a fall." The stranger offered a hand, pulling Alice up onto her feet. Marine, having taken Sheila from Iris for stability's sake (Sheila would never be able to get down on her own, after all), jumped down from the tree, set Sheila down carefully, and then caught Iris when she jumped.
"Thanks, Marine." Marine nodded, busy engaging the stranger in a glare-down (who just blinked obliviously). Alice, meanwhile, was much more thankful.
"Yeah, I'm okay! Just a head bump." The stranger nodded, and straightened up, pulling a pair of spikey green gloves back on.
The stranger grinned sheepishly, and rubbed the back of their neck, "Well, okay then. I have to leave now, because when I saw you falling from the tree, I kind of left my partner behind..."
However, before the stranger could even move, a VERY angry voice boomed, sending shivers down the group's spine, and the stranger started sweating nervously.
"VEL! YOU GOD DAMN BASTARD! WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU GO?! I'M GOING TO FEED YOUR LIFELESS CORPSE TO MY FUCKING DRAGON. HE WILL ENJOY CRUNCHING ON YOUR BONES AND DRINKING YOUR BLOOD!" There was silence for a few moments, and 'Vel' let out a sigh, about to walk off to find the owner of the angry voice, when a blur whizzed towards them, and sucker punched Vel in the side of the head, sending him/her flying for at least ten to fifteen yards.
This new person was clearly female, with short, dirty green hair, bluish-green eyes, and a seemingly permanent scowl. She was wearing a long, olive colored robe with long sleeves (much longer than the wearer's own arms, in fact), and a light green hat with two long, beaded strings that hung down, resting on each shoulder. In the middle of said hat was a white symbol of a priest. There was also a patch sewn into the left shoulder of the robe with a symbol of a dragon wing.
Oh, wow, it's the Arenian dragon tribe. Alice blinked, surprised. I thought they all went extinct several hundred mortal cycles ago. I guess a few of them survived the massacre? That's...
There was a flapping noise, and a little black dragon plopped onto the new girl's shoulder, while a little blue dragon sat near Vel's motionless body. The girl petted its snout, making it purr. "Good boy, Caius. Much better than useless Vel over there. I turn my head for just a few seconds, and he runs off to stare at strangers. We're supposed to be doing shit!"
Marine cleared her throat, getting the attention of the irate female. "Excuse me... but where the hell are we?"
The girl smirked, "Nice language, kid. I like it. We are currently standing below the largest tree, located in the northwestern part of the island. There is only one town, if you don't count Alltrades Abbey as one. Alltrades is right over there," She pointed to a tall tower that stood just thirty yards away, and then down to the southern part of the island, "and over there is Port Llaffan. It's a nice little fishing town, I guess, but it's boring as goddamn hell."
Vel came limping back, gripping his head that was slightly bleeding. "That really hurt, Seia! Are you sure you're a priestess?!"
Seia gave Vel another smack in the head, "Damn straight I am! Let's get going, we still have a job to do, if you hadn't fucking gotten distracted."
The little black dragon (Caius) jumped off of Seia's shoulder, and morphed into a much larger dragon. Seia jumped onto his back, and took off without waiting for her partner. Vel groaned, and was grabbed by the leg of his blue dragon (which had morphed of its own accord) and tossed on its back, before they took off as well. Alice and the girls watched after them, wondering what the hell just happened.
"What a pair of flappin' weirdos!" Stella snorted, finally making her appearance, "Let's get going. Alltrades Abbey is sure to have some sort of job we can do."
After many, MANY stairs, the four of them finally got through the front doors, only to be told that they "could not be serviced at the moment", severely confusing Alice. "Serviced"? What is this, a brothel?...Ugh, why did I even think that. In the far back part of the front hall was a large crowd of adventurers (and one old man), who were angrily crowding around a humble little priest, complaining about some Abbot guy.
"What are they so upset about?"
Iris sighed, "Well, it appears that the Abbot, who is in charge of helping people change their vocations, is missing."
"...A vocation?" I don't think I've heard that before...? Or maybe I did. I guess when Yggdrasil took away my other half, all of her knowledge left as well.
"Well... it's like the career path you are currently taking? For example, you are a minstrel. If you felt like changing your path, you would have to sign a document stating that you approve of this, and then choose a new profession. I, however, am deep into the realm of a Martial Artist. I do not think that even the Abbot could help me change my vocation at this point. Not that I mind, I quite enjoy the path I am currently walking."
Sheila popped up from behind Iris, and started rambling gleefully. "There are currently twelve different official vocations you can be in. Armamentalists are gifted in the ways of using the elements to fight. They are also incredibly fast (even faster than Marine!), and are quite well-rounded, skill-wise. Next are the Gladiators, who are widely known for being battlemasters; some can even be called 'fighting machines', I suppose. They are also fast, but Armamentalists are incredibly superior in that aspect. Most Gladiators have also been trained to be soldiers since they were younger, and can be quite loyal to their mentor. Martial artists like Iris are vastly superior than both in the speed category, and are quite strong, but they tend to have a lower defense, since martial artists need to be able to maneuver easily, so they don't wear armor.
"Next are Warriors, who are high in strength, but they're also slower and... slightly less intelligent than others," Marine glared at Sheila, who laughed nervously, "but they ARE tough and dependable, and tend to be generally nice people. Paladins are closely related to Warriors, but they're the more faith-based side. They are tough fighters, sure, but they also great tacticians, not to mention the fact that if they respect you enough, some Paladins will lay down their life for a comrade. Of course, then there are the classic Thieves. I don't think I need to explain to you what a thief is. There is only one more "true warrior" class; Rangers. Obviously, they mostly use bows. Rangers usually live in tribes, and are known for being loners. They can't use magic, but they ARE masters of the wilderness (animal-wise).
"Onto the magical side of the vocations! First off are the Priests (me!), who are servants of the Almighty! We're not that strong in battle, and we can't use offensive magic like the mages (our "stronger" counterparts), but we ARE more reliable in battle, since we're well read in the arts of light magic, i.e. healing arts. Even if we can't fight that well, a group almost always has a priest. We're super important! And then-" Sheila's tirade was cut off by Marine smacking her hand over Sheila's mouth. Marine gave her a look, her face totally drained and clearly giving off a 'speak-one-more-word-and-I-will-fucking-kill-you' vibe.
Alice giggled, "Wow, Sheila! You're really smart."
Sheila puffed her chest (Iris had yanked Marine's hand off of Sheila), looking actually capable (for once!), "Yep! I was top of the class back at the academy! Knowing stuff like that is almost elementary!"
"Oh? Well, I know somebody who might be even smarter than you~!" Alice sang, and looked back forward as the group quieted down so that the little priest could talk above all of them.
"I'm sincerely sorry, all I can do is apologize to you all. Abbot Jack is absent at the moment, so if you all could just wait a little-"
One of the fishermen at the front cut him off, quite enraged. "'Ow long are 'ye goin' to try fobbin' us off with this, eh?! We'll be standin' 'ere till we're in our graves if we believe your rubbish!"
The priest frowned, and straightened up, his voice giving off a 'this is final' tone. "I have already said that I am most dreadfully sorry, sir, but there is nothing I can do! I beseech thee to be patient for just a while longer."
The priest turned on his heels and strode off towards the backroom. The crowd roared with anger, but eventually broke up. Some of them went downstairs, others left, and still others just stood near the door. Alice stared at the old man with wide eyes, giving off the feeling of an innocent little child.
"What's wrong, mister?"
The old man looked down at Alice, and sighed depressingly. "Well child, it seems that the Abbot had gone off for a stroll yesterday, but he didn't come back. Now none of us can change our vocations! I just simply want to become a maid! I want my frilly dress and my feather duster! I refuse to move from this spot until I get my wish, and become a maid!"
Giving another sigh, the deranged old man patted Alice on the head (avoiding the feather sticking up from the headband). "Well, it's nothing you need worry about, child. Run along."
Before Alice had the chance to move, Marine swooped in and grabbed Alice, holding her protectively as she backed away from the old man. She had heard the old man ranting about his desire to be a maid, and she did NOT like it. I don't care HOW old Alice is, this is NOT acceptable talk in front of a child! Creep!
Alice sighed at the gesture, puffing her cheeks out poutily. "I'm not a child, Marine! Put me down! Don't you see? This is a perfect chance to do some detective work!"
Alice jumped out of Marine's arms, almost falling on her face from the impact to her left leg (she still wasn't used to not being able to feel it), and ran through the door. Marine groaned, and followed her inside. Iris and Sheila, on the other hand, rolled their eyes at their companions (Iris), giggled (Sheila), and went down the stair to gather information in the dining hall.
Alice looked up at the priest, beaming. The priest was slightly caught off-guard when Alice and Marine had popped in, but was glad to see that it was only them, and not the entire mob.
He crouched down to look Alice in the eyes, "W-welcome to Alltrades Abbey, my child. Have you come to change your vocation...?"
"Hm~? No, although it does sound like fun, we didn't come here for that! We're looking for a shining yellow fruit, about this big, with nice healthy green leaves." Alice used her hands to estimate the size, humming a little as she tried to recall how big said fruit had been.
"...Oh? A fruit?" The priest relaxed considerably, "Well, you're in luck. Abbot Jack was given a fruit that matches your description as a gift just yesterday by a person who came to change their vocation. I think that person is still in the Abbey somewhere. If you look around, I'm sure you'll find something out."
Alice nodded, and lead Marine out of the room and down the stairs by the hand.
. . .
While Marine went to find the person who had exchanged the fygg, Alice had gone on down to the dining hall to locate Sheila and Iris, and maybe gather some more info. She didn't see the two girls in question, but Alice just attributed that to the fact that the dining hall was packed full of people. Lots of people want to change their fate, eh? Alice snickered. She noticed that there was an open spot at the bartender's counter, so she quickly made her way over and hopped up onto the stool, propping her face up on her hands in an angelic fashion.
The bartender, who was drying a glass with a rag at the time, raised an eyebrow questioningly at the newcomer. "Can I help you...?"
"Maybe! Have you seen a shining fruit, perhaps?"
The bartender stopped his ministrations, stroking his beard in contemplation. "...Hm. A shining fruit, you say? As much as I like to dabble in the culinary arts, I'm afraid I don't have anything like that. If you go ask that maid over there, you're sure to be more in luck. She's an expert on sweetness, if you know what I mean!"
With a wink, the bartender gestured towards a young maid in her late twenties/early thirties, long brown hair put up in a messy bun. Alice rolled her eye at the bartender's flirting demeanor, but indulged in his advice, approaching the maid. Alice lightly tugged on her skirt to gain her attention, and the maid crouched down to look Alice in the eyes (Why is everyone looking at me like this? Gah! How degrading!).
"What's wrong, child? Did you get separated from your parents?" The maid smiled gently, though Alice couldn't help but be irritated by the assumption that she was a lost child.
"No, I'm not lost. I just wanted to know if you'd seen a shining fruit." The maid tapped her chin, thinking hard, and then snapped her fingers once remembering yesterday.
"Ah, a shining fruit? In fact, I have seen one! Just yesterday, in fact. The Abbot had one with him yesterday when he came in for lunch. It's natural for him to always have some kind of fruit, because he's sort of a fruit maniac, you know. He loves to have fruit for his dessert, so I peeled it for him after he finished his lunch. The Abbot said that he'd been given it as a gift by a man who wanted to become a martial artist. Wasn't that sweet of him?"
Alice hummed, nodding politely. She thanked the lady and left, having spotted Sheila and Iris eating at a table in the far corner of the room, located right next to a beautiful fountain. Alice hopped up onto one of the empty seats at the table, smiling at the two of them.
"Hi!"
Sheila took a bite of her apple, and set it down. "Did you find anything out?"
"Yep! The Abbot definitely was in possession of one of the fyggs, but it seems like he ate it... how am I supposed to get it back now?" Alice sighed, not liking the prospect of having to kill a nice little old man just to get back a fruit. It WAS really important though, and it IS her duty as a Celestrian, but...
I really hope things don't lead to that. Alice winced, flinching slightly, I don't think I can do that.
"That's okay, Miss Alice. We'll think of something. The fygg is a celestial artifact, so I doubt it can be digested by a mere mortal being." Iris soothed Alice's nerves, having sensed the spike in Alice's anxiety. Alice sighed, allowing her shoulders to slump comfortably.
"You're probably right, Iris. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Marine went to find the guy who gave the fygg to the Abbot, so we probably have some time, given that this place is so packed."
Sheila smiled, her eyes shining. "You're right! I think we should try to book a room for the four of us while it's still daylight, otherwise it'll be full."
Iris nodded, and signaled to the maid from earlier that she was ready to pay. She handed over a few gold coins for the meal, and the three of them went over to the inn part of the Abbey, located in the back part of the bottom floor. It was very large, and had many rooms. Iris went up to negotiate with the lady at the front desk, since Iris has a way with talking. It only took five minutes for Iris to talk her way into getting a nice room for the four of them, though it only had three beds. She sauntered back over to Alice and Sheila, and led them to their room.
It was fairly big, with two single beds, and one slightly bigger bed in the far corner. There was an impressive display of flowers on a table with some chairs in the dining corner of the room. Apparently they do room service. There was also a door that led into a bathroom that had a tub built into the floor, big enough to fit all four of them, with some room still available. Well, that's a pleasant surprise. Iris smiled, It almost looks like the baths back home.
"Well, there's no way Marine will be able to find us, since she doesn't know we have a room in this inn, so I suppose I'll go search for her. Why don't you two take a bath and get ready for bed?" Iris suggested with a shrug as she walked out of the room, off to find her non-intelligent friend. Alice and Sheila exchanged a look, and jumped at the chance to take a relaxing soak in a nice, hot bath.
. . .
The tiles of the bathroom floor were now firmly coated in soapy water, thanks to Sheila and Alice engaging in a friendly I'm-going-to-kill-you-with-these-bubbles contest. Alice managed slipping several times as she tried to leave the bathroom, always due to her left leg not being placed well, and her left arm failing to steady her body, but Sheila didn't comment on it, and for that, Alice was thankful. She did NOT want to have a in-depth discussion with ANYBODY on what was wrong with her, because that story took place across the span of so many hundred of mortal cycles that it never failed to give Alice a headache just thinking about it. Not just that, but Alice really would only have one half of the story; the other half belonging to HER other half.
After getting dressed in a nice white nightgown (provided by the inn's staff, for some reason), Alice crawled into one of the beds, and instantly fell asleep, entirely exhausted from the days events.
The first thing Alice thought was that she was chilled down to the bone, and enshrouded in darkness. She reached out with her arms, trying to figure out her whereabouts. Upon reaching out, Alice's hands bumped into a surface; it was obviously a wall, so Alice felt around until she found that she was in a very narrow place, just barely big enough for her to sit in, but it had a tall ceiling. An overwhelming sense of fearful familiarity washed over her, and Alice curled up into a ball, clutching her knees so tight that her fingernails dug into her legs.
I want to get out
I want to leave
I don't want to be here
I don't want to be here!
I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE, LET ME OUT!
She screamed for what felt like hours, trying to break out of her solid container. Alice found that it was made with a special type of metal, and it seemed to be draining her energy rapidly. Finally, Alice gave up on getting out, and just sat there, whimpering softly, her voice already having become hoarse. Suddenly, she noticed that there was a small degree on light shining down on her from above. Alice swung her head up so fast she should have gotten whiplash, but she's Alice so she didn't. Alice felt all her fears wash away in a calming wave as she looked up at a full moon, seemingly directly above her. There were no stars out, just like always, so Alice had a perfect view of pure moonlight.
Sometimes, it had felt like the moon was mocking her, but it was always there when Alice was feeling down. Almost as if it was watching after her, making sure that she was alright, even if she was trapped like this. Alice reached out a hand, and placed it over the moon, flexing her fingers as if she was holding it. Someday, she would be able to join the moon up in the sky.
Alice placed her head back down on top of her arms, and slowly closed her eyes. Behind her eyelids, Alice could see a hand reaching down through the bars of her container, the figure behind it blocking out the moon. The moon almost acted like a crown, making the figure look even more heavenly. She could hear the giggles escape of her savior's throat, and could feel the soft hand that had saved her.
Marine looked around the dining hall, confused as hell. I thought I told Alice to stay here with those two so that I could find them. Gah! That's what I get for thinking that she understood me, I guess. No matter how old she is, or looks, she still acts like a little kid!
Marine sighed, and took a seat at the bartender's counter. The crowd had ebbed considerably, since it was getting late and people were either leaving, or checking into rooms at the inn part of the Abbey. It was relatively quiet now, much to Marine's pleasure. She didn't like loud places; working at the inn for Patty had been utter hell, even though it wasn't very busy back then. Or maybe it was just because I hate the sound of that damned woman's voice.
Marine ordered a single glass of wine, and took small sips of it as she looked around at the remaining people. ...What if Alice was kidnapped? I mean, she DOES look like an adorable child, and some people are fucking creepy like that. That old maidman guy from earlier... I wouldn't put it past him. He didn't look too sane. Sheesh... I should probably hurry up and find one of the girls. Two people looking is better than one person looking, eh? Better chance of finding more than a dead body.
Marine paused her inner thoughts, glanced down at the wine glass in her hand, and silently put it back on the counter. I should probably stop drinking. I don't think Alice can die anyway, what with being a Celestrian and all.
Suddenly, a hand clamped down on Marine's shoulder, making her jump and almost punch her "attacker". Looking over at the person, Marine saw that it was only Iris, who had sat down beside her while Marine was thinking. Iris chuckled at the face Marine had made.
"Sorry, it's just that you didn't look like you were going to be getting away from this bar anytime soon. C'mon, the girls are waiting for us; I booked us a room in the inn. It's a nice room. There's only three beds though..." Iris shrugged, linking her arm with Marine's.
Marine smirked, "Oh yeah? Well, that's not a problem. You're probably gonna share a bed with Sheila, aren't you?"
Iris narrowed her eyes dangerously at her, "...If we weren't friends for fourteen years, I swear I'd punch your lights out."
"Aw, you didn't say BEST friend of fourteen years! I'm so heartbroken, my darling Iris!" Marine rolled her eyes, taking great amusement in how Iris was now getting increasingly uncomfortable. Sheila, unbeknownst to her, was Iris's one-and-only weakness. Sheila was Iris's "most important friend", though Marine's long since had her suspicions that it was more than just that. Iris's attitude would always do a complete 180 when Marine brought this subject up, which just egged her on even more. It was always nice to have the upper hand on Iris, for once.
Sheila looked up from her book that she had picked up off one of the bookshelves included with the room at the sound of the door opening. Her eyes sparkled when Iris walked in with Marine, but gave a small frown when she realized that Iris looked slightly angry about something. Sheila didn't like it when her friends felt upset about anything, and she always tried to make things better (though it usually just made things worse).
Sheila made her move when Marine closed the bathroom door, having decided to take a late-night shower. "Iris~ Is something wrong?"
Iris, having finished changing into her nightgown, looked over at Sheila. "...No, why are you asking?"
Sheila shrugged, "I dunno. You just look... on edge, I guess."
"I suppose I just feel a tad overwhelmed. A good night's sleep should do me good." Iris yawned, and looked around. "Where's Miss Alice?"
Sheila gestured over to one of the smaller beds, where Alice lay sprawled out across it. "She fell asleep around an hour ago. She keeps moving around and mumbling, but won't wake up when I shake her. I guess Alice is a heavy sleeper."
Iris walked over to Alice's bed, and tucked her into the covers. With a final sigh, Iris walks over to the largest bed, and quietly got under the covers herself, dimming the light of the lamp by her bedside. Marine came out from the bathroom, having gotten dressed inside the bathroom, took one look at Sheila, who was still just sitting in a chair, glanced at Iris, and then got into the smaller bed beside Alice's. Sheila stayed still, sitting in her chair, taking turns looking at each of her companions, but her eyes always trailed back over to Iris. Minutes ticked by, and around a half hour after the others were all asleep, Sheila climbed into bed beside Iris, and fell asleep as well.
The next morning they payed the priest from before another visit, hoping that he knew one of the Abbot's common go-to places. Stella was upset that "fatguts" didn't seem to be here, but she was at least big-minded enough to congratulate Alice (who was still sleepy, despite having slept the longest) on possibly having caught whiff of one of her fyggs.
The priest smiled at Alice when he spotted her coming towards him, having changed back into her purple poncho she had been wearing back in Coffinwell. "Ah, it's you, child. Do you need something?"
Marine took a step forward, "We're wondering if you know anywhere the Abbot might go to. After talking with some people last night, we found out that the Abbot left directly after eating that fruit we were looking for."
"Oh? You're sure? Why would he do that?"
Sheila gave him a sad puppy look, "Well, I messed up during an experiment, so the fruit is kind of... blessed with... holy powers(?), and it might influence certain actions."
"Is that so? Let me think..." The priest stood there, with a blank look on his face for a few moments, before he snapped his fingers, "Ah! Of course! There is a Tower to the east, the Tower of Trades, that used to be used for the vocational changing rituals many years ago, but nowadays its overrun with monsters. Under normal circumstances, the Abbot would, of course, never go near the place, but... if that fruit is as dangerous as you have implied, his better judgment may have been clouded, and his inner curiosity got the better of him.
"Oh my...!" The priest frowned, "As much as I'm reluctant to ask complete strangers to perform a task of any kind, I'm afraid I have no other choice but to plead that you ladies may go to the tower and bring the Abbot back? We men and women of faith are not able to battle the monsters, but you four look much tougher than most of the people in the Abbey at the moment."
Alice grinned, and shook the priest's hand. "Sure! No problem!"
The priest sighed in relief, "Oh, bless your souls! All you have to do is give a short, formal bow in front of the tower to enter."
Iris nodded, and picked Alice up, leading the group out of the Abbey, and down the many stairs. After they reached the last step, Iris set Alice down.
"Why'd you carry me out, Iris? I can walk by myself." Alice whined.
"Not very well. You haven't been... functioning correctly since we left the Observatory. What has happened to your left eye?" Alice froze, and looked away. There's no way she'll just leave me be... I guess it's for the best that I at least give them somewhat of an explanation.
"It's a... 'blessing' from Yggdrasil. She took away half my bodily functions as 'motivation' to gather the fyggs, and even took away my important person. Now she's stranded somewhere in the Protectorate, and..." Alice's voice quieted to a low whisper, "...I'd really just like to have her back. Can we just go? I want to get through this as soon as possible."
Iris smiled, and patted Alice on the head. "But of course, Alice."
Oh yeah, I made a little cover for the story. Looks nice, doesn't it? I forgot the eye patch, but whatever. I'll fix it later.