A/N: Harro! *punched* As I said before, this chapter'll be Labyrinth questing! Yaaay *dances* Although I might not be able to fit everything into one chapter, but hey, I'll try ^^
Anyway, let's do this! XD
Warning and Disclaimer... you get the drill
Enjoy~
Chronicles of the Drowned City
C.14: Piled up requests...
"Oh c'mon, bro, no need to be like that..."
A reply to Adisa's letter came in just this morning from her brother. And, as always, whenever the Princess spoke in the way she naturally does whenever speaking to people who are close to her, her brother critisizes her. Cia went up to Adisa, peeking at the letter from behind her back. At this, Adisa jolted.
"H-Hey!"
"Haha, so you have a brother?" pouting, Cia continued,"why didn't you tell me?"
"I... didn't think it was too important.." At this, Cia sighed.
"Fine... just get ready, we're headed back to the Labyrinth!" Cia then scurried off to get ready herself. Something suddenly clicked inside Adisa's head.
"Hey, what about the quests from the Bistro?" Everyone snapped their attention towards the Princess.
"Oh... yeah, we forgot about that..."
"Bis...tro?" Asked Ribu.
"It's the same as a bar or pub. Haven't you been to a bar before?" Ribu shook her head.
"Well in that case, then your in luck! Let's go fetch some quests, eh?" Everyone nodded at Adisa's suggestion.
As they arrived at the Butterfly Bistro, the bar owner-which they later found out goes by the nickname "Missy", greeted them.
"Hello! I take it you are going to fetch some questings?" The group nodded. She then handed them a few papers, with a list of quests on them.
"There are already quite a few people filing in questings for you! You should be proud~!" Everyone just gaped at the amount of requests filed for them. Missy then spoke.
"Well, which do you want to take on first?" The group scanned the papers.
There are 4 quests currently; One asking them to collect Gigapede legs, another one asking them to go Tanniyn hunting, the other asking them to have a farmer participate in a meeting, and the last one is a request from the Firm. The group looked at each other.
"Should we split up?" Asked Zakharia.
"Maybe we should. That'll make things slightly quicker for us." Everyone nodded.
"Alright then, like usual, who'll go to the Labyrinth and who'll go Tanniyn fishing?"
"I think it's time I took a break from sailin'. I deserve a chance t'explore th'Labyrinth too, right?" Everyone turned to Rudollf, Guad especially surprised. That man loves the sea.
But then again, the Labyrinth in itself is just as intresting.
"Wait, did I read this right? Tanniyn? Tanniyn?!" Everyone turned to see Adisa, eyes bright like the sun. Heinrich sighed.
"Yes, you read that right. Tanniyn."
"Yes!" the Princess then pranced around, excited,"I'll go fishing! God, I really love fishing for Tanniyn!"
"I guess I'll go with you then." Everyone turned to Chitose, hands curling up into a ball, tightening and loosening, a hint of desperation mixed with curiosity in her eyes. The bar suddenly fell silent, the air becoming eerie.
"What? You can't blame me right?" her voice suddenly raised a bit, eyes widening slightly,"I need to get my hands on something, and I've never seen a Tanniyn fish before, so you can't really blame me right?!"
Ok. This girl is officialy nuts.
A nudge came from Rudollf. Yuki turned to him.
"How long will it be until we reach the second stratum?"
"It'll be a while." Yuki then sighed.
Zakharia, on the other hand, crept closer to Yuki, disturbed by the girl's sudden snap. Vauge images of those memories stirred, but she kept them at bay.
"Alright, alright! Come with me, and... let's go fishing!" Quickly, Adisa grabbed the bill and dragged the desperate girl out of the bar. The air around the bar became light again, and soon everyone resumed whatever it is they're doing.
"Remind me t'constantly provide tha'girl with some animal parts." At this, Rudollf recieved a very threatning glare from Ribu.
"What? Would you rather be experimented on?"
"..." Ribu merely stayed quiet. Guad then attempted to lighten the mood around them.
"S-So... who wants to take on the other three quests?" Everyone turned to him
"Well...," Heinrich began, attempting to switch topics,"I suppose Cia, Ribu and I could go Gigapede hunting."
"Then I'll go to the meeting then! I know a thing or two about farming methods!" said Guad.
"Yeah, by that ya mean 'yer a complete expert in th'field..," Rudollf muttered, whilst smiling.
"Then I guess that just leaves us three t'go to th'Firm, eh?" The others nodded. They all then went their seperate ways, Rudollf, Yuki and Zakharia going to the Firm, while Heinrich, Ribu and Cia went to gather some Gigapede legs. Guad went to the meeting, nervous, anxious.
When Rudollf, Yuki and Zakharia arrived at the Firm, as expected, the first person to greet them is the shop owner herself.
"Welcome. What can I do for you?"
"We want to talk about that quest you filed in at the Bistro." The shop owner instantly smiled at this.
"Good, good! You came here just in time, then!" The shop owner then continued,"you see, we've been lacking in Nectar supplies. Nectars are very useful items that you should have. They're slightly more... expensive, you could say, than Medicas, but trust me they help a lot." She then continued,"right then, on to the problem at hand. We need some "Small Flowers". Those flowers, they say, you can easily find on the second floor. There should be some spots where they grow down there. I want you gather some for us."
"Wait a second, didn't we sell some to you yesterday?" Asked Yuki.
"Well... yes, you did, but...," the shop owner looked to the side before she continued, sighing,"we ran out of supplies yesterday." She then turned to face the small group again,"see? Like I said, that item is very helpful." Yuki sighed.
Well... they do need some of that "Nectar", now that they think about it.
"Alright, we'll do it!" Said Rudollf. The shop keeper's face brightened.
"Good, good! Now, off you go!" And with that, the group left.
Wait a second. The flowers are at the second floor.
Why the hell did they split up, then?
At sea, the two girls are busy Tanniyn hunting. Adisa managed to spot one just now. She launched a spear at it, and managed to wound it a little.
"Whooo! Follow it, or else it'll get away!" Said the Princess, excited about their catch.
Chitose, on the other hand had a rather mellow look on her face. She turned to Adisa, who was looking out at the sea, trying to spot the Tanniyn swimming in the blue waters.
"Hey, uh..." Adisa turned towards the ninja, a noise from the back of her throat signaling the girl to continue.
"...Sorry... about just now..." Adisa chuckled a bit.
"Well... it's fine, I guess...just don't go acting like that again!" the ninja sighed.
"...I'll try to control myself." With that, Chitose's attention turned back to the waters below them. Scanning the waters, she saw a shadow of a big fish in the distance, under the waters.
"Over there," said Chitose, pointing at the big shadow. The person steering the ship heard, and headed towards where Chitose pointed to. Approaching the giant fish, Adisa got another spear ready.
The fish soon came into view. As it did, Adisa hurlled the spear towards it.
It connected.
The Tanniyn's movements ceased instantly, the fish's body rising towards the surface of the water. Fetching the giant fish, everyone got set to skinning it, cutting up the fish's meat and parts. After they're done, they sailed back.
"So that's what a Tanniyn looks like..."Chitose mused. Adisa went over to the girl, carrying a bloody Tanniyn head she managed to cut up.
"Here you go," she handed it over to her,"eyes, mouth and everything still intact." Slightly surprised, but happy and satisfied, Chitose gladly took it, a genuine smile for once plastering her face.
"...Thanks." Adisa nodded. Eyes wandering off into the distance, she saw Armoroad.
"We're almost there," she said. Chitose turned, the sight of Armoroad greeting her. Sighing, she clutched the Tanniyn head.
Well, time to experiment! ...After she gets some more animal parts.
Elsewhere, within the Labyrinth's second floor, Rudollf and the others came to the spot, where herbs grow surprisingly undisturbed. They immediately got to work and picked up the herbs, looking around for those "Small Flowers".
As they managed to pick up more and more flowers, they managed to find some rare herbs as well. Picking those up, they harvested more. Suddenly, while they were harvesting, monsters ambushed them.
On reflex, all three of them dodged the attack. A Largebill came to attack them. Unsheathing their weapons, Rudollf fired as Zakharia casted a fire spell. As it staggered, Yuki went forward and stabbed the giant bird in the gut. Withdrawing his sword and jumping back the beast fell onto the ground with a loud shriek.
Hearing the sound of rustilng bushes, Rudollf aimed his gun at it.
Then out came a plant, it's vines wriggling about, along with another monster, the all too familiar Great Lynx.
Unsheathing his sword again, Yuki ran to the other two's side. Zakharia got ready to cast a spell, and Rudollf...
He let out a flurry of shots.
Some missed, but most of it connected with the two monsters. The plant swings it's vines, ready to swat the two people closest to it out of the way-which are Yuki and Rudollf.
Both tried to dodge the attack, but both got swated anywa, Yuki and Rudollf both hitting the wall of tress left from where they were standing.
Zakharia listened to the plants movements, eyes slightly wide as she stood in place, carefully following the voices. Recovering, Yuki saw the plant coming up behind her. He ran, and blocked the vine ready to swat the girl just in time, as Rudollf shot the Great Lynx's legs.
"Now!" said Yuki,"cast that spell you prepared!" following his orders, Zakharia casted a Fire spell.
As she did, fire came out of a rune, small, but enough to burn the plant into ashes.
Rudollf, on the other hand, confronted the Lynx. All he has to do is shoot it on the head...
Dodging another incoming swipe from the Lynx, he shot, aiming for the head, but instead the bullet merely grazed it's forehead.
A cut then came from Yuki's katana.
Still not dead yet, but staggering none the less, the Lynx swiped some more at the group. They dodged it and Rudollf finally managed to find an opening. Shooting, the bullet connected dead on with the Great Lynx's head. He shot it again a few more times just to make sure it's dead. Blood spluttering onto the ground, the lynx's body fell, forming a crimson puddle. Sensing no more danger, the three sheathed their weapons. Zakharia sighed, a shadow falling over her face.
"...I'm useless... Without my sight, I'm just useless..." she needed help twice now. First, in that sea quest, now here.
"Sorry for being such a burden to you all..." It stung both men's hearts to hear her say that. Yuki went over and patted Zakharia's head.
"Don't say that. Your not useless, your just not used to your...lack of sight, yet." No, encouragement is also something he's not good at.
Rudollf went over to grab their sack of supplies, full of flowers and herbs. He patted Zakharia's shoulder with his free hand.
"Yea, the boy 'ere's right. With a lil'l bit o' practice, ya'll get used t'it in no time!" With those words, Rudollf urged the others to start moving. Yuki though, didn't move. Instead he fished out an Ariadne Thread, and without a word warped them out of there.
Night soon fell, and finally Heinrich's little group can get to work.
They went into the first floor of the Labyrinth, making their way from there to the second floor via shortcuts.
"Wow, the Labyrinth really does look different at night." Cia commented.
"Lots of animals here. Ribu...call to help us!" Ribu then whistled, expertly immitating the sound of a bird chirping. Fearing the worst, everyone got their weapons ready, but lowered their guard when a seemingly harmelss bird came into view and found it's way to Ribu's arm. Smiling in satisfaction, Ribu commanded the bird to help them find some Gigapedes.
At first, the bird seems reluctant, but then it obeyed and set off in search of some Gigapedes. Maybe Ribu somehow encouraged it?
"Now we follow bird!" After she said this, Ribu ran after the bird. The others, fearing for her safety, ran after her.
For a moment, they lost her. Everyone started to panic, but then, as they came into the second floor, they saw Ribu there, waiting for them.
"Slow! Go faster, or we lose bird!"
"With the giant armor this guy's wearing, I'm... not too sure we can go any faster.." at this, a hard glare came from Heinrich.
"Hehe... sorry..." Cia then noticed Ribu scampered off again.
Wait a second.
The direction she's headed to has that... giant lizard thing in it.
Oh no.
"C'mon, she doesn't know what's in there!" With that, Cia dragged Heinrich, chasing after the clueless Wildling.
When they came into the passage, they saw Ribu there, back pressed against the trees, looking past her little hiding place carefully.
Well now. Maybe she's not that clueless after all.
Cia rushed over to the girl pulling her to the wall of trees adjacent to them, with a patch of flowers covering it.
"This way,"said the Monk as she brushed the patch of flowers apart, urging the Wilding to go into the small crevice hidden underneath, Heinrich following right behind them.
When they got out on the other side, the bird which Ribu called greeted them. From the looks of it, the bird's found what they were looking for. Again, Ribu communicated with the bird. It then started flying away from the group, urging them to follow it.
"We follow bird!" Ribu then started walking. The others followed.
As they arrived in the part of the Labyrinth with the mucky ground, they spotted what looks to be...
A Gigapede.
Thanking the bird, the group sneaked up behind the centipede like monster. The bird flew off into the distance.
Getting their weapons ready, they approached the monster, before attacking it.
A smite came from Cia's mace, who jumped back as the centipide –surprisingly- retaliated. Shieding the Monk from another blow, the Hoplite hurrled his spear forward, thrusting it into the Gigapede's body, suspending it for a while.
Ribu, from her experiences in the wild, knows exactly how to fetch herself some legs.
While the beast is suspended, the Wilding swiftly cut off some of the Gigapede's legs with her sharpened blade. Letting out a piercing shriek, the Gigapede wriggled about in pain. Releasing the spear from within the Gigapede, both Heinrich and Cia jumped to the side, as the Gigapede attacked, even more reletlessly.
Dodging another swipe, Cia got close enough to the Gigapede. Hitting the thing hard with her mace, it staggered, as Heinrich came up behind it and stabbed it right through with his spear.
Dragging the spear out of the wound, the Gigapede's body fell onto the ground, legs intact.
Both though, are surprised by Ribu's actions through that fight.
"I... never thought you had it in you to take off that thing's legs... when it's still alive, too!" commented Cia.
"That thing...no animal. That thing... monster..different," explained the Wildling. The other two sighed, then got on to harvesting the rest of the Gigapede's legs. After they were done, they warped out of there.
Arriving at the entrance, they headed towards the bar. Inside, the others have gathered, reporting in the quests they took.
"So, how was it lass?"
"What? The meeting? It went down nicely!" Said Guad, a bright smile on his face.
"That Tanniyn we caught was huge though!" Adisa then getsured with her arm just how big that Tanniyn is,"like this big!"
"Aww... I really love Tannyin..." Everyone turned to Cia. They then laughed.
"Heh, c'mon, lass! That ain't th'only Tanniyn out there!" Said Rudollf. Cia smiled, nodding.
"Say, where's Yuki and Zakharia? I thought they were with you?" Asked Heinrich.
"Yea, well, they decided t'get us a room for t'night." Heinrich nodded, setting the Gigapede legs in front of Missy.
"Here," he said.
"Ooh, ok! I'll make sure this gets to the client. Here," She then handed them a book.
"Well... this'll be good for Zakharia, I guess..."Adisa said.
"Uh, well...," everyone then turned towards the ninja, who finally spoke after a while,"...sorry. About this morning."
"What was that? Did I just here ya apologizing to us?" Rudollf said, exaggerating. He then patted her head.
"It's fine, kiddo. I go like that whenever I don't get my booze!" Rudollf's eyes then darted towards the counter,"speaking of which..." he then absentmindedly waked over to it.
A blow came from Guad's rake, connecting with the back of Rudollf's head, knocking him out instantly.
"Anyone wanna help me carry him back?" Heinrich sighed as all eyes fell on him.
"Well...now you know how I felt..." Chitose mused.
-To Be Continued-
A/N: Finished this in one day! Again... ugh, I need to sleep now...
And seriously, Zakharia and Yuki need some development... can someone suggest me on how to though? Also, I wanna tell their backstories, I just don't know when, though... aaaaaa help...
And now I shall watch speed-drawing videos *creeps into Youtube*