Note: So uh, this took a long while. It sat there partially complete but I had problems with the outfit design before throwing something down and calling it good. There have been changes to Rani's hair and eye colour as well. But uh, I finally got this chapter out.
It's 6am, and most of it was written with a weary mind from recent events. Let's just say this'll be my way of coping with everything. There's probably a lot of holes that I'll have to fill later on in the fic but, for now, this will be what we have. I apologize for the quality drop. If anyone seems OOC or something along those lines, I apologize for that as well.
Dropping a couple Berseria references in here because why not.
We were blocking the way into Ladylake with the caravan, but it wasn't really a problem as Sorey had to answer the same questions as I did to get entrance into Ladylake. I kept quiet the entire time, knowing what was to come. Or hoping I did. The wolf attack had damaged the caravans, but we were never told when exactly it happened in the game, just that the Sparrowfeathers had to block the road to fix their caravans and it took a bit for Sorey to get in to Ladylake anyway.
"Hey-" I tapped Sorey on the shoulder, startling him a little.
"O-oh. Hi there." Sorey rubbed the back of his head. "Was there something you needed?"
"There might be a point you have to follow a dog. Don't let the dog out of your sight, they're important." I warned. Okay, that would cover that. It was cryptic and kind of jarring, but I couldn't let the poor thing die because they couldn't keep up. I wouldn't be able to do anything. Lunarre would destroy me before I got a chance to attack. "That's all. Sorry about that."
"Follow a dog? What's she on about?" Mikleo asked.
"I dunno, Mikleo. Maybe there's a reason she'd tell me that." Sorey responded. I had turned away from them to walk back over to Rose when I'd heard them, so I looked over my shoulder.
"There is, you'll figure it out when it happens!" I said with a smile before continuing my walk over to Rose. The caravans were fixed, and we all loaded everything back into them before walking with them into the city. Rose stayed for a moment to talk to Sorey and Mikleo before she caught up with us. Entering the city wasn't hard, we just had to show the entrance papers and get them approved by the guards. The Sparrowfeathers were commonly coming here, so their papers were stamped almost immediately. Mine, however, went through a bit of scrutiny before getting stamped.
There was a house there in Ladylake that we stopped at, unloaded the cargo from the caravans, set up the horses and then moved the cargo into the house. It was a little dusty from no use, but that was cleaned up almost immediately. Rose rested her arm on my shoulder, and I glanced over at her. "I'll be taking our friend here out to get new clothes, so make sure things are finished before I get back!" She said with a smile before leading me out of the house. I noted Dezel out of the corner of my eye. Following along, it seemed, and I was worried he would take over Rose while we were out. I knew that was why he was sticking around her, she was a convenient vessel for him and her fear of ghosts stopped her from seeing him entirely.
We walked a while until we came across a shop with a hanging banner that had a tunic, a shield and crossed swords on it. A clothing and weapon shop? Rose opened the door, and I followed her inside.
"Hey, Maria!" The door closed once Dezel was inside, and Rose walked up to the shopkeeper to have a friendly chat with her. I glanced around at the store. Weapons everywhere, of different types. Swords, whips, daggers, a trident that looked like a fork, lances, gauntlets, greaves- You named it, they had it apparently. Noting something out of the corner of my eye, I walked over and picked it up. A faded gold bracelet, but purposefully made that way. Looking it over, noting the patterns on it, I realized what this was. How did it get here when humans couldn't see what the seraphim turned into their own weapons? Or was this a replica of his-?
"Oh, that old thing." Rose's voice startled me and I nearly dropped the bracelet. Looking to her, eyes wide and fearful, body hunching together as if trying to protect myself, I was on the verge of a panic attack. She'd spooked me, and she noted how I was acting before giving me a little space. It took me a moment to calm down but, when I did, I just kind of glanced over the bracelet again.
"How'd it get here?"
"I'unno. Someone brought it in a couple years back and no one's wanted it. I'm guessing you do? I was gonna get you a set of daggers so you could defend yourself."
"You still can, I'd... just like this too, if that's alright."
Rose grinned. "Sure! I think Maria would be glad to be rid of it. She doesn't like it much. Anyway, we should go upstairs if you're done gawking at it. The clothes are up there."
She and I went upstairs to the clothing and armour section, where there was a selection of different types of clothes there. We both looked around for something for me to change into instead of wearing a set of Rose's clothes. A blue coat with white fur around it, a black top with no sleeves or straps with blue-ish ruffling, a pair of short light red shorts and black boots. A pair of brown gloves were tossed at me by Rose, and I stared at them before shrugging. Something to pull it all together, I suppose. Heading back downstairs with Rose, Maria gave her the total and Rose just grinned before pulling out a sack of gald and setting it on the counter.
"We have a dressing room right over there if you want to change," Maria said as she counted out the gald Rose had given her before she ushered me off to the dressing room and had me change. As she did, Rose handed me a bag to put the other clothes in. We'd gotten me a new set of underwear too, so I changed those too as I changed clothes. The outfit seemed to suit me well, so I carefully left the room and carried the bag with me that held the clothes, folded up as neatly as I could get them.
"Thanks for the business, Rose. Always a pleasure to see you."
"No problem, Maria! Oh, yeah, we have your items you asked for. I'll have Rosh bring it over later."
"Alright! I'll talk to you later, then." With a wave, the two of us left the store and I felt weird. Attempting to hand over the bag to Rose, though...
"Think you should keep it. Never know when you'd need a change of clothes." Rose said with a grin. "Anyway, we should talk about how you're gonna pay me back."
"I-I don't have any gald, I-" Rose laughed and shook her head.
"You can just help us out in exchange. I'm not going to ask for money you don't have!" She patted my back. "We're gonna help set up the Festival, so you can help too."
I wondered if it would be weird to ask to join the Sparrowfeathers, so I could help out more and potentially be set on the path to help Sorey on his journey. Give him hints and not something as direct as I did before... like some sort of guide or something. That would probably be a bit too much, in all honesty. I'd already made things weird with the dog thing, but I just wanted to make sure the dog would live and not die like in playthroughs I've seen of Zestiria...
"Alright, that sounds fair."
We headed back to the house the Sparrowfeathers had stopped at, and Rose explained to the group that, after extensive talks, I'd be joining them in helping with the festival as one of the Sparrowfeathers. Eguille didn't seem to mind, and neither did any of the others. Which was odd, shouldn't they be protesting because I could potentially blow their cover as the Scattered Bones? Or was it so I didn't find out that they were- when I already knew?
"Then it's settled!" Rose turned to me and handed me the daggers, which were sheathed. I placed them under the cape of my outfit, where Rose usually put her own, finding they fit into my belt as if I was holstering them. The outfit would keep them hidden and I could get past the guards with them... Devious. But that was if they didn't make any sort of indent or note that they were there, which I looked behind myself to make sure they didn't. It seemed the cape covered them well, and there was no indication I had them at all. If I moved too fast, perhaps... but then again, perhaps not. I wouldn't know until it was pointed out to me, so no reason to worry about it.
"Here, take this to the Sanctuary." She handed me another bag, this time filled with items needed for the festival happening in the city. "We'll meet up with you soon."
With that, I was ushered out of the house and the door shut behind me. Huh. Despite this, I made my way towards the Sanctuary, where the festival would be taking place. I would have to take the back way to get in, as the Sparrowfeathers were seen coming out of the back... weren't they? It wasn't too hard to find, but the guard stopped me before I could go in.
"Festival Staff only beyond this point." His lance was in the way, and I looked over at him before raising up the bag.
"I'm a part of the Sparrowfeathers." A lie, and I'd have to deal with that later. "I was sent ahead to bring these to the Festival, so... can I pass?"
He held out his hand, before I realized something. Handing him the bag, he just handed it back. His guard friend wasn't even looking, so it seemed this was common. Getting inside? He wanted a bribe to let me pass. Checking my pockets, then the bag itself, I noted Rose had stuffed a bag of gald into it. Convenient, wasn't it? Handing the gald over, I was admitted entry almost immediately. The back was full of people preparing for the festival, and I was instructed on where to put the stuff for the Festival by one of the people helping set up. I caught a glimpse of Alisha and Maltran as I went about my business and a part of me wanted to ask Maltran if she was working for Heldalf, but I swallowed the question and headed back out once I was done. It was around then that I met back up with Rose outside of the temple, and Sorey was talking to her about something. I didn't see Dezel anywhere, so he must not have been around.
"Hey, it's you-" Sorey looked to me and I gave a sheepish wave.
"Hello again." I said, nervous.
"What you told us when we first met was really weird, but it came out to be true!" His attention was fully on me now. "What else do you know? Anything about ancient ruins? Will I come across any?"
His face was full of childish adoration, and I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck. Well, it wouldn't be a lie... "Yeah, you come across a lot." But how? I wouldn't tell him. "But that's all I'd know, honestly."
"I bet you're just hyping him up!" Rose teased with a grin. "Come on, Rani, it's not nice to hype someone up!"
"R-Rose! I'm just-" I shut up automatically and looked away, feeling my cheeks burn. Of course, I'd feel like I can't defend myself. It always happened, and I felt defeated. An arm crossed my shoulders and a finger poked my cheek, which made me jolt a little.
"It's alright. I'm just messing with you. Sorry about that, didn't think you'd get upset." It was a genuine apology, and I looked over at Rose who was smiling softly at me. She pat my back before walking back to one of the twin Sparrowfeathers- I think it was Talfryn. Regardless, she got Sorey into the temple to go warn Alisha of Lunarre before the three of us walked back to the house.
"We'll be heading out a few days after the Festival is over. It'll be pretty busy, like usual. You up for that?"
I gave a small nod. "Yeah. I'll help as much as I can."
Can you hear me?
It was dark when I opened my eyes. The voice had woken me suddenly, but I still felt like I was dreaming. A strange glowing light was in the corner of the room. Sitting up, I noticed a little boy in the corner holding a strange device. His eyes glanced over me, before a somber look came over his face.
Sorry for waking you, but this is important. His voice rang loud and clear in my mind.
"What is?" I whispered, careful not to raise my voice.
There's a lot to start with... He set the device down, and I noticed it was a compass. It was oddly designed, but it looked neat. But I don't have a lot of time. There's a few precious moments before I fall back into Malevolence, so please listen carefully okay?
"I will."
He looked hopeful. I want you to help me. I'll guide you when I can pull myself back out, but please don't expect it all the time. There's... some things out of line here, that happened out of line since before you were called here-
"Wait, I was called here?"
The boy looked away a bit, out the window. We couldn't see much out of it, but we could see a bit of the sky. It was moments before he responded.
Yes. I called you here. It was a desperate attempt to right something that should've been fixed long ago, but it's still bleeding out into the world today. And I need you to cooperate with the Shepherd. He's with my former apprentice as we speak, and he'll be the one to show you the way. Follow him, alright?
That was a lot to take in for me. "...I'm in debt to the Sparrowfeathers. A-and, if I remember right, their paths cross with Sorey's a lot-"
Rayfalke Spiritcrest. The boy said, picking up the compass. Go there.
"...What's at the Spiritcrest?"
My old friend, Eizen. And his little sister too. The lights started to float upwards more and more, like he was dissipating. Which was probably true, his time was probably up by now. You can help the Shepherd. The world is different from the one you remember, and here there is something known as- Oh, it looks like my time is up. I'll tell you more when I'm capable.
"Wait a secon-" But he was gone before I could finish my sentence or ask him what he was going to say... or who he was. How did he know Eizen and Edna? It was mind-boggling. With a small frown, I got out of bed and dressed before making the bed and quietly trying to sneak out. If I was supposed to go to the Spiritcrest, then I better get a head start. Sorey would be out for three days, and that's about the amount of travel time distance-wise when you're not in a game to get to the Spiritcrest.
"Leaving already?" Dezel's voice came out of nowhere and I jumped before looking over my shoulder.
"I know I'm in debt to the Sparrowfeathers and I promise I'll pay it off, just let me do this real quick and I'll meet you all in Marlind!" I said, trying to keep my voice from going higher than a whisper. I couldn't tell Dezel's facial expression, but his mouth twitched a little before he tossed me something and walked off. A way of sending me off, I supposed.
Catching what he had tossed me, I peeked inside and noticed it was a bag filled with gels and bottles of all sorts. I felt bad, I really did, and I hoped I could repay the Sparrowfeathers for their kindness at some point. Thinking, I put the bag down before-
"I can't write in Glenwood script. Help me write a note."
"And why should I?" Dezel stopped but didn't look behind him. Windreading at its finest, not that it mattered much in the grand scheme of things.
"So I can let them know I'm not skipping out on my debt! Especially with Rose, I don't want her thinking that either!"
He gave a sort of non-committal noise before grabbing a quill and a piece of parchment paper to help me write the note. Well, he wrote it but I helped with the wording and left it in an easy-to-find place before thanking him and leaving Ladylake in the middle of the night. It wasn't the best decision, but the compass had been pointing to the southeast, and that was the direction of the giant mountain in the distance.
Following the compass. It sounded cliché as all hell, but I didn't mind.
No, this was the start of my adventure.