Sorry for dropping off the planet again. Been a busy summer. In the time I'm been gone, thanks for the favorites and follows. Nice to know people still care about this story that I can't seem to update regularly.

Now, onward to the chapter.

Chapter 32: Sacrifice

It didn't take Lloyd and Genis long before they found one of the many residential areas within the city. From what Lloyd could see it was a middle class district since all the houses were in much better shape than the other areas that they'd seen so far.

Strangely, for such a tourist driven city, there weren't many people in the streets. Now that Lloyd thought about it, there weren't that many people when they first arrived in the city.

"Excuse me, we're looking for someone," Genis said as he grabbed the sleeve of the nearest person.

The woman in question jumped back in surprise and stared at Genis like he was some kind of demon. "What...are you a half-elf!?"

Lloyd raised an eyebrow at the reaction. Did she think he was a Desian? "No, he's an elf."

The lady took a second glance at Genis.

"Yeah...I'm a pure blooded elf," Genis said slowly. "...We're looking for some people who were near the dais earlier."

"No one is allow near the dais," the woman stated firmly. There was a flash of anger on her face. "Not since the day that fool anger the spirits."

"What fool?" Lloyd asked.

"We don't speak his name," the woman spoke harshly. "He's a curse on this city. It's just ashamed that his sister has to pay the price for his sin."

"Huh, well thank you anyway," Lloyd said as they let the woman go. He turned towards Genis. "What was that all about?"

"People...have a distinct fear of half-elves because of the Desians," Genis replied in a careful tone as he shook his head. "It can't be help."

Lloyd sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. "Can't say I blame them, but not all half-elves are Desians. They're good and bad people everywhere."

"Anyway, it seems those people are in some trouble with the city," Genis said, wanting to change the subject.

"Yeah. Too bad that lady didn't say what he did. Other than angering some spirits," Lloyd replied in annoyance.

"We just have to keep talking to people in hope one of them tell us," Genis said as they went back to their search.

On the other side of town, Colette and Kratos were in the marketplace as they searched for information. Kratos was currently talking to one of the vendors near one of the rundown stalls.

"Someone was near the dais?" the vendor questioned. "It must be that troublemaker, Harley."

"Harley?" Colette repeated. That was the name of one of the people at the stone dais.

The vendor nodded. "That street rat has been causing trouble in our city for years. The only reason why he hasn't been chase out is because he's good friends with one of the priestesses."

"Do you know where we can find this person?" Kratos asked.

"Like I would know," the vendor snorted in disgust. "As far as I know, the little urchin lives on the street with the rest of the trash."

"Thank you anyway," Kratos spoke with haste, not wanting to talk anymore to the man. He grabbed Colette's arm and all but pulled her away.

"What..." she started in confusion. His grip was so tight that it hurt.

"It's best not engage with such people," Kratos spoke barely above a whisper as they walked down the broken pavement.

Colette knew behind the cool mask Kratos often held that was anger. Probably the angriest she had seen the mercenary. The way that vendor spoke of Harley had truly angered him.

"Why was that guy so mean?" Colette asked, breaking the awkward silence. "Even if Harley is a troublemaker, there's no need for such hate."

Kratos chose not to answer for a moment. "It most likely have to do with the fact that he is a half-elf."

"A half-elf..." Colette repeated. "You know that without even seeing him?"

"I sensed his mana the moment we went to the dais," Kratos replied. "Half-elves have a very distinctive mana signature. Once you know what one feels like, you can never forget."

"Is that why..." Colette started asking before she shook her head. "But why would they hate him for being a half-elf? Is it because of the Desians?"

"That's part of it," Kratos answered, choosing his next words wisely. "This city has a long history of discrimination against half-elves that dates back further than the Desians. Although, the Desians has done little to ease those feelings."

"Then why do they hate half-elves?" Colette questioned further.

"There are many reasons behind their hate, but none of them are justify," Kratos stated in a cold voice that gave the young girl chills.

"It's like...it's like you're talking from experience," Colette noted. For a moment, Kratos looked older than his age suggested.

"I have been around so I've noticed such things, Kratos answered.

"Well...once I regenerate the world and banish the Desians, maybe people feelings towards half-elves will change," Colette spoke in her usual cheerful manner.

Kratos almost wanted to laugh at how naive the Chosen was. After thousands of years, he doubted the life of one more person would break the cycle of racism. Not even Mithos' attempts had amounted to much. Nonetheless, he decided to drop the subject before he ended up putting his foot in his mouth.

Lloyd sighed in annoyance as he leaned against one of the many stonewalls. They have been asking around for over two hours and they still were no closer to finding out who those two boys were. Most of the people outright refused to talk to them and others only repeated what they already know. It was more than a little frustrating.

"We're getting nowhere," Genis whined as he rubbed his aching head. "We may have no choice but to head back and see if Kratos and Raine learned anything."

"It seems so," Lloyd grumbled as he massaged his shoulders.

Genis paused in thought. "Maybe...maybe we're going about this the wrong way."

"How so?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, they won't give us the name of the person who started this curse. But, maybe they'll tell us the name of the person who is suffering from that person's mistake," Genis suggested.

"How will that help us?" Lloyd questioned in confusion.

"This person may know who that man is since they seem to have some kind of relationship," Genis stated.

Lloyd sighed. "At this rate, it couldn't hurt to try."

They sat back up and looked for a person they hadn't spoken to yet. After a while, they came across a middle age man carrying a hug pot.

"Excuse me," Genis called as he walked over towards the man, "but I wanted to know about the curse that is on this city."

The man seemed to shiver. "We're not supposed to talk about it to tourist. If the Church learns what's happen, it could destroy the entire tourism here."

"We know that someone messed up and released this curse," Lloyd said. "But, we've heard someone else have to bear the price of their mistake."

"Aw, poor Aisha," the man spoke sadly, shaking his head. "Because of her brother's stupidity, she's the one who has to die."

"DIE!?" Lloyd exclaimed in shock. That was the last thing he was expecting to hear. "What!? Why does she have to die!?"

"I don't know much about it myself, but it has something to do with her being a priestess," the man answered, wondering if he had said too much.

"Do you know where we can find this priestess?" Genis asked. "It's only right that we pray for her soul to Martel."

"I see," the man said after a moment of thought. "She lives in the old half-elf district in the far east of town."

"Half-elf district?" Lloyd questioned.

The man nodded. "It's where the half-elves were forced to live many centuries ago. The law change, and the half-elves are allow to live anywhere they want within the city. A bad idea if you ask me."

"Well, thank you very much," Genis interrupted before he could say anything more and he dragged a confused Lloyd away.

"That was odd," Lloyd muttered. What was that all about?

"But, we know where to look now," Genis stated.

"I guess," Lloyd muttered. This city's hatred towards half-elves was really starting to drain him.

"It's almost time to meet back with the others," Genis informed. "We better hurry before Raine punishes us for being late."

Lloyd simply nodded as he followed his friend back to the dais' entryway. By the time they've returned, Kratos and the others were already gathered.

"Did you learn anything?" Kratos asked bluntly when he saw them.

"From what people have told us a priestess by the name of Aisha is going to be killed to appease the spirits," Genis said. "Apparently, her brother fooled around with the dais and has enraged the Wind Spirit."

"We were told the same thing as well," Kratos confirmed.

Raine put her hand on her chin in thought. "Strange, the spirits usually don't demand human sacrifices. I wonder if this is even a spirit."

"Does it matter?" Lloyd asked with an edge of annoyance. "A person is about to be killed."

"This matter hardly concerns us," Kratos stated coldly.

Lloyd glared at the older man. "Can you at least pretend to have some feeling?"

"Lloyd's right, we can't just leave things like this," Colette said as she put her hands together. "We should try to stop this sacrifice."

"I doubt the leaders of this city will listen to us, even if we tell them that you are the Chosen," Raine said.

"Maybe we should find and asked this priestess herself," Genis suggested. "Lloyd and I learned she lives in the old half-elf district with her brother."

Raine nodded. "That will be a good place to start. I also want to get to the bottom of this."

Kratos had to keep himself from sighing. Nonetheless, he led the group towards the old half-half district with little fanfare. The area was worn out and smelled of unwashed laundry. Even after all these years, it hasn't changed much.

"Excuse me, can you tell use where the priestess, Aisha, lives?" Colette asked the nearest person.

The woman looked over Colette's clothing. "Oh, you must be a priestess yourself coming to pray over Aisha. She lives in the third house down the next block."

Colette gave a slight bow. "Thank you."

They followed the directions and soon came upon a fairly small house that looked like it had seen better days.

"This isn't the kind of house I would expect a priestess to live in," Genis observed.

"Most priestesses and priests live in near poverty," Kratos informed.

"It's the belief of the Church that one should live humbly to best serve Martel," Raine added. "Too much material needs often leads to greed and self-indulgence."

"Maybe, but still..." Genis started.

Before Genis could say anything further, Colette politely knocked on the door.

"Who's there!?" someone yelled as he slammed the door opened, nearly hitting Colette.

Lloyd's eyes widened as he recognized the man. "It's you!"

Harley looked equally surprised to see them. "You're those tourists from earlier!"

Raine's face turned a bright red from being called a tourist. "I'm a scholar," she corrected in a tight voice.

"Whatever," Harley scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

Lloyd wondered if Harley had some kind of a death wish given the beating that Raine had already giving him earlier.

"Now, go away!" Harley demanded as he attempted to slam the door in their faces.

"Harley, stop it, this is my house," a soft, but firm voice said as she pushed the half-elf out of the doorway.

She was a pretty young woman with light blue hair that matched her eyes. Her style of clothes was quite plain considering her position. It was below even middle class.

"Are you the Priestess Aisha?" Lloyd asked.

Aisha nodded as she looked over the group. "You were the ones that stopped Harley and my brother." She bowed. "Thank you so much for stopping them from doing something foolish. It won't help any of us to anger the spirits anymore."

"I'm not sure 'stopped' is the best way to put it," Kratos spoke dryly.

"I'm being rude. Please come in and make yourselves comfortable," Aisha insisted as she opened the door wider.

The small group slowly walked in and was crowded into the living room.

Harley was not pleased by these turned of events. "They got in our way," he grumbled.

Aisha gave the half-elf a cold glare. "It doesn't matter what you call it! The point is, the people of this city are the ones that would suffer if that ruin was destroyed."

"But as things are now, you're going to be killed!" Harley yelled desperately.

For the first time, Lloyd could see the real fear in the man's face. He looked closed to tears.

"You mean the sacrificed to the Wind Spirit, correct?" Lloyd asked.

"That's correct. It was originally a ritual to honor the Summon Spirit of Wind," Linar explained as he stepped forward.

"What do you mean 'originally'?" Raine questioned.

Linar put his head down in shame. "Before everything happened, the ritual consisted of just dancing on the stone platform, but..."

"This idiot started meddling with the stone dais as part of his research and opened the seal," Harley interrupted as he glared at his friend. "Because of that, that Summon Spirit of Wind-thing awoke and is demanding sacrifices."

Kratos had never heard of such a thing before. In their entire history summon spirits have never asked for mortal sacrifices. Especially Sylph who was by far one of the friendliness summon spirits, if a little mischievous. Like Miss Sage, he too was beginning to wonder if this was really the workings of a summon spirit.

"The seal? Do you mean..." Raine started to ask.

Linar nodded. "If you, too, are researching the Balacruf ruins, then you must be aware of the altar erected in praise of the Summon Spirit of Wind." He began to become excited, losing his previous introversion. "The seal really existed, just as the legend said!"

Raine's eyes widened in shock. Stars seemed to appear in her eyes. "Are you saying that the Balacruf Pillar hieroglyphics are not just a myth!?"

Colette looked equally surprise.

Lloyd rubbed his head in confusion. He understood almost none of this. "It sounds like this isn't the seal we're looking for."

"Well, it's alright," Kratos said as he closed his eyes for a moment. "It's not as if it's completely out of our way." Looks like the day wasn't a complete waste.

Linar was on a roll now. "In the back of the of the platform there is a small indentation, and..."

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Harley shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Aisha's about to be sacrificed to the summon spirit tomorrow! How can any of you talk about ruins and hieroglyphics at a time like this!"

"Harley," Aisha said harshly.

Harley didn't pay any attention to her this time. "Get out of here! Aisha's life is at stake here and I don't want to hear anything more about that stupid dais!"

Linar frowned in shame. "You...you're right, Harley. It was my obsession with those ruins that cause this. Now Aisha will..." He looked close to tears now too.

"Maybe there is a way to stop the ritual," Colette suggested. She hated how the mood had turned so sour.

Aisha shook her head. "Impossible. If I don't do this, the entire city will suffer. As a priestess to the Goddess Martel, I must protect this city even if it means my own life."

Colette froze in place at Aisha's words. She was just like her.

"Screw Martel!" Harley shouted.

Before he could say anything more, Aisha slapped Harley hard across his face, stunning him and everyone in the room.

"Aisha!?" Linar exclaimed in shock.

Lloyd flinched as he saw the bruised beginning to form on Harley's cheek.

"Don't you ever speak of the Goddess Martel like that again," Aisha whispered, slowly calming down.

Harley turned his face away from her, but refused to apologize. He meant every word.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence.

"Maybe...there is a way to savage this situation," Raine said after some thought.

"What are you thinking, Raine?" Genis asked, not liking the look on his sister's face.

"We need to see the mayor," Raine replied instead.

Aisha shook her head. "You shouldn't be involved in this."

"Well, we are involve now," Lloyd spoke firmly. "We can't just leave you here to be killed."

Colette clapped her hands together. "Don't worry, the Professor will fix everything."

"Can you tell us where the Mayor's office is?" Raine asked.

Aisha looked between all of them and realized that there was no changing their minds. "He lives not too far from here. He's right on the hill."

"The mayor lives here?" Raine asked in surprise.

"The mayor came from a poor family before he was elected to office," Linar explained. "His main office is in the middle of town, but he still prefers lives here."

Lloyd was both surprise and impressed to hear this. The mayor in Iselia lived in the best house in the village, outside of Colette's house, and would never considered living in a part of town like this.

"Then, we better go see him," Raine said as she led the group out.

It didn't take them long to see the mayor's house, given it was on the highest hill in the area. Unlike the other homes, the mayor's house was in much better condition and had a second story. The house was still fairly run down, however.

Raine was the one who knocked on the door this time and waited for an answer. After a few minutes, a young lady slowly opened the door. "Who's there?"

"Excuse me, but we need to speak with the mayor," Raine said politely.

The woman shook her head. "This isn't really a good time."

"It is in regard to the seal and the priestess," Raine stated.

The woman lost all her color. "Who told you about that? Tourists aren't allowed to know about our situation."

Raine crossed her arms in slight annoyance. "I'm a scholar."

"We don't need anymore scholars," the woman answered almost rudely.

"I think I can help you," Raine said without missing a beat. "But, I need to talk to the mayor."

The woman gave a long look at the elf before she finally sighed in defeat. "Okay, but don't be too long." She opened the door and allowed them in.

On the far side of the room was the mayor, looking quite depressed as he sat in a chair and stared vacantly out the window. He snapped out of his stupor when he realized that he had guests. "Huh, who's there?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but these people claimed to be able to help us with the summon spirit," the woman said.

The mayor immediately stood up and glared at all of them. "What do outsiders know about our problem? Did that fool Linar tell you?"

Raine decided not to answer that question. "I am a scholar. May I please have your permission to study this ruin?"

The mayor's face darkened at the suggestion. "No! I won't allow anymore of your kind near the dais. Our tourism industry is already on the verge of collapse. On top of that, we have to kill a servant of the Goddess Martel and who knows if this summon spirit will demand even more sacrifices."

"I'm aware of all that and I may have an answer," Raine stated in a calm voice. "I wish to replace Aisha as the dancer on the stage."

"RAINE!?" Genis exclaimed in shock.

"Professor, what are you thinking!?" Lloyd asked in equal surprise.

Even Kratos was taken aback by this turn of events. He didn't see this coming.

"I was told that the original ritual was to dance on the dais to honor the Wind Spirit," Raine continued, ignoring everyone. "I can be the one to do the ritual instead of the priestess."

"Are you crazy!?" the mayor yelled in disbelief. "The Wind Spirit would never accept you!"

"If things go according to plan, then that won't be an issue," Raine assured.

"Raine, are you sure about this?" Genis asked worriedly.

"According to the Book of Regeneration, this should be the next seal," Raine explained.

Kratos could tell, however, that Raine had other motives.

"You just want to study the ruin firsthand," Lloyd accused in a deadpan voice. He immediately regretted those words once Raine slapped him across the face.

"You should learn to keep your mouth shut, Lloyd," Genis commented dryly.

"Please, mayor," Raine pleaded.

The mayor frowned as he stared at Raine. "...Do as you wish. I won't be held responsible if it costs you your life."

"But mayor..." the woman started.

"If we can save a priestess of Martel, then it's my duty to do so," the mayor replied in a solemn voice.

"Thank you," Raine said with a bow. "I will return to Aisha so I can properly learn the ritual."

Without another word the group once again found themselves at Aisha's house, who was horrified when she learned what they had done.

"What were you thinking?" Aisha asked in disbelief. "Why would you give your life for my sake? It's not right for you to have to take my place."

Raine waved off her concern. "There's nothing to worry about."

"But Raine, if this is a summon spirit, your life will be in real danger," Genis said.

Raine gave a rare smile towards her brother. "If anything happens, I know you all will protect me." She turned her glaze towards Kratos. "Especially you, Mr. Aurion. Your skills should be more than suitable to handle the Wind Spirit."

Kratos could tell by her tone of voice that they were on the same wavelength. Neither one of them believed that this was Sylph. However, even a false summon spirit could be dangerous.

"But we're talking about a summon spirit here," Lloyd said, not understanding why Kratos and Raine were so calm. "I mean, the summon spirits are practically gods. How can we possibly match them?"

"Although the spirits are powerful, they're not unbeatable," Kratos stated. "Just trust in your skills and you should be fine."

"I'm not sure if you guys are brave or just crazy," Linar remarked, not believing what he was hearing.

Raine turned her attention back towards Aisha. "I need you to teach me the ritual dance."

Aisha bit her lip. "But..."

"Please trust me," Raine pleaded in a gentle voice. "If my theory is correct, no one will have to die."

After several minutes of silence Aisha lower her head and sighed. "I'll teach you the dance."

Harley smiled in both awe and gratitude. "You guys aren't so bad after all."

"We should check into an inn," Kratos advised.

"But, I want to stay here with Raine," Genis insisted.

Raine shook her head. "No, you need your rest. We're in for a long day tomorrow."

Genis looked like he was going to argue.

"I need to completely concentrate if I'm to get this ritual right," Raine said. "If I do it wrong, I could be putting us all in danger."

Lloyd gently put his hand on Genis' shoulder. "Raine knows what she's doing."

"I'll look after her," Harley assured as he clinched his fist. "You don't have to worry about a thing."

Genis sighed in defeat as he looked towards Harley. "Thanks."

Harley gave a huge smile. "Hey, us kinsmen have to look out for each other."

Genis had to keep himself from flinching at his words, but he allowed his friends to lead him out.

Kratos almost wanted to sigh again. He didn't want to be in this region any longer.

Yeah, the plot is slowly moving, although I still think this entire part of the game is filler. Anyway, until next chapter.