The Legend of Dragoon II
part four
Disclaimer: This subject is owned by Sony Computer Entertainment of Japan (yes, Japan. That's where the story originated). I am merely borrowing this subject as to do a sequel, which I have wanted to do for some time now. If you recognize the names of the made up characters of mine from somewhere, I'm sorry. I'm trying to make up the names for originality.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 22) Dark council
Irving, the leader of the Soanites, stood at a podium, stationed in a dimly lit room filled to the brim by a large crowd. Anger was showing everywhere across his face, since the failure to destroy Deningrad and the failure of the Virage. A small murmuring whispered around the crowd before him, full of fear, full of anxiety, and every one of them awaiting to learn their fate. Most of them figured that the real fault layed with the Virage, since it was defeated, but many others still figured that Irving would find a way to keep the blame on them.
As Irving stood at the podium, a deep snarl escaped his lips, signaling silence, and it was met. He deliberately remained silent, to add effect of his anger. "Would anyone care to tell me HOW we FAILED?" The room remained silent. In a sense, this made Irving pleased, yet in another, it just added to his rage. Slamming the podium, he screamed, "ANYONE? Will ANYONE speak up to answer me?" The room remained silent still. Seeing as no one would answer, Irving continued. "I'll tell all of you why we failed. YOU! You are all losing FAITH! Soa sent us a weak Virage, because you are all losing faith in our great lord." At this, many of them hung their heads in shame, either because they really believed that it was their fault, or because they just didn't want to be executed in his rage.
Irving, seeming to have emptied his system some, said a little more calmly. "Now, we must ask for our forgiveness, for our disobedience, for being wretched little urchins in his power, when we should have been his army." All in the room bowed their heads and closed their eyes, all except for Irving, who lead the prayer. "Oh, great and divine Soa, your followers, your most loyal subjects wish for your divine grace and forgiveness for their insubordination." Irving paused, as if expecting a response. When he heard nothing, he yelled at those praying. "Isn't that RIGHT?" The crowd immediately took the hint. They replied in unison, "Yes, our lord, the Great Creator, Soa."
The prayer continued like that for nearly a half-hour, continuing with the occasional unison chant from the crowd, admitting to the mistakes that they may or may not have made. Irving finished the prayer, "Then let your redeemed followers be blessed by your holy light, to continue to re-fulfill your deed to purify the world." At saying this, a pendent that Irving wore arond his neck began to glow a bright white, pulsating power throughout the crowd. The glow lasted a good minute before it faded. After finishing, Irving told the crowd, "You are dismissed, and may Soa guide your ways. Now, may I see the council in the back room."
The crowd dispersed, Irving headed for the back room, and he was followed by the seven council elders, each garbed in a different color robe. Upon reaching the hidden back room, they all sat around a crescent-like table, so that Irving sat in the center, and the seven council elders sat around the longer end of the table. Irving started off, "So, now that we have that settled, we must discuss our course of actions." Turning to the elder second from the right end, garbed in white, Irving said, "What is the status of the reaches of the Soanites?" Curtly, the white garbed elder responded, "The informants I have sent to Tiberoa report that they may have gained the support of at least one hundred. The ones I have sent to Gloriano have yet to return, but I recieved a message that there are settlements interested in their word." Irving looked pleased. "Anything about Serdio?" A grim expression came across the white garbed elder. "I lost contact with them some time ago. And it was a shame too, they were my right and left hands."
"We will deal with them..... if they return." Irving turned to the third from the left, who was garbed in blue. "Do you have any information about the locations of Soa's other monsters?" With a grin, he responded, "Yes, in fact, I have learned of the location of a Kraken, out in the ocean. I will be heading out tomorrow to tame it." Irving returned to looking pleased, "Good, very good....., but," His gaunt face returned, "The Virage was a complete failure. In the first dragon campaign, they were able to destroy four Dragoons. This one couldn't even handle one." The blue robed elder responded, "I am truly sorry. We did have to travel a long distance. I found it underneath much of the rubble of what used to be The Valley of Corrupted Gravity, which is now just the Corrupted Valley." Irving seemed to understand then how it was so weak. "Well, keep up the good work. As long as those ignorant peons think that I have the power to summon the monsters, you're doing a good job." The blue elder just nodded.
Then, turning to the elder that was sitting second from the left end, garbed in purple, he said, "What do you know about the movement of the Dragoon from Deningrad?" A sinister look spread across his face. Taking his time deliberately, he said, "Everything." This really pleased Irving. "How so?" The purple elder replied, "A new developement I have discovered allows me to control the minds of others. And recently, it has come to great use. When I visited the remains of Deningrad, I came upon a lone knight, and I thought that it would be interesting to learn what he knew." A shadowy figure appeared in the dark corner of the room. No light shed on him, so nothing could be seen of him, except for his blank eyes. "This is he." Turning the the dark figure, the purple elder said, "You may return to your "Queen" now. I will call upon you later." The dark figure remained in the shadows, but headed for the door and left. "The best part is that he won't remember anything he sees while entranced." Irving laughed heartily. "I must commend you greatly, but where is he headed?" The purple elder replied, "They left Deningrad, heading for Furni. Apparently, the Dragoon and two others are leaving for Serdio, to seek out the other Dragoon spirits." Irving inquired, "Does this mean that they have other spirits?" A shameful look spread across the purple elder's face, "Unfortunately, I cannot say. As I am only recently able to mind control, I couldn't extract that information from our... "correspondant".
Irving had a look of intrigue across his face, for he was working out a new plan. "Well, if the Dragoon is heading for sea, then maybe..." he turned to the blue elder, ".... it's time for you to go find that Kraken. I feel we should head to Furni for a "farewell party" for our little "friends"." Laughing, Irving arose from his seat, followed by the other seven. "We must ready the men for a journey to Furni." Turning to the green garbed elder, Irving said, "We must also find a ship. Take care of that." "Yes, master." was the reply. When they all exited the room, the door was shut, leaving it in total darkness.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 23) Minor distractions
The group walked through the forest as they headed for Furni, their next destination. Al and Rashe'm seemed to have been leading the way, with Liza and Derreck right behind them, and Orrin trailing the four. Orrin glanced in the many directions of the forest, seeing as this would be the last he'd get to see of the enormous trees. He felt that it was almost neccessary, as a fond farewell. Eventually, the sight-seeing was halted as something caught his eye, way up in the trees. Something kept darting back and forth among them, but it was too high up to see. It continually darted among the trees, but it seemed to be following the group.
This phenomena held onto Orrin's attention and wouldn't let go. He wanted to know what it was, but had no way of finding out. Unfortunately, this ended with a THUD as Orrin fell to the ground. After falling, Orrin laid, with his face against the gritty dirt of the ground, and slowly, he moaned, ".........Ow........". This had caused a giggle to erupt from Liza, who thought it funny that he remained laying on the ground. Orrin then began feeling a burning sensation on his leg, from the top of his shin down to his ankle. Finally getting off of his face, he sat on the ground, examining his leg. He skinned his leg, and pretty badly. Noticing that all of the gear he had been carrying was now laying in front of him, he slowly turned around to see why he fell. A semi-large rock sat in the path, more towards the edge. If Orrin had gotten up, he would have seen that the rock came up to where the scrape started at the top of his leg.
Orrin managed to hit his leg on a rock that hadn't even been on the center of the path, where he thought he had been walking. So, while everyone else walked past it, he walked INTO it. Grumpily, he regretted having been distracted by the thing in the trees. Looking back at his leg, he saw that his wound was covered in dirt, not a good sign. "Crap, now it's gonna get infected." complained Orrin. Still giggling, Liza came forward, bent down to his level, and began making the same hand signs that she had made when healing her brother. When Liza's hands began glowing, Orrin looked up and saw that Al, Rashe'm and Derreck had started a conversation, no doubt about what had just happened, since all three had their backs turned from the scene.
A warm, gushing feeling went through Orrin's leg as Liza put her glowing hand up to the wound, which was now becoming unrecognizable and smaller. 'Best feeling since the warp gates.' thought Orrin. When Liza finished healing Orrin's leg, she got up and returned to the other three. Getting to his feet, Orrin suddenly noticed that the gear he had been carrying, which had just recently taken residence upon the forest floor along with him, was gone. All of it was now missing. There had been some crucial neccessities in there, including extra food rations that they had packed for the trip. Making sure that the others hadn't picked it up, Orrin spoke up, "Uh.... Al?" The four turned to face Orrin. "Did you pick up the stuff I dropped?"
After Al gave questioning glances to Rashe'm and Derreck, both met by shaking heads, his eyes went wide. "Oh, Hell! We're being tracked." Orrin asked, "Tracked? By what?" but Al didn't have to answer. The tree next to the scene began to shake in the middle area, and something, like what had originally caught Orrin's attention, jumped out of the tree and further along the path. Al became flustered. "I knew it. Flying rats." Orrin couldn't figure how it was a "rat", because to him, it looked something like squirrel with bat wings. But he soon forgot that thought, becuase in one of the the flying rat's hands was the food pack. He scrambled to his feet, and was almost ready to rush after it, but Al put out his massive arm, blocking him.
"Aren't we going after it?" was the only thing Orrin could come out with, still in shock of the rapid progression of the occurrances. "Hold yer horses!" said Al back to him, "These things never travel alone..... There's gotta be more of them." Almost as if on que, the rest of the trees around began shaking like the one nearest had just done, but they were also squeaking madly. One by one, the trees revealed their occupants as the horde of flying rats joined its fellow conspirator. Doing a fast estimate, Orrin could have sworn that there were at least forty of them. And not only was the original flying rat holding something, three others were holding the rest of the gear.
In a flurry of flapping wings, a majority of the bats took off again in almost every direction, acting as a distraction for the four carrying prizes to get away. Al was not fooled. Quickly, he told the plan to the others. "They're not gonna make this easy. We have to split up and go after one of them rats, and get our stuff back. The stuff they have prevents them from flying off, and that's our only advantage. I'm sure they might even pass off, so try to get them quickly." With that, Al headed off after one, Rashe'm another, and Derreck and Liza after another. That left one for him, and he set off after it.Taking his spear from his holster, he wielded it, going after his target. As he pursued the flying rat, a few others tried flying at his face, to distract him, but he dodged them as quickly as possible without being thrown off course.
A few times, in his pursuit, he glimpsed the others, especially Liza and Derreck. Liza was holding a translucent blue hammer, while Derreck followed behind, walking swiftly with his hands in front of him in an odd gesture that Orrin couldn't recognize. Shrugging it off, he continued after his target. Continually, through twists and turns in the forest, he caught up more, and then fell behind, and quickly gained again. A few times the rats did switch off, but the switching off, Orrin found, left them vulnerable. It gave him an idea. He continued the chase, and after a minute or two, he saw that they were about to switch off again. When the rats reached out for the transfer, they seemed almost in line in front of Orrin, just as he had thought. Swiftly, he launched his spear at the rats. Since neither were willing to give up their prize, they were blind to the oncoming weapon. With two small thuds, followed by wailing squeaks, both of the rats rested with the spear blade running through them, both still holding the cargo.
Quickly, still aware that the enemy was still around him, Orrin took his spear from the insides of the rats and took bag his cargo, putting it in the pack resting on his back. Orrin knew he had to watch his back now, now that he took the rats' stolen goods. The path that he traveled took him to a somewhat open space, but part was closed off by a mountainous mound of rock. Orrin stood there with his back to the rock, so that the rats couldn't get an opportunity to surprise him. He waited a few minutes before Rashe'm came to the same clearing with his blood smeared sword and holding more of the lost cargo. Without saying a word, Rashe'm opened Orrin's pack and place the goods within it, sealing the pack back up.
Both stood at attention, waiting for the others. Activity soon died down, and Al, followed by Liza and Derreck, walked into the clearing as well. Al and Derreck were carrying the stolen cargo and placed it into Orrin's pack. Wiping his brow, Al phewed, saying, "Well, THAT was eventful." Orrin, feeling that the situation happened because he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, said, "Al, I'm sorry." Al didn't get angry, or even change emotions. He just remained relieved, saying, "Don't worry about it, accidents happen." This didn't take the guilt off of Orrin's shoulders.
Rashe'm seemed to be listening to something, but it was unknown until he spoke up. "I think I hear a brook over that way," pointing, "we should probably wash off the blood from our weapons." Agreeing, Al and Orrin nodded and followed him. Orrin looked back at Liza and Derreck, and he noticed that Liza wasn't carrying that hammer anymore. He became confused, seeing as he hadn't even seen her with a weapon before, but he had when he was running through the forest. Orrin stopped, and walked over to Liza. Trying to work out the right question, he asked her, "Where'd your hammer go? I saw you with it back there, but I don't see you with it now." "Oh," she began her reply, "I did not want to say anything, because I did not think something like this would happen, but I do not really need to carry it around with me. Technically, you could say that it is not real. It is created from energy."
This came as odd to Orrin, but he continued to listen, "Since we were little, we have found out that Derreck can take energy from the area around him and force it into a physical shape. Unfortunately, he has to stay focused on it, so he can not use the energy he forms." Derreck stepped in and continued, "So, while she does the battle, I have to stay focused, which is even harder." Understanding, Orrin replied, "That's really cool. I wish I could do something like that..." That struck a face of both triumph and remorse on Derreck's face, but Orrin hadn't noticed, because he turned to run back to where Al and Rashe'm were. Quietly, as the brook babbled, the three washed the blood from their weapons, not wanting them to rust or stain.
After the weapons were clean, Rashe'm passed around a rag to dry them off. Orrin sat admiring the blade of the spear, but he then noticed that Al and Rashe'm were already heading back to Liza and Derreck. Once returning to the full group again, they were ready to set off again towards Furni. The path that they took led them to another overlooking cliff, where there was a valley, way below at the bottom. The order of which they traveled seemed to have returned to what it was before, and all seemed calm as they walked. Not all would remain calm.
With a terrible shriek, a flying rat jumped out from a tree, barreling at Liza with a look of revenge in its eye. It was so sudden, even the two winglies weren't prepared, Nobly, Derreck pushed his sister out of the way, leaving himself the target of the mad creature. With a hard thunk, the flying rat crashed into Derreck's head, knocking Derreck unconscious from the force. Only then did Orrin notice that Derreck had been right on the edge, because he was now falling. The flying rat now lay dead where Derreck had just been standing, apparently from the combination of a pre-existing wound and the force of its attack. As Derreck fell, Liza realized what was happening, and began screaming, as if it were her life being threatened. She could have flown to save him, but the sudden loss of connection with her brother made her as frozen as a statue. All time seemed to stand still as a flashing pulse of blue light emerged from Al's pocket.
The light seemed to hover slowly in the air, moving ever closer to it's target. It flew to Liza as she continued her cry for her brother. She didn't stop screaming immediately, but when she stopped, the light enveloped her. Moments passed, and a streaking blur left the light, and nothing remained where the Liza had been once the light faded. Slowly, from the side of the ledge, Liza began to be visible, holding her brother's unconscious body. He was dirty and cut, Derreck had hit the side a few times. As Liza continued her ascent, her flapping wings became visible as well. The thought that came to Orrin was "She looks just like Rashe'm,... except blue."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 24) Arrival at the port
Liza finished her ascent, still flapping her new wings, and she hovered back over ground, replacing her brother upon solid soil. The only noise that now occurred within the forest surrounding the travelers was the wing-beat of the Dragoon form of Liza. As she landed back on the earthen path, silence continued. Not too long after, Liza was once again enveloped in light, but this time, when she was revealed after the light faded, she was back in her normal clothing instead of the blue armor. Even though she was still in a standing position, she was unsteady and started to lean to one side. Orrin noticed that she was falling in his direction, so he quickly repositioned himself and caught her. Softly, she was only able to mutter two words to Orrin, "Thank you." before she lost consciousness. Slowly, he lowered her parallel to Derreck, so that they could rest while they were knocked out.
The other three had set up camp while the winglies "slept". They had sat and talked, hoping that their companions would wake soon, so they could be back on their way to Furni, as well as to know that they were alright. Nearly two hours passed before Derreck began stirring. After ten minutes, he was able to open his eyes. The first movement he made consciously was putting his left hand up where the flying rat had hit him. By this point there was a very large welt visible, making an almost comical picture out of the scene. He stood up and hobbled over to the camp, since he was still injured from the fall. "How long have I been unconscious?" slowly came out of Derreck's mouth. Al replied, "A little over two hours, and it's about time ya got up." Shamefacedly, Derreck said, "I suppose so...." The scene went silent, but Rashe'm brought up, "Aren't you going to wake up Liza? Or can you do that?" Dawning upon Derreck, he said, "Oh, sorry! I'll try to wake her now."
After five minutes passed, Liza was back on her feet. She remained in disbelief of what had just occurred. The only one who could truly say that he understood how she felt was Rashe'm, the only other Dragoon. When he found out, he had been able to handle it, but for Liza, it was a bit too much. Liza wanted answers, but she knew that she couldn't get them from her current party, and that made her feel worse. Derreck began showing Liza's sulken mood, but something else was there. It was not detectable to the others, but it was there, jealousy.
By the time Liza and Derreck were well and able again, it was nearing dusk. With it being nearly impossible to travel in the darkness of the forest at night, the group set up camp along the path near the cliff. Al started making their night's dinner, when Liza asked, "Are you.... we still going to be able to make it on time for the ship departure?" Al cooly replied, "I believe so, yeah. It leaves the day after tomorrow, and we were hoping to use tomorrow as the relax day in Furni. It just may take all day tomorrow to get there, but we should make it." Liza looked down in a sorrowed manner, saying, "This is my fault... If I were stronger willed, I would not have passed out, causing our delay." Instead of Al making the reply this time, Rashe'm, who was nearby setting up beds, said, "Never blame yourself for things you can't possibly control. I won't allow it, Liza... We're all on this journey together, and we're not going to let the past hold us back, okay?" Slowly, Liza grinned and nodded, a single tear falling from her eye.
Dawn broke, the next morning, onto their sleeping faces. The first one to awaken was Al, he was accustomed to this. He looked around and saw the rest of the sleeping party, and he figured he'd let them sleep. In fact, he wanted to let them wake up to breakfast. So, he went the the remains of the last night's fire and lit it. There had been some water left over from the last night, so there was no need to fetch more. Once he had the fire going and a pot over the fire, he busily set to work.
Orrin awoke not much later after Al. He woke up to the sounds of cooking. He groggily sat up, rubbing his eyes, when Al noticed him. "G'morning, Orrin. Sleep well?" Still waking up, Orrin took his time replying. "Maybe I'd have slept better if your cooking was a bit quieter..." he said sarcastically. "Well, sorry, your majesty," said Al, taking up on the joke. They both laughed afterwards. Orrin turned to look at the rest of the group, still sleeping. For a moment, only a brief second, he swore he saw Derreck's face clench, as if in jealousy, or seething. But it disappeared as soon as it appeared, so Orrin dismissed it.
A half hour later, Rashe'm, Liza, and Derreck all woke, in sequence. They didn't wake to the sounds of breakfast, they woke to the smell. Orrin had offered his help in making breakfast, so it was finished sooner. "G'morning, everyone," called Orrin and Al, in sync. The first place Orrin's eyes went to was Derreck's face, because he remembered the phantom expression. When he examined his face, he was sure that Derreck couldn't have made that face after all. Derreck's face seemed to glow, it was radiant and almost blissful. Assured, Orrin took up the new duty of serving everyone's breakfast.
An hour later, with the sun just barely in the sky, the traveling group was ready to set off again for Furni. They proceeded up the path, which of course, led to more winding paths. Al kept reassuring everyone that they were almost out of the forest. The trees began to thin, and there was an increasing amount of light washing the forest. The day so far seemed to glow. Perhaps today would be a good day.
Within a half-hour, they were out of the forest and on the path to the water city, Furni. Al anounced to everyone, "If the weather stays clear today, we could get there by late afternoon." They traveled the path, taking somewhat of a formation, with Al and Orrin at the front, as Al recounted some old stories he knew, and Derreck was a little behind them, listening in on the big man's tales. Liza and Rashe'm were behind, talking quietly to each other. They had the Dragoon Spirits, so they had the most to talk about to each other, mostly about how it felt, all of that energy rushing through them.
Just before the sun hit the highest point in its path across the sky, Furni came into view. "Well I'll be," started Al, "We might get there within a few hours!" They continued their path, stopping only once for a break. The atmosphere along the path seemed to get warmer, balmier, the entire time. Sure enough, three hours after spotting Furni, they stepped through the entrance gate.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 25) Boarding
Irving took his place at the crescent table, surrounded by his dark, color-garbed council. The only agenda in his mind for the meeting was planning the next attack. He turned to the third council member from the left, the one garbed in blue, and said, "Malchia, have you found your Kraken?" A grin stretched across his face, and he said, "Indeed, I have, sir. 'Twas easy enough to tame. And according to our information, those pesky travelers with the Dragoon Spirit are almost to Furni. After this meeting, I will regain the Kraken and get into attacking position." Irving felt this was great news, better than he had been hearing lately. "Excellent. Do you remember where to station?" Malchia nodded, "Yes, fifteen nautical miles along their ship's "set" voyage."
The second member from the left, garbed in purple, chuckled at the stressed "set". He was to also be a part of the attack. It became apparent that the ship's captain could change the course at any time, if necessary, so he was commissioned to board the vessel and control the captain's mind, to follow the course to the Kraken, waiting in ambush. Irving turned to the purple elder, "And you know your part as well, do you not, Tiras?" The purple elder nodded. Irving couldn't help but grin again, "This may go better than planned."
~~~~~
The travelers exited their hotel, the "Sea Spray Inn", and left for the dock, so they would know where to find it. There had been some actual roads built in Furni, but the waterways were still the main source of getting around. With the way that Furni's population had expanded and spread, there was no way that the waterways would sustain as the only form of transportation anymore.
Al led the others towards the docks, walking along the river waterway. As Orrin followed, he glanced around, wildly amazed at the site of so much water. He thought that the lake in the middle of the desert had been big, but the ocean was much bigger. While Orrin was still taking the view of the ocean in, they had arrived at the docks, and there sat the ship that was to take them to Serdio. It was a giant ship, at least three hundred yards long. The exterior was covered in iron plating, a customary design. Atop a large structure on the ship was a pillar up to a fairly sizeable Crow's Nest. The side of the ship read in piercing white letters "Wave Dancer". Liza stated, "Oooh... Wave Dancer. That is a pretty name."
The cargo transoport manager was standing aways off, near a ramp onto the ship, and as soon as she saw the group approach, she recognized the large man, the man with red armor, and the youth, but she was clueless as to the two platinum haired people with them. She approached the group extending a welcome, "You must be the Queen's passangers. The messenger she sent got here a few days ago, so you're about right on schedule."
Al stepped forward from the group, "Thank you for greeting us. My name is Aljandro, but ya can just call me Al. The kid here's Orrin, and him there, that's Rashe'm." Al pointed them to her respectively. "We were the ones the Queen originally sent. But we have two added to our party since then, Derreck and Liza." The manager smiled, "We're proud to take the guests of her Majesty with us." She pointed to Derreck and Liza, "And don't worry, we have plenty of room for your added party, no problem." Al hadn't really thought about that, but at recieving that news, he thanked her.
"The Wave Dancer will be setting off tomorrow morning. My best estimate is that we shall be fully ready around nine, so I would advise you be here at least a half an hour before that." Al extended his hand to her, "Thank ye much, ma'am." She blushed, and then with a start, "Oh! How rude, I haven't told you who I am.... sorry. My name is Tammy. And I look forward to the voyage with all of you." She smiled again and returned to resume her duties.
Al turned to the rest of the group, "Well, now that we know where the dock is, I guess we can wander around Furni, or relax." Liza said, "Derreck and I will go to the market, I want to see what kinds of curios you humans sell. Don't you, Derreck?" He nodded, being just as curious about the human race as his sister was. As they turned and left, Rashe'm announced that he was going to the armory. Al turned to Orrin, "Is there anywhere ya have in mind to visit?" Orrin replied "Not really... I might just stay at the hotel... I'm kinda tired." Al chuckled, "Sounds like a plan. But remember, yer still just a kid. Don't go too far from the hotel, ok?" Orrin nodded, and when Al was reassured, he headed off to the nearby kitchenware store.
They had been fortunate to get their room, it was the last available, and it was room enough for five. Accomodations like that were becoming rare, as traveling troops usually consisted of no more than three. Orrin shut the door and took to his bed. He realized that he hadn't been alone since he started his journey from home. And then he remembered the two thieves he had bumped into, who immediately had turned on him. It made him bring his hand up to his throat, where he had been cut. He had completely forgotten about the bandage, and by now, it had to be old and dirty. He slowly removed the bandaging from his neck, and sure enough, it was browning and wrinkled.
Now lacking the bandages, his neck felt bare. An existance that was once there, caressing his neck, was now gone. "Perhaps I'll buy some more bandages, and put on a new one." he thought. He stood up and headed to the room's mirror, to examine that horizontal slice. There was a small scar where he had been cut, all that time back. He couldn't believe it had been all that time ago that it had happened. Then thoughts turned to his mother, and a sudden longing for home hit.
He resolved that he'd also write a letter home. His mother had to have been worried sick by now. He took some paper and a pen he found in the room and began his letter to home. He managed to write down the majority of his adventures on three pieces of paper, but he felt that he should leave out the part about the bandits. Orrin took his letter and went downstairs, to the hotel lobby. He found the Inn owner and asked, "Is there somewhere I can send a letter?" The owner replied, "Across the street is a post center, sir." Orrin said, "Thank you... Oh! Would you happen to have an extra roll of bandage around? I'll buy it from you." "Sure," said the owner, "just let me go to my office." He left, returning a minute later with the bandages. "I suppose it's good to have some extra around, especially if you're journeying. That's why I always have some handy. That'll be twenty pieces of gold, please."
After paying the inn owner, he left with the bandages and his letter to go to the post center across the street. He entered the building, and saw a few people in line, most likely to recieve their mail for that day. There was an open register with a sign above it reading "Exports", so Orrin went to that one. As he approached, the man there said, "What can I do for you today, young man?" Orrin handed him his letter, with his mother's name facing up. "I have a letter for home." The man took it, and Orrin added, "She lives in Dranc, out in the desert. How much will it be to send it there?" The man told him it would be thirty gold, since the letter would have to travel quite aways. Orrin paid the man at the counter and left back for the hotel.
The Afternoon dragged on, and Orrin had just finished taking a bath at the hotel. He headed back up to the room, reapplied some bandages to his neck, even though they were unnecessary, and laid back in bed. Everyone was still gone, but it was evident that while Orrin was out, Liza or Derreck had returned and dropped something off at the room. Within ten minutes, Orrin had closed his eyes and fell asleep, waiting for tomorrow to go out on the ocean.
~~~~~
Orrin woke up early the next morning, and it was a most restful night. Everyone else laid asleep on their beds, all except for Derreck, who merely feigned sleep. The hotel's lobby served a continental breakfast in the mornings, free of charge, so Orrin decided to go eat and wait for everyone else to get up.
Liza had joined Orrin in the lobby a half-hour later. One by one, the others got up, but Al was the last one to do so. The clock in the lobby read 8:02 as he lumbered down the stairs. Once Al got to the others, he sat down and said, "Tammy said we should get on the ship about 8:30, so I'm gonna grab a bite while y'all get your belongings togther. I'll be up, and then we can head for the ship. The next half-hour went just as Al said, and by 8:30, they were all aboard the Wave Dancer.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 26) The Statues Upon the Wave Dancer
As Orrin took the frist step onto the deck of the ship, he looked to the left and right, to see how far it extended each way. The ship was indeed an impressive sight. The floors were spotless, and they almost seemed to be reflective. "That won't last after we take off, for sure," he thought. Everyone else came aboard the ship, and Tammy followed them up the ramp. She instructed the nearest crewsman to take the group to their rooms and await for departure, and the crewsman quickly obeyed.
The crewsman led the way to the large structure, and he saw to it that he didn't dawdle. Orrin had been so used to their lax pace that he was having trouble keeping up. Although, once they were all in the structure, he slackened his pace to a more casual one. There wasn't a whole lot of room in the hallway of the structure, but it was still as impressive as the exterior. The floor was carpeted, the walls were covered in beautiful wall papers, and a fragrance drifted in the air. Halfway down the hall, the crewsman stopped before two nearby doors. "We are sorry for the rooming inconvenience, but another room has been prepared. It's not as big as the other, but both rooms hold two beds, and the larger room houses four." He opened each room, the bigger first. The smaller room wasn't as grandeur as the bigger, but there did seem to have been an effort to make the room nicer.
"I'll allow you to divide yourselves to the rooms now. Someone will come to get you when dinner is ready tonight." He turned and left at his original rushing pace. The hall was silent until Rashe'm said, "I'll take the smaller room." He took his belongings into the room, and he was soon followed by Al, "I'll do the same." After Al entered the room, he shut the door. Orrin, Liza, and Derreck entered the larger room, which was decorated with some very expensive-looking items. There were two pictures hung in the room, one of a grassy plain, and the other of a city Orrin had never seen, possibly even a fictional one. The city picture seemed too ethereal. The statue in the center stuck out in contrast to the rest of the painting, it was obviously the focus of the artist.
Orrin stared at the city picture still until he heard Liza jumping onto the nearest bed. As he turned, he was Derreck giving that disapproval glare, and Liza sat up in that eerie proper manner after doing something silly. He walked past them to his bed, and he set his things next to it on the floor. There was a knock at the door, and it made Orrin jump with a start. Rashe'm stood at the door. "Hey, there's something in our room that Al thinks you need to see." Rashe'm turned and left for his room after delivering his message. Out of curiosity, Orrin immediately followed him.
Al stood before a painting. When Orrin entered the room, he saw that Al seemed to be in deep thought. He went to stand next to him and looked at what Al seemed to be trying to figure out. The painting looked quite similar to the city picture in Orrin's room. Although, the city was entirely different. It even contained a castle. Al spoke finally, "Orrin, do ya know where this picture is a painting of?" Orrin didn't know, he did come from the desert, after all. He shook his head, and Al continued, "This is Bale." Orrin remembered that the Queen had mentioned Bale as one of their destinations. "So, there's a Dragoon Spirit there?"
"It's very possible," said Al, "I even have an idea where to look first..." As Al trailed off, Orrin noticed exactly what Al was looking at. It was a statue of a person. It even looked like the statue in the painting in his room because it stood out against the city, although this picture was in more detail. "The statue?" inquired Orrin. Al only nodded. "When we visit the castle, we'll have to ask about the sta-" Al was cut off by Orrin, "This kinda looks like the picture in our room." Al looked at Orrin for a few seconds, and then rushed past to go to Orrin's room.
Orrin rushed after Al into his room next door. He once again found Al standing in front of a painting, the city one. He took a place next to Al again, not noticing that Liza had sidled up to them while Derreck remained on the bed. Al spoke after some time of staring, "It's just as the Queen explained it, this has to be Seles." Orrin also recalled that name. It was the other city the Queen mentioned. The chances of the pictures being a coincidence seemed preposterous by now. Orrin spoke up, "Do you think a Dragoon Spirit is in the statue?" Al took time before replying, "I don't see why not. The statue of Miranda held the Silver-White Dragoon Spirit in its hand... This statue and the statue in Bale seem to be holding out a hand in the same manner. The Bale statue, I'm pretty sure, was King Albert. This one isn't as clear, but I have a feeling it's a statue of Dart Feld."
Orrin noticed that all of the excitement brought his heart to a fast beating. It took another jolt as someone knocked on the door. His tension caused him to fall backwards. As he clutched his chest, he looked up to see it was Tammy. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have knocked so loud... I didn't realize you were looking at that picture so intently." Orrin got up, "I'm fine." Al then said, "This picture and the picture in the other room are very interesting to us." Tammy replied, "That's wonderful! Perhaps you'll have time to look at the others."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 27) Murky Water
This time, Al fell to the floor, and this time Tammy screamed, loud. "OH MY GOSH, are you okay???" Al sat back up, "Just give me a moment, but do tell about these "others"." Tammy recollected herself, and Al, Orrin, and Liza all listened in intently, "The two pictures you've seen were painted by the same man, and he made a series of them, five in all." Al muttered under his breath, "That sounds like that should be about right." Tammy paid no attention and kept going, "They were painted around one hundred years ago. But, the ones we have are merely copies of the originals. Unfortunately, the originals have been lost, so these are just as valuable, if not more. And lucky you, we have copies of all five."
Al finally stood back up and walked towards her, "If you wouldn't mind, could you show us the others?" Tammy beamed with delight, she was particularly fond of anything with artistic value. It was her favorite part of being on luxurious ships like the Wave Dancer. She told them, "I'd be delighted. If you would follow me..." Trailing behind Tammy were Al, Orrin, and Liza. Derreck remained laying on the bed, yet he had a disturbed face. It made Orrin cringe a bit.
Tammy continued down the hall, almost near the end, when she said, "The ones you've already seen were the first and second in his series, so I'll just go ahead and show you the rest in order." At the very last room in the hall, Tammy took out a set of keys and unlocked the door. She stepped in and turned on the light to reveal a room like Al's and Rashe'm's. Before letting them into the room, Tammy explained, "This room, like the second room you recieved, are crew quarters. There are only three guest rooms, but two have recently undergone extensive repair from major damage, and are still being repaired. I speak for everyone when I say that we're sorry for the inconvenience." Al took her hand of apology and shook, "It's quite alright, but thank you. Could you get on to the paintings now?"
Their very humble host became red with embarrassment. "Hehe, sorry. I'll show you now." She let the three in, and there at the far wall was another statue picture. But this one wasn't in a city. Just as well, Orrin and Al recognized the statue almost immediately. As they approached the picture, Tammy began, "This was the third in the artist's series, and you may even recognize it. It's the statue of Miranda from the Castle of Deningrad." Al nodded, "Indeed, we do." Tammy continued, "There may be some connection, but as you may have heard, Miranda was one of the Legendary Dragoons of the Second Campaign, the Dragoon of Light. As it just happens, this painting is quite bright, vibrant. The one of Bale has the statue of Albert, and he was the Dragoon of Wind, and that painting has a floating feel to the strokes."
Tammy led them out of the room and down the hall back the way they came. She kept a steady pace, but she slowed as she neared a room on the other end of the hall. As she reached for her keys, she stopped. "Aw, crap." Al inquired, "What? What's the matter?" Tammy turned around smiling, but rubbing the back of her head, "The two last pictures were damaged in the other two guest rooms. I just remembered. Sorry." Al and Orrin sighed heavily in unison. Al began trying to tell her that it was ok, but he couldn't be heard over the fog horn that signified the ship's departure. He tried multiple times, but the irregular intervals kept interrupting. Once the blaring horn stopped, Tammy said, "Once again, I'm sorry, but now I must get going to do my other duties. I'll be back to find you for dinner."
As the three headed back to their rooms, Orrin said, "So much for that. At least the Miranda picture proves your theory has some credibility." Al nodded, "If we come across any more of the pictures, we should try to find the other two. But..." Al stammered for a moment. "D****t. I didn't ask her what the guy's name was. I could kick m'self." Orrin asked, "Didn't the pictures have a name with the title?" Al responded, "No, I made sure to check. I can't make out the signature either." Orrin asked a second question, "So, now what?"
Al didn't reply until they were at their rooms. "Whatever pleases ya, I suppose. I bought a new recipe book yesterday, so I'm going to look through it." Liza piped up, "I'm going to go out on deck. I find the sounds of waves and the ocean relaxing." Orrin had no real plans, so he said the first thing on his mind, "I'll just go lay back down and think." Orrin left as the other two did, and he entered the room of the slumbering Derreck.
Orrin wouldn't exactly call what Derreck was doing "slumbering". His face still had that troubled look on it. Orrin took to his bed and then took out the stones from his pockets. He held the white in his left hand and the purple in his right. "Heh, that's funny," thought Orrin, "Light and Dark. Extreme opposites." He continued to stare at the stones, how they seemed to have no true inner depth, like they were just endless space inside. He hadn't noticed it until just then, but the purple one felt heavier for a moment.
He was still worried about how anguished Derreck's face appeared, so Orrin looked over at him. Derreck's face did not appear troubled, but he was also not laying down anymore. He was sitting upright in bed, staring down at his feet. This new look almost made Orrin worry more, that perhaps he should go get Al and see if he could do something about Derreck. After a few moments of thought, Orrin decided he would go out on deck and see if Liza would know. He put the two stones back in his pockets and got up from his bed. As he got to the doorway, he looked back at Derreck. He had to ask, "Derreck, are you going to be ok?" Orrin wished he had waited to ask Liza.
"I loathe the water. I hate it. Anything on it, anything IN it. I hate it.... HATE IT....."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 28) Jealousy
Orrin was very scared at this point. He never imagined he'd see Derreck acting so erratically. He needed to go find Liza. As he left the room, Derreck turned over on his side and into a fetal position, falling silent almost instantly. Orrin didn't walk down the hall, he ran, as fast as he could. On his rush through the hall, he bumped into a man in a faded purple cloak. Orrin had no time to turn and apologize, so he did so as he ran, "SorryIneedtogetsomeone.Pleaseforgiveme!!"
Once Orrin was outside of the structure, he started darting a glance back and forth, looking for the farmiliar blue-silver clothes that Liza wore. He couldn't see her, no matter which way he looked, so he figured she had to be on the other side of the ship. Staying close to the ship's central structure, he ran to the other side of the ship. There he was able to find Liza, who was gazing out into the ocean. As Orrin approached, she didn't even notice, her mind was lost in the waves the ship rode on. Orrin finally got to her, and he put his hand on her shoulder to support himself. She jumped at his touch, but she turned and saw that he had run to her, so it was something important. "What is the matter, Orrin? Is something wrong?"
After being able to collect himself, Orrin told Liza of Derreck's erratic behavior. Liza seemed a little terrified, as she had never seen or heard of her brother acting in such a way, so she told Orrin, "We will go back to the room then, but we will not run. You are already over-exerted." Liza led the way back to the room, walking very briskly. On the trip back to the room, Orrin noticed the salty taste of the air that he had missed on his rush to find Liza. He followed behind Liza as well as he could, still feeling achey from his mad dash. They made their way to the structure, and when they got there, went to the door and entered.
Liza followed the hall to the room, and her brother. She finally reached the room, and as soon as she saw Derreck curled up in a fetal ball, she rushed to him. She reached the bed, put her hand to her brother's forehead, and she pulled back almost immediately. "He is burning up. Orrin, find some washcloths in the restroom and dampen them in warm water!" Orrin did as Liza said, and he soon returned to her with the damp cloths. She applied them to Derreck's forehead, and Derreck's face took a sudden change to relaxation. Liza turned to Orrin, "Could you leave the room for awhile? I will see if Derreck is coherent and find out if he can tell me what is wrong."
His heart was racing from all the excitement, and felt that fresh air would calm him some, so Orrin went outside. The first thing he noticed outside was how fast the wind blew out on the ocean. This too Orrin had missed when he went to find Liza. He walked across the deck to the side railings. Collapsing his back against them, Orrin closed his eyes, hoping that listening to the waves would slow his accelerated heartbeat.
~~~~~
Liza took patience with her brother. Derreck was apparantly half-coherent. He had moments of rationality, and then he would break out in his "I HATE the water" rants. She had indeed never seen her brother acting this way, and it hurt her to see him so. When Derreck had settled down again, Liza tried asking her question again, "Derreck..., can you tell me what is hurting you?" Derreck made no reply, but he sat on the bed staring at the ceiling. After some few moments, Liza sighed, "It is hopeless... I will just have to-" Derreck sat bolt upright before Liza, causing the moist cloth to fall from his forehead yet again.
Slowly, Derreck turned his upper body towards Liza, and immediately embraced her in a hug. Liza couldn't help but feel the heat radiating from her brother. The heat was so bothersome that Liza didn't even notice as Derreck slid his hand into his sister's pocket and took the blue stone. As he let go of the hug, his hand went immediately behind his back, so Liza wouldn't see what he took. Liza laid Derreck back down and replaced the wet cloths. Derreck then closed his eyes and remained motionless.
After a few minutes, Liza was certain that Derreck had fallen asleep. She got up from the bed and headed for the door. She turned just before leaving, "Do not worry, brother. You will be better soon. I will find the ship's doctor." She went into the next room, where Rashe'm lay alone in his bed. "Rashe'm? I hope it is not a bother for me asking, but could you please keep an eye on my brother every once in a while? He is very ill. I would greatly appreciate it." Rashe'm sat silently in his bed for a moment, but then he sat up and said, "I got nothing better to do, so I guess I can."
Liza ran to Rashe'm and gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. Rashe'm was taken by surprise, but Liza was quickly back out of the door way saying, "Thank you. I am going to find a doctor for Derreck. I will ever be grateful." Rashe'm watched her leave and finally snapped from his spell of shock. Usually, he'd be the one kissing the dame, not the other way around. But he did as he said he would, and he went into Derreck's room to make sure he remained stable.
Derreck laid in bed, fully awake and aware. His plan had gone just as he desired. The Blue Sea Dragoon was his, and Liza knew nothing of it. Although he remained motionless and quiet, thoughts reveled in his head, "The rest of my plan shall go very well. Foolish, foolish sister, it is time for me to take back the honor I am deserved, you wretched w***e. The boy shall present no problem, and with the buffoon in here watching me, things will go smoothly." Without drawing Rashe'm's attention, he quickly slid the stone to his own pocket.
~~~~~
Orrin was nearly asleep when a booming voice inquired, "Feeling alright, Orrin?" He opened his eyes to see Al standing in front of him. Slowly, Orrin nodded, noting that his heart rate was back to a comfortable pace. Al sat next to Orrin against the railings, "I heard the commotion. And Liza went looking for the ship's doctor. I'd have been scared pantsless if I had been in yer position, Orrin..." Al's statement comforted Orrin somewhat, but he still felt uneasy about everything. "The way he was talking, Al... it was like he was... someone else. The Derreck that we were travelling with wasn't the Derreck that was in the room." Al could see how much it was bothering Orrin, so he had to do something to take his mind off of it.
"I'll tell ya what, Orrin." Al started, "Remember me telling you that my adventures with Guaraha would have to wait for another time?" Orrin nodded, and Al continued, "We have some time to kill before dinner, so I think I could tell ya at least some of it now." Orrin liked the idea, as he was curious as to where Al and the Wingly sage had gone. "Now, listen up, Orrin. Yer the first person I'll have told this. I never even told my parents everything. Those days were really what changed my life forever." So, Al began his tale.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Continued in part five...................
prev chapter
Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Read Request
My Library
Subscribe
Flag Writing