Chapter One
Chapter One:
She had never intended to be an adventurer. In fact, if one had asked her as a young girl, adventuring would never have crossed her mind. Of course, the stars often hold secrets the young aren’t meant to know, and the will of the Goddess isn’t always as clear as the dreams of the innocent. So, here the young hume woman was, in the less than welcoming kingdom of San d’Oria, sitting in a dark corner of the Lion Spring’s Tavern trying to dry off near the fire. The hood of her woolen tunic was pulled low over her face as she gazed at the flames; which seemed to dance before her in greeting. Not sure what to do next, she simply waited, watching the fire, sipping at her ale. The tavern was filled with the sounds of eating and laughter, tavern girls bringing trays filled with mugs and trenchers, and the sound of voices swelled and subsided like waves.
“Thou art not from here,” came a soft, cold voice to her left. The young woman stilled, her right hand moving to her staff leaning near the hearth.
“A wise observation,” she replied softly, her gaze never turning from the hearth, which crackled slightly now.
“Peace, mage,” said the man, his voice hard yet holding the barest hint of amusement, “I have information for you…from your kinsman.”
There was a long silence while the girl glanced sharply at him, her eyes betraying the composure of her body. The elvaan man was younger than his voice had sounded. He was dressed in green and brown, a katana on one hip and a dagger on the other. He made no move for either, and while his voice was coldly calculated, his eyes appeared amused.
“Your kinsman was taken to Bostaunieux Oubliette,”
The girl sighed wearily and nodded, “I expected as much.”
The young elvaan actually chuckled, dropping the formality of his arrival, “He has put us thieves to shame, really. Few steal from the Holy Cathedral and live. I do not believe the priests were amused.”
The girl eyed the young man. “Well, hopefully the guards do not suspect the idiot I call a brother has a mage for a sister,” she paused, and then continued softly, “I am Liliana. My brother…and I are in your debt, sir.”
Smiling, the young man replied, “Well met, Liliana. I am called Shadow. Names are not given lightly in my trade,” Shadow went silent then, glancing around the smoky tavern, “We must hurry. Your brother has little time. Meet me in the courtyard near the Chateau to the north of here. Do not follow too closely.”
Liliana nodded and turned back to the fire. She counted to five hundred and took a deep breath. She fished a few gil out of her pouch and placed the coins on the table. Then, gathering her cloak and staff, she stood and left the tavern, not noticing the black clad figure watching from the far corner.
. . . . . . . .
It was raining again when Liliana reached the well-manicured courtyard outside the Chateau. She stood behind a stone sculpture, waiting for Shadow. All she could hear was the soft patter of rain on the pavement, and the wind whistling against the stone buildings. Never had she longed more for the small farming town where she had grown up in the Highlands of Konschstat. All these walls made her uneasy.
“Are you ready?” came the soft voice near her ear.
Liliana jumped slightly then glared at her companion, “How do we get inside? I doubt we can just walk up to the door.”
“Well…” Shadow paused to consider this, then broke out into a roguish grin, “I’ll encourage these guards out here to take a little nap.” He said, chuckling dryly.
“A nap?” Liliana asked, raising a brow.
Shadow just looked at her and smiled, “You don’t want to know. Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. It won’t leave any permanent damage. I assume the tunic and staff aren’t just a fashion statement?”
Liliana snorted, “Of course not.”
Shadow nodded. “All right. After I take care of these two, hurry inside. Once there we must not be seen,” With that he began to move away.
“Wait… Shadow, what are you going to do?” Liliana whispered, but Shadow was gone. She crept from behind the stone pillar to see the two Elvaan guardsmen standing near the walkway to the Chateau. There was the merest whistle of sound, and one man fell to the ground in a clamor of metal armor, his friend turning and stalking towards him, calling out a name Liliana didn’t recognize. She started, and had to stop herself from running to the fallen guard. Surely Shadow wouldn’t kill them. A second later, the second guard fell next to the first, and Liliana moved then, running swiftly towards the bridge, pausing briefly at the sound of snoring from the guards.
Once inside, Liliana tossed back the hood of her tunic and shook off the rain. She moved quietly to Shadow, who stood in the corner near a corridor that led to a long stairwell.
“Come, quickly,” he whispered to her harshly. He began chanting in the strange Eastern tongue, and then vanished from sight. Closing her eyes, Liliana began the spell weaving for invisibility, her spell glimmering around her. As the shimmer receded, she followed Shadows soft footfalls down the dark stairwell to the Oubliette.
She followed the thief through a cell-lined maze of corridors. Some were empty, but many held the unfortunate souls caught in acts of thievery or treason. Liliana sighed inwardly as the passed through row after row of cells. {Oh, Raife. What in the name of Altana did you get yourself into? Why were you in San d’Oria at all?}
They rounded another corner, which ended in a moldy stone wall. Puzzled, Liliana whispered, “What are you doing? Why are we sitting in a dead end?”
Shadow uttered a single eastern word, and he reappeared beside her, “Waiting.”
“Waiting…? Waiting for what?” she stopped at the sound of footsteps, and Shadow looked past her to see who was approaching. She turned to see a tall, pale, frail looking Elvaan man, his eyes sunken and weary
Shadow bowed slightly, “Novalmogue,” he said in greeting.
Novalmogue did not reply, but instead turned his grey eyes to Liliana. “Your kinsman is here no more.”
“What?!” She said, her voice ringing loudly against the stone walls.
Shadow winced at the sound, glared at her, then turned back to Novalmogue. “What do you mean, here no more?”
“The young man was clever. He escaped his cell. I last heard he was headed towards the sewers.”
Shadow stilled at Liliana’s side. “The sewer,”
Novalmogue nodded, but said nothing.
“How do we get there?” Liliana asked, her voice firm.
Shadow looked at her, drew a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I know the way,” he said with a sigh.
Shadow and Liliana reached a small room with only a round seal in the floor.
“Down there,” Shadow said, pointing at the seal, “Are dangerous monsters. Stay close to me. We must be silent.” He reached into his belt pack and pulled out a small jar of oil as Liliana whispered a short spell of silence. They jumped through the opening, landing in a trough of musty, dingy water.
“Well… this is lovely,” Liliana said, making a face at the smell.
Shadow chuckled dryly, “What would you expect of a sewer, really?”
The sewers were littered with bats and slimes, and the companions took great care in avoiding them. Liliana quickly lost her sense of direction, and resigned herself to trusting in Shadow to keep them moving in the right direction. There was no sign of Raife that she could see, and her spirits sank a little as the hours wore on. They moved quickly, pausing only long enough to recast and reapply the oil that hid them from the monsters around them. Shortly after one such brief stop and hours after entering the dank sewers, Liliana stopped and leaned against a half crumbled pillar.
“Shadow,” she whispered wearily.
He turned and looked at her, a brow raised in amusement, “Surely you don’t need to recast already, Lili?”
Liliana shook her head, “No. I’m just… tired. It’s been a long night, and I’m guessing we have long to go.”
Shadow looked slightly concerned, then sighed and said with a wry grin, “Just like a mage. Always waiting on them to rest,” He took in the surroundings with a practiced eye, “All right, over here.” He said; leading Liliana towards an alcove surrounded on three sides with at least some semblance of a wall.
“Stay here, as close to the corner as you can get. Do not leave here. I will scout around and see if I can find anything. I won’t go far. If you need me, call. I’ll be close enough to hear you,”
“I’ll be fine. Here,” Liliana whispered briefly, and both her and Shadow were surrounded by white light as her protection spell encased them, shimmered, and disappeared. She sighed, tired, and knelt by the corner. Shadow waited until she had situated herself, and then stalked off silently down a corridor of the sewer.
Liliana knelt, silent and still finding that meditative, restful place she had learned so long ago to find. She had pushed herself farther than she should have. One spell cost little energy to cast, but maintaining the invisibility and silence since her journey with Shadow had begun had depleted her reserves. She focused on her teachings, concentrated on filling the spring her magic came from. She knew she hadn’t time to fill herself completely, but even if she could get halfway…
On the edges of her awareness, she heard steps. She continued resting, guessing Shadow was exploring another avenue of the sewer. The steps came closer, and stopped near her. Blessed Altana, I just need a few minutes. He’s so impatient.
“Shadow, please, I just need a few more moments,” she whispered without looking towards him, slightly annoyed. She was answered by a low rumbling sound. It wasn’t Shadow. Something was… growling at her. Her blood ran cold, and she dared open her eyes and slowly face the source of the sound.
The hound was huge, with black eyes and grey crusted fur. A slimy, greenish drool oozed from its mouth, which bared yellow fangs menacingly. Drawing a breath, eyes fixed on the beast, she whispered the spell for sleep under her breath. The hound whimpered a moment, and then shook off the web of her spell. Damn. Liliana thought as she backed up into the corner, focusing her mind and drawing breath. Shadow, please hear me… I can’t hold it off for long. Holding out her hands, she concentrated on her spell, and called for Shadow.
Shadow continued through the sewers, searching for any sign of Raife. Oddly, not only had the hume not left any traces, but it looked as if no one had been here in some time. He stooped to investigate a shard of glass on the ground. {Hmm… No sign of anyone, anytime recently. I’m beginning to wonder if he ever came this way at all. Novalmogue may have been misinformed… or misinformed us. Where would he have gone?} Shadow contemplated this, then smiled and laughed to himself.
“Of course…” he said aloud, realization dawning. He shook his head in amusement. He dropped the shard of glass, stood and turned to walk back. Suddenly, a shrill scream broke the silence of the sewer. His head snapped in the direction of the cry.
It was Liliana. He broke into his fastest run, the walls of the sewer flashing by him in a grey-green blur of stone and mold. He heard growling as he grew near, and Liliana frantically trying to cast spells to keep the beast at bay. As he rounded the corner he saw the hound, hackles raised, snapping at Liliana as she warded it off. She shouted a word, the jewel on the staff at her back glowed deep red, and the hound whimpered as its hair was singed by her spell. The wolf shook it off, growled deep and lunged for Liliana with a howl. Shadow heard her wince as it knocked into her, slamming her into the wall behind her, and she twisted to avoid its jaws as it snapped at her.
Shadow wasted no time. Drawing both katana and dagger, he stood directly behind the hound. With a shout, he attacked, blades flying too quickly to see. The hound turned on Shadow, leaving Liliana to sag to the floor. The beast howled at Shadow, appearing more annoyed than really injured.
“Lili! Hurry, get us out of here! Quickly, while I have its attention!” Shadow yelled. Liliana staggered to her feet, closed her eyes and reached for the last bits of magic she had left. Please let me have enough to cast this… She focused on the spell, shutting out the sounds of Shadow and the hound in front of her. Shadow watched her as he frantically tried to fend off the hound, slashing. He hadn’t had time to cast his ninjutsu; she had to hurry. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Liliana felt the portal open, envelope her and Shadow, and close again.
“Blessed Goddess,” Liliana sighed as she knelt heavily in the wet grass of the Ronfuare. Shadow staggered and sat beside her, blades still drawn.
“Well, now. That was enjoyable.” He breathed, amusement tingeing his words.
Unable to restrain herself, Liliana punched him in the shoulder, glaring at him darkly. Shadow merely tossed his head back and laughed. Liliana sighed and relaxed into the grass, not caring that the water soaked through to her skin. Slowly, Shadow’s laughter calmed and he sat up, arms wrapped around his knees.
“Are you injured?” he asked, eyeing her.
“No, I don’t think so. Nothing serious, anyway.” she winced as she sat up, stretching her right shoulder, “You?”
Shadow glanced at his left forearm where an angry scratch was revealed underneath his ripped coat, “not too bad,”
Shadow heard Liliana whispering under her breath, the jewel on her staff opalescent and white. A shimmering glow rained on them both, easing the soreness of their encounter. After the spell settled, Liliana let out a shuddering breath and lay back, exhausted. Shadow let her sleep. He broke out some flint stones and fished for some dry wood, started a small fire, and kept watch. {The guards will be searching for us, especially since Raife is gone from the Oubliette. We have to leave the Kingdom.}
When Liliana awoke, Shadow was still sitting near her, a small fire burning in a stone ring. She sat up slowly, stretched her sore muscles, and ran a hand through her dark hair.
“What time is it?”
Shadow answered without turning, “About midday. Hard to tell with the clouds, but we were in the Oubliette until about dawn.”
Lili nodded, “Did you rest?”
“I’m fine. We need to get going, if you’re feeling up to it.”
She stood slowly, gathered her pack and her staff, “Sure. What now?”
Shadow grinned, “I have an idea.”
Lili raised an eyebrow, “Why does that frighten me?”
Shadow chuckled, stood, and jogged back towards the city. They stopped several hundred yards from the gate, in a thick clump of trees.
“We need to get to Jeuno,” Shadow said quietly, looking through the trees towards the city gates.
“Jeuno? But that’s days away from here on foot, Shadow. There’s no way for us to get chocobos from the city,”
“I’ve arranged transportation for us. Don’t worry,”
Liliana groaned, “You know, every time you tell me not to worry, it seems like I should.”
