Member
Danyel
Two Months Ago
It was a surprisingly quiet walk retracing the route Ferrin used to get in.
The Twins let their argument lapse, not close to reaching an agreement anytime soon.
When they arrived at the little underground lake they stopped. Ferrin gazed at the ceiling far overhead, a thoughtful expression on his face. The hole he originally made was barely visible, a soft glimmer of auburn light shone through it. But it was over the water, and he had no immediately obvious way to it.
"I think I can bring us up with a earth pillar then maybe..." He mused out loud.
Colt followed his gaze. "We need to get up there?" He queried.
Ferrin nodded absently. "I didn't really plan an exit. I was a little too worked up at the time."
"In that case, I can help."
Ferrin looked at him for a moment, then shrugged. "Be my guest." He said with a wave of his hands.
Colt walked over to the water, knelt by the edge then put a hand in. He screwed his face up in concentration.
Gradually, but gaining speed, ice spread from where his fingers met the water. It creped over the still surface, spreading wider and wider until it was out of sight from the small pool of light cast by Ferrin's magic.
Colt kept that position for a long minute, breathing in and out in a slow measured pattern.
Finally, he sagged in exhaustion, and jerked his hand out of the ice.
"There...it should extend to the hole. I can't say for certain from here."
Ferrin watched him with concern. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine...just used a lot of magic lately. 'm feeling it now."
Intrigued, Ferrin asked, "When either one of you use magic, it comes from the same origin, doesn't it?"
Colt considered this. "I guess? We are just as much in the dark about this are you are."
"Yes." Claire chimed in. "Well, you heard the know-it-all." "Well, its obvious isn't it? One body, one source!" "But you don't know that for certain--hey Ferrin, where are you going?"
Ferrin started walking away across the ice.
Treading carefully, they traversed the ice, ears and searching for any indication of the ice breaking.
Ferrin slipped just a little, and a pain shot from his ankle, up his back, and settled in his already throbbing head, reminding him of the abuse his body had just endured. He hurt literally everywhere, the worst of which was a great thumping headache. and with the fading adrenaline came a deadening exhaustion that clouded his mind and dragged at his limbs. He wanted nothing more than to plop down, curl up, and sob his wounded body to sleep. But he didn't. He gritted his teeth and told the pain to take a hike.
Being his pain, it just felt like it just redoubled its efforts to club him unconscious.
Meanwhile, Colt watched anxiously, his concern for Ferrin outweighing his own pain and exhaustion. You're too nice. Claire grumbled at him in their mind.
They reached a little patch of light and looked up. High over head was the hole Ferrin had made.
Ferrin began moving in preparation to cast a spell, but then Colt told him to hold up.
Ferrin tilted his head back and made an exasperated sound. "Cur?"
Colt looked puzzled. "Whaat?"
"No, that is 'quid'." Ferrin corrected him. "What do you want?"
Colt shook his head trying not to let Ferrin's idiosyncrasies distract him. He took a deep breath and plowed ahead. "Let me handle this you've done more then enough for us and besides you look like you're about to drop and its the least I could do to repay you not that this little act could ever amount to..." He trailed off, seeing the expression on Ferrin's face.
"Are you implying I can't handle a little spell like this?" Ferrin growled.
Colt waved his hands nervously, trying to backpedal. "N-no, I just wanted to help..."
Ferrin glared at him out of one amber eye. "I may be a little worse for wear, but I can assure you that no matter what state I'm in, I can use my own magic, dammit. I don't need coddling from anyone."
Help me out here, sis. Claire mentally rolled her eyes at her inept brother. You dug this pit. Dig yourself out. Or just shut up.
Ferrin took a stance, square his feet. He dramatically cast his arms out, palms down, then rotated his hands so they faced upwards. "Sursus!" He commanded.
The ice beneath them crackled, trembled, then began to grow in a roughly circular pillar, raising Ferrin and the Twin toward the hole. It grew moderately fast, and in no time they were raised through the hole out into the open evening air.
The ice pillar hit the bottom of the ground and stopped. There," Ferrin panted. "Ad sumus...told you...told you I could do it."
"Ha! Tired already?" Claire teased. "Wimp." Claire!"
Ferrin was too worn out to be angry. "I ran across half of Crocus looking for you, then fell down that damn hole to single handedly take on a crazy Necromancer and her personal pocket army. And before that I was in a rather large battle with a freaking Lich. Cut me some slack, I seem to be having an off day."
Just then the breeze picked up. Colt took control and faced the wind, inhaling deeply. "Smells like freedom." He said with a smile.
"Don't try to change the subject!""I'm not!"
Ferrin tried to chuckle, but abandoned the effort with a wince. His ribs were hurting a lot more then he was letting on. They walked a short distance until they could see the lights of town. Out in front of them the city lay out, thousands, if not millions of people completely unaware of the danger they had been in. The sun was so low, it appeared to be directly across from them, sinking into the hills as the sky lit up in beautiful shades of orange, red, and purple. "Its nice is it not?" Ferrin whispered to no one in particular. She would have liked this view. She would have brought her paints and brushes up here with a couple of canvases and painted until the sun disappeared. Ferrin smiled. Then she would paint the stars. He reminisced, leaning his head back to look up. Already, a few sparkling points of light hung, in defiance of the sun's dying rays. He lingered there for, finding a small rock to lounge on as he watch the sun set. Sensing the mood, neither of the siblings broke the silence.
Finally, the last of the day gave way to the night, and Ferrin stirred. He stretched, or tried to, his sore muscles had tensed up and every movement brought a deep pain. He rose to his feet, groaning. When he tired to put weight on the right ankle, the one that had been grabbed, his leg gave out on him. He flailed a little for balance, then the Twin was at his side. Although he didn't like it, he leaned on them for balance. "Worse then I thought..." He gasped. With a little concentration, he requiped a simple wooden staff. Staff in hand, he rose off the Twin, and started limping away from the city.
"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Colt asked. Without turning around, Ferrin answered, "To wash up. There is a small stream this way. Could you imagine people's reaction if I limped into town, covered in blood, guts, and gore? It would be too much damn explaining to do."
"But aren't you going to tell them what you did? I mean, you fought to save them, even if the dragon ultimately failed." Colt inqired, confused.
Ferrin kept limping, and the Twin had to walk to stay in earshot. "Why? I doubt anyone would believe us. We have no proof, just an empty cavern and a lot of dead bodies. Only one of them is my fault, but it still won't look good."
"But don't you want to be reconized--? Ferrin rounded on him.
"Look," He began, pointing his claw-like metal finger back over the city. "Thousands of people down there, sleeping peacefully in their beds. Sleeping blissfully in complete ignorance. I want them to sat that way. But remember this," He told them, straightening up and looking back with a determined smile, full of ambition, on his face. "One day, they will all know know my name; the world will know my name. My deeds and words will be remembered, I will leave a legacy that will last forever. They will tell my story and the world...will never be the same. Just you wait." For just a moment he appeared to change. The Twin saw before them a man, stern and noble, face full of wisdom and hands full of power, staff in his grasp. Like a Wizard in an an old fairy tale. But the next moment, the vision faded, and in its place was left the tired, hurting, and deeply flawed Ferrin.
"Come on." He sighed, slumping as the sudden rush of energy left him, leaving him deflated and hollow. "If we dally too long, they may lock us out." He limped off, leaving Colt and Claire mystified.
They cleaned up the best they could in the stream, washing both body and soul, their clothes too. After that, they made their slow way to the city gates. They slipped in just as the guards were closing the gates. Their first stop was the marketplace. It was nearly empty, with only a few sleepy-looking venders left, most of them closing up shop. Ferrin asked around where he could buy some clothes and shoes this late. The Twin shivered in the cold night air, drawing Ferrin's coat It took some wandering and asking before they found the first of two stops, a nice looking store with clothing displays in the window. As they approached, a well dressed man came out the door and started to lock up behind him. Calling for him to wait a moment, Ferrin ran up to him.
"Hold just a moment, if you would. I am in desperate need of some good clothing at this late hour, and I heard this place would still be open."
The man sniffed disdainfully as he looked Ferrin and the Twin up and down, taking in their ragged appearances and Ferrin's strange metal arm. "Go home, kids. Its late. Come back in the morning." He huffed dismissively. Ferrin's eye twitched at the man calling him 'kid', but he didn't let his irritation show. "I am prepared to make it worth your while." He urged, revealing a rather full wallet with one hand. Greed kindled in the man's eyes. "I suppose I can spare a little time and clothes...for the right price." He opened the door and stepped in. Ferrin and the Twin followed him.
A flurry of measuring, questions, and bargaining later, Ferrin, wearing an outfit that resembled the one he was wearing, emerged with the Twin, now clothed, and a scowl on his face.
He didn't say anything until they were a fair distance from the shop. Once they were, he let out a growl of frustration. "That swindling, no good boot-licking, filius canis!" Ferrin swore loudly. Colt and Claire looked at him in shock. "He knew we had nowhere else to go, so he drove his prices up as high as he possibly could, I had to threated to walk out twice before he would comedown even a few jewels." He grumbled more colorful profanities under his breath in that same strange language. "I meant to ask, what is that language that you keep using?" Colt asked curiously. "Hmm? Oh it is called Latin. It is a very old language, even in my ti..." He trailed off. "Anyway, it is pretty old. I took a liking to it during my studies, and learned it as a kid." Colt felt there was more to the story, but he didn't ask and stopped Claire from doing so. "A useful language, Latin. Much of our modern day English has its roots in Latin. Some words were stolen directly, exempli gratia, the word 'Lacrima' is from Latin, and it means 'tear', however, somewhere along the way, somebody decided to call magic crystals lacrima and it stuck."
Soon after, they came to their second stop, a cobbler's. By then, even the Twin was limping from walking barefoot. They had also started bleeding from some cuts they must have sustained while fighting. Ferrin had wrapped their feet in bandages, but they had frayed and torn from all the walking. The lights were on, glowing cheerily in the night air.
"Let us get this over with." Ferrin grunted, pushing the door in. A bell chimed a happy tune. "Just a moment!" An accented voice came from the back. "I'll be with you in a jiffy."
A minute later, a small, wry man with a pair of spectacles perched on his rather large nose emerged. He was old, with dark, weathered skin and a face that had creases like crumpled paper His dark hair and dark eyes woth his dark skin gave him a strangely monotone look. He was simple clothing of muted colors. Upon seing them, he bowed slightly and said, "Ah, customers, and so late too." He moved out from behind the counter, his keen gaze pointed down at their feet. He barely raised an eyebrow, when he glimpsed Ferrin's arm. "An in dire need of shoes too. How strange." He waved at a pair of chairs. "Sit, sit, I'll take a look and find a pair of shoes to fit your feet." He knelt and started with the siblings. He picked apart Ferrin's bandage, and studied their feet. "Hmm, soft heels." He mused. "Feet unaccustomed to walking bare, yes a soft pair I think." He pulled out a few tools, taking measurements. He looked up at them. "How sturdy do you need them?" They hesitated and looked at Ferrin. "Moderately for them. We may have to do some walking, but we will most likely be taking a train." He nodded, his next question already answered. "I have just the pair." He remarked, walking back to the back room. He emerged with a pair of brown shoes in his hand. "Try these." He said, kneeling again to put their shoes himself. But he stopped and frowned at them.
"What?" Colt asked.
"Hmm..." He looked up at them both. "Would you two stay for a little while? I will heat some water to wash your feet. No point in putting dirty feet in clean shoes." He smiled at them, a genuine smile that wrinkled the corners of his eyes. "I have some tea ready too, if you would like while you wait."
The siblings couldn't help but smile back. They shared a glance with Ferrin, who hesitated. "That is an odd thing to offer, sir."
The old man guffawed. "He calls me sir. Please, I insist. A grain of sand in the shoe can make even the shortest journey unpleasant."
Ferrin huffed. "Quit the pity saying."
Tee cobbler smiled at him. "I have more if you would like, 'It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out, it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.'" He quoted.
"If its okay with them, then we will." He said, directing it toward the Twin.
The they nodded their assent.
"Well then," The cobbler stood. "I'll get right on that." Once more, he walked to the back room.
A little later, he emerged with a folding table. He went back for a few tea cups, plates, sugar, and milk. Then he came out, carefully carrying a steaming teapot. He poured for three and set the pot down. "Help yourself." He said, pulling up a chair of his own. "Thank you for this." Ferrin said.
"Twas nothin'. Its late and after a day like this, it is a great time for some simple tea."
Ferrin leaned forward. "What do you mean by that?"
The old cobbler pushed up his glassed and told an interesting story about the unusual going ons and the abrupt ending to the Grand Magic Games.
When he finished, Ferrin leaned back and sipped his tea. "How unusual." He said simply.
"Indeed."
They made small talk until the cobbler stood. "Water should be warm by now." He beckoned the two of them to follow him back. Through the door behind the counter was a large room full of shoes in rows upon rows. In the very back was a humble living space with a kitchen, bed, and bathroom. He lead them into the latter. There was a steaming copper bowl full of water over a fire. He bent down, grabbed the tub and lifted it with a grunt. He hauled it next to the bed, and had the Twin sit. He grabbed a towel and laid it down. He rolled up his sleeves and knelt again. He pulled off the rest of Ferrin's bandages, and laid them to the side. He proceed to carefully and gently clean their feet. He took his time, eventually he patted their feet dry and leaned back with a satisfied sigh. To their surprise, he pulled out a pair of socks and put them on their feet. Next came the shoes. "Stand up." He said.
The Twin did to an immediate noticeable difference. The shoes fit perfectly, and while they were a little uncomfortable, they knew that would be broken in eventually. "How do they feel?" He asked.
"They feel wonderful!" Colt said, speaking for both of them.
"Good, good." He turned to Ferrin. "You next."
Ferrin held his hands up. "No, I am good thanks." He protested.
The cobbler gave him a disapproving look. "Come now, your boots are almost sandals. And don't think I haven't noticed your limping."
Ferrin looked sheepish. He limped to the bed and sat. The cobbler's gentle fingers pried his caked boots off and placed them aside. He took Ferrin's feet in his warm hands. "Strong feet." He said, after an examination "Feet like these have walked the world over and yet wandered back. Feet like these I see only once in a great while, attached to restless people who have the most interesting stories. Feet like these are also warrior's feet. Men and women who stand at the forefront of battle in iron-shod boots and walk over the corpses of friend and foe alike. Feet who rarely have the pleasure of feeling soft carpet and warm floors." He looked up at Ferrin, who looked away. "You are a strong fellow. Be careful that they do not become too callus to feel the soft grass and loose dirt between their toes."
"Cobbler, no further then the sandals, please." Ferrin said, forcing a laugh. The old man smiled faintly, and went back tostarted to wash them, as before gently and with great care, especially around Ferrin's swollen ankle.
When he was finished, he stood. "Wait here, I have just the pair for you."
He entered the shoe room then emerged holding a pair of gleaming black boots and socks.
As before, he personally put them on, socks then shoes. "How do they feel?"
Ferrin stood. "Uncomfortable." He said eventually.
The cobbler laughed again. "They should, those are some of the finest boots I've had for a while. Tough, but flexible and durable. Perfect for a pair of feet like yours."
"With a price to match." Ferrin said.
The cobbler shrugged. "Sure, unfortunately, I am running a business here, but if you don't want them, then that is fine."
Ferrin sighed. "What is the damage?" He asked.
The cobbler looked out in the distance for a moment. "Well, lets see. I'd hate to gouge ya' after being such pleasant guests. So for the two pairs of shoes, it will run you about 25,000 Jewel.
Ferrin winced. After the clothing, he was running out of the nobleman's "loan".
"Thank you for your kind offer, but I am afraid I can't afford them both." Ferrin said, taking off the boots. The cobbler's face fell. "I understand. Money is always the issue. Many shoes have been denied the right feet for the sake of some coin. How does 20,000 sound?"
Ferrin shook his head. "Thank you very much, sir. You have been kinder to us than you have any right to be. But I can not."
He sighed. "Ah well. I'm truly sorry. 5,000 for the young lad's pair."
"What about the socks, the tea, your time?" Ferrin asked.
The cobbler's smile returned although not as wide as before. "Free of charge, you two have been wonderful company for this little old man."
Ferrin and the Twin said their goodbyes and walked out of the store. Ferrin felt a little sad. "I guess we can find a place to stay for the night and then-."
"No, next, we find you a doctor and have you checked out." Colt stated.
"I am fine." Ferrin protested. "It is nothing a good night's sleep will not fix."
Colt sighed. "You looked... worn out. Like..."
"Ten miles of bad road?"
"More like twenty. You can't keep pushing yourself like this. I mean, look at yourself."
Frowning, Ferrin glanced around for a mirror. He tried some nearby windows but it was too dark for the windows to display anything. Giving it up with a shrug, he got creative. He conjured up an Aether Barrier in front of him, and made it solid enough to reflect light, its silverly sheen made for a decent makeshift mirror. He peered at his reflection for a moment.
His jet black hair, was now threaded with an early gray. And once flat and neat it was now shaggy and missing large chunks in places. One of his eyebrows was missing, although he couldn't remember when that happed. He had a few cuts on his face that had turned black from scabbing, and the skin around it looked an angry red. He had a nice swollen knot on the left side of his face, defiantly from the faceplant he took. Covering most of his shard jawline was a week-old scruff that was still undecided if it wanted to be a proper beard or not. Intense, sleep deprived, Amber eyes stared out from their deep recesses over bruise-colored bags. He was hunched over, like an old man, leaning heavily on his staff, his knuckles turning white from the tight grip he kept on it. He was obviously favoring one leg very heavily.
Huh.
Maybe the kid had a point.
"I hear the scruffy rouge type look is very in." He wisecracked. "I'll have the ladies lining up for miles around."
He scratched his stubble. "There is probably not much a doctor can do." He said, calmly. "Besides these various cuts and bruises, I'm pretty sure I have a cracked rib, maybe two, a sprained ankle, and a very slim chance of a concussion. Most of what I'm feeling now is magical fatigue, which with my magic is especially bad. I'm not coughing up blood and I haven't killed over yet, so my lungs are all right, and no severed blood vessels. A doctor is most likely just going to prescribe pain medicine and plenty of bed rest. Rest I can get plenty of later, and as for the pain," He shrugged slightly. "Its bearable. I have a pretty high pain tolerance." He turned his gaze on them. "Besides is you I'm more concerned about. I'm ashamed to say that it slipped my mind earlier, but I remember seeing you two go down in the battle. You seemed all right so I haven't pressed it ye, but when we get a room and privacy, let me check you over. Like I said, you seem fine, but abundans cautela non nocet."
"Will you stop doing that!" Claire finally burst from her unusually long silence.
Ferrin grinned. "Stop what?"
"Stop changing languages!"
"Aw, but quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur." He laughed, walking away.
"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!" She shouted after him.
After some asking around, the pair of them found a cheap hotel and rented a room. It was exactly what they paid for, one room, two beds, a bathroom, a table with two chairs, and a small lacrimavision. Neither of them had anything to unpack, so settling in was simply a matter of entering and sitting down. Although Ferrin took a moment to lay down some careful spells to alert him if an intruder broke in.
Ferrin settled gratefully into a chair, glad to get off his feet. "Now lets have a look at you." He said. "My coat?" He said, extending a metal hand.
The Twin started in surprise. "I forgot we was still wearing it." Colt said, honestly. They took it off and handed it too him.
It felt like a great weight was lifted from their shoulders.
Ferrin had to restrain himself from snatching it back. The coat was very precious to him. Instead he simply nodded as he received it. He immediately started rummaging in its pockets, discarding random items like a tooth brush, a rubber ducky, shurikan, a single old sock, and a tin of coffee grounds. He came out with various medical supplies, pain medication that might have been illegal, several bottles of disinfectant, hundreds of band-aids, chocolate, and about a mile of clean bandages. He frowned at the piled, then a thought struck him and he dove back into the pockets. Out came four disproportionately large sandwiches and flask of brandy.
He looked over his shoulder, and hurriedly put the brandy back. Instead he pulled out a canteen of water.
The Twin's eyes widened at the enormous amount of stuff that seemed to endlessly come out his pockets.
"I have some food left over from--" He hesitated. "Was it really just yesterday? Yeah, yesterday. Sandwich?" He held one out to them.
"You had all that in your pockets the whole time?" Colt asked in disbelief. No wonder it was heavy.
"I like to be prepared."
"But...how? The pockets are big, but not that big!"
Ferrin stopped, turned to looked them directly in the the eye and said, "Magic." As he waved his hands mystically.
Colt fumbled for words while Claire laughed at him inside their mind.
"I...I walked into that one, didn't I?" He managed.
"Yep." Claire said.
"Face first." Ferrin confirmed. "But to answer your question...Are you familiar with requip magic?"
The Twin shook their head.
"Hm. Well, I'll put it this way, each opening leads to a miniature dimension of its own. Objects put inside are reduced to a fraction of their weight, so they don't weight the wearer down too much. The dimension itself is fairly spacious, as long as it fits through the opening it will fit in the pocket. Simple, really. As far as I know, its one of a kind. I, with a few others who specialized in magic armor and artifacts, created the coat, weaving in the spells and enchantments that make it both armor and storage. It was a difficult and complicated pain in the ass that took many many tries and much time to perfect, but as you have seen, the result is well worth it. Now let me check your injuries, and then we can eat."
Ferrin was thorough and professionally detached during the examination, poking and prodding and asking if it hurt. Fortunatly, he used his normal hand for the poking part. When he looked at their back, his face grew grim. A massive and ugly colored bruise disfigured their upper back. Ferrin poked it, and the Twin yelped. "What was this from?" He asked, strangely subdued. "I-I don't really remember." Colt admitted. "Its kind of a blur." "I saw it." Claire spoke up. "Its from when we went down. A zombie threw a spear at at us. It it wasn't for your coat...we'd be dead." She said bluntly.
An uneasy silence gathered.
"B-but, hey, we aren't and we might wish we were if you hadn't come for us." Colt said, trying to clear the tension."[/color]
Ferrin sighed. "You are right."
He finished dressing and treating their injuries, before he moved on to his own. When he was done, the whole room smelled of disinfectant. Ferrin propped up his ankle, heavily wrapped, on the other chair with a wince. "Now, a little trick I learned for treating sprains." Colt watched closely as Ferrin gathered magic. "Glacio." He grunted. Ice formed on his ankle, creeping up his leg and down his foot, slowly thickening until it formed and ice shell around his injury. "There, that will provide bother compression and keep the swelling down. Best of all, it can be removed and reapplied easily."
"Clever, I guess? I don't really know anything about medicine."
"Now, lets eat." The Twin sat on one of the beds and they munched on the sandwiches in silence.
Ferrin devoured his in swift bites, when he finished, he settled back with a wishful sigh for coffee. "Now," He said, suddenly serious. "You and me are going to have a nice long talk about what exactly have I gotten myself into. And by talk, you will be doing the talking. Out with it, I want to hear everything. Every scrap of relevant information."
They set down their half eaten sandwich, suddenly loosing their appetite. "Its not really...an easy tale, mostly because neither of us know much. The wizard who did this to was very careful to make sure we didn't see anything. It all happened so fast.
Constantly interrupting each other, and one occasionally clarifying or explaining something the other forgot, they told Ferrin what happened to them.
"You see, originally, we had our own bodies, Claire and me. One night we were traveling, and we stopped to rest. Both of us dropped to sleep almost immediately. When we woke up, we were..well." He waved a hand at themselves. "Like this in a featureless gray room with no windows. Just a door, a bed, and a toilet. After the initial shock and plenty of freaking out, we came to terms with what had happed. After that, we could do nothing but wait. And wait. And wait. We had no way to tell time, so I can't say how long we were in there. Our magic wouldn't work either. Food came in regularly through a flap in the door. We learned quick if we attempted to mess with the flap, food would be delayed. Every now and then, an intense drowsiness would come over us. We would fall asleep no matter how hard we tried to resist, then we would wake up back in the cell completely fine."
Ferrin nodded. "Sounds like a sleeping spell." He said.
Colt acknowledged him and continued. "This went on for awhile. It was incredibly boring to say the least. But one day the drowsiness wasn't as strong and we managed to stay awake. We faked passing out. We were picked up and carted away by something. To where, we'll never know because as soon as we were aways away from the cell, Claire torched the thing."
"Can you describe it?" Ferrin asked.
"Metal? It defiantly wasn't living; it didn't burn right." Claire said. Ferrin raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, like sis said. Metallic. We didn't stop to look, we took off running. The place was enormous, with endless hallways and endless doors, stairs leading up and down and narrow bridges over massive rooms filled with all sorts of mechanical contraptions. The hallways and rooms were lit by these panels set in the ceiling that gave off a steady white light. I remember it being eerily empty. We tried a few doors, but most were locked and the ones that weren't lead to empty rooms. We ran around, trying to find a way out. With no luck. But suddenly, we ran into these strange armored guys. They were about as tall as you, and they looked exactly alike. Strangest of all, they had these big bulky arms with no..uh joints. No hands or wrists. In sync, they raised them and pointed at us. Obviously they were dangerous, so I raised an ice wall across the corridor, and we ran down a different one. We ran for our lives, dodging more of those strange armors, but eventually we found ourselves face to face with the necromancer you fought earlier. She...said we were fools for running, and said she didn't blame us. Then she produced that amulet you destroyed. It gave off a dim light, and the next thing we knew, we had somehow become a child. We quickly found out that our magic was severely weakened when we tried to fight her. So we ran. Again. We ended up in a large room with more stuff I can't even begin to describe. We hid among the contraptions, our new small size serving us well. By some kind of massive stroke of luck, we managed to give her the slip. For the moment. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we found a metal shute against the wall, continently labeled 'disposal'. Hoping for a way out, we squeeze in, again our small size coming in handy."
Colt paused here, and looked sheepish. "Um...neither of us remember much from here. Somewhere on the way down, we banged our head on something, and blacked out. Next thing we knew, we woke up in a mountain of trash somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Some scavengers found us and help us. With their kindness, we we finally able to rest. Eventually, managed to get some junk worth selling, and with the money we got, we traveled here, with the intention of asking one of the magical guilds to help. But none of the ones we asked even bothered to hear us out. Then we met you."
Ferrin was the first to break the silence. "That is definitely a strange story." He said. "I am not entirely sure what to make of it. Then again, I may just be too tired to think."
They nodded. "What now?"
"That is the multi-million-jewel question. What do we do now? I have my own plans. In less then an hour, I plan to get a good night's sleep. After that, I plan to travel to Magnolia and join the Phoenix Wing guild, mainly because I will need a stable source of income before I can do anything alse. Secondly because I have my own goals to persue. After that...I do not know. What about you two?"
The two siblings looked down. "We aren't sure either." Colt said. "Maybe find who did this to us and why, then get our bodies back."
"A lofty goal." Ferrin said. "But how?"
They were quiet.
Ferrin sighed. "There is no rush. Sleep first, then decide. Things always look better in the morning. But if you want my advice, join a magic guild. Information always flows through places where people gather. Rumors, hersay, speculation, gossip, legends, you never know what you might hear." With that, he got up, cracked the ice shell off his ankle, bid them good night, then crawled into the other bed. He was asleep within moments.
The Twin stayed up for a while afterwards, discussing what they were going to do next. Finally, they grew too tired, the day's excitement wearing on them. They too laid in bed, and eventually dropped into a restless sleep.
In a certain empty cavern...
A towering, clocked man wrapped in shadows without a light walked through an empty cave, his steps slow, purposeful, and ringing against the hard stone. The cave lead out into a towering open natural citadel. He walked a weaving route through the pillars, surveying the destruction that had been wrought.
Cracks were everywhere, some of the floor appeared melted, and the sound of water dripping could be heard. Most remarkably, grisly remains of long dead bodies were pilled against the wall, as if a massive hand had carelessly tossed them there in a tangle of limbs.
Souls linger here. He observed.
Following the familiar feel of a soul, the man picked his way through the bodies. He quickly found what he was looking for. A dark hand, fashioned from some unknown metal emerged from the cloak.
"Egeíromai."
A white light filled the room, gradually growing stronger and stronger, until it was too bright to see.
Then it vanished.
Yuura Kumori, necromancer, opened her eye.
Ferrin's morning started at about midday.
The Twin's considerably earlier then that.
When Ferrin finally figured he had stayed in bed long enough, and wasn't going to get anymore sleep, he go up with a groan of aching muscles. The usual headache that always came when he used his magic sprung up.
"Oh look, the dead man rises. Seems like you might be a necromancer too." Claire said.
Ferrin pointedly ignored them.
Until the smell of food hit his nose. They were eating lunch. "I'm sorry. Colt said, "We were starving, so we ordered room service, and put the bill on your tab.He's sorry, I'm not. You deserve it for sleeping in so late." Claire added.
Ferrin stared at them through half-closed, bleary eyes, and a coffee-less haze. Finally he shrugged. "Mhm...kay." He muttered, and shuffled out.
The Twin exchanged mental glances.
Ferrin returned a few minutes later with two cups of coffee, one in each hand, sipping from both.
Claire shook her head at him. "I think you are one of the weirdest people I have ever met." She muttered.
Halfway through both cups, Ferrin seemed to actually wake up some. He looked at the ice and lava wizards. "'Morning. He said.
"You call this morning?!" Claire exclaimed.
"Uh-hu." Ferrin took another sip.
When he had drained both cups, he let out a satisfied sound. "I feel alive again. Have you two decided what you are going to do now?"
They shook their head, despondently.
"That is a shame. I bid you two luck then." He stood and collected his stuff.
"And where are you going?" Claire asked.
"Like I said, I'm going to catch a train to Magnolia." He handed them some bills. "Here, its not much, but hopefully this money will get you were you need to go."
Colt looked down at the money. "Is this...goodbye then?"
"No!" Ferrin exclaimed immediately. The siblings recoiled from the speed and intensity of his responce. "No goodbyes. Only see you laters."
They gave a little smiled at the thought. "You've done...so much for us." Colt sniffed, eyes beginning to well with tears. "How could we ever begin to repay you?"
"Hey, none of that now." Ferrin protested. "You asked for help, I helped you out, like any decent human being would."
"B-but you still put your life on the line for us. You don't know how much that means. Thank you."
Ferrin scrached his head, embarrassed. "You're welcome." He hesitated. "See you later." He turned to go.
"Wait, we will accompany you to the train station."
Ferrin blinked. "All right." He agreed. "Why?"
Colt looked away. [color=0076a3]"We uh are considering something."[/color
Ferrin looked askance. Then shrugged. "Suite yourselves."
They made their way through the noisy city, the celebrations of the Grand Magic Games was already winding down and normal life was ensuing for the people.
At the train station, they found they were in luck. A train headed to Magnolia was indeed scheduled to leave in the next five minutes. And that they had better hurry if they wanted to catch it.
"This is were we part ways." Ferrin told them. "Unless..."
"Unless what?" Colt followed, trying to act casual.
"Unless you two are planning to join Phoenix Wing as well."
They looked sheepish.
"Ya coulda just said it." Ferrn sighed in a rare moment of casual speech.
"Yeah, but...we aren't going with you"We are going of our own choice, on our own volition."
Ferrin's face broke into a smile. "I can respect that." He assented.
Together they they ran to catch the train. They barely made it on board, and just like that, they were off.
