Book III: Palmacosta Politics

Chapter XI: Double Trouble

“Thanks, Max!” said Lloyd, waving to the mariner from the stone wharf. “Have a safe trip back.”

Max nodded, still on his ship. “I’ll have one of the warships escort me back. I don’t feel safe going alone anymore.”

“We’ll deliver the letter to Aifread in Luin!” said Colette. “So, you don’t need to worry about that.”

Max frowned. “You don’t need to do that…”

“Don’t worry lad,” said Aberos. “We’ll take care of it.” He winked.

Max understood. He nodded, slowly. “Alright, it’s entrusted to you.”

“Wind to your sails, lad,” said Aberos. “Farewell, for now.”

“Farewell.”

They parted.

The six of them walked along the stone pier, surrounded by wooden vessels, with tall masts, and endless rigging. The pier went far ahead of them, and intersected with another section of pier perpendicularly. The wharfs themselves were made of cobbled, gray stone, and comfortably wide. Soon they walked onto the main section of pier, which was more of a rectangular block that held onto the local market.

The market of Palmacosta consisted of numerous stalls, constructed of wood with cloth canopies. Merchants sometimes stood in front of their stalls, advertising their wares to anyone who walked nearby. And they sold many things. Food, weapons, armor, clothing, practically anything they could get their hands on that they thought people would buy. One of them tried to get sell Lloyd an old metal sundial before the Professor dragged him forcibly away from the stall.

“Careful, Lloyd,” she said. “Merchants can be dangerous.”

“How?” asked Lloyd.

“The young and naïve will often buy anything they’re selling.” Raine replied.

Lloyd stood still for a minute, and thought over Raine’s response. Finally, he looked up, and ran to catch up. “Hey, wait, are you calling me naïve!”

They continued walking alongside a building; Aberos stated this would lead them to the city main. They did, however, make the unfortunate mistake of letting Colette walk merrily out in front. For you see, around the corner to the left traveled a group of five or so, and the one walking ahead of the rest held a bottle. It is of the most unfortunate coincidence that the two paths were about to cross. Aberos would later state that the thing you don’t expect to happen would happen. Raine would not accept it, and Aberos shrugged it off.

Colette and the girl holding the bottle emerged from around the corner at the precisely same time, and as such, collided into each other. The latter dropped the bottle, and it smashed on the ground, spilling red potion on the stones. The girl immediately looked to blame Colette, just as the rest of their respective groups came around the corner.

“You broke the bottle!” said the girl, pointing at Colette. “That was expensive, I hope you intend to replace it.”

“I’m sorry,” apologized Colette. “I really am, I’ll replace it.”

“We really don’t have time for this,” said Kratos.

“Quite right, we don’t,” agreed Aberos. He looked over at the group. It was made up of a bunch of gangly teenagers dressed in outlandish clothes. However one member of the group caught his eye. He was taller then the rest, with blue hair hung in a ponytail, and a sword slung across his back. He wore a pointed hat, much like Aberos’.

“Gruin!” said Aberos, startled by the appearance of someone he knew. “What are you doing here?”

The man looked up. “Walking before the pretty young later broke our potion.”

“Traveling with a bunch of teenagers does not seem to be your style, Gruin.”

“Nor does it appear to be yours.”

Aberos laughed. “Yes, but you see my group actually has someone above the age of twenty-one, besides myself.”

The man called Gruin laughed as well. “Well, I happen to be traveling with the Chosen on their journey of World Regeneration.”

Aberos stopped laughing. He frowned. “Gruin, that’s impossible, because I’m traveling with the Chosen’s group.”

The other people in Gruin’s group quickly started to drag him away. “Come on you stupid, idiot, screw the potion, let’s just go sell the book to that old man on Hakonesia Peak.” And they left, running out of the city.

The group remained silent for a full minute.

“Well, that was… weird.” Lloyd said.

Aberos slowly nodded, still watching the other group run away. “Yes, very. Why would Gruin say he was traveling with the Chosen’s group?”

“Gruin?” asked Colette.

“Oh, yes, he’s a fellow wanderer…” Aberos frowned again. “Something is amiss here.”

“We’ll never figure it out standing around here all day,” said Kratos.

“I agree,” said Raine. “We should probably restock on supplies in the local shop, and visit Governor-General Dorr.”

“Governor-General Dorr? Who’s that?” asked Lloyd.

“He leads the city, and they’re army,” answered Aberos. “He’s extremely popular around here. Anywhere, there’s a decent shop just over there.” He pointed to a building down the street.

“Let’s get going.” said Kratos.

The main of the city of Palmacosta consisted of large stone islands connected by small bridges. Here the main homes, inns, and shops settled in tall buildings huddled around the wide streets. At times, one could not tell they were still on water, and not on land.

Outside the store, a sign hung from a metal overhang. It read “Marble’s.” They entered the store quietly. It was a quiet little shop, with a large counter in the shape of an “L” and goods stocked on shelves behind it, and a small stairway leading to the second floor. Of course it was not so quiet when they entered, for there were a pair of Desians arguing with the clerk.

“Oh please!” said the clerk, she was young brown-haired girl in her early twenties. “No one would sell those to you at a price that low!”

One of the Desians scoffed. “You should be happy we’re even buying at a run-down shack like this."

“I don’t need to hear that from a bunch of filthy Desians!” the clerk retorted. “I’m not going to sell one single gel to the likes of you.”

“Chocolat, stop!” A middle-aged woman descended the stairs.

The clerk protested. “But Mom, these are the guys who took Grandma away.”

One of the Desians chuckled. “Listen to your mother, little girl, if you keep being snotty to us, I can’t guarantee what will happen to you, or this city.”

The clerk turned on them. “As long as Governor-General Dorr is around, we’ll never submit to the likes of you!”

“Why you little…” the Desian reached for her.

His fellow pulled him back. “Stop it. We’ve exceeded our quota for the year. We need permission from Lord Magnius to do anything more.”

The first Desian grumbled, but complied.

“Depending on Lord Magnus’ mood, you might not get to keep that pretty little head of yours.” The second Desian said. They turned on their heels, and walked calmly out.

“Oh they make me so mad,” the girl named Chocolat muttered. “Bye Mom, I’m off to work.” She took off her apron, hung it on a nearby peg, and left.

The woman apologized. “I’m sorry if everything startled you. My daughter is quite headstrong. My name is Cacao. Please relax, and have a look around.”

Aberos and Raine read off a list of what they needed to Cacao. Within ten minutes, Cacao had gotten everything they ordered, and they paid, in full.

“You’ve seem to given me more then you have needed,” said Cacao.

“Keep it,” winked Aberos, slightly tipping his hat. They then left the shop, and spilled out onto the street.

“You know Aberos, you shouldn’t keep overpaying them like that,” Raine reminded him. “We’re not rich.”

“I know, she’s such a stressed woman with her daughter that headstrong, and her mother missing like that,” excused Aberos. “Besides, most of it was my own. One tends to accumulate quite a bit traveling.”

“People really seem to believe in this Dorr guy,” said Genis.

“He’s stood up the Desians, and leads the army himself,” said Raine. “People around here have a lot of faith in him.”

“There aren’t any other armies in the world anymore,” said Aberos. “The Desians keep everyone from uniting, and they take a good portion of the populations. Palmacosta is safe because it’s mostly on the water, and therefore unless the Desians mount a naval attack, they would have to fight the warships.”

“Nothing is perfect,” said Kratos.

“Nor is anybody,” said Aberos. “Dorr’s wife died some time ago, leaving Dorr to raise him daughter by himself. The man’s a miracle to the locals with all’s he’s been through.”

“I kind of want to meet this guy,” said Lloyd. “Anyone who stands up to the Desians is my friend.”

The government building of Palmacosta lay by the largest plaza in the city. The plaza was inscribed with an image of the sun, and many important buildings surrounded it. There was a small barracks by the government building, as well as the Palmacosta Academy right across from the government building, a prestigious school for the world’s most gifted children. The plaza also led to the only dock outside the main harbor, there a great ship of technological magnificence was docked.

The group stopped on the bridge to the plaza, and espied a blonde man dressed in a blue jacket and little blonde girl in a purple dressed, talking to a little boy.

“Governor-General Dorr!” said the little boy. “Dad was taken by the Desians.”

“He was taken because he fought and resisted them,” Dorr said automatically. “And don’t worry, I’ll rescue everyone at the Ranch.”

The boy smiled. “OK, Governor-General Dorr, I’ll wait until you rescue Dad.”

“There’s a good boy,” Dorr smiled weakly. “Now go home and play. Come along Kilia.”

“Yes, father.” The little girl responded. They both entered the large building to the group’s left.

“That must be Dorr,” said Lloyd.

A passing man looked at them and said. “Of course that’s Dorr! Marvelous man, really, raising an army, fighting the Desians, and raising his daughter as a single parent!”

A woman appeared next to the man. “Even if we’re taken to the Ranch, Dorr will come and save us. I am sure of it.”

“The people here really believe in him,” said Colette. “Everyone is so strong…”

They walked from the bridge, and into the building where Dorr had entered. It was a long, wide, building, with pillars flanking the doors, and guards standing at rapt attention next to them. They pushed the double doors in, and enter Palmacosta’s government building. The inside was simple. A rug led up a few steps and across the floor to a desk in the shape of half of a hexagon. The desk was wooden, a dark brown in color, and carved with ornate designs. Three people sat at each side of the half hexagon. In the center was Dorr, wearing reading glasses and looking at some papers. To their right was a much younger man, also looking at papers, and to the left was the young girl, Kilia, Dorr’s daughter playing with a doll.

As they approached the desk, Dorr looked up. He removed his reading glasses, and greeted them. “Ah, greetings travelers! We welcome travelers as per the teachings of Martel. May she bless you, and all those who journey. Is it safe to assume you are on a pilgrimage? How can Palmacosta help such wanderers?”

Lloyd spoke up first. “We come from Iselia, well most of us do. We’re the Chosen’s group on the quest for World Regeneration.”

Dorr looked surprised. “World regeneration?”

Genis chimed in. “Colette here is the Chosen of Mana. The Tower of Salvation appeared, didn’t it?”

Dorr made eye contact with Colette. He stared at her in bewilderment. “You say you are the Chosen?”

Colette nodded. “Ah, um, yes. It seems that way, anyway.”

The man to Dorr’s left stood up. “Governor-General Dorr…” he said quickly.

“Yes, Neil, I know.” He turned back to the six before him and frowned. “The Chosen’s group was here not an hour ago,” he said vehemently. “How dare you impersonate such a noble person! Guards, have them arrested and brought before the Church at once!”

Behind them, previously unaware at their presence, the guards began to take out shackles, and reached for Colette. She backed away, and lost her balance, falling to the floor. Her pink wings flashed out at once, and she fluttered herself back upon her feet.

The girl squealed in delight. “Papa, papa!” she tugged on her father’s sleeve. “Look at those wings! She must be an angel.”

The man called Neil interrupted the guards’ work. “Wh-wait! Lower your weapons! This surely is the true Chosen of Mana! Cease and desist, all of you!”

The armored guards complied, and retreated out of the room.

“I apologize for our insolence, Chosen One,” Neil bowed. “You see, not long ago today, another group came in here, claiming they were the Chosen’s group.”

“It’s alright,” said Colette. “I know, I’m not very Chosen-like at all.”

Dorr sat down, shakily. He turned his head towards Neil. “Are you telling me,” he breathed slowly. “We gave the Book of Regeneration to a group of imposters?”

“Book of Regeneration? Imposters?” said Lloyd. “Wait, I’m confused. Someone explain!”

“The Book of Regeneration,” said Neil. “The Book of Regeneration is a record of Spiritua’s journey. It is the only document containing detailed records of the world regeneration, and it is a precious heirloom passed down through the generations of Governor-Generals of Palmacosta. It gives clues to the locations of all the seals.”

Genis tapped Lloyd’s shoulder. “Hey, you think those guys we bumped into are them? Didn’t they say they were going to sell a book to some old man on Hakonesia Peak?”

Dorr shook his head. “A family heirloom, lost to bunch of teenagers who just wanted it to sell it to that old man… that artifact hoarder! We’ll never see it again.”

“Artifact hoarder?” said Raine, immediately interested.

Neil nodded. “This man who charges people insane amounts of money for people to pass over Hakonesia Peak. He also will pay good money for artifacts from the Church, and hoards them al for no one else to see. We can’t do a thing about him because the charter set down by a prior leader of the city some thirty years is good until he dies.”

“So, we’re stuck in the region?” said Lloyd, wide-eyed.

“I’m afraid so, and with the only thing that could have helped you too…”

Raine sighed. “Well, we’ll see what we can do. Maybe he’ll let us look at it, at least.”

“He might,” said Neil. “You see, he has a thing for pretty young women.”

Raine groaned. “The things I do for knowledge.”

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