Book I: The Wanderer

Chapter VI: Late-Night Discussions

“I can’t wait to get to the Inn!” said Genis cheerfully as they walked through Triet entrance.

“Careful Genis,” Raine cautioned him. “Don’t go too fast or you’ll fall.”

“I won’t fall!” bragged Genis. “Geez Raine, I’m not four years-ah!” He tripped on a rock and fell.

Raine sighed. “I told you you’d fall.” She went over to her brother and checked him for cuts and bruises. “Look! You scraped you’re knee! What am I going to do with you?”

“Raine sure cares about Genis huh?” said Colette.

“Of course she does, she’s his sister,” replied Lloyd. “She has to care about him.”

“Sisterly love.” added Aberos. “If we’re quite through here, I too would like to get to the Inn.”

“Then lets go!” said Lloyd.

The group sat in the Inn’s common room. They were all in comfy stuffed armchairs, in front of a lit fire. The fire gave off a warm glow, as it was the only source of light in the room.

“It’s good to be out of the desert,” said Lloyd. “It’s just so hot out there.”

“Aye lad,” The Wanderer removed his hat and shook the loose sand from his hair. “I don’t really think the desert agrees with me, or any of us for that matter.”

“No, it really doesn’t, but let’s talk about something else.” Raine said, changing the subject.

“Like what?” asked Lloyd.

“I want to know more about exspheres.” the professor clarified.

“Why?”

“Because I found this back at that strange base.” She took the red glowing gem from her coat pocket and presented it to the others.

“You want to know about them so you can wear it?” inquired Kratos.

“Well…if you want the truth…yes.” admitted Raine.

“Go on Lloyd,” prodded Aberos. “Tell her about them.”

“Why me?” complained Lloyd.

“You were raised by a dwarf,” explained Aberos. “If anything, you should know the most.”

“How do you know I was raised by a dwarf? I never told you about Dad.”

The Wanderer shrugged. “Most Wanderers know about you and Dirk. He is the only dwarf in the land. Dwarves are master craftsmen, so the Wanderers go to him for many needs.” The Wanderer took out his pipe and lit it. “Well, get on with it. Tell Raine about exspheres.”

“Well, to put it simply, exspheres are amplifiers that awaken our dormant capabilities.” Lloyd told the professor. “They can maximize our abilities to their ultimate potential.”

“So anyone can use one then?” Raine said enthusiastically. “Even me?”

“You’ll need a Key Crest,” Kratos butted in. “Exspheres are dangerous and harmful to the body without a key crest attached to it.”

“Can’t we just make on?” asked Colette. “The professor seems eager to use the one she found.”

“Key Crests are made by processing inhibitor ore,” continued the mercenary. “Then engraving it with a crest to the control the exsphere attached to its surface. It is said that only the dwarves know how.”

“I could probably do it,” said Lloyd. “I can probably engrave the charm…err, crest, but only dad could process the ore. That is if we even have any ore.”

Raine took her pack from behind her chair and dumped its contents onto the floor. “Is there any inhibitor ore among these materials?” she asked.

“Did you bring these from our house?” asked Genis.

The professor bent over the objects scattered on the floor. “Of course! These are very valuable research materials.” She began to go through them, showing them off. “This is a jeweled sword from the Martel Temple. A holy vase from the Balacruf Mausoleum, a priest’s crown from the Asgard Ruins. This yellow ore is from the Hima mines.”

Lloyd scrunched up his nose. “What the…this is just junk!”

Raine stood up and glared at her pupil. “What did you say? This certainly is not junk!”

Kratos scanned the floor. There! Next to the useless ore! A key crest! “Hmm…that’s a key crest right there, by the ore.”

“Ah, I found that in front of the human ranch,” the professor said. “It was engraved with angelic language so I took it home.”

“Hey! Whattya know! It is.” Lloyd picked it up. “The crest is worn off, it’s pretty unusable as it is now. I think I can fix it by tonight. Don’t worry Professor, you’ll be able to equip this and the exsphere you found by tomorrow morning.”

“Oh goody!” Raine clapped her hands. “I’ll put this stuff away then. You come see me when you’re done.”

“You should go give it to her quickly, you’ll need all the rest you can get if you’re to come with us.” said Kratos.

“Right…” he looked around. “Where did Aberos go?”

Kratos shrugged. “I haven’t seen him since the common room. Raine‘s room is first on the left as you go upstairs.”

Lloyd nodded and exited the room. He crossed the lobby and ascended the stairs to the second floor. Following Kratos’ directions, he knocked on the professor’s door.

“Professor, it’s me. I’ve finished your key crest.”

“Come in.” Raine responded from inside. Lloyd entered.

The room was simple, just two beds and a desk. A lit candle stood on the desk, and the professor was going over a mass of papers on the desk.

“Professor, you’re still awake?” asked Lloyd. “You should be asleep by now.”

“I could say the same for you Lloyd.” Raine sighed. “I’ve been organizing the data we’ve collected about monsters.”

“Oh, well I’ve finished you’re key crest.”

“Thank you, but you shouldn’t overexert yourself,” replied Raine. “It’s going to be a long journey, after all. I don’t mind if it takes awhile to fix.”

“So it’s actually okay for Genis and me to come along on this journey?”

“Wasn’t that your intent from the very beginning? Stop pretending.”

“What about Aberos?”

“That’s his decision to come or not. If he wants to, it’s not my place to stop him.” answered Raine. “He did find you boys and help us save you.”

“Oh, cool then.” He placed the gem on the table. “Here’s your exsphere.”

Raine grasped the gem in her hand. “You fixed already? So soon? Thank you!” She held it up to the light. “So this is an exsphere.”

“Ask Genis so you can find out how to use it.”

Raine nodded. “I will. Good night Lloyd.”

“Good night professor.” He left the room.

Raine grinned. “So I finally can use an exsphere.”

As Lloyd started to descend the stairs he heard a creepy laugh.

“MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Ugh…if that’s what I think it is…” muttered Lloyd.

A door slammed from across the lobby. Lloyd kept quiet, wondering whom it was. He peeked over the railing to find Kratos going out the Inn’s front door.

Now where is Kratos going at this time of night? Thought Lloyd. I’ll follow him; find out where he’s going.

Lloyd followed the mercenary out the door.

“Hey what are you doing with-whoa!”

Lightning quick, Kratos’ sword was out, pointed at the speaker’s neck.

“Lloyd…I’m sorry to have startled you.”

“Startled isn’t the word for it!” Lloyd snapped back.

Kratos sheathed his sword. “You’d best not stand behind me then.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t from now on.” He approached Noishe next to Kratos. “Do you like animals?” he asked.

“No not particularly.” answered Kratos.

“Well, Noishe seems to be quite comfortable with you,” replied Lloyd. “He doesn’t usually like strangers.

Kratos was silent for a few moments, and then answered. “I once had a pet, long ago.”

“Really?”

The mercenary stared at the younger swordsmen. “Lloyd…”

“Wh-what?” Lloyd said nervously.

“Your swordsmanship is unrefined. You should focus more on eliminating your vulnerabilities. I care about your life.” Kratos took a few steps towards then Inn. “Good night.” He left for the Inn.

“Grrr! Just because he’s better then me, he just has to act like he knows everything!” Lloyd complained. “Well…a lot better then me. Dammit!” He kicked a stone angrily. “Nothing I can do about it tonight I guess. I should head in.” Lloyd headed for the Inn, and opened the door when he heard humming.

“What’s that?” The teen looked around. Nobody was there.

The humming turned to singing.

“The moon goes undaunted,

By the flow of time.

It will outlive us all,

By many generations.

And when it at last have finally died,

So will, I.”

“Hey, that sounds like Aberos!” exclaimed Lloyd.

“What is it lad?” came the Wanderer’s voice form above him. “What do you want at this late hour?” His face appeared over the edge of the roof, pipe in his mouth.

“I was wondering where you were, and then I heard you singing.”

Aberos leaped from the roof, landing nimbly on his feet.

“I was thinking in quiet solitude on the roof, before you disturbed me.” he replied. “So what do you want?”

“Uh…well I uh…”

“Wanted to know if I was to come with you or not?” Aberos took Lloyd’s words straight out of his mouth.

“Uh…yeah.”

Aberos put his pipe in his robes. “Lloyd, ever since we rescued you from the base, Botta’s words have been replaying in my mind. There is much more then the little reality you all have fabricated. It means that is something amiss in this entire journey of world regeneration. And I aim to prevent that.”

Lloyd’s eyes widened. “So your…”

Aberos grinned. “Aye lad, I am coming with you. Of course we be hoofing if from now on. I’ve already sold the cart and horses. They won’t be needed on a journey like this.”

“Oh…” groaned Lloyd. “We have to walk?”

The Wanderer laughed. “Yes Lloyd we have to!”

Lloyd groaned again.

“One day lad, you will learn the meaning of the Dwarven vows. They are noble ideals that have been the foundation of the Wanderers for centuries. The time has come for you to learn them Lloyd Irving. You shall before this journey’s end. You also need work on your swordsmanship. Kratos and I can help you with that. Genis could learn a lot more with his magic, so I’ll be helping him with that.” Aberos said. “Besides, I leave you out of my sight for just five minutes and you go and get yourself captured! You have a knack for getting into trouble Lloyd Irving. Someone has to be there to pull you out.” The Wanderer winked. “Well lad, it’s bed time for you. Raine wants us to start by the crack of dawn. At the most it’s two day journey to the Triet Ruins.”

“Aw, well good night then.” Lloyd waved to the Wanderer and went inside the Inn.

“Good night lad, good night.” murmured Aberos as the teen departed.

The Wanderer climbed back on the roof. It wasn’t too difficult even at his age.

“What did Botta mean? Reality that we have fabricated? Too many questions, far too little answers.” Aberos muttered to himself. “No time to dwell on that now, I’ve got to look after Lloyd now more then ever. I shall fulfill the Oath I swore. It won’t be long before this lad can look after himself. But for now, he is in my care.”

“As one day merges with the next,

So does one year to another,

As one page combines with a second one,

This is the journey of a Wanderer.”

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