Chapter 20
Escape

~*~

I stroll the empty streets of Fortra. The Speaker's words play through my mind over and over again. "I'm Melisande, a Speaker, as the people of Zephyria call us. You are the one I've been looking for. The key to this millennium-old curse. The one who will change Zephyria forever. You will help me free Eudimon!"

Free Eudimon...What makes her think I would help her? She mentioned a curse, the curse inflicted on the people of Zephyria that prevents them from speaking. What is the significance of it either way? If I were playing a game, I wouldn't bother to think this hard. But this is my reality. Every move I make must be thought out. What makes me nervous isn't the uncertainties of this world. It's the feeling I felt when I was close to that woman. It's as if we're somehow connected.

I stop myself from thinking too far.

Oren is sitting down in a random spot next to a house, eyes closed. I'm not sure if he's sleeping or meditating, but I decide to let the monk rest and think. We could probably take on the guard at the entrance, but attempting to escape right now would not be wise. The Speaker is probably still watching us.

Not wanting to take any chances, I stand next to Oren and wait. Minutes pass. Hours. And then as if a switch has been flipped, the sun is out, and the streets were flooded with people. The monk finally opens his eyes.

"I see you've been here all night long."

I nod.

"We should go. I assume Roshan and the others are waiting for us."

Before heading to the entrance, I go to the storage to borrow some equipment. Since our plan is to escape, we might as well take a few items as souvenirs. However, no one was there.

In the fields, I see Captain Morgan walking around like a mindless zombie. Remembering the extra Illuminate I still have, I give it to him.

"@*#@()*" He looks at the item with wide eyes, then throws it into his mouth. Apink light flashes through his body. "(@#@#Is this really true? I-I can speak again!" He does a little dance. "La la la la la! I can produce words again! This is wonderful. I can finally go home to my family! Thank you so much! I owe you the world."

His joy makes me smile.

"Ah, but how can I get back to sea? The Breanne is damaged! I'm stuck here for good after all." He returns to his depressive state, already forgetting that he had it worse just a minute ago.

I give a nudge to get him talking again.

"What do you want from me? I'm but a feeble man without my Breanne. You want me to fix her? Hah! Repairing such a beauty is no walk on the beach. She needs the highest quality materials. Nothing you can find around here. You can't just use any piece of wood. You need the Maple Wood!"

A quest?

"If someone could travel to Port Hollicker or Port Stoney and bring about ten poles of Maple Wood back, we're golden. But who could possibly handle such a task?"

I let him know with my hands that I'm the man for the job.

"What's that? No, it's alright. I don't need a massage, but thanks for asking."

I try again but he still doesn't understand me.

Morgan scratches his head. "My brain's still a bit slow, so forgive me for not knowing what you want."

Oren steps in as my interpreter. "Captain, what our friend is trying to say is that he would like to help."

"Help? With what?"

"With rebuilding the ship, of course!"

The captain's eyes sparkle with hope. "Why, of course, of course! I need all the help I can get. Come to think of it, the two of you are perfect candidates! They won't allow us to leave the fort without supervision cause we're weak, but you two are a different story. So you'll go get the wood, right? I'll even throw in a reward. Free boat rides for life with my company. What do you say?"

Oren turns to me. "If it's what you want to do, I'll support you."

After that incident in the Sea of Seamen, I'm not sure I want to travel by boat again. However, acquiring some form of water transportation is an integral part of any role-playing game. It should allow me to go between towns more easily and could give me access to new regions. With that in mind, I nod to the captain.

"Wonderful, wonderful," Captain Morgan says. "Take your time with the quest. Me and my crew will wait here for your return. By the way, Maple Wood costs 5000 Gold per piece. I didn't tell you? Well now you know. Unfortunately, we can't chip in for the cost. You'll have to figure how to deal with the money problem yourselves. Good luck, and may Asharia be with you."

At the entrance, the love triangle that is Elric, Tillis, and Andy

"Tillis, baby," Elric says, pushing Andy aside, "come with us to the Marubo Dunes?"

"Hey, watch it," Andy says.

"Um, no," Tillis replies. "I hate the desert."

Elric grabs Tillis' hands and pulls her aside. "Baby, is there anything I can get you as a souvenir?"

She appears confused. "Huh?"

"Once we solve the puzzle, there will be treasures. I just know it."

"Elric, listen. You're nice and all, but..."

"But what?"

"She's already engaged," Andy says with a smirk on his face. "Engaged to me."

Elric's eyes look like they could pop out of his blocky head. "W-What do you mean?"

Oren winks at me. "Young love."

Andy pulls Tillis back to his side. "It means, you fool, we're getting married. Next month. You're invited, by the way."

Tears start to peek out of Elric's eye sockets. "Shut up!"

I kind of feel sorry for the kid, but he's still young. He'll find someone else. Or maybe they'll end up with each other in the future. These kind of games always have a happy ending.

"Look, I'm sorry," Tillis tries to explain, "but Andy treats me well."
"I can do better, I promise. I'll find you all the treasures in the world!"

In the middle of this soap opera, Roshan appears. "It's time"

The Speaker stands next to him, the power of her invisible aura silencing everyone immediately.

With Andy and Tillis staying behind, the rest of us leave Fortra and head for the dunes once again. The journey there is no more than a stroll. Monsters don't dare attack us. If I remember, the Speaker has the Frigid Grave skill, which no doubt would be super effective on the desert critters.

I try to communicate with Oren, but there's too much to explain. What matters, though, is that he knows when to use Guidance. I make the signs with my hands, and he seems to understand.

"What's with the silly dance?" Elric says.

Oren responds, "It's a quirk of his. I would just ignore it."

"He's dumber than a pile of dirt!"

That's right, Elric is in our party. How do you force someone out of your party? There's no option provided by Asharia as far as I know. We'll just have to deal with him when the time comes.

The site of the seal appears. The Speaker carries us downwards to the chamber below and lights a candle. I use a hand to put it out. She takes a step back, but quickly understands what I was trying to do. With the candle out, the sun's rays light up a portion of the ground.

"Of course," the Speaker says as she stares at how the rays reflect off the mechanism on the ground.

"Have you gained new insight on the enigma?" Roshan asks.

"Yes."

Even if she has, she'll need two others to aid in unlocking the seal. The Speaker's lips move. "Help us free Eudimon, and I will show you the way home."

Home? She can't mean...

Oren nudges me out of my reverie.

I nod at the Speaker. If she feels appeased, she'll be complacent. Oren and I will only have a short window of time to escape but it starts. He's already getting ready to cast Guidance. The others pay him no attention, as their eyes follow my movements.

"Proceed," Roshan says.

I do so, but as slowly possible. The monk will need at least thirty seconds to prepare.

"What are you waiting for?"

Roshan and the Speaker come closer.

Just a little longer.

"Stop wasting time."

Five more seconds.

"Do it!"

I press some buttons to trigger the trap. But just as the black mist begins to seep out of the cracks in the ground, the Speaker redirects the flow of poison upwards and out the chamber.

Crap!

Oren finally opens his eyes. "Guidance!"

What we escape in time?

Roshan prepares an attack, but the Speaker lowers her staff between him and us. "They may go."

The world before me twists and bends, transforming from the dark, rocky chamber to the interior of a room. We're back in Fortra? I thought I told him to send us to Eppery.

Oren sees my disappointment. "This is the best I can do."

In any case, we have to get out of here right away.

As I make to leave, Elric steps in front of my face.

The thief! Of course.

"Sneaky move."

Elric left the party!

Elric leaps forward, swinging daggers at me.

"Repel!" Oren sends him flying back.

We flee.

Elric chases us out the tavern and through the streets. The commotion garners little attention from the townsfolk. If we were only dealing with him, it would be a walk in the park. But just as I expected, Andy is waiting for us at the entrance.

Andy looks confused. "What's going on?"

Elric shouts at him. "Don't let them get away!"

The world spins.

* BATTLE START *

---

Oren and I find ourselves surrounded.

Elric flashes his silver dagger. "You're dead meat!"

He lunges at me once. Twice.

"Weak." Andy says.

"Shut up and attack!" Elric yells back.

Andy whips out his staff and grips it with both hands. He raises it up high, then slams it into the ground. "Erupt!"

A mini volcano pops out from under us and coughs up balls of lava. Oren and I take damage.

Even Elric was hit by the attack.

"Aim properly, you moron!"

"I thought you'd be fast enough to dodge it!"

I can almost make out the bulging veins on the thief's face. If the two have issues, Oren and I will have no problems dealing with them. The only question is: who should we take out first?

I swing my staff and shoot a lightning bolt at Oren. His speed increases. He targets Elric with a regular attack.

The thief dodges easily. "Too slow." He retaliates at the monk.

He's right. We'll have to target Andy. I signal the change of plans to Oren. He nods and launches Repel at the wizard.

Andy coughs up blocks of blood. "Alright, take this...Whirlwind!"

Wind swirls around Oren at a blinding speed and sends him soaring into the air. Five seconds later, he crashes to the ground with a boom.

"Well, that was an unpleasant ride." He gets back up and shakes off dirt.

"Nice!" Eric tells Andy. "But target the priest. I'll follow with Gentle Stab."

"No. Use your darts on the monk to slow him down."

Elric doesn't listen and begins setting up Snares between him and us. "Don't tell me what to do!"

These two have no strategy! It doesn't matter how fast or powerful their attacks are. We'll bring them down soon.

I cast Jolt on Oren again, increasing his speed by another 30%.

"Repel!" the monk shouts at Andy.

More blood spews from Andy's mouth. "Dammit! I won't survive another hit." He turns his back towards us and runs.

Andy ran away!

Elric looks flabbergasted. "What!? You coward!"

---

* BATTLE END *

When the world warps back to town view, I see Andy running off. Elric launches a couple Magic Darts at the wizard, knocking him to the ground.

"You asshole!" Andy cries.

"Get back here and fight!"

At that moment, Tillis arrives and unleashes a tirade on the two. "Stop fighting over me! Elric, I told you, there's no you and me. Give it up already. And you, Andy, stop baiting him! I've had it up to here with the two of you..."

Oren and I tiptoe out of Fortra.

~*~