Nightshade's Legaia 3 Fan-Fic (a sequel to LoL 1)

[Nightshade]

“It was an unfortunate circumstance leading to us meeting that way. There’s really nothing that can be held against you, Maye.” Kresh turned to the food and took a slice of bread and some meat. Meanwhile, Relia was eating a couple of slices of buttered bread, and Maye was eating the indistinguishable mass.”
“Er, Maye? What is that stuff you’re eating? I’ve never seen a thing like it in my life! It looks kinda weird!”
“Oh, this? Grilled Octoban. I rather like the stuff, but it is an acquired taste. A lot of people apparently think it’s rather slimy and disgusting.” Maye picked up a bowl of cocktail sauce and spooned a generous helping on her plate. “It’s really a question of how it’s cooked. Unlike most animals that walk on land, it’s very important that fish and other seafood be cooked correctly. And Octoban is one of the hardest to successfully cook. Too hot and you dry the fish out. Cook it too slow and it’s slippery and unappetizing. Frying it is easiest, but there’re problems with that too.”
Kresh turned to Maye. “So, what would you like to know about us? You said that you were interested in our journey, but that’s a rather open question.” He ate a bite of his bread. “What specifically are you wanting to know?”
“Well, I have two questions. The first is, what are you hoping to do? The second, and more important question, is where did you get that Ra-Seru?”
Kresh was visibly stunned as she asked her second question. “I take it, then, that you too have a Ra-Seru? Given that the Seru have been dead for a hundred years, and that Ra-Seru are creatures of legend, even in the War of the Mist, I don’t see how you’d be so knowledgeable unless you were familiar with them firsthand.”
Maye smiled at Kresh. “You’re quite the perceptive one. I’ve done some research on the topic myself, but yes, my Ra-Seru mentioned the presence of another being like herself as I was headed back home. Maye took off her jacket and placed her left hand on the table. Along her wrist lay a Seru of a deep ocean blue. “Her name is Seria. We encountered each other at the top of a mountain in Sebucus… Letona, I think it was. That would have been… almost two months ago now.”
“An interesting story, Maye, but I’m not sure I follow. If you’re from Sebucus, why are you here in the middle of Karisto, in an abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere? I’m willing to trust your story, but it just seems suspicious. Something’s not quite adding up.”
“Letona erupted five weeks ago. Ratayu’s been completely wiped out. The townspeople were able to flee to Vidna and Octam, but the city is destroyed completely. Turns out that Letona was an active volcano – no one that I know was aware of any eruptions in the last thousand years though. As for me, I didn’t feel comfortable moving to either place as a refugee. I’m… not much of a people person. Alone is preferable to with others. However, I sense that we have a purpose here, brought together by our Seru. Whatever I personally want to do is secondary. I’d prefer we leave as soon as you’re ready.”
“So, Miss Maye, does that mean that you’re going to be coming with us?” Maye nodded at Relia in approval. The trio packed some of the leftover food, cleaned the place up, and headed on their way. It was still morning as they left Maye’s house, but the sun was high overhead and the wind had begun to blow from the south, a warm breeze upon the trio’s faces.

[Nightshade]

Chapter 4, Part 6:


It was high-noon when they arrived back at the gates of Tarza. The town gates were wide open and, much to Kresh’s delight, the gatekeeper who shunned them away the past night was nowhere to be seen. Maye walked ahead of the other two.
“Tarza’s changed recently. Look around. So many soldiers in town, and as far as I’ve heard, no one important is visiting. I’d stay on your guard. This isn’t normal.” She whispered to Kresh “And make sure no one takes notice of your Seru. We don’t need any attention that we can avoid getting.”
Kresh nodded in silent approval. “I’d say that we should leave town as soon as possible. Let’s get any supplies we need and head for the Great Bridge as soon as we’re ready. I’d prefer not to stay in town this evening if it’s possible to avoid it.” He also noticed the attention one of the soldiers was giving to him, but pretended not to notice, and continued on as though nothing had happened. The trio walked on, and picked up some assorted supplies – among them, some dried meat and fruit, a new sword for Kresh, and a few assorted gadgets that Relia figured were useful in some way or another.
“It sure is convenient that these monsters we’ve been fighting have money on them for no real reason, Kresh.”
“To be honest, I’m not at all sure why either. Then again, I’m not really complaining about the good fortune – as long as we are on this journey, at least we won’t want for money much.” He thought to himself: “It is convenient, but I wonder why. Sometimes I wonder if Tieg isn’t still alive somehow, watching after us, and subtly aiding us. But it’s not worth worrying about.” His thoughts were suddenly interrupted.
“Kresh, I think there may be a slight problem here.” Maye pointed at the bridge. The entire complex was gated off, and there were probably upwards of a hundred heavily armed soldiers guarding the entrance to the bridge. Relia signaled her companions and pointed to a sign.
“By order of Mayor Rhonn of Tarza, access to the Great Bridge has been restricted to authorized personnel on account of suspicious activity. We apologize for any inconvenience at this time.” Kresh clenched his fist in disgust.
“We’ve come all this way just to be given the runaround by the system. Well, we certainly can’t go ask for permission. At this point, at least, it’d be better to keep a low profile. On account of that, we can’t force our way through. That would lend legitimacy to those who would try to stop us. We can’t be saving Legaia if we get killed first, after all. What do you suppose we do?”
“Look for another way,” Maye chimed in. “We can’t get on the Bridge through the normal means, but this obstruction can’t be a good thing for the citizenry. I’m sure someone has found a way to get past the guards. I figure we can do the same. Quick, everyone, hide!”
The three adventurers slipped into a nearby alleyway as a large group of armed soldiers marched toward the bridge. There were thirty-two in all, marching in eight perfectly synchronized rows of four soldiers apiece. At the back of the regiment were two figures wearing ominous cloaks. One of them, somewhat taller than the other, was wearing a brown cloak; the other, an infernal cloak of darkest black. Neither Relia nor Kresh nor Maye could make out either of the two figures, but they all felt a sense of dread and worry at what the pair represented.
“Lord Rhonn, I take it that everything is going according to plan?”
“Yes, Sir. Everything is proceeding as planned. Most of the locals who have resisted have either been captured or executed.”
“Good work. I leave this city in your capable hands. For the Seven!”
“For the Seven.”
“The Seven?” Kresh thought to himself for a moment. “They must be part of that group your dad was talking about, Relia. The Seven Sentinels, I believe he said. If they’re part of the Seven, and that big guy is also the mayor here, things are far worse than I imagined.”
“I suppose that means that requesting permission from him is definitely out of the question. But what do you know about the Seven?” Maye inquired.
“I don’t know much. They seemed to have been involved with Seru research of some sort. Apparently, something happened about a year back, and Relia’s father suspects that they may be behind the recent surge of monster attacks. It’s not much to go on at all, I’m afraid, but it’s the only real lead we have as to the cause of all the problems with the world.”

[Nightshade]

“Hmm.” Maye thought to herself. “That guy in the black cloak. He sounds familiar somehow. I know I’ve heard that voice somewhere.” She thought for a moment. “It’s no use. I can’t seem to recall any of it. But that voice. It just sounds familiar.”
By this time, the guards had already passed by. The shorter man continued on with them as they started across the bridge; the taller man had turned around and headed to the mayoral mansion in the center of town.
Maye looked at the others. “We better get ready for battle. We need to get across this bridge, and it’s pretty obvious that we aren’t going to be getting permission. Either we go through the big guy, or we go through the army of scrubs up there. What’s your idea?”
Kresh was still trying to think of a nonviolent way to get through and into the tower undetected, but he couldn’t seem to find a way through. “Even so, it wouldn’t be too hard to go through the soldiers. They’re well armed, but they don’t seem particularly strong. Weaker than the average monster marauding on the outskirts of town, although there are quite a few more of the soldiers, and they’ve got better training. On the other hand…”
“We need to get to that Rhonn guy, now. If we charge our way through the gate, he sends his soldiers after us, contacts his leaders, and we get trapped from both sides. We stop him, his soldiers desert, and we can get some support on the next phase of our journey.”
“Alright! Let’s go knock that guy’s block off! Who’s with me!” Relia exclaimed. “I’m excited just thinking about it!”
“I know, Relia. But we need to be careful. One mistake and it could be all over for us. Let’s take some time to survey the area and look for a chance to make our move. But we need to be careful. Guards are everywhere, and we don’t want to arouse suspicion if we can avoid it.”
“Let’s go our separate ways for now. I’ve got a couple of things I’d like to check out, and I’m sure you two could use some new supplies. Let’s meet back here in three hours to make our final preparation.” Relia and Kresh nodded at the plan.

(End of Chapter 4)

[Nightshade]

Chapter 5: Infiltration!
It was the middle of afternoon in the streets of Tarza. Despite the time, the entire city was strangely quiet. There were a few shoppers and merchants peddling their wares, and there were plenty of guards on their routes, but apart from that, it was as though an eerie specter had set up over the town, freezing the townspeople. It was the calm before the storm, and somehow the villagers knew it. Kresh and Relia arrived at their meeting place from separate directions so as not to attract suspicion.
“That’s a neat thing you have there, Relia. I’m curious – what exactly is it?”
“This piece of junk? Nothing yet. But I’m thinking that it’s just the thing I need to complete this mechanism I’m working on! I can’t wait to try this out! It’ll be so cool! Don’t ya think, Kresh? Don’t you!”
“Um, I don’t even know what you’re building, and I don’t know what you’re trying to do with it, either. However, I am glad that you’re excited about this. I’m a bit excited myself to see how this will turn out.” Relia gently smiled at the display of enthusiasm.
“Guys, hurry up! We don’t have but a few minutes for this to work.” It was Maye signaling the duo. “I’ll explain on the way, but for now, just follow along. Quickly, now!”
Relia and Kresh nodded at each other, and followed Maye as she led them toward the mansion. Maye led the two around to the back side of the mansion. “Once we go in, we’re not going to be able to get back outside until we’ve defeated Rhonn. Are you ready?” Kresh turned to Relia, who nodded steadfastly in determined approval.
“We’re ready, Maye. What do we do now?”
Maye pulled two wooden poles out of the pockets of her trench coat, and screwed them together to form a quarterstaff. “We go in through this window right here.” She pointed her staff at the window and forced it through, shattering the glass into a million shards. “What are you waiting for? Get inside, now!” The duo heeded her instructions and quickly climbed through the window, careful to avoid being cut by the remnant shards on the windowsill. Maye followed close behind. As soon as she was inside, Kresh barricaded the windowsill with a large dresser and several assorted objects.
Maye called upon Seria, and doused the dresser with a torrent of water, then instantly froze it in place. “It won’t be enough to stop them from getting inside, but it should buy us a few minutes at least. Long enough, I hope. Now let’s make haste. The pair opened the door and headed toward the top of the mansion.