Anima, Ch.64: Elved's Seal

--01-- [Scene: Port Ceann] <BGM: Lovly Parties>
To my surprise, Brilluen led me back to the beach of Port Ceann.
The same sense of nausea swept over me again.
Something about this place is literally making me sick to my stomach...


--02-- <BGM: Lovly Parties>
Pennar, Marcan, and a figure cloaked in a black robe were also here at the beach...
They stood in a circle around a particular spot, and the closer I got to it, the worse I felt.



--03-- <BGM: Lovly Parties>
(Brilluen)
Here's where we found the first of them...we've gotten two so far.
The problem is that they're hidden from sight, and we have very few clues to go by to look for them.
Watch carefully.


--04-- <BGM: Lovly Parties>
She nodded to the black-cloaked man, his face covered by a white hood. He began casting an incantation.
I watched closely, remembering the words and gestures.
The air began to warp and distort...


--05-- <BGM: Lovly Parties> {SFX: huge success}
Something appeared: a large altar, adorned with shields emblazoned with a crest.
Four armored figures, portrayed from the waist up, protruded from pillars, each facing different directions.



--06-- <BGM: Lovly Parties>
"I've...felt the presence of other things like this before.
They made me...nauseous.
Holy relics and I don't go together.
...By any chance, was the other one you found a bit west of Emain Macha?"

--07-- <BGM: Lovly Parties>
(Pennar)
Yes...yes, it was.
You can sense their presence, without seeing them?
Have you...felt the presence of the others?


--08-- <BGM: Lovly Parties>
"I didn't know *what* they were; just two odd places where my stomach twisted in knots.
Thing is, they're not on this continent.
They're across the sea...in places nobody has much reason to be in."


--09-- <BGM: Lovly Parties>
"One is at the southeast end of the frozen snowfields, near a river...the other in a small secluded valley
on the plateau between the two great deserts.
I could show you...if we could get there."


--10-- <BGM: Lovly Parties>
The black wizard stared through his veil. "Hmm... We will see if you speak the truth.
Marcan and Brilluen, I will send you to search for the first one.
Pennar, go with her to retrieve the second one."


--11-- <BGM: Lovly Parties>
(Brilluen)
Really, sending me off to a frigid cold wasteland? How considerate of you.




--12-- <BGM: Lovly Parties>
"Then don't dress like a harlot. Return quickly, and do not fail."
The black wizard cast some sort of teleportation spell, and a black mist surrounded Marcan and Brilluen, who then vanished.



--13-- [Scene: none] {SFX: wind}
He did the same for us. The world went dark, the space around me felt...dislocated,
then the unease in my stomach vanished as the world around me reappeared again...only...different.



--14-- [Scene: Nares Plateau] <BGM: The Wind, the Cloud, and the Field>
I recognized the terrain. The plateau, between the deserts, just across the river from the forest.
Well, who'd have thought? Back in Iria again, after I'd gone to so much trouble to leave it...!



--15-- <BGM: The Wind, the Cloud, and the Field>
(Pennar)
Does this place look familiar?
Do you feel the altar around here?



--16-- <BGM: The Wind, the Cloud, and the Field>
"I don't feel it yet... We're just not close enough.
I recognize the terrain. It's not too far away.
We need to go north past this ridge, then follow the edge of the hills eastward."


--17-- <BGM: The Wind, the Cloud, and the Field>
(Pennar)
You must've spent a lot of time out here to be able to recognize this place with just a quick glance.




--18-- <BGM: The Wind, the Cloud, and the Field>
"I spent years wandering out in the wilderness. I know all its secrets."
We started walking north.
"It's to the northeast. It's hidden away in a little cove, which most people just pass right by."


--19-- <BGM: The Wind, the Cloud, and the Field>
(Pennar)
Years? No wonder you want to leave.
I am certain that when we're done here, Ladeca will be honored
to send you home as a reward for your service.


--20-- <BGM: Eat or Be Eaten>
"I don't have a home any more. I'm just tired of this world."

I remember something my father told me once: 'Once an alliance of convenience is no longer convenient,
a betrayal inevitably follows...'

--21-- <BGM: Eat or Be Eaten>
'...so be the one doing the betraying.'

They won't offer to send me anywhere.
As soon as they don't need me, they'll try to dispose of me.
Well, we'll see about that. We'll see who gets rid of who.
--22-- <BGM: Eat or Be Eaten>
I need to make myself indispensable, so they can't succeed without me.
I'll let them get within reach of their goal, and then strike in their moment of triumph, when they least see it coming.



--23-- <BGM: Eat or Be Eaten>
(Pennar)
Just a wanderer, hm?
I can relate, though. I don't have a home either.
However, once this world has been purified with Ladeca's light, maybe it'll feel more like a home.


--24-- <BGM: Eat or Be Eaten>
After some time walking, we came to a cove in the hills, a little isolated valley with a single narrow inlet.
There was nothing here I could *see*...but I had the same feeling of distress as before.



--25-- <BGM: Eat or Be Eaten> {SFX: huge success}
"It's close." Walking onward, the uneasy feeling grew stronger. "Right...around here."
I repeated the incantation I saw the black wizard perform to reveal the hidden altar. Another one appeared.



--26-- <BGM: Eat or Be Eaten>
(Pennar)
My, aren't you a fast learner?
It's really here, though...!
Impressive. Talk about trusting your gut feelings.


--27-- <BGM: Eat or Be Eaten>
I opened the chest at the base of the altar.
A shield-shaped piece of metal was inside, decorated with a crowned red skull over a crossed pair of scythes,
the same as the shields on the altar itself.


--28-- <BGM: Eat or Be Eaten>
"You don't mind if I hold on to this, do you? I mean, you don't want to keep them all in one place, right?"

I have to keep myself useful as long as possible. As long as I have this, they need me.


--29-- <BGM: Eat or Be Eaten>
(Pennar)
Perhaps you can be trusted with it...for a while.
Very well. Keep it with you.
Let's see if the other two have had any luck on their end, shall we?


--30-- [Scene: Lunae Valley]
We had to double back to reach the nearest Mana Tunnel.
After traveling to the frozen wastes of Vales, we found Brilluen and Marcan near another hidden altar,
which gave me the same sense of nausea.


--31-- <BGM: Wind-biting Blade>
(Brilluen)
So, I see you managed to sniff yours out, wolfie.
We're done here too. It's right where Sariana said it would be!



--32-- <BGM: Wind-biting Blade>
(Pennar)
She located the other altar unerringly as well.
Your service is commendable, Sariana.



--33-- <BGM: Wind-biting Blade>
"So...what do these things do, anyway? And why are they so important?"




--34-- <BGM: Wind-biting Blade>
(Pennar)
Since you've been helpful in locating them, I suppose I can tell you a bit...
They are...keys.
Keys to open a gate, on an island in the middle of the sea.
We seek something beyond that gate...

--35-- <BGM: Wind-biting Blade>
"Something that I suppose that I have no business knowing?"

The wise assassin builds trust with their quarry, until the mark confides in their would-be killer.
Let's see how much trust I've gained.

--36-- <BGM: Wind-biting Blade>
(Brilluen)
Well, aren't you always the curious one?




--37-- <BGM: Wind-biting Blade>
"I like knowing what I'm doing and where I'm going.
Walking into an unknown situation blind is a good way to get yourself killed. Or worse."
I knew this from painful experience...


--38-- <BGM: Wind-biting Blade>
(Pennar)
Our agreement was your cooperation in return for a means to leave this world, correct?
I will say this much, then: beyond that gate is the means by which we shall be leaving.



--39-- <BGM: Wind-biting Blade>
(Brilluen)
So, now that we've got all four seals, we just have to get them to the gate.
Then, once we return to our world, you can go where you please...
Let's get out of this snow already, I'm freezing!


--40-- <BGM: Wind-biting Blade>
But you're not going to let me get into your world, are you?
No. As soon as we go through that gate, my usefulness ends. Our arrangement ends.
I will be prepared...for the inevitable betrayal.


[end of chapter]