Spirit Chronicles - Chapter 004~truth and beginning~
Spirit Chronicles
Chapter 004~truth and beginning~
The first and foremost question that appeared in his mind was who the hell did he deliver the package to if every inhabitant was dead? So much for the rest of that reward. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to scout out the ill-omened town.
Hix couldn’t help but feel curious as to why, or rather how, this happened. The Eagle clan were a group of Spirits (mostly eagles, as could be told from the clan’s name) who were powerful, said to rule the skies. Their town was not a place that was easily reached either, as the moment they spotted an attack, the warriors of the clan would drive the intruders away with their powerful wind Element. The inhabitants were one of the few Arks who could fly, using the wind to push themselves off the ground. All in all, one was not an easy opponent, and for all of the clan to be slaughtered...
Then there arose the question of how they were killed. They seemed to have fallen within their own town. The attack must have been a well-planned ambush for the Eagles not to have sensed it beforehand. Their sense of sight was famed throughout both regions of the land.
And finally, the final problem was probably the most important. If someone buried the bodies, then that meant someone had survived the attack. Was he or she still there? Judging from the age of the posts, it was doubtful. They seemed to be a few years old. It wouldn’t have been surprising that news didn’t travel well for the Eagles. They prided themselves on being self-sufficient, and, indeed, Hix could see the remains of fields, irrigated by a nearby brook, as he stepped carefully around all the graves down the street.
Hopefully the someone who had survived was still here. Hix walked further and further towards the heart of the village. Now that he was inside, he saw how huge the town really was. It seemed to have built itself into a crevice at the side of the mountain, leaving most of its contents hidden to the casual viewer. But soon, as he approached a trickling fountain in what appeared to be the town square, he also began to see and smell the death. The blood stains that weren’t quite worn away by the years and the unsettling feeling that always resides within a ghost town. Perhaps he should just leave. He didn’t like the place at all. Just as he was about to turn and walk away, he heard a voice.
“Come now, after walking all the way here, you’re going to leave without saying hi?”
Hix jumped and turned around. Where did that come from?
“Here, over here.”
Hix finally spotted the person. He was waving lazily from a small bench under the shadows of a withered tree. When he had seen that Hix had spotted him, he flipped over, propped himself lazily up on an elbow with an equally lazy grin on his face. “Welcome to Notoboreas. You’re the first visitor in three years, so I hope you don’t mind if I don’t go out of my way to be hospitable.”
Hix walked up to him and held out his hand. The boy (he looked about Hix’s age) took the hand with some friendliness. Now that he was close, Hix saw that the boy was quite skinny for his age, hair so white that they didn’t even seem white anymore. It was swept back at the top, spiky at the back, with three long trailing strands that flowed behind him from the top of his neck. His bangs were wispy, shaped almost like folded wings if Hix tried to look hard enough. His irises were a blood-red shade, but his eyes were so heavily hooded that it was almost unnoticeable. Seeing that Hix was looking him over, the boy smiled.
“So, what brings you out to the middle of nowhere...”
“Hix.”
“And I’m Zephiris.” Zephiris waited for Hix’s answer without continuing.
Hix rummaged through his pack and came out with the letter. With an inquiring look, Zephiris accepted it and, sitting up, opened the letter with a flick of his hand and read it.
“You didn’t read this, did you?”
Hix shook his head. “The client requested for me to not look at it.”
“Hmm ... well, maybe it’s better if you do. They say two heads are better than one.” Zephiris handed the letter back to Hix.
Curious, Hix took the letter and read. There was only a sentence on the page, written in scrawling letters. “If either of you wish to find the truth, travel to Faunaac.” Hix looked up at Zephiris. “What the hell...?”
The boy shrugged. “You’re the one who delivered it to me. If you don’t know, don’t ask me. I’m just some random guy spending his days in a random, dead town. Nothing special here.” There was a brief moment of silence. “Well, guess it’s time to get off my ass and get moving.” He hopped up onto his feet and stretched. Hix was displeased to see that he was about half a foot taller than him.
“You’re going to Faunaac?” Hix looked back at the letter. The sentence had said “either,” which implied that the statement applied to Hix as well. Some reward this was. What truth was there for him to find? If he ever met Georg again, he’d give him a piece of his mind.
“Why not? It’s better than hanging around this ghost town forever for reasons I’m sure you can fathom. You’re coming too, right? I’d be awfully lonely traveling alone.”
Hix sighed. “I have nothing better to do...” He paused, “but, if it’s possible, I’d like to rest a night first.” Even if spending the night meant staying longer in this unsettling town, the climb had exhausted him.
Zephiris shrugged. “Fine by me. I’ve spent such a long time here, I don’t think a day or two more will matter.” He turned towards the western part of the town. “That over there has some nice, clean rooms, or you could go for the hot springs over to the north.”
“You guys really have everything here, don’t you?”
“Yep. We were famed for being self-sufficient, proud, powerful, affable, affluent, the whole nine yards. Only problem is that it’s just me now, not ‘we.’”
Hix fell silent. “Can I ask what...”
“I’d prefer you not. You’ve probably gotten most of it anyways. Someone attacked, lots of people died, etc.”
“...Are you going to go find this ‘truth?’”
“Yeah, there are a few questions left that I’d rather have answered than left to mull for an eternity.”
“Does this have to do with the attack?”
“The answer to that should be obvious. If the conversation’s about the attack, you should automatically assume any following statement is about the attack.” Zephiris turned away from Hix, looking up at the summit towering over the town. “If it’s truth it’s talking about, it’s probably referring to the attacker. The only thing I know of him was that he used earth Elements and he had a pretty nice suit of armor on. I was away from the town at the time ... and when I returned, the town was already gone.” He turned back. “And you? How does this apply to you?”
“I have no idea. I have no particular ‘truth’ I want to find.”
“Well, all the more reason you should go then. It’ll be all even more of a surprise when you see what’s waiting for you.”
“Fine, fine. I already said I’m going. I’m calling it a day. We’ll meet here tomorrow morning.” Hix walked away to the north.
A lazy grin crept over Zephiris’ features. “He tells me how to act like he’s been here longer than I have.”
~
That night was the first good night’s sleep in a long time for Hix, though he was surrounded by graves and dead bodies and whatnot. The room was clean, albeit a little unused, and there was actually a roof over his head, not to mention the springs felt refreshing after his arduous trek up to town. However, more importantly in his mind was this new boy Zephiris. Hix couldn’t help but feel that he was hiding something, but he couldn’t think of a way to voice his suspicions either. Furthermore, the two were going to be traveling together for some time. Faunaac was quite a ways away; Hix didn’t even want to think how far.
Outside, the sun shone brightly, yet there was a slight envelope of cool air that prevented it from being oppressive (unlike a certain other place). Hix could see why the Eagle clan preferred to stay here rather than move closer to civilization. The invigorating climate alone was almost worth it.
Hix found Zephiris in almost the same position as yesterday, laying supine on the bench, staring up at the sky. Zephiris heard Hix’s footsteps and turned towards him. “My, you’re the early bird.”
“I think that would apply more to you,” Hix said.
Zephiris just smiled in return and continued to gaze at the sky, which wasn’t completely blue yet. Tints of pink still played at the edges.
Hix let him have his peace for a few seconds before he interrupted. “How are we going to get to Faunaac?”
“Hmm? Why not fly?”
“You know very well I can’t fly, and to tell the truth, I’m not too thrilled with the concept either.”
“Then we walk.”
“We can’t go through the Labyrinth. That forest bars any Spirit or Ark from passing through it.”
“How about a little combination of both then?”
“I told you, we can’t ... what?”
Zephiris sat up. “There’s a small path out back that crosses over the forest. It still has its few quirks, probably due to whatever strange thing’s in the forest, but those’ll be handled when they come.”
“That’s probably our best bet then.”
“I’ll lead the way then, I guess.”
The two made their way through the city, Zephiris keeping his eyes fixed steadfastly forward. They were near the foot of the cliff when Hix saw what he had meant. There was a small narrow path, one side the cliff and the other a sharp drop that probably meant death. Ahead, down the path, a large gap and then a sharp climb. Hix didn’t even want to know what the rest of the path was like. “And you’re expecting me to get through this how?”
“I can’t fly you over the forest, but it’s easier this way.”
The two walked forward when Zephiris suddenly threw out his hand. Hix stopped and squinted ahead. A person was standing at the base of the sharp incline. “Who’s there?” Hix demanded.
The figure ahead of them turned back. “Oh? I didn’t think there were any survivors from the ghost town.” The man had a smooth face, with dark bangs that stuck in every which direction imaginable. He seemed to have a particularly fancy uniform from some foreign place on, as it was noticeably ostentatious. He seemed to be somewhere in his middle ages, but the gleam in his eyes showed much more danger than should be calculated just by the number of years he had lived.
Hix’s blood froze when he recognized the face, even at the distance they were. “What are you doing here, Schvariz?!” Zephiris’ eyes narrowed, flickered between the two but didn’t say anything.
“Who’s this? Aren’t you the human from ... how many years ago was it? Sorry, I’d love to settle my score with you right now, but I’ve got business to attend to.” A long rapier appeared in his hands.
“You may have changed your looks, but you’re the same bastard as ever. You’re not getting away!” Hix ran forward. He couldn’t risk using his Ark-derived powers here. He leapt over the gap, flying towards Schvariz. The older man swung his thin blade, glancing off Hix’s cheek as he twisted around. Not too much to worry about; it’ll heal over in no time. Hix threw punched at Schvariz, who blocked one after another. Suddenly, a counter from Schvariz slashed through the air. Hix ducked and retaliated with a sweeping kick. However, Schvariz jumped away.
Just at that moment, Hix felt a sudden gust of wind. He pounced to the ground as a blade of wind shot past him, tearing into the rocks just above Schvariz. The man didn’t pause to look. Instead, he stuck next to the cliff and started scaling it. Vertically. The rocks fell harmlessly below him. Hix, on the other hand, had to jump away as quickly as he could before (humiliatingly) being crushed to death by rocks. He would have followed Schvariz had the latter not swiped his rapier against the rocks. The thin tip of the weapon belied its power as more rocks came flying down in a flash, completely demolishing the road.
“Tell me,” Zephiris said. The wind apparently came from his direction. “Are you the truth the letter spoke about?”
Once safely at the top, Schvariz just smirked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said before disappearing out of sight.
Hix cursed. There was no catching him now. He was still up for a fight. “You almost killed me, and you let him go.” He turned towards Zephiris.
Zephiris scratched his head. “You should be thanking me. You were clearly outmatched there.”
Seeing as he couldn’t take his anger out on him, Hix stomped past Zephiris and grabbed the boy’s collar. “What did he mean by ‘you human?’” Zephiris’ words stopped him. He pulled Hix’s hands off. It was his turn to do the interrogation. “You’re an Ark. It’s hard to sense, but you’re definitely one.”
“He probably got the wrong person,” Hix answered curtly without meeting Zephiris’ eyes.
“...You’re lucky I’m not going to waste the energy to keep asking.” He sighed and looked out over the cliff. The dark green sea of leaves stretched all the way out of sight. “I guess the only way is through that then. Let’s hope that somehow all of whatever’s in there doesn’t notice us.”
“No thanks to a certain someone.”
Suddenly Zephiris broke into laughter. “Oh, I’ll make up for that then.” Hix was so surprised by the sudden change in attitude he didn’t know how to react when Zephiris approached him and latched his arms around his waist.
“What the-?!!”
“Be quiet before I drop you into the forest from here.” Zephiris said with a small (evil) smile. Suddenly Hix felt a great rush of wind beneath him. The next moment, he was in the air.
Now aware that Zephiris’ threat could very well be true, Hix kept his mouth shut. He also kept his eyes shut most of the time. Time seemed to pass by faster that way, and before long he was back on solid ground.
“Never do that again, understand? I told you I don’t like flying.” Hix gasped for air, trying to calm his heart down.
“What’s this? a man like you is afraid by that little bout? That was only downwards too, down the side of that cliff. I mean, it is a good few hundred meters up, but boys a quarter my age were soaring through the skies in-”
“I’m not a bird, for god’s sake, unlike a certain someone whose Spirit is. Get that through your head.”
The two began walking towards the forest, arguing all the while. When they reached the edge, they realized they weren’t alone. The man was sitting cross-legged on the ground, a blade of grass in his mouth. He watched them as they approached, having quieted down in the presence of this stranger. “Oh don’t worry about me. With the way you two were carrying on, you would have woken the whole forest by now,” he said amicably. A pause. “You sure know how to keep a guy waiting.” Another smile. “Welcome to the beginning of your adventures.”