FicWad

An hour or so later, Aralius and Madison arrived in Lafos. It was a much smaller than the city of their departure, Galados, as there were many farmsteads surrounding it whose owners stubbornly would not sell their land to let the town grow.
Aralius had heard when he was only five that the King had to send in the militia the last time the city needed some land for the new irrigation system. Fighting never broke out however because Ramza had been able to negotiate with the farmers, which cracked Ramza up every time the story was brought up because according to him the only thing he really had to do to get the land was offer the fact that there was but fifteen farmers and nearly one hundred militiamen. Those were odds that even he couldn't have ignored.
When they got into the city limits, Aralius pulled on the reigns of the chocobo and slowed it to a walk. It was then that he realized how tightly Madison had her arms wrapped around him when she released her grip a little and he was able to take full breaths again. "Too fast?" he asked grinning. Madison grabbed his cloak tightly in her left hand and brushed her hair from her face with her right and kept silent. "Guess so." He thought. A few houses later, they had reached their destination and Aralius reigned Boco into the yard of his Aunt's home.
The house wasn't very big because Alma had never settled down with anyone, partly because she was too shy and partly because she was still scared of herself. Reasoning being that she had been key to resurrecting Altima. Ramza had never agreed to this of course, but Alma stood fast to her reasoning and decided to live away from her brother and his family in an attempt to make him worry less about her. This didn't work, of course, as Ramza worried probably twice as much because of the fact that she was alone and quite a distance away from him. Aralius couldn't count the number of times his father had asked Aunt Alma to come live with them and she had respectfully declined.
The front lawn was fairly large and very green with giant tree that grew in the middle of it. Hoping off Boco, Aralius turned and offered a hand to Madison who smiled and with his help hopped off the chocobo. He then walked up to the head of the chocobo and gently grabbed the reigns, pulling them so that the chocobo was facing him.
"You stay here understand?" Aralius said very sternly.
"Bwark!" the chocobo barked in reply.
"Good. Here, have a snack." Aralius pulled some Gyhsal greens from his pocket and handed them to the chocobo who plucked them from the palm of his hand with its' beak. Laughing, Aralius turned towards the house. "Shall we?" Madison nodded and the two made their way to the front door.
Aralius grabbed the handle on the door and knocked it three times, but their was no answer. Puzzled, Aralius tried the door and as usual it was open. Opening the door, Aralius cautiously poked his head inside the door, one hand on the door, the other on the pommel of his father's sword. "Aunt Alma?" he yelled. There was a crash and out from around the corner came his aunt.
"Aralius? Come in, come in. I was in the basement looking for my pincushion." Aralius relaxed his grip on his sword and pushed the door the rest of the way open. "Oh and I see you brought company. Who would this be?"
"This is Madison. Madison, this is my Aunt Alma."
"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am." Madison said with a curtsy.
"Oh the pleasure is all mine." Alma replied. "Please come in and have a seat." Madison walked past Aralius who still held the door and followed Alma into the sitting room. Aralius shook his head and closed the door as he too made his way to the sitting room. When he got there, Aralius was surprised to see that both of the women were rolling with laughter.
"Oh Aralius you were adorable as a child." Madison exclaimed as she waved a few sheets of parchment in the air. Aralius groaned.
"Alma, did you have to show her those?" The pictures were of him as a toddler attempting to wear his father's armor while wielding a small wooden sword painted by a local who still seemed to get a kick out of Aralius even now that he was quite grown up.
Alma smiled. "So tell me, if it's not intruding too much, how long have you two been seeing each other. Aralius and Madison both turned crimson at this and left the question unanswered. Alma nodded and laughed. "That's okay, you don't need to tell nosy Aunt Alma. But what does bring you here Aralius. I haven't heard from your father in quite some time, is he alright?" Aralius grimaced at the question and handed Alma the letter that his father had given him. "Do you know what it says?" she asked as she received the letter.
Aralius nodded his head no. "It's still sealed. He said only you should read it."
"I see." By now the letter was open and unfolded and as Aralius took a seat in a nearby armchair Alma began to read the letter. They sat in silence for awhile, with the only noise being the occasional shuffle of papers as Alma read the letter. "Oh dear." Alama said as she finished the letter. "Your father was quite right." And with that she stood, walked over to the fireplace where there burned a small fire, probably the remains of last night's fire, and tossed the letter into it.
Aralius jumped to his feet. "What did the letter say?" he exclaimed stepping towards the fire. Alma raised her arm and blocked her nephew from the flames as the last of the letter burned.
"That is for me to know. Your father should have waited until he was healed instead and delivered this message by voice of mouth. Anyway, you must tell me Aralius, what is my brother making you do?"
"Well he said to deliver that letter to you and then you'd give me the directions I needed to reach my destination in Ivalice."
"But what....no, God no, please tell me he didn't...."
"He didn't make me do anything, I volunteered to go to Ivalice. You know that if he would have thought there was any other way he would have gone. But it could be months before he will be travel ready, and possibly longer before he will be able to wield a sword."
"I see." She whispered. "So there's no persuading you otherwise." Aralius shook his head grimly, no his mind...no his heart, was too set on this. "Well then, if you must go, I have to give you something."
Rising, Alma quickly made her way to where her chair sat. Slowly she moved it and then she kneeled and reached to the belt of her dress and drew a knife with which she pried a small hidden cubby in the floor open. She then reached into the cubby and pulled out a small satchel, no bigger that the palm of Aralius' hand.
After placing the floorboard back to where it covered the cubby, Alma stood and approached Aralius and said as she held out the leather satchel, "Here I'm sure your father will want this and it should be safer with you."
Emptying the satchel into his hand, Aralius was amazed to see a Zodiac Stone. "The Virgo stone," he whispered. Alma nodded.
"Yes, this was the one stone that was not in your father's possession, and it will be the only stone that Delita needs to complete the set.
"Are you sure that Delita is the one behind the theft of the stones?" Aralius asked. Alma stared at him for a moment and then turned towards the window and looked out at the sky.
"Yes, Delita's the only person who knew where we went and what we carried. I'm not sure what he would want the stones for, but perhaps....perhaps it has something to do with the rumors of Olevia's death, but there's only one way for us to find out for sure." Aralius nodded.
"Well then, it seems as though it's time for me to be on my way." Aralius pointed out.
"Wait Aralius." Alma exclaimed as he headed for the door. "The note gave a suggestion of a place for you to start your search for the stones...I mean, find information regarding them." Alma hurried over to a small desk that sat next to the window and pulled out a quill pen and a small piece of parchment and began scribbling on the paper.
It only took her a few moments to complete what she was writing, and when she did, Alma folded the parchment in half and handed it to Aralius. "Go to Goug Machine City, and then when you're there, follow those instructions, they should lead you to a friend, and when you find him, mention my name and he'll know you. Okay?"
"Okay. Thanks Aunt Alma." Aralius said with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll be back safe and sound by the end of summer." She nodded waving goodbye to him and Madison as they exited the house. When they were gone, Alma sat on the chair and began to cry.

*

It was nearly dark when Aralius and Madison reached the border of Ivalice which was clearly defined by the beginning of a giant oak forest. As they entered the forest Aralius noticed the sweet smell of a recent rain. Aralius urged Boco on, and the bird squawked as it began to run, throwing up clumps of mud as it did so.
Madison shrieked as a clump of mud hit her cloak, but Aralius ignored her complaining choosing instead to take a look at his surroundings. The trail was only wide enough for one, maybe two travelers and it was lined by thick rows of the giant oaks that dwarfed everything they surrounded.
Staring into the forest, Aralius blinked as a glint of light reflected in the forest. Pulling the reigns he slowed the chocobo to a walk at which the chocobo barked its irritation at the constantly changing of speed. Aralius patted the chocobo's neck as he nervously looked around.
"What is it?" Madison whispered. Aralius shook his head in frustration.
"I don't know. I thought I saw something in the forest...." Just then there was an explosion. Aralius whipped his head around in time to see a few of the giant oaks fall over the trail behind them. Aralius turned back around and snapped the reigns. "Not good." Was all he muttered as he tightened his grip on the reigns and Madison tightened his grip on him. Up ahead he could now see two chocobo riders. Off to the left he also saw a small path that seemed to go into the forest. "Take the reigns!" he yelled to Madison.
"What?" she replied confused.
"Take the reigns. They're after me, so I'll give them something to chase." Before Madison could refuse, Aralius shoved the reigns into her hand and dove off the chocobo. Tucking his body he hit the muddy trail with a splat and quickly rolled to a stop. Clambering to his feet he could see the chocobo riders urge their chocobos towards him as Madison and Boco rode by - he was right, they were after him...or rather the Zodiac Stone that he was carrying.
Ripping off his cloak so it wouldn't hinder him as he fought...or as it was now run until he reached a bit of higher ground. Aralius could here the riders chocobos catching up to him as their armor clinked while they ran.
He drove the thought of the riders out of his head as he saw that he was close to his destination. He was almost there, then he could....suddenly Aralius hit a slick spot and he fell to the muddy ground. Cursing, he glanced behind him and saw what he has expected. His fall had allowed the riders to close in considerably. Drawing his sword he found what was the closest thing to a solid spot in the trail and dug himself in.
As the riders neared their chocobos slowed to a stop. The chocobos were large, black things covered in armor. Aralius could hear the horrifying beasts snort their breath as he stood there, sword ready. The riders were also somewhat unusual. They appeared to be fairly large men covered in thick black cloaks with the hoods drawn over their heads. The other thing that Aralius noticed about the men was their large broadswords sheathed at their hips and their haunting red eyes.
"Hand over the stone." the rider on the right snarled.
"I'd really rather not." Aralius replied.
"Give us the stone or die Beoluve."
"Ahh, my name proceeds me, but I'm afraid if you want the stone, you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers." The rider snarled and drew its sword in response.
"So be it." The rider spurred its horse and it charged towards Aralius followed closely by its companion. Aralius whispered a prayer and took the best defensive position he could. The rider closed, raised its sword and brought it down again in a deadly arc. Aralius lifted his blade in return managing to deflect the blow. A split-second later, the second rider attacked, and Aralius, without the time to recover from the first attack, only managed to deflect the blow down and through his left arm.
Aralius let out a scream of pain and clutched the wound with his right hand. Looking away from the wound, he saw that the riders had been unable to turn their battle eager chocobos around soon enough for a quick second run, leaving an opening to the hill. Letting go of his now limp and bleeding arm, he ran as fast as his body would take him, trudging through inches of mud that seemed to be dragging him under.
Then he slipped, face planting in the mud just in time to be missed by the blade of the first rider. Pulling his face from the mud, Aralius looked behind himself in time to see the two legs of the second chocobo coming to trample him. Scrambling, Aralius then decided that it would be better, and easier, to just roll to his right. As he came face up again, he saw the giant bird's foot come slamming down just inches from his head. Heaving a sigh of partial relief, Aralius stumbled to his feet and continued up the hill.
He reached the top of the hill now to his great relief, only to find that the other side was followed by a thirty foot drop. Aralius turned shaken with disbelief to see that the two riders had his only other escape blocked off.
"The stone..." the rider demanded, reaching towards Aralius. As it did so, Aralius could see that the rider's hand was not that of a human. No, instead it had only four fingers, three if you didn't count the opposable thumb. It was also covered in dark, blue-green scales that glistened in the moonlight.
"What the...? Who are you?"
"Those who your father should have taken into consideration those few years ago. Now, the stone. Give it to me." the rider growled. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Aralius saw a chocobo below him.
"Boco? Madison?" he wondered. His suspicions were confirmed a moment later when the familiar voice of Madison echoed throughout the night.
"Aralius!"
Analyzing his situation, Aralius realized that any option he had didn't have a very good chance for success. He could try to fight his way out, but the two creatures that blocked his path seemed to be very skilled in battle, and he now didn't have the use of his left hand. He could jump, but the fall would likely break his legs in the process. Then a funny idea crossed through the back of his head. What if he used his sword and that giant oak tree to try and slow his decent. Of course, there was a chance that the riders' chocobos could fly, then he would be out of luck either way. Oh, the decisions.
"Now Beoulve."
"Uh...change of plans boys, how about I don't give you the stone, and...well, I guess that's it." He replied with a smirk. Aralius then turned and jumped towards the nearest oak. He was about ten feet closer to the ground when the tree was within the distance of his sword and panicked he stuck the sword in at a downwards angle, jerking him to a slower pace and nearly right off of his sword.
Aralius heard Madison scream, and the two riders and their chocobos roar in anger. A few moments later, he hit the ground. He sat there stunned for a few moments before Madison and Boco approached and Madison attempted to pull him to his feet. Shaking off the near death experience, Aralius realized that they weren't out of the woods yet....both literally and non-literally of course. Pulling Excalibur from the tree, Aralius threw the sword into its sheathe and climbed onto Boco's back. He then reached down and pulled Madison up with his right hand.
"Hold on!" he yelled, snapping the reigns. They moved through the trees quickly, much quicker than Aralius would have thought the chocobo would be able to manage. Puzzled for a moment, it suddenly hit him. "Done this before eh boy?" he asked with a laugh. Of course, the chocobo was probably moving the opposite direction and running from quite different pursuers when he last came through the area.

It was a few hours later when Aralius finally brought the chocobo to a halt. There had been no sign of pursuit for the last three or four hours but Aralius had wanted to get a little space between themselves and the forest, just in case. By this time, the sun was rising, and they were nearing the edge of the forest.
"Best to sleep during the day, and if we do it here it will provide better cover." he reasoned. Gently nudging Madison awake with his right arm, he hopped off the chocobo and helped Madison hop down. Aralis then took Boco to a tree and tied a fairly long piece of rope he had requested from Father Orillio to both the large tree and Boco's reigns. "Get some rest boy, we've still got a little while to go." The chocobo barked a response and then proceeded to lay down and begin chomping on the long damp foliage.
Laughing, Aralius returned to where Madison was now building a small fire in a hole she had apparently dug with the bottom edge of her cloak. He smiled and knelt next to her while she tried to light the soaked firewood she had gathered.
She seemed to be on the verge of tears, with each match she struck. "Let me help." he offered.
"It's no use!" she cried. Collapsing against him and bursting into tears. Aralius cradled her in his right arm for a moment and smiled.
"Destruction of nature, gather in flame! Fire 1!" Fire burst from Aralius' finger and lept onto the damp wood, enveloping it in flames immediately. The magical fire burst to life instantly bringing a good amount of warmth to the area.
Aralius felt Madison's sobs stop at seeing the flames. He then unstrapped Excalibur and set it on the ground and then seating himself by both the sword and Madison. Leaning back, Aralius notice that Madison had chosen this spot well, making sure that there was a tree nearby for them to lean on, being as one could suffocate themselves in the mud if they rolled over in their sleep. Laughing at how absurd that might sound, he could hear the message.
"After escaping the clutches of the two demon riders and their unusual chocobos, Aralius Beoluve died in his sleep when he rolled over, face down in the mud." Snickering, he looked down to see that Madison was already asleep nestled against his side. Setting his right arm around her. Aralius' last thoughts as he drifted off to sleep were about what the night would have in store for them.

*

Aralius woke to an insistent nudging. "Huh....what...what's going on?" he asked. Opening his eyes, he saw that Boco had broken the rope that held him to the tree and was the source of the nudging. Looking around, Aralius noticed that it was now dark, and the fire had burnt out. Nothing out of the ordinary. "It's alright." he said patting the large bird's beak. "We'll go as soon as Madison..."
Just then there was a snap somewhere out in the forest. Aralius' head snapped around to see out in the distance what appeared to be a couple of torches. The light flickered as it bobbed in and out of the trees, and it was apparent that it was moving towards where they now were.
Panic almost seized Aralius, but he took a deep breath and gathered his wits. Gently he shook Madison awake. As she did so, she opened her mouth to speak but Aralius clapped his hand over her mouth and motioned for her to be silent.
"Quickly and as quietly as possible untie the rope from Boco's reigns and put them back in the saddlebag. Then get on and be ready to go," he whispered. A frightened look passed over Madion's face, but she nodded and left to do as he said.
Aralius too stood, grabbed his belt with the sheathed Excalibur attached, and buckled it around his waist. He then walked over to the fire pit they had made and using his boot filled it with the mud that had come out when they had dug it. He then proceeded to cover up the campsite as much as possible. There was only so much he could do in the mud though, and his cover-up would only give them a hour at most, but an hour was better than nothing.
That done, Aralius turned towards where Boco and Madison were waiting. He then hopped on to the rear of Boco's saddle and grabbed the reigns, and as he did his arm brushed through Madison's hair which for some reason calmed his nerves. Tugging on the reigns he urged Boco to go and as he did so, he looked back to see the fading view of that torch bobbing in and out of the trees.

Goug Machine City

It was the early hours of the morning when Aralius and Madison rode into their destination within Ivalice, none other than Goug Machine City. Aralius was awed as they entered the city gates. The city had no doubt grown since his father had last been here, that or his father had downplayed the seeming huge look the buildings all around had.
The first thing Aralius saw to was that he and Madison would have a place to stay during their visit to Goug. This proved to be much harder than he thought, however, because he couldn't find an inn that wasn't in the 'bad' section of town ,as many of the townspeople called it, that he could afford. Seeing what those people had called the 'bad' section of town had turned his stomach.
This wasn't just a broken down section of the city, no, in this part of the city men lived like dogs. The place stunk like the dead, and judging by the people that lay in misshapen balls here and there Aralius was sure that he knew the reason why.
"Oh my God!" Madison screeched. "How can these people live like this?" Aralius shook his head in disgust as he turned Boco around back towards the main center of Goug.
"They don't." he muttered to no one in particular.

The next few minutes, as they traveled back towards the center of town, Aralius fumed about how the people of Goug could let the things that happened in the 'bad' part of town to happen. After a close encounter with a traveling band of rich merchants he decided that it was because the rich had no care for anything besides themselves and their money. Aralius had come deathly close to gutting the merchant right there in the middle of the street, and if not for Madison he likely would have. Now Madison was infuriated with Aralius for being so hotheaded and he was mad at her for being mad at him.
Finally, Aralius settled for a high class inn near the town square. He bargained with the innkeeper for a half hour before finally settling on a price - which was the one that the innkeeper had began with. After giving the man his payment for the night, Aralius went back outside to retrieve both Madison and their belongings from Boco's saddle before the stall boy took Boco to his stall.
After getting Madison settled in, it was time to break the news. "Madison, this next part....well, I need to do it myself." Madison whirled about and Aralius could see in her eyes the storm he had unleashed. The next few moments were a blur as Madison began screaming and more importantly, throwing things. Aralius slammed the door behind him as the large water jar smashed into it, right about where his head had been. Things finally quieted down in the room behind him and Aralius let his head sag into his hands, where tried to puzzle out what he had just done. Lifting his head again, Aralius picked up a pen from the floor in front of him and scribbled a note on a nearby napkin:

Madison,

I'm sorry about leaving you here, it's just that I have to go to a dangerous part of town. I don't know what's there, and I don't want to endanger you anymore than I already have. I hope you understand.

Back by supper,
Aralius

Aralius slid the note under the door, and walked to the stables to find Boco saddled and ready to go as he had requested. Mounting the chocobo, Aralius gave one last look to the inn as he rode to where his Aunt's directions would lead him.
Meanwhile, sitting in the window sill of a second story room, Madison sat watching Aralius as he left. She sniffled once, then twice, looked at the napkin note left by Aralius, and then curled up in the sil and cried.

*

Aralius stood on the front step of the place his aunt had sent him to. Soaked and dripping mud, he reached for the door to knock when suddenly it jerked open. A young girl about Aralius' age with shiny black hair stood there, and jumped when she saw Aralius. "Oh my!" she exclaimed, dropping the basket that she held. "I'm afraid I don't know who you are. Are you here to see my father?"
"Aralius shrugged. "My Aunt Alma sent me here. I'm not sure who I'm here to see."
At hearing this, the girl suddenly became worried. "Come in quickly." She said jerking him into the house by the collar of his cloak. "There are watchers everywhere." She explained closing the door behind him.

It was warm inside, although Aralius was too wet to fully feel the warmth, he stood there, basking in the faint glow the fire gave off.
"Umm you can take off your boots and wet clothes, I'll go get some of my father's old clothes for you." She then turned and left the room, so Aralius began to do as he was told and took off his dripping cloak and mud splattered boots. Setting them in a pile, he then began to take off his pants when he realized that the girl was back in the room.
Turning around, the girl flushed and handed Aralius his clothes. She the tried to say something but stopped herself, flushing again and then she turned and left the room.
At first Aralius was puzzled by the girl's actions, but then he realized that he was in Ivalice now, and that custom was likely different here. He then stripped off the remainder of his wet clothes, replacing them with the dry ones that she had left him. After he was finished dressing, Aralius piled up his wet clothes and carried them out into the front room where the girl was waiting for him. She then took his clothes and bid him to sit down. Mumbling his thanks, Aralius took the seat closest to the fire because though his clothes were now dry he was chilled to the core.
"My father should be home shortly." The girl explained. Aralius nodded,
"I never got your name?" he asked. The girl flushed and replied,
"Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot! My name is Jenny." Aralius bowed his head.
"It's a pleasure to meat you Jenny, my name is Aralius."
"Please, have a seat won't you? You must be very weary from your journey." Jenny said motioning to a large padded chair that sat next to the fire. "Will you have some Wine? Or Ale?"
"A cup of ale would be great." He replied with a smile and with that the girl rushed from the room once again, leaving Aralius to gather his thoughts. Aralius stared into the fire for some time until he came to with Jenny waving her hand in front of his face.
"Hello?...are you awake?" she asked.
"Oh, heh sorry." He replied, taking the cup of ale that Jenny offered him. He looked at it for a moment, then at Jenny who looked anxious as he held the cup up and smiled. Then he took the cup and put it to his lips and drank all of it, quenching a thirst that had lately been unquenchable. "Thanks." He said scratching his head and then setting the cup on the arm of the chair he sat in.
"Mmhmm." Jenny replied taking the cup back into her hands. "So tell me, what is Ordallia like?" She said kneeling beside him and placing her folded arms upon the rest of the chair.
"Odallia? How did you know that was where I traveled from?"
"From your Aunt silly. Her note arrive yesterday upon the morrow. Father was gone so I read it, being as how it was marked to be important."
"Oh, well, I guess it's a lot like here...though it doesn't rain as often...or as hard. I lived near the middle of the country though, pretty far away from the sea, which would probably explain the rain..."
"But what's it like? The people...the places...not the weather."
"Oye," Aralius thought, "Well the people are nice enough I suppose, though a little more...oh I dunno...outgoing there. Most have pretty fair skin unlike myself...I picked up my tan skin from my mother, who was born in Galthanas, but lived most her life in Riovanes.
Other than that, most things are fairly similar. There aren't many large cities, but those that are tower above the rest....most the common people live on farms and other similar estates with small cottages. There aren't many nobles, and there isn't much of a presence politically in the way of the church. But as I understand that's changed here in Ivalice too." Jenny nodded solemnly.
"From the stories that my father tells, I'm not sure which is worse...the way things are now, or the way they were." With that she stood and shrugged. "But, we'll just have to make do with what we have right?" She nodded again and then disappeared from the room with the empty cup in her hands.
So Aralius was left alone with himself again, and he would have fell asleep as he starred into the fire if it wasn't for the loud creak and slam of the door as it opened and closed. "Jenny?" a voice called from the doorway. "Are you home?" There were footsteps until finally there was a man standing in front of Aralius. "Oh, hello I didn't know that-" his sentence trailed off as Aralius looked up and studied the man's shocked face.
The man looked to be in his mid-thirties, about the same age as his father was, with long, blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and large, scruffy beard. The man wore a strange type of pants...overalls he thought he remembered them called, and under those he wore a bright yellow t-shirt. He also wore a pair of worn, red leather gloves, which he began to remove as he slowly sat down.
"Ramza?..." the man whispered.
Aralius shook his head. "Not Ramza." He mumbled as he stood. "I'm Aralius, Ramza's son."