//------------------------------// // 22: Meeting...Nah, Not Yet // Story: Dark Body, Light Soul (Or the Tale of the Stalfos) // by Garino //------------------------------// Chapter 22 Meeting...Nah, Not Yet "Daniel..." "..." "Daniel..." "...huh?" "Daniel, snap out of it!" Melody yelled. I quickly jumped to attention, surprisingly fast, considering I was unconscious. Wait...unconscious? No way, I was at the Final Destination, fighting Shanoa not a moment ago. Speaking of which, where is she? "Hello? Mr. Fortiskay, are you there?" Melody asked again. I finally shook my head and acknowledged her. "I hear you, Melody, I hear you..." I muttered. "Well, I wouldn't know," she shot back. "I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes, and you didn't respond then." "That's because I was...wait, what? Five minutes?" I asked. "Um, yeah, five minutes," Melody nodded. "The door closed, we looked for something to get us out, SHE appeared, and then you two just stopped moving!" Stopped moving? We must've looked like living statues...hehheh, living. I would have said something else, but the door that had blocked our path before suddenly opened, revealing Drac and Wisp. Yeah, from here on out, Dracula's being shortened to Drac. Drac was his stoic self (I forget if I said it, but does he have any other emotions?) while Wisp was clearly annoyed. "What are you two still doing here?!? Highwind's guards are gonna be here any minute, let's move!" Wisp hissed. "Give us another minute, I need to ga-" "NOW'S NOT THE TIME, GHOST RIDER!" he bellowed. I responded with the one-finger salute. I picked up MC, who was by my feet, and went to the door. You'll agree with me when I say, "You don't feel so useless when you have the tools of your trade on your person." Melody flew by me and handed me...something. "I found it by that unicorn skeleton. Maybe it'll be useful?" she said. It...was actually a bit useless: nothing but the hilt of a blade. But, hey, you can always forge a blade for the hilt and combine the two, right? Okay, I'm not a blacksmith, sue me. "Alright, enough fooling around," Drac finally spoke. "We've got a long way to go if we want to get out of here." With a nod, we all started moving again. Sadly, not even three steps later, my mind decided to register exactly what Wisp had said a moment ago. And when it did...well, my reaction could very well be justified. "WISP, YOU SICK PUNK, THAT'S JUST WRONG!!!" She failed. It's sad. She was always one for mind games, but his was...tempered, somehow. Tempered, how? Mind games are difficult to play, and even more difficult to master. But...you could liken it to chess: even if you can plan every move, if your opponent is sporadic, you can still lose. I...never knew you played chess, milord. It is a hobby. Or...it was. ...sir? Never mind. I have new orders. What is your will? Send ALL of the Honor Guard after Daniel and the companions by his side. They are not to leave this city. By your command. ...I knew writing down the failures of others would suit me. Rule number 80: If my weakest troops fail to eliminate a hero, I will send out my best troops instead of wasting time with progressively stronger ones as he gets closer and closer to my fortress. ...or something like that... My lord, a letter from the infirmary. Very well, let me see it. ......... ...SHE DID WHAT?!? Infirmary (prior to Daniel's breakout) Shiira laid in the hospital bed, exhausted from her battle. Never before had she felt so...drained. But she felt it was worth it. After all, once she recovered, she would achieve her dream: being a member of the prestiged Honor Guard. She was so close, she could taste it...wait, that was lunch. Ugh, she thought. The only thing I don't like about hospitals is their food. It's horrible! She could hear voices outside of her room. Two low-ranked soldiers, by the sound of it. Maybe greenhorns? Shiira chuckled at the thought, remembering that sometimes there were literal greenhorns. Either way, there wasn't much information she could get from eavesdropping. That was, until, she could make out, "...ent Dawn..." "Dawn? Could they be talking about...them?" Shiira muttered to herself. Now they had her attention. She focused on the sound, listening to the two soldiers. "I'm telling you, they'll find this place sooner or later! I've heard they've already rooted out the old Rubbleton den!" "I heard about it, too. But that was because they dragged a poor sod down under. It was easy for them to follow the trail." Honestly, what were they thinking when they named it Rubbleton? Good tidings? Shiira thought. "What about that new skeleton that just appeared from the topside. Daniel Fortesque, wasn't it? Isn't he the old hero from Gallowmare?" "I doubt this one is THE hero of Gallowmare. The new guy can’t hold a candle to him. Hell, this palooka can't even dress himself properly." The hero of Gallowmare? Shiira remembered the story of him. How did it go, again? I’ll remember it later, she thought. "Right. Can't believe I mistook the two." "It's a wonder you even made the guard." There was the sound of steel unsheathing. "Now listen here, Buster, I didn't come here to be insulted!" "Oh? Well, where do you usually go?" Silence. It was broken by steel sliding across leather. "If it wasn't for the fact that was funny, I would gut you here and now." "If you say so. Either way, what do you think about the other rumors? King Highwind actually being...one of them?" "That's one I don't wish to find out. But...it would explain how we have exorcists. I mean, ghosts being purified? Skeletons broken then made into bone meal? Zombies mind-controlled to eat their kin? Those are all Reverent Dawn tactics, Buster." Reverent Dawn...I never thought I'd hear that name again, Shiira thought. As she lost them for that moment, she noticed a blood pill on the night stand. Good, her stomache was starting to growl. Even though it wasn't as filling as the real thing, they could satiate the hunger. She ate the pill contently and continued listening in on the discussion earnestly. "Makes you wonder, doesn't it? But if he is one of them, why hasn't he just leveled the city yet?" "He's just one gryphon! What could one creature do?" Another sword was pulled from its sheathe. However, it wasn't steel. It sounded like...silver? "One creature can do THIS." There was a loud cry, and then...silence.