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year 5, quarter 3
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LOL. You want a new job, Ganba? Kuja's always in the market for minions.
Why should the world exist without me?
The woman glanced at Kuja, smirking as he spoke. ”What were you expecting? A welcome banner?” she joked, and for not the first time that night, Kuja felt his fingers tense into the flesh of his palm. He loathed working with the simple-minded.
”Hardly.” His voice came cool. Almost a little flippant. ”But if this were a mage of any worthwhile caliber, he should have left some kind of traps or observational magic on his entrance. I sensed nothing of the sort, and with just a single guard...It seems careless.”
Careless or arrogant. Either way, the mage was a fool to leave anything to chance. Kuja eyed the filthy floodways distastefully.
But the woman wasn’t talking to him any longer. Neither of them were, really, and as she set about posturing with the iguana-man again, Kuja couldn’t help but sigh. Why was it that he always found himself surrounded by idiots? Of course, that was sometimes of his own doing. Manipulating those with power, for instance, or keeping his pawns in line. But more often than not, he found himself in undesirable circumstances unwillingly working with undesirable allies.
Was it a stroke of fate that he found himself so constantly frustrated, or perhaps a bout of divine karma? It would certainly have seemed so if he’d believed in either of those things. As it were, Kuja could only imagine that it spoke ill of the general intelligence of almost everyone around him. Almost no one was worth his time.
Still, they were making progress. Iguana-man informed them of the general layout of the place and started off towards one of the (thankfully) less disgusting of the paths. He didn’t seem interested in conversation beyond pure function and Kuja had no desire to seek any from him. Instead, he was content merely to listen.
After the time they’d unwillingly shared, Kuja was beginning to grasp the peculiarities of the man’s speech. For one reason or another, the mammoth man seemed to think the two of them children -- no matter what they said to the contrary -- and Kuja could only imagine that “bleeder” meant something akin to “human,” though he could only wonder in morbid fascination what details of the man’s species might lead him to that nickname. The undead were, to him, “rotten.” And apparently they navigated not by sight, but smell. The necromancer’s magic had something to do with an obelisk and ritual circles -- amateur’s work -- and for some reason the iguana-man assumed that Kuja was here for “adventuring.”
”I’d hardly call this an ‘adventure,’” Kuja scoffed, but didn’t have time to elicit a reaction before he was cut off by a sudden hiss down the hall.
What dashed around the corner was, well, undead. Kuja wasn’t exactly unfamiliar with the concept after all of his dismal trips to the base of the Iifa Tree, but this specimen felt particularly unpleasant. It smelled horrible, for one, and seemed hardly glued together through magical stitches that barely kept it upright. Kuja raised a careless hand as it rushed towards them, stepping back to let it attack the other two first if it managed to reach them. He had no desire to demonstrate his magic if he didn’t have to, and thankfully, their reptilian guide wasn’t completely useless. He sent the creature’s head flying with a single swipe, thrusting the rest of it bodily into the wall before continuing on.
Well. The man seemed mildly competent at least.
”Tell me,” Kuja said as he followed behind him. ”What would motivate someone to work somewhere so dreary? Surely you could get better work somewhere else? With someone else?” They turned a corner, and Kuja found that they were once again alone. Or at least so it seemed. He stepped a little closer to the man and cast him a sideways glance. ”I realize that you must be low on options -- aren’t we all? -- but your employer appears to be an amateur mage at best, and the conditions aren’t exactly...tasteful.” Kuja glanced coolly at an open sarcophagus -- empty but for a wet grime that smelled vaguely of rot. ”Is it merely the pay or is there something I’m missing?”
Aranea thought the purple headed man was bit too full of himself. She rolled her eyes at this rant about what kind of caster lie in wait down in the dank depths. If it was an amateur even better for her in the long run; it'd be easier to take them out. The scaly one was also talking about how the catacombs were structured and she nodded as she listened. If she needed a back up plan, it was good to have a rough idea of how many floors of the undead she would need to wade through. She didn't think she would need to do so though. A little magic didn't scare her.
She smelt it way before she saw it. The putrid smell of something that was better left to fester buried away caused her nose to wrinkle as she steadied herself for the attack. Aranea grimaced as the once alive thing shuffled quickly at their little trio. The only thing she had time to notice before the scaly one quickly decapitated the flesh of the once living where its eye, or its lack of eyes more so. Instead, there was a void only filled with a strange glow that seemed to be the thing animating the corpse. Still, she decided that she didn't feel like having her head whacked of and decided to wait to be somewhere with some maneuverability before she even thought to provoke the scaled one or fight his employer
Aranea sauntered behind the other two as they round the corner. The one with the cockatoo was busy questioning the big guy, but Aranea only listened halfheartedly. Instead she putting her ears to better use making sure nothing was sneaking up behind them. She didn't really enjoy the fact she wasn't leading the group downwards into the depths, but for once it was kind of nice to have someone with any sense of direction besides herself taking the helm. Maybe he was less of a brutish beast than he had let onto earlier but Aranea didn't dwell on the idea too long.
She kept quiet as they wandered a while longer not lingering in any one passage for too long. Aranea was not one for conversation especially with the two fellows she happened to have as present company. For all the hype in her head of having to storm their way through the underworld's forces, the reanimated they did bump into were very few. Her spear was sticky and smelled awful after running her spear straight through three that had tried to come up from behind them after taking a stairwell down to the lower floor. She was surprised at how easily they seemed to go down as though these were the first time puppets of whoever had conjured them back from their slumber.
Eventually they came across the source room of it all. Aranea stuck her lance in to make sure there was no magic set to obliterate anything that walked in before pushing herself through the opening. It was just like the big guy had stated; there was a large stone pillar in the middle of the room that seemed had been etched into in a hurry. The same could be said for the signs on the walls, lined with caskets, which looked drawn by an uncertain hand and hardly precise at all. There was only one thing from stopping her from finishing her job. There was no one there.
"Hmpf." she tutted as she circled the pillar. "Hey, Scales," she called to their tour guide of sorts, "you even met your boss?" Aranea gave the obelisk a soft kick to see how sturdy it was. It looked like it had been there long before the etchings had been put into it. Perhaps if she could destroy it, it would stop the magic. Before she could give it a full force jab with the blunt side of her spear, it began to glow softly. She stepped back keeping her disapproval showing on her face. She nodded her head to the cocky one as she folded her arms watching the pillar grow brighter with a icy devilish blue glow, "So, Mr. 'Sorcerer', what do you make of it all?"
Ganba turned to give Kuja a sideways glance, sizing up the effeminate male with his eccentric garb and cunning gab. The questions didn't seem malevolent and lacked the subtle weaving that went hand in hand with treachery. Seeing little harm in answering honest inquiry, the Au Ra shrugged a single shoulder with a grunt before replying.
" Not sure about you two, most think I'm mad for saying such- this isn't my place. Woke up one day somewhere new, no one knowing where I spoke of or even having seen my people. Lack of choices, lack of interest in this world. My blood does not boil here, my mettle is not tested and my fangs grow dull- but my honor is to be kept. When Au Ra makes a promise, promise must be kept. Need work to live, contract is contract. Accepted first contract I came across and was paid upfront by guild lady, can not break promise," He gestured about him, gestured then to his weapon and finally, gestured to himself," This work does not suit me. I am a warrior! I have hunted dragons, I have bested heroes and courted death to my very door! I have turned wars, toppled kings and fought blade in hand besides demi-gods, themselves. But look now, here upon me- this is not the Dragon's Tail of infamy, I have nothing but my honor now. When this contract ends, I will seek a battlefield to excite me once more, yet for now...I keep my word, bleeder. Always,"
With that said, the dragoon shuffled forward and away from Kuja and further into the network of tunnels in silence. The party remained mostly left alone sans the odd undead that encountered their group but it was not long until they swept down another staircase and into the main chambers of the necromancer of his employ. Of course, his employer was nowhere to be seen- so it appeared.
The fellow Dragoon spoke up, asking another simple question that was probably intended sarcastically. However, it struck close to the truth and so Ganba once again opened his jaw to answer.
" No," Simple and definitive, adding no more to the conversation and hanging almost awkwardly in the air between them. He pointed towards the main obelisk, a spattering of runes and arcane symbols carved into the material and giving off that eerie blue light," Only been down here once before, voice came from the shadows and all at once as if from multiple persons. This is all I know,"
With another grunt, Ganba settled onto his haunches in a squat, using his spear as a sort of leverage and placing his back to one of the stalagmites," I will wait here...either the mage will come running to see what tripped their runes or you will find them. Remember my words, bring no harm to them and I will bring no harm to you- other then this, my work is done and my contract clear, do as you will," he concluded and drifted off into silence again, watching them with his pale eyes.
To Kuja’s immense surprise, the iguana-man’s answer was almost useful.
The man told him that he wasn’t from this world (as if that hadn’t been obvious) and conceded that skulking around in catacombs wasn’t like him. He was from a warrior race, apparently. Someone who placed pride in such ridiculous things as pride, loyalty, and honor. Still, such traits were useful in their own rights. They were incredibly easy to manipulate, for one.
”My blood does not boil here, my mettle is not tested and my fangs grow dull- but my honor is to be kept. When Au Ra makes a promise, promise must be kept. Need work to live, contract is contract.”
Kuja hummed in faked interest. So he was bound to any contract? He sought action above all else and would remain loyal to any he pledged himself to? Kuja had no idea as to his skills, but if he could somehow wrench control of that contract away from this pitiful mage…
”I have nothing but my honor now,” the iguana-man went on. ”When this contract ends, I will seek a battlefield to excite me once more, yet for now...I keep my word, bleeder. Always." The man straightened with the force of his words and started ahead of them as though spurned by that very honor that he sought. Kuja gave a short sigh behind the back of his hand.
What would it take? It was a question he’d asked himself several times before. What would it take to sway the gluttonous queen to violence? What would it take to bring the cowardly Meltigemini under his thumb? What would it take to tempt a steadfast iguana-man away from his contract and into Kuja’s employ? Perhaps nothing would sway him. Perhaps Kuja would have met a possibility and would have to let it slip away. He didn’t need the extra muscle, after all. But if he could capture it…
The Warrior of Light still sulked somewhere in this world whispering horrible tales of his deeds. Perhaps this man could be the one to take care of that problem.
Kuja found himself so lost in thought that he hardly notice the short and rather anticlimactic battles taking place before him. He simply wandered behind, eyeing the iguana-man curiously, and only raising his hand once when the undead attacked from behind and he shattered it with a well-placed spell cast with hardly a glance in its direction.
If he could capture this man under his thumb…
He seemed like the perfect type…
For murder.
The woman’s lance brought his thoughts back to their present predicament. The iguana-man had brought them to a circular room covered in ritual circles with an oddly carved obelisk erected at its center. Kuja eyed it all before letting out a light sigh. As he’d suspected, the work of an amateur. How disappointing…
”Hey Scales. You ever met your boss?” The woman looked nearly as frustrated as Kuja found himself as she circled the obelisk carelessly.
”No,” the reptilian man answered. ”Only been down here once before, voice came from the shadows and all at once as if from multiple persons. This is all I know.”
From the shadows and amplified? Kuja touched at his lips and couldn’t help a quiet laugh that made his shoulders tremble. The fearsome necromancer used his magic for theatrical effects? Clearly he was compensating for something if that was the case. But he kept his thoughts to himself. The ridicule might insult his potential assassin.
The woman kicked at the base of the obelisk, eying it carefully before reaching for her lance. Kuja never learned what exactly she’d planned to do with it because the force seemed to activate the thing and its runes began glowing an eerie blue. The woman gave it a distasteful look before stepping back and crossing her arms, tossing her head to Kuja with her eternal air of confidence. ”So Mr. Sorcerer, what do you think of it all?”
Kuja felt his shoulders tense at the obvious mockery, but he let it go as quickly as it came. It wouldn’t do to cause a scene.
So instead he stepped forward. The runes burned with magic etched into them like the edges of a puzzle piece. ”Some rituals require certain conditions to fulfill. Often it’s necessary to find a location properly located along a source of power. Typically underground where the planet’s core flows most freely.” Kuja’s thoughts wandered to the catacombs of Alexandria or the depths of Mount Gulug. Yes, there were certain rituals that couldn’t be performed in the light of day. Generally only the most taboo of them with a taste for blood.
”Even so, that power must be channeled by something. An emblem, for instance. Or meticulously carved runes. Or -- as you see here -- an obelisk.” Kuja cast a careless hand to it, shrugging with a shake of his head. ”But I doubt it’s been constructed long. In fact, it looks like it was just a support pillar until recently. The mage must have known this place was situated over one of the world’s magical streams and tried to harness it himself. The work is shoddy at best. I wouldn’t guess the necromancer’s been studying for more than a few years. Perhaps six months if the mage was ambitious.”
Still, the column burned with blue. It touched at the air with a distasteful scent almost like ozone. Kuja’s tail prickled from behind its shroud. ”Anything could have activated it. Perhaps the planet gave a particularly strong magical flare. Or perhaps…” He felt something, lurking beyond the shadows to his left. His eyes darted towards it, and though he saw nothing, the trail of magic was unmistakable.
Between the two of their answers, she ascertained the answer she was looking for. Whoever was behind this ordeal was playing at things they didn't understand. Aranea popped her neck and the her knuckles as she steadied herself. Maybe she wouldn't have to fight this person after all. She could just give them a good scare and a slap on the wrist before corralling them back to town. It would save her a fight with the big scaly fella as well if she could help it. Enclosed spaces weren't really her style. She tutted as she began strolling towards the other exit, "Well then. Let's go see where those voices are coming from then, and what's causing this hubub."
When the mage announced they weren't alone though Aranea tensed. In the dark she listened for any sound of foot fall and scanned the room for any movements besides her little party's. She pointed her spear in the direction Kuja had been looking towards. Good, she didn't feel like chasing down the person anyway. A pinprick of light appeared as her as her vision would allow her. The footsteps approaching were soft like the patter of rain, but it was storm that accompanied it. Aranea's stomach dropped as she saw the glint of the knife and the rounded yellow eyes of the daemon that shuffled its way towards them.
"Shit," she yelled jumping backwards and clear across the room from where she stood. Her violent reaction caused her to hit the wall knocking the breath out of her but she quickly regained her composure. She hadn't expected such a mighty daemon to be lurking here. She highly doubted that the amateur who had scribbled on the walls was responsible for this monstrosity, but she tucked the idea of maybe into her mind. Perhaps they weren't as useless as she had previously assumed.
After years of protecting the helpless, her protective instincts kicked in, "Stay back," she warned advancing ahead of the other two. She waited for a whirlwind of fury from the small daemon to unfold, but it never came. It just kept waddling closer and closer as though it was just on a pleasant stroll through the necrohol. Still the rusty red that stained its blade verified that it was the creature she thought it was. With all her might, she lunged her spear at the green amphibian like creature but missed. Somehow it had dodged her attack but it looked as though it had merely just sidestepped it. "What the-" The Tonberry continued it's death march towards her knife raised slightly higher.
The glint of a lantern. Shuffling steps. Kuja kept his hand raised warily, head tilted slightly to the side. What was it approaching them and why did it sound so very...short?
His questions were answered as the creature stepped into the light. Not a ’who’ but a ’what’. And in fact, this what was a squat, green troll with beady yellow eyes, robes akin to a burlap sack, and a simple cleaver held steady in one hand.
Recognition flashed like lightning. A common tonberry. The mercenary’s reaction summarized the situation perfectly.
”Shit!” The word was as explosive as her jump as she threw herself bodily away from the thing, spear raised defensively. She threw the spear rather than get anywhere near it, but the creature merely ducked at its approach and continued its death march forward. Kuja’s eyes darkened.
Ridiculous. What were the odds?
He had encountered tonberries once before on an excavation through the lost Terran site now known derivatively as Ipsen’s Castle. Deep within the castle’s depths, a colony of the horrid green demons had taken hold and Kuja had found the misfortune of discovering their resilience firsthand. They had no weaknesses, were immune to nearly everything, and while he had no trouble dispatching one or two of them at a time, they tended to travel in packs. A single hit with those knives would have been enough to kill anyone but him, and three of their accursed strikes had been enough to convince Kuja that dealing with them was thoroughly not worth the effort. Kuja had absolutely no interest in dying to some worthless golem’s hands, and that had hardly changed.
”If I might make a suggestion…” Kuja took a step backwards for every step the tonberry took towards him. ”I’d think it best not to waste our time. These never come alone, and if they’ve infested the catacombs, then the mage is most certainly dead.” Kuja’s back pressed against the wall, and he side-stepped towards the room’s exit instead. If nothing else, the abomination before them was at least slow.
”If given the choice, I'd rather conserve my magic.”
Aranea held her breath as she watched the Tonberry move ever closer. This was wrong. Why was the daemon progressing towards them so slowly. Was it taunting them into letting their guard down and then accosting them with its furied attack? Aranea took steps in time with the beast as she circled it to retrieve her spear. The large yellow eyes glanced between her and Kuja as though it was confused on whom to target. Thankfully for Aranea, it just continued its march forward as she swooped behind it and retrieved her weapon.
"We can't just leave it," she scoffed as Kuja made his suggestion. She worried that the creature might try to make it to the surface. She also didn't think the townsfolk would take kindly to her returning without answers or a culprit. And if what he said was correct and there was a hoard of these beasts, she needed to find out so she could find a way to eliminate them or seal off the entrance to these crypts.
"I mean I've got it under control," she taunted sizing up the little creature and then back at Kuja. "Wouldn't want you to break a sweat, and besides I've got money on the line." Aranea watched as the small daemon continued step by step moving closer to Kuja. It was then she noticed that the large dragon man was nowhere in sight. "Damn it, you see where Scales went? I don't have time for an ambush."
Aranea didn't wait for an answer as she stepped behind the daemon and thrust her spear just as it decided on a new course. How could she miss twice in a row? More strangely though was that the beast didn't seem concerned with either of them as it began strolling down a different corridor as though it hadn't even seen the two of them. It was like the tiny creature was on a mission. She couldn't just let the thing be on its way, "Strange. I've never seen one behave so calmly. Let's see where this fellow's going," she mused not really concerned at this point with whether Kuja would follow or not.
As she walked quietly behind the beast ready to deflect if the Tonberry decided to begin an attack. The walls bore the markings that she had seen in the earlier room albeit looking more legible. After a few twists and turns, Aranea saw they were approaching another room like the one they had just left.
She stopped before the entrance and pushed against the wall to observe. The Tonberry had stopped in the middle of the room; from the far side the sound of a door creaking open filled the space. A soft gentle voice filled the room as Aranea crept closer to the entryway. From the shadows she saw a girl with long blonde hair kneel down near the Tonberry giving it a pat on the head. Aranea could have sworn the girl couldn't be older than she. "It finally worked!" she squealed as Aranea finally emerged from the entryway. "For a necromancer, you seem pretty lively." she said with a smug look as she caught the woman by surprise.
The woman’s response was as predictable as it was impractical. The monster was their responsibility now. Any blood it might spill would be on their hands. The woman didn’t say it, but Kuja knew the thought process well enough to mock it quietly. Who else would handle the situation but them? What might the creature do if left to its own devices? What other lives might be taken?
Why was any of it his problem?
Thankfully, the woman didn’t actually say any of that. Instead, she chose a different route. Shame.”I mean I've got it under control. Wouldn't want you to break a sweat, and besides I've got money on the line.”
”Well then. I’d hardly want to keep you from it.” Kuja gave her a dry look as he continued his careful path towards the exit. Her goading did nothing to him. He knew his own power and that he could handle the situation better than she could if he wanted to, but why “break a sweat” if it was unnecessary? He hardly needed the effort.
She glanced around them and then cursed the iguana-man’s absence. Kuja hadn’t noticed him leave either. Perhaps the man had already taken Kuja’s own logic and fled when the situation had changed. Kuja wondered how he hadn’t noticed, but then, he supposed he’d been rather distracted by the murderous green golem.
Still, how did a man as hulking as that manage to sneak anywhere?
”One more reason to take our exit and to do so quickly,” Kuja suggested, but as soon as he’d said it, the situation changed once more. The golem was inching forward, eyes gleaming with murderous intentions, when suddenly it just...wandered off. Kuja stopped, blinking at it, but he wasn’t mistaken. A tonberry -- one of the most aggressive creatures on Gaia -- had simply given up. How very...unusual.
"Strange,” the woman agreed, ”I've never seen one behave so calmly. Let's see where this fellow's going.”
”Pardon?” Kuja cast her a scathing look, but she was already charging off after it. Kuja’s eyebrows furrowed at her idiocy. Yes, yes. Let’s corner one of the most troublesome monsters in the world. Maybe that will make it easier to handle! Why are we here again? But he couldn’t just leave on his own. Not now that his own curiosity was pounding in his ears. Was this tonberry somehow under the command of the mage fabled to haunt these halls? If so, could he learn the same spells? He couldn’t let the opportunity slip away.
And so, begrudgingly, Kuja followed her.
The tonberry led them through rune-marked catacombs, down crumbling staircases, over fetid waterways, and finally to another ritualistic alter room not so different from the one they’d left. Once again, a glowing stella rose from the room’s center and once again, the air was heavy with magic. The tonberry stopped as though standing at attention, and on the room’s other side, a door creaked open. Kuja tensed at the sound, fiery spells already at his tongue, but what emerged could only be described as a disappointment. Instead of some wizened mage or corrupted necromancer, there was only a girl. A fragile looking girl with tangled blonde hair down to her waist who looked no older than nineteen. She was dressed in common clothing, torn and weathered with neglect. She scampered down the stairs to the stella and the tonberry which awaited her, and as she saw it, her eyes list with an almost impish glee.
”It finally worked!” she cried, and in that moment of pure excitement, Kuja decided that there could have been a certain kind of beauty to her had she not been damned to lurk in sewers and graveyards. His eyes flicked over her in interest.
The dragoon, however, had different intentions. ”For a necromancer, you seem pretty lively,” she said as she prowled like a lion from the shadows. The girl gave an audible squeak of alarm and scrambled away from her, arms raised defensively. What little color left in her complexion had drained in an instant.
”You-! How did you-?” she started and then drew herself up. ”I’m a mage. I’ve just studied magic. Powerful magic. The kind we need right now.” There was a certain spark in her eye even as she glanced nervously at the woman’s spear. ”I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Kuja glanced from the girl to the apparently docile tonberry. Then he stepped forward as well. ”And what impressive magic it is. Tell me, did you summon that creature or merely craft a charm to control it?” His eyes lit with cool fire at the thought. There had been few greater rushes than commanding the Mistspawn to his will. If only he could do the same now. ”I’d be quite interested in your methods.”
