The Furball

Nearly a whole month has gone by since I last got the chance to sit down in you, my dear diary. So much has happened since then, and the story I am about to tell you happened two weeks ago.

After having just arrived in Xarcabard, a valley deep inside the Valdeaunia region of Quon, we learned that the Dynamis zone there was already occupied by another group. Fortunately the leaders had a backup plan ready, and we were ordered to leave for the city of San d’Oria. I’d say San d’Oria is the city I’ve spent the least time in since I started out as an adventurer. It’s a nice city and all, but I just feel a little out of place. The elvaans who inhabit the city aren’t very friendly, and always seem to look down on foreigners — foreigners just like myself. It’s nothing like the village of Kazham and the city of Windurst where visitors are greeted by tarutarus and mithras alike, ready to invite them into their homes.

After having teleported to the La Theine Plateau our group walked over to the lady representing the Chocobo Rental Service. She was quite startled when a group of near forty people approached her, and started to fumbled through her papers trying to see if she had enough chocobos in. We were lucky as she had just gotten a new shipment of chocobos from Selbina, but as they had just arrived they had to be fed and groomed before they could be saddled up again. Chocobos can be quite stubborn if they aren’t treated properly, especially when they are in groups as they can get irritated and start picking a fight with each other.

About half an hour later we were on our way up to San d’Oria where a few of our members were already standing by. Leaders walked into the tavern and started planning tonight’s strategy. Our linkshell is very particular about our strategies and how the groups are put together, so we all got some time off to prepare.

I had already been invited into my usual group, and was patiently waiting for our group to get ready. Kithkin and Sarick, my regular Paladin and Red Mage were looking for members at the moment. Kithkin knew from before that I wanted to try tanking in Dynamis for once, and asked me if I would like to change position with him. In addition to being a Paladin, he is also a Monk, which he was dying to try out inside Dynamis. I agreed and we both went into our separate moogle houses to get geared up. I had everything ready and lined up, and thanks to my Moogle it only took a few moments to get ready.

As I walked out of my moogle house, I asked my friend Slugg, one of the linkshell leaders, if it was okay with the leaders that I came as a Paladin today. Slugg told me he’d ask the other leaders who were quick to ask Kithkin to change back into a Paladin. I apologized to the linkshell for having been an inconvenience to everyone and for being so selfish. The leaders asked me to wait a little before I changed back though, as we were still short on tanks.

The groups were starting to take shape, and I was asked to start my own group and get ready to enter. I looked around and found that my good kitty friend Chicora had still to get invited into a group. I then invited Biscuits, a Monk, Shaggy the White Mage and Trixie the Thief. Our group was looking good, although a little weak on the damage dealing side. The leaders had decided to put some emphasis on having a mobile Warrior unit who could quickly kill off monsters being fought.

When all the groups were ready, our leaders called out on the linkshell that we were about to break the time glasses. The White Mages started buffing up the parties, and people started distributing the time glasses to everyone. This was my second time handing out glasses, even though I’ve never been tanking before. It felt quite weird being the leader of a Dynamis party, and I felt a bit nervous about the upcoming run.

The leaders ordered us to get started and everyone traded their glasses and Dynamis was officially on! I was transfered into the Dynamis realm, a feeling I can never quite get used to. As you get transported you feel a cold breeze engulf you and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the dark and cold atmosphere once inside.

The first pull came in, but it was quite small and it never reached me even though we only had four groups. The next wave hit is shortly afterwards, and this time I received a Monk kind of monster right off the bat. I really didn’t mind, as it’s one of the tougher monsters to take on. It was a nice experience, and a good gauge for the rest of the evening as this was the first Dynamis monster I’ve tanked.

For the next few pulls, I killed off various monsters, but I’d have to admit that the Monk was the one experience I enjoyed the most. We quickly made our way through the north-eastern parts of San d’Oria and made our way towards the Auction House area. We set up our camps where we stayed most of the remaining time save for the last half hour at the Chocobo Stables where we fought both the boss of the zone and the few remaining groups of monsters in the zone.

Our group was victorious in overthrowing the monsters who was inhabiting the area, and although we didn’t get to go to Xarcabard, I still had a blast. I even got my forth Paladin relic piece, the Valor Gauntlets. With only one more piece remaining, I can’t wait to get back to Dynamis as it is my favorite event of the week.

After having been cussed out by Adelbrecht, me and my traveling friend, Renomus, was sent off to seek out one of the guards in Northern Gustaberg. We hadn’t gotten much rest, so we were dead tired. We weren’t all that sure where to find Gebhardt, but after asking a little around we got a clue as to where he is stationed.

Me and Renomus ran over to Zegham Hill, and got quite dispirited by the fact that we had to climb up the hill. We were in no shape to be doing errands like these, but we both got the impression that Adelbrecht isn’t the guy to kid around with. So it was better to just suck it up and do as we were told. Right now we had to make sure we have a good standing with the people around us and not make a fuss. Nor could we cause mass panic by spreading the word that we had in fact traveled through either time or space. Now although it was so very real to us, it could turn out really ugly if the officials decided to have us.. silenced.

Once at the top of the Zegham Hill, we found the guard we were looking for. Gebhardt wanted us to run over to Benedikt Watchtower to seek out Roderich for the latest intelligence report. I looked kind of puzzled, wondering where the Benedikt Watchtower is located, but Gebhardt just laughed at me, thinking I was weird not to know the obvious. Renomus stepped towards me and tukked me in the tunic. I looked down at him wondering what he wanted. «Isn’t that the tower near the entrance to the South Gustaberg,» he told me. Gebhardt clapped his hands. «Indeed it is my friend. Would you please bring this note down to him,&raquo, Gebhardt asked us. We nodded to him and waved goodbye as we walked out of the tower.

We went down the hill again and headed west towards the trail we had recently discovered. While walking down the trail, we got a glimpse of the sunset in the distance. It was already evening and all I could think of was my dear Zelthas’ warm and caring embrace. Oh, how I miss him.

«Hey, quit daydreaming kitty,» Renomus suddenly said. I looked down at him. He was standing in front of me, grinning. I guess he had noticed that I was spacing out. «I know you’re worried and all, but we’ll make it back, okay?» I felt a little happy about Renomus trying to comfort me. He knows how much I miss my friends and my family. «Thank you Renomus,» I told him as I bowed down and gave him a hug. Renomus tried to avoid the hug, but found himself trapped in my arms. I just giggled for a few seconds, before I let him go and we continued walking.

The Watchtower wasn’t all that far away from the trail. We had a little bit of trouble finding the correct tower, but we somehow managed to find the Roderich. He was working busily with his papers, taking notes of communications intercepted on his linkshell. Or that was what it seemed like anyway. He was so busy he didn’t notice that we had entered the room, so he was quite scared when we tapped on the door to get his attention.

«Excuse us.. Gebhardt asked us to deliver you these notes,» Renomus told Roderich while raising his hand as to give Roderich something. Roderich looked through the notes before he continued working. «Okay, thanks.. that’s all.» Suddenly another soldier came running into the room, huffing and puffing.

«Sir, there’s enemy activity in the northern parts,» he explained. Roderich opened a box sitting on top of his desk. Inside there was linkshells of various colors. He picked up a purple linkshell and equipped it and started focusing. Moments after he looked over at me and Renomus and ordered us to make haste to the northern parts of Gustaberg, towards the Konschat Highlands.

«Easy for him to say! He’s been sitting around all week being a lazy fat bottom..» Renomus said, clearly frustrated about not being able to sit down and relax and try to recoup his strength after our journey. I patted him on the head, and continued walking north. Suddenly we saw a huge quadav staring at us with his blank and seemingly dense face. He seemed disturbed by the fact that we had found him, but he was also a little nervous about what would happen if we got our paws on him. He looked behind him and a road full of obstacles, so he turned back at us and started kicking the ground with one of his feet, preparing to charge at us. We didn’t really feel much of a threat, but I’ve experienced the pain of being run over by a charging quadav. It feels like getting hit by an airship. Okay, so I don’t know what it’s like to be hit by an airship, but it hurts.

«Hold it right there, fiend.»
It was almost as the earth shook by the roaring voice. The very fact that someone had been able to sneak up on us like that startled me even more. I was even more surprised to see that a Dark Knight had snuck up on me… and it wasn’t just any Dark Knight, it was Zeid himself. The fact that a White Mage and Paladin like me wouldn’t sense his presence confounded me.

Zeid took care of the quadav with a swift strike and thanked us for our prompt response to the scene. He gave us a letter and asked us to give it to Adelbrecht back in Bastok. We waved goodbye to the galkan Dark Knight and made our way back to the city, hoping we could finally get some rest.

We walked up to Adelbrecht and handed him the envelope. Adelbrecht just looked arrogantly at us, but opened the letter and started reading. He skimmed quickly through, but took quite an eager interest in the letter when he noticed who it was from.

«Why, it looks like you’ve had quite the adventure today,» he asked us. We nodded. «You are eager to get started as cannon fodder for the Republican Legion, yes» he asked us. We shook our heads. Adelbrecht just laughed, handed us a pair of Sprinter’s Shoes and a Bronze Ribbon of Service. «Welcome to the army! Now, get yourselves some rest and report back for duty tomorrow!»

On our way back to the residential area I explained to Renomus how I had had enough and that I wanted to go back home. Renomus seemed to agree with me. And on top of it all, I was accepted into the Republican Legion! I stopped walking for a second, trying to figure out a clever way to go back home. «Wait a minute! You don’t think…» I said to Renomus and closed my eyes. Renomus looked up on me and seemed to have caught on to my idea.

I started casting an all too familiar spell. A spell I’ve casted hundreds of times before. I was engulfed in a wave of dark energy and everything went pitch black…

«Wakey~wakey! Where have you been, kupo!»

After having been chased through a valley that had till today been unbeknown to us, we finally found ourselves in familiar surroundings. Gone were the chasing quadavs, something me and Renomus were very relieved to learn. If we stopped only for a minute at a certain point we would’ve become lizard feed. Not a pleasing thought to be honest.

We walked through the outpost and stopped by the guard watching over the entrance to the Gustaberg region. He quickly noticed that we weren’t from Bastok, so he saluted and welcomed us to the region. «The area you just came through is called Grauberg,» he explained to us, continuing to say; «you should be thankful to Altana for granting you safe passage. The Grauberg area is very difficult to pass with only two people.»

I explained to the guard that we had set up our camp and were trying to rest up after an exhausting journey. You could notice the guard’s astonishment by the distance we had traveled on the run after having been found. Both me and Renomus were eager to get going so we could get ourselves a bed for the night in Bastok. We apologized to the guard for having to leave so abruptly. «Just one moment, lady,» he said before he walked over to one of the other guards and picked up a report. «Could you bring these to Adelbrecht in Bastok,» he asked us. We accepted his request and I put the report in my bag.

Renomus was starting to get rather impatient at this point and started to play with my tail. He knows how much I hate that, but he knew it was a good way of getting my attention. «What is the fastest and safest route to Bastok,» I asked the guard, trying to find a way to save time. «Follow the road here down south, then take the trail up to the top,» he suggested to me.

I had no earthly idea what trail he was talking about, but I trusted his words. «The entrance to the Southern Gustaberg has been blocked by quadav forces, so I wouldn’t wander too far down there,» he continued to explain to me. Renomus tugged my tail. «Hey! Let’s go already!» I turned around and hissed at Renomus, which made him take a few steps back just to be sure I didn’t smack him in the head.

«Guess we’ll be on our way then,» I told the guard, before I turned around and started walking south. «I can’t believe you tugged my tail like that. That hurt you know,» I told Renomus. He just grinned and continued walking. There weren’t too many monsters to speak of on our way down the road. We came across the oh so familiar Drachenfall which was a refreshing sight after the hurdle we’ve just been through. The bottom of the Drachenfall is a really beautiful area that I have been only two or three times. I guess I should go back there some day.. when I get back home again anyway.

We came to the cliff that separates the eastern and western parts of the north Gustaberg region. I pointed toward the cliff and told Renomus; «we should go hug the wall to make sure we find the trail to the top.» Renomus followed me closely, making keeping a keen watch on the monsters around us to make sure we didn’t wander off to any hungry monsters.

We finally found the trail and made our way to the top, which was an adventure in itself after the long chase. The muscles in my legs were starting to hurt, even though I’ve been running for hours and hours through the jungles surrounding Kazham without even breaking a sweat.

«Huh? Since when was the entrance to Bastok located here,» Renomus asked me while pointing to a gate in the mountain. «That’s strange. I never heard there was a different entrance during the Crystal War,» I answered, but we both agreed we should go check it out. And surely, it was a gate leading into Bastok. Inside we found Invincible Shield, a galkan guard. «Excuse me, Sir, but where can we find Adelbrecht,» Renomus asked the galka. Renomus is much better at talking with galkas than I am. «Oh, he’s at the marketplace where the Auction House used to be before the war started,» the galka replied.

We walked over to the auction house and found Adelbrecht behind the counter. «What do you civilians want with me,» he asked us. «Can’t you maggots see I’m working?» We handed him the report we had obtained from the guard just a few hours before. Adelbrecht skimmed through the report and bursted into laughter. «Good! You guys think you’re quite something, don’t you,» he asked us quite harshly. We nodded. Adelbrecht turned around and looked through some papers he had laying around. He turned back towards us and handed us an assignment. «Now get your behinds to the watch tower with these supplies,» he screamed at us. We were quite shocked with the way he was talking to us, but we decided to comply with the order even though we had no earthly idea where the watch towers were. Just as I opened my mouth to ask him where the towers were located, he gave us a piercing look and pointed toward the gate we had just entered from. I shut my mouth again and decided I’d be better off just doing as the man said.

(to be continued…)

Our hearts were rushing, and me and Renomus could both feel the adrenaline rush through our veins. Our feet was starting to ache really bad, but we had no time to sit down and rest. I estimated that we had two alliances of quadavs pursuing us, so getting away would be rought at best. We tried desperately to put on a brave face, but we both realized the predicament we were in. This could turn out to be a bloody mess, but I wouldn’t go down without a fight.

We had been running for about one and a half hour by now, and the pace was pretty consistent. It was still next to pitch black, but Renomus followed me closely as I rushed through the meadows. There were a few large rocks here and there, but we were able to evade them somehow. But, we realized that Renomus’ small tarutaru body would eventually slow us down considerably. Running and climbing had always been something I was very good at, although I’m going to be honest and say I’m not too comfortable with heights — especially getting down from them.

I stopped and waited for Renomus to catch up. We were both huffing and puffing by now, but Renomus seemed to want to continue running. I got down on my knees and asked the taru to get on my back. Renomus blushed and looked away from me, «Like a taru would ever let himself be piggybacked by a mithra» he said. I just snickered and told him to get on so we could get out of here. I think Renomus could hear just as well as I could how near the quadavs were by now. He climbed up on my back and held his arms around me. «Don’t get any funny idea now,» I snickered to him and started running. Although it was a little heavy, it was still not as bad as my Paladin armor. Renomus just sighed dejectedly and pretended that he didn’t hear what I said.

With Renomus now on my back, I couldn’t jump as much or as freely as I could before, but I was still able to run as fast as the wind. The jungles back home had a lot of places to perform various forms training, so it wasn’t the first time I had carried something heavy on my back while navigating my way through the dark. My step mother, Zirah, used to send me off on the most ridiculous farming trips to get whatever she craved for that day. But I digress.

Suddenly I could smell the faint scent of gun powder. I remember reading about how the allied forces used cannons in some of the books in the Windurstian library. Gun powder being a vital part of the cannons inner working, I decided it was worth further investigation. We were now running uphill and it was getting harder and harder to run. «Over there,» Renomus suddenly whispered to me. «Is that a.. tower,» he asked me. «Beats me,&raquo, I answered, «but it looks like it’s been used recently.»

Renomus let go of me and rushed over to see if there were anyone inside the tower, but it seemed that there hadn’t been any activity there for the past few days. I tried to catch my breath again, and poured a bottle of water on my head to cool off.

I looked around, examining the area. I looked to see if there was any good places to hide, but there were no places that would provide us with enough shelter to not be detected by the quadav forces behind us. I tried to listen for a few seconds and heard a familiar sound, but yet again I couldn’t find anything remotely familiar. Everything about this place was so different from what I had ever experienced before.

Renomus patted me on the shoulder, telling me to let him get back on. We continued running south, while trying to stay away from unfamiliar monsters that could get us into any more trouble than we were already in. It was hard, but it was the only way. After about half an hour of running, we found what seemed like a path. There didn’t seem to be any hideous monsters lurking around it, so we made a joint decision to follow it. After awhile it curved and took us west.

We prayed that this path would take us out of here, but we had no idea where it would take us. For all we knew it could lead us to a monster stronghold of some sort, but with no reference or map there we didn’t have much of a choice. Or maybe we did have a reference. We had been traveling south thus far, while being just east of the Konschat Highlands we know so well from the present. The logical place to start looking would be in the western parts of the area, in hopes of finding an entrance into Bastok or Gustaberg.

We had been running for six hours now, and we it finally seemed as if we had lost the alliances that were following us. We couldn’t take any chances though, so we decided to keep going. The sun was about to rise on the horizon, so it was a lot easier to navigate now. Animals and monsters had started to wake up so we had to be a bit more careful now so we wouldn’t walk right into a pack of hounds or an armada of lizards for all we knew.

«Water! I smell water,» I told Renomus. I wasn’t sure if it was an inlet or a river, but I picked up the scent of water not too far up ahead. And surely, there it was. Sparkling water, flowing graciously through the meadows. A bridge had been built to make it easier to cross it, but the river was in no way violent or very fast. It was just so… relaxing. With all the running, we took a few moments to stop and wash our faces, fill up on water and get see if we could find something to eat. There wasn’t any fish in the river, but there were some bunnies running around nearby. I felt really bad about turning them into dinner, but we were tired and needed something to eat.

We packed our things and made sure we didn’t leave anything behind. Since we were traveling along a path now without much elevation, Renomus wanted to run using his own two feet. I didn’t mind, since my shoulders were as tired as my feet. The brief rest did wonders though.

As we continued walking west, we stumbled upon a sign. It pointed in the direction we were headed and clearly stated that we were getting close to Gustaberg. We both cheered in joy of finally having found something familiar after the mess we had just been through. We picked up our pace, and after a good 20 minutes of walking we came to an outpost leading us into the good old Gustaberg.

(too be continued…)

The afternoon sky had a pastel purple and blue color, and all the violent noises in the distant was starting to quiet down somehow. A soothing wind blew across the valley — refreshing and cool.

Me and my good friend Renomus had been traveling all day, and we were starting to get quite weary. We had just discovered a new valley that we had never seen before, and we had no idea what was ahead, so we decided to sit down and rest for awhile. Renomus ran over to a nearby tree and broke a few branches of a tree and came back with them. I put the branches on the ground and put a few rocks around it. The branches was quite dry and looked like they would easily catch fire, so I carefully put my hands on them and started concentrating. However, I was so tired I had a hard time focusing. My companion thought I was taking too long and started summoning Ifrit to finish the job.

«Wait, wait,» I said, trying to calm down the impatient taru a few notches. «Calling out Ifrit here would draw too much attention. And what would you do if we started a wildfire,» I asked the little tarutaru. I guess he was just as tired as me.

«Such a hassle,» Renomus told himself.
«What was that,» I cried out to him. I blushed as I didn’t mean to raise my voice, but having Ifrit make some bushes catch fire is just too much.

I closed my eyes and put my hands back on the branches. I started concentrating again, and thanks to Renomus I could finally draw power out of the surroundings and make a flame. It’s such an easy spell, yet so hard to cast when you are tired after a long day.

Renomus wasn’t satisfied, but he too knew that we didn’t want to get any unwanted visitors to our camp. He summoned Carbuncle though, and the two sat down at the little campfire. We had come across a body of water earlier, and we were lucky enough to get some fish there. I usually carry a bag to hold all the little things a girl could ever need when out on an adventure. Like, ingredients for the next meal, supplies to get safely to places and some makeup too I guess. For today’s supper I wanted to grill some Dark Bass topped with Kazham Peppers and Mithran Tomatos and Mhaura Garlic on the side. I had high hopes for today’s dinner, but I know Renomus doesn’t really fancy fish. I wonder why the tarutarus don’t like fish. I for one can’t get enough of the fishie~wishies.

We had plenty of time to talk about recent adventures and future plans while we were eating. I don’t think Renomus liked the peppers, but he tried his best to keep the fact a secret. I could see right through him though, as he very carefully put the peppers on the side of his plate, trying not to make it too obvious.

After the dinner I went to get some more firewood and branches before we fell asleep. While sleeping I had some very strange dreams, including one with a cat~like creature I’ve never seen before.

«Crack!»
My dreams ended quite abrupt because of the noise I heard from somewhere nearby. I got up on my feet and walked over to Renomus, nudging him to awaken him. «There’s something or someone here,» I whispered to him. He looked quite tired, but he was quick to wipe it off. I silently walked over to the campfire, reached toward it with my hand before I concentrated on engulfing the fire in water. I quickly covered up our tracks and we hid ourself behind a nearby rock.

The ground shook as the presence walked closer and closer to me and Renomus, but it didn’t seem as if he knew where we were. The presence paused a little, before taking it’s heavy and slow steps in what sounded like a circle. «I think he has found our camp,» I whispered to my taru companion. «What do we do,» he asked me.

Suddenly, a roar. It looked like the presence had discovered our camp and was enraged. I looked over the rock to get an overview of our situation. An enormous quadav was staring at the campfire I had covered up with dirt just moments before. He suddenly reached for a horn he was carrying on his waist belt. Moments after he made a loud whistling sound. «Rats! We’ve been found,» I told Renomus.

Cut off from the Pashow Marshlands, we had no other choice than to hide further into the valley. We still had no idea about what lied ahead, but we just had to take our chances. With the marshlands being just north east of us, I figured we should seek cover further south. It was almost pitch black outside, but since my eyes were used to the dark jungles outside Kazham I had no problems seeing the surroundings. I found a stick and cast fire on it, then told Renomus to follow me closely, before we rushed off into the unknown. Behind us we could here an three to four parties of quadavs form up. We were out of time, and with no map we had to rely solely on my mithran intuition.

(to be continued…)