franco

When I look outside, I find it is perfectly bright out. We thank the carriage driver and Natalia goes up to thank the two horses. The girl likes horses, I guess. I look to Cabel.

 "Do you know what time it is?" I ask him.

 "The trip was supposed to take around two hours, so I'm guessing…sevenish?"

 The carriage takes off in the direction of Whitewind. I guess the driver decided to go the rest of the distance and route back toward Pearl City later on in the day.

 I step around in the long, bladed grass and take in the beauty of what is around me. Being in the wilderness like this is amazing. It's so much wilder than Arcona Village. The times when I got to be fully surrounded by nature were few and far in between, but right now…I can look in every direction and just see tall trees and flowing plains. Well, almost any direction. There's a dirt road right next to me and I see a little house down in the valley, but that's nothing that can dispel my feelings of bliss.

 "It sure is pretty here," Natalia says. It's like she's channeling my own feelings with that sentence. "Do you like it, Kael?"

 "Of course," he smiles back at her. Cabel points down to the small house at the bottom of the valley. We're standing on a tall, narrow hill right now, which the dirt road is on. In either direction, there are lowlands that seem to stretch on for miles upon miles. There's a little grove of trees down to our right, some distance away, and there is a house nestled in there. 

 "That's our destination," Cabel confirms, and he starts to march down the hill. Kavella and Portia start to follow him, but I notice Natalia and Kael linger where I am for a moment.

 It's just like when we first came to Pearl City. The three of us were enamored by the beauty we saw the first time we stepped off of that train. Now, we're also captivated. It would seem that Kavella has already seen too much of the world to notice the little things, and Portia doesn't seem to appreciate nature. Cabel has been here before, and while he doesn't show it outwardly, I have a feeling he loves the beauty around him. He seems like a soft person underneath his incredibly tough demeanor.

 I see fields of flowers all around, and forests of trees that are much taller than any I've ever seen. These tall trees are budding with rich burgundy leaves, which adds to the colorful, lively landscape.

 There are so many sweet and aromatic smells that fill the air here. The sound of chirping birds fills the air. It is the end of summer, and yet I don't remember ever feeling so much warmth and life in a single moment.

 I begin to follow the rest of my group slowly down the hill, while I let my senses revel in the air. There is a warm breeze, and the way it feels against my skin is so soothing. Even the air feels different here. Is this paradise or what? Maybe that Alchemist is interested in selling his house. I'd love to live here.

 "This reminds me of the time we all went to Deepmeadow Glen," Kael says. "Do you guys remember that? It was the second trip we took, the day after we went to the Arcon's Nest. We didn't go there for any particular reason other to relax, and we never went back. Ms. Borden told us there was a huge Spirit problem there, but we never found a single one. I think she just wanted to go." 

 "I remember that," Kavella turns and smiles. It's a rare occasion to see her smile, but I can understand why. That was the first day she spent with us as a group, and it was a pretty amazing occasion. "That was the day I started spending time with you three."

 "Yeah," I reminisce. "And Mira picked up that big stick and was tapping all the trees with it, pretending she was sword-fighting…"

 "And then she hit a beehive," Kael snickers. "She flipped out."

 "Yeah, but there weren't any bees in it. A shame, really," Natalia comments. "That would have made it much more fun."

 "Then we found that field of flowers," I say. "That small little field that stretched out no more than ten feet in any direction. But it was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen."

 "Those flowers, they were so tall, they were up to my knees," Kael remembers. "And as blue as the sky. That was the only place they grew. We never saw any other flowers like that anywhere in the valley, or anywhere else in the world."

 "Then Marc, he…" I stop myself. I remember Marc picked one of the flowers and put it in Mira's hair. She kept that flower for the entire time we were in training. She put it in between a book and flattened it, and always had it wedged in the front page of her textbook. Thinking of Marc brings back other, less happy memories…memories I'd rather not have come up right now.

 "She loved that flower," Kavella says. She obviously knew where I was going with my comment. "I remember, because I shared a room with her. She talked about it for a whole week after we got back. About how lucky she was."

 We all get relatively quiet after those words are shared. It's in part due to Marc's memory, but also because we are all silently recalling those times during our training that were special to us all. We all had different experiences, and connected with different people while we were there. We all went through different things and were affected in different ways. I remember all the good times I had there, and I can't believe how long it's been since I've thought about some of these things. Catching Spirit Frogs down at the swamp. Watching the aurora borealis up in the mountains to the north of Arcona Village as Ms. Borden explained that the lights in the sky promoted Spirit attacks. I think she was lying about that, too. Ms. Borden would take us to see a lot of beautiful things when we were in training. She always said it had something to do with Spirits, but none of those special moments had any Spirit activity at all. She just wanted us to see something that we'd remember for the rest of our lives.

 I think I know why, now. It's because of what happened to Marc and Lance. Ms. Borden knew all along that being a Spiritguard was dangerous, and some of us would die. Hell, maybe even all of us will die prematurely. Showing us all of those things, though…that was Ms. Borden's way of making sure we got the most out of life. Because she didn't want to see someone die so young. Because…she cared about all of us deeply, and she wanted to make sure the precious few years some of us had left were as amazing as they could ever be.

 We reach the Alchemist's house, and Cabel knocks on the door. Someone comes to greet us very quickly, and I can only assume the man was somehow expecting a guest.

 He looks up at Cabel with hope in his eyes, but that hope quickly changes to surprise. "Oh, Cabel! It's so good to see you!" The man holds out his hand and shakes Cabel's while he pats the big, brawny man on the shoulder.

 I tilt my head to look in the doorway and get a better look at the man. His hair's a dark gray color, like it was originally white but then covered in ashes. He's got bright green eyes though, that convey a certain sense of amiability.

 "I'm glad to see you, but I was expecting someone else," the old Alchemist says. "My son, he's…been gone for two days now. I'm a little worried about him, it's not like him to be gone this long. Oh, but where are my manners? Come in, come in, all of you!"

 Cabel walks in the house and as the rest of us walk in, we introduce ourselves to the Alchemist.

 "Hello," I say. I am at the back of the line, and everyone else is in front of me. "My name is Sigmund. It's nice to meet you."

 "It's good to meet you, Sigmund!" There's a certain shine in the man's eyes that lets me intuitively see he's a good person. "My name is Franco Lion Rhyse."

 Franco Rhyse (pronounced 'rise') sounds normal, but what's with the middle name of Lion? Oh well, none of my business what parents name their kids.

 "I trust you have a reason for being here?" Franco asks.

 Cabel nods. "I came to ask you about Spirit Lords. Right now, we're in pursuit of one." Cabel doesn't play around, does he? He cuts right to the chase. "The only thing that can kill him is this sword." On those words, Cabel presents the Spirit Blade.

 "I know we talked about the possibility of transferring powers like this from one medium to another. Do you think you can do it?"

 I'm not sure what he's talking about, and I'm hoping someone will clarify. "You mean you can give other objects the ability to kill Spirit Lords?" Kael questions. The Alchemist nods. Thanks for clearing that up, Kael.

 "Certainly. It's something Cabel and I have discussed at length…yes…I've never actually done it before, but I'd love to try. A Spirit Lord, you say? Aren't the Spiritguards supposed to take care of such things, Cabel?"

 "We are Spiritguards," I inform the Alchemist. "Our mission is to kill those Spirit Lords. Cabel is helping us out."

 Franco nods his head. "I'll see what I can do, with this sword," Franco takes the sword from Cabel and lays it on a table. "It shouldn't be hard. Once I figure out the alchemical composition, I'll know what gives this sword the ability to kill the Spirit Lord. Then I just need to replicate that ability in something small, like a ring, and…done!"

 I take my pendant off and hold it out to the Alchemist Franco. "Can you do the same with this?" I ask. "This has the power to kill a Spirit Lord as well."

 "Hmm," Franco scratches his chin. "I've heard of Spirit Lords coming to be from time to time, but…this is bizarre, for sure. Two Spirit Lords? Of a rank so high they can't be killed without special items?"

 I shake my head. "It's crazy, I know. But can you help us?"

 "Certainly," Franco says. "It'll take me some time to analyze both items, and I'll need the two of you to stay here with me." He motions to Cabel and me. "If the rest of you are willing, I have something else that needs to be done too. I need some people to pick the herbs that grow around here. If I'll be working today on Alchemy, I won't be able to do it myself, and I will need them for tonight…I'd also like it if one or two of you could do me another favor."

 He pauses for a moment and looks around the room, almost as if he's searching for something. "My son goes off into the valley on the other side of the road," he explains. "Spirits appear there in great numbers, and he spends most of the days out there, killing them. He doesn't like to let the Spirits build up and cause a problem for travelers, so he's very diligent about his work…but it's been two days since he's been home, now, and I'd like it if someone who was skilled in fighting Spirits could go see where he is…I have a bad feeling about what might be over there, though. I figure we can help each other out, though."

 "We'd be glad to help," Cabel says. Even though he can't go, he volunteers us. I look to my group. Natalia is wounded and Portia can't fight Spirits. They'll have to pick the herbs, more than likely. That means Kavella and Kael will have to be the two that go out and try to find the Alchemist's son.

 "Can't I go as well?" I ask.

 Franco shakes his head. "This pendant will have a bond with you, since you are the current owner. The same goes for Cabel and this sword. I'll need you two by my side if the Alchemy is to be a success.

 I groan. I want to be able to help, not be stuck up in this house while Mr. Lion does some magical mumbo-jumbo (I like that phrase a lot. Mumbo-jumbo). Isn't Alchemy about turning lead into gold? What exactly is he going to do here?

 "Kael and I would be glad to go," Kavella stands up. "Tell me what I need to do."