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Chapter Seven

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The next day, the party, which had originally consisted of two mages, two Jumi, an Adventurer and a Sprite, left Geo, heading for the Gato Grottoes. Much to Kestrelle's dismay, Niccolo had insisted on coming along.

"The fool will be nothing but a burden!" she raged, throwing venomous glances at the pleased-looking merchant. "He only seeks to feather his own nest!"

It was the second day since they had left Geo, traveling east. Pearl and Lisa had been fussing over Bud, who—predictably—lavished on it for the first few hours—encouraged it, even, with a show of weakness, but quickly tired of it once they got around to refusing to allow him to join the few battles they ran into, which Faustis, Elazul and Kestrelle easily took care of. Judging by the secret looks Faustis caught Pearl and Lisa tossing at each other throughout the whole of it, they knew that Bud had merely been hoarding the attention.

Meanwhile, Kestrelle and Niccolo had perpetually been on the verge of strangling each other ever since Niccolo announced that he was joining them. Which was quite apparent, considering the current situation (which had recurred many times with little variation).

"Don't we all?" Elazul said blandly, wearily running through the now-familiar cycle of Kestrelle and Niccolo's previous arguments.

Kestrelle gave him an irritated look and went on, "He's a useless thief and will probably get in our way all the time! We shall have to pamper him or to defend him from Rabites—"

"Excuse me, Madam," Niccolo interrupted indignantly. "This is where I'm afraid I'd have to interrupt. I am all for your promise of a pleasant and pampered journey for me, but I must inform you that I am perfectly able to defend myself against small furry animals—"

"What about the bigger ones?" Kestrelle challenged him. "And it was not any sort of promise. Ugh."

Niccolo looked offended. "Obviously. How else could an honest merchant such as myself get his wares hawked anywhere past all the wild lands? I have to know a few measures of self-defense and, as I do in nearly everything, have come to excel in it."

Faustis winced painfully. The rabbit really should learn to think a little. At least a little.

"Honest?" Kestrelle snorted skeptically. "You'd probably explode if you said anything remotely truthful. Besides," she added, arching her eyebrow. "You probably weasel your way out of every fight you stir up."

"I've told the truth a dozen times!" Niccolo protested in a strained voice.

"And only a dozen times, I'd bet," Kestrelle remarked.

Niccolo paused, his ears twitching in tandem with his nose as he thought about it. His eyes then widened suddenly and he took a step back, gaping at Kestrelle. "Faustis!" he cried. "The devil walks with you! Right there!" he pointed frantically at Kestrelle.

Faustis rolled his eyes. "Knock it off, Niccolo," he said, grinning. "I've met him already and he looks and acts nothing like Kestrelle. Slightly less...finicky."

"FINICKY?? Excuse me?" Kestrelle screeched as Niccolo said stubbornly, "She is the devil."

As they went on bickering, Faustis stared at the travel-worn map he had been studying. It made no sense whatsoever. What did those little squiggles mean? "Elazul, what's the fastest way to Gato?"

Elazul paused briefly then replied, "We go through the Jungle. Then through Mindas Ruins, the White Forest, and whatever's between them, then head east up the mountains: Gato."

Faustis blinked for a moment—did the man have the map imprinted in his head?—then nodded, trusting that Elazul actually knew what he was talking about. "All right then. That's our course."

"What'll we find there in Gato, anyway?" Lisa asked expectantly.

"Well..." Faustis shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Faustis..." she groaned exasperatedly.

"Honestly. I have no idea." He smiled sunnily. "We investigate. We have information—there may be another artifact somewhere near the Grottoes, and the nuns are the experts of defense against the Dead—"

Kestrelle protested, "But we were doing just fine—"

"Sorry, Kestrelle," Faustis interrupted back cheerfully, "but hacking at them until they fall apart takes too much time and even then, their disembodied body parts still have the tendency of jumping and clinging, which could be rather distracting, and it's really gross." He made a face. "There might be a way to get rid of them completely and there's a chance that the nuns have it."

Pearl spoke up hesitantly. "What about Farryn? Will we find her there?"

Faustis smiled briefly. "I would never stop looking for her." He placed the map back into his pocket and started to walk down the road.

"Oh." Pearl's face darkened with pain before she turned away and followed, hastily busying her hands.

Elazul sighed, having noticed her momentary display of the sadness she felt. He might have been able to feel and know what she felt, but there was no way he could help her with any of it.

Aside from taking Faustis aside and beating some sense into him. But he wouldn't do that. Other than the fact that Pearl probably wouldn't approve, Elazul had grown moderately fond of the Sprite's company. The goofball sometimes even had a calming effect on him. Nowadays, after getting used to the Sprite's eccentricities, Elazul hardly ever needed to smite.

A pity. Smiting was bloody fun.

Unaccustomed to dealing with emotion, he had no idea how to help her with Faustis—what's more, he couldn't possibly understand any of it, since he had, after all, never been in love.

'Never?' a soft voice tugged at him in his mind, gently reaching for a memory so ancient he did not realize it existed. But quickly, he pulled it back, remembering of it yet afraid to see it.

Blinking furiously, he looked back and saw something galloping toward them and kicking up a cloud of dust in the distance. His ears caught the faint and incomprehensible words the something seemed to be yammering. Beyond the nattering creature, he saw wave after wave of something he wasn't certain he was pleased to see.

"Faustis?" he called out to the front of the group. "I see something. Over there. Something...loud is heading toward us and leading something unpleasant in its wake." He then slapped himself on the forehead. Far too many something's.

The Sprite spun around and peered at the cloud of dust. "It's...Gilbert. And a whole team of...Dead?" He blinked in dread, starting back with stunned surprise. "Dear Mana! It's Gilbert! Run!"

"What about the Dead?" Bud asked Faustis, his eyes trained angrily on the darkness trailing after the panicked poet. His hands, Elazul noticed, had begun to burn with Mana.

"Forget the Dead!" Faustis exclaimed. "They're dead! Gilbert's heading toward us!!"

Giving Faustis a weary look, Elazul drew his sword, noticing that the rest of the party was readying their weapons as well. He sized up the enemy—twenty-three simple Dead, nothing too difficult to handle, what with the seven of them armed and ready.

Well, six, actually. Faustis was busy cringing behind Niccolo.

"What is wrong?" Kestrelle asked him waspishly.

"Gilbert's coming toward us," Faustis said almost fearfully.

She squinted at the speeding centaur. "He doesn't look that terrifying. He looks more like a pansy than a warrior. Are you really that much of a wuss?"

Faustis sulked. "You'll regret saying that when he starts talking to you." He shuddered and muttered something which vaguely sounded like: "I'm NOT a cross-dresser."

The centaur suddenly saw them and, with obvious relief, recognized Faustis. He zoomed towards them, with the Dead charging after him, of course, and he yelled, "Be brave and be careful, mighty and valiant Hero! May Lady Luck hold you in her gentle bosom, dearest and most intrepid savior of all!!"

Faustis groaned, quickly plugging his ears.

And then the Dead were upon them.

"Draw your sword, Sprite, NOW!" Kestrelle roared and, wielding her own. She let loose an ululating war cry and plunged into the fray, her sword flashing in the light of the setting sun.

Not to be outdone, Niccolo clashed his gauntlets together and muttered, "Perfectly capable. Lunatic." Then he followed, his blows moving faster than Elazul had ever seen. Niccolo was obviously showing off.

Easily blocking a spear blow from a dead arm with the flat of his saber, Elazul ducked underneath the Dead's guard and slashed upwards. Behind him, he could feel Pearl's Mana emanating brilliantly. Spinning around to meet the attack of another Dead, he realized that he need not worry for his fellow Jumi, for surprisingly, her way of defeating the Dead was the most effective, save perhaps Lisa's fire and Bud's thunder. With a set face and a pair of hands glowing with blinding white Mana, her glow burned through the undead flesh of the Dead and completely destroyed them.

And Faustis had momentarily gotten over his terror of the absent Gilbert and was tripping along in battle, barely managing to stay on his feet, as usual.

With a bit of disappointment, Elazul turned back to his battle, his blows slightly less heartened. He had been hoping to see the other side of Faustis in this battle—the graceful and lethal side of him, instead of this unbelievably lucky yet abhorrently clumsy one.

Oh well.

Pretty soon, they had made short work of the living Dead. Gilbert cheerfully cantered back to the slightly worn-out group from the cluster of rocks he had been hiding behind during the battle.

"A brilliant and unforgettable battle, my friends! Stupendous work!" he crowed jubilantly, as though he had been central to the team's victory. "Never had I a doubt that we on the side of good would prevail against those against our cause! You hide behind your unworldly facades, yet none know the workings of good and evil so much as you! I salute you, and bow with the rest of the world, for you are the paramount defenders of peace and justice, undefeatable and always humbly clad!"

Kestrelle recoiled back, swearing slightly. Faustis eyed the flaxed-haired centaur with saucer-sized eyes, thus the apprehensive look within them openly visible. Elazul sighed.

"Great and almighty worker of good deeds in our holy land!" Gilbert praised Faustis. "I see that you haven't chosen to don costume of the gentler species—a sad thing, it seemeth me, for you truly are a vision of beauty when you decide thus! Nothing compares with your gentle radiance when you do thus."

Kestrelle blinked, as Niccolo snickered behind his hand. Bud was outright laughing, although his sister looked exasperated. Pearl was hiding a smile, and Elazul himself felt the corners of his lips tilt up slightly.

Faustis, on the other hand, was not amused. Quickly shoving aside his fear, leaving ample room for embarrassment and humiliation, he said shortly, "All right, Gilbert. Was there a reason why you were hunted down by a murderous army of Dead or was it just your magnetism for attracting the wrong kind of company?"

Gilbert dramatically spread his hands. "I swear on the origin of true and everlasting love, on the heart of wisdom and truth! There is nothing that I have done to provoke such inarticulate fury! I had been traveling on the light feathered wings of love back to my sweet and heartbreaking siren of passion, my Monique." His eyes began to glaze over, growing starry and distant. "She is the lamplight of my dark and cold nights, the breath of life which keeps me anchored firmly to love, the missing piece of my soul, the sight which I—"

"Get on with it, Gilbert," Faustis sighed wearily. "You absolutely adore Monique. And?"

"Well, if you're going to be that way about it," Gilbert huffed.

"I am."

"All right, all right." Gilbert paused. "Um...where was I?"

Bud piped up, "The missing piece of my soul, sight which I—?"

Lisa whacked her brother, saying, "Not there, stupid."

Faustis sighed. "You were going back to Monique," he prodded.

"Ah yes," Gilbert actually swooned, his eyes briefly becoming horrifyingly empty. He composed himself once more and continued, "I was passing through the legendary city of magic and science and walked past its farewell gates, when suddenly, unjustly, unfairly, and surprisingly, I was set upon by these decaying examples of decrepit malevolence!" he exclaimed, pointing vividly to the steaming bodies strewn across the ground. "How dare they attack a man of the word? The proclaimer of love and beauty?"

"Where did you find them?" Elazul asked intently.

"A ways off that golden city of beauty." Gilbert sighed. "Alas, I am a fool, as well as a lover. Warned as I was not to set foot outside the insurmountable walls of the ancient settlement, I blinded myself to the caution given by the caring and left."

"What do you mean?" Kestrelle asked, narrowing her eyes.

"During my sojourn in the marvel that is Geo, I spent a portion of my time in a happy place of wine and bread and warmth, as well as bedding and comfortable wakings."

Kestrelle glanced at Faustis, mouthing incredulously, 'What is he talking about?'

'A tavern, I think,' he mouthed back.

Gilbert went on, "...yet I was struck to the heart to inform the lovely innkeeper that I was but passing through their hometown and only within their walls for a goblet of their fine drink. Her eyes were luminous with worry—"

'She was drunk,' Faustis grinned at Kestrelle.

"And with a voice as quiet as night and full of fear as its sky is full of bright twinkling lights, she whispered to me to stay within the city, for graves lay open and their occupants wandered in search of living companionship." Gilbert was getting warmed up, Faustis saw. "—and as fearless a poet as I am, I was hesitant and faltering in my determination for one brief moment as I took in the worth of her words, but my love for my siren of light shone through and I left, living not on earthly hands but on the glowing radiance of love and love alone."

Lisa snapped her fingers. "That's it!" she exclaimed.

"Hmm?" Faustis looked at her, shuddering at the Gilbert's eyes—they had been filled with zeal and little else.

Lisa's eyes took on a similar fervor, although they glowed with a lot more intelligence than Gilbert's. "Kestrelle was right—Ryath did pass through Geo. He just got there a lot earlier than we did. I totally get it now!" Her great smile caused her eyelashes to appear like dark crescents on her cheeks.

"Well, we don't," Bud grumbled. "Care to share?"

"Isn't there an extensive graveyard below the city?" Lisa asked intently. "The one and only cemetery in Geo, the ancient catacombs? That's what Ryath was doing. Resurrecting the dead and recruiting the late warriors of Geo to add to his own collection."

Pearl said thoughtfully, "It would be a stable explanation why the Mana in the city feels different. The Mana of necromancy comes from the Dead's living and the man's magic."

Elazul nodded, his eyes darkening. "And now the forces we must eventually face have multiplied." He sighed, sheathing his clean saber. "We most move quickly—get down to the roots of all this mayhem. It is no longer safe out here."

He paused. "Or anywhere else, for that matter. Not for long."

Faustis sighed. "You're the very personification of optimism, you know that?"

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The Jungle was a beautiful new world with each morning one woke up in it. Dew had misted over every place it could find a handhold in, causing the sun pouring through the bright leaves to scatter across the glittering surfaces and reflect across itself in a beautiful array of color and light. The light, however, was not the only thing of bright and unbelievable shade and beauty.

Yes, the Jungle was one of the most beautiful places on Fa' Diel.

Something suddenly bit his neck and Bud slapped it irritably, rubbing his now-puffy skin.

There was one drawback to this whole wonder of nature, he decided, as they followed Faustis through the leafy underbrush. One major drawback. Or rather, many little annoying pesky drawbacks. With stingers. And tastes for mage skin.

Bud scowled as he trudged through the mossy and ferny ground, barely missing tripping on a root which he could have sworn wasn't there a moment ago. Instead, he got slapped in the face by a hanging vine.

"Where exactly are we going?" he demanded to his sister, who shrugged.

Lisa, on the other hand, was perfectly content with her surroundings, since she had created an anti-pest shield around herself with Mana. Bud looked at it enviously, vigorously rubbing the small welts across his skin. Maybe he should have considered studying defense spells a bit harder.

Looking at the others, he saw that Faustis seemed to be ignoring all the insects—perhaps they weren't interested in him either, since he was a Sprite. Who knew? Elazul and Pearl also seemed unaffected by the nasty little pests, along with the Adventurer, Kestrelle.

Bud wasn't alone in being slowly driven insane, though. Niccolo was scratching himself over and over again, muttering swear words Bud found entertaining to listen to. Gilbert, who had insisted on joining them, was whining again and again in his usual way, and complaining in sonorous poetry with every step his four legs took.

If it wasn't the insects, it was the humidity, or the excessive green-ness of the plants around him.

Personally, Bud was inclined to believe that Gilbert complained all the time just to listen to his voice. Wasn't a jungle much prettier if it was extremely green?

They trudged through the leaves, following Faustis and hoping that the often hapless Sprite actually knew where he was going instead of marching around with a knowing expression plastered on his face for show. In point of fact, Bud knew that Faustis was never able to really lead anything from one place to another without blundering down a meandering side road bursting with monsters or two, or taking a 'shortcut' which would really lead out half a mile or so from the intended destination.

And so, thinking these thoughts as he tramped along the soft and far too fertile earth of the Jungle and grumbling curses at the Mana goddess for creating mosquitoes, Bud was completely bowled over with surprise when he found himself and his friends standing on the dais before one of the Great Wisdoms, Rosiotti.

So Faustis did know the way, after all. Everyone who had the misfortune of journeying with him on previous occasions breathed audible sighs of profound relief not to have stumbled on a nest of volatile Sky Dragons—

You see, traveling with this Faustis, you almost always got the breathtaking chance to run head on into a den of angry monsters.

Faustis heard their collective sigh and, guessing correctly the cause behind it, whirled around and glared at them.

Bud suddenly found himself examining a large bump on his forearm, whistling tunelessly to the accompaniment of several other suddenly preoccupied whistles.

Faustis muttered a curse under his breath and moved to kneel briefly then stand before one of the six remaining Wisdoms. "Hello, Rosiotti," he greeted the figure on the platform.

Rosiotti nodded at him. "Greetings, Sprite. What brings you to my jungle?" he rumbled.

Faustis smiled apologetically. "To tell you the truth, Rosiotti, I don't quite think that you'll be too thrilled with my visit. Many things outside the Jungle are afoot and I do not come with very happy information."

Rosiotti raised himself slightly and nodded pensively. Bud saw that the great Wisdom was indeed past his prime, for his fur had begun to turn snowy and grey. "I have sensed as much," Rosiotti said, "yet the cause, I know not. Something strange is carried by the whispers of the wind into my jungle, and there is nothing I can make of it. My lack of knowledge troubles me."

"It's not something one would easily suspect, my Lord," Faustis replied. "Unless, of course, one was addled by stale wine and enthralled by old legends..." He quickly checked himself and decided to just say it. The Wisdom's formal speech was catching. He shrugged. "The Dead are marching."

Rosiotti sat up fully, his graying hair suddenly taut. "What?"

The Sprite nodded. "They seem intent on forming great numbers of their kind. My...friend," he nodded to Gilbert, "tells me that they have come from the underground graveyards of Geo, leaving no grave occupied, and I have seen them being drawn out from the Underworld by a single and powerful necromancer."

"An army..." Rosiotti mused. He looked past Faustis. "You travel with diverse companions, Sprite, just to carry a message. Why?"

Faustis smiled briefly. "The purpose of my traveling is not mainly to spread the warning across the land. We journey to find Farryn, to bring her back." His face, though he did not know it, was grave and drawn with pain and fatigue. "We mean to bring her back," he murmured. "For the Dead have captured her."

The Wisdom's face was solemn. "I wish you all the luck, for whatever my blessing is worth. The Dead are formidable, and you need everything possible." He caught Bud's eye. "Ah! Well if it isn't the young mage! Greetings, young man. It is unfortunate that we meet in such troubled times, but how do you fare?"

Bud grinned. "Manageable, sir. Your words to me have helped me understand a little more how things go. Thank you."

"I rather expected that they would. Hum. Imagine that."

They stayed no longer than a few hours at his court, making sure that he would keep guard and his eyes open before bidding his court farewell. Faustis also commissioned one of the penguins who frequently dallied at the court to bring word to the S.S. Buccaneer. All of Fa' Diel must be aware of the threat.

The companions left the Jungle clearing and made their way back to battle their way through the jungle, blindly following Faustis and hoping that his luck with direction still held.

Two hours and a quarter minute later, Faustis turned to all of them, looking rather embarrassed.

"Let me guess," Elazul said dryly. "We're lost again, aren't we?"

Faustis looked puzzled. "The exit should be over there," he pointed, "but we've already gone that way, and we keep ending up back there." He gestured back, looking frustrated. "I don't get it. The exit should be right there."

"Well," the Jumi remarked. "It isn't."

"No kidding," Niccolo put in.

"Do not be too harsh on the Sprite," a voice suddenly rebuked them. "He carries his sense of direction with him, but it does not matter here."

A chaos of sounds later, they all had drawn their weapons and Mana and were looking around warily.

"Come out," Faustis called out, looking as though he would prefer it much more if whatever was out there stayed out there, although he did seem relieved that he hadn't been misleading his friends through the Jungle.

"Oh yes," the voice laughed. "I forgot—you can't see me, even though the Sprite has the Eye on him." There was a faint ripple in the air, and then a Faerie as tall as either of the party's mages appeared, landing on the floor with her bare feet. "Better?"

"Much," Faustis replied, looking thankful that she was nothing big, fanged or scaly.

Bud stared. He had never seen a Faerie before—only pictures in his textbooks. This one had dark hazel eyes and hair, apparently a she. Her clothes were woven from colorful plant fibers and her wings rose and fell delicately from her shoulder blades. She was also very pretty.

"A Faerie," Bud murmured, eyes wide.

The Faerie smiled at him and turned back to Faustis. "It's been a long time, huh?"

"I don't recognize you," Faustis confessed.

She shrugged. "We higher Fey are seen only when we choose to." She paused, looking at everyone. "Why do you follow the Sprite? His heart is good, yes, pure even, but I have known him to be a clumsy and rather inept leader. Highly entertaining, though."

As Faustis arranged his face in an expression of deep indignation, Elazul replied, "Out of morbid curiosity, if nothing else."

She sighed. "Ah well. All of you seem to be delights to converse with, but unfortunately, that cannot be."

Warily, Faustis asked, "Why not?"

The Faerie smiled, looking at Bud again. "You may not be permitted to leave this jungle alive. Sorry."

"What?" Gilbert squeaked, perhaps the first short unembellished sentence in his life. "I demand to know why!"

"It's simple," the Faerie closed her eyes, shrugging. "No one enters the Glade of the Fey and lives. That," she opened her eyes and looked at them, "is the law."

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