A Paladin's Promise

Chapter 2: The Girl From Mist

After leaving Baron, we decide to seek out the chocobos—friendly, rideable birds that can safely deliver us to the cave mouth—in the Chocobo Forest. Luckily, we don't encounter any monsters along the way. Once we reach the forest, Cecil interacts with three yellow chocobos. I can't understand them, but the chocobos soon lower themselves so we can climb on. Grabbing hold of the soft yellow feathers on its neck, I pull myself up onto a chocobo. I've never ridden one before, of course, but I feel oddly comfortable sitting on its back.

"Ready?" Cecil asks.

"Yes. Let's go," I say.

Mist lies hidden within a valley surrounded by mountains on every side. The only way to reach the village is through a massive cave system northeast of Baron. When we arrive, I open the menu—apparently, all I have to do is wave my right hand, palm out, in front of my face—and save the game. I have no idea if saving the game means I can ever return to this point again.

God, I hope I don't die in here...

I still don't know if dying in the game means my death in real life, but I don't plan on finding out. Cecil, Kain, and I dismount the chocobos, bidding them farewell as they sprint back to the forest.

"Are you ready, Adrienne?" Kain asks. I nod. With that, the three of us enter the misty darkness and prepare to face the unknown.

Amidst the hazy cavern, stalactites glisten overhead. Stalagmites sprout up from the ground and a number of chests lay strewn about. I hear rushing water deep below. Could it be that a river runs below the mist? We start to explore when a small group of imps and swordrats jump out at us. Now engaged in battle, Kain is first in the turn order. He thrusts the sharp point of his lance into one of the swordrats' hearts, killing it instantly. Cecil draws his blade and deals one swift strike to the other swordrat, ending its life.

Now, it's my turn.

Opening my battle menu with the same hand gesture, I find several options listed:

FIGHT

WHITE

BLACK

SUMMON

ITEM

I break down each category in my mind.

All right. I do not have a weapon such as a sword or bow that I can attack with, so the fight option won't do me much good just yet. Maybe later I'll pick up a weapon to fight with. Let's see... white magic consists mostly of healing and defense spells. I don't think we'll need that quite yet either. Black magic would be the easy choice of course, but... what can I summon? Just Chocobo, huh? Could be a good idea. I think I'll go with...

Searching through the list of black magic spells, I select the basic level fire spell. My hands glow with red and orange light as I wiggle my fingers. Moments later, a burst of bright flames envelops the two imps, killing them. My eyes widen as a grin spreads across my face.

I... I have magic! I'm a video game character!

We celebrate our small victory as the fanfare plays in the background. After claiming the dropped gold pieces, we continue on. As we walk, I can't help sensing a presence watching us. Could it be a monster?

Or something else?

Chill white mist seeps into my skin as I reflect on what I'm feeling. Cecil and Kain both seem to notice that I am lost in thought as they stop walking and turn to look at me.

"Are you all right, Adrienne?" Cecil asks.

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah."

"What is it?" Kain asks.