A Paladin's Promise

Chapter 12: Eidolons of the Feymarch

When we return to the underground, Rydia guides me in the direction of the Land of Summoned Monsters which lies on a secluded island surrounded by lava on every side. According to Rydia, her new home rests in the depths of the cave system. As we enter the cave, a mysterious coldness settles over us.

"I'll show you the way," Rydia says. Before we proceed, I open the menu and cast Float

on the party. I never could figure out why, but this cave damages us when we walk on the ground. We then follow Rydia through the cavern. We open up some chests to collect gold pieces and potions. Soon, a small group of Red Eyes stand in our path.

"Get ready!" Edge yells. We all raise our weapons, or our hands, ready to attack. Compared to their lunar counterparts, Red Eyes are much more tame. They use the vampire spell to slowly drain health from us and give it to themselves. I start off the battle by casting Virus on both of them which will drain their health over time. Rydia follows with Virus as well. Cecil attacks with his blade of light. The Red Eyes continue to steal health where they can, but ultimately fail to do much damage. We defeat them a few minutes later.

Collecting the spoils, we continue, encountering a few conjurers before we reach the next floor. Rydia leads us down some stairs and we draw ever closer to the Land of Summoned Monsters. I recast Float on the party. Unfortunately, I must do this for every floor until we reach the town. We walk through the caves, opening any chests we find. Battling hooligans, fiends, warriors, and other creatures, we descend further.

"We're almost there, everyone," Rydia says. Cecil and Rosa nod. Inside some of the chests on this floor are a ninja sword and a poison axe. Holding the axe in my hand, my heart floods with concern for Kain. Golbez's control over him shouldn't last long but I can't help wondering what's going on in his mind.

I wonder what he's doing right now. I hope he's safe.

By now, we have arrived on the floor just above the Land of Summoned Monsters. I look through the floor to see dozens of creatures wandering the streets of the town. We glide over to a lone chest near the entrance and open it. Five men clad in silver armor jump out at us. Cecil's up first, so he attacks with his blade of light. Edge follows, attacking with both of his blades. Rydia prepares to summon Titan and I begin the incantation for a high-level lightning spell. We launch both of our attacks simultaneously, creating a sort of thunderquake. This move kills off two of our enemies. Meanwhile, Edge and Rosa focus on taking down two others which they soon do. One remains. Cecil spins his sword in an intricate flourish, then lashes out and kills the last man. Cecil collects the spoils: a new defense sword.

"Adrienne, would you like my old sword?" he asks.

"Sure. Thank you." I hold out my open hands and he places the shiny, sparkling blade in them. Warmth from his hands on the handle heats my hands. Once this transaction is complete, we enter the Land of Summoned Monsters. Bright lights decorate the ornate buildings and monsters in colorful silk robes wander the streets. Rydia leads us around. We collect thousands of gold pieces from various chests strewn about the town.

"Are you sure it's all right that we take these things?" I ask.

"Of course. What's ours is yours," Rydia says.

"All right."

One of the chests we find contains a samurai bow and arrows, which I give to Rosa to wield.

"Thank you, Adrienne," Rosa says. Now, Rydia has a whip as her weapon and Rosa has a bow. Although we ladies are primarily magic users, having a weapon to wield against enemies who are immune to magic—for example, if our enemy casts Wall on themself—will prove quite useful. I'm lucky that Cecil gives me his old weapons. We continue opening the chests around town. One of them has a rat's tail in it.