Light

Chapter Six

"I don't know if you passed out from shock from what he said, or you were scared."

"...He called you my wife; naturally, I'd be startled." Priam said, and looked at his leg again. It had considerably healed with a purplish bruise on the lower part of his leg, near the ankle.

"What's that mean?" Lina crossed her hands over her chest and gave him a stare. "You think I'd make a bad wife?"

"Not really. You wouldn't be my wife, that's all."

"Fate has a way of changing things. Not suggesting anything, in case you've got a ring hiding behind your back," Lina jabbed a finger at him, then took a look at his leg. "Okay. Looks like it's better, so I'm going to pop it back into place. This is going to make you scream. Probably."

Lina grabbed the lower part of his leg and then forcefully tugged it in the opposite direction. A sharp pain bit Priam's entire left side, and he howled considerably. The dust fell off some old antiques.

"Okay, now try to get up." Lina held out her hand, and Priam grabs it, pulling himself up using Lina's hand as leverage, and wobbly stood on his two feet. "Yup. Now walk."

Priam hobbled along quicker, and then gradually slipped into a walk. "Well, I can walk now, right? That's good."

"Yes it is indeed." Lina flipped open a Forseti tome. "And this one's still intact."

"I didn't ask yet, but what'd you find upstairs?"

"Oh yeah!" Lina pulled open her soaking wet knapsack that somehow survived their perilous journey, and peeled it open. "I found a crap-ton of magic tomes. Valflame, Fimbulvetr, Mjolnir, some more Forseti, even the Book of Naga. That's odd. Well, it's a good thing I'm a Dark Mage, otherwise this would turn into a huge problem."

"No, I'm pretty sure you're a normal Mage."

"Oh yeah," Lina grinned to herself. "There was also a Master Seal there, so I took the liberty of switching my class from Mage to Dark Mage."

Priam snorted. "And you didn't even bring it down here so that we can debate who uses it? And why did you switch to a Dark Mage, instead of a Sage?"

"Why?" Lina pulled out at least 15 dark magic tomes. "This is bloody why! I found so many bleedin' dark tomes, I just couldn't let them go to waste, now could I? That'd be cruel as a Dark Mage."

"Do you even know why there are so many dark magic tomes here?"

"No. Why?"

"Well," Priam explained, "this was Nergal's base of operations when he was still alive. He was a sorcerer, so naturrally, there's going to be a lot of dark magic. But light magic? Not sure about that one. Maybe it's from of all the sailors who, uh, died..."

"That sounds like something a bloody villain would do, right?" Lina shrugged. "Well, anyway, you're probably right. So what's you're point?"

"I don't know. I don't think there was point there." Priam slowly hauls himself up, and takes a good look around the ornate building once again. "So what are we going to do?"

".... I was thinking that we should go upstairs again." Lina points up the stairs.

"But why?"

"There's a really strong magical signal up there. Like, at the very top of the tower. And this time," Lina weakly tossed Priam his golden blade, "don't forget your bloody sword."

"Thanks," he says generously, and the two begin their long ascent up the tower.

~*~

"I hate these bleedin' stairs!" Lina moaned as they hauled themselves up to the top floor. "Gods, if I ever have to climb some bloody stairs again, I will be so pissed off, you don't bloody know."

"I can 'bloody tell'." Priam replied, and looked around at the top of the building. "What's this 'magical aura' you're sensing, Lina?"

"Eh? Oh yeah, that's what we came here for." Lina started gesturing as if she's making directions. "The person or thing's up this way." She pointed to a northeastern corridor. "My cheeks are tingling. Must be a mage."

"You can tell the difference if.... your cheeks is tingling?"

"Well, not my cheeks all the time. Sometimes, not even my face." She wiggled her fingers and swished her leg around. "If it's a Mage, Dark Mage, Sorcerer, or the like, some part of my face tingles. Someone who uses bows, my left leg. Clerics are my right. Melee's are either of my arms, the list goes on and on. How do you think I found you all those years ago?"

"Yeah, whatever, Miss Psychic," Priam mumbled, then proceeded to head in that direction. Lina followed close behind.

A few paces behind, Lina's ears perked up. She had naturally pointed ears, so you can see if she hears something; her ears stick up. "Priam."

"What?"

Lina started rapidly pacing towards a room down the corridor. "The mage's here."

"Okay. Be on your guard. And.... GO!"

Priam and Lina crashed down the door. A green-haired, choppily cut girl with a headband screamed and immediately hides her face with her hands. When neither Lina nor Priam moved, she slowly removed her hands, and Priam and Lina examined her. She had sparkly blue eyes, and her short frame was outlined with a royal purple cloak. She was wearing a light blue blouse and white skirt with knee-high, laced sky blue boots.

She quickly flicked her wrist to the tome hidden behind her and outstretched her fingers as if to cast it.

"Okay," the girl said slowly. "Now you don't look like you want to hurt me, and I don't fancy hurting people. So let's all just lay our weapons down a second, and calmly leave, how 'bout that?"

Lina shrugged as the short girl slipped her tome back into its hiding pocket, and Lina does the same. Priam puts Ragnell at ease.

"Whew!" The girl wiped her brow and laughed shortly. "Oh, I thought you were going to kill me. Now can I ask what you're doing here?"

"We could ask the same." Lina crossed her arms and looked at the girl sideways. "Mind telling us your name?"

"Nino," the girl responded. "And you?"

"I'm Lina, and this git is Priam," Lina gestured to them both as Priam shot her a look.

"I'm not a 'git', whatever that is," Priam rolls his eyes.

"Are you from Judgral?" Nino asks, a little piece of green hair falling into her ocean colored eyes. "I can tell by your accent. And the way you dress."

"Yup. But we hail from Ylisse." Lina said. "We got ourselves caught in a storm, and now we just so happen to have met you."

"Yup. I'm from here. Well, not HERE, but I'm from Elibe. I'm in the Black Fang. We're just a group of wayward assassins. Uh, not anymore."

"What are you here for, then? Shouldn't you be on the mainland killing corrupt nobles?" Priam chewed his lip and asked.

Nino shook her head. "Nope. I sailed here in search of useful items. It's quite a comfy castle."

"The same place Nergal used to almost kill you lot."

"Yes... but the aura's changed. It's empty. So I thought it'd be all right."

"... I just have a question," Priam said quickly. "Please tell me I'm not going crazy here, because I hope I wasn't."

"What?"

"There was a cracker-loving ghost downstairs in the cellar," Lina explained. "Gave my friend here the willies, he did."

"Oh, him?" Nino giggled. "Cracker Thief? Ignore him. He might startle you, but he's a friendly man. A lone thief who used to steal crackers. He's also bound to his skeleton, so he can't move around the tower. He told me that."

".... Hold on," Lina looked at Nino. "You're from Elibe, right?"

"Yup. Why?"

"Maybe you're Naga's blessing to us," Priam pulled up a chair for him. "Now do you know anything about Matthew's Nightmare?"