Unfortunately, the road to Bastok proved to be a very hot and dry one.
"How..how much further is it?" I panted as we mounted yet another crest in the road. I think my question was justified, as we'd been walking since our little turtle encounter, and the sun looked just about ready to set.
"Just a few more hills," answered Kuto-Lulu, punctuating his response with a short giggle.
I have to admit, I was less amused. The Taru had proven to be better at travelling than me, and was handling the journey with a lot more style.
"Easy..easy for you to say," I responded, slowing down slightly as we approached the crest of the hill. "I have to tell you, I wasn't prepared for quite so many hills." I found a conveniently placed rock beside the trail, and sat down to catch my breath.
Kuto-Lulu strolled up beside me, the beginnings of another fit of laughter playing across his features. "Are you tired again?" he demanded, putting his hands on his hips and glaring at me. "At this rate, we'll never make it to Bastok!"
"I'm sorry," I puffed, slightly embarrassed. "I'm not used to walking quite so much. Farm work I could do all day, every day; but this.." I trailed off, looking at the desolate landscape. "In a more forgiving climate, I'm sure I would be in Bastok already. This is killing me." I laughed softly, stretching a bit, and stood again, ready to continue walking.
"Finally!" was the response, as an eager Kuto-Lulu fell in step beside me. "Did I ever tell you about the time I got lost in Castle Oztroja? I wandered in looking for-"
I looked over as his story was suddenly cut off, only to see his whole body enveloped in an ominous purple-black cloud. I straightened, looking around anxiously for the source of this magical attack.
"Poi..poison," spat out Kuto-Lulu, his body wracking from the spell's effect. He gained his feet, hunched over in pain. "We have..to find the caster," he managed, gritting his teeth against the poison.
"There," I said, pointing in front of us, where a dark shape was barely discernible against a rock. I started towards the shape, pulling my staff free from its sheath on my back.
"I hope..you're good with..that stick of yours," said Kuto-Lulu, struggling to keep up as the poison sapped his strength. "I won't be much good against this one."
As we drew closer to the rock, the dark shape separated itself, heading toward us quickly. The distinctive sound of a blade clearing its sheath rang out as the masked adversary came into the light.
"Damn gobbies," grunted Kuto-Lulu, dropping into a defensive fighting stance. "I should've known!"
I followed suit, gripping my staff in a defensive fighting style. I was a little nervous, as we'd had some pretty intense Goblin raids on the farm where I was raised. I'd battled them before, but never with just one comrade. Especially not just one poisoned comrade.
The Goblin charged in, its dagger swinging down in an arc toward Kuto-Lulu. Just as it seemed it would end the fight, he dodged out of the way, and landed a quick series of punches on the beastman's torso. At the same time, I closed in and took a powerful swing at the side of his head with my thick ash staff.
The Goblin fell back a couple steps under our assault, seeming suddenly unsure of itself. It turned toward me, somehow judging me the bigger threat. Perhaps that poison had taken more out of my Taru friend than I had originally thought.
He stepped toward me, his dagger flashing in the setting sun as it flashed toward me. I darted to the left an instant too slow, and the slash meant for my face ended up glancing off my elbow, leaving a shallow cut.
I hissed in pain, and closed in again, swinging my staff overhead in an effort to end this fight quickly. The Goblin, however, raised his shield to deflect my blow, and slashed his dagger at Kuto-Lulu as he closed in as well.
The blow stuck true, leaving a vicious cut across the Taru's torso. Kuto-Lulu cried out, and fell to one knee, clutching his bleeding chest. The Goblin grunted and stepped forward, ready to deliver the finishing blow.
I gave a hoarse shout, and shifted my grip on my staff. I stepped up behind the Goblin, and swung with all my might. The resulting blow left my hands numb, but the satisfying crunch it made on impact was well worth it.
The Goblin turned towards me, the dagger falling out of its grasp as it staggered backwards. It fell to the ground, its body going limp. I breathed a sigh of relief, then rushed over to where Kuto-Lulu was crouched.
"I'm..I'm afraid, Aspen," he said, not shifting his gaze from the ground. "I'm hurt..pretty bad. And this poison.." He trailed off, his body shaking gently.
I shook my head gently, and gathered in my will, placing my hand on Kuto-Lulu's shoulder, and whispered, "Poisona." A sharp, white light pierced the dark aura around his body, quickly dissolving it into a mist. I braced myself, and whispered, "Cure," watching as the magic began to close the gash on Kuto-lulu's chest. Exhausted, I stepped back, and picked up my staff from where it had fallen.
I felt a small hand place itself into mine, and turned to look into the grateful eyes of Kuto-Lulu. "Thank you," he said warmly, smiling at me. "And now...we're even," he said with a short giggle, unmindful of the danger we had just been in. He got to his feet, and headed over to the body of the Goblin, and began looking through the pouches along its belt.
"Let's see..some raw meat," he began, casting the item in question aside. "A bit of chocolate..some cloth.." He trailed off for a moment, his hands busy. "Aha!" he exclaimed, holding up some red crystals, "two fire crystals, and a handful of gil." He held the coins and the crystals out to me.
"Oh, I don't need.." I began, before I was cut off by the Taru pressing the items into my hand.
"You know you need these more than I do," he said, his eyes bright. "Plus..your kill, your gil." He giggled, stepping away to grab the Goblin dagger. He appraised it, his bright eyes looking over the dark metal. "Worthless," he said after a moment. "Some of these daggers get pretty awful," he said with another giggle.
"You should be glad it was so dull," I said, pointing to his torso. "Otherwise you would have been beyond help, you know." I laughed softly, and turned back to the road, saying, "What do you think? Should we make camp, or press on for the city?"
"Oh, let's make camp," he replied. "I think you've heard enough about me, Aspen. There's a few things I'd like to know about you.
No comments:
Post a Comment