Al de Baran’s Mystery

Al de Baran could have rivaled Prontera, Izlude and Geffen in both technological and magical advances, had its citizens not abandoned it. The buildings exhibited the peoples dexterity and genius, showing the bright patterns and impressive marble sculptures. Al de Barans shops used to be teeming with extremely rare items, making the city a favorite hotspot for Mages, Thieves, Merchants, Wizards and Blacksmiths. The world-famous Kafra Corporation also erected its magnificent office in the city.

But the Al de Baran today contained not even the tiniest shadow if it's prosperous past.

"Bugger, is this the Al de Baran where I used to get my huge supply of Santa Hats for surplus?" Altair whispered as he walked the empty, paved streets.  "Is this Al de Baran now?"

It had just been a minute since Sibyl lodged their airship on one of the empty landing ports around the city. Firnheild was greeted by an empty city, which looked like a ghost town. All the shops had boarded windows, their paints peeling off their walls and rust gnawing away at their roofs.

"Its like Ive never been to this place." Signy said exasperatedly.  "Its entirely different."

Nerva cast a look at his companions. Wealthow and the others were busy looking around to notice him at any cost. The Wizard secretly separated himself from the group.

"This is bad." Theodoric wrinkled his nose.  "We have a big investigation to do here, Wealthow."

"Makes me feel ashamed of stealing." Sibyl fretted.  "You never know"

"We should separate." Wealthow decided.  "All of us shall go around the city, look for clues. We shall meet back here when the moon stops exactly above the Clock Tower."

She pointed at the majestic Tower looming over the city like a lord ruling over his lands.

"All righty!" said Theodoric.  "Its still far from sunset anyway."

"See you." Signy bade them farewell before going.

Sibyl went to check the western areas. Theodoric, very brave, decided to go to the Clock Tower. Altair went eastward. Wealthow was left behind, standing where she was. She remembered Nerva.

"And oh, Nerva!"

But he was no longer around. Wealthow shrugged and went on her own way, unknowing that someone was long observing them from the Clock Tower.

Nerva stopped before the deserted drug store and looked at the heavily boarded windows. He came close and pressed his nose against the glass, squinting through the stores inside. He could see countless bottles of medicine lined up in the shelves, covered with thick dust. He withdrew of a while and looked around to check if the coast was clear.

When he saw there was none, he raised his hand ready for a spell.

"Napalm Beat!"

The glass shattered into shards. Nerva stepped over the ledge and into the dank, unoccupied drug store. He went for the dusty shelves and started fumbling with the glass jars.

"Pain reliever, come on!" Nerva hissed through gritted teeth as he threw bottles on the floor.  "I need it!"

He came across a jar of pain reliever tablets made from Green Herbs. He forced open the lid and emptied it into his mouth. He threw it away and reached for his waterskin, gulping down the content in only four mouthfuls. The tablets were bitter, but Nerva swallowed down the awful taste.

Nerva took deep, calming breaths and sat down on the stores dusty floors. He placed his hand above his heart and wondered how long could he still last in his condition. Every second brought him pain. He was doing his best in hiding it, but soon enough Wealthow will notice and start to fuss. Nerva hated it when somebody fussed over him.

The piece of the Shadow inside him weakened its painful beat. Somehow he gave a soft moan. He was already suffering from sharp pain, but the internal bleeding was something unexpected. Had the creature grew more powerful in his five-year sleep? If so, he could never last until this task was over. He knew that. His life was already limited. He could feel Deaths scythe waiting to cut his neck.

"But, even if I know I dont have enough time to live," Nerva whispered.  "I shall stop that creature, or die trying. Ill get my revenge and thank Firnheild for believing me. Death, please dont claim me just as yet."

 He stood up, but an Assassin quickly buried a needle into the artery in his neck. Nerva felt his consciousness slipping quickly. He fell to the floor, and the last he saw was the Assassin standing over him, laughing with glee. He fell into a deep sleep.

Wealthow stopped dead. She spun around and looked behind her. The street was completely devoid of anybody except her. But she was sure she felt something. Her hunch was never wrong. One of them was in great danger. Changing her mind completely, she decided to follow Theodoric into the Clock Tower.

All Theodoric knew was that he was going in the Clock Tower, and some of the creatures that leave inside it He knew he had to be careful of Bathorys, Baphomet juniors, Alarms and Skeleton Archers. The first time he went in Al de Barans clock tower, he was still a Swordsman, and Priests were still abundant in the city-state.

It somehow slipped his brain that once he went inside he was all alone, and that Wealthow was too far to be called for help.

When he entered the Clock Tower, his worst nightmare just came to life.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Theodoric screamed as he ducked to avoid the Bathorys venomous slime. The gooey liquid hit the wall with a splat, and with a loud hiss it melted a hole right through it.

The Knight skidded under the witch and came to a halt five feet away. Theodoric stood up, lance ready. He gripped it with two hands and used it as a batand whacked the nasty creature off her broom. The Bathory fell to the floor with a high-pitched squeal of pain.

"BASH! BASH! BASH! BASH! BASH!" Theodoric howled, hitting the monster again and again with his maxxed technique. The Bathory died.

But things werent over. An Alarm came rounding from the corner; huge muscled arms reaching out. Theodoric shivered involuntarily and kicked the Alarm straight in its clock face, making it fall on its back.

"Spear Boomerang!" Theodoric attacked.  "Pierce! Pierce! Spear Stab!"

The Alarm died off. At the same time, Theodoric fell to the floor, breathing heavily.

"Damn" he panted.  "Shouldnt have gone in here aloneJesus Christ, Im all shaky now"

He stood up and made to leave. He was so busy walking that he didnt notice a Baphomet junior standing directly in his path. Theodoric bumped into the demon and fell on his butt. He looked up and saw the monsters evil sneer.

"Uh-oh!" was all he managed to say.

Wealthow gave a start when she heard a piercing scream echo in the Clock Tower. She knew it was Theodorics voice. Nervous, she started to run. Her hunch was rightTheodoric was in great danger. She turned into a corner. A Bathory came gliding out of nowhere to meet her.

"EEEKKK!!" Wealthow shrieked as she ducked and fell forward on the floor.

The Bathory turned and aimed for her, gaping its horrible mouth ready. But Wealthow was faster.

"LEX DIVINA!" she shrieked, pointing her right hand forward.

The Bathory halted. Wealthow thought her Lex Divina worked, but when the creature started to cackle shrilly, she knew she had to run.

"YAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Wealthow spun around and dashed away frantically, the Bathory hot in her trail.

She turned into this corner and the next, until she tripped over something lying on the floor. Wincing in pain, she twisted her neck around to see what it was that tripped her. It was Theodoric, bathed in his own blood. His eyes were glassy looking and staring blankly at the ceiling. Wealthow saw a horrible cut on his abdomen. Her eyes widened.

"Oh my god!"

The Bathory came, venomous muck dripping from its lips. Wealthows mind buzzed frantically.

"SAFETY WALL!"

The Bathory collided against the barrier with a loud (and painful) squelch. Wealthow immediately turned to Theodoric and

"Teleport!" she said, clutching the Knight close to her.

They vanished just as the Safety Wall disappeared.

Altair Thorne was busy inspecting the shops and emptied houses. All the buildings showed no struggle and haste whatsoever. It was like the people of Al de Baran just woke up one morning and said, "Okay, were off to go live somewhere else!".

There were even meals left on the table. Freshly laundered clothes were lying untouched in a bedroom in a hotel. Altair even found some bread forgotten to be removed from the oven in a bakeshop. It was eerie, this. It was like something just swallowed the people alive.

"Bugger, did the Shadow do this?" the Blacksmith whispered as he took a bite from the said bread and discovered it was not yet stale.  "Scared the people out of this town?"

He sat down and chewed his meal. The bakeshop was normal; like everywhere else there was no sign of any struggle. What had really happened here?

The door creaked open. Altair jumped to his feet, hammer ready. But it was just Signy.

"Whoa! Careful, Altair, you might rip my head off." Signy smiled.  "You found something?"

Altair shook his head.  "Nothing. The only clue isthe people all seemed to have just disappeared!"

"Same as I found then." Signy shrugged as she sat down beside him.  "Weird."

Altair pushed the half-eaten loaf of wheat bread to her.  "Want one? Its just a day old."

Signy took a chunk and sniffed it.  "Good. Pure wheat. I hate barley."

"Ill go get a drink." Altair stood up and went to the cupboard, where he found two bottles of spring water. He blew the dust off them and twisted off their caps.

Signy drank from the bottle thoughtfully. Something caught her eye in a drawer behind the dusty counter. She stood up and went to retrieve it; Altair was busy chewing as he watched her.

It was a thick, leatherbound diary of the bakeshop owner.

"Were in luck, Altair." Signy said as she sat back down and started to flip open the yellowed paper.  "This is the storeowners diary."

The two read in silence, but found nothing to interest them in the first few pages. The storeowner complained bitterly of pesky Thieves, Priests who do nothing but to lengthen their list of debts and Hunters who sold double-dead meat.

"Double-dead?" Signy raised an eyebrow.  "Ill bet it was Rufus who sold him this!"

"Rufus?" Altair repeated.  "Whozzat?"

"Pierres most devoted acolyte." Signy replied.  "Nah, that pesky cheater. I dont know how he became an Archer when hes a horrible laggard and drunkard. Tried to pull a fast one on me, he did. Result is I whacked him off Asgard Inc. and snapped his bow into two pieces."

Altair flinched. For Archers and Hunters, the snapping of their bow was like death itself.

"I bet that hurt." Altair winced.  "Bugger, youre scary sometimes, Signy!"

"Served him right, that son of a bitch." Signy replied coolly. "The last I heard of him, he became a butcher."

Altair nodded.  "It fits. Hes selling double-dead meat."

Signy threw her head back and started to laugh loudly. But her laughter was cut off when they heard a loud thud from above.

"What the?" she said.

"You go check." Altair rubbed his hands together.  "Id read this further."

Signy stood up and readied her bow just in case. She climbed up the rickety wooden steps carefully. She came upon an empty landing. The thudding sound was coming from the third room to her right. She edged toward it very slowly and opened the door gently.

Signy entered the room, ready to fire a lethal Double Strafe if the worst came to worst. A Kafra girl was huddled in the corner of the room, shivering.

Signy lowered her bow when she saw that the Kafra girl was bleeding.  "OhOh my god, are you okay? Are you all right?"

The Kafra girl looked up. Blood was flowing endlessly from her mouth in torrents. In a flash and in a whirl of violet hair, the Kafra girl was hugging Signy, crying piteously.

"Help me!" the Kafra sobbed.  "I cant bear the pain! Please make it stop! Make it stop! I dont want to die! Please help me! Its so painful! It hurts!"

"Holy!" said Signy as she struggled to maintain her balance.  "Whoawhat happened here? Whats going on? Youre going to be fine!"

The Kafra tried to speak, but her body gave a terrible jolt. More blood came flowing out of her mouth and onto Signys clothes.

"S***! WhoaArgh!" said Signy as she lost her balance completely and fell backward onto the floor. The Kafra was on top of her, still shivering and throwing up more blood.

"S***!" said Signy once more.  "ALTAIR! ALTAIR, COME UP HERE! ALTAIR!"

"Please help me!" the Kafra begged.  "Its moving inside me, I can feel it! Please make it stop! Please make it stop!"

"But Im not a Priest! Im a Hunter!" Signy wailed. More blood spilled on her clothes.  "Oh, Christ! ALTAIR, COME UP HERE I SAID!"

Footsteps thundered and Altair came from downstairs, looking like he had just seen a ghost. He moved and pulled the Kafra girl from Signy. His hands were shaking and he seemed unable to speak.

"Help me!" The Kafra begged, refusing to let go of Signys clothes.  "Please!"

"I told you Im not a Priest!" Signy hissed.  "If youd just let me go Ill get Wealthow for you!"

The Kafras hand tightened on Signys clothes. The girl gave a wild jolt and fell back down, dead on the spot. Altair and Signy caught each others eyes.

"Shes dead!" said Altair, hardly daring to believe it.

"Lets get out of here, shall we?" Signy suggested.

Theodoric was leaning against the fountain ledge, taking deep calming breaths. Wealthow Healed him just in time. If she hadnt come there he would have been dead by now; the Baphomet juniors cut was so deep.

"You shouldnt have gone there alone." Wealthow spoke as she made him drink a cup of Red Potion.  "You knew that."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Theodoric replied.  "Quit nagging, will you? You sound like my mom!"

Wealthow fell silent.  "I am just worried."

"OYA! OI! OVER HERE! OI!"

Wealthow and Theodoric looked up. Altair and Signy were fast running toward them.

"What happened Signy?" Wealthow asked at once, seeing the dried blood on the Hunters clothes.

"We found a Kafra girl." Altair panted.  "She died back there in the bakery! And read this" he held out the book  "it has answers!"

Wealthow flipped open the diary and began to read. As she read the latest entries, a stony silence hung among their group.

"So it has been here before." Wealthow whispered as she shut the book.  "The Shadow."

"But" Theodoric pointed out.  "Who was it, that the bakery man described as "The Powerful One"?"

"It demanded a great tribute of weaponry from Al de Baran." Signy explained.  "And when the lord refused, the Shadow attacked this city-state."

"And so the Shadow really has a master, Theodoric." Wealthow caught the Knights eye.

"Wealthow, you should see the Kafra girl." Altair said urgently.  "Before she died she had this crazy convulsion and she said she had something inside her and we should stop it! She kept complaining of pain! Then she died just like that after she spewed out a lot of blood on Signy here!"

"Pain? She convulsed violently?" Wealthow spoke slowly.

Altair nodded.  "Like mad, bugger!"

"Like Nerva" Wealthow whispered, eyes widening.

"EVERYONE!"

The spun around. Sibyl came to a halt, breathing hard. She held up Nervas Mighty Staff and waterskin.

"Weve got a serious problem." Sibyl announced.  "Nerva alThor is missing in action."