Before they could leave Ana stopped them and congratulated them on completing a side quest. All the battles with the mimic monsters had paid off, they obtained a large sum of gold as well as a rare mega life potion for each of them. This was an item that didn't sell in any shop or store, no monsters dropped it, this was an item that you could only get through a side quest and it would heal you fully, health and mana. It was a bright purple color and looked as if it was glowing. It seemed so small at the time but they happily excepted it and placed them in their bags. They were hoping for something better but this was still a great prize.
With that, they headed out, it was a long journey all the way back to Faefrihed, they decided to make a few stops rather than rushing all the way there, making sure to send word ahead of time that they were coming and it would be a few days before they arrived, that way they didn't start celebrating without them. On their way they stopped at Trinity to see how everything was going and how they were recovering, the harpies had started looking better, their feathers growing back slowly but surely and the town looked almost back to normal, aside from the statue no longer their to greet anyone.
Next they went to see King Rom, making the rounds and updating everyone on how the mission was going, all the things that had happened and that Zellis was no longer a threat to anyone. King Rom congratulated them and invited them to spend the night before heading out, this time in the castle itself. He gave the men and the woman separate rooms, this was a first for them, even with all the gold they had, they would still share a single room all together, it was so natural for them that knowing they would have different rooms that night had them feeling a bit off. He also allowed them use of his personal hot spring, a large room for each of the two groupings, split by a fence so they were able to talk to one another, mostly jokes and teasing one another. They left the serious talk out of it for the time, till after the parade that was being held for them, till then it was strictly fun times. Though they all felt a little bad that they were taking time off of their quest.
All of them had trouble sleeping, wondering if the other group was okay, sometime in the middle of the night they had all joined into one room, not able to take the thought of what could happen if they weren't all together and something bad happened. Rom was shocked in the morning when he found them all together, not realizing that this was normal for them, he had felt bad, he told them how he could have simply given them a larger room if he had known but they didn't press it and thanked him for being so thoughtful.
All of them were excited, they could finally see an end in sight and they were over joyed to know that one day soon they would have a relaxing life in this world, just like they had imagined, not that they hadn't had a lot of fun but it was also stressful and scary, knowing that at any moment they could just be gone, that their friends, the people they consider family, could be gone forever.
It was time to head out, they thanked King Rom once again and gave him a bow before they headed to the beach side and set out on their way. When they got there the streets were all set up, there were lanterns hanging from string that lined all through the town, people greeted them with cheers as they came into town, it was weird to be so in the spot light, it made them all so happy and yet their stomachs turned and their hairs stood on end as they made their way through the town. They saw lots of different things, floats for the parade, lots of food stands getting ready and even ice being sculpted into their image. Everyone in town seemed so excited, as if they too needed this time to relax and enjoy time together with everyone.
They didn't linger to long as they made their way straight towards the guild masters building, once again their was no guard but this time they didn't get stared at when they entered, they got applause for all they had done, taking on such a huge quest with just the six of them seemed amazing to all the guild adventurers. They were escorted from the main room into the back room, where they had met the guild masters and they waited for them to come in.
The floor under them opened up and dropped them all into a cell like room, where they were surrounded by Legion knights. None of their spells seemed to work in this room and they tried to fight but they were quickly disarmed and thrown to the floor, it was then that the three oldest of the masters entered the room.
"We are sorry for this, but we had to, you must understand." The oldest seemed a bit ashamed of what he had just done, even as he spoke.
"You would do the same if you were in our position, I assure you that no harm will come to you but you must stay locked away for the time." The youngest of the three spoke as one of the Knights took their bags and stripped them of the relics. Their hearts were racing, they continued trying to fight. Art spit at the guild masters feet as he glared at them all.
"Understand that we had no other choice." They turned and walked out, leaving them in this horrid cell. They were left their alone all of them tied up so they couldn't fight or hurt the guild masters, their weapons and the relics were all taken. They sat talking, wondering if they should have seen this coming, if they should have known or if they just let everything go to their heads.
Soon the door opened up and the youngest of the guild masters was thrown in, one of the descendants of the heroes. He was beaten up and his hands were tied behind his back, Art was the first to try and rush over to him, his hands still tied as he checked on the young master.
"Sorry, I couldn't stop them or help you." The young master said, feeling ashamed of himself for letting this all happen, they reassured him that it wasn't his fault and that they too blamed themselves.
"Forget that. It aint our faults, its theirs. The guild leaders that turned on us for no reason." Vixen was filled with anger.
"It would seem that had been the plan all along, they had been getting threats from the Legion. That they would destroy our city if we didn't help get rid of you, which was the meaning of the first quest we sent you on." He looked so sad at this fact, "I had no idea, they kept me in the dark sense I was a new leader and they didn't trust me."
"It's okay, you couldn't have known what they were planning." Art tried to help him as Fenix backed up into Art, he started struggling and pulling at Arts ropes till his hands were free. Art then helped untie everyone else. Even with their hands untied they were still stuck in this cell, with no powers and no weapons they had little way of getting out.
They paced around wondering how long they would be stuck here, they day was already coming to an end, they thought that the night would be a perfect time to escape, hoping that the guild masters would be to cocky to think they couldn't get out some how and would go to sleep just like everyone else. They had to be careful, asking the young guild master to help them, he quickly agreed, there was no hesitation in him about this, they had to get out quickly and make their way to the final dungeon, they had to be able to get one of the relics before the Legion had them all.
As the night grew they started examining every wall, as well as the door that the guild masters came through, it was the only door to this cell other than the drop ceiling that was much to high to get up to and had closed soon after they fell. They knocked on each stone of the walls to see if there was some spot that was weaker or proved to have a way out behind it but there was no luck, they only had one option and it was the door. At first they just tried to ram into it over and over but it was solid and not moving even a little to their attempts.
Soon they had to give up, they started searching through the bags that were left there, as their was no need to take that from them. There was little left in it, just some potions and a few other things, but one of them had a teleport crystal, something they had bought early on in their travels that most of them had got rid of, all but one. Fenix pulled it out of his bag.
"I was honestly holding onto it so that I could try and reproduce the effect it has so that we could travel easier but I haven't had the time to really try it." They looked around, wondering where it would take them if they used it, they had never taken the chance to use one before. Art grabbed it from him and smiled at them before breaking it between his hands, not wanting to give them the chance to debate on it and stop him. He wasn't sure how it worked but he figured he could think about where he wanted to go and maybe that would work.
The stone took him right outside of the town, it just exited him from the area he was in and took him to the open world. He shrugged, not knowing that's how it worked but it was just as good as he was thinking, which was outside of the door so he could open it from the outside. From there he made his way back into the town, wearing all black cloths in the night made it easier for him to move around without being seen. He kept to the shadows and the back streets as he moved along.
"Why would he do that?" Razah was very nervous with Art's actions and started nervously biting on her lips.
"Isn't it obvious, he is doing what Art does, he is being the hero." Vixen's words didn't match her tone, it was cold and raspy as she rubbed her eyes with one hand.
"It's not such a bad thing, we could have debated what to do for a long time." Tophuu wasn't wrong, they had a tendency to over think each thing and waist a lot of time questioning what they should do, Art was just a person of action and would always do what he felt was right in the moment. Still that didn't stop them from trying to figure out a plan b. As none of them had any idea where the stone would take him.
"Do you have any information that would help us get out of here?" Fenix asked the young master. Sadly he had nothing, he was as shocked as they were that their was a hidden cell down below, just another thing he added to the list of lies and deception that he had taken from the other three. Even if their intentions were true and good, this was not the way to go about it. All of them were pretty sick of the thought that they hadn't noticed it after they went through such a hard side quest for such basic information, especially when Ifrit didn't seem a danger to anyone. Then they started to recall how it seemed he was summoned there and the dots started to connect, they had summoned it just for them. They started feeling sick to their stomachs as they discussed these things.
Art slowly made his way through town, he was able to summon a sword but he didn't have anything quite as strong as the sword that was taken from him. The beautiful gift from the sea nymph, but he was not going to let that stop him from saving everyone as he snuck back into the guild master hall. He made his way around the back, remembering just how many people were in their before and unsure if they would still have people there just in case. He found a window that was on the second floor. He stacked some near by barrels and crawled through the window that led him to a room he hadn't seen before, it was like a cellar, boxes filled the room as well as drinks lining the walls. All the crates were filled with food, nothing that would help him get his group free.
Cracking the door just a bit he looked around and didn't see anyone, he stepped out and made his way down the long hall before a door behind him opened up and someone walked out. He jumped behind a plant that was on the floor and watched as the man went the other way, he instinctively held his breath the whole time, waiting for the man to be out of site. He wasn't sure who he was able to trust in this building or town anymore. The upstairs let in a large circle that only had one set of stairs at the front end on the inside wall. He slowly made his way down before he heard the alarms sound.
"A prisoner has escaped, this is top priority." A voice echoed through the halls and in all of the rooms as he could soon hear doors start opening and closing. He quickly made his way down as he heard steps behind him. He wasn't ready for an all out brawl with a whole guild.
"He is believed to still be in town, search him out and bring him back alive." A much more stern voice came on next, it was the guild masters giving instruction. He realized they had no idea but they knew he was gone some how.
As the group waited to hear from Art and hoped he was safe, they all finally had given up on finding a way out. Then the door opened, a guard threw food down at them before looking around and realizing they were one short. He asked where the other had went and Vixen looked up, as if he some how had climbed out or something. The guard ran out of the room and slammed the door shut. This was how the three masters were awakened from their sleep.
Art found his way into the main hall finally, but he was getting closed in on as he could hear steps coming from both side of him, he rushed down into the hall that led to the guild masters meeting room. Once he got in he hugged the wall, making sure not to step on the floor where the trap floor was and made his way around the room, he knew that the door to the cell had to be hidden in the room that they always exited in or at least the stairs that would lead him to that door.
Once he got into the room, that looked like a large office he could hear words coming from behind one of the walls, behind a bookcase and he shook his head and had to cover his mouth from laughing at just how cheesy it was to hide a passage behind a book case. He easily was able to move it out of his way and it have him a path down that he slowly took. A set of spiraling steps taking him to a damp room that was mostly empty, other than a table and chair for guards to sit in. There was a long hall that led to several doors, once down the hall it led to both sides, he could hear the voices still going from the right side, which would lead back to being right over the meeting room.
As Art made his way down the halls he slowly opened up the doors to check them, they seemed like more cells, but none of them were locked or had anyone in them. He closed them as quietly as he could, all except one that he left open and made his way into the one across from it, closing that door and waiting. Soon he heard them coming, he held his place against the door.
"Was this door open before." One of the mastered said as he pointed at it.
"What a fool, he didn't even leave the building." They laughed a bit, thinking they had him cornered as they swung open the door, Art heard the creaking of it and shoved his door open and pushed them inside before slamming the door and leaning against it, leaving only the guard that was with them standing in front of Art, who had a mean scowl on his face. He held his sword up to the guard and demanded him to lock the door that held the masters. The guard had heard the stories of the heroes and knew he was no match for him, he locked the door as he was told before Art hit him over the head with his hilt, knocking the guard to the floor.
He grabbed the keys and wasted no time as he started looking for the cell that held his friends, he went around checking each door till he found the one that was locked, he slid the key in and as the door opened he was tackled by everyone inside, getting hit a few times as they took him to the ground, not realizing it was Art they had decided on this route to escape themselves.
"Can you please get off me." Art was curled up into a ball, his hand over his face to protect him from them hitting him anymore. When they realized it was him that didn't get off, rather they hugged him, all but the guild master who was standing behind them, watching all of this unfold he started to laugh at their antics.
"We didn't know what happened to you, we thought maybe the crystal took you back to Crystalis where Fenix bought it." Razah was so excited to see him, her words blurted out of her.
"You idiot." He was struck in the arm by Vixen who couldn't help but laugh that he was able to pull this off. They finally got off of him and they asked him what happened and how he was able to get passed the guild masters. He explained to them that he had them locked in a room as they gathered all their stuff and started searching for their weapons. They were in the room across from them, left in a chest, sadly the relics weren't there and all the Legion knights were gone, they most likely had been gone sense they got their hands on the relics.
"Are you okay if we leave you in charge for now." Art held the keys to the dungeons out to the young master and he took them, he seemed unsure and first but gave a nod that he would be okay. He wasn't sure about leaving them locked up but at the same time they did the same thing to him and worse, having fought with them to try and get through to let out the group he had gotten pretty beaten up.
The group made their way up and out of the dungeon but they felt like all the extra time they had was now gone as they had to hurry and get the last piece of the relic or they would have failed the world and the evil King Bahamut would be released. They got out into the main hall and there was no one to be seen, they were hoping it would be this easy all the way out of town but as they got out of the building the streets were covered in the guild members, even more than they had expected, having woke people from the other guild halls to come and help them.
"We can't do much against them, we don't want to pixelate them." Even with everything that happened, Art knew that they weren't to blame, that the Legion had the world under its thumb and even though they hoped with Zellis gone that the Legion would fall apart, it was safe to believe that there was someone even hire than Zellis to worry about. They tried to sneak out of town but were quickly rushed by many of the guild members.
Vixen gave off warning shots that exploded, keeping the guild members away from them and making them think twice before they rushed them again. The group stood in a circle, trying to watch all their sides the best they could but there were just so many of them they couldn't hold them all off.
Tophuu seemed to have his attention on the floor as he got down on a knee he started moving a manhole that was placed there. "Come on." He said pulling at Meekles pants to follow. They had no idea where this would lead but it got them away from the guilds. They all started rushing down the ladder that led into a sewer, it was gross and filthy but it kept them safe for the moment, breaking the ladder so it would be a large drop for anyone who wanted to follow, now there only problem was that some slimes had made this area their home.
As they went along some of their paths were blocked by water and they had to pull a series of levers to get it to drain out and clear their path out. They then used levers on the other side to fill it back up, trying to make it as hard as they could for anyone to follow them. Thankfully it seemed like they all had quit when they ladder was blown out but the group didn't feel very trusting anymore and wasn't about to give anyone the chance to get the jump on them.
They started questioning everyone, wondering who else might have been working for the Legion or who might sell them out next. Almost all the names of people they had met came up, including Ana, who Art swore was not a part of this, but when they mentioned how it was her that sent them to fight Cerberus it did make his stomach turned, she had also pushed them hard to continue the quests and though she was captured by the Legion, she did give them all the information and barely a scratch was left on her. Art felt horrible for letting them have this conversation and for partly agreeing with them, he started walking faster, trying to ignore it but he couldn't, he didn't want to believe it was her that sold ever sold them out.
They continued into the sewers and slayed all the slimes that got in their way, not that it was any big deal but if they left them then they would have continued to follow them and even small damage over long times would end up being a problem. It seemed like this system went on forever, having walked for some time now and still not seeing an exit. The talk of who was and wasn't on their side continued and they got to the point where they didn't trust anyone but each other now, making them so scared to live in this world with people like that.
"You are all painting them out to be bad people, but if they were doing it to protect themselves and the towns are they really all that bad? Its not the nicest thing but maybe they promised them peace or something." Razah didn't enjoy the negative talk and Art was quick to agree with her, there was no way that all the people in the world were against them, it happened and they would have to move on from that.
Finally they started to see light from down one of the halls, as they turned the three guild masters stood at the exit, it was an area that led into the ocean. It started to make sense why it took them so long, especially when they had to go through the obstetrical within the sewer. The guild members went looking for the masters when they weren't able to catch the group and were able to release them.
"Did you hurt the young master." Art quickly shot to the obvious, they had left him the keys.
"That cowered fled when he realized that the guild would be after him to let us go free." The whole group took a deep breath, glad that he got away, hoping that he knew some place safe to stay.
"Don't you understand, they promised us a simple life, that they wouldn't hurt anyone if we just did what was asked of us. Why do you have to try and get in their way and put more people at risk, like you did with Crystalis." The oldest said, it was hard to hear, he had a point but it wouldn't be as kind or peaceful as they thought, it was just a way to get them to do what they wanted. They tried not to listen, not to let the words effect them but most of the group was having a hard time listening to these words. Then a horn sounded, Art held a horn in his hand and behind the three masters Vaikuntha rose up and let out a vicious roar, slobber flew from its mouth and drenched the three masters who were now shaking as they turned to see the maw of this giant Whale Dragon baring down on them.
They took off running, giving up on challenging the group and fled, taking the chance to save their own lives over stopping the group, even though they said it would save their people. It was sad, it was as if they were truly only looking out for themselves, who knows what sick ploy they had in mind, what kind of people they would become to survive.
"Come on, we don't really have time to lose right now." Art rushed over to Vaikuntha and the rest soon followed, though at a much slower pace as they all wondered if they were doing the right thing. They felt so confused, they knew nothing of the world and yet they were making world changing choices for everyone. Even if many of the people seemed happy, there were obviously those who didn't agree, like the guild masters. Art pushed at them to hurry, he wanted to get to the last relic before it was to late.
"What if this is a mistake?" Meekle finally said it, he said what most of them were thinking.
"You know that isn't true, why would there even be a need for a story line or heroes of the past or for that matter now, if this wasn't a mistake. What if we let it happen and they destroy the world, we have already seen what the Legion does to people, look what they did to Trinity. That would be the whole of the world if it was up to them." Though this didn't convince all of them they listened and continued on, not ready to just give up. Over time on the trip to the final dungeon it was quiet, everyone letting Arts words sink into them. He had a point and they remembered the horrors they saw when they had to break people out of cages, all of them finding their determination once more, finding their fighting spirit as they approach the final dungeon, the last relic was so close.
They walked up onto this new land, there was nothing, it was quiet, no sign of monsters or anything else. Tree's covered over this small island, all except for the large evil tower that stood before them. Dark clouds covered over it and lightning cracked overhead. They all watched on as the wind pushed and pulled around them, no ships or Legion to be seen, this made them nervous.