Subj: [ffml] [HD] Well, Shit. Date: 01-02-17 15:38:04 EST From: darklord@compusmart.ab.ca (His Dark Lordship) Reply-to: ffml@yahoogroups.com To: ffml@yahoogroups.com (ffml), hilliondynasty@egroups.com (Hillion Dynasty) "And wipe that smile off your face!" Kefka chuckled. Aracalen had been in a bit of a tizzy since he had told him they were being followed by an esper and Kefka had kicked his ass. Well, that wasn't the only reason he was in a tizzy, but the other reasons were a pretty good reason to be in a tizzy. "Fine, fine." The gates to the cave were before them. Aracalen was muttering some odd prayer now as Kefka walked in jollily. Finally, Aracalen strolled in after him. "Kefka, what are you doing?" "Check this flail out." Kefka held a large flail that on it's end held a ball of the purest crystal. "Supernova. Nardok the Terrible weilded that in the battle against the dragons." "Excuse me?" "Nothing. You want it? It's yours." Kefka chuckled. He wasn't exactly intent on asking if he could have it anyway. "Now, then, where is that map..." muttered Aracalen as he began fumbling against the walls. Kefka continued to mill about, across the shelves and shelves of artefacts. One item grasped his eyes. It was a gem. The odd part of this gem though was it seemed to give off an aura. An aura of... nothingness? It was hard for KEfka to figure out. Beside it was a similiar gem, one that seemed to give off a sort of magnetic aura of mana, attached to a staff. "Hmm... these will be interesting." Kefka grabbed the first gem and pocketted it. When he grabbed the staff, however, his hand ignited. "YEOW!" "What!?!" yelled Aracalen, sounding his usual annoyed self. "Apparantly this crystal doesn't like me. Well, I'll show it!" Kefka grabbed it again, and his hand ignited again. "OWCH!" "Dammit, quit clowning around." Aracalen stopped. He then began to laugh. "Very funny, nerdboy." grumbled Kefka. "Now where's this fucking map of yours?" Aracalen stopped laughing, remembering why he was angry in the first place. "It's not here, and there is reason for me to believe that someone has been here recently." "YOu mean the reason we came here isn't here anymore." Aracalen nodded. "Fucking lovely. Man, doesn't that just float my boat." "Not exactly impressive. So, we need to find this map. Any suggestions?" "How about we head back to Baron for now, where we can aquire an airship. We can use that to track whoever has the map." Aracalen nodded. "Sounds good to me. Let's move." -- The eternal lord of darkness... Subj: [ffml] [HD] Obsidian Date: 01-02-17 15:51:10 EST From: darklord@compusmart.ab.ca (His Dark Lordship) Reply-to: ffml@yahoogroups.com To: ffml@yahoogroups.com (ffml), hilliondynasty@egroups.com (Hillion Dynasty) Thanatos gazed over the valley. Ladaku and the party had left the morning earlier. Now, as he kept his distance, he merely was forced to contemplate. One would assume a person who lived for over fourty thousand years would have much to contemplate. The rifts of the essence had told him that the Black Knight, Golbez, had returned, and was hunting for the crystals neccesary to open the way to the Crystal Peak. It was only a matter of time before Kefka and Aracalen decided the same thing, whilst the others were still oblivious. Thanatos twirled the black gemstone in his hand. It absorbed the sunlight that shone upon it. The Crystal of Darkness had been in his possession for thousands of years. He had never let it off his person. Why was anyone's guess, but he felt it somewhat appropiate. Though in the the current situation, his instincts told him he should give it away; instincts that he fought with every stretch of strength he could. It appeared when he was becoming too righteous, the dark powers within him seemed to attempt to turn his nose to something a bit more chaotic. The group below him seemed to be in a commotion. He was spotted. Slowly he got up and walked away. * * * * * * * "We're being followed! AUUUUUUGH!" screamed the Northern Paladin as the figure walked away. "Aye, shut up, fool." grumbled Burdock as he slapped him. "FUCK YOU! I'M THE NORTHERN PALADIN, MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY AND I KNOW MARTIAL ARTS!" "We know... we know... grumbled Arcanis as he stumbled about. Celeste walked up and placed her arm around his shoulder, lifting his arm over hers. Although the esper was proud, he was still too weak to protest. The fight with Kefka had drained him considerably. "It appears..." grunted Ladaku "That certain powers have taken an interest in these events. Come, the Arsenal of the Gods should be coming up soon." Slowly the band returned to their so called march. -- The eternal lord of darkness... Subj: [ffml] [HD] The Crystal of Ether Date: 01-02-18 12:40:24 EST From: dshumate@bbtel.com (Shumate) Reply-to: ffml@yahoogroups.com To: ffml@yahoogroups.com (Final Fantasy Mailing List), HillionDynasty@egroups.com (Hillion Dynasty Mailing List) "We know... we know..." Arcanis muttered irritably, in response to the Northern Paladin, before stumbling again. An Elixer, foul as it tasted, had repaired most of the damage to his body, but he felt weaker from sheer exhaustion than anything else. Celeste steadied him with a helping hand. "It appears," Ladaku grunted, "that certain powers have taken an interest in these events. Come, the Arsenal of the Gods should be coming up soon." Arcanis glanced back at the ridge as he climbed unsteadily back onto his chocobo. During their break for lunch, Northern Paladin had practically gone insane with worry as he spotted the figure on the ridge, which had now retreated. Arcanis wondered idly why a deity would be spying on them-- gods and goddesses usually didn't interfere directly in mortal affairs, much less when an Esper was present. All the Espers banded together would be powerful indeed, and neither the gods of the planet or the Espers really cared to find out the outcome of such a confrontation. Arcanis glanced sidelong at Ladaku, wondering if the mysterious Lizar had identified the being as a deity as well, as the party rode down a steep hill. A small mountain rose not far off, eroded so that it was eerily similar to the visage of Pat Buchanan. Before Arcanis could wonder about that further, his thoughts were interrupted by the realization of just how close they were to Kefka. Arcanis grimaced, wondering if, in his condition, he would even survive confronting Kefka again, even with friends around. The party warily made their way to the steep foothills that lead upwards to the Arsenal of Gods before dismounting, keenly aware that Kefka could be waiting to strike at any moment. Arcanis has read and heard of the Arsenal of Gods a few times before... a few Espers had probably created some of the weapons within the fabled caverns. The party spread out after a few quiet moments of planning on how to assault Kefka, silently-- or loudly in the case of Northern Paladin-- climbing the foot hills before reaching the wide mouth of the cavern. The only sounds that emanated from the cavern was the rhythmic dripping of water upon stone. "HEY! Looks like it's empty, guys!" Northern Paladin said loudly, making everyone jump and scowl at him. The idiot strode confidently through the cave entrance and, after several minutes of not hearing blood-curdling screams of pain, the rest of the party cautiously followed. The Arsenal of Gods was an interesting sight indeed. Ancient weapons of power lined the walls and made piles on the ground. Ancient tomes of magic and knowledge made tall, precariously balanced stacks towards the ceiling. Artifacts littered the ground and were strewn upon tables and shelves that lined the walls. Arcanis wondered idly who would put all this stuff in some obscure cave. "They're gone..." Ladaku grunted, glancing around the room. "Well..." Lia said hesitantly, "Then where did they go?" Arcanis was already examining his scrying crystal, which flickered with images and colors for several moments before he let it go still. "It looks like Kefka's headed back to Baron," Arcanis stated disbelievingly. "What?" Burdock said gruffly. "How'd he get past us?" "He probably circled around us... he shouldn't be too hard to catch, he's only a few miles away," Arcanis said, pocketing the scrying crystal and stumbling dizzily from the small amount of mana he had used to invoke it. He grimaced, still unbelieving at how powerful Kefka had been. To win, Arcanis knew he would need something to help him out... Cataclysm would surely destroy Kefka, but Arcanis wasn't sure he ever wanted to chance invoking that again. He scanned the walls stacked with weapons and artifacts, and felt his eyes drawn to one item in particular. Arcanis moved closer to examine it. An long staff, taller than himself, and topped by a large, fist sized crystal. The crystal gave off a powerful ambience of pure mana, more than anything else in the cavern. Arcanis, intrigued, took the staff from the wall. Arcanis gasped in surprise as his hands closed around the staff. He could tell it was warded against evil beings touching it, but that enchantment didn't affect him. However, when he gripped the staff, he felt a wave of energy rush through his body, washing away his mental and physical fatigue instantly. He stared at the weapon appreciatively. The staff was made of a light, seemingly indestructible metal that he couldn't identity, carved with runes, and warm to the touch. But Arcanis was more interested in the crystal that topped it... the octahedronal crystal was overflowing with pure mana, several times more than Arcanis could use himself... *This will surely let me beat Kefka...* Arcanis thought to himself, hefting the strange staff, feeling as well as he had before the fight. *Now if I can just get to him again...*