Chapter XX: Man in Black

The room which the man in the black cloak entered was dimly lit, flickering candles casting grim shadows across the dank, mildew-encrusted surface of the stone walls. The sconces in which they rested were old and rusted over, the pillars they were attached to themselves enveloped in old cobwebs, some missing bricks from their foundation. As he moved towards the splintered wooden table in the middle of the room, dust followed him, kicked up by his movements from the thick layer it had been resting in on the floor. A thin smile curled the corner of his lip as he came forward, towards one of the termite-chewed chairs circling the round table; there was a sort of ironic romanticism about having a meeting in a place such as this. It was not lost on the man in the black cloak, and he appreciated the humor.

If his fellows were similarly amused, they gave no indication of it as the man in the black cloak took his seat. There were four chairs situated around the small, ill-lit table, each one filled with a body that never removed eyes from the new arrival. The sour squint of the Hume on the black-cloaked man’s right told of his annoyance at having been made to wait at his arrival, and the shavings his knife carved out of the table spoke volumes about where his mind wandered to when he began to get bored. Behind him, two fellow Humes stood defensively, arms clasped behind their backs. They were protective of their master, and the man in the black cloak knew that either one of them was worth a dozen good men. They had both served the bidding of the four to great success so far in these early junctures, and the best was yet to come.

The Tarutaru on his left stared at him with a darkened, intense glare, the fiery powers of his magic burning behind his shadowed eyes. He gave no indication of what he was feeling, but the presence he emitted was palpable. Even in the darkened room, a kind of dim haze hung about him, a filament of light like a visible aura surrounding his body. Though the light was clearly seen, it gave no reflection off of the armor of the enormous Galka standing behind him. His enormous arms folded in front of his barrel-thick chest, the bearded bodyguard stood with a snarl on his face, the sheer massiveness of his body completely blocking the view of anything in front of his Tarutaru master. His armor was dull and blood-stained, spots appearing to be rust under the faulty lighting revealing themselves as the remnants of past victims under closer scrutiny. The Galka’s eyes were wild, and he seemed uncomfortable in these confined quarters. Only the presence of the Tarutaru kept him in line.

Finally, across the table from the man in black sat the man in white. The armor the Elvaan never removed gleamed as if he were in full sunlight, the resplendent royal blue cape he wore around his neck flowing down his back and barely skirting the ground. His massive gauntlets were on the table, next to the unbuckled sword he had placed before him. On the ground, kneeling at his side with her arms pressed into his lap, was the woman in red. The two were ever-silent, and gave no indication of their feelings one way or another. They were crucial to the success of the mission, and so as far as the man in black was concerned they could speak as little as they wanted to. The results they garnered had been unquestionable. Because of them, Jeuno was now firmly in their grasp.

“From now on,” the man in black began as he pulled his chair into the table, “we shall dine in the Ducal palace. The city is ours, I see no reason not to use it.”

“I have no interest,” the Hume said, “in supping with demons. My concern is the next stage of our plan.”

“Yessss . . . “ the Tarutaru chimed in, eyes lowered towards the ground. “Did everything go as planned with the gathering?”

“Almost.” The man in black responded, casting his eyes back towards the Hume. “We are one sacrifice short. We need one more soul to be offered to the Fifth Mothercrystal if all is to go accordingly.”

“The four we collected were not enough?” The Hume angrily demanded, the two other Humes at his back shifting in response to their master’s mood. They were prepared to attack at the blink of an eye. The man in black suppressed a smile. He was so far beyond the two of them it was laughable, but still, he respected their dedication to the Hume. It was commitment like that they needed if they were to succeed.

“Enough for a start, but we cannot sacrifice them to complete the ritual without an offering to the fifth Mothercrystal as well. It must all be very precise. Angra Mainyu was quite explicit in these instructions.”

“You have spoken with him again?” the Tarutaru asked, eyes twitching suddenly. Contact between their benefactor was supposed to be made between all of them, the idea that the man in black had been meeting with the demon lord independently of the rest of them was clearly upsetting.

“Not at all,” the man in black said smoothly, brushing over the subject, “I simply refer to his original instructions. The first half is complete, but the demons are not yet at their full strength. The barriers placed on Dynamis were broken down, but the seals over the Icelands were too strong to destroy with the first spell. This next one is necessary to unleash the full power of the Kindred across Vana’diel, and crush any resistance they meet under foot. Only then will we be able to have access to the true power we seek.”

The eyes of the man in white lit up at this prospect, and he cast a meaningful glare towards the man in black as he took hold of the sword he had placed on the table. The woman in red said nothing, but turned her head away as her master cracked the sheathed sword once against the table, the metallic sound drawing all of their attention. Gauntleted hands on the table, the gleaming warrior stared forward, one hand on the blade, the other pointing a finger towards the man in black.

“I know, my friend,” the man in black said, “you are impatient to receive you reward. To be gifted, as I have been gifted.” From his ring finger, a swirling black glow seemed to perpetuate itself briefly, and then was gone. “Rest assured, you will all receive recompense for your loyalty to the cause. This the Dynamis Lord has promised me.”

“Yes . . . “ the Tarutaru hissed, his eyes burning. “Though it is all just trifles on the road to the power we seek.”

“Power which we will command.” The man in black said definitively. “We must find a fifth soul, that is certain. Also, we need to take care of this situation in Windurst. It is unacceptable.”

“Indeed,” the Tarutaru said bitterly, “I had hoped they would be crushed utterly. Very frustrating.”

“You, my friend,” the man in black said, pointing a gloved hand across the table, “I’m counting on you to finish what the Kindred have started.”

The man in white said nothing, but folded his arms and gave a single nod of his head. He would be gone within the hour, to finalize their victory over the Federation, and the followers of the Star Sibyl.

“Excellent,” the man in black smiled, then continued on. “Of course, there is also the Magicite . . . which we will deal with in due time, but there is also the issue of . . . that other problem.”

They all remained silent for a moment, the candlelight flickering around them. It was the Hume who broke the silence, a large fist taking a chunk out of the table as he knocked his knife into it again. “The Four Winds,” he spat out with disgust, “their very existence is a problem.”

“They cannot be allowed to survive any longer.” The man in black declared. “Fortunately,” he said, an oily smile creeping up his face, “I have discovered their whereabouts.”

“What?” the Tarutaru demanded, and even the man in white leaned forward at this. “Where? How?”

“The Four Winds are all connected, my friend.” He responded slyly, with an expansive gesture of his hands, “the magic of one begets the magic of the other. One of them was foolish enough to make his lair in the ruins beneath Beaucedine Glacier. The Kindred have been unable to break through his wards, but it was easy to pinpoint his location once they were through. I just received word from the demons today; they were able to trace the flow of magic leading out of his stronghold to its point of origin – three different points of origin, to be exact.”

“The lairs of the Four Winds,” the Hume said excitedly, “in our grasp. Once we destroy them . . . “

“Vana’diel is ours.”


“Oh dear, I appear to have dropped my monocle. Ah, there it is.”

Harutaru polished the tiny glass surface of his eyepiece, and then promptly fell to the ground as an explosion rocked Heaven’s Tower. “Oh dear, oh dear,” he fretted, the Tarutaru picking himself up again and brushing off the front of his robes, “where is Darutaru when I really need him?”

The siege of Windurst had lasted for over two weeks now, ever since the demons had appeared in the skies over the city. With the vast power at their disposal, the Star Sibyl and her council had erected a barrier around the entirety of the great tree from which she ruled, and all of the population of the city that had been fortunate enough to survive the initial shock had been herded inside. It was barbaric, and the struggle had more than taken its toll on the wizards. Even the most skilled were at their limit, trying to hold off the demon armies. All manner of defense had been raised, but nothing seemed to work in driving them away. No matter how strong a spell was brought to destroy the demons attacking the barrier, more always came. It was beginning to look hopeless.

“If only my big brother were here,” Zoranos sighed as he helped Harutaru to his feet. “He could do something about this.”

“I don’t know, old chap,” Harutaru said sadly, “I don’t think anyone can help us out of this spot. Oh, if only Darutaru hadn’t gone off with those adventurers! Together we could really show those demons what-for.”

“You there!” they heard a voice snap from behind them, and they both turned sharply. “Why aren’t you holding the line?”

“We’re sorry, Captain Dieggo,” Zoranos said, “the demons got through another section, there was some fighting. We just got the barrier back up.”

The angry little face of Captain Dieggo fumed at the two. “Then it sounds to me like they need you more than ever! Get back to your posts before there’s trouble-ouble, and I don’t mean from the demons!”

“Yikes!” Harutaru exclaimed.

“We’re going!” Zoranos answered, as the two panicked in front of Dieggo. Turning, they both ran back out towards the walls of Heaven’s Tower, to reapply their magic to the fading shell keeping the people of Windurst from extermination. The Captain sighed, feeling every bit of the weight of the great sword strapped to his back. He felt fatigue sweep over him for a second, but shook it off with great personal effort, regaining his focus and concentrating on the task at hand – being the defense of Windurst. Lately, there were no other tasks but that one to consider. Ever since those demons had appeared, all lines of contact between Windurst and the outside world had been severed, and their only appeal for aid had not returned for weeks. With no respite in sight, the future of the Federation seemed painfully clear.

“Captain Dieggo! Captain Dieggo!” The Tarutaru knight turned at the sound of his voice being shouted, and saw the bedraggled form of the black mage, Tskeun, running towards him. The robed figure stopped short of the captain, catching his breath. Dieggo waited impatiently as Tskeun called for a moment to compose himself, clearly having run from wherever it was he had just come from.

“What, what?!” Dieggo finally demanded. Tskeun stood up straight, taking a deep breath, and then blurted out;

“There are people in the secret tunnels! The demons must have found our way out!”

Fear gripped Dieggo instantly. If the demons had truly discovered the hidden entrance into Heaven’s Tower, that could be it. Gritting his teeth, he pushed Tskeun forward, urging him on. “Don’t just stand-aru there, show me!” he demanded, and the exhausted Tskeun gave a whimper of discord as he was forced to begin running again.

Further and further down the two went, even as the alarm was sounded all throughout the tower. The faces of Tarutaru and Mithra living inside the tower for safety poked out of every corner as the tiny form of Captain Dieggo bolted down the hallways and steps, making his way to the central teleporter. Drawing his gleaming black blade, he hefted it in both hands and stepped onto the magic circle, instantly feeling his body go weightless. For a moment it seemed to him as if he were nowhere at all, an infinite void that stretched on forever. The next instant, his perception shifted, and he found himself standing in the torch-lit halls of the lower basements of Heaven’s Tower, rooted deep within the earth of Quon. There was a flash behind him, and Tskeun stepped out of the device as well, gasping for air with his overtaxed lungs.

“They’re here!” Tskeun rasped, struggling to draw breath, “I can feel the magic alarms going off, they’re about to –“

Before he could finish, the chamber door leading to the hidden tunnels swung open. Tskeun gave a shriek, and Dieggo ground his teeth and held his sword up defensively. A moment later, however, it clattered to the ground. He dropped it in disbelief, and the Captain’s tiny jaw hung open at what he saw.

It was Titania. And she was not alone. The Mithra ranger they had sent to try and find help for the struggling defense forces of Windurst had finally returned. There was an enormous Galka with her, as well as a black-haired Hume, and another Mithra garbed in flowing white robes. Behind them stood a hardened-looking man with an empty quiver of arrows at his back, eagle-sharp eyes examining the room.

“Good to be back,” Titania said, smiling at the sight of the dumbstruck Captain Dieggo. “Now, who do we fight?”