Talking while riding a speedscale going its very fastest isn't easy, so when Maria has wanted to tell me something, she's been working on figuring out other ways of getting my attention. On our way to the Old Capital, Maria grabs my left shoulder. Understanding that she wants to speak, now, I signal for Kobo to slow down.

“See that?” She says, pointing to our left. Looking in that direction, past the big rock, I just barely see signs that someone camped there. Used firewood, bones, presumably from the animals they ate... yeah, a traveler definitely stopped here. “What do you think, Yrza?” She looks expectantly at me. “Us, too?”

I look up. The sun does seem about ready to set. I'm getting pretty hungry, too. “Okay, we'll make camp here. Take us over, Kobo.” The speedscale, hearing that, does as commanded.

“Huh?”

Wait. When I looked over there, I don't remember seeing a person. Yet, there she is, sitting there, clear as day. How could I have overlooked her? Maybe she was behind the rock? I dunno.

“Oh. Yrza, do you think it's still okay to camp here? That girl is...”

“Let's just go and ask her,” I say, hopping out of the saddle and walking over, keeping my hand on the hilt of my sword, just in case she tries to pull something. As I approach, she doesn't seem to hold any ill intent for us, however. In fact, I just realized I might end up looking like the bad guy, here.

“Hello, there. You listening?” I say, sitting down in front of the burned firewood, opposite the dark-skinned, grey-haired girl. She hasn't looked at me a single time. Wonder if she's even noticed that there are other people here? “Me and my friend over there, we're just travelers. We don't want to cause you any trouble.”

No response. She doesn't even look up from the paper she's reading. She's probably ignoring me. Must be something pretty important. Looking at her, I now notice, on her short-sleeved arms, the Rune Complexes on her skin. They don't look familiar to me, resembling a slithering snake, somewhat. Grandall never told me about this Complex before. I wonder...

“Is it okay if we camp here? We won't disturb you.” To be honest, I kind of feel like I might be bothering her just having come over here. I look at Maria and can see her getting impatient. All I can do is shrug.

“I don't mind if you camp here, but I wouldn't do that if I were you.”

“What?”

Ah, so she does talk. Looking back at her, I see that she has looked up from her book and is watching me with purple eyes. Purple eyes that seem to have certain something... supernatural to them.

“Why should we not stay here? Is there some danger? Beasts, or something?”

“There's a strong grudge, here. Resentment from a left over lost soul. I don't blame you if you can't feel it, though. If you sleep here, you might not wake up, for the anger of the dead may take you as you slumber.”

“Ghost stories, huh? You sure know how to set the mood,” I joke, knowing full well that she could be dead serious. I can tell by looking at her face, expression still and cold as stone. “Hm. You're not messing around, are you?”

“Not even the slightest bit,” she says. “I mean it. Your lives could be in danger. I suggest you camp somewhere else.”

“Oh, and why are you here?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “If it's dangerous, you shouldn't be here, either, right?”

“This is my test,” she says. “My master told me that if I could get rid of a ghost, and prove I did it, she'll recognize me as a Dark Rune Master and allow me to travel to the Old Capital.”

“A Dark Rune Master!?” My suspicions are confirmed. Suddenly, I feel very wary of her. Grandall never spoke well of those who practiced the dark arts. “You...”

“Relax,” she says, reaching out. “I won't hurt you. I don't use the Dark Rune Complexes lightly. You have my word.” That's the closest I've seen her get to being emotional since I sat down with her. Maybe she's being honest? To be fair to her, I don't think she's lied to me a single time, not once. Still... Dark Rune Complexes... I can't let my guard down.

“You say I have your word, but words are wind,” I say, feeling a bit bad about being so suspicious of her, but not being able to help it. There's just too much I don't know.

She looks at Maria, who has come to stand near us. “Your girl is tired and hungry, isn't she? I can share the food I've cooked and help you watch over her as she sleeps.”

“S... something about you calling her that makes me uncomfortable. She has a name, y'know.”

“Oh. Here I was thinking you two wouldn't want to give your names to a Dark Rune freak like me.”

Somehow, her words stung me. Only now do I truly realize how much of an ass I'm making of myself. If she really is being completely truthful with me, then I've been pretty awful, to her, really. “Sorry.”

“I'm Maria,” she says, probably guessing that I was about to introduce her but deciding to do it herself. “I won't lie, the Dark Runic Arts make me uncomfortable, but you yourself don't seem too bad.” She smiles, first at the other girl, then at me. “Yrza, I'm sure she's okay.”

“Looks like I'll have to swallow my pride, once again,” I say, reaching out for a handshake. “My name is Yrza.” She shakes my hand. “Hope I didn't offend too much.”

“It's okay,” she says, giving my hand back. “Call me Fal.”

“Nice to meet you. Let's start over, okay?”

At the moment, she's digging through her bag. Eventually, she pulls out a cooked bird, almost entirely uneaten. “It's still pretty warm,” she says, handing it to us, “and if you ask my opinion, pretty delicious.”

Maria is the one who takes it. “Thanks.” She immediately starts tearing into the bird.

“Yrza, right?” says Fal, looking at me. “That insignia on your shirt looks familiar.”

“You recognize it? It's Master Grandall's.”

“That Master Grandall?” I nod. “You're his student, then?”

“Well, I was.”

“Not anymore, huh,” Fal says, seeming to be thinking about it. “What happened?”

I sigh. “He died. That was about a week ago, I think.”

“H-he's really dead!?” I nod in response. She averts her eyes, seeming like she's having a bit of trouble with the information I've just given her.

“Is something wrong, Fal?”

“Um... I'm fine. Forgive me,” she says, before letting out a long sigh. “At the very least, she might be happy about this.”

“'She'?”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“My master. Lady Eiha.”

“Her, huh. To think that both Rune Masters of the Imperial Four would take on students.”

Fal nods. “Yrza, for what it's worth, I remember the great things said about Master Grandall, and I respect him highly. Eiha, though, bitterly hates the man, even now.”

“I don't blame her,” I say, completely honest. “Grandall didn't think very well of her either.”

“So I've heard. In particular, I was always told Grandall hated the Dark Runic Arts she practiced. He called it unnatural, and said humans aren't meant to touch it. Master Eiha had admired the man up until she realized that.”

“I can imagine it must have hurt.”

“That's what she always tells me. She not only ignored Grandall's advice, she went directly against it to spite him, delving deeper and deeper into the dark arts, to the point that the citizens of the Empire became afraid of her. The others of the Imperial Four had abandoned her. Emperor Raul, worried for his people, had her banished.”

“That's a little different from how Master Grandall told me it happened. He said that the rest of the Four tried to talk her out of messing with Dark Runic Arts, but she wouldn't listen.”

“Well...” she shrugs. “I guess only the gods know how it really happened. This next part, however, isn't widely talked about, but I know it to be fact.” Fal runs a hand through her hair. “Eiha's reputation got so bad that when the Ghost Hurricane hit, people thought it was her doing. They thought she made it happen, to get revenge on all the people that wronged her. They hated her even more. Started witch hunts, just like you see in the stories, wanting to burn her at the stake. She lives alone, now, in a house near the Garrett River, north of here,” she says, pointing. “Now, the only other person she has is me.”

“Damn, I don't know what to say. Sounds like Lady Eiha has had it pretty hard,” I say, now looking over at Maria enjoying that bird. Please don't eat all of it. “Do you even feel like speaking to me? Everything I learned came from the man who helped cast out your master, after all.”

“It doesn't have to be like that. Lady Eiha is important to me, but the way I see it, her problems are her own. Whatever Grandall did or said to her doesn't have to affect me. That goes for you, too. I don't hold any grudge against you for being Grandall's student, and you don't need to feel guilty for him.”

“I guess you're right. Thanks.”

“Aren't you hungry, Yrza?” Maria asks, or at least, I think that's what she said... her mouth is full of food. “Come on, eat some.”

“Yeah. Give me it.”

Maria swallows. “Okay.” She tears a large chunk of meat from the bird and moves it to my face.

“What are you doing?” I ask, looking at her hand, then her face.

“Open up! Say: 'aaah'...” she opens her mouth wide. “Like that.” Maria thrusts the meat at me again.

“Don't be silly! Just give me the—”

“Come on! Let me feed you! I wanna do it, just... hold still! Stop it!”

“Ah ha ha ha ha ha!”

Well, I guess it's good someone is enjoying this. “What are you laughing at, Fal?”

“You two are funny. Why would I not laugh?” She says, still chuckling a bit. “You two are such a strange pair. I have to ask, what brings you two out here? Are you friends, or...”

“We, uh...” Maria seems a bit caught off guard. “You've heard of the Redwolf family, right? We, along with an aristocrat from Wingsgrave, have been funding the work of an alchemist that lives in the Old Capital. He's been working on something that he thinks might stop The Decay.” Now, she looks at me. “As for him...”

“...I'm looking into the Ghost Hurricane. Sir Agil of the Imperial Four is said to still be in the Old Capital, and people say he knows some interesting things about what happened. I'd like to ask him about it.”

“Interesting,” Fal says, watching her feet, maybe pondering something. “Yrza, Maria, what do you think--” she stops speaking, and suddenly looks around, as if alerted to something.

“Something wrong, Fal?”

Then I feel it, too. A shiver runs down my spine as if an icicle was laid on my back. This is a new sensation, but I can't guess at too many other things it could be.

“Yrza, Maria, come over here.”

Immediately understanding what's happening, both Maria and I go running to her side. “Give me your hands, both of you.” I hesitate. I know that the ghost is nearby, but-- “Just do it. Trust me.” With a little nod, I do as she says. Fal then closes her eyes, and the Rune Complexes on her hands and face give off a mysterious purple glow.

“See what is not seen and hear what is not heard. I command the power of darkness.”

And then...

“What the!?”

In a blink of my eyes, both Maria and Fal are bathed in a strange light. Watching Maria's face, I can only assume she's experiencing the same phenomenon.

“It'll only last a short while,” Fal says, stepping forward. “Look, there.” She points.

“Oh, shit.”

Another person covered in that same light is there. No... it's as if he is made of that light. Without a doubt, that has to be the ghost I felt.

“What have I done wrong?” He says, to himself. “Why did things happen the way they did? Did the Emperor lie to us? He said we would be able to live relaxed and happy for the rest of our lives, didn't he? So why did things turn out the way they did?” It's a bit difficult for me to see it, but he is crying. “Why did my wife and son starve to death!? Why was I killed by wasters who took what little I had left!? Is this what that bastard Raul and his lapdogs wanted!?” The sadness in his voice is turning to anger. He looks at us, perhaps realizing that we know he is there. “I want to see them suffer and die for what they've done! I will destroy them myself! One of you, grant me your flesh, so I may punish my oppressors!” He speaks as if Raul and his Law are still around. Does he not know? “I have waited far too long!” Wait, shit, here he comes! What do I do!? “Come here!”

My first thought is to try and run from him, but before I can even turn, Fal is between me and the ghost, a silver knife with an unfamiliar Rune Complex carved into it in her hands. Before he can get any closer, Fal stabs him with the knife.

“Argh!”

“What the hell?” He reacts as if he has been stabbed! I'd never expect a solid weapon to work on something like this. Perhaps this is the power of the dark arts at work.

“Stop fighting, you who should not be,” Fal says, calm. “Emperor Raul is dead, his rule ended in ruins, and the wasters are, for the most part, a thing of the past. There is no one to take revenge on.”

“Is that so? I... I can see in your eyes that you do not lie.”

“Indeed, I speak the truth. You saw the Ghost Hurricane, did you not?”

“Ah, so that's what that was... I believe you.” He's starting to fade away. “Do you think I've kept my family waiting?”

“Most likely,” Fal says, sounding cold as ever, but I can somehow feels that she means what she says. “You wouldn't want them to worry any longer, would you?”

“You're right. Guess I should go.” He's getting very hard to see. Looks like he's going away for good. “Thanks for seeing me off, you kind kids. Maybe if the future is in your hands, it'll be alright.”

“Rest in peace.”

With that, he is gone. I can't see him anymore.

“Fal, it looks like you did it,” Maria says. “You put him to rest.”

“Yeah,” she says, looking at the knife.

“How are you gonna prove you did it? You did say you would have to bring back proof.”

“I imagine the Rune Complex's power has worn off of you two, by now,” she says, showing the knife to us. “You might not be able to see it, but I can, and Lady Eiha will, too. This 'phantom blood' that covers the knife... that will be my proof.”

“I see. That's good, then. I'm...” the next few words don't come easily for me. They go against so many things I've believed up to this point. Still, I feel I should say them. It's only right. “I'm happy for you, Fal.”

Hearing that, she smiles. It's such a warm, genuine smile that I don't feel could possibly come from someone who would use the power she has for any ill intentions. “Thank you, Yrza.” She goes back to sitting near the used firewood. “If you wouldn't mind, would you two like to camp with me, here? We can all get going in the morning.”

I look at Maria to see what she thinks. She just smiles.

“Yeah, we'll rest here, for tonight. I'm grateful that you'll have us here.”

“Well, what can I say? I'm happy to have some company out here.”

I nod. “Well, I'll make us a new fire.”

“Are you sure?” Asks Fal. “I can go look for some more wood.”

“Nah, it's okay,” I say. “You helped us, so now we'll help you.” I look at Maria. “Right?”

“Of course.”

Fal smiles again. “You two really are a strange pair.”

And so the rest of the night goes.

The three of us, sitting around the fire, enjoying eachother's company... at first, I thought I wouldn't like having so many other people around, but it seems like I was wrong. In fact, I've started to enjoy my time around other people more than I ever have. I wonder, did Grandall want me to eventually go outside, partly so that I could be around other people again? I guess I have one more thing to be thankful to him for.