As Mathias went into another story, the other four excused themselves and left Mathias' house. Mlician took Ron, Thomas, and Alice to his own dwelling place, a small two-room house towards the outskirts of the village.
"I hope you found Mathias' story useful. Despite its ending, he really does like to tell it," said Mlician.
"That's good. For a little while I was worried I upset him," commented Ron.
Mlician smiled and shook his head, "On the contrary, normally he refuses to go into such detail at the end of his story. Your presence and what you are working towards seems to have had a positive effect on him. Tell me, do you think your travels will take you to Samanao by any chance?"
"At some point I'm sure we will. It sounds like we'll have to keep on our toes over there, if we can even find a way in," confirmed Ron.
"Well it's not like we've never cracked open seals before," said Alice cheerfully. "I'm sure we'll find a way around this one."
"Oh great," said Thomas sarcastically. "Then all we have to do is convince what will probably be the most hostile government we've encountered yet to go against a decade of their foreign policy to help us."
"Before you do that, you may want to see if you can find the Sword of Gaia," suggested Mlician. "If you could show the king of Samanao what the Archfiend is capable of, even he may have to come around."
"Actually we've been working on that," said Alice. "We came across an old Portogan legend that says 'whoever can gather the six orbs can travel anywhere they wish without a ship.' We've managed to gather four of them. We were wondering if anyone here knows about the last two."
Mlician was noticeably surprised by this latest bit of information, "Wait, did you say you have four of the orbs!" he asked excitedly. "I never thought it possible!"
"You're familiar with the legend?" asked Alice, as surprised by Mlician's reaction as he was to hear about the group's progress.
"That I am," said Mlician, calming down a bit. "But I had never dreamed that a group of people could gather so many of the orbs! The mere idea of gathering six objects scattering randomly throughout the world…"
"Sir," cut in Thomas. "Can you validate that this legend is more than a myth? We've been gathering the orbs but are unsure as to what we will find should we acquire them all."
"Ah but why accept the validation of an old man when you can see for yourselves?" asked Mlician. "Far to the west of here is the frozen land of Liamland. Towards the center of that land is a shrine. Bring the orbs you have with you. You will find the answers you need there."
"Ha! I told you!" yelled Alice with glee, pointing at Thomas. Thomas gave her a confused look and she went on, "I told you it was more than a nursery rhyme! I told you!"
Ron, Thomas, and Mlician were all giving Alice strange looks and so she went on, "When we first heard about the orbs you said it was just some nursery rhyme!"
"Would you stop shouting?" asked an irritated Thomas.
"Didn't we first hear about the orbs months ago?" asked Ron.
"Seven months and 17 days ago, to be exact," replied Alice, her voice lowered but her grin just as large.
"Please tell me you don't remember every argument you ever have just so you can prove yourself right later," said Ron exasperatedly.
"I wouldn't put it past her," said Thomas with a scowl on his face.
A cough from Mlician reminded the three of where they were.
"Sorry Mlician," apologized Ron.
"Oh do not be so sorry," said Mlician with a chuckle. "It is nice to see the fire of youth around here again. But I believe we should get back on track. Do you have a map I could use? I wish to show you where you can find the shrine I was speaking of."
"Hey guys! We may have a way into Samanao after all!" said Suzanne excitedly when she returned to the other three.
"How's that?" asked Ron.
"Remember when we were hunting for the Final Key? We came across Zlistan in Greenlad. Just before that, we came across a shrine which had three traveler's gates we couldn't get to because we didn't have the Final Key yet. We kind of forgot about it after finding the Key because we wanted to visit Jipang and after that we've always had a lead to go on. It turns out that one of those traveler's gates goes to Samanao! The sealed doors were put up by the Samanaon authorities after they caught Mathias and Simon," explained Suzanne.
"Did he have any idea why those Samanaon soldiers at the Tower of Arp acted like they did? Or what they were doing there in the first place?" asked Thomas.
"No he didn't. He did confirm that they wore the colors and armor of Samanao though. It makes me wonder if the king hasn't also heard of the Portogan legend and is actively trying to keep people from finding the orbs," said Suzanne.
"Well in any case, that's great news Susie!" exclaimed Alice. "It turns out Mlician had more to tell us as well. Tom, why don't you tell her what she told us?" Alice lightly ribbed Thomas as she talked, prompting another scowl from him.
"He was very excited when he heard we have four of the six orbs," explained Ron, when Tom refused to give Alice the satisfaction. "It seems he's also familiar with the Portogan legend, and by the sounds of it he believes it whole-heartedly. When we asked if he could tell us more about it he recommended we go to the frozen land of Liamland. He marked it on a map for us."
"And what would that mean, Tom?" asked Alice, further taunting Thomas.
"It would mean that over seven months ago when we first heard about the orbs and had nothing more than one sentence to go on for information that I, not wishing us to go on a wild goose chase and waste our time when there is so much to be done, was wrong about the validity and importance of that sentence," replied Thomas. His next sentence almost dripped with sarcasm, "I apologize for questioning the legend and you Alice."
Not appearing to notice the sarcasm, Alice cheerfully replied, "Oh no apologies necessary Tom. It's a sign of strength to admit when you're wrong."
"Okay before Tom decides that our group would be better off as three instead of four," cut in Suzanne, "it sounds like we have two possible destinations. What do you guys think?"
"I say we go to Liamland," said Alice, drawing another glare from Thomas. "It's not just to prove you wrong," continued Alice defensively, "but it would be nice to see what we've been working for. Tom is right about one thing, we've only had one sentence and the beyond-coincidental presence of the orbs and the Echoing Flute. And Mlician really wants us to visit Liamland. He said we'd find all our answers there."
"As much as I hate to say it, I agree with Alice," conceded Thomas. "Our mission in Samanao, whether it is to find the Sword or convince them to join us or both, will be much more difficult and likely take much longer. From what Mlician told us, the trip to Liamland will not be too difficult so long as the captain is able to navigate the frozen waters. So we may as well get the easy trip out of the way first."
"Yeah and I have to say, even as someone who knows nothing about magic, these orbs have my curiosity," said Ron. "We keep hearing about them and keep finding them but we still have no idea what they do. Let's go to Liamland and find out."
"How do you think I earned my reputation of losing my marbles?" laughed Captain Marbeley, after the four had asked if he could make the journey to Liamland. "My crew and I made the trip to Liamland once! It wasn't the easiest but it can be done!"
"Why'd you go to Liamland?" asked Ron.
"To prove we could! Everyone said we couldn't do it. There ended up being quite a lot of money riding on the trip," recalled the captain fondly. "Paid for the trip and a little extra! Of course, if they had been smart they would have bet that I couldn't get the ship to dock on Liamland itself."
"Wait, you didn't dock on Liamland?" asked Alice.
"Heavens no! I'm not that crazy!" the captain laughed again. "The bet only said that I couldn't step foot on its frozen tundra. So we went as close as we dared and then used rowboats to go the rest of the way. It wasn't too far."
"If you're sure you can make it, let's go right away,"
said Suzanne.
"Consider it done Susie!" beamed Marbeley. He then yelled at the rest of the crew, "Okay gents! We're going back to Liamland!" His announcement was met with a chorus of cheers and shouts.
"All this excitement to go to what is probably one of the coldest and most miserable places on the planet?" commented Thomas.
Ron chuckled, "He and his crew have definitely earned their reputation. I'm glad we have such a spirited group to help us out."
The Mad Hound had to sail for a few hours to escape the anti-magic field around Luzami. After that they teleported to Aliahan to pick up the orbs they had in storage there. Then they teleported to Lancel, which was the closest they could get to Liamland. They made sure to stock up on supplies in Lancel, including heavy coats to fight the cold. They set off the next day for Liamland.
After two days of sailing southwest they began coming across some icebergs. Captain Marbeley had the ship reduce its speed but continued onwards, as the day was clear and so visibility was very good. But the closer they came to the icy land the more treacherous the waters became. After a couple hours, the captain declared that they would have to row the rest of the way.
After some extra hours of rowing the group finally laid their feet on Liamland. Unfortunately, the day was nearly over by this point and so the group would be subjected to the merciless elements of Liamland. Or so they would have been if not for Alice. She was able to cast a spell that helped keep out the elements in the night. She had to be woken up every couple hours in order to renew the spell and the four still had to wear their heavy coats and use their heavy blankets but they managed to survive the night.
The next day they continued their journey to the center of the frozen land. Thankfully, the land was not very large and Mlician had been sure to provide a very accurate location for them to go for. The four reached a large shrine that had a giant statue of a magnificent looking bird on its roof.
"My goodness!" exclaimed Alice. "This place looks amazing!"
"You know what this statue makes me think of?" asked Ron.
"The Tower of Arp?" suggested Suzanne.
"Yeah. If you were going to make a statue of a god-bird, wouldn't it look something like this?" asked Ron.
"Wait! What if the orbs have something to do with the god-bird?" wondered Alice.
"This is all very exciting guys but don't you think we could go in and see for ourselves? Inside, where we won't have this frigid wind coming at us?" suggested Thomas.
The other three conceded the point and entered the shrine. The shrine was made up of a single room but it was extravagantly dedicated. On all the walls were pictures of the same magnificent bird that was on the roof statue. These pictures depicted a large bird adorned with beautiful gold and blue feathers. Several of the pictures depicted great battles in which the god-bird had appeared in. Some of these featured the bird casting spells and using its vicious beak and clothes to fight on its own and some featured the bird ferrying brave heroes into battle. There were also six golden thrones arranged in a circle around the middle of the room.
Also in the room were two elven women. They were dressed in plain white dresses and had long green hair. They were standing in front of square portion of the floor which was sending up sparks for no discernable reason. In the middle of this dangerous looking floor was a normal portion upon which rested a large golden egg. As the four entered they realized that the elven women were in the middle of a song:
We are
Protecting the egg
The god-bird was killed
Dark Sky Guardian
Xlysinil would claim
Victory that day
We are
Protecting the egg
The god-bird is not
Held in thrall by death
A phoenix she is
She will rise again
We are
Protecting the egg
When the six orbs placed
On the golden thrones
Phoenix Ramia
Will come back to life
After three verses of their song, the four realized that the women were looping the song. Suzanne tried to get their attention. The elves turned around and acknowledged the group but did not miss a single note of their song. When they came to the line "Protecting the egg" they gestured towards the egg in the middle of the room.
"Can you tell us anything about the orbs, the egg, or the god-bird besides your song?" asked Suzanne. The two women simply kept singing their song. Suzanne tried asking them some other questions, but the women refused to halt their song.
"They sure are dedicated to that egg and that song of theirs," said Ron.
"But you realize what this means?" asked Alice excitedly. "The legend was true! The legend was talking about this Ramia they're singing about!"
"Alice, do you know why that portion of the floor around the egg is sparking like that?" asked Suzanne.
"It's trapped," answered Alice. "If you take a step on it you'll feel a dreadful shock go through you. It's incredibly painful and dangerous to take even a few steps on a floor like that."
"Sounds like fun. They should put those in museums. Nobody would touch the exhibits then," joked Ron.
"Look at the thrones," pointed out Thomas, changing the topic. The other three took a look at the six thrones around the room. Each throne had a different colored trim: green, blue, purple, red, yellow, and silver.
"Same colors as the orbs," observed Alice. "Mlician did tell us to bring the orbs. Should we put them on the thrones?"
"It couldn't hurt," replied Suzanne. She walked up to one of the thrones, the one with the blue trim. She took out the blue orb and placed it on the throne. As soon as Suzanne withdrew her hand, the orb was surrounded by a blue flame. The elven women, still continuing their song with no sign of wearing out, walked over to the throne. They performed a small dance around the throne. After which, they returned to their earlier spot.
"Well that was flashy," pointed out Ron.
"Let's place the others," said Suzanne.
The four went to the other three thrones they had orbs for and placed each one. Each one was engulfed with flames of the orb's color and then followed by a dance from the elven women. The only empty thrones were the yellow and silver ones, sitting at the north and south ends of the room.
"So the legend described the god-bird Ramia," commented Suzanne. "That makes sense. As the pictures on the walls show, she was able and willing to bring heroes into battle. And since she can fly, she is not bound by mountains or sea."
"She could carry us right over the Necrogond!" exclaimed Ron.
"And then we'd be able to see the Archfiend and his forces in all their glory," said Thomas.
"We'd have all the proof we need!" said Alice.
"You know, speaking of these pictures, is that who I think it is?" asked Suzanne, pointing at one of the room's paintings.
"It is," exclaimed Alice, suddenly breathless.
The picture the group now focused on was one in which Ramia fought with humans on her back. They were in a fierce battle in the sky against two dragons. But more interesting was one of the humans on the god-bird's back. His face was well-shown in the picture and was one the group was well familiar with.
It was a picture of the original Simon, hero of the First Great War.
Chapter 21: Samanao
The trip to Liamland did wonders for the group's morale. The four returned to the Mad Hound and told Captain Marbeley and his crew of what they had found. The ship almost exploded at the news. Finally, there was clear proof of what everyone had been working so hard for. Many of the crew proclaimed that it was only a matter of time that they would find the last two orbs, prove the power of the Archfiend, and unite humanity against it. And just as had happened twice before, the forces of humanity would win.
The group wasted little time setting off for the shrine Mathias had mentioned. Alice teleported the ship to Eginbear. The village where the Soo lived was much clos
er but the village was surrounded by twisting rivers and mountains that would have added days to the group's trip. From Eginbear the Mad Hound could take a straight line to the shrine.
The group traveled joyously, telling stories, singing songs, and playing games with each other. In particular, the four shared with the crew the song that the elven women at Liamland had been singing and soon enough the whole crew was singing it. The group even took out the Echoing Flute, the only musical instrument on the ship, to add to the crew's voices. While the group was careful to keep the flute away from Alice it found its way into Ron's hands. Everyone was quite surprised as he played the flute quite beautifully to go with the song.
"You never told us you could play the flute!" Alice had said after the song had finished.
"None of you ever asked," said Ron bluntly. Thomas snickered at the remark.
"Tom's been rubbing off on you," replied Alice indignantly, walking away as she did so.
After Alice was out of earshot Thomas spoke up, "Not macho enough for you?"
Ron stayed silent, which caused Thomas to continue, "You really shouldn't worry about that. There's nothing wrong with a little music. Not to mention you more than prove your masculinity in battle. And after today, I'd much rather you carry that thing than Alice."
Thomas cringed as though the memory of Alice playing the flute alone was too much. Ron chuckled and prepared to play again as the crew had gone into another song. Meanwhile, Alice had decided to go looking for Suzanne. After some looking, Alice found her below deck looking at some maps.
"I thought I was in charge of the maps," said Alice, feigning anger. "Why aren't you above deck? They're having a blast up there! Did you know Ron can play the flute?"
"Did you just say Ron can play the flute?" asked Suzanne surprised.
"Yeah," confirmed Alice. "He's pretty good too! He better play a song at my birthday!"
"Your birthday's a ways away yet, Alice," replied Suzanne with a smile. "Tom's birthday hasn't technically come yet."
"Hey stop dodging the question, Susie! Why aren't you above deck having fun like everyone else?" asked Alice.
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