Well, what did you expect? she asked herself. Did you really think that some ex-waitress from Kohlingen could hack it here? Not only are you a pathetic fighter (you brought two measly dirks?! come ON!) but the few chests you did find on this 'adventure' were empty! "Some hero..." she said aloud. Frustrated, she rose, and began to pace like a caged animal. Briefly, she considered returning home, but quickly dismissed the idea. Better to die here than go insane from boredom. She had so hoped to finally make a name for herself; to become more than Sascha DelAubre, Waitress, or Sascha, the innkeeper's daughter. She wanted to be Sascha DelAubre, FAMED ADVENTURER! So far, however, it hadn't been working out too well...

"But I'm not giving up!" she muttered defiantly. "I'll do SOMETHING to make people remember me!..." But first things first. She had to get out of this dump. She carefully rolled up her Sleeping Bag and stowed it in her rucksack, along with her three remaining potions and her antidote flask. She donned her Dark suit (which she had saved for weeks to buy) and stepped outside. She was immediately soaked to the skin. Well, no matter. Moving silently, she crept along the wall of the building. Now, if she coud just keep from being noticed by one of those abominations...

"Why. brother, why did you leave me?"

Akfek lifted his body and clumsily left the Tavern. As he walked outside, he could feel the rain pouncing on his head. He never understood why his brother ignored him. "Why. brother, how could you ignore your only brother?" Ever since his brother drained power from all the espers and succeeded in controlling the famed statues, he had ignored him - based on the claim that Akfek was useless and had no potential. A drop of rain poured down his nose and trickled into mid-air. Lighting and thunder hung from above.

"I shall show you, brother - I am not useless as you believe I am." Akfek smirked. He knew he was an ordinary soldier with limited fighting abilities; he knew he could not even defeat the weakest of the Returners. But he would not give up. His goal was to conqueur this world.

"I shall avenge your death, Kefka. Yessss, I shall destroy all those who killed you - I shall rip apart your foes! Although I am weak now, I will become strong and I will take vengeance for you! One day, I will trample over this world - nobody shall mess with you or me again! I live to hear the townspeople scream in agony once more. Ha..ha..haaa..haaaaaaa..."

Moving silently, she circled around behind the creature until she was only a few metres away. It was still oblivious. Then, with a flying leap and a rush of adrenalin, she pounced. She landed on its back and, with a screech worthy of a Japanimation character, slashed down HARD. The beast let out a mighty bellow, but it was too late. The knives had done their work. It fell to the ground, dead.

Later, by the light of a newly lit fire, Sascha counted the GP she had found on the corpse. "Barely enough to stay at an Inn..." she muttered. A smell like burning rubber touched her nostrils, and she looked up at the piece of 'meat' roasting on the fire. She was still somewhat uneasy about eating it, but she knew that if she continued to ignore her stomach, she wouldn't be able to go on much longer. She pulled the greasy chunk of meat from the heat and looked at it dubiously. "Ah well, beggars can't be choosers... There you go again, cliche-woman..." She took a bite. It tasted awful: bitter and gamey. But, seeing as her appetite curently had control over her higher functions, she continued to eat.

Afkek started walking north when he saw a pale figure among the horizon. He continued to walk closer - why would somebody be sitting there out in the rain? As he drew closer, he saw a young girl wearing a dark suit with a fine-featured face. She had high cheekbones and large, bright green eyes. Sascha looked up. She saw a man dressed in a dark black robe that stretched from head to feet. He was about middle-aged and had dark green eyes with shaded white hair.

"Who are you?" asked Sascha.

"I'm Akfek. What is your name, young lady?"

"My name is Sascha."

Akfek felt she was not a normal girl. He could sense she was seeking adventure. Sascha looked at his eyes which stared back in a cold, freezing fashion. She felt Akfek was not a normal man; somehow, she could feel a heinous presence behind it, but she was unsure of this. Akfek noticed she held some type of meat in her hand. Upon a closer look, he noticed the meat was a type he had encountered before; it contained toxins and its consumer would die a slow and torturous death.

"Fool," thought Akfek. "She has little knowledge of the world around her. Her inexperience is her weakness. She could be of excellent assistance to me." Afkek looked at her again and grinned a vicious, cunning grin. Normally, he would leave a person like her to rot in the soil, but allies would be a valuable commodity now. Afkek took out a bottle of antidote. "Rid yourself of that meat and drink this, Sascha."

"What's in it?"

"Trust me, young lady. Your life is at stake."

Sascha took the bottle and drank the liquid in one gulp.

"I am leaving now, Sascha."

"Where are you going?"

"Do not ask, for it is confidential. But you may come if you like. The choice is yours..."

"Where are you going?"

"Do not ask, for it is confidential. But you may come if you like. The choice is yours..." Sascha looked at him again. There was definitely something odd about him, something dark. Dark and...fascinating. A small voice inside her urged her not to trust the white-haired man. But another, one that had gotten much louder over the past week, urged her to seize the opportunity. 'Adventure...Fame...Renown...' it whispered. It won. A slow smile spread across her face.

"Sounds like fun," she said, getting to her feet. "And besides," she made a sweeping motion with her arm, "it's not like I have anything to lose..."

The stranger fixed her with his odd, cold stare. "Excellent." This girl should prove useful, he thought to himself. "In that case, get your things. We must leave now."

Sascha looked skeptical. "Now? In the middle of the night? Why?"

"I told you, it's confidential."

Well, she thought, maybe he just likes the night air. She began to pack her possessions. He'd certainly be an interesting person to go on an adventure with, anyway. She finished packing and got to her feet. "I probably shouldn't do this," she said. "I don't even know your name."

Akfek looked at her and debated whether or not to tell her. Well, he DID need allies... "It's Akfek." he said.

"Akfek," she repeated. Now, why did that sound familiar? Ah, no matter. What did matter was that she was going on an ADVENTURE! "Well, Akfek, let's get going!"

[Archivist's note: Apparently, Sascha and Akfek both have selective amnesia, for they forget that Akfek had already told Sascha his name.]

"But why would we want to ride on a ship?"

"You'll know the answer soon, Sascha, very soon. We must head north, and do not reveal your identity there. The port is mainly used for smuggling and there are sailors there that would do the most devious things to a young lady like you. We must depart immediately."

"Where will we go from there?," asked a curious Sascha.

"I do not fully trust you, but since you are journeying with me, I cannot conceal our next destination. We will go to Thamasa once we reach the port."

Thamasa, hm? she thought, mulling over her current situation. Why were they going there? She recalled, from her days at the inn, a traveller talking about something strange there, but she couldn't remember what. "Next time, I'll pay more attention when I eavesdrop..." she muttered.

"What?" said Akfek, looking back.

"Oh... nothing," she replied. Then a malicious grin overtook her features. "It's... confidential!" she giggled. Akfek turned back around, nonplussed. Doesn't anything impress that guy? she wondered. Oh well, I don't mind. It's certainly been interesting so far, and I suppose it can only improve... If nothing else, I'm getting to travel... Sascha had never left her own continent, and thus had never been to Thamasa.

A few hours later, they reached the port. It was definitely an 'unsavory' place. It consisted only of a dock and a tavern. Drunken sailors were sprawled unconscious outside, and loud off-key singing could be heard from within. A few women were hanging around by the door, clearly 'professionals', as well as steady traffic in and out of the bar. Several passing men stopped to leer at Sascha, and she began to feel distinctly uncomfortable.

"Will we have to stay here long?" she asked her companion.

"I just have to talk to the captain of the boat, and arrange for our passage," Akfek replied. "He should be inside the tavern."

"You mean... we have to go in there?"

"Well, you could stay out here... but I wouldn't recommend it. Don't worry," he laughed coldly, "I won't let anything happen to you." Because you're too important to my plan, he added silently.

They went in. The bar was as bad as Sascha had expected. It was extremely loud, and reeked of sweat and liquor, among other things. She stuck close to Akfek, not wanting to get lost in the crowd. Apparently, judging from the many requests she received, a disproportionate number of males in the establishment wanted to marry her...

Akfek was headed for a table in the back, where a large, dark, bearded man was seated. He sat down and motioned for Sascha to do likewise. "We are looking for a Captain Mikail," he began without introduction. "We understand he runs a ship to the southern continent, and that he is not opposed to taking on passengers... for a price, of course."

"'N' who're you?" the man grunted through half-rotted teeth. The stench of his breath almost made Sascha pass out.

"I am called Bareil," Akfek replied, not wanting to use his real name. For now, he wanted to be discreet. "And my companion is Erystelle." Sascha's eyes darted towards Akfek for a fraction of a second, but she caught on quickly, and said nothing. Good, thought Akfek, she's not totally naive.

"Jussaminit." The man left the table, and not long after, a tall, lanky man appeared.

"I am Captain Mikail," he announced in a grating voice as he leered at Sascha. "How may I be of service to you and your lovely companion?"

"Sit down and I will tell you." Akfek first had to convince Mikail that Sascha was not for sale, but once that was done, it was not hard to book passage on the ship.

"We leave tomorrow," Mikail said. "It's too bad you won't reconsider about the little lady," he added, looking again at Sascha. She could feel her cheeks burning. "We could have had something special..." Sascha felt that if he didn't shut up, he was going to get something special, all right: her knee in his groin. Luckily, he left shortly.

"You know," said Akfek with a vicious smile, "I think he likes you."

That sleazebag, Captain Mikail, had assured them that they would reach Thamasa by the next evening. Until then, there wasn't much for Sascha to do but wait. By afternoon, she had tired of that. She began to wander about the ship, above and below decks. After about a half hour, she found herself in a cargo hold. "Well, Sascha," she said to herself, "what have we here?" She loked around at the crates. Most of them were not covered, and she could see that they contained not only illicit materials - especially opium, the present drug of choice - but many rare, high-priced items as well. One thing in particular caught her eye. It was a dagger, in the box closest to her. It appeared to be made from a fine grade of steel, and looked very sharp. Its handle was golden, and was set with a blood red gem. Sascha was enraptured. Don't take it! a small voice inside her whispered. It's wrong! (That voice, her conscience, had been growing quieter since she'd met Akfek...) Oh, don't be a wimp, she told herself. He probably won't even miss it. And if he does, who cares? The guy's a jerk anyway. Without further thought, she grabbed the knife and concealed it in her suit. She started out the door, feeling a little giddy. She was almost back above deck before she was intercepted by Captain Mikail.

"Well, hello, my pretty," he said with a lascivous smile. "D'you really think you should be walking around all alone?" He grabbed her arm. "Let me escort you to your cabin," he continued, practically drooling, "and we can get to know each other better..."

Sascha had had enough of him. She wrenched her arm away, and, with a swift motion, decked the captain.

"Now," she said through clenched teeth, "if you don't stay away from me for the rest of the trip, I will be very... angry. And I don't think you want to see me when I'm angry." The captain's eyes grew wide. He backed up, and slunk away. Like a dog with its tail between its legs, Sascha thought with satisfaction.

The rest of the trip passsed without incident, and a week later, Sascha and Akfek were left just outside Thamasa. Sascha had decided to wear her new weapon on her belt.

"What's that?" asked Akfek, ponting at her recent acquisition, as they entered the town.

"I... found it, on the ship," she replied. "I saw it, I wanted it, and I don't care if that scum finds out or not! He can rot at the bottom of the ocean for all I care!" Sascha was in a good mood.

"I'm impressed," said Akfek, "you got away with it. By the way, I heard about what happened with the captain."

"You did."

"Of course. It is difficult to keep things secret from me. Actually, I was pleased to learn of it. You showed... spirit." Akfek had been worried that Sascha would be too meek, too... honest. But this had proved that she would be an even more valuable ally than he had thought...

Sascha was practically beaming as they walked into the inn. She had finally gotten Akfek to see her worth. Maybe now he'd tell her why they were here...

Akfek strode up to the counter and asked for some lodgings. The innkeeper seemed distracted, and mumbled something about "seeing what he could do" and wandered off. While they waited for him to return, Sascha looked around. Something in the room caught her eye. Sleeping on a bed, and snoring very loudly, was a very strange creature. It appeared to be some kind of midget, with feet almost as long as its body, and a painted face.

"What's that?" she whispered to Akfek. He didn't answer, but he suddenly got a very peculiar look on his face...