He sat up. "Uh, thanks. Where am I?"
"In the inn, dearie. Now eat it all up!" She fluffed his pillow, still smiling.
"Yeah, but what town?"
"Don't you know? Why, Albrook. Where did you think you were?"
'Albrook! What am I doing in Albrook? Wasn't I on the Nautilus with Butz and Keyla? I must've been lost overboard!' "Ummmm... well, thanks, lady. My name's Koro."
Koro finished his breakfast quickly. While he got dressed, the woman left the room. The clothes he was wearing were Albrookian, and didn't fit. Koro walked out of the room.
Walking along the hall, the lady approached him. She suggested going to see the Elder. She gave him directions, and he exited the building. He quickly found the Elder's house.
"Hello, sir?" Slowly he walked in the door.
An old man sat in a chair. "Hello. You are looking much better. What is your name, son?"
"Koro. Um, did by chance any soldiers come in last night?"
The Elder thought for a moment. "No. Not that I know of. Hmmmmmmm... wait a minute! Did you say that your name was Koro?"
"Yes, sir."
"Ahh, yes. A merchant has been looking for you. This merchant, he's a wanderer. He travels between here and Tzen, selling things. He was walking into town last night when he saw you. When you were put to bed, he told me to send you to talk to him in the morning. You better go there. He has a little stall set up on the corner. Come back for anything you might need."
"Goodbye, sir. I'll talk to him."
* - * - *
With some searching, Koro found the merchant's stall. "Um, I'm here."
"Good. Come back here." A man's hooded face could be seen. Going behind the stall, the man whispered to him. "You are here! You, the son of Doma, must retrieve the Slab! You must go into the Sea Shrine!"
'This guy sure is a nut case!' Koro thought to himself.
"You can be the warrior you envision yourself!"
'Now wait a minute...' Koro listened intently as the man explained further.
When Koro questioned the merchant about learning to be a warrior, the man mumbled something about rewards from light and defeat through air. 'Huh? Defeat from air? Geez. This guy is crazy.' Out loud, Koro said, "Can you supply with some food? How 'bout some some sorta' weapon?"
Oh, no, no, no. Real warriors have no need for such things. Food? No! Learn to live off the land! Ninjas do it all the time! "There was this ninja I knew, name was, uh, hmmm..." The merchant leaned back in his chair in thought.
"Well, thanks just the same. Not even a chocobo?" Koro was beginning to wonder if he shouldn't just forget the whole thing. What in the heck was Oxyale?
"Ummm, sure. Chocobo? Whatever. Here's some money. Now let me think... his name... ya!" The merchant got up abruptly, dumped a bag of coins in Koro's hands, and hurried Koro out of his stall.
Out in the marketplace, he quickly found the chocobo barn. He rented one, and bought some food rations with what was left.
"Sheesh. Pretty meager. Not even a suitable weapon." Taking a short nap, he woke up in the afternoon.
He mounted the chocobo and silently rode out. "Here I go. Master Ninja Koro comes to defeat terrible enemies. Merchants and damsels call upon the ninja to do the job right! Man, if Cyan could only see me now!" Humming an old Doman battle tune, Koro drifted into the forest.
* - * - *
"Captain! The Doma boy rides this way!"
"Does he? Send someone to test him. Have Rozgol go. Tell him not to fight him unless spotted. Do NOT kill him. Take him prisoner if you must. Go!"
The Figaran captain gazed eastward as the soldier mounted his chocobo and rode through the dark and quiet forest.
"It's a message, sir. From Figaro." The man took the piece of paper off the bird's leg.
"Well? What does it say?" The captain stood up impatiently.
"Uh, it says we're to return to Figaro. As soon as we get this message."
"What? What about the boy? Argh!" The captain paced angrily. "Hmmmm. Well, I've seen what happens to those who disobey Edgar's orders. We'll leave someone here. He can tell Rozgol that we left and to follow us. You, Carrok! You'll stay. The rest of you, pack up!"
The three soldiers started packing up their camp. Beyond the edge of the clearing, eyes watched their every move.
* - * - *
Koro, mounted on his rented chocobo, was going at an easy pace along the forest floor. Birds sang and insects hummed. "This is easy. Maybe being a warrior isn't as hard as it seems!" He started to whistle.
"Hey! What's that?" A movement in the bushes surprised him. Koro stopped his mount. Backing up a ways, he looked around. 'Wait a minute, Koro. Get ahold of yourself. It's probably just a rabbit.' "Yeah, just a rabbit," he repeated.
Pulling on the reins, he set off again. The path soon ended. Brush and twigs spread out in front of him. 'Great,' he thought. Slowly, the chocobo made its way across the bushes. As they made their way across a patch, it shook and made a noise. Almost like a curse. "Shoot..."
Before Koro could do anything, a man rose out of the bushes. Cursing and firing an autocrossbow, he raced towards the boy. The bird ran away, sqawking, and Koro tumbled to the ground.
"Gotcha, Doma!"
"Hey! Slow down!" Rozgol hurried to catch up. Koro closed his eyes. An aroma was drifting into his nose. He ran out of Rozgol's vision. Rozgol stopped and looked around. He didn't recognize it. "Hey, Doma! Doma?" As the chocobo walked forward, it fell into a pit. Both the bird and the soldier were knocked out.
-----
Up ahead, Koro was slowly walking. He was basically sleeping, but some force kept him walking. He walked onto a hidden path, and walked to a hut. There, several cloaked figures awaited him. They took him and mounted him on a chocobo, fully provisioned and with a spear.
"This boy shall not remain here. He is needed north, I sense. New evils are being created. Where he will land, I do not know. Go now." The three men sent off the black chocobo flying to the north. Koro was still sleeping. Waves crashed upon the rocks as the figures watched the bird fade on the horizon.
-----
The thieves of Zozo watched as a lone rider on a chocobo landed on a building. The rider was young and sleeping. The closed in, knowing that he would be easy to steal from and maybe kill.
"Thanks for beating up those guys." The merchant clasped hands with Koro.
"Don't mention it. I get used to it, living here and all. Name's Luke."
"I'm Koro. Where are we?" The boy glanced around as it rained harder.
"You must not travel much, Koro. This is Zozo. It's full of liars and thieves. You better get out of here. I can't protect two people." Luke pointed downward as several people grouped on the street and whispered. They looked at the two people up on the building. "They probably have something planned for us. C'mon. Jump over to that building over there." Luke jumped to the other tall structure with Koro close behind.
Down on the street, a low rumbling could be heard. Koro strained his ears to identify it. "What's that...?" Turning around the corner was a HadesGigas. It climbed rapidly up the side of the building. Luke handed Koro a bottle of something. "Quick! Put some of this Rust-Rid on that door. It'll take you to Mt. Zozo. Hurry!" Koro hurredly climbed the stairs and went through the door. Below, the stairs collapsed and Luke fell to the waiting HadesGigas.
One of them, a rough looking man, got up. "Hello, boy. C'mon and join us by this here fire. Y'look drenched and starvin'. Just sit down." He motioned for him to join them.
'I shouldn't trust them,' the boy thought. The delicious smell of the roast went through Koro's nostrils. That was enough.
The five people sitting around offered him a drink of rainwater. He took a large drink of it. 'Taste more like ale then water...' One of the women encouraged him to drink more. He drank deeply and smiled drowsily.
"How 'bout some meat?" Koro nodded dumbly and gave a wider smile. He swallowed a large helping of meat and closed his eyes. 'Ahhh. Why did I doubt these guys? The sure are nice...' Some part of his mind told him to open his eyes, but Koro ignored it. He drifted slowly to sleep.
As he felt hands search his pockets, he momentarily woke up. He saw the man curse and two other men get up. They each wielded rusty lances. Both of them slammed down on Koro's head.
"You're a fool, boy. Good night."
-----
When Koro awoke, he was on a cart. He was laying on hay with his arms and legs tied to it. The sound of a horse was echoing in his mind. He started moaning, and a man stopped the cart to see that he was awake.
"Go to sleep, boy." He kicked Koro in the head a few times, making him black out. Koro started dreaming.
-----
Cyan: Sentries! Come with me to the ramparts! The Empire is
attacking! You, Roco, and, you, Falcor, come out with me. And
send some to protect the King!
Roco: Bye, son! I have to go take care of the Empire. You stay here
with your mother!
Koro: Good luck, dad!
(Koro moaned and turned on the cart. The man kicked him and he stopped.)
Cyan: Good job, men! We stopped them.
Sentry: Cyan! Kefka is poisoning the river!
Cyan: What?! Roco, you go check on the people on the East Wing, and
I'll take the West. Go!
(Koro vomits.)
Koro: Dad! What's the matter? Isn't mom gonna be ok? Dad?
Roco: She's dying of the poison, Koro. We can't stop it.
Koro: Dying? What do you mean? She can't die!
Roco: ...
(Koro starts wailing and sobbing and vomits again and again.)
Koro is in a castle. Men, women and children are sobbing and dying
everywhere. Columns are toppling and stone is falling. Roco falls
int a chasm and rocks fly. The whole castle shakes violently.
Energy shoots through the castle. Each time, more and more people
die. Koro is crying. A rock falls on him...
-----
Koro awoke and found hmself laying at the side of the road. The cart was on the road, broken and destroyed. Koro slowly got up and inspected it. All of the people were dead. Two of the men held guns. The boy saw that the cause of the crash was a pack of Ralphs. Two of the dog-like creatures lay dead on the ground.
Koro gathered some food and a dirk from it and started on the path, away from Zozo. He didn't know where it led, but he knew that any place was better then Zozo.
-----
Koro walked along the path. He saw lights in the distance. He knew that it was a town, and was headed for it. Koro stopped as he heard the sound of a horse. Thinking that it might be more gypsies, he hid in the bushes on the side of the road. Soon, a wagon tore through the path in front of Koro. It stopped, and a man and a woman jumped off.
"What're we gonna do with it?" the woman questioned the man.
"I don't know. We sure can't keep it. But whenever we bury it, it comes back! And the cloak too!" The man pulled a bag off the wagon. The horse snorted.
"Well, we better do whatever we're goin' to do with it quick. That man looked awfully angry. He'll be after us in no time!" The man looked around nervously.
"That ring is cursed!" The lady whispered. The man gasped. "I've heard of a ring that was cursed. This must be it!" Coming from the direction of the town could be heard the sound of a man yelling. "That's him! Quick, dump the bag!" The lady told the man. He threw it to where Koro lay and jumped back on to the wagon, along with the woman. They tore off into the woods.
-----
"Wow!" Koro had dumped out the bag. In it was a cloak and a ring. The cloak was dark green, and almost blended in with the forest perfectly. The ring was black with a black stone in the middle. "I wonder if I should try it on. Those people said it was cursed, but I better anyway." Koro couldn't help but try on the ring. It fit him well.
"Great ring..." Suddnenly, Koro stood up. He put on the cloak, and slipped the hood over his head. He came out of hiding and started down the path. It was night, and Koro's eyes had a glimmer of red in the moonlight.