Chapter 5: Let the Games Begin... --------------------------------- The small, modest cabin came into view, deep in the heart of the forest. Baram carefully navigated his way through the many trees around him. He took care to dismount his chocobo as quietly as possible. Slowly opening the front door, he entered and saw his beloved Gina resting silently. He skin was paler than ever... her body temperature had skyrocketed... Baram knew something had to be done, FAST. He was failing her... he was not giving enough effort... The ever present weight on his shoulders grew even heavier. He was such an utter, total failure... couldn't he do _anything_ right? Even in trying to save one life, he had taken another. And ruined many more. He sighed painfully. Gina would rather forfeit her own life than see someone else die, especially in the manner Mr. Ward was killed. A murder. For her benefit. Never would she approve of such a thing, and Baram knew it. An utter failure... One such as he should have not even the privilege of knowing a person like Gina. Not a use in the world... An utter failure... Baram unsheathed a gleaming silver dagger and held it to his wrist. It would be so easy... to end it all, here and now... he hesitated, then re-sheathed the agent of death. No... it would not be right... to take his life now would be selfish... He had to think of Gina... * * * Despite the nagging desire to sleep, Baram began his trip to Maranda to meet with Borris. He couldn't think about his own wants or needs. Gina took priority. Midway through the trip via chocobo, Baram gazed skyward at the stars. Ever vigilant, never tiring, keepers of the night. So serene... They somehow renewed his hope and vigor. The delicate twinkling of their soft light reminded him of Gina's eyes. For the first time in a while, something resembling a smile subtly lit up his face... * * * By the time Baram reached Maranda, the dark night sky still hovered silently over the earth below. He could barely keep his eyes open; he had been riding for roughly twenty two hours straight nonstop. Not to mention the strained muscles of his unfortunate chocobo... Luckily, the local Marandan inn was open twenty four hours a day. He entered to an empty, candle lit room. He glanced at the clock on the wall and noted the time, 3:17. He rang the bell on the front desk several times before anyone showed up to rent him a room. A ravishingly beautiful woman stepped out from a door behind the check-out desk. She had a seemingly perfect physique to complement her attractive facial features. Her long, brown hair shone even in this dimly lit environment. Baram stood motionless for a minute, unable to tear his gaze away from her large, brown eyes... "May I help you?" she finally broke in, with a devilish smirk that drove Baram wild. A hesitant electricity hung thick in the air. Baram shook his head violently, as if to clear up his mind. "I'd like a one day rental, please.." "200 GP please." She let on a slight look of surprise. Baram handed over the money, took his room's key, and walked quickly to his room, not daring for an instant to look back. When the mysterious woman heard the door behind her close shut, she allowed another grin to form on her full, red lips. "Stronger will power than I thought... This will be fun..." She pocketed the GP and made a quick exit. Moments later, in the same room whence she had come, a shadowy figure slipped the innkeeper 1,000 GP. "Remember, you never saw us...." "N-no. Of course not," he responded nervously. His meager income admittedly wasn't much, but better to be paid and live than to get nothing and die... * * * When Baram awoke, it was almost 6 o'clock in the evening. He left the inn rather hastily and didn't notice the innkeeper's paranoid glance upon first sight of him, followed by a look of relief after Baram made his way out. He made a beeline for the Marandan Pub. He slumped into the familiar, shadowy corner and waited for Borris to show. A waitress walked up to him. "Gin and tonic as usual, sir?" she asked, knowing his preferences from numerous occasions of serving him. He had become a familiar figure in this pub, despite trying to remain low-key. Not good... "Sure," he responded monotonously, as lackluster as usual. Before long, Borris took a seat next to him. "Hey! Baram! Long time no see." He responded with an intolerant "...". "Oh. Right. Down to business. Got the stash?" Baram shoved a backpack that he had brought along on the trip to Maranda into Borris's stomach. He let out a short "Oof!" then examined the contents. He didn't have time to count it, but there was more than enough to satisfy his greed. "Hee-hee!" he snickered gleefully. "I'm set for life! Thanks bud!" He slapped Baram on the back. "Well?" Baram inquired. "Make it quick." "Oh, right. Well, as you probably know, the Maranda-Jidoor Land Bridge is mostly barren and rocky and all. Not much out in those parts... anyway, midway through the bridge, there is an area where _some_ plant life grows... kinda like the Veldt, but the grass there barely manages to survive and the soil isn't as rich... There are still some trees left there from the pre-Kefka days, but they are steadily dying out...." Baram stared at Borris impatiently. "Er... right. So, that area that I jus' told you about, it's teeming with Crawlers. If you look hard enough, you'll find an especially dense concentration of Crawlers nests. They'll be everywhere. Well, in the heart of that nest, there is a secret entrance to an underground cave. I think it might be a part of that huge network of underground tunnels which link the whole world. Anyway, if you thought there were a lot of those lil' buggers in the nest, wait 'till you see the cave... OK, so in there, in the very heart of the cave, is a megalixir." Baram was somewhat skeptic, but there _was_ some truth to Borris's story. He had traveled over that very land bridge and back after Kefka's decimation of the earth. It was indeed heavily populated with Crawlers, but he had never caught glimpse of the supposed Crawler breeding ground... Nevertheless, he had no choice. Jumping blindly into the fray was better than doing nothing... he owed this to Gina, especially in light of his horrific deed in Jidoor. * * * Borris chuckled fitfully. He grinned wildly at the prospect of his last thought, waiting excitedly for his contact to show. Soon, his riches would be doubled. Or so he thought. "Borris." The voice from behind startled him. "Oh... hi... how'd you do that? I didn't even hear ya comin'!" The black-clad figure ignored his question. "Were you successful?" "Oh yeah. You can count on me." "You told him the whereabouts of the breeding grounds?" "You bet." "Excellent." "So.. do you have my money?" he asked, becoming a little too overconfident for his own good. "Money?" The stranger cocked an eyebrow. "I believe _you_ owe _us_... 10,000 GP to be exact." "Nuh-uh! No way! You said I could keep this money, and you'd give me an additional ten thou!" The man grinned. "So we lied. Hand it over. _Now_." He pulled out a Man-Eater. "Do you know what this can do to a human...?" he asked rhetorically, idly running his thumb up the broad side of the deadly blade. Borris broke away, sprinting as fast as his legs would allow. He wasn't about to give up 10,000 GP. The assassin sighed. "Seal your fate, fool..." "HEL--" was all Borris could manage before a rotating dagger gleamed through the crisp evening air and found it's mark in his left lung. The honed edge specially designed to slice through human flesh with ease did it's job almost too well, carving a path all the way through his midsection and, with momentum to spare, landed a few feet ahead of his limp body. The assassin retrieved his dagger and took the liberty of relieving Borris's lifeless hands of the burden of the 10,000 gold pieces. "Let this be a lesson to all," said the hired killer with a cool edge to his voice, "never question the will of the Secondary Sight!"