Chapter 13: Help From a Friend
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    Rydia rose, rubbing her head, where she had bruised it moments ago.
A man with a spear stood across the room, watching an opening in the
ceiling intently.  Rydia recollected what had just happened, and where
she was.  Her head was sore, and she didn't have the mental strength to
call Asura.  The sword she had retrieved was lying next to her.
Quietly, she picked it up and approached the man.  She handled it as
well as she could, but she faltered and dropped the sword on the floor,
making a loud clang.  The man whirled with his spear, and slowly
lowered it towards the ground.

    "Welcome back to the world of the living.  You haven't been out
nearly as long as I expected you to be," he said.

    Rydia tried to reply, but couldn't.  Her wounds were pretty bad.
She beckoned towards her cuts, and smiled weakly, hoping he would
understand.

    The man nodded, and brought some bandages.  Rydia promptly wrapped
them around the gash in her arm, and found the strength to speak.

    "Wh...what happened?  Wh...where am I?"

    "Underground in Thamasa, we're under attack by Sascha and Akfek,
don't you remember?  I take it you are a magic user, or at least were a
magic user."  He smiled.  "I was too, you know, I used to create
potions with my spells.  Back before Kefka."

    "Po...potions?  Do you have any with you?"

    "Yeah, but what good will they do you?  Since magic is gone, they
must be completely obsolete now.  I'll fetch one, if that suits you."

    "Yes, please..."  Her voice trailed off.

    The man rushed off, and returned holding a tiny bottle, filled with
a pinkish liquid.  He handed it to Rydia.  Her hand shook as she took
out the cork and drank it.  The man stepped back, as if seeing what was
going to happen.  Rydia's mind grew stronger, and she found the power
to speak.

    "From the land of the summoned monsters, I call Asura!"

    The queen appeared, and raised her hands, engulfing Rydia in her
greenish light.  For the first time in awhile, Rydia felt refreshed,
and full of energy.

    "Do you have any whips of any sort?"  She looked down at her sliced
up handle.  "Or a sheath for this sword?"

    He frowned.  "No whips of any kind, I can find a holster for your
sword.  By the way, what was that thing that you did?  I've never seen
magic of that kind!  With that power, we could take down Sascha and
Akfek!"

    Rydia nodded.  "But it's not that simple.  Do you have any more of
those potions?  I could make use of them, and -"  She stopped suddenly.
"Have we even gone through a formal introduction?  My name is Rydia."

    "Nice to meet you.   I'm Sarsii, and hold on a sec while I fetch
that sheath, and some more of my potions."

    He left, and came back with ten potions, all the same as the one
Rydia had.  He handed all of them to her, and the sword, with a sheath.

    "So, Rydia, what say we go back outside and show those bums some
real power!"

    Rydia pocketed the potions, and strapped the sword to her waist.
"Well, then, let's be off."  She opened the hatch, climbed out, and
Ssrsii followed.  The town was still burning, and Rydia immediately
called Leviathan to send a flood over a large portion of the town,
quenching the flames.  Rydia pulled the sword, and she and Sarsii
headed towards the large skirmish.