Chapter 9
As they walked, Edgar reloaded his AutoCrossbow. Because of
this, clicking sounds could be heard every now and then. He finally finished,
and slung the weapon over his right shoulder, and held the handle with his
right.
When the next hill was topped, they could faintly see a mass
of small buildings, across a wide open plain. "That's South Figaro," Edgar
explained. "We'll stop there for the night. Tomorrow, we'll rent some chocobos
and ride to the base of Mt. Kolts. Once on the other side of the mountain, we'll
need to head north through a valley. Unfortunately, we're going to have to walk,
as there's no towns along the valley. Once north, we'll be at the Returner's
hideout." Locke and Terra nodded comprehensively, and they all continued their
walk across the field. They met with no more monsters, so they were quickly at
South Figaro.
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They entered the town from the west. Presently, Egdar noticed
a figure moving quickly through the buildings. He started a brisk walk, and
followed him. Locke and Terra also followed, but they knew not what the young
king was doing. "Edgar, what are you..." asked Locke, but Edgar shushed him
quiet. They walked along the buildings where the figure had gone, and finally,
they came to a cafe door.
"This is where he went." Edgar stated, and pushed open the
door.
Inside the cafe, it was dark. A light tune was playing off in
the distance. The figure was not in sight on the lower floor, so they walked up
a flight of stairs. There was one single figure that seemed out of place: a man,
shrouded in black clothes, with a mask, and several small throwing knives
attached to his belt. Edgar led them over to an empty table, and after they all
sat down, Edgar nodded in the general direction of the black clad man, then
softly said, "He looks strangely familiar. Wait a minute..." He put his hand to
his head pensively.
This black clad man owes allegiance to no one, and will do
anything for money. He comes and goes like the wind. Edgar finally remember who
he was, and affirmed, "That's Shadow! He'd slit his mama's throat for a nickel!"
"Better steer clear of him, I guess." Locke declared. They
ordered some drinks, and sipped them in silence. After they finished their
drinks, Edgar stood up, walked over to the counter, and paid for their drinks.
He gestured towards the Inn, which was attatched to the cafe. Terra and Locke
got up and followed him to the Inn. Once inside, Edgar walked over to the inn
keeper.
He asked, "What are your rates?"
"Eighty gil per night. Whaddya say? You want a room?"
"Yeah, sure." Edgar pulled out a pouch from his satchel, and
pulled out a fifty gil piece, a twenty gil piece, and a ten gil piece, and
handed them all to the inn keeper, who thanked Edgar. The threesome then went
over to the door that the inn keeper had gestured towards, and opened it. The
room had four beds, a clock, a table with four chairs, and a fireplace. They all
gave the room a once-over, and then Locke walked over to one of the beds and
laid down.
"I'm gonna get some sleep," he stated. He walked over to his
bed, unfastened his belt and dropped it, and let his satchel drop, as well.
"Good night." he said as he fell over onto the bed, closed his eyes and let out
a long breath.
"Good night." Edgar responded. He and Terra both unfastened
their scabbards from their belts, and their satchels, and dropped them by the
beds they had chosen. He cleared his throat, and turned to Terra. "Well, it's
still pretty early. Wanna go and walk around for a while?" he asked, smiling.
He's asking me out... She beheld him with a resignated
look, and said, "I'm sorry... maybe some other time. I'm pretty tired after
traveling from your castle." She sat down on the edge of her bed and looked at
him. "Good night, Edgar." and she lay down on her bed, and turned over, so she
was facing the wall.
Rejected. "Good night, then." Edgar replied, still
standing. He walked over to his satchel, pulled out his gil pouch, which he
attached to his belt, and walked out the door, which he shut quietly.
