The Obsidian Tale
Episode 20
[Opening 2 music]
~ Stream north of Village of Saradeli ~
Writer's note: Due to Lydia regaining the Sympathy shard from episode 17, she is now able to show more emotion. For this result, her character images will now return to her smiling again. Also, Lydia is starting to act on her own such as speaking up against a crowd or fighting alongside the main group. Instead of 'Guest', her level system has returned.
Writer's note: Due to Lydia regaining the Sympathy shard from episode 17, she is now able to show more emotion. For this result, her character images will now return to her smiling again. Also, Lydia is starting to act on her own such as speaking up against a crowd or fighting alongside the main group. Instead of 'Guest', her level system has returned.
We now shift back to Lydia, Forrest,
and Leo who are now riding on a mini sailboat down the stream north of the
Village of Saradeli. This stream is directly west of Lake City Prima and no
other soldier was able to follow them. [Music 20.1]
Lydia was standing off the edge of
the boat, feeling the cold breeze. Forrest and Leo were playing around with the
toy bazooka. They were laughing together every time the bazooka bounced out of
the cube.
A woman appeared from the bottom
floor. Her hair was clearly not combed. She had a tight shirt on while wearing sweat pants. It was as if she didn't care for fashion because it was a waste of her time. She'd rather do more physically things such as exercising. “Tea for Lydia and Leo. And for little Forrest, chocolate milk!”
“Yay!! Thank you Mrs. D-Alonzo!”
“No, no, it’s ‘D’Alonzo’. You don’t have to put much emphasis on the letter ‘D’, and the ‘A’...”
“I don’t get it,” Forrest rudely
replied.
Lydia grabbed the cup of tea. “Thank
you, Clyde’s mother. It is a surprise that you found us washing off the large
lake under Prima.”
The
three main party members were falling from Prima’s port. At the lake, Leo had
to carry Forrest before he started to drown. Who else could teach Forrest how
to swim if he grew up in the alleyway? Lydia’s lack of instinct made her
uncontrollably glide quickly to the nearest land and Leo had to follow her.
Funny enough, to Leo, Lydia looked like her own motorboat.
They
waited for minutes, hoping to lose sight of any Gammel soldier which included
Floir. At that point, they could see a sailing ship crossing by.
“That is no problem. Earlier, you
mentioned that the Village of Saradeli was under attack, yes? And that Clyde
seems to have turned to the Gammel army?”
Lydia shook her head as she frowned.
“I believe so.” She suddenly threw the glass cup onto the deck which caused
Forrest and Leo to startle.
“S-Sorry,” Lydia suddenly cried. “I
still can’t control myself! I feel so bad.”
Mrs. D’Alonzo giggle. “That’s fine.
We have plenty of cups. And, you told us the whole story about the Gammel army
and how they took your shards. We totally understand.”
Forrest smiled. He had chocolate
milk on his upper lips. “Clyde’s such a meanie but his parents are so cool!”
Leo asked her, “What are you going
to do now? The village might be much different from what you expected.”
Clyde’s mother sighed. “You do have
a point. My husband is so disappointed to hear the news about the village. He
said he wants to take a look very quickly.”
Lydia shook her head. “I’m sorry. We
are in a hurry to find Forrest’s friends in Bafuul and we hope to find Rina and
Felix. First, I want to stop by the meadow closest to here.”
“That is totally understandable. I
have an idea to solve both problems with you and my husband. First, we can take
you to the meadow and when you’re done with your business there, you want to
continue heading west if you want to get to Bafuul in the fastest way possible.
West of the meadow should be a destroyed town named Loomin. Since there’s
nothing there, you can skip ahead to the Aria River, and then to Troiya. At
Troiya, you can sneak a boat into Bafuul but that would be very dangerous.”
Leo raised his hand. “I’ll make sure
Lydia and Forrest are safe.”
“That is wonderful. After we drop
you off at Loomin, my husband and I will be returning to the Village of
Saradeli. If you need any help and are somehow capable of visiting the village,
please feel free to find us and let us know of your troubles.”
Lydia clapped her hands. “That is so
nice of you, Mrs. D’Alonzo!”
Forrest tilted his head. “Um,
Lydia…? What’s at the meadow?”
Lydia giggled. “It’s where I lived
for seven years before I met you all! Hehe.”
“I’m still not used to seeing Lydia
laugh more often,” Leo commented.
It’s true. Lydia showed more emotion
ever since she gained the shard back at the Lake City Prima.
Leo took a look at the Village of
Saradeli as they were passing by. He only saw destruction and dried out smoke.
“Can we see the village too?? Maybe Felix is there!”
Leo covered his vision by standing
in front of him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. We can come back
later. Besides, I doubt Felix and Rina could have made it back to this village
that quickly.”
“Aw… fine…” Forrest whined.
Lydia pointed at the other end.
“That blue thing on the other side looks like a cave. Could that be the Mago
Ria’Fey?” [End music]
“Mago Ria who now??” Forrest tried
to repeat after her. [Music 20.2]
Mrs. D’Alonzo chimed in. “It is a
cavern filled with puzzles created by ancient civilization. It’s pretty much in
ruins now and no one really crosses it. It has been unintentionally blocked off
over time anyway, and it could be dangerous. Come on, drink your tea. We’re
almost at the meadow.”
Sleep-Deprived
~ Meadow ~
As the small sailboat docked onto
the edge of the large meadow, Lydia ran out immediately.
“Mother, I’m home!!” She said
without trying to yell. She began laughing but she suddenly tripped.
She knelt forward and looked at the
meadow in front of her. It was the same as ever, at least from what she
remembered. The land was about two to three acres long and you could see a
bunch of dandelions dispersing into the air through the passing wind. You
couldn’t hear any kind of human civilization, just the slight rumbling of the
Rhadessian nature followed by birds and more wind.
Mr. D’Alonzo appeared from the
doorway. “AHAH! WE ARE HERE.” He raised his arms into the air. He wore an unnecessary brown coat mostly because it looked 'hype' and he wore a sailor hat - also unnecessary as he was a simple voyage captain of two passengers: his wife and himself. The most notable thing was his killer mustache.
Mrs. D’Alonzo sighed. “Hun, must you
always yell when you arrive at a new destination?”
“I DON’T ALWAYS YELL. I ONLY DO IT
WHEN I HAVE TO.”
Forrest skipped his way off the
sailboat. “Wow. It feels really fresh out here.”
Lydia stood up. “From what I
remember, there’s supposed to be a dent at the front porch. Um…”
“Why did you stop? What’s wrong?”
Lydia sighed. “It’s just my family.
Hopefully my mother is doing well.”
“Was she not fine before?” Forrest
asked without any filter in his tone.
“Well, first, I want to see if she’s
okay, then I can tell you the whole story if she’s fine with it. It has to do
with Floir.”
Forrest became angry. “Floir… She
said she took my friends into this place called Bafuul, but I don’t know what
that place is like.”
Leo tried to ignore the
conversation. It seemed as though he had knowledge of the world of Rhadessia,
moreover… Bafuul. What was this place like anyway?
“Sorry, Forrest. I’ll try to make
this one quick, okay? I know we should hurry and save them so I’ll say hi to my
mom real fast.”
“Thanks,” Forrest said, trying his
best to relax.
“ALRIGHT KIDDIES, WE WILL WAIT HERE
FOR YOU. WE DON’T WANT TO INTRUDE YOUR TERRITORY.”
Mrs. D’Alonzo waved to them. “That
is right. It is our custom to be respectful to other places especially a
personal home.”
“WHILE WE WAIT, WHY DON’T WE GO MAKE
SOME FOOD? WE HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO.”
“Oh that’s right, hun! Good idea.” She
‘kindly’ slapped his back but it was rougher than a horse kicking you against
the floor. The two of them ran back into the sailboat and the group of three
could hear them crashing into several objects inside. Even a chicken clucked!
And… a cat too??
Lydia gave a nervous chuckle. “Eheh…
They’re quite the couple.”
The Size of a Royal Family
Old Enough to be a Father
They now headed towards Lydia’s home. As Lydia reached the front porch, she whispered to her friends to take a step back in case something happened to her mother. The creak of the door sounded when Lydia pushed it open. [End music]
“Mother?”
There was no answer. The whole house
was made of wood and the only light coming in was from an open window from the
end of her sight. It was a bedroom with cut-up linen hanging against the
archway. It still smelled like the lake’s breeze.
“Mother…?”
Forrest and Leo waited by the front
door, hoping that Lydia would make it back safely before something happens.
Lydia grabbed onto the left side of
the archway as she said one more time, “Mo-“
A short, dark-skinned woman appeared
from the side of the room with a large paddle.
“Ah!” The woman screamed.
“AHH!” Lydia went along.
“AHHH!!!”
“AHHHIEEEE!” The woman impulsively
swung her paddle but Lydia’s lack of instinct kicked it away and out towards
the window. [Music 1.4]
The woman stopped and she saw
Lydia’s face. “Oh, oh my…”
Her voice was trembling. She was
getting very old. Her body was short and stocky, and her wrinkles were easily
seen through her skin tone. Her hair was put into a bun and she still had her
pajamas on in the middle of the day.
“Mother!!” Lydia gave the old woman
the tightest hug she could ever give.
“Oh, Lydia,” Her voice was soft. She
sounded as if she wanted to cry in happiness! “it is very good to see you,
oho-ho-ho.” The woman began to de-bun her hair. “Where is Rina?”
“She’s not with us, but I hope she
is safe somewhere else.”
“That makes me concerned…” Ekaja
tried to smile nevertheless. “But first, I need to make you something to
drink. I want you to tell me everything that happened. I'm worried about my poor Rina.”
“You don’t need to make anything. We’ve already
had something to drink. I'm sure Rina is safe. She can't go down that easily! I believe in her - I tell myself that everyday, knowing it should be true.” Lydia turned around. “Oh yeah! Forrest, Leo, come on
in!” She held onto her mother’s palms. “These are my friends who helped me come
back. I wanted to know if you were okay.”
“Lydia, I am absolutely fine.” She
then smiled at Forrest and Leo. “Please make yourselves at home. My name is
Ekaja.”
Forrest ran towards a poster frame
on the wall. “Scriggly lines???”
“That’s when I first came here and
decided to draw something. It looks pretty weird, I know, hehe…” Lydia blushed.
Leo scratched his head. “Is
everything really okay?” He noticed Ekaja’s appearance which did not seem very
healthy to him. He was tip-toeing at every moment, finding the house being
quite unsanitary. It wasn’t always like this anyway.
Lydia had Ekaja sit down on the
couch. “Yeah, you don’t look very well, mother. Please, tell us. Ever since that day, have you been taking care of
yourself?”
Ekaja frowned. “Lydia… I want to
tell you the whole story, to you and your friends. Where should I begin?”
Forrest began to bounce onto the
couch. “How did you two meet? Evil Rina said something about living with you
too right??” [End music]
“Ohohoho, ‘Evil Rina’… I see she
hasn’t changed at all. Well… I guess I will begin with how I met Lydia and
Rina.” [Music 8.3]
In
a far off land within the jungles, there lie a small village named Taujiko.
Ekaja lived with the love of her life: Mahaj, along with both her own parents.
Everyone in the village knew each other. Growing up, it would be a ritual to
paint markings onto their faces and everybody would watch in celebration.
One
day, as a newborn was about to get his face painted, a girl came walking into
the village by the shore tides. At this time of the year, the tides were the
lowest. The girl fell onto the ground and she completely fainted!
Ekaja,
looking so young and healthy, along with Mahaj (who also wore a similar Taujikan attire), both ran up to her to see if
she was okay while the rest of the villagers didn’t know how to handle a
situation like this. They have been isolated for many decades, and for an outsider
to suddenly appear like this came as a surprise for them.
Immediately,
Mahaj carried her into their extra bedding in the chief’s hut. The little
girl’s face was filled with mud and debris until her face was noticeably dark.
The
chief walked in and said to them, “We need to take her somewhere else.
Outsiders are what causes problems to our village.”
Ekaja
tried to wipe the little girl’s face with a towel. “She’s just a little girl,
chief. We need to keep her here a little longer until she’s able to stand.”
“Er…
Alright. But, she can only stay until then!”
Overnight,
the girl opened her eyes. She noticed a lamp was the only thing lighting the
room next to her. The kind woman, Ekaja fell asleep by her bedside. The girl
poked the woman in confusion until she woke up.
“Ah…!
You’ve woken up.”
“Hi…
Um, where am I??” The girl’s voice was extremely high-pitched. Her straight,
dark hair was combed down to her shoulders and her eyes were as silver as the
moonlight.
“You
are in Taujiko, dear.”
“…Taujiko?”
“Yes.
What is your name?”
“My
name is… Lydia.”
“And
where are you from?”
Lydia
coughed. “Celestia. But… I don’t remember how much has happened. I knew
something bad happened and I had to run away, but… Mommy and daddy… What
happened to them?!”
Ekaja
tried to calm her down. “You don’t remember? Was this a slight coma that you
just had?” [End music]
Mahaj
barged into the hut and said to them, “Something is happening outside. You have
to see this, Ekaja!!”
Ekaja
quickly stood up as she was heading for the exit. “Lydia, dear, please stay
here and rest. The chief and my husband are calling for me.”
Lydia
placed her head back onto the pillow. She turned and noticed Ekaja’s parents
sitting on a long rocking chair together while reading old magazines.
“It’s
another girl?!” A man shrieked.
“What
is happening with this village? Two outsiders came at opposite directions, and
they’re both little girls,” Another complained.
Lydia
sat back up and she looked through the window. It really was another girl. She
looked slightly taller and her hair was short up to her neck with a ponytail.
Her hair was reddish and her whole outfit was worn as if she were a tomboy: a
pair of pants and a regular white shirt. She also had a backpack on. The only
difference between her and Lydia was that this girl seemed confident and not
exhausted from her run.
The
villagers were whispering to each other and the girl only stood there with an
angry expression.
“Tell
us your motive for coming here,” The chief commanded.
The
girl pointed at them all, “Tell me, where is the Obsidian?”
Lydia’s
heart skipped a beat. “M-Me?” She tried to get out of her bed but she only
tripped and fell. The elders watched in surprise but they could not move
quickly either.
Ekaja
kindly pushed everyone to the side as she appeared in front of the crowd. “What
do you want with her?”
“My
name is Rina. I have been ordered to protect her.”
“Just
take her away. We don’t need outsiders!” A man at the back of the crowd yelled.
More and more villagers began agreeing with him.
Ekaja
shook her head. “She is safe here. She just needs more time before she can
actually stand on her own.”
Rina
clenched her fists. “How long will that take?!”
“Probably
about a week. She went overboard on her running and it seems she strained her ankles.”
“A
week?!”
“You
can stay with us.”
The
chief gasped. “Ekaja, you’re thinking about keeping them both here?”
“If
that is okay with you, chief. It will only be a week and then we can figure
something out.”
Mahaj
asked Rina, “Where did you even come from?”
“From
a land, somewhere far away. It doesn’t matter. I just need to protect the
Obsidian.”
Ekaja
waved at her. “Follow me. She is here.”
Entering
the house, Rina could see Lydia sitting on the floor.
“Huh??”
Lydia gave the most confused look.
“Hey!”
Rina said to her. “My name is Rina.”
After
about a week, Lydia and Rina grew a close bond very easily. At one point within the week, Rina spotted Lydia with a baby bird, standing against Lydia's index finger. Rina could almost make out what Lydia was whispering to it.
"Go on... fly, be free." The bird stayed still. "Don't worry. Even with small wings, you can accomplish anything. I believe in you!" She watched as the bird flew away. Although not as high, that bird still flew into the skies.
Rina watched her carefully. There was something about this young girl whom people called 'Lydia'. How was she easily able to attract birds like that? Rina knew at that moment, Lydia was the girl that she had to protect.
There were some struggles when Rina would get frustrated at Lydia’s kindness when accidentally kicking hermit crabs by the shore and then crying about it, for example. By the 7th day, Ekaja wanted to test if Lydia’s legs were okay to move again. She allowed the girls to play at the large field nearby the chief’s house.
"Go on... fly, be free." The bird stayed still. "Don't worry. Even with small wings, you can accomplish anything. I believe in you!" She watched as the bird flew away. Although not as high, that bird still flew into the skies.
Rina watched her carefully. There was something about this young girl whom people called 'Lydia'. How was she easily able to attract birds like that? Rina knew at that moment, Lydia was the girl that she had to protect.
There were some struggles when Rina would get frustrated at Lydia’s kindness when accidentally kicking hermit crabs by the shore and then crying about it, for example. By the 7th day, Ekaja wanted to test if Lydia’s legs were okay to move again. She allowed the girls to play at the large field nearby the chief’s house.
Lydia
picked a sunflower from the ground. “This is for you, Rina.”
Rina
blushed. “Why? It’s just a flower.”
“Flowers
are a symbol of love, right? You are my best friend.”
Rina
chuckled. “Oh, sure, I’ll take it. I’ll just let you know now though: I’m not
big on flowers.” The two girls began to laugh together.
Ekaja
called from afar, “Girls, lunch is ready!”
Lydia
ran first. “Yay! I can’t wait!” Her legs suddenly collapsed.
“Lydia!”
Rina crouched down for her. “Are you alright?”
“I’m
fine I think. Teehee. It just hurts a little, but I should be fine…” [End music]
The
moment Ekaja caught up to Lydia, they could hear a gunfire shoot into the sky.
Mahaj and the chief rushed out of the hut to see a teenage girl with purple
hair. She had long, straight hair and semi-full armor. She appeared by the
tides, the same direction as where Lydia came in from.
“W-Where
is the Obsidian?”
It
took a week for the villagers to get used to outsiders. The moment that they
became comfortable, a third human appears, but this time she didn’t look very
friendly. It was a different atmosphere than when Rina came in.
Once
Rina helped Lydia towards the hut, they took sight of the teenage girl. Lydia’s
eyes widened as she made a small yelp behind Rina.
“What?
What is it, Lydia?”
“That
girl… I feel like I’ve seen her trying to chase after me before. She seemed to
follow orders from an older woman. I just don’t remember much before that. I
just woke up at the end of Celestia and I had little chance to run away!”
Rina
glared at the woman by the shore. “Ergh. She must be the woman that I’m
protecting you from.”
“You
know her?”
“No,
but my dad said… never mind. They already found us, so we have to get out of
here.”
Ekaja
panicked. “You can’t do that. Lydia isn’t fully healed yet. Are you sure that
woman will hurt Lydia?”
Some
of the villagers whispered to Ekaja. “You need to kick those girls out. They’ll
just be the cause of our destruction!”
“But
they’re just little girls!”
“Who
cares?! We’ve been in isolation for decades and we were doing fine. Who cares
about anybody else?”
Ekaja
looked at her husband. “Mahaj…”
Mahaj
clenched his teeth. He was in a dilemma, but he knew what he had to do. “Ekaja,
we need to take them to our boat. Nobody else wants the girls here but us.”
Ekaja
gave a soft smile. “You also want them to stay?”
“Of
course I agree that they’re just little girls. I think it’s best that they go,
but we should go with them.”
Another
villager said to them, “Yeah, that’s right! If you care about those damn girls
so much, then you might as well leave with them.”
Ekaja
began to cry. “But our village… my parents…!”
The
chief stood in front of them. “Ekaja, I know this might be a tough decision,
but it will only be temporary. It can be as short as days and we will try to
send you a Taujikan signal from afar once this woman disappears. Remember: DO
NOT come back until we send the signal. That means the coast is clear.”
Ekaja
took the girls to the nearest boat before the woman by the shore could see. “Do
you really think this is a good idea?”
Mahaj
hugged her tightly. “This is the only way for safety.”
The
chief shook his head. “Don’t worry. I promise to protect this village.”
Ekaja
covered her face as she began to cry. “O-Okay. Promise me you will be okay!” [End music]
Back at the present time seven years
later, Ekaja had just finished her story about how she met Lydia and Rina. [Music 5.1]
“After seven years…” Ekaja sighed.
“They never sent the signal. It was all a sham to force us out without being
rude.”
Lydia remembered being told this
story several times over the years, but she still felt devastated hearing about
it again.
“Wait a minute. Who was that teenage
girl??” Forrest asked innocently.
“From what I remember, I’m not sure.
But remember Floir? She must have been giving orders to that girl, calling her
Viola Santa Lucia. Ever since then, I kept getting chronic dreams about Viola
trying to kill me.”
Leo scratched his scruffy beard.
“It’s also strange too – that Rina came in the same night when you appeared.
She said she needed to protect you. Now where did Rina come from?”
Lydia shrugged. “She never told me.
I didn’t want to ask because she could have been ashamed of where she came from
if she didn’t want to talk about it, you know?”
Leo turned to Ekaja, “And the
signal… it never sounded?”
“Never. I promised only to return
once I see it. But… it never showed above their village, not even after seven
years.”
“Shouldn’t you go check anyway?”
Forrest questioned her.
“That would be a nice idea, but our
ship broke the moment we reached Loomin, and then we took another abandoned
boat to this meadow for safety. Sometimes, we would go back to Loomin to take
any extra food that was left after its destruction two decades ago. Not too
long ago, we started seeing a few Gammel soldiers located there.” [End music]
Lydia began to frown. “And one of
them spotted us. So…” [Music 2.2]
Ekaja continued, “This happened
right before Lydia and Rina left. We returned to our meadow, but a few soldiers
followed us. Luckily, they only spotted me and my husband, Mahaj. I had to hide
Lydia and Rina in the bedroom closet as the woman with the French braid came in
to question us. By this time, Lydia had trouble breathing since it was a closed
space. Mahaj needed to hurry and he threatened the woman to leave. He began
arguing with the woman until he pushed her out the front door and this gave
time for me to force Lydia and Rina out the back door and onto our little boat.
At that moment, I could see my very own husband… shot through the chest by the
woman.”
Forrest began shivering. “That
woman… Floir…!” He was becoming uncontrollably angry now. The fact that she
mentioned his friends and now learning about the death of Mahaj made him very
uncomfortable.
Ekaja began to cry. “She looked
devastated, but it didn’t matter. She murdered my husband… And after… after
that, the woman felt convinced that we were telling the truth – that the
Obsidian was not with us, so she decided to leave. She was lying. I could see
her following down the path towards the river, knowing that I helped push Lydia
and Rina out of the meadow. From that point, I didn’t know what happened next.”
Lydia concluded, “That’s when the
boat crashed into a large boulder down the river and we were left at the Village
of Saradeli. That’s where we met Felix and Clyde.”
“That stupid woman!” Forrest yelled.
Leo tried to calm him while Ekaja
continued to cry.
Lydia hugged her mom, “Mother, thank
you for taking care of me though. We are in a hurry to stop the Gammel soldiers
from causing any more harm to innocent people like Forrest’s friends. We have a
sailboat to take us to Loomin to figure out what they are doing there.”
“Are you leaving now?”
Lydia clapped her hands. “I have an
idea. You should come with us, and go to the Village of Saradeli with Mr. and
Mrs. D’Alonzo! They are very nice people and they just want to have a peaceful
future in the village.”
“You mean I won’t be alone?”
“Not anymore, mother.”
“Oho… Lydia… That would be
absolutely wonderful. You are such a kind woman!”
“I was raised by the right family,”
She complimented Ekaja. “Hehe, now, we should hurry and make our way to Loomin.
From there, they could take you back to the village and we can also transport
any important things you have here – to the Village of Saradeli, okay?”
Ekaja nodded. “That sounds like a
wonderful idea. Lydia, I thank you for taking care of me.” [End music]
Lydia began to giggle while the two
boys were laughing along with them. They were now headed to Loomin while the
three parents planned to return to the village in prosperity. Without the main
group knowing, they were coincidentally getting closer to Troiya, the same
place that Felix and Rina were heading to.
[Ending 2 music]
~~~
Next time on The Obsidian Tale, we continue with Lydia's journey west towards Loomin. Her group's goal is to free Forrest's friends from Bafuul, the largest prison in the world. At the same time, they hope to retrieve more shards and find Felix and Rina along the way. However, in Loomin, they meet a new character who reveals more truth about the Gammel army! Find out what happens next!
~~~
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