The Obsidian Tale
Episode 40
[Opening 4 music]
[Opening 4 music]
~ Phardia - inn ~
In one of the bedrooms, a teenage
girl began to groan. “Mmm…” She opened her eyes slowly. It was blinding at
first, but she could see the ceiling clearly after a few seconds. [Music 40.1]
“Good, you’re awake,” A voice said.
“EEH?!” The girl began jittering and
jumping all over the place. “AHH!” She stopped. “Viola?! You scared me!”
“Did I? I get that a lot, but not in
that way.”
“Huh? Uh, anyway, where am I?” She
suddenly sat up. “Wait, where are we?
Where are the others? Felix?!” She could still remember what happened after the
ray of light. “It really happened, didn’t it…?”
Viola was sitting on a chair by the
doorway, polishing her lance. “This run-down inn couldn’t afford to fix their
doors, so they needed to put a chair here.”
Lydia stared at her with boredom and
irrelevancy. “That’s… nice to know.”
An old woman came in, yelling.
“Viola lady! Stop wasting your time with that dead girl! She’s DEAD. She hasn’t
been up for-“ She suddenly saw Lydia sitting up. “EEK! SHE IS A ZOMBIE! She’s
moving!” She was about to smack Lydia with her broom but Viola had her lance
close to the old woman’s neck.
“You get any closer, and you won’t be moving.”
The old woman took a step back.
“Peh! So she finally woke up, eh?”
Lydia tilted her head. “Finally?
What do you mean ‘finally’?” The room was quiet. “How long have I been out…?”
Viola shrugged, polishing her lance
again. “Probably like four weeks. What is that, a month now?” She said
nonchalantly.
“A MONTH?!” Lydia screamed.
“KEEP IT DOWN!” The old woman
shouted at her.
“No, YOU keep it down!” Lydia yelled
back. “O-Oops, I’m sorry…” She stood up. “Where’s everyone else?!” Suddenly, she collapsed to the ground. Her body was not used to standing after lying in bed
for four weeks with barely enough food and water in her system.
Viola yawned. “They’re somewhere in
this world. It has been four weeks, I wouldn’t know.”
Lydia’s chin was on the floor. “Erm…
How can you be so calm?”
“I don’t know. Hm… If we’re alive,
then they could be.”
The old woman pointed at her, “Hey!
I just swept the ground! Don’t soil it with your face!”
Lydia sat on her bed again. “Geez…
Viola, what do you remember from that
time?!”
“Well, let’s see…” Viola said
calmly. “The ground tore apart, and we all split up.”
“That doesn’t really help…” She
chuckled.
“Next thing you know, I was already
here swept ashore with you. Oh yeah. These really nice men helped us here.”
“Dude,
that woman is so hot! Is she a mermaid?!”
“Probably!
Let’s help her out!!”
Lydia stared at her.
“Ehem… I don’t think they were being friendly for good reasons.”
Viola was confused. “You don’t think
so? They said I was hot, but it was quite cold outside, I tell you.”
Lydia turned away, talking to
herself. “I can’t tell if she’s being serious, or…”
As Lydia was stepping out the front
door, she wanted to thank the old woman for taking care of her as well. The old
woman scowled at her as if she didn’t care at all.
“Good, get out! Even if you were a
great profit from all of those men paying for Viola, I never liked you anyway!”
“How unfriendly!” Lydia pouted.
Viola shrugged. “She said you ‘took
up space and stuff’.” [Music 39.1]
“She said that?! Ugh!” She turned
around and suddenly she understood why the old woman was very picky about
living spaces in the inn. The entire town of Phardia was run-down. Sure, the
snow beautified and whitened the city, but there was nothing to beautify in the
first place. The buildings were old and cabin-like. There were crackled ice
rinks that children played in, but their skates were just rocks in replacement
of wheels. Instead of actual lights displayed at the ceiling of each building, Shattered
Christmas lights were their alternate source. Old country music had been
playing down the rural streets of Phardia.
“Welcome to Phardia,” Viola said.
Lydia took several steps forward,
examining the town around her. “What happened here?”
“What do you mean?”
“It feels… very sad here.”
“I kind of like it. Peace and quiet,
and everyone seems to like each other.”
Two men outside a bar began fighting
and claiming that they deserve one of the women sitting down more than the
other.
Lydia became nervous. “The men here
are really…”
“Such a delight. They care about
their women so openly.”
“Viola, this isn’t time for jokes!
We aren’t objects for them to have. This place isn’t nice at all.”
Phardian Delicacies
Viola saw a world map by the window
of the inn. She carelessly ripped it off. “We’re going to borrow this map… for
a long time.”
Lydia pointed at Phardia. “We are
here. Where should we even go?”
Viola clenched her right fist and
cupped it into the other hand. “Ah! Now I remember.” Lydia hoped Viola wouldn’t
say something idiotic this time. “The head chief here kept the little boy as
hostage, at least until Leo defeated some ravaging beast near the entrance to
the Zweiland Mountains. Sadly, I don’t think he has yet.”
Lydia shrieked. “They’re here?!
Wait, why didn’t you say so sooner?!”
“You didn’t ask.”
“Viola…! Okay, okay. Don’t panic.”
She told herself. “Where is the chief? We should have a talk with him and
persuade him to free Forrest. Then, we can head to the entrance of the Zweiland
Mountains to see if Leo is there.”
“If you say so, leader!”
“I’m not-“ Lydia gave up trying to
talk back with her. “Let’s go. Point me the way.” [End music]
~ Phardia – chief’s den ~
Lydia tried to knock onto the tipi
where Viola led her. What was there to knock on if the whole thing was made of
cloth?
“Um, chief mister sir??”
“I think his name is Chief.”
Lydia turned to Viola, “You know,
you’re a lot more sarcastic when you actually talk.” She sighed as she turned
back to the tipi.
“Who’s there?!”
“My name is Lydia Yager. I would
like to speak with the chief.”
“We do not want company.”
“Lydia’s voice?!” Forrest could be
heard from within the tipi. “Lydia!!!! You’re alive!”
Lydia rushed in. “Sorry, but I have
to do this!” She rudely barged in, only because she felt that she had to do so
in order to save Forrest. “EH?!” She saw Forrest in a maid outfit. “You dirty,
rotten chief!” [Music 9.2]
Forrest cried. “This is punishment
for not cleaning faster!! Waaaah!”
“You look quite nice with a dress
on,” Viola commented.
The chief faced the two girls. “What
beauty!”
Lydia blushed. “M-Me?”
He ran towards them and then past
Lydia. He stood in front of Viola. “You look quite nice today, Viola!”
“I look friendly? Those are such
kind words, chief.”
Lydia stomped her foot. “That’s not
the kind of ‘nice’ he was talking about!! I’m sorry, but we’re taking this boy
with us!”
The man grinned. “Not until the
beast up north is killed!”
Lydia paused for a moment. “Oh, I
see.” She suddenly gave a seductive smile. “What if I…”
“Save it. You have to kill the
beast, or else!”
Lydia cried in the corner of the tipi
(wherever the corner was). “My seduction didn’t work…” She said shamefully.
Viola patted Lydia on the shoulders.
“It will be alright. Beauty comes with age.”
“You’re not helping!” She then
whispered into Viola’s ear, “You and Leo are strong, right? How come you two
didn’t plan a way to just beat up the chief and take Forrest and leave?”
Viola made a slight, sarcastic gasp.
“Oh my, you are a bad girl.” Lydia waited for a serious answer. “That man stole
Forrest’s BB gun and bazooka while he was unconscious. After discovering that
the bazooka can inflate and shoot fire, he decided to keep him as hostage. Leo
wanted to fight back, but the chief threatened to call authorities from
Wiserheim, an imperial city marked by the strongest soldiers from the Winstel
army.”
Lydia frowned. “You mean we are in
the very strong and independent territory of the Winstel army?!”
“Strong enough that the Gammel army
hesitated to take over.”
“That’s… not good… How did you know
about all of this?”
“Leo told me, and over the four
weeks, we tried to find this beast.”
“You two! What are you whispering
about over there?!”
Lydia threw herself in front of him.
“Hello! I have an idea!~” The old chief looked uncomfortable. “Why don’t we
help look for that monster for you, and then you can free the little boy!”
“I’m listening.”
“Wait, that’s all I have.”
“That’s it?!”
Viola took out her lance. “I’ll give
you a kiss as well.”
“OHHH HOLY MOLY! You got yourself a
deal!”
Lydia turned away to whisper into
Viola’s ear, “You’re not going to actually do that… are you?”
“I got that part planned out.”
“But I just explained the plan only
a few seconds ago. How can you think so far ahead in such a short time?”
“Don’t you worry. We should go.” She
began to chuckle.
Forrest began to cry. “You’re not
leaving me here, are you?!”
“We’ll be back! Hopefully, we can
find Leo.”
The Handy Maid
She headed out of the chief’s tipi
and then she viewed the map again. The Zweiland Mountains was up north, but
slightly to the west was an opening that led to nowhere. She had asked Viola if
Leo came back occasionally to talk about his progress so far. Leo stated that
he has only been checking the same path north of Phardia but never on the west
side. With suspicion, Lydia decided it was better to start out in the west of
Phardia. [End music]
~ Phardia – western outskirts ~
“I really hope Rina, Hazel, and
Warren haven’t gone through here…”
“What makes you certain they are
alive?”
“Viola! They have to be… I mean,
we’re alive, right? It worries me that they could be out there in trouble, just
like Forrest.” She looked around, hoping to magically see all of her friends
again. “What if they’re here too?”
Viola was silent.
“Viola? Don’t you think they’re
nearby?”
“While you were out cold…” She said
slowly, “I spent day after day, looking for them.”
“You have?”
“Yes,” She responded. Lydia was
slightly surprised that Viola would come out here and check every single day on
account that they were practically new friends to her.
Lydia cracked a smile. “It’s fine,
Viola. If they are not here, then they are just somewhere else, hopefully
nearby and not too far.” She checked the map again which was painted in a small
amount of snow. “West of this continent continues towards a volcano and a large
city.”
“A volcano?” Viola questioned. “That
must be where the tracker could sense your existence. The Frolix Volcano has
been replenished each time – until the Obsidian energy had depleted.”
Lydia gasped. “Wait, what is the
relevancy of this volcano?”
“It was the sole reason why the
Gammel army went after the Obsidians. They examined the volcano and the tracker
could sense immense energy that could control nature itself – the Obsidians.
You see, when the energy depletes, the volcano malfunctions and there would no
longer be firepower for the entire Winstel continent to prosper. In Phardia,
people have complained that in recent years, the temperate has been several
degrees lower. You might think this only affects the Winstel continent, but
without the balance of fire, the other three main elements go haywire. They
need to harmonize each other.”
Lydia suddenly felt terrible for
Phardia. “Is that why the little town has been run-down?”
“I suppose so. However, I heard from
the townspeople that the volcano has been acting up a little since four weeks
ago.”
“Isn’t that…?”
“That was when we arrived. Lydia, I
assume that the closer you are to the volcano, the stronger the energy is
within that lava mount.”
Lydia checked the map again. “So… If
we go to the volcano, my energy source can automatically tether with the
volcano?”
“One can only hope. For now, we have
to focus on what’s in front of us.”
Lydia nodded. “Right.”
“No, I mean we literally have to focus on what’s in front of us.” [End music]
Lydia faced forward and she
screamed. “EEK! What is that?!?!” [Music 9.1]
There was a giant plant monster trying
to use its vines to slap Leo into the snow.
“Leo!! It’s really him!” Lydia
became excited. “We need to save him!!”
Leo turned around. “Lydia?! And my
dear Viola?!” With such distraction, two vines slapped him into the snow.
“Eagh! Totally worth it…”
Lydia took out her flail and Viola
had her lance ready.
“The Grand Dionaesus,” Viola
mentioned.
Lydia kicked one of the vines away,
smashing it into the snow with her spiked flail. Another vine spun and wrapped
itself onto Viola’s lance. She was being pushed forward by force, but she
jumped up onto the vine while still holding onto her lance. The vine was
bending, causing itself enough pain. It let go of Viola’s lance while
screeching from the center of its body.
Lydia spun her flail with a taunt.
“My body still feels a little sore from all that lying around, but I can still
fight!”
Leo slowly stood up with a giant
bruise on his head. “Heh… Me too!” He pushed his knuckles together, joining the
battle. “It’s payback time!”
“I can finally show the world,”
Lydia thought as she scratched one of the monster’s vines with her flail, “I
can finally show everyone that I am strong enough to save those I love most!”
Again and again, she was able to break the vines that came out of the plant
monster’s body.
Leo was busy punching the monster’s
body itself and Viola smoothly made her way to the center while slicing out any
vines coming her way. After a few minutes, the group of three were able to
smash the monster into pieces until it stopped moving. [End music]
Lydia jumped. “We did it. We stopped
the giant beast monster!”
Leo turned to Lydia. “You’re awake
too!!”
The two of them began to hug each
other in joy. It was like a little reunion for them, and they needed to cherish
this moment before they had to return back to Phardia. Viola sliced the plant’s
head.
“Aren’t you a cute little thing.”
“Why is she bringing that with us…?”
Lydia shivered.
What an Adorable Plant
~ Phardia – chief’s den ~
“Whoa!! You actually did it! How?!” [Music 17.1]
Leo stretched his arms. “Ah, it was
easy!”
Viola chuckled. “It took you four
weeks to find the beast until we decided to chime in.”
“Eheh… I knew I should have checked
different routes after a while.”
“Your tactician skills are lacking,”
She joked.
“H-Hey! I’m only good as a tactician
if the material is there for me already! When it comes to looking for
something, that’s a totally different story.”
“Whatever you say.~”
The chief clapped his hands. “Miss
Viola, I am ready for that kiss now!”
“Alright.”
Leo panicked. “Wait, what?!”
Lydia took a step back in disgust.
“Y-You’re not actually going to do it, are you?”
“I am.”
“That’s right! I’m getting a kiss
from the hottest babe in town!” The chief snorted.
Forrest closed his eyes, still
wearing the maid outfit. “I don’t wanna look!”
Viola giggled as she neared her face
closer to the chief’s lips. “Close your eyes. This will be a magical one,
sweetie.”
Lydia hugged Leo in fear. “She’s
really going to do it!!”
“No! No! I can’t watch!” He closed
his eyes.
The moment Viola’s face was about
two feet close, she placed the Dionaesus’ head in between.
“Mmm…” The chief said while closing
his eyes. “A little rough on the lips, but this is so nice!” He barely said in
his mumbling voice as he kissed the beast.
Viola removed the plant’s head and
the man opened his eyes to see Viola still in front of him, at least that’s
what he thought.
Leo knelt down and began crying,
still with his eyes closed. “She did it! She really did it! I heard the whole
thing! It was terrible!!”
Lydia giggled. “Hehehe… I don’t
think you have any idea…”
Viola pointed at Forrest, “Now, will
you free the boy?”
“Anything for a woman as beautiful
as you!!” He cheerfully opened the cage and Forrest came running out like a
freed little puppy.
Forrest hugged Lydia the moment he
was set free. “Lydia!!! I missed you! Aww, it really is the real you!” He began laughing while having a droop of snot
running down his nose.
The chief also threw the BB gun and
the cubed bazooka at Forrest. “Take this trash with you!”
“It’s not trash!!” Forrest grabbed
the cubed bazooka and Leo stopped him before he could attack the chief. Forrest
was unable to take on his revenge due to the fact that the chief had authority
to call the Winstel government.
Lydia rolled her eyes. “We should
leave. We have no business staying here anymore anyway.” [End music]
The chief frowned. “Miss Viola! I-If
you stay, I won’t call the authorities!”
Viola shrugged. “That’s alright. I
can bypass the Winstel army. I’m leaving. Oh, and this is for you.” She threw
the disturbing Dionaesus head at the chief.
“Argh…!”
Upon leaving the tipi, Lydia turned
to Viola, “Isn’t he going to call the authorities since you’re leaving?”
“He’s bluffing. What is he going to
tell the authorities? ‘This woman
wouldn’t stay with me, so I am contacting you for help!’? And if he happens
to lie, I will act out as a victim.”
Lydia giggled. “Oh Viola, you’re
pretty clever.”
Leo was being dragged by Forrest on
the way out. The poor man still assumed Viola had kissed the dirty old chief.
~ Phardia – northern outskirts ~
“Felix too…” She said to herself.
“What’s wrong?” [Music 17.2]
“I don’t know, really,” Lydia
replied. “Now that I think about it, did Felix really die?”
Forrest tilted his head. “Hm… He did
just disappear with the light.”
“Maybe he was sent on limbo,” Leo
suggested.
“That light must have hurt, though,”
Lydia claimed. “Anything coming at you with that kind of speed could just
strike through your body. Why did he
just vanish with it?”
Viola said casually, “Well, think of
it this way. When you get struck by lightning, how fast is it until you look
like a crispy fish stick?”
Lydia closed her eyes. “No… I don’t
want to think about that. But, you do make sense.”
“So basically he did die??” Forrest
began to cry.
Viola shrugged. “Just a little piece
of information. I’m not saying he did or did not, but what do you think we
should do about this?”
Lydia thought about it carefully. “I
think it’s a longshot, but we can try finding all of our friends again, even
Felix. I don’t think he died. He can’t have!”
“If he died, then we’re trying to
play with the dead here. If he didn’t, then we have to search the world for
him,” Viola said. “Are you up for this responsibility?”
“I know it could take years…” Lydia
said to her. “But I don’t know what to do at this point! Felix is important to
all of us, and he needs to come back as soon as possible. At the same time,
Magnus is on his way to destroying the rest of the world, isn’t he?!”
Leo patted Lydia on her shoulders.
“I personally say we can do both at the same time. I know Felix wouldn’t want
you to make him the priority, but it would be nice to conveniently find him
along the way.”
“Is that our best option?” Lydia
said in fear.
“Is it?” Leo asked rhetorically.
“This is your decision, Lydia. He has taught us many things, even us as adults.
We believe you can also make the right choices.”
Forrest poked her hips. “Yeah!
You’re our new leader! Our new goal is to stop that Magnus guy, get Bailey and
Clyde back, and find all of our friends!” [End music]
Lydia blushed. “M-Me?! Why?! Leo,
you’re the oldest here, right? You should be the leader!”
“I’m only the tactician,” he said.
“But I’m only a teenage girl!”
“No need for ageism, young lady!” he
joked.
Viola glared at him. “You’re only
saying that to deny the fact that you’re an old man.”
Forrest stuck his tongue out at Leo.
“He’s still an old man no matter what.”
Leo frowned. “Why are we turning the
conversation to me?!”
The other three group members began
to laugh together.
Lydia nodded. “Okay. Leo, you’re
right about all of this. I’m a grown woman now. I should be able to decide for
myself and I think we should head over to the Frolix Volcano. What Viola said
about Obsidian energy being tethered with the volcano is interesting. Along the
way, maybe we can find our friends!”
The group cheerfully agreed as they
began heading out on their new journey.
[Ending 4 music]
~~~
Next time on The Obsidian Tale, the group of four make their way to the Zweiland Mountains. If you thought areas like the Opel Plains and Li'Opa Jungles were huge, get this! The main group will encounter a familiar enemy, along with the truth of said enemy. But how far does this snowstorm have to last for them? Will they survive through this? Keep on to the next episode!
~~~
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