The Obsidian Tale
~ Wiserheim – Redlin’s kingdom – throne room ~
“Yes, this very novel speaks the
truth, and I see it all makes sense now.” Gunther tightly gripped the book into
his hands. “Seeing as we are now working together, I must explain the entire
story to you right now as a summary. Time is wasting.”
“What was the technology like back
then?” Lydia asked.
Gunther smiled. “Ah, good question
to start the story. You see, Rhadessia was once a world banded by technology
all throughout. Like I have mentioned, there were such devices such as
television sets and cellphones that can communicate to the other side of the
world in an instant. However… Waltzer knew of a way to combine Obsidian energy
with machinery, giving them their own piece of heart and motion.”
Lydia looked away in shame. “This is
a similar representation of how Garnett was created…”
“With such combinations of Obsidian
energy and technology, humans have claimed them to be ‘robots’ with
uncontrollable sense of destruction. To cut this short, it took almost a decade
for humans to outsmart robots and eradicate them all. Furthermore, we humans
thought it was a better idea to not speak of such antics. They have decided to
destroy all books that showed formulas and history of what we have done. If
these books still existed, people today would go around the world in search of
a way to recreate technology combined with Obsidian energy. It seems now is
that time.”
Viola sat by a stone block.
“Technology will never grow in peace, so as long as we cannot trust humanity to
segregate such devices with Obsidian energy.”
“Perfect way to put it,” Gunther
agreed with her. “Such lack of trust is given to those who combine these
ordeals to create war and terrorism.”
Rina shrugged. “Eh, then how did
Waltzer turn into some sealed spirit in the first place? We were told of the
story about how he was reawakened only twenty years ago.”
“Like Igor, Waltzer was a well-known
scientist who took advantage of the machines. He was only a teenager –
intelligent to his own will. He had been severely bullied in his teenage
classes, and he combined the Obsidian energy with his bots not for his
advantage to live an easier lifestyle at home with robotic maids and butlers,
but for revenge. He couldn’t take the bullying, and he used the robots to kill
each and every one of his bullies.” [End music]
Forrest began to shiver, hiding
behind Leo’s coat. [Music 37.2]
“Even when he was in his late
twenties, it was difficult to track him down. He took some random child one day
to create test subjects and mutated him one by one. As this went on, he had
become a known criminal and it was too late for him to go back. He decided to
kill anyone who got in his way – such as ‘policemen’. They had ‘cars and
trucks’ as the pictures were shown. ‘Helicopters’ were also used.”
Leo yawned. “Ah man, what are all of
these words that you’re using?”
“Terminology for the technology.
Cars and any other machinery were trashed and thrown underwater, and some
hidden under the debris and remains of the Merridian Laboratory. No one has
been there for quite some time except for Magnus and Igor. With the constant
destructions that Waltzer has been dealing, he decided to write a journal of
his successes.”
Hazel pointed at the novel. “And
that’s what you’re holding. Where did you find it?”
“Buried deep in the basement. This
is where Waltzer visited via helicopter. We found other parts of his stash but
they were already destroyed technologies.”
Forrest became excited. “Wow! So
that’s why you were able to make new stuff like trucks! There are si-mi-lar models
in that journal, huh!”
Lydia sighed. “As long as I am
alive… technology will be feared as an advancement because of the natural
Obsidian energy…”
Rina patted her on the shoulders.
“Who the hell cares about technology? We survived for this long, right? Heh!”
Forrest scratched his head. “I could
use a cellphone thing to talk to my friends right now though…” Rina punched him
on the face, telling him not to remind that Lydia has to die in order to bring back cellphones.
Hazel chuckled. “Hmph, and to think
people of the past were much more advanced than we are. No matter, we will head
to this sacred tree and stop Magnus. We have no clue yet as to why he is going
there, but it is definitely not good if he needs all the magical elements.”
“Wouldn’t we need to get there
quickly? Magnus has a very quick teleportation ability due to his excess in
power, but we do not,” Warren said to her.
Gunther snapped his fingers. “And
this is when I come in!” Everyone turned to him. “Using the helicopter and
airplane models within this journal, I have ordered the people of Amitt to
recreate airborne technology. We may want to cut it short, but at the same
time, there are very few Obsidians left.” [End music]
Forrest squealed. “Woohoo! We get to
fly?! Wait a minute! If Lydia is the only Obsidian person alive, then
technology can advance!”
Rina grinned. “It wouldn’t be fair
for Lydia to miss out on it. You saw what happened at the volcano, right? At a
certain distance, Lydia’s Obsidian energy caused the volcano to erupt!” [Music 25.1]
Gunther laughed. “Good point!
However, you are missing the big picture here. Technology had to be catalyzed
with Obsidian energy. Technology is not a natural resource such as a volcano,
so a mere existence of Obsidian energy is not going to react with technology
unless forced upon by scientists. Therefore, Lydia can experience new
technology as long as no one steals her energy for evil again.”
“People will still have to protect
me if technology rises, right?” Lydia frowned. “I want to protect myself and
all, but this constant feeling of us humans being greedy with technology and
Obsidian energy kind of worries me.”
“We will worry about that when the
entire world somehow finds out you are an Obsidian. Based on the story you all
told me about your journey so far, only the Gammel army and a few civilians
have some clue about you. The Lennox army – well, we don’t need to worry about
that. They have a trustworthy government according to Leo’s description of
Ace.”
Hazel rolled her eyes as she gave a
slight smile. “I still find it ironic that you were holed up on this continent
your whole life – and then you suddenly tell us something nobody knew about.”
“Silence, Hazel!!” He shouted,
blushing like a tomato.
Lydia took a step back, still
worrying. “Even through all this… I just…”
“What is it, Lydia?” Rina tilted her
head to see Lydia’s expression.
“It’s just, technology can finally
renew itself within Rhadessia. But… Felix is not here to experience it
happening. He’s gone.”
The group became silent.
Forrest wanted to cry this time. “I
miss Mr. Felix...”
Leo knelt down in front of Lydia,
pushing her bangs off to the side. “Hey, it will be alright. We can find a way
to use technology and revive him. I too believe that he is not completely gone
as he simply vanished from a ray of light. We have no idea what to do for him,
but we need to worry about Magnus first. When we finish our journey, then we can work on new technology. He
must be out there somewhere.”
Rina harshly patted Leo’s back. “And
we can use Leo’s money to find the technology! BAHAHA!”
Lydia wiped her tears away.
“R-Really?”
Leo nodded. “Yeah, I want to help as
well.”
Lydia shook her head. “No, I’m
talking about using your money to help.”
Leo fell to the ground. “Eh?!” Rina
laughed in the background. “Anyway, Felix was always like a little brother to
me, but it hurts that I can no longer tell him he’s important to me and everybody
else…” The rest of the group frowned. “Now, Magnus is my problem, so I feel
that I must deal with him as soon as possible. I refuse to accept that he is my
step-uncle. Not by blood.” He stood up, turning to Gunther. “You said there are
airships in Amitt?”
Gunther nodded.
“May we have a boat there?”
“Boats through the ocean will not
suffice,” Gunther said. “Amitt is the only town that is unreachable by ocean.”
“Besides Lament,” Forrest corrected
him.
“Anyway!!! The only way to get to
Amitt without an airship is through the Egel Ravine. It is quite a dangerous
place, but you can use a steel boat that we prepared. The Egel Ravine is a bit
wishy washy with all the twisters and rising altitudes. Sometimes, you may find
yourself flowing upward and eventually onto Amitt-level.”
Forrest began running all over the
throne room in excitement. “Yipee!! We get to go on a reverse waterfall?!”
“This is no time for fun and games!
The Egel Ravine is no joke! They say it’s similar to a roller coaster from a
millennium years ago!” [End music]
The group was silent, unsure what he
was even talking about.
“…What are roller coasters?” Forrest
asked.
~ Egel Ravine – northern portion ~
Leo felt his stomach churn. “This
makes me feel kind of sick…”
Lydia held onto the ship’s mast as
tightly as she could. Her body was flying horizontally, but her grip kept her
on the boat. “This is ridiculous! I’m gonna fly off!”
Forrest was hanging onto her legs.
“Weeeee!!!”
Warren was standing against the
walls in front of the door leading to the lower decks. “Everyone, get over here
quick!!” He had his hand pressed against the wall. Actually, not the wall.
“Don’t touch me there!” Hazel
shouted as Warren accidentally had his palm against her chest.
A Moment at Rest
The boat flung sideways and Viola
had her lance stabbed through a cloth that she wore on temporarily. She was
hanging peaceful on her lance like an apple on a tree branch.
Meanwhile, Rina tried to suppress
her stance with wind and water, but it was not entirely helpful for her as the
ship kept moving, sometimes crashing against her feet.
At one point, the ship suddenly
stopped with its heavy shaking. Leo and Forrest slid below the hanging Viola as
both their heads were smacked against one of the walls nearby Warren. The
entire ship was at the highest point of the ravine, with the skies finally as
bright as sunlight.
Leo accidentally looked up at Viola
and he could hear a bunch of imaginary angelic women screaming haaaaallelujah! together. “Eh?!?!
Th-That view!” He blushed, seeing what was below Viola’s skirt. “It’s too
soon!!”
“I agree!” Forrest nodded as the
ship was completely calm for a few seconds. He was looking up too, but at the
bright sky and not at Viola, unaware of what Leo was talking about.
Lydia blushed. “F-Forrest! Don’t
talk about that!!”
“Why not?!” Forrest whined. “It’s
the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen! So bright and nice!!”
Lydia screamed. “EYAAH! When did you
become such a pervert?!”
“Huh?? What are you-“ Forrest was
interrupted by the sudden fall of the ship as it was landing against the
closest green land in front of them.
Everyone began screaming for their
life until… CRASH! [End music]
~ Egel Ravine – southern portion ~
Viola jumped off the ship, examining
it after she turned around. “At least it’s not completely totaled.”
“Uh, hello? In terms of it being
able to ride itself again, I don’t think so,” Rina said angrily.
Leo tapped his sleeves a few times
from recent dust. He then sneezed. “Eugh… this is really unsanitary.” With the
sun beaming his way while being way up above ground level, he became confused
at where he was. “So where exactly are we right now?”
Hazel took a look at the map. “If I
recall, we are several meters above ground level, and this is still considered
the Egel Ravine. The dry part, that is.”
Forrest pointed ahead. “Oh boy! I
can see the town I think! It’s covered in clouds.”
As the group headed for Amitt, Viola
said to the ship, “I think we’ll need someone to come over and repair you.”
~ Amitt – western district - archway ~
There were windmills everywhere,
followed by tall grass that was flowing back and forth in the most peaceful
manner. Oh yeah, let’s not forget the mass amounts of alpacas just freely
roaming around, minding their own business while the humans did the same.
Forrest wanted to poke one of them but Hazel had to grab his collar.
“Ahh! Out of the way!” A thirteen
year-old teenager, who was on a small portable pilot ship, yelled as he almost
crashed into Forrest.
The boy flew up with his tiny toy
pilot, barely avoiding a crash landing. Forrest was not angry, however. He was
too mesmerized by the amazing sight of flying ships almost everywhere around
the town.
“Wow!! So this is what Amott is
like, huh?”
“It’s ‘Amitt’…” Rina corrected him.
Forrest ignored her as usual, and he
began jumping. “I wanna ride one! I wanna ride one!!”
“Hold it. We need to find a known
shipwright first,” Hazel said, grabbing Forrest by the back collar.
“That would be me,” a middle-aged
man said by a large barrel. He was refilling oil for his next airship. “You all
seem new here, ohoh.” The young boy from earlier appeared to be his son,
smiling instead of blaming Forrest about the near-death crash.
Warren coughed. “Might I ask, if
appropriate… but why are you all not guarding the town from outsiders?”
“We don’t need to worry about that,
big guy! The only strangers who come in here are usually people sent by the
trusty king of Wiserheim. He is the one who helps fund the airship projects.”
The young boy chuckled. “Wow! So
these are the friendly outsiders that you talked about, huh dad?”
“Well, not all of them are good, but
you can trust the ones who come up here.”
Hazel smiled. “Only the king sends
outsiders into this little village. Ah, that is Gunther Redlin, for you!”
“So, what business do you have here
in Amitt? You were sent for an airship, but for what reason?” The shipwright
questioned them kindly.
“To find a killer,” Forrest said.
“And to make sure we kill him,” Rina
added.
“Uhh…” The shipwright became
frightened.
Hazel grabbed both of them by the
ears. “That is exactly not what we are after.”
Leo shrugged. “In a way, it’s kind
of accurate.” Hazel may not have any extra hands leftover, but she managed to
kick him in the unmentionables. Leo crouched down, screaming and rolling in
pain.
The shipwright panicked, hoping they
did not cause a scene in the peaceful town. “You know what? Why don’t we talk
about this in detail at my workshop.”
The Blue Beast
~ Amitt – central district – shipwright’s workshop ~
“I understand it may sound terrible
that we need a ship to find a man and put an end to him, but that is the only
way to save the world from withering away,” Hazel pleaded. “We really need an
airship.”
Lydia, Rina, and Leo were standing
around the other side of the room, playing with a few tools for the airship.
Forrest and the shipwright’s son were playing with toy airplanes together.
Viola and Warren sat with Hazel, listening to the details.
“I do have a bunch of models here,
but all of them do not have a central engine installed yet. It would take
overnight for me to install it and get it to work.”
“Why do you not insert the engine
when it is finished?” Warren asked.
“Well, the engine needs oil changes
every few months, so I would have these engines sit in the planes for no
reason, causing oil to dry out within the engine. Oil changes cost lots of
money, and we need all the money we can get. If you do need an airship though,
I would gladly work on it overnight.”
Hazel became worried. “We do not
have much time to spare… but this is the only way. I will have to let the rest
of the group know about this.”
“Oh and… it might cost a lot of
money to complete the airship.”
Hazel eyed Leo with a grim look on
her face. “Hehe… I don’t think that’s a problem.” She went to the rest of the
group to let them know about the airship completion, and they all agreed to
wait for a night. However, they were all feeling a bit uneasy by the idea of
wasting a night while Magnus is out there, possibly already destroying parts of
Rhadessia. Hazel was right, however. There was no other choice than to wait.
Hazel's Origin
~ Amitt – central district - market ~
“Charms! Get your charms, damn
it!!!”
Forrest came to a stop. “Oooooh…
These look cool. Look, Leo! A necklace the shape of a shadow.”
Tedd had a chicken wing in his hand.
“Hey… aren’t those the people we followed while sneaking into their airship??”
Zedd jumped. “Whoa! You’re right.”
The merchant girl punched the both
of them. “You idiots! Keep that to yourself, sh!”
Leo squinted closer at the
silhouetted necklace. Actually, the silhouette was split in half. The merchant
girl slammed her hands onto the table. “Hey! If you’re going to stare up close,
you might as well buy it!”
Lydia pondered at the word ‘charm’
for several seconds. “Uhm… where have I heard that word before?”
Forrest rudely pointed at the
merchant girl, “She’s been trying to sell it from place to place, but I
remember she used to sell love potions or whatever.
“That’s right, we did! Well, we
kinda mixed it in with the necklace so now it’s marked with love!”
Rina rolled her eyes. “That’s a load
of bullcrap. And besides, I remember the king of Wiserheim mentioned some kind
of doppelganger charm. That has nothing to do with these fakes.”
Zedd became sweaty. “Uh, well um!
You see…”
Tedd carried one of the necklaces.
“This special shadow necklace is the
doppelganger charm! It is mixed with both
love and friendship potions. It indicates pure and desiring trust towards the
other person.”
Rina stood onto their stall in order
to grab the tall man by the collar. “Hey, if you’re going to mess with us, you
should at least make it sound convincing, damn it!”
Lydia looked closely at the
necklace. The charm was half a human body’s silhouette. “Let’s say if it were
true… then the two people wearing each half will trust each other and care for
each other… for eternity?”
“You got that right!” The merchant
girl giggled. She glared over at Rina. “You should be more like that girl.”
Forrest giggled. “Hehe!! So if we
get Felix back with that necklace and have Lydia wear the other one, then-“ [End music]
Lydia covered his mouth. “F-Forrest!
Don’t talk about that!!” She began to blush. [Music 4.2]
Leo took out his wallet. “I think I
should have enough money to get it.”
Rina jumped onto his face.
“RAAAGH!!! Don’t you dare buy such crap!!!!” They began wrestling with each
other.
Zedd opened his hand out for them.
“That will be 100,000 gold, please.”
The merchant girl stood onto their
own selling stand. “Group meeting!!”
Forrest and Lydia took a step back
from her sudden surprise. The three merchants began whispering, and the only
sentence Lydia and Forrest got out of them was, ‘if they have a wallet, then
clearly you should bump up the price. That’s the power of merchants!’
The merchant girl suddenly faced
them. “150,000 gold!”
Leo and Rina stopped fighting after
hearing such an enormous price.
Leo checked his wallet. “Well, I
have a lot more than that, so I can buy it!”
The merchant girl couched. “Oops,
did I say 150,000 gold? That was for the single potion charms! This special one
is 200,000 gold!”
Rina stomped onto Leo’s foot. “I
should have been serious about all the times I wanted you to buy me things if I
knew you were this easy to buy stuff.”
Leo scratched his head. “Eheh… I’ll
take it!”
Forrest tugged onto his coat. “Um,
Leo? Remember how you spent a lot of money at the Prima city…? How much do you
have left?”
Leo opened his wallet again to
count.
Rina pushed him away. “How about we
count your money someplace else?”
The merchant girl clapped her hands.
“Thanks for the purchase! Finally, our first buyer.”
As they were walking away, Lydia
looked over at them. “Gee… I feel kind of sorry for them. No one ever bought
their stuff until Leo came around.”
“Eh,” Rina yawned. “Are you really
worried about their sales even after they clearly ripped us off? These two
necklaces we have here are totally useless, but Leo just had to buy them.”
Leo chuckled. “Hey, at least they’re
special souvenirs. These necklaces are my
business since I bought them, so scram.”
Rina ran in front of him, blasting a
fireball to his face. “Oh shut up! What are you, some immature teenager?”
Forrest pointed at Rina, “But aren’t
yo-“
Rina glared into his eyes and
Forrest could see flames coming out of her body, and imagining her slowly
setting the entire town on fire.
“S-Sorry!!!” Forrest began to cry. [End music]
As the group of four were walking
away, Lydia was still watching the merchant girl with her two friends, Zedd and
Tedd.
“Something doesn’t feel right…”
Lydia thought to herself. “I feel as if… we’re being watched…”
[Ending 4 music]
~~~
With episode 47 next, The Obsidian Tale will follow towards the Tree of Revision as the main group attempts to revive Felix. The idea is all fine and dandy, but is it really that simple? Magnus makes another tricky move, but this time it will be one of the most annoying for the main group. Let's see what he has in store on the next episode!
~~~
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