Had to rewrite this chapter not once but TWICE. First time, didn’t like the way the chapter flowed, so I restarted it. Second time, my idiot of a computer decided it was time to randomly delete absolutely everything in the document containing ToaLW. Thank goodness I had 61 1/2 chapters saved on my flash drive. Now I know what it feels like to be SilverFX.

EDIT:: Pathetically edited into the chapter Rill, whom I mistakenly forgot to mention in the chapter. ^^;; x50

Episode 66 Gijiduny…Something…Something

“Gijiduny Tohief Nolat Xolawora,” Kunai says the name out loud, as he and Ryuu trot next to Wing. They are following a narrow dirt trail leading out of the forests of Ellinia. Around them, the trees are beginning to grow thinner and more widely spaced apart.

“I never thought I’d hear from him again.”

Ryuu glances back behind his shoulder. Kunai is carrying a slumbering Ivy on his back, while Ayame is burdened by an unconscious Sasha as well. Tide and Silver are hobbling about with the help of Lily. Rill is also stumbling along as well.

“When we get there, we ought to rest there for a few days if we can,” Ryuu growls. “We’ve obviously come out of our last battle worse for wear.”

“How do you suppose George’ll be able to help us?” Kunai asks, turning to Wing.

Wing shrugs, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Even I’m not quite sure what use he may be to us. However, I remain confident that he can definitely supply us with valuable information from within the Myougun. I believe he is privy to something that shall be of very great use for our cause.”

“How has George been able to extract all this info from the Myougun, though?” Ayame asks. “It must’ve taken heavy spying, or—”

“He is a double agent,” Wing replies, “working for us and for the Myougun at the same time.”

A long silence falls amongst the group, as they contemplate this new bit of information. “If that’s the case,” Ryuu growls, “then how do we know he is working on our side and our side only? We could be the ones he’s betraying.”

“He has my confidence that he is working for us only,” Wing answers, “George would not be the type to betray us in favor of the Myougun. After all, his entire family has been slain for protesting against the Myougun.”

“I see,” Kunai retorts, his voice grave.

“So what is this information that he has?” Ryuu mutters interestedly. “We know he’s working for the Myougun and for us at the same time, but how much about the enemy does he really know?”

“I have suspected for a long time,” Wing begins, “that George has the knowledge of where the Myougun’s plans for interplanetary travel lie. If that is the case, we may very soon—”

“Learn how to seal the four worlds from each other!” Ryuu interrupts, his eyes widening.

“Exactly,” Wing replies, a slight smirk returning to his lips.

“Whoa, that’s great and all,” Tide interrupts, poking his head in between Wing and Ryuu, “but what I wanna know is, just who exactly is this Zollo-zollo…Zollo-war-poop guy?”

Wing turns to Tide, his brow twitching slightly at the blatant and profane butchering of the dwarf’s name. Silver smacks Tide across the face, sighing wearily. “Don’t mind him,” she says, “Tide has a tendency to emit dangerous amounts of stupid from time to time.”

“Er…yeah,” Wing mumbles, rather unsure of his next response, “Xolawora is a dwarf who lives near the outskirts of Henesys. We are allies. Although it is highly uncommon for esteemed fairies such as myself to associate with a lowly species such as that of the dwarves, this particular dwarf is an especially useful one.”

Tide blinks. “I…think I get it,” he replies slowly. He turns to Ryuu and Kunai, the same clueless expression still planted on his face. “So how do you guys know him?”

“We met George when—” Kunai begins, before Ryuu interrupts.

“He wrote a hybrid seal for me,” he says, “that’s all there was to it.”

Kunai glances briefly at Ryuu, noting the hardened look in his eyes. He silently nods to himself, understanding the tone in Ryuu’s voice.

“Wow!” a high-pitched, squeaky voice suddenly screams into the air. “So that rotten dwarf is actually a traitor to my bosses in the Myougun!” Otis pokes his tiny green head out from under Ryuu’s collar, surveying the crowd around him excitedly.

“Wait till they hear about this—!” Otis squawks.

However, Ryuu gives Otis a sour glare, grabbing him fiercely by the neck and squeezing him tightly, until Otis’s tiny eyes nearly pop out from their sockets. “Must you always hide inside my clothing like that?! It’s disgusting and unhygienic!”

Otis proceeds to stick out his tongue and blows on it, showering Ryuu’s face with a slimy kind of saliva. Ryuu grinds his teeth and with a furious charge, hurls Otis far into the air, watching as he lands several long yards away.

“Just like him to disappear when there’s trouble around,” Ryuu mutters crossly, “and then pop up again when everything calms down. It’s a shame he doesn’t just disappear completely altogether.”

“Are you sure we should do nothing about this?” Wing asks slightly nervously. “I mean, if that talking snail is working for the Myougun, we could have some troub—”

“Then we’ll be having escargot for lunch the next day,” Ryuu replies gruffly.

Far down the low-lying hills stretching out from the ends of the forest, the ground flattens, and becomes one endless mass of green plains. Off in the distance, the remote roofs of buildings can be seen, hovering just under a slight morning fog.

Meanwhile, zigzagging through the crevices in between the hills is a running river, curling and dancing along like a ribbon until it disappears around a bend, heading straight towards the town on the horizon.

At the end of the downs is a single cottage, simple and rustic in appearance. The walls are built of stone, while the roof, doors, windows, and porch are fabricated from wood. Here, running past the humble abode is the running river, threading its way right past the stone home on the right.

A wooden water mill is standing on the bank of the river, the wheel turning gently as the slow current guides it along. Connected to the mill is a tiny shed, stocked with wooden shelves laden with simple tools used for farming.

The grass grows high around the house, and two fields lie adjacent to it, one bearing wheat and the other bearing potato and carrot plants.

Around the small, grassless courtyard of sorts walled in by the mill and house are potted plants, where two pigs are feasting noisily.

Kunai, Ryuu, and Wing lead the way as they approach this home. The entire clearing remains silent except for the soft chirping of birds and the churning of the river’s current.

“Woo!” Tide shouts rather loudly. He glances around. “This place is a dump! Talk about rustic!”

Silver shoots Tide a brief glare. “This coming from someone who’s one-room home doesn’t even have a restroom or plumbing?”

“Owned!” Otis chirps happily from Ryuu’s shoulder.

Tide turns to Otis, waving his fist. “Shut up, you brat.”

“Be quiet, you idiots!” Wing hisses, glaring at all three of them. He turns to Kunai and Ryuu. “I’ll take it from here first.” With some slight hesitation, Wing approaches the door of the stone house, and knocks on it twice. The noise from the knock resounds rather loudly, a strong, hollow sound.

For several long moments, everything else falls into silence. At last, the door creeps slowly open, and a dwarf steps out into the threshold.

Though Wing is relatively short, the dwarf is even shorter, by about a head. He frowns, squinting his eyes to survey the unusually large party gathered in front of him. He scratches his beard, which is coarse and gray, easily stretching down to his stomach.

“What on earth is all this?” the dwarf rumbles, turning his head from side to side to get a better look at each face.

“George,” Wing recites, “we have come in need of your assistance.”

“‘In need of my assistance?’” George repeats, perplexed. “What could you possibly need from me, a lonely dwarf living on the outskirts of Henesys?”

“Cut the chit-chat,” Ryuu growls, “the point is, there’s no need to play dumb. We already know of your alliance with Wing, and the fact that you’re a double agent working for the Myougun as well. What we need is inside information from the Myougun.”

“You,” George mumbles slowly, turning to Ryuu. “You’re…”

“Yeah,” Ryuu interrupts hurriedly, “thanks again for the hybrid seal, by the way.”

“No matter,” George replies.

“You would be willing to help us, right, George?” Kunai asks, speaking up for the first time.

“Of course, of course,” George answers, “I’d be glad to help you in any way I can, I suppose.”

Tide lights up, giving George a wide beam. “Thanks again for helping us, Mister—uh…Mister Garbage-duney…Nougat, uh…Tree-pee Zol—”

George hastily waves his hands, stepping aside to allow the group in. “Ah—y-yes, yes, that’s enough, boy. Y-You can just call me George.”

Inside are only two rooms, one being the larger room doubling as workplace and living space and the other a tiny, cramped bedroom with only one bed in it.

In the middle of the main room is a large, sturdy wooden table, heavily laden with random blueprints, tools, and unfinished machine parts. George hastily sweeps them into his arms and off the table, clearing it slightly.

In their place, he lights a single candle, giving the room an illuminated glow. Ryuu, Wing, Tide, Silver, Lily, and Rill take their seats around the table, but Kunai and Ayame remain behind, still burdened by Ivy and Sasha respectively.

“These two are pretty badly injured,” Ayame mutters to George, “they’ll need some rest.”

“Give them the bed in the other room,” George rumbles, guiding Kunai and Ayame into the room placed off to the side. Together, the two of them place Ivy and Sasha comfortably side by side on the single bed.

Kunai and Ayame then exit the tiny bedroom, returning into the main room, where everybody else has already taken a seat at the wooden table in the center. George takes his seat at the head of the table, as all eyes lay on him.

Kunai and Ayame hurriedly take the two vacant seats left for them, and turn their attention towards George. “Very well, then,” George sighs, “what shall you inquire of me?”

“Three things,” Wing answers, “beginning firstly with the location of the plans containing the knowledge of sealing and opening the four worlds from each other.”

George sighs for one long moment, a deep, contemplative look in his eyes. At last, he nods, opening his mouth to speak as he takes a deep breath.

A rattling breath of wind howls violently in the atmosphere, as silvery wisps of dense fog material hovers high in the sky, dulling the already darkened sky into a heavy mass of black.

The forlorn whistling of a train rises mournfully high into the air, eerie and lonely at the same time. The soft, repetitive chugging looms in the horizon, and all of a sudden, coming out of the darkness is a bright, white light.

A lone figure stands at the station awaiting this train, his face hidden underneath a wide-brimmed hat. The sleeves of an old, gray coat flap gently in the breeze generated by the oncoming train. Underneath the coat is stashed a Dark Ritual.

At last, with one last whistle, the train comes to a stop, and ghostly figures emerge from the compartment doors, wandering about bewilderedly. They turn and stare at their surroundings, gazing around with open mouths.

Out of the train hops a lone Ranger, blue-haired and with a deep frown on his face. As he steps down, the figure that had been waiting in the train station approaches him.

The Ranger looks up, surprised by the unexpected greeter. He tenses, half-reaching for an arrow out of the quiver strapped to his back.

“Well now, it’s been a long time, eh?” the figure on the train station says. He removes the hat from his golden head, shaking loose the curls of blonde hair. A pair of blue eyes gleams from under the mass of yellow.

“Y-You!” the Ranger shouts furiously, pointing at his usher in amazement.

“Now, now,” the usher replies, “is that any way to greet an old face, Arayu?”

“I thought I killed you long ago!” Arayu protests, glaring angrily at the usher.

“Of course you did,” the usher replies rather coldly, “this is the Underworld, after all. I am simply here to greet you and take you to your new home for eternity.”

“What did you say?!” Arayu argues, clenching his teeth.

“My job here in the Underworld is to welcome new residents in. It is also my duty to guide those who have sinned in their mortal lives to the place known as Idavoll,” the usher answers. “That is where I am going to take you now.”

“And if I refuse?” Arayu growls.

“Then I’ll have to take you by force,” the usher replies.

“Hmph,” Arayu replies, apparently considering the man’s words for a moment. “Like I will come peacefully.” He draws his Dark Arund, and loads an arrow in it. “I’ll kill you again first!”

The usher tenses, drawing his own Dark Ritual. He holds it outstretched firmly in his hand, concentrating the sparkling glow of a ball of lightning in it. “All right then,” the usher mutters. “It’s been a while since I’ve really fought. Although I went easy on Kunai, I shall not go easy on you!”

“Bring it on,” Arayu howls in reponse.

Out in the darkness, the gathering mill of people has assembled on the platform at the train station, unsure of where to go. A brown-haired mage approaches them, a faint, yet benevolent smile on his lips.

“Come this way,” he says, showing the gathered group the way. As he leads them away from the station, he turns briefly towards the usher and Arayu.

‘Don’t go have too much fun, Arai.’

Next Time: Episode 67 Do Not Interfere! II

Otis: Next time, Super-Long-Name-Mister-Dwarf-Gorilla reveals the location of the Myougun’s world plans, as well as some very valuable information about my bosses in the Myougun! How criminal of that evil traitor!

Ryuu: Shut up, you. You’re spoiling everything!

Otis: Also look forward to the gigantic argument next time!

Ryuu: [squish]

Otis: OWW!

Episode 67 Do Not Interfere! II coming soon!