Ch6-2: Opal
Ben rarely slept.
And when he did, it was never for a long period of time. He didn’t exactly know why… just that he had always been that way since waking from Zeromus’ control. It was possible that this had been part of the alterations that were built into him. Afterall, a creature that could function on minimal sleep was much more valuable than one that required hours of rest every night.
No matter how it happened, Ben rarely slept.
It’s better that way. It’s better than facing the dreams…
Dreams of darkness. Of shadows that reached choking, ghastly tendrils around him, only to cast him beneath the waves of murky terror within his mind. And then came the flashes of what might have been his lost memory.
Memory of Zot? Memory of a time before that? Memory of things that had never really happened? He could never tell.
The last thing he wanted to do was remain asleep long enough to make sense of it all.
So when the rest of the party had collapsed in exhaustion at the root of the great tree, Ben remained awake. Watchful… with Lunar-green eyes that glittered in the pale light that drifted down through the branches above.
A child lay on either side of him, curled up within the folds of his heavy green cloak.
Chase’s face was serene as he slept. One little arm had sprawled across Ben’s chest, the boy’s hand clutching at the hem of the cloak much like he would during the waking hours. A halo of gold seemed to reflect from the sheen of his sandy-brown hair.
Poor child… he should not have come to see such terrible things as he has on this journey. But what could I do? I didn’t know he had stowed away on the ship.
Porom seemed a little more troubled in her sleep. Her round face squinted, even with eyes closed. Though she didn’t hold fast to Ben like Chase did, she lay very close to the Master Wizard, the shape of her body curled into a tight ball at his side. Her breathing stirred in strange patterns from time to time.
Maybe she has bad dreams, too?
Scattered along uneven rows in the grass, Ben could make out the unmoving lumps of the others who were sleeping. There was Captain Silver… and King Edge… and Cecil… though he couldn’t tell who was who in the tricks of the shadow. They had all been so tired at the closing of the meeting that most of them had fallen asleep under the comfort of their cloaks the moment their head touched the ground.
How peaceful it must be… to sleep like they do.
All that was left for Ben to do, like he did every night, was await the rising sun.
Do not dare to move…
Until then, he had to lie very still.
Do not dare to breathe…
Then maybe his dark thoughts would not discover him from where they stalked in the overhanging shadows.
Or else you may find that nightmares come true…
The sound of Porom turning and murmuring in her sleep drew Ben out of the depths of his mind. The Half-Lunar peered down at the girl, and seeing that her feet had come uncovered, he rearranged the cloak to secure her warmth.
Strange human child. A White Mage — she should have no liking for a once Dark Lord. Yet…
There she was curled up at his side. Just as trusting as the young Page boy. And Ben couldn’t fathom it. Not even for a moment.
Not that I’d let anything hurt them…
Over the short time he had spent upon the Blue Planet, the thought of causing human children harm had grown more and more repulsive in Ben’s mind. There was something about their easy laughter and warm smiles… their overwhelming curiosity – the only curiosity that seemed to match his own. And the way they were so innocent and trusting…
Even to creatures like me… who deserve nothing from them.
Ben smoothed down the cloak over the top of the girl, leaning back against the tree root. Then he gave a soft sigh, “Humans are strange…”
“You would probably think so,” a soft voice replied, from somewhere behind him. Within the tree branches.
“Eh?” Ben attempted to turn and address the voice. But he found himself unable to move, with two children sleeping on either side.
A gentle sound of muffled laughter met his best efforts. With a quiet scuff of boots, a small hooded figure dropped down from the darkened side of the roots just within the Half-Lunar’s line of sight. Instantly, he recognized the robes as belonging to one of the Clerics that they had met with earlier that night.
She stood, observing him from a few yards away. There was a sense of wariness. And of interest. The shimmer of violet in her eyes gave it all away. “You… are really the Master Wizard Golbez?”
“Um…” In a flash, Ben was acutely aware of the way he must have looked. Two sleeping children pinning him down against the tree. Disheveled white hair and soiled clothes after the long day of travel and battle. “I… am?”
A flicker of a young smile shown from under the hood. Instantly, he could see that all traces of etiquette had faded now that the Cleric was not in the meeting hall. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“You… were?” he was taken aback. Too surprised to hide that he was surprised.
The Cleric didn’t answer his question. She simply plowed on ahead, “My name is Opal. I’ve come here to aid you and your brother in the recapture of our city.”
Ben blinked. “Oh? Then the council agreed to fight along side of us?”
“Not… exactly,” she frowned, peering around quietly. “That’s why I’ve come here.”
A lump caught in his throat as he echoed, “Not exactly? What… do you mean?”
“I mean, they don’t want to send our troops out,” Opal gave him a long glance, her face tinged with worry. Maybe worried that he would get angry at what she had to say. “We met on it and there was a vote. There were a few of us who wanted to make our move, but the majority decided it was too dangerous at this point… especially with untested strategies.”
She’s just being nice… the truth is, they don’t trust me near their people. And she won’t admit it.
“What do they think they’re going to be able to accomplish by waiting here longer?” he asked, keeping the emotion out of his voice.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But if we don’t get out of this siege soon, people are going to starve. We have very little in the way of supplies…. and a lot of wounded people.”
He nodded slowly. Morosely. “I know.”
“Is it true…” her voice shifted in tone. A change in topic. “Is it true that you know a way to break through the shields to defeat the Daear?”
“Well… yes,” Ben took in a slow, deep breath.
Explaining the whole thing to her would be nearly impossible. So he simply broke it down the best that he could.
“You see, I believe this ‘shield’ that they are using is actually a sort of dimensional pocketing magic,” he began. “In essence, they have found a way to slip in between the folds of two parallel dimensions, far enough that they cannot be struck at my normal means. However, it seems that their pockets are rather unstable. And all it takes is a good, high-powered blast of magic to pull down the shield.”
“Is that so?” she was leaning forward, a finger on her chin.
“Yes… I saw it happen with my own magic. However, I believe this will only leave them open to attack for a short while before the shield reestablishes itself,” his face was grim. “And a mage wouldn’t have time to strike quickly enough… not after casting such a large spell to begin with… and not before the attacking Daear would be on top of them.”
“So what are you suggesting?”
“That we use a combination of attacks. A mage that can harness a high-power spell to bring down the shield…” Ben spread his hands slightly, “Working with a warrior who can step in to damage the Daear and protect the mage while they recharge for the next spell.”
Opal’s face was clouded with thought. Then she nodded slowly. “That seems really sound to me. We’re a little lacking on mages in our troops, but I think we should be able to find enough to pull something like that off.”
“But I thought you said–”
“I have also been talking with some of the Red Wing troops that came from the ship that King Cecil sent to Troia,” she simply continued. “There’s a good chance that the ship they landed outside city is still there and in tact.”
“Really?”
If a ship really was there in Troia, that would be the answer to a lot of our problems.
His face must have reflected his sudden shift of hope because the Cleric nodded vehemently, “It’s very possible… but not absolute.”
We could pick up where we left off… maybe even catch up on lost ground. There are only two more Crystals they can attack, after all.
In a little-girl voice, Opal spoke again. Her words took him by surprise, “I know… that there is something going on in this world… that is bigger than my Sisters seem to recognize.”
Ben glanced up, an attentive and questioning look on his face.
“They weren’t there to see it… the destruction of the Earth Crystal,” she told him. “But I was. I saw part of it happen — the end part. I can’t begin to explain to you what it was like. Maybe I thought the world was coming to an end. Silly… I guess?”
She gave a nervous laugh.
Ben shook his head slowly. His attempt at being encouraging. “No, not silly…”
“I… just wanted to tell you… that I’ve decided to help,” Opal spoke slowly, heartened to continue. “I want to help… partly because it might be tough for you to persuade the others in the council to join you. And like I said, I know something big is going on… even if the elders don’t seem to realize that.”
“But…” the Half-Lunar blinked in surprise. “I don’t understand why you would…”
“I don’t completely understand it either,” she tilted her head a little before brushing off the front of her robe. “Call it intuition, if you will. It’s supposed to be part of being a Cleric… we just know certain things? At least… that’s what I was always led to believe about myself.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” Opal gave an uncomfortable grin. “I don’t always understand what I know. But it’s never let me down before… so I’m gonna trust it now.”
“And your intuition tells you…?”
“To help you. And King Cecil,” she nodded. Her hands folded in front of her as if to cover up how nervous she really was.
“Well… then…” Ben mused, “What do you plan on doing?”
“That’s what I was going to tell you. I want to march out before sunrise this morning,” Opal informed him with all the impetuousness of her gathered youth.
“Eh?” his eyes grew round. “But I thought you said that the others didn’t approve of this?”
“They don’t. That’s why we need to leave before dawn,” she frowned, shifting in her robes. For the first time, he noticed that she was carrying a heavy staff — the kind that was used in battle.
“You mean…”
“I’m gonna lead the Troian people to join you,” Opal nodded. “I’m a High Cleric. They’ll follow my orders. And they want to fight.”
Great… this is going to get blamed on me. I just know it.
Ben felt prickles rushing over his skin, “Is that… really what you want to do?”
“Yes,” she gave him a determined look. The kind that he had come to realize human girls could give when they offered no room for argument. “If the people fight, they might die. But if they stay here, they will certainly die.”
“I suppose that’s true?” he swallowed.
I can see it now — ‘Dark Lord Golbez influences youngest Cleric of Troia into revolution…’
“Besides, as I said, there are bigger things at risk here,” her violet eyes flashed.
He could almost sense the dreams of youth in their depths. An idealistic girl, hardly more than a child, who had daydreamed great voyages into the unknown. Of leading the romantic charge of troops out to retrieve a fallen city.
What can I say? Nothing I do can stop her. And we really need her help.
“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” the Master Wizard repeated. And already knew the answer.
“Yes.” Opal told him firmly. “I think it’s really the only way.”
Ben fell silent for a moment. Finally he said, “How do you plan on getting Cecil to agree to this?”
She gave a disarming, little girl smile. “You just let me handle that.”