As Cecil stumbled into the town of Kaipo, he immediately went to the Inn. As he rushed inside, the Inn Keeper, seeing the injured girl, told him he could stay for free, and he quickly put her down on a bed, and sat in the bed across from her. She awoke a while later.
“Are you okay?” asked Cecil. The girl didn’t answer.
“I haven’t even heard your name yet…” Still, she said nothing.
“Look, I know I’ve done an awful thing. I can’t ask for your forgiveness. But at least, let me protect you…please…” he said. She rolled over, and Cecil sighed and went to sleep. Some time passed, when there was a sudden large bang as the door to the Inn was bust open. A Baron officer and three guards came in, and Cecil jumped out of bed to confront them.
“I finally found you, Cecil!” exclaimed the officer. The girl made a gasp.
“Wait!” said Cecil.
“His Majesty has decreed that the Callers of Mist are too dangerous to be left alive.”
“What?”
“Hand her over!”
”No!” cried Cecil, and pulled out his sword, swiftly killing one of the guards.
“ATTACK!” yelled the Officer, and the other two jumped over the beds and pinned Cecil to the ground, which sent his sword flying. He brought his fist up to punch one of them, and used his now free hand to grab the other one by the collar, and throw him against the wall. Jumping to his feet, he kicked the first one in the gut, and then connected with his temple, taking him out. The one against the wall started to get up, but Cecil punched him in the back of the head, and he slumped to the floor. Cecil walked towards the Officer, and looked him in the eye. The officer looked back for a second, then turned and bolted out of the Inn. Cecil smirked, then walked back to his bed, kicking the guards out of his way as he went.
“Did I get you in trouble? I’m sorry.” Said the girl.
“It’s for me to apologize. Well, I know you can’t forgive me, but…”
“But you protected me. I’m…Rydia…” Cecil smiled, and they both went back to sleep.

-_*_-

In the morning, Cecil and Rydia set out. They spent some time in Kaipo, visiting the townsfolk’s homes. In one such home, a familiar face sat in a bed…
“Rosa!” cried out Cecil as he rushed towards her. She only had incoherent mutterings. The man living in the house told him that they needed the Sand Ruby to cure her desert fever, but it was only found the in Lair of Antillion, a sand monster. Cecil and Rydia decided to head towards the town of Damcyan, and to do that, they must travel through the Water Pass to the Northeast. They worked their way through the cave, until they saw an old man standing on the bridge.

“You! You must be a Dark Knight! You wield a dark blade! You must help me…my daughter has been tricked by a vile bard, and I desire to rescue her from Damcyan.”
“You surely must be Tellah, the mage.” Replied Cecil.
“That I am. There is a monster at the end of this passage, too strong for my magic. With your dark blade, we should be able to destroy him together.”
”What luck, for we are also traveling to Damcyan!” said Cecil.
“Excellence! Let’s work together to reach our common goal of Damcyan!” and with that Tellah the Sage joined the party. They traveled through the cave, Tellah leading the way, when they suddenly came to an edge.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” asked Cecil.
“Absolutely, just because I have amnesia doesn’t mean I don’t know wh”
“AHHH!” yelled Rydia as she fell over the edge, which turned out was a giant waterfall.
“Now look what you’ve done!” yelled Cecil at Tellah and jumped in after her. Tellah shrugged and followed them. As he landed, they came face to face with Octamann, a giant, hideous sea monster with eight tentacles.
“Oh sh-!” yelled Cecil as one of the tentacles came thundering towards him, he rolled out of the way just in time. As the tentacle landed with a splash, Cecil swung upwards at the tentacle and sliced it off.
“That’s the way!” cried Tellah. Suddenly there was a scream, and Rydia was being hoisted up into the air by one of the tentacles. Cecil made a run towards her, but was stopped as two tentacles landed on either side of him. He seized the opportunity, and jumped up, running up one of them, where he easily sliced three tentacles, which all flopped to the ground.
“LIGHTING!” yelled Tellah, and suddenly lightning bolts fell from the sky, striking two more tentacles. Octomann cried out in pain, and Cecil ran towards Rydia and the last two tentacles, when the tentacle not holding Rydia attacked him. He slid underneath it, and stabbed the tentacle holding Rydia. However, he hadn’t severed it, and it now flopped around, putting Rydia through quite a ride. Cecil stared at the tentacle, but it was moving much too fast for him to strike it, and at that time the other tentacle came flying towards him again, but this time it hit him in the gut. Winded, he could do nothing but hold on as the tentacle went flying. As it neared Octomann’s mouth, Cecil climbed up and stood on the tentacle, brandishing his sword. Suddenly, more lightning bolts fell from the sky, destroying the tentacle he was standing on, as well as the one still holding Rydia. He ran forwards as the tentacle fell, and jumped at Octomann, piercing him with his sword. Octamann cried out and withered for a moment, before dying. Cecil dislodged his sword from the beast, and joined up with Tellah and Rydia.
“Well fought, my lad, well fought. Onwards to Damcyan!” said Tellah, and the three departed from the cave.

-_*_-

“Look at that castle! Is that Damcyan?” asked Rydia as the three walked outside.
“It is, m’dear” said Tellah. Cecil looked up at the sky, where he saw three Red Wing airships. He saw something at the bottom of the ships, and as he strained his eyes, he saw whatever it was, it was moving fast…
“SH*T BOMBS!” yelled Cecil as he held back Tellah and Rydia, protecting them. The bombardment was all on the castle. After the smoke cleared, they ran towards the castle. Inside, all of the guards were dead or dying. Some were crying out loud, while others were simply crying. They raced upstairs, and on the top floor there was a girl on the floor.
“Anna!” yelled Tellah as he ran forward. Suddenly, another woman came out.
“YOU! YOU’RE THE BARD THAT TOOK MY ANNA AWAY FROM ME!” yelled Tellah at her as she charged the bard.
“No, you don’t understand!” the bard tried to say as Tellah smacked her with his staff.
“You swindler! I won’t listen to your words!”
“Please! Listen!”
” You spoony bard!” he smacked her again.
“Please!” she cried out
“Shut up!” yelled Tellah
“Please, listen!”
“Shut your mouth!” he said again, and pushed her against a wall.
“I…i…” she tried to say.
“Please stop it!” cried Anna. Tellah ran over to Anna, dropping the bard. She got up and walked over to Anna.
“Are you alright?” asked Tellah.
“Father, Evelyn here is the Princess of Damcyan, she was only disguised as a bard when he came to see me in Kaipo. Forgive me for running away. But I love her. We thought about asking for your consent, but when we were about to leave…”
“Golbez attacked us with Baron’s Red Wings.” Said Evelyn.
“Who is that man?” asked Cecil.
“I don’t know.” Admitted Evelyn.
“But, why?” asked Cecil.
“He took our Crystal of Fire. And Anna shielded me from the arrows.” Replied Evelyn.
“You loved her…that much…” mumbled Tellah.
“Father, forgive me! But…I love…Evelyn!” she said and died.
“Anna!” cried Evelyn.
“Anna! Annaaaaaaa!” shouted Tellah.
“Who is Golbez?” asked Tellah after a moment.
“I heard he’s gathering the crystals using the Red Wings…” said Evelyn as a couple tears fell down her face.
“Stop crying! Your tears won’t bring back Anna. Wait for me, Golbez. I’m coming to avenge my daughter!” cried Tellah and turned to leave.
“You can’t go alone!” said Cecil as he came up beside the old man. He smacked Cecil hard enough that Cecil went flying.
“I don’t need help! This is my own affair!” he said and left.
Cecil walked back to the other two, where Evelyn was still crying over Anna. Rydia got up and walked over to her.
“Crybaby!” she yelled at her. Evelyn looked up at her.
“You’re a woman! You’re a grownup! You’re not the only one that’s lost loved ones!” she shouted.
“Rydia…” said Cecil. Rydia looked down.
“You may be right. I am just a coward. But I don’t care, I’m going to stay here with Anna.”
“You’re not the only one’s that sad, Evelyn. Besides, I’m not sure Anna would want you to do that. We really need your help. Please come with us.” Said Cecil.
“My help…?” asked Evelyn.
“I’m Cecil. I’m looking for the Sand Ruby to help my ill friend in Kaipo. And I need your help.”
“I…? Help…? You….?” asked Evelyn dumbfounded.
“Yes. You.” Replied Cecil.
“She seems important to you…you shouldn’t lose your loved one. The Sand Ruby is made from the Antillion when it lays its eggs in the cave. The cave is in the east, but we must cross some shallows to get there. We can use the Damcyan hovercraft…Let’s go!” said Evelyn, and Rydia and Cecil left. She turned to leave, then turned back.
“Goodbye…Anna…”