The Pearldiver of Neorah

Exhausted from all the swimming and heavy lifting, Crucent groaned as she sat down and tried to massage some life back into her lower legs and arms.

"Sweet mother of Altana, that ruined my arms, fighting for 10 hours straight is alot easier then this!"
Stretching her slender limbs in hopes to alleviate some of the aches, she continued " and I don't know about you, but I'm famished right now. We ought to go get something to eat, then come back here to have a proper look at it all."

Once Crucent mentioned food, Leia heard a loud rumbling and realized with an embarrassed flush that it was her stomach replying to the idea with great approval.

She nodded to her friend. "Yeah, I think food would be an excellent idea right about now." She made a point of pulling off the very large gemstone necklace and sliding it into her treasures pouch along with the pearls and shells and crystal pieces that she had found just that morning.

She'd definitely have to get that chest of kimonos to her hut at some point, but that could wait until after they'd gotten a good meal into them. And she suspected that her mother was going to have one of her stews ready when they got there, if it weren't already waiting.

She smiled at Crucent. "Come on, this should be safe enough here. Let's get something to eat and then come back and start really going through stuff."

As she got up, Crucent nodded saying "Sounds like a good idea, Im'm so hungry I could eat an entire Tunafish all by myself. Now as for getting out of here, since its your secret cave, lead the way" Grinning playfully at Leia, she bowed deeply and said in a silly voice "Show me the way, o great and fearless leader!"

Leia was giggling the whole way as she led Crucent through the tunnel that led out of the cavern and up to the island proper. Once they were back into the lush greenery of the island the two girls quickly made their way back to the village where, as it turned out, Leia's mother *did* have a stew ready, and had been keeping it ready for the better part of an hour.

Serahlani berated both of them good-naturedly as she filled bowls for the two friends, even if one was closer to being her own agemate than her daughter's.

She was curious about what had kept the two out in the water for so long, and had gotten them to work up that much of an appetite as she watched Leia start on a second full bowl of fish stew, but she really didn't think that it was anything more exotic than lots of swimming and maybe exploring another shipwreck underneath the waves.

With the late summer storms that came through every year . . . there were a lot of shipwrecks hidden off the various coasts of Ula-Ronat. And that wasn't even counting the assorted other storms that showed up during odd times of the year.

Helping herself to another bowl of that delicious stew, Crucent smiled at Serahlani, thanking her for letting her eat at their house again.

"This is very kind of you, and I really appreciate your kindness. This stew is so very good, so if it's not to forward of me, may I have the recipie for it some day?"

Serahlani blushed at the praise and smiled. Her every emotion tended to show directly on her outermost skin, a trait that her daughter only shared during times when she was most comfortable or pushed past her ability to control herself.

"Of course I'll teach you how to make his recipe. It's just fish stew, though everyone has their own variations on it." She chuckled softly, "I don't quite know what to make of this strange land you came from if plain fish stew is so out of the ordinary for you."

Leia had finished her second bowl and was considering whether or not to get a third one. "Mother," she said, "you just give it a taste that no one else can." She looked out one of the windows and saw that the torches had been lit outside the Chief's hut. Her father was chief, but his family didn't use the building that was the closest the island had to a meeting hall for living quarters. "What's going on over there?"

Serahlani looked out the window at the lit torches and sighed. "A message came in today, while you were gone, from Mother-of-Pearl. Someone died, somewhere, someone important I think, one of the Keepers, and the search has started for a successor." She took a deep breath. "But I doubt that's going to affect anything here. Neorah's so far out of the way that we keep our noses out of stuff going on out there."

laughing a little at Serahlani's comment about her own worlds cooking, Crucent said "Well, on my world, we also have fish stews, among other dishes. But like you said, everybody has their own. Besides, I'm not much of a cook anyways, as I'm mostly used to going to eateries when I'd be in a town or just roasting my food over a small bonfire when I'd be out in the wilderness."

As she finished off her second helping she added "So you see, even though there is Extraordinary cooks making exquisite meals also on my planet, I never really had the time to learn many recipies. And so, if you would care to teach me, I'd be very grateful."

Eating the last spoonful of the stew she set the spoon in the empty bowl, and feeling quite full and satisfied, Crucent continued " I don't mean to sound disrespectful Serahlani, but if you are correct and its one of the Keepers who have died, even if it's far away from here, it would be a good idea to learn the truth in person. At least, thats how it was on my homeworld. There,if people rely on hearsay and seconhand information about important things it's very easy to misundersand the situation, or even be lied to."

Serahlani chuckled. "Oh, Neorah's so far out of the way that it really doesn't matter. The only people here are those who are sick of the world out there or those who don't really want to get in the way of it. It wasn't Ula-Ronat's Keeper, I do know that, so the most we'll probably get here is a few late nights at the Chief's hut as they wait for news from Mother-of-Pearl on the search. But then life will go back to normal. It always does after a storm."

Leia frowned slightly, her usual seriousness coming back into the forefront. "Is Father staying there with the Elders?"

Serahlani nodded. "He asked for their questionable wisdom regarding some of the rumors he was hearing. Now you two don't worry about it. I'm sure you have better things to do than worry about stuff in lands so far away that it's hard to believe they're real."

The afternoon was wearing on. If they wanted a chance to look through some more of those boxes then they needed to get busy or have to wait until the next morning.

Standing up at long last Crucent gave Leia a sly look.
"Well, if your up for it, we can always go down to the beach again, so I can get more used to my Air-bubble for underwater swimming."

She wanted to have another look at the treasure they had found, but she was also intrested in finding out more about that message. She didn't want to say so in front of Leias mother tho, as not to seem rude. And, she had the strangest feeling something was about to happen that would change their lifes forever, but she really couldn't say why.

Leia smiled at her friend. She certainly didn't mind the idea of going for another swim, especially as it would give them the chance to go puttering about in those boxes more.

---
Meanwhile, on the dimensional plain where the Crystals lay connected, Alexander struggled to convince the somewhat dismissive Leviathan to raise a storm to delay the arrival of a potentially troublesome group of people.

Leviathan pouted and looked at her fingernails. "But what if I don't wanna delay them?" she asked lifting one eyebrow as she looked at the gold-swathed Shokanjuu. "A daughter of my islands has been chosen as Great Keeper. Why would I want to delay the ones who will help bring her to Bahamut?"

Alexander struggled not to show his frustration. He knew that he wasn't in the best position, not after what had been done to him centuries before, but this was a request by his Keeper. "Leviathan, I am not asking you to prevent their arrival, just to delay them, long enough for one who serves my Keeper to be able to reach the Candidate's side so that she might have the aid and protection of those we can trust."

He took a deep breath. "Odin has fallen silent, his Keeper vanished without explanation. Other Keepers are dying or disappearing. Even your own," he paused again, "even your own feels her life fading with each day though that is no one's fault but her years. Some plot is afoot."

Leviathan huffed and nodded shortly. "Alright, but only because we've been friends for so long. And only if you promise to make sure that she gets to Bahamut safely." When he nodded she turned to make her way back to her Crystal and then paused. "I hope that your Keeper is able to put you back together again, my friend. I miss you."

Then she was gone.

---
Several days passed peacefully enough on Neorah. Leia and Crucent were able to get just about everything of value carried up from the wreck and into her cave. The box of Kimonos was moved carefully to one corner where it would be much safer from the salt and the water, though Leia really wanted the chance to try the robes on and see how they looked, but since she didn't know the first thing of how they were supposed to fit . . . it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to manage.

It was morning, well late morning anyway, and Lei'Ahree had gone walking as usual and her walk had taken her back to the cavern to look at the glitter of the gold and the gems and wonder at the story behind the treasure that she and her friend had found.

Crucent was sitting in the shade under a tree to prevent dying of a heatstroke.
As she let the sand run between her fingers she kept wondering about the message the chief had gotten some days ago. She really wanted to find out what was gong on, even if she couldn't do much to about it. It was better to keep busy then to sit around and remember her past life, back on Vana'Diel.

Feeling her eyes swell up with tears from old memories apperaring, she was glad she had decided to go a bit away from the village to think, there was too much people there at times.
Even though they all were very kind and helpful, some of the men seemed to think she was a freak-show of sorts, as they would always try to find some reason to talk to her, or just be with her.
It was starting to get on Crucent's nerves, as she wasn't used to men behaving like this, so she had no idea as to how to react to it.

She had know men back in Vana'Diel as well, but they were for the most part just her friends. They were perfectly capable of keeping themselves busy and for the most part she'd only spend time with them when they were fighting or hunting. Well, almost all of them...

Sighing and taking a deep breath to clear her mind, Crucent wiped away the tears that had run down her face unbeknownst to her. Standing up, she decided to go and ask the chief what the message said, if only to keep informed.

Shold Crucent be compelled to return to their cavern, she would've likely had the same encounter as Leia.

Nearly all the chests they'd found were opened, their contents having been rifled through. Although, whoever did it was careful about it: everything was organized into material and form. In the very center of the cavern, there stood a strange man.

All that he wore was a shade of gold, some of it ACTUAL gold, judging by its sheen. The appearance of it was something between that of a samurai, and that of a member of the Genji Bakufu. The oddly-formed boots, soled with rubber, had wooden panels fused to the tops. The same held true for the close-fitting hakama and kimono. If it were just the color of this semi-practical armor, it would not be so strange. However, combine that with the kabuto-style helm, complete with a mask frozen in a disturbing smile, and the fact that it was all built in such a way that you never once saw skin? He was an odd duck.

In the middle, with him, was a rather large traveler's trunk. The waterproof chest was open and upturned, so Leia could guess where her kimonos went to. The strange man was loading in the weapons as well, when he was interrupted by his new arrivals.

"Be not alarmed, youngling. I am simply retrieving what a band of pirates, no doubt, took wrongfully as their own."

As he slammed closed the trunk lid, it made an unexpected sound... As if wax upon wax. Summoning a generous flame to his hand, he smoothed his burning palm across the seams, melting the wax, and doubly sealing the precious cargo.

"It would be of great service to me if you were to keep this cache hidden. Should it remain so, I shall reward your silence."

From a nearby pile of valuables, the enigmatic man grabbed a rather sizeable magatama necklace, and offered it to the young woman.

Lei'Ahree narrowed her eyes in obvious displeasure at the stranger she found wandering through *her* cavern, mucking about with *her* treasure.

"If you had not intended for it to be stolen in the first place, you should have guarded it better. I found it on the bottom of the ocean. I struggled to pull it up here, with only the aid of my best friend. This is my treasure." She emphasized the pronoun repeatedly.

She glared at him. "Who gave you the right to come barging into MY cavern? Rifling through MY things? These belong to ME and MY friend!" And finally her voice broke. "And how dare you take the KIMONOS?? I was saving those!"

It would be fairly obvious from the tone of her voice that of all the treasure she'd judged the silken robes as the greatest value.

The stranger could've fallen over onto the trunk. It was the KIMONOS she was worried about!?!

"Youngling, the greater portion of these vestments are crafted to conform to a masculine frame. And those of more feminine cut were not made to adapt to someone..."

Giving the young woman a good looking over, he considered his words carefully. A hand went to the "chin" of his helm, thinking deeply about how best to say this, so as not to offend.

"...As bounteously blessed as you are. The aged stitching would fair give way."

Now, if anything, he knew how to deal with people. He'd been doing it for centuries. And he knew people were incredibly vain and greedy, as a rule. So, he did what he had to.

"If it pleases you, these treasures which you have claimed could remain as you desired. Their value far outstrips that of the few trinkets I would claim."

THAT was a bald-faced lie, and he knew it. They outweighed the kimonos, certainly, but he knew very well ANY ONE of the other items he'd taken far outweighed the treasures here. He was counting on the fact that some backwards island girl fated to become a stay-at-home mother wouldn't know that.

"However, should your heart still desire such raiments as these, it would be my honor to arrange for a seamstress to craft a wardrobe made expressly for you,and of similar quality to those which you recovered. How are you called, so she may find you with ease?"

Leia sighed at the description of the fit of the Kimonos. True, she'd had thoughts of pulling them out to try on at some point, but the last thing she really wanted was to hurt them.

His words, though, caught her attention and she narrowed her purple eyes as she looked at the man. "All this way for a few trinkets that aren't even the bulk of the treasure? There's something more valuable to those items than mere jewels and metal." She sighed. "I guess even you have things that mean more than just what you can get for them."

She sat down on a nearby rock, leaning on her staff. "What's it like in Eremaki? I probably won't ever get to see it, but I dream about it sometimes. I'm walking through hallways I don't know, but I know where I'm going, talking to people I've never met but who aren't strangers."

She sighed and shook her head. "I guess I don't need anything so fancy as all that . . . it's just that looking at them reminded me of the dreams, and I like it when I dream of Eremaki."

It wasn't that she was avoiding giving her name, just that there were other things on her mind right at that moment.

Now, normally, Ichabod was a patient man. But, he had to get going. Not only did he have these sensitive items, but, Alexander had caught hold of him earlier. He was to locate and guard this "Lei'Ahree". Apparently, she was the next keeper.

...And, right then, it occured to him. She lived here! Perhaps...

"Child, believe you not that I am uniterested; my mind travels to a pressing matter. Though of great importance, my presence in this cavern, and my actions herein, are of my own volition. The true reason I cam here is to seek someone for the Emperor. Know you a woman who calls herself 'Lei'Ahree'?"

He really didn't mean any offense. But, if the Emperor's intuition was right, she had to leave.

As Crucent left the Chiefs hut, she smiled at herself as she thought about the elders final comment. Well, restless she might appear, but, that wasn't her main reason to go there to start with. She still had a nagging feeling that change was coming and she wasn't entirely sure she approved.

Walking through the town as she kept thinking, she didn't even notice where she was headed until she found herself outside Leias secret cave.

Since she hadn't seen her friend for a few days, she entered and for a split second thought her ears lied. She could hear a mans voice, but due to the echoes in the rock tunnel to the cave she didn't hear what he was saying.

Walking as quietly as if she was trying to sneak past a Vana'dielian Tiger with a headache, she made her way to the cave itself.

Sure enough, there was Leia seated on a rock, but she seemed annoyed. The reason appeared to be a man. But he was like no man Crucent had ever seen before, he was dressed in Gold, from head to toe.
He felt old, but in an ancient way, not old from weather and winds wearing on his skin.

Entering into the cave, she walked towards Leia and said " There you are, I figured you'd be here. I was just out for a walk and wondered where you have been lately."

Standing besides Leia, she turned to the stranger.

"I realise I do not know every villager here personally, but I was sure I had at least met them once. However, you Sir I cannot recall seeing ever before. May I ask your name?"

Leia looked up at his question and lifted a curious eyebrow in response. How would her name be known to the Emperor of Eremaki, much less his associate who obviously didn't know enough to know what she looked like. A brief spirit of whimsy entered her soul and she merely looked at him.

"I would accurately guess that I know most, if not all the people who live on Neorah. It's a small island and I've lived here all my life. I can't imagine that anyone here would be of the sort to attract the attention of an Emperor."

She wanted to learn more about this man before she up and admitted that she was the one he was seeking.

Then Crucent entered and she turned to smile at her friend before turning back to the man from Eremaki's Emperor. She asked a very good question indeed.

"Yes, of course. You may call me Ichabod."

With what he'd said before, he figured he'd overplayed his hand, a bit. He would have to be very careful what he revealed to these women.

"Only the Gods can fathom what it is that drives any action the Emperor takes. He is as enigmatic as he is powerful. All that I am privy to is thus: This 'Lei'Ahree' lives on this island. Though I know not why, the Emperor has taken interest in her. And, perhaps through divine intervention, he has come to know that she is in grave peril"

Now, he knew DAMN WELL why the Emperor took interest, but he wasn't about to reveal that. What use would that be, to him?Reaching out to one of the chests he'd left untouched, he began to toy with one of the coins therein, absentmindedly flipping it between his fingers. And old habit of his. Though, distracting as it was to watch, it obviously did not break his focus, as he kept right on.

"If either of you know of this woman, I would appreciate the help. If not, then I must be off. It was made very clear to me how essential a factor time is, in this matter."

(Sorry if quality is off. I wrote this, on, like, no sleep.)

Glancing at her friend, Crucent replied
"I do know of this woman. May I ask what you want with her?
I have never heard her mentioning your name before, in fact, I'd be willing to hazard a guess she may not even know you. And as Im sure you have noticed, this island is very small, so we all look after eachother as best we can."

Leia felt like her heart stopped for a moment when Ichabod revealed that the Emperor of Eremaki believed there to be a threat against her life, one which obviously was severe enough to warrant sending someone to find her. She frowned and looked up at Crucent, her best friend.

She stood up and began to pace nervously.

"Lei'Ahree is no one for the Emperor to be concerned about. She is . . . she is a pearldiver, sometime jeweler, works in beads and shells mostly. Before I give you her location, and I understand that you judge speed to be essential, I need to know why you want her and what the nature of this threat could be that would cause the leader of a Nation which is not even hers to send someone to find her."

She looked at Ichabod. "Am I to believe that you have been sent to find her so that you might be a guardian of some sort? Neorah might be a small island, far from the rest of the world, but we who live here are not helpless. In fact, the very fact that we all know each other could be great protection against any unknown threat." She paused. "Unless you have the audacity to claim that this threat originates from someone she has known since, literally, birth."

"No, my child. Were it that the one who threatens this woman was a single being, and one I COULD strike, we would not be discussing this."

Knowing they'd be confused, he dropped his coin, his hand travelling to his belt. A bit of metal was in his hand. Diamond-like in shape, with a ring affixed to the end. A kunai. As if to illustrate what he meant, he began to twirl the weapon about his hand; it was readily obvious he was no stranger to such weapons. With a deft toss, the kunai left his hand, streaking away to his right, and out a hole in the wall. The final cries of a gull could be heard.

"Were that the case, I assure you, they would already have returned to the Crystal. No, this threat comes from many, who dwell where the sun goes to die."

...She was oddly nervous, for some reason. Why would news of this so deeply disturb her? The only possibility is that she was very close to Lei'Ahree. Or...

Not wanting to overload her with information, he kept it as basic as he could, while still answering.

"...Lei'Ahree is important to the Emperor because she is important to Lord Alexander. And she is important to Lord Alexander because she is important to Master Bahamut."

Leia stared at Ichabod for a moment in utter disbelief. "Bahamut? What on Artegal could Bahamut want with ME?" She seemed to be unaware that she had let slip the very information which she'd been concealing, quite on purpose in fact. "I'm . . . I'm nobody!"

She looked, almost desperately, over at Crucent. "This can't be happening."

She shook her head in desperate denial. "No, this isn't happening. I've never been away from Neorah in my entire LIFE! I'm not . . . I play with beads, string jewelry and sew decorations. I'm not important! Not to anyone who doesn't already live here. I'm not . . ."

She forced herself to take a deep breath. "Someone must have made a terrible mistake, Ichabod. I'm sorry."

Crucent quickly stepped over to Leia when she let her name slip as if to protect her.
Placing her arms on her shoulders Crucent tried to calm her friend down
"look, there is not need to, or even help in fretting over the reasons as to why Bahamut mentioned you."
Turning a little towards Ichabod she continued "Well, now you know. my friend is Lei' Ahree. But you still haven't told us all, and until you have, we, because wherever she goes I will to, are not moving.
As for your crude threats with weapons, they may seem necessary, but you'd be amazed at how upset they make me, so please don't do that again. Now, I think it would be best if we all returned to talk about all this with her father, the Chief. If you have a problem with that, tough."

Turning around, she walked out quickly still holding her arm around Leias shoulders, ushering her along.

As he'd thought. Now that he was sure, he had to move fast.

"I am afraid I have little time to explain. Let us away to this "Chief", if you so desire, and I will make it all quite clear."

Pulling a small box from within his robes, he opened it, placing a small bracelet on his wrist. From a small box on his belt, Ichabod produced three cards. Poker cards, as they appeared. Passing them over the bracelet, he threw them into the box. The cards, dissolving into dark energy, called out their properties.

"REMOTE. MACH. FLOAT."

All at once, the trunk took to the air, seemingly of its own accord, and sped out of the cavern at a ridiculous pace. Closing the pocket of cards, Ichabod looked at both girls VERY seriously, as he followed.

"I understand your caution. In time, ALL will be revealed. But, at this moment, it is imperative we move quickly. Those who would pursue us draw closer every moment."