AChapter 12
It's been a rather quiet and uneventful trip from Emberstrand to Baguba Port, the airship the party are on is a sleek modern affair all float stone and engines and it is about three hours out from docking at the Moogle run city. Outside the sky is bright and clear and down below the party should they care to look out of the windows will be able to see the coastline of the Moogle territories passing below. It is a pleasent looking land and the cliffs sparkle white with reflected sunshine. All told it has been a pleasent and efficent journey and the parties cabins though not the best on the ship have been comfortable and well appointed.
Silmeria begins to stow her knitting, folding the in-progress sock carefully and winding the yarn to keep the project from turning into a snarled mess. Given how eventful the last journey was, this can only be more so, and the fewer headaches on the return trip, the better. Rising from her chair on the observation deck, she spares one last look about the room, at the people coming, going, or staying, and smiles to herself. With a faint nod, she returns to her rooms to prepare for the City of Moogles.
Marduke has gotten himself invited to yet another trip to help Ainsley purify herself. Yet for the trip so far he has been quiet keeping to himself and in his room, where the occasional playing a flute can be heard with practicing. Yet at this time he is on the upper deck, leaning against the railing watching the landscape below with idle curiosity. All of his belongings already on him and prepared to go when it is called for.
Lee exits out of the room he and Ainsley share as Silm arrives at the door of her own, smiling and tugging the brim of his wide hat to her, "Good day t'ya, Silmeria. Time t'get yer things in order?" He gestures into the room he just left, through the open door, without waiting for an answer, "We've jus'bout got ours ready; we'll see y'up top-side, eh?"
Ainsley has got a few things packed up for the trip, but as they're apparently going into the spirit world, she has no way to prepare. Thus, she is currently fretting very much over what she should do, digging through her excessive travel supplies to stuff important objects in her pockets. And then she picks up her bag and scoots out of the room, slinging it over her shoulder. She smiles at Lee, very cheery at him. "I'm ready to go," she tells Lee, almost right after he says that. She seems excited!
A short while later the ship is coming in for a landing in the harbour at Baguba Port, the city spread out below is like no other city on earth. There is only one building, the mighty and awe inspiring towers of the Cathedral of Steam! Everything else appears to be one gigantic mass of grass lawns, winding roads, small hillocks and spires of crystal jutting up out of the ground. People can be seen moving up and down those roads from a distance, riding chocobo or automobiles and locomotives or just walking on the pavement. As the airship descends lower large openings in the cliffs and sloping hills that form the harbour side can be seen, vessels passing in and out of them to get to the under-ground docks and warehouses. It is truly a city of marvels, the surface cultivated and cared for whilst the buildings and machines that help the moogle's in their daily lives are hidden deep beneath the surface of those gently rolling hills.
"It's lovely, isn't it?" Silmeria says as they descend upon the city, leaning on the guardrail and watching the city pass by. "I think I've only been here once before... I would dearly love to come back, had I ever enough time to my own." Turning to look over her shoulder at the rest of the party, the Esper smiles gently. "We'll just have to enjoy it while we can, won't we?" Marduke glances over to Silmeria as he is stepping off, "Well I may be needing to head back here soon myself. I have hopes of earning a pact with the moogle Lord soon. Though we shall see." the summoner offers with a chuckle then glances around, "It is a true mavel, oh to have the time to explore it further, see what tourist traps they have laid out for people to see." grinning a bit now.
Lee chuckles, standing beside Ainsley as he waits for docking to finish, tipping his hat back a bit on his head once the ship slips into the shadows of the subterranean docks, his usual small pack and water-kins already on his shoulders beneath his cloak in preparation for disembarking, "Oh, they've plenty, mate, believe you me. An' th'town's downright picturesque, no doubt; came through here some years ago, m'self, ended up stayin' a couple months. Doubt anyone I knew then's still 'round, though, more's th'pity."
Ainsley gazes with sparkling eyes at the engineering that the Moogles have done to their home port. Her tail sways with all the energy of, well, a tourist in a pretty foreign land. She turns to grab Lee's hand, adjusting her pack's strap on her shoulder. "Once our business is done, I think this place would be decent to spend a week or two at," she mentions to the others.
The ship touches down with a hissing roar of water, spray shoots up to either side of the ship as the vessel slows down and slowly makes its way through one of the large open portals in the side of the hill. The water sloshes back and forht as the ship rocks into place inside a well lit metal cube. Gantries swing out to secure the ship in place and with a thunk and hum the doors shut, the water drains out with a gurgle and the entire docking port sinks down with a clatter of chains and hiss of steam until the far wall folds open to reveal a large wharf and dock that the ships' cradle slips up to. Gangplanks are extended down to the walkway and the ship settles with a hiss of escaping steam as it finishes powering down. The dock looks busy, moogles are all over with the odd foreigner here or there. At the end of the pier an archway leads through to a row of ware-houses and then a large meandering path that leads up to the surface and the city streets. Underground through the buildings and facilitiues of Baguba Port might be they all connect to the roads of the city on the surface with very few under-ground passageways connecting the buildings beyond seldom seen maintenance paths.
"So," Silmeria says, as the party meanders through the streets, her eyes lighting on the occasional bit of architecture or landscaping, bobbing her head at a passerby now and again, "where is it that we were to head, again? Not that I don't *adore* this place, but... we really should keep to our path if we can possibly help it."
Marduke holds onto the railing as they take to port. A shake of his head and a smile, "Very clever set up they have here for landing ships." Moving to start off the gangplank, "So where we heading to first?" glancing back and nodding to Silmeria, "Agreed, as much as I want to explore, we should not dally to long. Our enemies sure are not."
Lee smiles down at Ainsley as she takes his hand, giving hers a small squeeze before the ship docks. He follows along after Silmeria and Marduke, nodding, "Aye, there'll be plenty o'time fer tha sights on th'way back; or, at least, some time, if not a whole lot." At the question of where to go next, he looks to Ainsley, deferring to her, "Million Gil question, luv."
"We're looking for Lee's mum," Ainsley cheerily remarks as they step off the ship, and she begins looking around for the telltale signs of that person she had met by pure chance one day. Her eyes scan around. "She's supposed to be at the port," she tells Silmeria and Marduke. She doesn't anticipate having a hard time finding the woman, since most of the crowd here is Moogles. Someone at normal human height should be easy to find, as far as she knows. Ainsley would know to look for a woman with a whole lot of patches on her clothing from all the places she's been.
Sadly for Ainsley she has forgotten one VERY important detail, the entire city is "Baguba Port" not just the port area. There are moogles teaming arond kuupopopoing at one another in their own language and other people leaving ships here and there but there is no sign of the women Ainsley is looking for just the hustle and bustle of the city as a whole as people go back and forth about their business on the docks.
After a good twenty minutes of wandering and looking it is clear both to Ainsley and the Party that the person she seeks is not there and as most of the passengers have left and the various merchants the only mogs around are those who work here on the docks and even they have thinned out with no new ship due to arrive for a bit.
"Well," Silmeria says, musing, "the patches help... shall we do a tour of the local inns, then? I'd imagine she'll be wanting to *meet* us somewhere where we can talk, rather than wandering about out in the open, like this. Lee... Would you happen to remember if she has any sort of favorite? Food, music, drink... anything like that?"
Marduke just holds a hand to his head, "Baguba Port, the whole city can be called a port, because it kinda is isn't it? She could be anywhere, nothing specific about where to meet Ainsley?" Raising his eyebrows and offers a faint smile, "If not we may get to see more of this city then we were expecting to, and may have to find a inn for the night." glancing to Silmeria and nodding his head, "Good thoughts."
Lee follows along beside Ainsley as the search begins, until it's clear his mother isn't in the Port area. He gives Silmeria a contemplative look that seems part grimace, rubbing the back of his neck, "I dunno, Silmeria... It's been a long time since I've seen 'er; actually, I thought she were dead until jus' recently. Buuut... She were a Bard by trade, back b'fore th'- er, back when I was younger. By what Aisnley told me, seems she still is, so... Anywhere a Bard could ply their trade, that'd be a likely place t'start, an' like as not, she'll be th'one *makin'* th'music. As fer patches, it's a pretty distinctive cloak she wears. Pretty much made o'patches, all rainbow-colored an' such. An flamin' red hair."
Ainsley pauses momentarily, and laughs bashfully at Marduke and Silmeria's words. She reaches up to rub at her feathered head, and then makes a detour to seek out places likely to find a bard at. Inns, for instance! She hums a little song as she goes, probably one likely to be popular here in Baguba. "If all else fails, we could just try to ask around," she tells the others. She probably has a keen understanding of where things are here in Baguba. It's a knowledge-y sort of thing to know.
Ainsley knows somethings about Baguba port, like where the main residential districts are, the commercial districts and the port and manufacturing districts. Soon enough everyone is up on the surface walking along a bustling street. It is just like any other city street except there are no buildings just parkland in all direction, the odd stand of trees and door-ways that lead down into the ground or into the hills they pass. It takes half an hour to reach a large open-air ampitheatre and street market, the first sign of society above ground and most of it appears geared toward entertainment. It's a lively, upbeat sort of crowd and there is some sort of big performance going down on the main stage with smaller groups gathered around other street performers. It's the right sort of area but still no sign of a bard....
"Well!" Silmeria says as they round the corner and chance upon the street faire, "this looks as good a place as any, doesn't it? Does she have a name she prefers to use, by chance? I think that if *anyone* can locate her, it'll be fellow performers, no?"
Marduke is tapping his chin as he walks along and takes a look at the entertainment part of the city they are at. Shaking his head he glances back to Lee and Ainsley, "You know, Lee Ainsley, just some thoughts here. Could she be testing us, making us find her or making us prove ourselves in some day? Maybe prove we are not the dull boring lot we look like to these people." Grinning a moment and shrugging his shoulders and nodding over to Silmeria, "A sound suggestion."
Lee scans over the crowd from under the brim of his hat, o at least as best he can, being on the short side compared to the average hume himself, but with most of the population of the city shorter than he is, that might not be as big a factor as it would be otherwise. He grumbles and mutters a bit in thought at Silmeria's question, "She had a stage name, yeah." Marduke's thought distracts him from continuing, though, and he shoots the summoner a curious look, "Testin' us? I dunno 'bout that, m'self... I'd 'ave t'wonder if she really knows we're lookin' for 'er, if she knows we're comin', or if'n we jus'ave t'find 'er." He gestures to Ainsley with his free hand, "Ains 'ere likely 'as better idea 'bout that stuff than I, I figure."
Ainsley gives an uncertain scan to the environment as they come across a place likely to contain the lady they're looking for. She puts a hand on her hip and turns an incredulous glance to Marduke. And then relents, with a sigh, "It /might/ be a test, but most things in life are if anyone wants to get anything done. The spirits and the seer didn't say anything about it, just that we'd find her. I really should've asked for specifics." And she starts leading the way, and starts asking around about Lee's mother, acting fairly patient and professional with people as she goes. She'd be asking for Cadence Scarlet, the woman with patchwork cloak.
Another twenty minutes pass and still no sign of the bard! Until Marduke spots a fluttering cape of patches, she is right on the outskirts of the ampitheatre and has attracted quite the crowd of moogles. The forest of pom-poms between the party and the bard are quite extensive. She is singing an epic Ode to Mog and it has the moogles all enraptured as they listen to the heroic deeds of their Patron Spirit and Lord's early days as a swashbuckling hero against the darkness of the corrupted ones! It's quite the story and the rhythmic descant of her accented intonation is almost hypnotic as she speaks and sings, bringing the story to life.
Chewing on her bottom lip, SIlmeria scans the crowd, eyes sweeping back and forth. "I really *don't* think Lee's mother would be that interested in playing games, to be honest... I mean, from what I understand, she'd be *overjoyed* for this... Hmn. Does anyone else see her?" Marduke points over towards the moogles, "Found her." He offers with a chuckles, "Oh my she is very talented, I think I am going to like her already. Found a love of stories and music lately." Moving on over with or without theo thers, intent on joining in on the listening of the music and leaning into his staff. Yep he himself is already becoming entranced.
Lee nods with Silmeria's comment, "While she might 'ave a strange sense o'humor, I don't remember games bein' much 'er style." He turns his head as Marduke calls out spotting her, looking in the direction indicated, crimson eyes scanning, then nodding, "Yeah, looks like tha's her, a'right." He looks at Ainsley, a hint of anxiety showing in his eyes, well-hidden to most, but visible to the scholar from experience as he gives her a big grin, pulling her along gently by the hand as he follows Marduke, "Well, let's go 'ave a listen, shall we?"
Ainsley looks at the crowd with surprised eyes. And then she griiins happily at the sound of Cadence's voice, nodding at Lee's words. She follows after Marduke, but soon breaks away to try to find her way through the crowd, kind of forgetting her manners in a single-minded attempt to be at the front when she finishes the song, so she can speak with the bard lady.
The epic heroics of Mog rise toward their crescendo, and Ainsley finds it all but impossible to push through the crowd, they are packed in twenty, maybe thirty deep and when she tries to shove through wings buzz and shove back leaving her and the party at the back. They have a good view however, easily able to see over the heads of the gathered moogles to Cadence Scarlet as she slowly unfurls the final act of this epic tale. Heroism, love, destiny, duty, sacrifice, of the struggle to bring harmony back to a world gone mad with machines, a world were the balance of nature had been abandoned in favour of technology alone. The final song is a soaring aria of light and glory, of Mog's triumph against the Baron whose darkness had covered the land, the winging voice of an angel singing those famous words in the pattering accent that those who know Lee are so used too. Her fingers move across her acoustic guitar, playing the descant to accompany her own singing as one by one Mog's party are driven back, Mog himself wavers and then the final motion of the music, the dance of the Moogles. As she stands there patchwork cloak fluttering in the wind she sings of how the moogles of the world stepped forward, against wind and rain and a world lost to darkness and howling wind and started to dance. A dance of joy, a dance of memory, the dance of peace and unrequited love! A power, a dance focussed on the Moogle, offered to Lord Mog so he could strike true not just for Mog kind but for Terra, for the world... for nature and destiny..." Fingers dancing over the strings of her guitar, music rippling to a mighty crescendo only to suddenly reverse, a softly fading coda that brings the Epic of Mog to its bittersweet end. The world in harmony... but their Lord's battered body, broken and lost carried to a pyre of starlight and belief... the unifying spirit of Moogle kind and his promise to always be there, to watch over him. As the final stanza falls, the voice gently lets the last note go the crowd erupt in an almost defeaning CHEER of Kupos. But amongst the shouting, whooping hullabaluh of exuberant mogs Constance's eyes meet Lee's and the bard stares steadily across the crowd of her adoring fans and smiles softly at her son as memory sparks within her mind."
Go back to Ainsley Quest Chapter 11
Go on to Ainsley Quest Chapter 13
Or return to To Free a Soul
