Final Fantasy Frontier 103 (Patreon)

Interrupting breakfast, Ashe, who had been picking at her food in Silence, abruptly stated, "Before we enter the Tomb, there's something I need to say..."

With everyone turning their attention to her, Ashe's expression became steely as she added, "It is said that none but the descendants of King Raithwall himself are suffered within. If you value your lives more than my cause, I will not compel you to enter..."

"I would accompany you into the pits of Hades themselves, Majesty," said Basch, bereft of even a modicum of hesitation.

"And there's no way we're turning back after coming all this way," added Vaan, his expression nearly as certain as Basch's but for entirely different reasons. He desired fame, recognition, and power and had no idea how to obtain them alone. By traveling with Ashe, he was already part of a group making history. If things went well, he might even be remembered as one of the 'Heroes' who helped free Dalmasca from the Empire's tyranny...

With everyone but Andrew taking their turn to commit themselves to her cause, for one reason or another, a faint smile developed across Ashe's face. She had been a 'leader' of the Resistance for two years, but only a select few knew her identity. Most assumed she was the 'mistress' of the Resistance's true leader, causing many to resent her, so it felt nice to do away with pretenses.

"Thank you all..." said Ashe, bowing her head slightly and holding her fist to her chest. As incredible as Andrew's power was, Raithwall's legacy had gone untouched for seven-hundred years. She had no intention of turning back, but the possibility of Raithwall's Tomb becoming her own, at least in her mind, wasn't zero...

Causing Ashe to startle slightly, Andrew wrapped his tail around her thigh beneath the table, prompting her to raise her head and stare at him with a disproving frown.

"Relax," said Andrew, countering Ashe's frown with a smile as he added, "I told you before, but your coronation is inevitable. You only need to worry about the path you take to reach your destination. I will see you safely to it, regardless of the dangers that await."

Though she could have done without the inappropriate touch, Ashe felt more at ease hearing Andrew's reassurance. She didn't know where his confidence came from, but he gave the impression that, even if the sky were to fall, he would somehow catch it...

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Following breakfast, everyone but Andrew and Ashe helped to clean up the camp before ascending the large flight of stone stairs leading to the Tomb of Raithwall's entrance. What awaited them at the top of a strange, 2m-tall contraption resembling a lantern surrounded by four muted yellow crystals.

"Huh? Where's the entrance...?" asked Vaan, looking around to find there was no obvious way into the tomb. He thought the ornate wall behind the contraption was a colossal stone door, but there were no seams or signs of it being able to open.

"You're looking at it," said Balthier, gesturing to the faintly glowing lantern as he explained, "Once you get used to exploring, you'll find that all but the most rudimentary ancient ruins bear such contraptions. The specifics of their function elude me, but one touch, and you'll find yourself whisked away to Gods knows where."

Seizing the initiative to place his hand on the lantern, Baltheir caused a complex magic circle to appear beneath the party. Andrew felt a strange tugging sensation, kind of like he was being pulled by an invisible cord wrapped around his abdomen, but everyone else just experienced a flash of light before their surroundings changed. Instead of the entryway, they were now in the interior of a massive, incredibly intricate stone complex, the ceiling more than thirty meters overhead.

"Whoa..." exhaled Vaan.

"It's incredible..." appended Penelo.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Vaan ran past a second teleportation device, staring out over a bridge that spanned a seemingly bottomless chasm of darkness. 

"Hey, don't run ahead...!" exclaimed Balthier.

"It's fine!" assured Vaan, trusting in his Alert Ability and the Bangle that vested him with the effects of Libra, allowing him to discern the identities of most monsters and traps at a glance.

"This boy will be the death of me..." muttered Balthier, shaking his head and massaging his temple as the entire group made their way over to see what had Vaan so excited.

"Take a look at this. Think we can find Fire Crystals inside?" asked Vaan, gesturing to the various burners and braziers that, even after hundreds of years, continued to burn without any signs of petering out.

"This is still a tomb," said Ashe, unamused as she added, "You should not go out of your way to profane it..."

Adopting a frown of his own, Vaan countered, "The world is for the living. These braziers serve no purpose lightning a tomb no one visits."

"But we're here," said Penelo, wearing a slightly troubled expression. She was also interested in uncovering the source of the brazier's fire, but she didn't think it was proper to start breaking things.

"Yeah, and we're here to steal the tomb's treasure," said Vaan, shrugging as he added, "We might as well take everything else. Besides, if it's pitch black inside, anyone else who comes here is bound to turn back."

"Not likely. And not very sporting, either," said Balthier, crossing his arms and shaking his head with a disproving look. Vaan was initially confused by this, but then Balthier explained, "It's an unwritten rule of people in our profession that the core infrastructure of ruin shouldn't be tampered with. If any of the groups that came before us had disabled the lights or placed a trap near the teleportation contraption's receiving end, we'd be in a real pickle right now. Besides..."

Looking at Ashe, Balthier added, "This place has great symbolic meaning. If it was discovered that the future Queen of Dalmasca allowed her allies to pillage her ancestor's tomb, it might sway public sentiment against her. Maybe not anytime soon, but eventually."

Nodding in affirmation, Ashe said, "What Balthier says is correct. Were it not for the direness of my circumstance, I would not dare to trespass so hallowed a place. Once I've used the Dawn Shard to prove my lineage, I shall return it so that future generations might also seek it in their time of need..."

Seeing that everyone was against him, an indignant frown briefly marred Vaan's face. Andrew was tempted to smack him, but that was fortunately unnecessary as the sandy-haired youth subsequently exhaled a sigh and said, "Fine...I won't take anything I shouldn't..."

Following his words, Vaan descended the flight of steps connecting to the landing leading to the bridge. When he reached the bottom, his gaze was instantly drawn to a relief depicting three figures standing with their arms crossed, but he didn't pay it any mind as it didn't trigger his Alert or show him any information via Libra.

"Well, that's ominous..." remarked Balthier, having descended the stairs with the larger group before turning to inspect the relief with a frown. The central figure resembled a demon with the facial features of a lion with rubies for eyes, but its most notable feature was the two massive, very realistic-looking scimitars in its hands, their edges glistening menacingly in the light of the braziers. The two figures flanking it were much smaller and had heads reminiscent of armadillos, but what attracted everyone's gazes were the twelve claw-like 'legs' protruding from the bottom of the relief.

"It looks like it's about to burst out of the wall to chase us down..." said Penelo, swallowing nervously.

"You may be onto something..." muttered Basch, noting that the width of the disconcerting relief matched the width of the bridge they were about to cross. If they were careless and it turned out that the large stone doors at the end of the bridge were false or locked, they could be crushed.

"It's fine," assured Andrew, adopting a smile as he added, "This thing is definitely a magic construct, but it's not a serious threat. Rather, due to the peculiarities of my system, it's an opportunity for everyone to get a bit stronger."

"Hey, what's everyone waiting for...!?" exclaimed Vaan, calling out to the group and waving from the bridge's halfway point.

Though Penelo looked over when Vaan shouted, everyone else ignored him to stare at the statue or one another, Ashe exchanging glances with Andrew to ask, "Can you do something about its blades...?"

"Everyone here could, but I'll do the honors," replied Andrew, floating so that he was face-to-face with the statue before causing its eyes to flash to life as he placed its scimitars in his Item Box.

Uncrossing its arms, the statue, now appearing as 'Demon Wall' to those with Libra activated, attempted to grab Andrew with hands the size of his torso. He evaded easily, and to ensure no one would be in danger in the coming fight, he cast Float and Haste on everyone before pulling them into the air with Gravity, advising, "Hit it with ranged or Magick attacks. I'll take care of its spells."

As if in response to Andrew's words, the Demon Wall amassed Magick energy before unleashing it as a hypersonic, AoE version of the Silence Spell. Fortunately, everyone but Vaan was totally immune to the usually devastating Anti-Magick Spell, allowing Penelo and Ashe to bombard the Demon Wall with ice. At the same time, Balthier and Fran targetted its eyes with ranged attacks, buying time for Basch, who had chosen the Job of Knight, to gather a terrifying amount of energy in his arms, causing red-hued lightning to emanate from his visibly strained muscles.

Though its durable body allowed it to shrug off most of the attacks sent its way, the Demon Wall found its progress stunted by the bombardment of attacks. The only offensive Magick it had at its disposal was a terrifying Spell known as Telega, which banished its prey to an alternate dimension for later consumption, but it could only use it by grasping a target directly.

Setting its sights on the only person not in the air, the Demon Wall began charging toward Vaan as its spindly limbs could carry its tremendous bulk. Unfortunately, when it did so, Vaan exhaled a scoffing "Ha!" and shouted, "You want me!? Come and get me!" before abruptly leaping over the edge of the bridge's perimeter wall, seemingly leaping to his death. Instead, as everyone redoubled their efforts to bombard the Demon Wall with Magick and ranged attacks, Vaan climbed along the bridge's exterior until he was behind it, providing him free access to the construct's exposed back. This positioned him in everyone else's line of fire, the body of the Demon Wall being the only thing protecting him, but Vaan wouldn't be himself if he put thought into his actions.

"Eat this, stone-head...!" exclaimed Vaan, jamming his dagger into a crack in the Demon Wall's back. His power was initially lacking, but due to the Genji Gauntlets Andrew had gifted him, his power increased the more he strained himself, seemingly without limit. The Demon Wall issued a silent roar and began to thrash about, but while it could move backward, it was incapable of turning around. Its last resort was pushing itself over, hoping to crush Vaan beneath it, but doing so would render it immobile, unable to defend itself against the bombardment from its front.

Fortunately for the Demon Wall, Andrew abruptly appeared behind it, placing his hand on the surprised Vaan's shoulder before teleporting the reckless youth and the dagger piercing its back away. Unfortunately, the moment he did so, Basch descended on it from above, his word having transformed a brackish, blood-red pillar of energy that failed to slice it in two but crushed its head into its chest, destroying its core and causing it to dissolve into a deluge of magicite-infused sand...

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