Final Fantasy XI: Prologue to Adventure Ch.1

Nico, a dark haired hume boy covered in dirt, dust, and soot, quietly snuck up behind the tunnel worm as it chewed on a patch of rock on the wall. Loose gravel shifted under his feet, but the sounds of the galka and hume workers picking away at the ore hidden in the stone walls hid any sound he made. Nico got as close to the worm as he could get before giving up all pretenses of stealth and charged at it with his brass sword in hand, ready to strike. The worm, alarmed and surprised, began to descend back into its burrowing hole but Nico’s sword hacked the creature messily in half before it could reach safety. 

Nico reached into the ground and pulled the bottom half of the worm out. Reaching inside the freshly dead worm, he pulled out a small chunk of copper ore. Nico dropped the worm and placed the ore inside the now full satchel around his waist. With his job done for the day, Nico began whistling as he walked towards the exit of Zeruhn Mine, nodding and waving to the adult miners he passed. Gravel floor and rock walls gave way to finely placed brick, lanterns placed regularly every few feet.

The hall ahead was filled with natural sunlight as it came through Zeruhn Mine’s entrance. Next to the entryway stood the blonde, female hume, Makarim.  Unlike everyone else’s clothing in the mine, Makarim’s armor was clean without a single speck of dust. “Hiya, Nico. Good haul today?”

“Filled it up.” Nico held up his satchel and handed it to Makarim. “Every day I kill so many of them, but every day there’s more and more. You’d think they would stop showing up.”

Makarim smiled. “That’s the problem with vermin. I bet the miners wish they had the same problem with their ore.” She emptied the bag onto the scale that sat on the table next to her.  Makarim read the scale then dug a handful of gil out of her pouch and dropped it into Nico’s open hand. “Here’s for the ore…” She reached back into her pouch for more gil. “And here’s for the pest control.”

“Thanks,” Nico said as he shoved the gil into his pocket.

Makarim nodded. “See you tomorrow?”

“No. My dad’s not working tomorrow, so I’ll be training with him.”

“Well, good luck with your training. And send my regards to your father.”

“Will do!” Nico walked out of Zeruhn and into the mining district of the Republic of Bastok. While he walked home, Nico examined his old scratched and beaten up brass sword. It had been sharpened so many times it seemed to Nico like it was half the size it was originally. With a pocket full of gil, Nico found himself taking a detour towards the market district and was soon staring at a stall with swords on display.

“Looking for a new sword? It definitely looks like you need a new one.” Nico looked up at the man who just spoke- a short, fat hume in a green coat who looked far too rich for his own good. Nico put his attention back on the swords as the merchant continued talking. “A sword is well and good, but a real warrior puts more faith in a good axe. True, they may be a little more expensive, but they cost more for a reason. An ore of adaman is more precious than an ore of copper and a dragon’s egg is more valuable than a lizard’s.” The merchant picked up an axe from behind the counter. “Just take a look at this. It could be yours for just a thousand gil.” It was a Legionnaire’s Axe, a weapon supplied by the military. At a price of one thousand gil, Nico couldn’t help but think that it was probably stolen.

As if reading Nico’s mind, the merchant added, “Don’t worry my boy, it isn’t stolen. It’s been sixteen years since the Crystal War and the market’s become quite flooded with these types of weapons as soldiers retire and sell off their old unneeded items. I need to sell ‘em cheap just to get them off my hands.”

Dad would have had an axe just like this when he was in the war, Nico thought. “Alright.” Nico dug a handful of gil out of his pocket. “I’ll buy it.”

“Fantastic!” the merchant exclaimed as they exchanged the gil and axe. Nico examined his new axe as he walked back home.

Nico’s entrance into the port district was marked by an airship splashing into the river that as it came into the docks, filling the air with a light mist as its propellers blew water into the air.

The streets of port district were quite empty compared to the other districts. It was the place where the more “well off” people lived, though Nico did not consider his dad or himself anything of the sort. They lived in a tiny house hidden in the back of the district with the other tiny houses and Nico’s father had to work most of the time just to afford that much.  

Nico walked up the steps to his house and opened the door. His father sat at the table in the middle of the living room. Werei, his father’s long time friend, was leaning against the wall as none of the chairs in the house would be able to support the black, fur-covered galka who was at least twice the weight and width of the average hume and a few heads taller as well.

“Hi, Nico,” his father said as he waved his left hand. There were two things that made Nico’s father stand out in a crowd. The first was that he had lost his right, dominant hand during the war. The second was his dark red hair, a color that was extremely rare among humes and had helped him gain the nickname “Blazing Dragon” from the galka populace of his company during the war. Nico had gotten his black hair from his mother who had died just five years ago from sickness. “Replaced that old sword, eh?” He asked as he noticed the axe hanging from Nico’s belt.

“Yeah,” Nico answered. “I was afraid my old sword was going to disappear if I sharpened it one more time.” Nico’s father held out his hand and Nico placed the axe in his hand.

He examined the axe and chuckled. “These haven’t changed much at all in twenty years.”

“Hard to improve something as time tested as a good hand axe.” Werei said.

“True,” Nico’s father said as he handed back the axe. “You know how to use one of those? They’re a bit different than a sword.”

“I’ll learn,” answered Nico.

Nico’s father stood up. “Well, it’s true you’re a fast learner. We’ll see what you can do with it tomorrow. Right now I have to get to Palborough Mines. The mines aren’t going to protect themselves.” He walked to the corner of the room next to the fireplace where a sheathed sword sat, picked it up, and fastening it around his waist. “At least I hope not. I’d be out of a job.” He smiled. “I’ll see you later, Werei. And Nic, don’t get into too much trouble.” Nico and Werei both waved goodbye as he shut the door behind him.

“So,” Werei started, “What made you choose this weapon?”

Nico shrugged. “It was cheap and I know my dad used to have one, so it must have been a good weapon.”

“Well, the Republic issued one to him, but he didn’t use it much. He’s always preferred a sword. That’s not to say it’s a bad weapon. It’s actually a pretty good one. How much did it cost you?”

“A thousand gil.”

“Hm.” Werei looked impressed. “That is a good price.” He paused a moment. “Your father and I were discussing something before you got here… How would you like to start doing missions for the Republic?

“Really? But I’m only fourteen. I can’t start doing that yet.”

“Bah!” exclaims Werei. “It’s only a year. And your fathers the Blazing Dragon. I bet they’d be willing to make an exception, especially if I throw in my own weight. So what do you say? Should we go see just how much pull I still have with the higher-ups?”

Nico nodded. “Of course!”

“Good!” Werei pats Nico on the back hard enough to make him stumble forward a step.

Werei led Nico into Metalworks, the largest building in the Republic responsible for all of the manufacturing in Bastok. Ore refinement, Blacksmiths’ Guild, gunpowder creation, and the Republic’s Research and Development lab were all located in the first two floors of Metalworks. Werei and Nico took one of the large wooden elevators up to the second floor and went straight up the stairs to the third. The third floor was basically the roof of Metalworks and was the center of Bastok’s political system, containing the consulate building for the three other great nations on the continent; Windurst, San d’Oria, and Jeuno, as well as the President of Bastok’s office and the building which was Werei and Nico’s destination, Senator Alois’ office.

Werei motioned to the seats to the right of the door. “Have a seat. I’ll be right back.” Nico sat down and watched as Werei walked to the counter and talked to the female hume sitting behind it. The receptionist pointed to the door behind her. Werei nodded, walked to the door, knocked, and then walked in. The receptionist smiled at Nico before returning to her work.

A few minutes later, Werei came back out, talking and laughing with a short, fat hume. Nico headed over to them as Werei waved him over to them. “Nico,” Werei said. “This is Alois. He’s a senator for Bastok and he’s agreed to get you started.”

Nico shook the Senator’s hand. “Thank you, Senator.”

“No problem, my boy, it’s the least I could do for a friend of Werei and for your father.”

The receptionist handed the Senator a stiff piece of paper and a stamp. The Senator set the paper down on the desk and pressed the stamp on the bottom of it. “This is your Adventurer’s Certificate,” Alois said as he handed the paper to Nico. “That enables you to accept missions for the sake of the Republic.”

Nico examined the lettering on the top of the paper; ADVENTURER'S CERTIFICATE. On the bottom of the page was Nico’s name and the insignia of the Republic of Bastok- A shield marked with five towering smokestacks inside of a cogwheel.

“You’ll start small of course," continued Alois. "Minor missions here and there, but as you build up trust, knowledge, and experience, you’ll be given more and more responsibility.” The Senator points to the bottom of the page. “If you exceed in your duties, you may even find yourself working in the other nations.”

  

“Well then,” Werei said, “guess I’ll leave you to your work. Thank you again, Alois.”

“I’m glad I could help,” responded Alois.

 Werei turned to Nico. “Don’t do anything too dangerous now, Nico.”

    

      Nico opened his mouth to respond but the Senator spoke first. “Oh, don’t worry, Werei. They don’t throw the hard stuff at them right away. Though he’s probably a lot tougher already than most of our new Adventurers.”

Werei smiled and nodded then walked out of the office.

“So, let’s get you started on your first mission."The Senator said. "I bet we have something you could start on right away.” He turned to the receptionist. “You want to check if we have a list of missions here?”

“We should, sir. Just give me a minute to look,” the receptionist said as she began digging around in her desk.

The Senator’s stomach audibly growled and he laughed. “haven’t had a chance to eat yet. Oh! I know just the mission for you! I have some important research to do, but I’m stuck in my office filling out paper work. What I need you to do is to bring me a lizard egg. It’s very important research and I’ll be needing it as fast as possible, so be as fast as you can! Do you accept this mission?”

Nico held back his disappointment. “Yes, sir. I accept this mission.” He gave the best salute he could manage and headed towards the door.   

 “And make sure it’s not rotten!” The Senator called out as the door shut behind Nico.

As Nico took the elevator down to the first floor of Metalworks, he couldn’t help but feel annoyed that the Senator was using him in a task that was most likely just bringing him lunch, but he tried to put it in perspective. Most people my age aren’t even allowed to have an Adventurer’s Certificate and it’s only my first mission. If I can’t do this little thing right, I doubt I’ll be trusted to do anything.

Nico found his way to the Market District, bought a lizard egg from a merchant with his own gil and made his way back up to the top floor of Metalworks. Reaching for the door handle of the Senator’s office building, Nico had to take a quick step back to avoid being hit by the opening door.

“Oh! I’m sorry. Beg my pardon,” the heavily armored galka who stood in the doorway said.

“No problem,” Nico said as he looked up at the Galka in the dark blue and gold armor with a giant axe that was at least as tall as himself strapped to the galka’s back. Nico suddenly realized who the Galka was. “Oh! I-I’m sorry, Iron Eater, sir!” Nico saluted. “I didn’t realize it was you!” Nico quickly side stepped further away from Iron Eater to give him as much room as possible. Nico couldn’t believe he was actually talking to one of the Mythril Musketeers, the highest rank in the military right below the President himself.  

 Iron Eater chuckled. “Don’t worry, I haven’t done anything worth any recognition lately. Something I’m perfectly fine with as long as there’s peace.” Iron Eater noticed the egg in Nico’s hand and shook his head. “That’s for Senator Alois, I assume?”

Nico nodded. “Yes, sir. He sent to retrieve the egg for… research, he said. Though I think it might be his lunch.”

Iron Eater shook his head and sighed. “He’s always doing this. Wasting people’s time and Bastok’s own resources to bring him his lunch.”

“I don’t mind, sir. I know I won’t like every mission given to me, but complaining about it won’t help me any. May even hurt me in the long run.”

Iron Eater raised an eyebrow. “Quite the outlook for someone so young. How old are you?”

“I’m…” Nico hesitated. “I’m fourteen, sir. I know I’m too young to have an Adventurer’s Certificate, but I do have one, I swear!” Nico spoke quickly as he took the certificate out of his pocket, being careful not to drop the egg. “See?”

Iron Eater laughed. “It’s okay, I believe you. Age doesn’t say much about a person in any case. Hell, during the war, boys younger than you were serving on the front lines. Now-“ Iron Eater stopped. “Ah, I remember why I recognize you. You’re Derrik’s boy, aren’t you? I’m sorry, I don’t recall your name.”

“Nico, sir, yes. You know my father?”

“Not many who served in the war didn’t know your father at one time or another. I’ve only met him personally a few times, when he was a candidate for the Mythril Musketeers. Shame he dropped out. No telling how far he would have gotten.”

“I didn’t know he tried to become a Mythril Musketeer. Why’d he drop out? Because he lost his hand?”

“Oh, no. Even with just one hand, he was better with a sword than most of the other applicants. No, he dropped out when he met your mother.” 

“Oh.”

They both stayed silent for a moment until Iron Eater spoke. “Give me that egg and follow me inside.” He motioned inside the office. Nico handed him the egg and followed him inside. “Mary, could I see a list of Adventurer missions, please?” Iron Eater asked the receptionist.

“Of course, sir.” The receptionist handed Iron Eater a small stack of papers that he started searching through.

“Ah, here we go. Here’s a good one for you.” Iron Eater looked to Nico. “Cid’s looking for someone to make a run to Konschtat Highlands for him.” He hands the papers back to the receptionist.

“But, sir, that’s a rank two assignment,” the receptionist said. “He was only just given his certificate.”

“I vouch for him, Mary. Is that sufficient?”

“Yes, sir. Of course it is.”

“Mary, has that boy come back yet?” the Senator shouts from his office as his door opens. “I’m starve-“ Alois stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing Nico and Iron Eater standing in front of the receptionist’s desk.

Iron Eater tossed the egg at Alois, who barely caught it. “I do hope you don’t waste anyone else's time with your lunchtime deliveries, Senator.”

“I-I,” Alois clears his throat trying to regain his composure. “I was only-“

“Have a good day, Mary,” Iron Eater said, completely ignoring Alois. “Follow me, Nico.” Nico nodded and followed him out of the office building.

“Cid is the head of Research and Development. You’ll find the R and D lab on the second floor right before the elevators. Find him and tell him you’re the Adventurer who’s there to help him with his errand.”

“Okay, sir. Thank you very much, sir!” A huge smile reaches across Nico’s face as he salutes Iron Eater.

“I’m expecting great things from you, Nico.” Iron Eater returned a salute and they parted ways.

Nico found the Research and Development lab and with a huge smile still on his face, he knocked on the door. A galka in a green uniform answered the door. “Can I help you?”

“I’m the Adventurer sent here to help Cid.”

Showing no emotion or interest, the galka directed Nico into the lab with just a nod of his head. Nico followed the galka inside. Spread throughout the lab were some familiar looking machines and a few strange contraptions Nico could not even guess at their purpose. The Galka brought Nico to a hume in blue overalls with grey hair and a matching beard, leaning over a large piece of paper that seemed to be some sort of blueprint.

“Cid, this young man is here to run your experiment in Konschtat Highlands,” the galka told the man.

Cid looked up from his blueprints. “Thank you, Raibaht.” Raibaht just grunted in response and walked off and Cid turned his attention to Nico. “You look pretty young. Have you ever been to Konschtat Highlands before?”

“Several times, sir,” With my father accompanying me.

“And what’s your name, young Adventurer?”

“My name is Nico, sir.”

“Nico, what do you know about the crags?”  

“Not much, sir. Only that they are from some long lost civilization.”

Cid chuckled. “That’s basically the only thing anyone knows about them without a doubt. They’re pretty mysterious, even to those who have spent their entire life studying them. The architects of the crags built three of them across the continent for reasons we can only speculate on. I believe I’m starting to understand their function. During the Crystal War and before it, the crags might as well have been enormous white rocks. However, after the war had ended it was soon discovered that the crags now buzzed with energy. No one is quite sure where the power is coming from, but it led to the creation of Teleportation magic, which enables those with the magical prowess to hone in on the crag’s Telepoint Crystal and instantaneously transport themselves there, saving day’s worth of journeying, even making a faster trip than one would on an airship. Most believe this to be a good thing. However I believe the crags to have a far more dubious function, one that I believe is having a negative effect on our world.”

Cid rummaged through a box sitting on the floor next to him and pulled out a red, cylindrical crystal a little bigger than his hand. “This is a synthesis crystal. There are eight elemental energies in the world. Fire, water, wind, ice, earth, lightning, light, and dark. These energies fill our entire world and are mostly used by mages to power their spells, but they have other uses as well. This crystal houses a store of fire energy. It basically serves as a battery. You could use this for something as refined and delicate as making a gold ring or for creating an explosion to shatter boulders.” Cid hands the crystal to Nico. “I want you to go to the crag in the highlands and hold that fire synthesis crystal against the crag’s Telepoint Crystal for a time. I speculate that something should happen. Watch and record what happens and bring the synthesis crystal back to me. Can you do that?”

“Can and will.” Nico said decisively.

“Great.” Cid clapped his hands. “I look forward to your return.”

Nico went back to his house to grab food and water to bring along, as going to and from Konschtat Highland would take a good portion of the day. When he exited the house, Werei was standing out front waiting for him.

“So, your mission is taking you to the crag in Konschtat Highlands?” Werei asked.

“How do you always find stuff out so fast?”

“As old as I am, I’ve learned to be pretty efficient.” Werei said with a smile. “Be safe out there, Nico. Don’t stray from any of the paths. Quadav and goblin roam in the outskirts and I’d prefer it if you didn’t get hurt.”

“I understand, sir.” Nico waved goodbye and headed out of Bastok and into Gustaburg.