LIORE
Ed studied the big man in front of him. Spiky hair, muscles bulging underneath his borrowed templar’s outfit, and a single eye that seemed to have a “Thousand-mile-stare” going on.
Even without all of his hideous injuries, he’d be intimidating. This guy had seen more than his share of trouble, and kept on going.
Al was talking again. Ed brought his attention back to the discussion…
“So, he’s using that stone to fake miracles? We thought it might be something like that.”
“Are you here to stop him?” Asked the man, who’d said his name was Guts.
“Not really.” Said Ed. “If that stone’s what we think it is, then we’re here for that.”
Guts’ face went cold. “You want to set yourselves up as the new priests? Is that it?”
“NO! No, no, nothing like that.” Said Al. “We just need it to… Well…”
“We need it to fix our bodies.” Sighed Ed. “If it’s what we’re looking for, it might be able to do that.”
Guts reached over to the table, and took a long drink from a cup of water. Ed watched him, for half a minute. He’d expected the big guy to ask “Fix your bodies, how?” but it didn’t look like that was about to happen. It was actually a relief, not hearing that same question again…
So, of course, Al felt like he had to fill in what to him was an awkward silence.
“We… We made a big mistake a few years ago. And we paid for it. But if we find the philosopher’s stone, there’s a chance-“
“Al.” Ed cautioned.
“Brother, just let me ask, please! Do you know? Did he say it was the philosopher’s stone? If we’re this close, then…”
Ed put his hand on Al’s arm, stilling him. He looked back up to see Guts close his eye, considering things for a moment. “I wasn’t there. HE was.” The big man glanced toward his bed, and tilted his head as if he was listening to something.
“Oh, okay. So there’s no way of telling for- Wait! You can TALK?” Said Al. Al was looking at the bed, too. TALKING at the bed!
Ed looked at the two of them. What the heck? “Uh, Al? Why are you talking to the bed?”
“I’m not! I’m talking to THAT! What? Oh, sorry, I mean I’m talking to HIM!” Al pointed at the sheets.
Ed felt a drop of sweat slide down his face. “Uh…”
Guts chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. Most people here don’t see him.” He finished off his glass of water, and put it back on the table.
“See what?”
“He’s right THERE!” Al pointed. “Whups no, he’s moving… ah! Hey, stop that!” Al batted ineffectually at his head, as his helm tilted and shifted.
“Al, I’m getting pretty tired of this joke…” He broke off. Guts was staring at Al, who sighed and put his hands in his lap.
“Yeah, it’s true.” Said Al. “I’m empty inside. This is part of the price we paid.”
Slowly, he reached up to his armor’s helm, and twisted it. Removed it.
Revealing nothing, just a hole where his neck was, leading into the breastplate of his armored shell.
Guts looked Al over, reaching a hand back to rub his neck for a second. He brought it back and stared at his fingers, before shrugging and refilling his water cup from the nearby pitcher.
Ed was shocked. This guy didn’t even blink! How can he be so blasé…
“I see,” said Guts. “Well, maybe that stone is that thing you’re looking for. Cornello’s going to be doing a sermon tomorrow, you can go there and see for yourself.”
Ed nodded. Al replaced his armor. “What about you?” Ed asked. “Are you going to stick around?”
He was silent for a minute, then Guts stirred, and shifted in the chair until he was mostly sitting upright. “Hey. Tell me something.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you seen a brown-skinned woman, black hair, about five-five, with brown eyes? She wouldn’t be able to talk, she’s kind of scatterbrained, and acts like a young child.” Guts was looking him in the eye.
Ed looked back. “I… Don’t think so. Not that I’ve noticed.”
“She would have showed up around four days ago.”
“Showed up? From where?”
“Long story.” Said Guts. “So, you haven’t seen her?”
“No. Brown skin? Well, that’s usually a sign of Ishbalan or Southern blood. We did pass some Ishbalans on the way in, they might have seen her. They’re not far, if you hurry tomorrow you might be able to catch them…” There was a small creak. Ed looked down to see Guts’ fingers squeezing the metal cup tightly, almost bending the thin sides.
“Ah, is… something wrong?” Al asked.
“No, it’s just…” Guts’ trailed off. “I already asked them.”
“That’s good.” Said Ed. “The way they were talking, they won’t be here again anytime soon. Evidently some kind of monster wandered out of the desert and started killing them. And the guards didn’t bother to help them. They even saved it, they dragged it inside when it started losing.”
Guts was staring down into his cup, watching the water tilt and flow as he turned it around and around. “That what they’re sayin’, huh?”
“Yeah. Small wonder the Ishbalans left. Though I have to wonder just what that monster was.” Ed watched as Guts looked out the window, his lips drawing tight.
“That monster though, do you think it could be a chimera, brother? Cornello might be doing experiments like Tuck-… Like HE was.” Al worried.
Ed nodded. “The thought had crossed my mind. From what they were saying, this thing killed ten people in under a minute. We’ll have to be prepared, if Cornello created it. Nothing human could be so monstrous…”
Crick. Crack. Ed looked up. The cup was slowly folding in Guts’ hand, the thin metal giving way under enormous pressure.
Then he glanced up, and Ed recoiled. That… That eye! There’s so much sadness in that one eye… How could anyone live with such sadness?
“Yeah. Always good to be prepared.” Guts put the cup on the table. “It’s getting late, and I need sleep. Gonna have to kick you out.”
Ed nodded. “Allright. Thanks for the information.”
“No problem.” Guts stood, using the chair to pull himself up. He watched as the brothers left.
“Hey.” Ed glanced back, and for a second, just a SECOND, there was a little green winged man sitting on Guts’ shoulder. He blinked, and the man was gone. There was nothing there.
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that monster at the gate. Call it a hunch.”
“Yeah?” Ed asked. What does he know? What did I see? Did I even see… No, I couldn’t have…
“Yeah.” And Guts shut the door.
“Brother, did you see him?”
Ed shook his head. “Not now, Al.”
“You were looking right at him, and I saw your face! You saw him too, I could tell!”
“C’mon. Let’s get some sleep.”
“You DID see him!”
“I don’t want to talk about it!”
“Hee hee…”
Back in Guts’ room, the big man sat on the bed, Puck kicking his heels next to him.
“Hey, it’s okay. They didn’t know… If they’d known the whole story, they wouldn’t have said…”
“Skip it.” Guts stared out the window. “It’s a tough world. They’ll learn sooner or later.”
He lay back on the bed. “S’funny, though. Most everyone I’ve met here who wasn’t trying to kill me has been treating me like a cripple.”
“But those two didn’t.” Said Puck.
“Nope, they didn’t. I like that.”
In the room across the hall, Ed was lying back on one of the beds, Al sitting on the other. After ten minutes of arguing, the subject of little green men had been declared taboo for the near future.
Al watched Ed toss and turn.
“He seemed really sad.”
“He was, Al. More than anyone should have to bear.”
“I wonder why?”
“You really want to know?”
“That’s what alchemists do, isn’t it? Find out the answers to all the questions, even the painful ones?”
“Heh. Yeah.”
Ed flexed his metal arm, studying it in the lamplight.
“It’s funny, though. You know how most everyone usually treats us…well, me like a kid?”
“But he didn’t.” Said Al.
“Nope, he didn’t. I like that.”
The night passed uneventfully.