Tales of Symphonia: Back to the Future Pt5

Ten Hours Later, Ossa Trail

Next day, Colette seemed to have fully recovered, so we packed up our things and made our way to the fishing town, Izoold. On the way, Marta and I got more schooling than we would have liked: Raine gave us a rather lengthy lesson on the history of the fishing industry, while Kratos gave me and Lloyd an equally long lesson on swordsmanship. I accepted both lessons politely, but Lloyd seemed to care more for Kratos’ teachings than Raine’s. A short scolding later, we reached the Ossa Trail when a voice suddenly shouted out, “Stop!”

We all came to a halt as a lithe, beautiful woman leapt down from a cliff and began glaring at us. I recognized her right away: Sheena Fujibayashi, the summoner and ninja from the village of Mizuho.

“What?” Lloyd said.

Colette looked at him and asked innocently, “Is she a friend of yours, Lloyd?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

The girl ignored our conversation and demanded, “Is the Chosen of Mana among you?”

Colette smiled and replied, “Oh, that’s me!”

Sheena turned her full attention to Colette and said quietly, “Prepare to die.” Without another word, she began running towards Colette.

Without thinking, I darted forward and pulled on a bright red handle in the ground, opening what looked like a trapdoor. She stepped in before she could pull back, and screamed as she fell.

“Uh oh,” Lloyd and Genis said in unison.

“Uh oh,” Colette repeated after hearing a loud thud. She got to her feet and looked down the hole with a worried expression. “Oh no, what should I do? I did it again…”

“You don’t need to worry about it,” Raine said, “If Emil hadn’t pulled that lever you might have been killed.”

“But…”

“Leave her alone,” Lloyd said, “She’s an enemy.”

“But she wasn’t armed when she ran at Colette,” I said, “We don’t even know if she was serious or just trying to get our attention.”

“Well, a death threat is definitely a good way to grab someone’s attention,” Marta muttered.

Lloyd looked down the hole again and said, “Well….I guess I do feel a bit sorry for her.”

“Even assuming her weight to be forty-five kilograms,” Genis said matter-of-factly, kneeling next to Colette and looking down as well, “And measuring this hole to be ten meters deep, and calculating the gravity constant at 9.8, the impact shouldn’t have been fatal.”

“Gravity…” I said, completely nonplussed.

“Constant?” Marta finished for me.

Lloyd looked just as confused as the two of us. “I don’t understand what you just said, but she’s alive right?”

Genis nodded. “Probably.”

Lloyd grinned at me as we got up and said, “But that was pretty slick, Emil, making her fall down that trapdoor like that!”

“It’s not a trap,” Raine explained, “It’s a hidden maintenance passage for the mountain path.”

“We should get moving,” Kratos said abruptly. He turned around to look at us and added, “This area is too confined, and the footing is poor. It would be wise not to linger.”

Thirty Minutes Later, Izoold

Once we reached the town, we started asking around for any boats on course for Palmacosta, but all we found out was that a local pirate, Aifread, had already left and would not be returning for some time. We did find out that he had talked to a lady named Laila, and decided to go visit her.

We heard her mumbling as soon as we entered the house. “How can I quell these feelings I have? Aifread…” she muttered, staring at the landscape through the window.

Lloyd and I glanced at each other, and then he said, “If you’re looking for Aifread, we heard he was heading back to his hometown.”

She immediately turned around and got right in Lloyd’s face. “What did you say?! Is this true?!”

Lloyd reeled back from her suddenly fierce face before replying. “Uh, yeah. Right Emil?”

“That’s right,” I said, “It seems he’s already left for Palmacosta.”

“This is my chance!” she said suddenly, and pushed Lloyd away as she raced out of the house. We followed her out to the docks, where she had struck up an argument with a brown-haired man standing next to a fishing boat.

“What do you mean you won’t take me, Max?! He’s already headed for his hometown!” we heard her shout angrily.

“It’s not that!” the man named Max retorted, “I just care about you too much, and the waters are dangerous right now!”

“Fine. Then you take it.”

He shook his head. “No! Why should I have to act as a go-between for my rival in love?!”

She glared at him and gave him her back, clearly upset. She saw us almost immediately and called out, “You there! Excuse me!”

“Us?” Colette said, confused.

“Do you see anyone else here? I’d like you to take this letter to Aifread in Palmacosta,” she said, “If you agree, I’ll have Max take you on his boat.”

“Y-You can’t be serious!” Max complained.

“Okay,” Lloyd said.

Satisfied, Laila turned back to Max and said, “You hear that?”

“I’m…I’m not going to do it.”

Laila suddenly erupted in a fresh wave of fury. “What do you mean!? Are you saying it’s okay if my letter doesn’t reach him?!”

“L-Laila! No, it’s not…I don’t mean that…”

“Then, what DO you mean? If you keep making a fuss about it, I’ll just go on my own!”

Max looked down in defeat and said, “Okay, okay, I’ll go. Dammit…”

“You should have just said that from the start.” She turned to Lloyd and gave him her letter. “Here. Make sure you get it to him!” Grinning, she forced her way through our group back to her house.

Lloyd looked down at the letter, and then back at Laila. “She’s really pushy…”

Max simply sighed. “Come on, let’s go. Don’t blame me if we run into any monsters, though!”

Two Hours Later, Palmacosta

Upon arrival, Marta and I felt a strange combination of nostalgia and nervousness. Palmacosta looked exactly as it did before the regeneration, from the large farmer’s market next to the docks to the Palmacosta Academy.

“So, where should we head?” Lloyd asked us.

“Well, why don’t we go talk to Governor-General Dorr?” I suggested, “He might know where the seal is in this area.”

“Okay!” Colette said, and she began walking in front of us when she rounded a corner and bumped into another woman dressed in a cream colored dress, making both of them fall to the ground and break a green bottle of Palma Potion in the process.

“Ahh! The Palma Potion!” the woman exclaimed.

“Hey, lady, that was a very valuable potion!” yelled her friend, an archer with red hair and a grumpy face, “How do you plan to make up for this?!”

“I’m so sorry,” Colette apologized, “I’ll go buy a replacement potion right away!”

“A replacement potion!?” he growled, “Do you seriously think that will be enough to appease my anger?!”

“Oh, come on, now you’re just sounding like an idiot,” Lloyd said.

“What-did-you-say?! Do you know who we are?”

Lloyd folded his arms. “And I should care because…?”

“Stop,” said another woman behind him, a mage with a light-blue short dress and a matching hat and cape, “I don’t want any unnecessary trouble.”

“I agree!” said the first woman, “Let’s just have them replace the potion!”

“Colette, you don’t have to,” Lloyd began, but Colette looked at him earnestly and said, “But it’s my fault that their potion broke. The least I can do is buy a replacement!”

“In that case, let’s go visit Marble’s shop,” Marta said, pointing to a nearby two story house, “They sell all sorts of stuff there, including potions!” She and I eagerly lead the way to the shop, but as soon as we got inside we found another argument taking place: a cute girl with brown hair in a ponytail was talking with a pair of Desian guards, and both parties looked upset.

“Oh, please!” she said, “There’s no way anyone would sell those to you at a price that low!”

The Desian closer to the counter sneered. “You should be thankful that we’re even willing to spend money for goods from a rundown shack like this.”

“I don’t need to hear that from a bunch of filthy Desians!” Chocolat said angrily, “I’m not gonna sell one single gel to the likes of you!”

“Chocolat! Stop!” That came from her mother, Cacao, who had risen from behind another counter.

“But, Mom! These are the same monsters that took Grandma away!” Chocolat said.

“You’ve got some nerve talking to us like that, little girl!” said the first Desian, the sneer completely gone by now, “You keep that up, and we can’t guarantee what’ll happen to you or this city.”

Chocolat looked back at the pair and said defiantly, “Just try it! As long as Governor-General Dorr is around, we’ll never submit to the likes of you!”

“You little-!” The first Desian reached out to grab her, but his companion held him back. “Stop! We’ve reached our quota for this year,” he said, “We need permission from Lord Magnius to go any further.” To Chocolat, he said, “Depending on Lord Magnius’ mood, you might or might not get to keep that pretty little head of yours!” With a final look of contempt at mother and daughter, they stormed out of the store.

“Well, then! I’m off to work now, Mom!” Chocolat said cheerily.

“Take care,” Cacao said gently. She turned to us almost as soon as Chocolat left. “I apologize for what happened. I’m sure you were startled. Please, relax and…” she cut off as she noticed me and Marta at the front of the group. “Emil? Marta? Is that you?”

“Mrs. Cacao! It’s great to see you again!” I said.

“But I thought you and your father went out on a fishing trip with Thomas?”

I froze, and suddenly everybody’s attention was on me. “What does she mean, Emil?” Genis asked.

Marta, after a brief look of concentration, looked at Cacao apologetically and said, “We didn’t tell anyone, but Emil and I left town a while back.”

“I see…” she smiled and said, “Well, what can I do for you today?”

I walked forward and pointed at the bottle of Palma Potion inside the glass counter in front of her. “We’d like to buy a bottle of Palma Potion.”

“Very well.” She bent down, extracted the bottle and placed it on the counter. “That will be 1,000 gald.”

Nearly everyone was surprised. “It costs that much?!” Lloyd asked, “I didn’t know potion was that expensive…”

“If you’re in need of extra money, the cafeteria at the Palmacosta Academy is currently hiring for waiters and waitresses,” Cacao suggested helpfully.

“I can do it!” Colette said eagerly. We all looked at her in surprise.

“Er, Colette…” Marta began, but she couldn’t find the words. Sighing, she said, “Alright. If you really want to, then Emil and I will show you Palmacosta Academy.”