FF Crystal Caravan Year 01

Sala looked over at Mick, who as still asleep.

"You know, I bet you and Mick..." Sala started.

"SALA!" Flora shrieked, smacking her.

Mick mumbled and rolled over, not waking up.

"It's only a little obvious. Your jealous because he's always looking at me. Always at my nudity and natural beauty." Sala chuckled, putting an arm under her bare breasts.

"Oh...just go wash up and get to bed." Flora said, smacking her on the shoulder.

"Yes dear sister." Sala smiled, leaning forward. She gave Flora a kiss on the lips. She walked down to the small babbling stream and washed her self up.

*******

The Caravan was packed and on the road in a very short time that morning. Peter had kept blushing and walking away whenever Sala got near. Sala was completely calm and unchanged. Flora was trying not to be enraged and Mick was confused at all of them.

So Mick, sitting next to Peter on the Caravan, clicked his tongue and snapped the reigns. The Papaopamus started forward down the path. Flora and Sala walked close together behind the Caravan, much to the dismay of the boys. It would seem in the last few hours, Mick had developed, or at least started to show, his feelings about Flora. He was looking at her, laughing with her and trying to touch her hand a lot more.

"What happened last night anyway? Did you go seduce him, did he ask you, what happened?" Flora inquired.

"Sister, are you jealous?" Sala chuckled at her sudden interest in her sister's night.

"I am not! I just wanted to know so I know whether or not it's okay to yell at you." Flora lied.

"Okay Flora...I actually went in there while he was sleeping. I pulled down his shorts and started to toy with him, you know, rubbing, licking...sucking..." Sala said coolly as if she was talking about the weather.

"Wait, your telling me you went in there and pretty much raped him?" Flora said, her eyes wide.

"Well, at the beginning. Then he woke up and we really got into it. I just rode him the whole time, but I'll tell you, that boy has quite the..." Flora cut her off.

"That's enough! I get it, you two got into it. So I can yell at you. Are you freaking mad?!" Flora cried, throwing her hands up.

"What the heck, a minute ago you were cool, now you're yelling? I can't tell what's going on with you." Sala said, raising an eyebrow.

"I had to figure out if it was your fault. Now that I know you're to blame, I'm going to scold you. You know you shouldn't have done this. I told you, we're on an important mission here and you can't be distracting Peter. He's probably going to be thinking about you for the next few days and it's going to impair his fighting, or worse." Flora said, smacking Sala.

"You're crazy. I think we can handle this. We're all adults here." Sala said, looking at Flora.

"No you're not. You're only eighteen." Flora said sternly.

"And your only nineteen! So I suppose that makes Peter and Mick the only adults in the Caravan. Great, we're all doomed without grownups!" Sala snapped sarcastically.

"Oh don't start this, you know what I mean. Mick's twenty-four and Peter's twenty-two. They're more than capable of caring for the Caravan, but it doesn't change the fact that they are men! If you distract them with sex, it won't be any different if they were sixteen or sixty." Flora said, glaring at Sala.

"You've got to be kidding me. Just because you're here, I'm not allowed to have sex? No, screw this, your not going to control me!" Sala said, speeding up. She ran to the front of the Caravan and clambered nimbly into the front seat.

"Sala!" Flora said, running after her.

Just as Flora reached the front of the Caravan, Sala sat in Peter's lap and locked lips with him. Peter, startled at first, started to pull back. It took but a second for him to realize and start kissing back. Their tongues met and started to bounce around each other. Sala closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Peter. A few seconds later Sala pulled back and smiled.

Flora huffed and stopped, stamping her heel. She started to walk as the Caravan started to pass her. There was a thump of her jumping on the back of the Caravan.

"I'm sorry, what just happened?" Peter said, looking at Sala, who was still sitting in his lap.

"I was proving a point." Sala said, jumping to the ground. She kept walking alongside the Caravan.

*******

Flora pouted at the back of the Caravan for nearly an hour until Mick walked back behind the Caravan and talked to her while they traveled. Sala didn't know what was said, but Flora came back to the front of the Caravan with a slight smile on her face and she didn't immediately yell at Sala. They both sat in the Caravan while Mick and Peter walked.

"Sister, I'm sorry. You are a grown woman and I shouldn't have yelled at you. The sign of adulthood is the ability to make smart choices on your own. From your angle, I can see how you saw this. I see what you mean and I agree. As long as Peter isn't distracted in times of need, I won't stop your relationship." Flora sighed when she finished.

"Thank you Flora. Maybe I shouldn't have taken it as far in our argument and I'm sorry. We need to stick together, our enmity would've been just as bad in battle as a sexual distraction." Sala said, putting a hand on Flora's shoulder.

Flora smiled and suddenly embraced Sala, wrapping her arms around her.

"I love you Sala and I don't ever want anything to come between us again." Flora said, letting Sala go.

"Is this what that was all about, her having sex with me? And you thought it would distract me. If I thought it would possibly distract me I would've never done it. The Caravan always comes first, Flora, you should have known that. Especially after..." Peter started.

"Peter! We don't need to bring that up again!" Flora snapped, her face flushing.

Mick and Peter burst into laughter, seeing her blush.

"Shut up, both of you!" Flora blushed deeper.

Sala started to laugh, simply at Flora's reaction, she had no idea what they were talking about. They traveled in peaceful silence after that for a few more minutes, all of them joyful and spirited for the next leg of their journey.

"The Miasma Flow. We must be careful in here. Sala, I want you to hold onto the Caravan for your first time through. I will be driving Missy through it. Peter, get in the Caravan and make sure the Crystal Chalice is perfectly secure." Mick said sternly as they entered an ever thickening forest.

There was something in the air. The sky above them was getting darker, at least what they could see. The world seemed to thicken and Sala seemed to become sluggish.

She walked alongside the Caravan with a hand tightly on the side as Mick had told her. Flora walked on the other side, hanging onto the Caravan. Peter walked in front of the Caravan, walking determinedly forward.

Something in the distance caught Sala's eye.

The further they went, the more dead trees there were around them. The path turned to stone and started to arch upward. A large glowing flow was passing across the top of the path ahead. Loops of glowing gas could be seen among the trees.

The closer to the glowing gas they got, the harder it became for Sala to move. Every time she picked up her feet it took more effort. Every breath became harder. The glowing flow of Miasma across the path was nearing. She was holding onto the Caravan to help herself continue forward. Flora was on the other side of the Caravan, barely able to stand or move forward. Flora was having considerably harder time than anyone else.

Sala's Selkie strength kept her moving, but Flora's young Clavat frame was being pushed down by the intense forces inside the Miasma Flow. She was fighting onward through, she walked with a forceful determined motion. Peter, in the front, was stomping along forward, pushing through the Miasma Flow with an experienced ease that came from being on the Caravan for four previous years.

Missy, their Papaopamus, snorted and shoved forward, barely affected by the Miasma. She walked with the strength unknown to two legged beings. Her powerful muscles carried her forward considerably easier than the others. Despite this, Mick had to keep urging her forward because Missy kept trying to stop because of the extra pressure in front of her. The wood of the Caravan started to creek and the cloth arched over the top of it started to pop and stretch.

"Come on...Come on, where is it?!" Mick said through gritted teeth.

There was a glow starting to shine through the Caravan and Sala saw it out of the corner of her eye.

A strange sound filled the air. A low tone that grew louder and louder and then broke. The sound of shattering crystal exploded around them and the barrier that had been starting to stress under the Miasma was now glowing brightly. They were now standing inside a dome of bright crystalline light that took all the pressure off them and forced away the Miasma. The Crystal Chalice was glowing brightly inside the Caravan, producing this new, more powerful shield.

They continued forward easily, all their worries taken away with this new shield.

"This is awesome!" Sala exclaimed, looking around at the beautiful glow around them.

"Its a strange defensive measure of the Crystals. The more Miasma that is dumped on the shield, the more the Crystal strengthens until it snaps and this shield is produced. Give it a second, once we're far enough from the Miasma flow, it will crack and the Crystal's power will return to normal levels. See, the only problem with this shield is that absolutely nothing can pass through it. Go ahead, touch it." Mick explained, pointing ahead of them.

Sala raised an eyebrow and then ran forward to the front of the shield. She reached out towards the barrier and her hand met a powerful resistance just short of it. She pushed on it and couldn't get anywhere close to it.

There was a tinkling of glass and the shield brightened. It glowed intensely and then a crack down the middle appeared. It exploded outward all at once and the glow disappeared. The forest around them was visible again and the Miasma Stream was far behind them. Sala pushed forward again and her hands passed through the shield normally.

"Cool huh, the Chalice will always protect us from the Miasma, no matter how strong." Peter said, falling back next to the Caravan.

"Are you okay Flora?" Mick said, looking down at Flora.

Sweat dripped from her hair and she breathed heavily.

"I'm fine, you know I'm not as strong as any of you. It's not easy for me." Flora breathed heavily.

"We'll be quicker about it next time, I'm sorry." Mick said, "I was worried more about Sala, this was her first time, so I went a little too slow."

"It's fine, I'm okay. Let's just move onto the other side of the forest and take a rest." Flora said, smiling weakly.

"Why don't we all just ride in the Caravan when we go through, why walk?" Sala asked.

Peter gave an audible grown.

"Ten gil Peter, I told you she would ask." Mick said, holding out his hand.

"What?" Sala said, confused.

"It's something everyone asks, Mick and I had a bet if you would or not. I didn't think you would, but I lost." Peter said, digging in his pockets.

"So why don't we?" Sala asked again.

"Because of the weight. You didn't notice it, but when passing through a Miasma Flow, your body weight is easily doubled. Some, like you and Peter, can easily cope with it, while Flora isn't as strong. If we all loaded into the Caravan, that much weight, coupled with the Caravan's increased weight, would either break the wheels or Missy here couldn't pull it." Mick said, "It happened a few years ago on my first Caravan, we all piled in and tried to ford the Flow. Not a good idea, our old Papaopamus just couldn't move us once we were a certain distance into the flow."

"Really? That's intense." Sala said, stretching her arms.

They walked for another few minutes before the forest broke and they walked out the other side and into bright sunshine.

"Welcome to the Iron Mine Downs." Mick said, holding out his arms as they passed down the trail.

The landscape was covered in hills and not as pleasantly grassy as the Tipa Peninsula. There were tall mountains to the east and the land sloped down into a valley. Marr's Pass was in the center of the valley, perched on a steep hillside. They pulled the Caravan off the road and into a small grassy field.

There was a rattling down the trail and their attention was brought to a Caravan coming up the road. Four Clavats lead the Caravan, all wearing orange and yellow clothing.

"Hello there!" Mick cried, waving his arm.

The Caravan neared them and the driver brought it to a halt.

"Hello fellow Caravaners, mind if we take a break and have lunch with you. We have some Round Corn and Gourd Potatoes from the Fields of Fum." The lead Caravaner said.

"We have some dried beef and Striped Apples from Tipa. Pull up your Papaopamus and take a seat in the grass." Mick said happily.

"It's so wonderful to run into another Caravan out here." One of the Fum Caravaners said.

"Agreed, I'll start a fire, we can turn the Round Corn, Gourd Potatoes and Dried Beef into a wonderful stew. I have some spices that would be delectable." Flora said, shaking the hands of the Fum's Caravaners.

"So, Mick, you have a few new hands since we met last, please introduce me." The lead Fum Caravaner said, patting Mick on the shoulder.

"Okay, this is Flora and her half sister Sala. Girls, this is a Caravaner of Fum, an old friend of mine, Willie. We met six years ago when it was both of our first Caravan runs. We've run into each other quite a few times since then and we keep in touch with Moogle Post." Mick said, putting an arm around Willie.

"Flora...Sala...lovely ladies, it's a pleasure to meet you." Willie said, shaking their hands.

"Now Willie, no trying to steal my Caravaners." Mick joked with him.

"I've got the vegetables here, are we almost ready to start cooking?" A girl from the Fum Caravan said, holding up a small wood box full of Potatoes.

"I've got the Dried Meat!" Sala said, hefting a barrel out of the back of the Caravan.

*******

They had a delightful lunch and picnic with the Fum Caravaners. Mick and Willie sat together laughing and howling together; they were sharing past exploits in the last few years. The two of them seemed to have seen each other just yesterday even though it had been years.

"So you guys killed the River Belle Crab. I'm impressed, we've never been able to get Myrrh from the River Belle cave because of it. Monsters have been increasing intensely in the past few years, making it increasingly dangerous. Personally, we only have to gather one more droplet and we can go home." Willie said joyfully.

"Well, we're barely a few days into ours and we lucked out with the Myrrh at the River Belle Cave. We were just on our way to the Mushroom Forest, probably a week to the west of here." Mick said.

"We've not made it over there in a few years. I was hearing rumors of a horrific beast guarding the tree here. Be careful Mick, I don't want you getting hurt in there." Willie said, getting to his feet, "But we must be on our way. I want to be on the other side of the Miasma Flow before the sun goes down. I think we're going to make a stop in Tipa and head back up to the Goblin Wall."

"Oh, I heard the Lilitie Caravan got some from there just a few years ago." Mick warned.

"We heard that too and I hoped we could sidle in there before the monsters get too horrible, but before someone else can get the Myrrh." Willie said hopefully.

"Okay, can you bring a few letters to Tipa for us? Maybe deliver them to the Elder?" Mick asked kindly.

"Gladly, I would love to." Willie said.

The four of them all wrote up long letters about their past few days. Mick included his reuniting with his old friend. Peter wrote about their killing the River Belle Crab. Flora wrote about the beauty of the land and the weather. Sala wrote a letter to Momo, asking about both her pleasure during battle and her animalistic fighting. She was seeking answers about herself and Momo was the only older Selkie she could look up to.

They all marked the letters to their recipients and gave them to Willie. He stored them in the Fum Caravan and started on their way as the sun started it's descent.

"Well, what a better area to sleep for the night than here?" Flora said, looking around their small grassy field.

"I was hoping to get further, but I suppose we're ahead of schedule. I never expected to get any Myrrh from River Belle. We're considerably ahead of where we should be so...fine, we'll stay here." Mick sighed, shrugging.

The girls cheered, and started to unload the Caravan.

*******

CHAPTER 4 - MUSHROOM FOREST

Sala sighed and looked around. They had spent four days heading west to the Mushroom Forest. The Caravan was just on the outskirts of it and they could see the massive mushrooms growing in the hills. They grew ten to twenty feet tall and as large as trees. Monsters could be seen moving among the mushrooms.

They were going to make it to the Mushroom forest before noon and hopefully to the Myrrh Tree before nightfall.

"So, how are we going to deal with all of them?" Sala asked, commenting on all of the monsters.

"Most of them will scatter once we get near, but for the most part, they aren't that difficult to fight. I've been here once as well, although there weren't nearly as many of beasts." Mick said, nodding forward.

"Hmm...well, we'll kill whatever gets in the way. It's not like we haven't fought beasts before." Peter said, jabbing his spear forward playfully.

"Sounds like a challenge, I can't wait." Sala said, giddy with anticipation.

It was an hour until they were down on the main path of the Mushroom Forest Road. As they started to pass the large mushrooms, Missy started to snort and buck. She rumbled and started to back up.

"Whoa girl, whoa!" Mick cried, pulling on the reigns. He managed to get her under control and wheel her back.

"It seems Missy doesn't want to go into the Mushroom Forest." Peter said.

"So what are we going to do then?" Sala asked.

"We've no choice but to leave her here and hope for the best. She's got grass to graze and I'll disconnect her from the wagon and push it back a ways. We've left the Caravan behind before and It's always been okay." Mick said, scratching his head.

"What about the Crystal Chalice?" Flora asked.

"I'll take it, I know a way to tie it up and carry it." Mick said, jumping down from the Caravan.

"Okay, let's get started then." Sala said, stretching her legs and arms.

Five minutes later, Mick came out of the Caravan with rope over both shoulders. The Crystal Chalice was in a skillful net of rope on his back, holding it tight. He walked without pause, the Myrrh bobbed around inside the invisible barrier of the the Chalice.

"Some how, I don't feel good leaving the Caravan behind." Flora said, looking back at Missy, who was munching slowly on a tuft of dried grass.

"It's fine, let's get through this and get back quick." Mick said, leading the way. The glowing blue light of the Chalice's Crystal bobbed up and down behind Mick.

Sala and Peter fell in step behind him and they started down the path, watching the creatures and critters of the Mushroom forest scatter and hide as they started through the tall Mushrooms. As Mick had said, not every critter was dumb enough to attack them. A lot of them simply wanted to be left alone, and they were only to happy to.

The path took a long bend downward and they started to wonder what was going on. It was obvious the monsters were running from something and they thought it to be them, but this didn't make sense when they saw a large fire elemental float away in an excessive hurry.