92 Sky City
After having every nook and cranny of his body 'thoroughly' cleansed, Andrew was enjoying a back and foot massage from the twin Viera in a private room filled with burning incense. He thought it would be awkward due to the duo's inordinately long nails, but they used them to trace and stimulate his skin between kneading it.
Receiving a message from Penelo informing him that someone had come looking for him, Andrew resisted the urge to click his tongue and said, "It looks like I gotta run..."
Ceasing her massage, the 'eldest' of the two Viera twins, Eura, asked, "Are you certain? You ordered the full course, and we've barely gotten through the appetizers..."
Chiming in from her position near Andrew's feet, where she had similarly been giving him a massage, Eura's sister, Euna, added, "We don't provide refunds..."
"And I wouldn't ask for one," replied Andrew, turning over and rising to a seated position as he added, "Rather, I have a gift for you. I'm not sure how long it will last, but this should afford you and your warren mates at least a momentary reprieve."
Rising to his feet, Andrew waved his left hand over the massage table, forming a line of full-sized gold bars. He was honestly tempted to try and purchase the entire establishment, but he could always do so later if the sentiment stuck in his mind. Vieras were also naturally gifted in the ways of martial arts, hunting, and magic, so they could make excellent guards for Ashe in the future.
Seeing Andrew's 'gift,' the eyes of Eura and Euna widened to their limits. They had known he was a big fish when they saw the condition of his hair and clothes, but the thirteen bars of gold he laid out on the table weighed more than the two of them combined. He could have reserved every Viera in their establishment for the next three years with such an amount. Thus, as Andrew moved to grab his clothes, the duo rather aggressively insisted on helping him get dressed, using the time to commit his scent to memory in case he reneged on his promise to visit again...
...
..
.
Teleporting to Penelo's side, Andrew found himself on the second floor of a fairly packed tavern, finding the prospective Dancer, Basch, and Vaan standing around awkwardly while Balthier and Fran sat at a table with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
Noticing Fran was without her usual headpiece, allowing her white hair to flow freely, Andrew raised his brows but decided not to comment upon it. Instead, he looked to Basch and asked, "I'm guessing you're the one who was searching for me?"
"Indeed," replied Basch, adopting a smile as he added, "Though, I am not alone in that endeavor. Balthier has agreed to lend his services, but only if I could convince you to come with us to Bhujerba."
"Don't misunderstand," said Balthier. "Your costs, whatever they may be, are likely too expensive for my blood. However, if you're working with the Resistance, I expect I'll turn a handsome profit working alongside you. If nothing else, having you around to haul loot ought to spare my lower back considerable strain."
"That begs the question..." said Andrew, meeting Basch's gaze with a 'serious' expression as he asked, "Is the Resistance looking to hire me? And, if so, what for...?"
"If you accompany us to Bhujerba and meet the Marquis, Ondore, I'm certain we can offer something to satisfy you. As for our aim, we plan to rescue someone important, a woman by the name Amalia..." stated Basch, looking as if he was prepared to offer the very head on his shoulders if it meant securing Andrew's aid for the Resistance.
Catching Basch a little off guard, Andrew casually replied, "Sounds like fun," before looking to Penelo and asking, "Are you planning to come with us, pip?"
Though she was a little surprised by Andrew's invitation, Penelo didn't hesitate to respond, "If you'll let—" before Vaan interrupted her, saying, "Nuh-uh! No way! Penelo isn't even a fighter! We can't take her with us!"
"Then I guess you'll need to stay here to protect her," countered Andrew, turning to meet Vaan's gaze with a half-lidded expression.
"But...but she's safer here...!" argued Vaan, prompting Andrew to ask, "And? So are you." in a neutral tone.
Preempting Vaan's response, Andrew gestured for Penelo to come closer. She was a little apprehensive, not knowing what he would do, but he just plopped his hand atop her head, meeting Basch's gaze as he said, "She'll be my responsibility. I trust you have no complaints...?"
"None," replied Basch, regaining his smile as he added, "The path forward may be treacherous and demanding, but even mountains can be moved if enough hands join together."
Shaking his head, Andrew jokingly remarked, "Man, you should start carrying around a journal or have a historian follow you to write down everything you say."
"Perhaps I will, one day," replied Basch, understanding that Andrew was joking with him. After that, Vaan continued making a fuss for a while longer, but with his involvement in the operation predicated on Penelo's participation, he had little choice but to accept she was coming along...
...
..
.
With Balthier leading the way to where his airship was docked, the suave Sky Pirate placed his hands on his hips, remarking, "This is the Strahl..." in reference to a medium-sized airship with an irregular, folding-wing design and a total of six hover engines known as glossair rings. It resembled the inverted tip of a spear when its wings were folded and a large bow when they were open, the former mode granting greater velocity while the latter vested it mobility comparable to a much smaller Fighter craft.
Turning to the slack-jawed Vaan, Balthier adopted a smug grin and asked, "She airship enough for you...?"
"She's amazing...!" exclaimed Vaan, pushing past Balthier with wide eyes. Before he could start pestering Balthier with questions, however, Andrew beat him to the punch, asking, "What is its crew and hold capacity? Can it accommodate this many people...?"
"The cockpit and crew quarters have a capacity of six and four. As for the hold, she can bear around six thousand kilograms, albeit at the cost of our speed," replied Balthier.
"Speaking of which, how fast is she...?" asked Andrew, curious to know as he could fly outside or atop the ship if the interior became too cramped or stuffy.
"She has a cruising speed of around 500 knots at altitude but can exceed 750 in a pinch," revealed Balthier, causing Andrew's eyes to widen quite a bit. FFIX also used knots to denote the speed of airships, so he knew 666 was the speed of sound. His maximum velocity was several times greater, but he could only sustain it for a few minutes.
"Very impressive..." said Andrew, giving voice to the thoughts of nearly everyone present, none more so than Vaan. The latter was a veritable airship junky, so he had all kinds of follow-up questions for Balthier, chief among them being whether he could try piloting the ship, a request that was summarily rejected...
...
..
.
Located high above the Naldoan Sea, floating amidst and above the clouds, was the Sky Continent of Dorstonis, formed from a cluster of floating landmasses known as Purvama. Crystal structures resembling wings or the petals of flowers protruded from several places on the sky islands, but what allowed them to float was the high concentration of Magicite present within the soil and substrata.
As Magicite was used for everything from powering airships to creating Spell and Memstones, the former permitting the use of Magick and the latter allowing others to experience another's thoughts and memories in recorded form, the Sky Continent of Dorstonis and Bhujerba were two of the most vital locations in all of Ivalice. House Ondore had been placed in charge of the Sky City nearly seven hundred years prior, during the era of the Galtean Alliance, and it was largely the result of their careful oversight that the wondrous continent hadn't come crashing to the ground long ago due to magicite depletion. Thus, even when Archadia destroyed Nabudis and invaded Dalmasca, they did not move to conquer Bhujerba, fearing it would irreversibly damage their supply of magicite. At least, that was one of the many stories circulating by the people of Bhujerba and beyond...
...
..
.
Seeing how thin some of the sections of the so-called 'sky continent' were, Andrew couldn't help thinking the people who chose to live there were out of their minds. Seeing vast forests and small mountains floating amidst a sea of clouds was truly a sight to behold, but he could readily think of dozens of ways to cripple and outright destroy the nation if it ever went to war. After all, cities on the ground could be rebuilt, but if a section of the Sky Continent was blown to smithereens, it was gone forever...
"We're about to land. Do you want to come back inside...?" asked Balthier over the Strahl's loudspeaker. Andrew wasn't particularly fond of cramped spaces, so when he witnessed how confined the cabin and cockpit were, he elected to enjoy the hour-and-a-half flight seated outside and atop the airship's hull.
Using the walkie-talkie-like device that Balthier had given him to facilitate communication with the cockpit, Andrew responded, "Nah, I'm good. The air is nice and crisp, and I can always fly off on my own before we dock at the Aerodrome."
"Just try not to get caught," said Balthier, reminding, "Before we meet with the Marquis, it's better to lay low."
Though he was tempted to point out it would make their meeting with the Marquis easier if they stood out, Andrew responded with a relaxed, "Yeah, yeah..." before setting the communication device down. It had a powerful, ring-shaped magnet on its back, so it adhered to the metal hull as Andrew climbed to his feet and stretched, protected from the wind by a magical barrier.
'Now, how do I arrange to have our group meet with Larsa...?' pondered Andrew, referring to the fourth son of Archadia's Emperor and the younger brother of Vayne. Larsa played a fairly important role in the game, serving as a kind of deuteragonist and contemporary to Ashe, so Andrew needed to arrange a meeting between him and the main cast members to ensure the benevolent youth's ascent to the throne of Archades and his Empire's induction into the Interworld Alliance. After all, while Ashe was definitely the 'main character' of her world, Dalmasca was a tiny Kingdom with little power. It could serve as the center of interworld trade, but it would need the backing of a powerhouse like Archadia to ensure nations like Rozarria didn't become emboldened...
Setting his sights on the largest building in his field of view, a massive estate nestled between five wings of pure magicite, Andrew separated from the Strahl and descended into the sea of clouds below. So long as Penelo was traveling with the main group, he could stay in contact and return to them in the blink of an eye. Thus, channeling his inner Tantalus, Andrew zipped through the icy, energy-rich clouds, detailing his plan to Penelo before rising from the cloud coverage and landing in an overgrown forest surrounding a mansion atop a hill.
Though he wasn't sure if the mansion belonged to House Ondore, Andrew couldn't imagine a titled family that had ruled for seven centuries allowing another family to build an estate grander than their own, especially when there was a hard limit to the amount of real estate present. Fortunately, it didn't take long to confirm his suspicions, as several warning signs were posted throughout the heavily fortified forest, filled to the brim with traps. They denoted the land as the territory of House Ondore and warned that anyone found trespassing did so at great risk to their lives, but Andrew wasn't even remotely daunted as he floated a few centimeters above the ground, effortlessly evading each trap with a combination of Libra and his enhanced senses...
...
..
.
