“What?!” said Nuthea, breaking character from that of a calm, composed negotiator to play the part of a flustered only-child.

The Governor shrugged, making a triple chin for a moment. “We do not have the Earth Emerald. Well, that is to say, it is in Farr, but it is not in our possession.”

“Where is it then?”

“Why do you think you have the right to know?!”

“Lord Governor, I respect your concern for your own country’s interests, but I cannot impress upon you the seriousness of this matter enough. There is an ancient Oneist prophecy which states that if the Primeval Jewels are all gathered together, astonishing power will be unleashed. The Emperor of Morekemia has been operating according to a policy of aggressive expansion of late, and were he to obtain all twelve of the Jewels there is no telling what havok he would be able to wreak upon the world. He could enslave the whole of Mid under the banner of the Empire.”

“Young lady, I am not a Oneist. I worship Eto, god of the earth. I have never heard of this prophecy before. Why should I have any reason to believe it?”

“Well…” started Nuthea, but then abruptly ran out of steam. “Um…” She didn’t appear to know how to handle people who didn’t believe in the One and in Oneism.

Cid took over for her. “Lord Governor, that is entirely understandable, but you must concede that even if this prophecy does not turn out to be true”--Huh? Ryn thought. Did Cid just say that?--“the Jewels are still extremely powerful artefacts. When the Empire had just one Jewel, for a time, they were able to invade an entire continent and steal a second Jewel before my companions and I fought them and took them back. It would be a terrible thing for any more of the Jewels to fall into the hands of the Empire, whatever the full extent of the power they bestow.”

The Governor raised an eyebrow at Cid. “That is a more persuasive case, old man, but I still see no reason to turn the Earth Emerald over to you. Anyway, you seem to be doing pretty well for yourselves, If you already have two Jewels.” He said this last with a sardonic sting in his voice. “Why should I trust you? How do I know that you are not seeking to do the same as the Emperor of Morekemia?

“He does have a point…” Ryn whispered to Nuthea. He could see where the Farrian Governor was coming from. They had never really cleared up what they would do with the Jewels themselves if they collected them all, apart from keeping them away from the Emperor. Nuthea had been vague about that. Maybe she secretly harboured dreams of using them to resurrect her deceased family, like Ryn did, too...

“Shhh,” Nuthea chided him irritably out of the corner of her mouth. “We’ve been over this, Ryn…” She spoke to the Governor again. “Our motives are pure,” she announced confidently. “My...my mother was killed by the Empire in their pursuit of the Jewels. Both of Ryn here’s parents were killed by them. We only seek the Jewels so that we may keep them from the Emperor and prevent others from coming to the same harm that our family’s did.”

The Governor narrowed his eyes at the princess. “Hmmm,” a ponderous noise escaped his mouth. “And what of the rest of you? You’re a bit of a ragtag bunch, aren’t you?”

Cid stepped up. “I, like the Princess, am a dedicated Oneist and a Healer. I believe in the Oneist legend of the Jewels and I believe it is of paramount importance that they are found.”

“What about the rest of you? the Governor asked, glancing down the line.

Sagar shrugged. “I’m just the pilot. I’m only flying them around in exchange for being paid with gold, gemstones and...beautiful women. You wouldn’t happen to have any of those knocking around here, would you?”

“No. Not for you anyway.”

“Oh well.”

“I’m the engineer,” said Elrann. “I hooked up with these guys when Imfis, where I was living, got invaded.”

The Governor’s gaze fell on Vish.

“Vish, say something!” whispered Nuthea.

“What?” The Shadowfinger blinked with surprise, as though his mind had been somewhere far away. “Oh. I suppose I am their bodyguard. They pay me too, with other things…”

“Well, this is all highly suspect,” said the Governor. “I am amazed that you have even been able to obtain two Jewels at all. How have you?”

“Um,” said Nuthea, “well… My country were already in possession of the Lightning Crystal…” It glittered where she held it up for a moment on its chain. “I inherited it from my mother. Though we did have to win it back from an Imperial General after he stole it. And Ryn was given the Fire Ruby by his father. Show him, Ryn.”

Ryn held up his left hand, where the Fire Ruby sat on its ring around his middle finger.

“Though that was stolen,” Nuthe continued, “by the same Imperial General, so we had to get that back too. Ryn did that really, with his flame projection powers. But the rest of us helped fight off the Imperials. Captain Sagar here actually has wind projection powers, since he was given a fragment of the Wind Shell by...um...his father. Show him, Sagar.”

Sagar obliged happily, holding out an open palm in front of himself as Ryn had. A gust of air rushed upwards from the floor around him, making his jacket and ponytail flap for a moment.

“And as well as being a pilot, Sagar is also a highly skilled swordfighter. And Grandfather Cid has already mentioned that he is a Healer. And Lady Elrann, as well as being an engineer, is highly proficient with pistols and whip. And, um, Shadowfinger Vish was once, um, a Shadowfinger…”

“What?!” said the Governor. One of the elite bounty-hunter assassins of the Empire?!

“Um. Yes.”

The Governor held up a palm. “Don’t worry, I’m quite capable of defending myself.”

Ryn turned his head. The guard by the door had apparently started forward, but now reluctantly resumed his original position, his smile replaced by a tightly-clenched jaw.

“How did you end up traveling with this party?” the Governor said to Vish.

“They made me a better offer than the Empire,” Vish said matter-of-factly.

"Oh?"

“They keep me supplied with poppy seed. The Healer keeps them in his bag.”

Ryn assumed that this would seal the Governor’s disapproval and that the man was about to dismiss them again, even more forcefully this time. But instead of shouting them out of his audience chamber, the Governor went quiet again, then made another pondering noise.

“Hmmm. You do seem to have some talents after all.” He put his fingers to his lips for a moment, and rubbed them, apparently in thought. After a while he said, seemingly to himself, “Defeating an Imperial General and winning back two Jewels is quite impressive, I suppose. Maybe there is some sense in trying to reclaim the Earth Emerald, especially if there is a chance of you actually doing it…”

“Lord Governor,” said Nuthea, “where even is the Earth Emerald?”

“Hm? Well, if you’re going to have a go at retrieving it, I suppose you do need to know where it is. It was placed by my predecessor in the Shrine to Eto, the earth god.”

“Well, that’s not too much of a problem,” said Ryn. “We can just go and retrieve it from there for you.”

The Governor gave Ryn a withering look. “He placed it there so that nobody would be able to retrieve it. The Shrine to Eto is a labyrinthine temple filled with monsters, puzzles and traps.”

“Ah.”

“That’s nothing we can’t handle!” spoke up Sagar. “As a team we’ve already successfully escaped from an invasion, infiltrated the Imperial ranks, fought off an Imperial battalion, and defeated an Imperial general. Four of us are jewel-touched. And all of us are deadly fighters. Well, most of us,” he added, looking sideways at Ryn.

The Governor tapped his lips. “Now, are you sure? Are you telling me that you are really prepared to attempt to enter and retrieve the Earth Emerald from the Shrine to Eto yourselves? Facing the prospect of vicious monsters, deadly traps, and the high likelihood of injury and death?”

“We have no other choice,” said Nuthea.” Either we do it or, sooner or later, the Empire will be here doing the same thing.”

“Huld!” the Governor shouted all of a sudden.

“Pardon?” said Nuthea. “What would you like us to hold?”

“My Lord Governor,” said the soldier who had been standing guard at the door, now appearing alongside of the companions, smiling at the end of the line next to Vish.

It wasn’t a command, it was a name.

“Huld,” said the Governor, “I want you to take these six foreigners to the Shrine to Eto and bring the Earth Emerald back from there with them.”

“I live to serve, Lord Governor.”

“Woah!” said Sagar, instantly protesting. “We never agreed to that! Why do we need to take a Farrian along with us? We can do it just fine by ourselves!”

“Why do you think; you loose-tongued Imfisi?” snapped the Governor. “You will need a Farrian guide both to lead you to the Shrine and to help you navigate it. And nobody is better suited to helping you in your task than Huld. He is my best monk. He is extremely well trained in the fighting arts. He will be able both to guide you to and around the Shrine to Eto and to assist you in retrieving the Emerald. I trust him implicitly.”

Ryn looked at the soldier. No...the Governor had said monk. The man’s massive smile was back on his face again. It was so wide it pushed his cheeks up into his already narrow eyes, making him look as though they were shut.

“Hello,” said Huld, in a friendly, gentle, surprisingly effeminate voice.

“Er, hello,” said Ryn.

“Good,” said the Governor, apparently seeing this as some kind of successful assimilation of Huld to the group. “That’s settled then. Huld will assist you in retrieving the Earth Emerald. I have some matters I will need to discuss with him now. You will leave at first light tomorrow.”