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Ch. 10: The River Lete

Terra and Banon crouched low on the raft while Sabin and Edgar steered with poles. They let the current carry them, the two men maneuvering their way around rocks and keeping generally to the center of the river.

The afternoon was a beautiful one, and Terra found herself enjoying the ride. The narrow river banks were green with plant life. Shrubs hung onto rocks or thrust their roots deep into the rich riverbed soil. Small waterfalls that originated high in the Sabils flowed down the walls and joined with the river. Terra saw the deep grooves the water had made in the walls, and she realized they must have been flowing for a long time.

Everything seemed so ordinary. And yet Terra found something wonderful in it all. It was like passing through a period of sanity after everything she had been hurled into. But was she just "passing through"? She could still feel the tension just below the surface.

Was she destined to lead a chaotic life? Even her sane periods weren't exactly smooth. The beauty of the Lete River had its darker undercurrents of urgency and desperation. Because she couldn't quite forget that this was a dangerous ride they were on.

The rest of them knew it, as well. As the twins steered the raft around a bend, Edgar said quietly, "That was the easy part. From now on, keep your guard up. You never know what might be in the water..."

Terra looked down into the river. Small schools of fish swam by, disturbed by Edgar's pole sloshing through the water. A turtle crawled slowly up onto a dry rock.

But there were always bigger creatures around...

Suddenly, water splashed in front of them as the shells of two aquatic creatures broke the surface. Then a mass of tentacles appeared. The raft bobbed from the waves, the twins struggled to steady the raft. "They're Nautiloids!" Banon yelled.

Edgar and Sabin immediately stepped in front, shielding the other two. Terra grabbed the pole from Edgar as one Nautiloid lashed out at him.

The creature's tentacles shot right up to Edgar's face. He lunged back, but the monster spewed out a thick liquid. Edgar was suddenly blinded. "I can't see!" he shouted, stumbling backward.

Banon pulled Edgar back, and Terra and Sabin quickly took up the attack. He swiped the tenticles with his claws. The Nautiloid groaned, then slapped Sabin's arms and chest painfully. He yelled and swiped again, cutting off several tentacles with one blow, which fell wriggling onto the raft.

The Nautiloid retreated to the side of the raft, planning to overturn it. Terra faced it as it came close to the edge. She drew her sword and slashed the creature, but it turned aside. The blade clanked on its shell.

Meanwhile, Banon had brought out some eyedrops. "Hold still," the old man ordered as he treated Edgar's eyes.

Edgar blinked as his vision slowly returned. "Thanks, Banon," he said.

"No problem."

Suddenly, a tentacle shot out past Terra and wrapped around Banon's wrist. "Augh!" Banon yelled as the creature began dragging him into the water. Edgar pulled out his crossbow, killing the creature with two arrows in its soft head. Terrra chopped off the tentacle, and the Nautiloid sank into the river.

Sabin had been fighting the second Nautiloid, dodging its grabs and fending off its blinding Ink attack. Terra switched to a pike, its longer reach enabling her to jab the creature from underneath, where it was unprotected by its shell.

The raft bobbed wildly. "It's too far away," Sabin said. "I'll take care of it!" He concentrated, building his inner strength, then shot a furious Aurabolt directly at the creature. It was blown back by the force. With a dying wail, it disappeared below the surface.

They all breathed sighs of relief. Terra slumped into a sitting position, and Edgar and Sabin took up the poles again.

Banon glanced over each one. "You're hurt," he said. "Let me help." He closed his eyes and pressed his hands together. Terra watched his curiously.

He stretched out his arms toward them, humming softly. As his hands passed near them, they each felt a warm sensation.

Terra inhaled sharply. The feeling was similar to the one caused by her Cure spell. She felt much better and more energized. Looking at the others, she saw the same had happened to them. She turned eagerly to Banon. "You...you can do magic, too?" she asked in a soft, almost reverential voice.

Banon opened his eyes. "Not exactly," he replied. "I'm in tune with certain energies. I'm harnessing those energies that give life. When I heal something, it's like granting the person or creature an extended life."

The woman was silent for a moment. "Then how is magic different?"

Edgar turned his head sharply. The old man gave an imperceptible nod, answering the king's hard glance. Banon looked at Terra.

"True magic is a quality inherent in a being," he said slowly. "It requires a change in the person's body structure. Some beings depend on magic to survive; those are the ones that can truly be called magical. The only such beings we know of are Espers."

His voice was very gentle as he continued. "That is why you are a rarity, Terra. People can be infused with magic, but they cannot pass on those powers to their offspring. Humans' bodies just will not allow it. When magic is infused in a human, those abilities work as stand-alones; the body is not mutated in any way."

"So I...must have been infused with magic powers?"

Banon shook his head slowly. "We think it's more than that," he answered. "If you had merely been infused, the Empire wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to control and recapture you. No...I have a feeling your abilities are natural. You were born with them..."

Terra felt her head spinning. "But then...that proves I'm not human!" What...what *am* I, then? What am I?" She looked pleadingly at Banon.

He put an arm around her shoulder and hugged her. "I admit, I don't know," he said. "But we'll find out..."

The twins glanced at each other. They carefully guided the raft into a short tunnel that the Lete had carved into the Sabils.

"I think we could all use a good rest," Sabin said gently.

Terra nodded. The twins eased the raft up to a ledge. Sabing brought out a tent, jumped off, and expanded it. Edgar made sure the raft was secure.

Edgar and Sabin traded the watch. After a few hours, they resumed their river journey.


The current was swifter on the next half of their ride, almost as though the river had sensed their urgency. But along with it came an increased difficulty in steering. Twice, Edgar and Sabin barely managed to avoid large, protruding rocks.

The Lete flowered through more rapids, then under a natural arch. A strong crashing of water ahead alerted Sabin. "Uh-oh...we might have trouble!" he called out.

"What is it?" Banon asked.

Then they saw it: a sharp drop in the river. "It's a waterfall!" Edgar shouted. "Move to the back of the raft and hang on tight!"

The twins pulled their poles in and they all hunched down. They reached the edge; the raft tilted crazily as the river suddenly dropped. But the weight on the back gave slight stability as the raft pitched forward.

"Whooooooooaaa!!" they yelled.

The fall seemed endless. Finally, with a powerful whump, the raft splashed into the river again, nearly bucking off its passengers. The brothers scrambled to redistribute the weight, to prevent the raft capsizing. When the river settled down a bit, they sat up carefully. "Everyone all right?" Sabin asked.

The rest nodded. Terra gulped. "A bit shaky, but okay."

Away from the waterfall, the current slowed down. The twins used their poles more to speed up their travel now.

They navigated around a particularly tricky bend. "Good thing the water's not too fast," Edgar said.

They were so caught up in their work that they missed the purple blob that popped up in the distance. It turned glowing yellow eyes at them, then ducked back down in the water and swam rapidly toward the raft.

Banon, staring out at the water ahead, suddenly became alert as he noticed ripples in the water that weren't exactly natural. "I think something's coming!" he warned.

At that moment, the blob splashed up out of the water right in front of them, making waves that sent the raft careening back. "What...What IS it?" Edgar yelled as the twins tried desperately to keep from overturning.

"Uwee, hee, hee!" the monster roared, opening its mouth wide and showing rows of sharp fangs. "Game over! Don't tease Ultros the octopus, kids!" The creature laughed at its joke, rolling back in the water with a splashing whump.

"That's an octopus?" Banon muttered. "Looks like a shark to me..."

"Yeah, and an annoying one too," Terra said as she drew her blade. Banon retreated to the back of the raft.

"Whatever it is, let's take care of it now!" Sabin said.

Taking advantage of the party's disorientation, Ultros had the first attack. Ducking under the water, he brought his tentacles up and delived a sucking whack to each person. His suction cups left red circular marks on their skin.

"Eww, gross!" Terra exclaimed. She swung out at the retreating tentacle with her sword, slicing off a good bit that fell flopping into the water. Ultros roared, then Edgar took up the attack. Opting to use his mithril pike, he jabbed the octopus right at the base of his tentacles.

Ultros began eyeing Terra. "Delicious morsel!" he roared with a grin. He lashed out, dealing her a terrific slap with his tentacle. She cried out and fell back.

Banon worked his magic, healing everyone. Sabin, who had been concentrating his energies, shot out an Aurabolt at the monster, flinging him back, but not by much. He quickly followed up with a jumping slash with his claws, then leaped back to the raft.

"Raah!" Ultros seethed. "Muscle-heads? Hate 'em!" Another tentacle sprung out of the water and slapped Sabin several times, flinging him off the raft.

"Ahh...AHHH!!" Sabin shouted as he plunged into the water.

"Sabin!" Terra scrambled to the edge, where he was just surfacing. Sabin got his bearings and swam quickly back. The woman half-dragged him onto the raft.

The creature reared its head and spit out a black substance at Edgar. He dodged out of the way, yelling, "Watch out!" Banon, who was helping Sabin, looked up at exactly the wrong moment. The thick ink hit Banon full on the face, blinding him.

Ultros rushed forward, but Edgar met it with a swift thrust with his pike. The monster fell back, rolling over in the water. "T...That's all, folks!" he roared, then with a final grin, he submerged with a splash.

Terra treated Banon's eyes, and the twins moved carefully to the edge of the raft. They looked ahead to where Ultros had disappeared. Slowly the bubbles stopped coming up.

"I guess we thrashed it," Sabin said.

"Don't bet on it. It's probably just hiding from us," his twin cautioned. "I have a feeling this won't be the last time we'll see him..."

A purple flash suddenly flopped out of the water. Terra screamed, catching the men's attention. "Something's stuck to my leg!"

"Over here," Edgar said, pulling her to the opposite side of the raft. They examined her leg, and it turned out to be a piece of dark purple, slimy seaweed. Banon peeled it off and flipped it back into the water.

"It's all right now," the old man said.

"Ha! I bet it was that octopus who did that," Sabin said, a bit miffed by the fact that he'd been pushed into the river. He moved to the center of the raft to get a running start. "I'm gonna hit it with a Blitz!"

His twin scrambled up. "No, Sabin!"

"Don't distract me, brother!" Sabin ran and made a mighty leap. The other three gathered around the edge.

Edgar shook his head. "He's always been a tad zealous..." he said with a sigh.

Sabin dove into the water. "Sabin!!!" Terra screamed.

"Don't worry about him!" Banon said with a laugh. "He'll be okay!"

"Are you sure about that?" Edgar asked dubiously.

Banon laughed again. "You should know better than any of us! Any moment he'll flop right onto the raft again!"

Just at that moment, Sabin shot straight out of the water, a surprised look on his face when he saw the raft was much further than he thought it would be. "What the...?" Sabin called out. "Man, I miscalculated somewhere!"

The others looked up at him. Banon was speechless.

"Seems a little too perky," Edgar grumbled. Then he yelled, "Hey, Sabin, take care of yourself!"

The twin hit the water with an unexpectedly huge splash. They saw him float to the surface -- unconscious.

He began drifting further away. "SABIN!" Terra called, stretching her arm out in a futile attempt to reach him. Edgar grabbed the pole and tried desperately to steer them after his brother. But Ultros had attacked near another stretch of rapids and, even more so, they were approaching a fork in the river. They could only watch helplessly as their paths diverged.

"Saaaabiiiiiin....!!"

They could do nothing but continue on their journey to Narshe. What would they do about Sabin? And what about Locke, had he been able to get through the Empire's defenses in South Figaro?

Was everything going according to plan?


Chapter 11: Return to Narshe

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This chapter last edited Nov. 18, 1999