chapter 2: THE MANIPULATOR AND THE SUBSERVIENT


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[PURSUIING OVELIA]

(Outside Orbonne Monastery, immediately following the dramatic kidnap of the princess...)

GAFGARION "What's this, Ramza, you know the boy who whisked away her royal higheness?"
RAMZA "............"


(Agrias steps out of the monastery.)

AGRIAS "He has taken Princess Ovelia, he couldn't have gone far."
GAFGARION "You'll give chase?"
AGRIAS "Of course we will! By God, how do you expect me to face the Royal Family if I fail here!?"
GAFGARION "This isn't included in our contract! We'll not assist you."
AGRIAS "As if we need assistance from a boor that isn't even truly a knight!
If a knight should fail, by his power he shall correct his blunder! It is my convoy's repsonsibility!
Lavian! Alicia! Let's move!"


(Father Simon stumbles his way out of the monastery.)

AGRIAS "Father Simon! Are you well?"
FATHER SIMON "...The Princess... what of the Princess?"


(Agris gives a solemn shake of her head.)

AGRIAS "My failure is inexcusable. I'll surely...!"
SIMON "Na... Nay, child. If you go, the Princess will be..."
AGRIAS "Worry not. By the honor of a knight, I vow to rescue the princess!"
RAMZA "I... I, too, will go! I won't be a burden to you!"
GAFGARION "What are you saying, boy!? We have no obbligation to!"
RAMZA "I will not rest until I know! Not until these eyes witness the truth!"
GAFGARION "...That boy, n'est-ce pas?"


(Ramza nods.)

GAFGARION "Fn, so be it. But, don't be expecting sympathy from me...!"



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CHAPTER 2: THE MANIPULATOR AND THE SUBSERVIENT







[DORTAR TRADE CITY]

KNIGHT "...Make it 500 gil a head. How does that sound?"
MERCENARY "Dream on. Don't waste my time. It's 2000 gil, 2000 gil per head."
KNIGHT "May I remind you that it would be all too easy to make you all heretics."
MERCENARY "Are you threatening us? ...How about 1000 gil?"
KNIGHT "700, and not a gil more."


(The mercenary thinks it over.)

MERCENARY "Fine. We'll handle it."
KNIGHT "Wonderful. They'll be here momentarily. Leave no one alive, understand?"


(The princess' rescuers arrive.)

KNIGHT "Well speak of the Devil...
All right, there are your targets. Do your job thoroughly!"


(The knight makes his leave quickly. The mercenary lazily turns to look at the convoy's arrival, and after a moment of shock grabs his hat to throws it to the ground in rage.)

MERCENARY "Isn't that Gafgarion!? God damn it! 700's too bloody cheap!"


(The mercenary puts his fingers to his lips and whistles, his men filing into the streets of Dortar.)

GAFGARION "Hn. An ambush, is it! You're putting me through more trouble than the money's worth!"
AGRIAS "And you can leave with that sour attitude!"
GAFGARION "It's not my way to do these things without pay... Ah, well, consider this a side-service!"
AGRIAS "You patronizing...!"


(Gafgarion takes off before she can finish, to Agrias' irritation. She follows soon after, with the convoy's men behind her, to fight off the experienced mercenaries. With such strength in the royal guard, they emerge from battle victorious.)

AGRIAS "We do not have time to be wasted on this sort of scum...
If we don't move swiftly, all our effort will be for naught..."
GAFGARION "Et alors, where do we go? Do you even know where that knight ran off to?"
AGRIAS "There is but one place he could be making way for. We'll head the same way!
The impregnable stronghold of Bethla Garrison."
RAMZA "Bethla Garrison..."








[ARAGUAY WOODS]

(Deep within the Eastern woods, a chocobo is surrounded by half a dozen goblins.)

BLACK GOBLIN "Gob gob! Gob gob-gob!!"
CHOCOBO "War...waaaark!!"


(The convoy arrives.)

AGRIAS "A chocobo!? In a place like this!"
GAFGARION "The foolish thing must have lost itself in the goblin's forest!"


[SELECT]
1. If we don't make passage through the forest quickly...
2. Can it hold well in battle, I wonder?

1. If we don't make passage through the forest quickly...
RAMZA "We don't have the time to spend needlessly here.
If we don't make passage through the forest quickly..."
GAFGARION "Finally, you understand. There's no making money in this."
AGRIAS "...It's pitiful, but aiding Princess Ovelia is our priority. I'm sorry."
(if the chocobo falls in battle)
CHOCOBO "Wa...waaaark...!!"
2. Can it hold well in battle, I wonder?
RAMZA "'Wild chocobo are far stronger than those that are tamed',
or so Delita once said. Can it hold well in battle, I wonder?"
GAFGARION "Do you intend to save it, Ramza? There's no money in this!"
AGRIAS "However, it could be useful in aiding the rescue of Princess Ovelia....."
(if the chocobo falls in battle)
CHOCOBO "Wa...waaaark...!!"
RAMZA "Damn!!"
CHOCOBO "Wa...waaaark...!!"
RAMZA "Looks like your safe now."
GAFGARION "What a lucky one you are. You should thank Ramza."








[ZEREKILLE FALLS]

(Over the passage of the falls, Delita stands protectively in front of Ovelia on a bridge over rushing waters, surrounded by knights of the Northern Heaven Knights.)

NORTHERN HEAVEN KNIGHT "You have no where to run! Be rid of such a notion!
Hand over the princess peacably! If you do so, we will spare your life!"
SIR DELITA "What a bare faced lie! Your aim is to take the princess' life!
And after you do the deed, you'll turn your sword on me for knowing the truth. I did not come back to die again!"
NORTHERN HEAVEN KNIGHT "What stupidity do you spout! We've come to rescue the princess!
Why in God's name would we seek her life? We are to prevent you from delivering her to Goltana's army!"


(Ovelia draws nearer to Delita. It is that moment the convoy stumbles on the scene.)

AGRIAS "Princess Ovelia—!"
PRINCESS OVELIA "Agrias!!"
NORTHERN HEAVEN KNIGHT "Oh, fantastic! Let's invite our mothers while we're at it!
Gafgarion! Kill them!! Do it and do it now—!!"
GAFGARION "I haven't a clue what's happening, but the contract is what it is. So be it!"
AGRIAS "Gafgarion, you bastard, what is this foul betrayal!?"
GAFGARION "Betrayal? Ah, non, don't jump to conclusions, these men are the pièce originale.
Our duty was to be sure to abduct Her Highness 'unharmed'.
And afterwards, these fine men were see those who knew of it—pointedly you, mes amies—had their mouths shut permanently!"
AGRIAS "What in God's name are you saying!? Do you say the kidnapping was staged!"
GAFGARION "What a hindrance that princess is!
The Prince Orinas alone is sufficient enough of a successor! If she were to remain alive, only trouble will follow!"


(Delita further hides Ovelia behind him.)

DELITA "In any case, seeing as you're all about to die, I'll let you help me...
If Goltana's troops could not only kidnap Her Highness, but also murder her as well, then Larg would be free of any and all obstacles.
He would even be rid of this troublesome princess... A splendid-sounding scenario Duke Larg wrote, isn't it?
...No, my mistake, it sounds like a scenario Dycedarg would have written.
Don't you think so, Ramza?"
GAFGARION "That's enough now! Ramza, let's slaughter every last one of them!"
RAMZA "...Is there to be another helpless sacrifice...?
...No, such a thing is unforgivable! There will be no more victims like Teta—!!"


(In the mess of the drama, swords are taken in hand and battle is wrought between saviors of the princess against those who aim to kill her.)

RAMZA "Delita! I see you live, Delita!"
DELITA "Imagine! Our heartfelt reunion, in a place like this! How fare you at your brothers' beck and call?"
RAMZA "Oh, spare me! I know not a thing they do! They didn't see fit to mention this!
Speaking of which, Delita, how fare you in my brothers' plot!?"
DELITA "Oh, spare me. From laughing that is! I've come to rescue the princess!
I've come to free her from the hands that use her!"
GAFGARION "Don't tell lies! Are you not a sellsword!? Don't play innocent!!"
DELITA "Don't confuse me with you! I wouldn't do this for coin!"
GAFGARION "Then tell me who! Who is being the thorn in my side!?
Are you some rightminded brat who heard the plan and decided to rescue the princess!?
Or are you a hired man? Who was it that heard the plot, you or your employer!? Speak!"
DELITA "As though I'd be so kind as to tell you!"
OVELIA "Who are you? Mine ally or mine enemy?"
DELITA "I'm human, the very same as you!"
AGRIAS "Princess Ovelia! I'm here to save you!!"
GAFGARION "You can certainly try!"
AGRIAS "Do you understand what you're getting yourself into by doing this!?
Even adopted, Princess Ovelia is still of the crown. And you would dare lay your hand on her!?"
GAFGARION "Si, I understand! I understand perfectly well!
Even princesses are killed for being a hindrance! Isn't that what those who wear your 'crown' stand for!?"
AGRIAS "Troglodyte! And what's more, you dare mock the princess!?"
GAFGARION "If you're a hindrance, you're killed... It's only been the same with commoners for ages!
And are people as pig-headed as you any different!? Don't you do the same for those you pledge loyalty to without a moment's thought!?
If you wish to live, you have to stand at the top of the summit. And if that's not the case, better to kill you off and be done with you!"
AGRIAS "Just try it, boar, for I will protect her!"
RAMZA "You knew of this plot!? Why take work from such unclean hands!!"
GAFGARION "Unclean, you say!? Whether it comes from hands that smell of roses or of shit, it is still money!
I am a mercenary! I take whatever work I find, regardless of the job! That's the handling of a professional!"
RAMZA "But why did you not tell me of it!? Why—!!"
GAFGARION "Why should I have? You would have stopped me, ouais? If not us, than the contract would have fallen in someone else's hands! Do you understand!?
Someone always dies, even if you know not about it! That's the reality!
Or do you mean to say that you'll be the hero and stop the deaths you don't even know happen!?"
RAMZA "Bu... But how can you tell me to accept this!?"
GAFGARION "No 'but's'!
You're nothing but a small boy who runs away at the barest glimpse of reality!
If you take issue, then walk on your own two feet rather than hobbling about on the arms of those around you! Live with yourself!!
If you can't do that, I don't want to hear your big mouth wailing!"


(Gafgarion near death)
GAFGARION "Merde...!"


(Gafgarion disappears.)



(if Ovelia falls in battle)
OVELIA "O...O God...."
RAMZA "Damn!!"
AGRIAS "Princess Ovelia—!!"








[DELITA'S REUNION]

(The battle over and the convoy victorious, Ramza takes the time to speak with Delita. Ovelia stands near a protective Agrias, across from Delita.)

DELITA "Entrust Princess Ovelia to me. I know what's better for the sake of Her Highness."


(Agrias stands on guard in front of Ovelia.)

RAMZA "Delita, what exactly are you scheming...?"
DELITA "'Scheming'? You don't mean me, do you?
I'm only stating simple truth.
Why don't you think it through? Where will you take Her Highness, now that the Nothern Heaven Knights have turned on you?
Elite troops have probably already been dispatched seeking your arrest.
So then, where can you possibly think to run to?"
RAMZA "We... well..."
DELITA "Consider this carefully.
The fact that it was the Duke Larg's plan means that the Queen very likely knows as well. Hence, the Royal Family will not be friendly.
Well then! How about the Duke Goltana? Oh, please think again, lest you wish to die. Save for the princess, he'd execute you all to clear his name."
AGRIAS "Oh, then do say, what would you do?"
DELITA "I'll do the one thing you can't do."
RAMZA "Meaning what?"
DELITA "Aha... Makes you wonder, doesn't it...?"


(Delita turns his back to them.)

DELITA "But, as you wish, I'll entrust Her Highness to you for just a little longer."


(He begins to walk away.)

RAMZA "Delita... I'm happy that we were able to meet again."


(Delita pauses suddenly, his head lowering for a moment before turning up toward the sky.)

DELITA "Teta saved me..."
RAMZA "...Eh?"
DELITA "At that moment, Teta protected me...."
RAMZA "..........."


(Delita again begins to walk, but is stopped yet again, Ovelia stepping forward around Agrias.)

OVELIA "I give my thanks, Sir Delita."
DELITA "We'll meet again, Ramza."


(Delita exits.)

AGRIAS "Ramza, for your help, I give my deepest gratitude.
However, are you sure of your decision? You'll make the Northern Heaven Knights your foe."
RAMZA "Please, worry not of me. I already chose my path.
But nevermind that, what will we do now? It is as Delita said, there is naught a person to help us..."
AGRIAS "I think... perhaps we may request aid of Cardinal Delacroix.
Lionel is in the dominion of the Glabados Church. Although I'm not sure if they can somehow offer us sanctuary..."
RAMZA "But Lionel will not do something as careless as to hand us over to the Northern Heaven Knights....
Let us go. It's not as though we have a list of havens to choose from."








[ZALANDA FORT CITY]

(A young man runs away from his pursuers, finding himself cornered against the fort wall.)

FENCER "Where can you run to now, eh!? Hand it over to us like a good boy, if you value your life!"
YOUNG MAN "I'm sorry, what was it you wanted from me? My memory is a little bad, you see..."
FENCER "Oh drop the fool's act, Mustadio!
Do you not care what will happen to that old man of yours? Cooperate and hand over the 'Stone of Saints'. Do so and we'll release your father.
....Now! Seize him!!"


(Mustadio leaps up the fort wall, out of reach. He brandishes an arm dramatically.)

MUSTADIO "And you tell that bastard Rudvich that if he lays a single finger on my Pa, the only way he'll have the 'Stone of Saints' in his hands again is in his dreams!!"


(Ramza's entourage arrives.)

AGRIAS "Business gone sour? And it looks as though that boy's being run down by someone...?"


[SELECT]
1. It's none of our business, but...
2. Do not let them seize him!

1. It's none of our business, but...
RAMZA "It's none of our business, but I can't simply overlook this happening!
We will save him!"
(if Mustadio falls in battle)
MUSTADIO "I... I can't let them have...the Stone of.. Saints...."
2. Do not let them seize him!
RAMZA "Those men aim to kill him here and now! Do not let them seize him!
We will save him!"
(if Mustadio falls in battle)
MUSTADIO "...So...sorry, Pa..."


(Mustadio takes advantage of his high point position, using a foreign instrument to shoot at the opponents. With the help of reinforcements, Mustadio's life is saved.)

RAMZA "Are you well?"
MUSTADIO "Yeah, somehow. Thanks, sure saved my hide."








[THE MECHANIC]

(Presently, within a building.)

MUSTADIO "Those scumbags were rogues hired by the Bart Company."
AGRIAS "The Bart Company? Do you mean to say the Bart Trading Company?"
MUSTADIO "Know of 'em, eh? But... They're not just a trading company, you see.
The Bart Company deals in the blackmarket and a handful of crime syndicates, smuggling anything illegal from Opium to slaves. Lovely folk, aren't they?"
RAMZA "Then why was it those men chasing you?"
MUSTADIO "...You know why they call us folk 'mechanics'?"


(Ramza shakes his head.)

AGRIAS "Something to do with the 'lost civilization' found beneath the Machine City Goug...
During the era of Saint Ajora, infinite airships plied the skies, and mechanical human droids roamed the streets... or so it's said.
However, as the era ended, such technology was lost, and presently no one knows for certain if such craft truly existed."
MUSTADIO "But that kind of world really did exist!
The undergrounds of Goug is filled with things like ruined airships and bits and pieces of weird machines that we didn't even know were possible to make.
We mechanics are ones who study and restore this 'inheritence of the past', or whatever you want to call it."
RAMZA "Sorry to interrupt, but that strange object you used before... is that also a machine?"
MUSTADIO "Ah ha... you mean this?"


(Mustadio pulls out his weapon, and cocks it open.)

MUSTADIO "This thing here's called a 'gun'. It's a weapon that uses gunpowder to shoot small pieces of metal called 'bullets'.
This is the beta design, though, we're still hammering out other models. This one's simple, the ones used in the olden days look like they can use 'magic' as its bullets..."
RAMZA "Hmmmmmm..."
AGRIAS "And what does this have to do with the Bart Company is chasing you?"
MUSTADIO "...Didn't you say you were going to meet with Cardinal Delacroix...?
The Cardinal was a great hero of the Fifty Year War. Even now, Lionel still reveres him as a respected man...
Same as my Pa, too. But people say that the Cardinal's the only one that can bring together this messed up country.
I'm sure he'll listen and grant you your favor. So then the princess can rest easy."
AGRIAS "...Can you get to your point?"
MUSTADIO "Well, why don't we go together? I want to meet with the Cardinal too."
AGRIAS "Why?"
MUSTADIO "For the sake of saving Pa!
The Bart Company's got him as hostage, I've got no other choice but to plead the Cardinal to save Pa!
But I'm still a mere mechanic, why would he want to meet with me? Please. Please take me with you! "
AGRIAS "Not without telling us what motive they have for chasing you!"


(Mustadio lowers his eyes.)

MUSTADIO "...can't tell you right now."
AGRIAS "Then no. We are not able to take you within our company."
MUSTADIO "Please! Do it on faith!! I have to meet with the Cardinal!"


(Princess Ovelia enters the room. Agrias and Ramza fall to their knees.)

OVELIA "I understand. You may travel with us."
MUSTADIO "Really? Thank you, Highness!"
AGRIAS "You stand before the princess!"


(Mustadio immediately kneels.)

OVELIA "There's no need. So then, please show your faces."


(The three stand to their feet.)

AGRIAS "All right. On faith."








[OVELIA'S WORRIES]

(The group make rest before travelling toward Lionel Castle. Ovelia and Agrias stand in a grove.)

AGRIAS "Princess Ovelia, can you see, there? Beyond those mountains lies Lionel Castle."
OVELIA "And yet so far...
I wonder. Shall he help us truly, the Cardinal Delacroix...?"
AGRIAS "Though the Cardinal's loyalty in the crown wanes, he holds high ladies such as yourself in much regard. This is what I've heard.
More over, presently he stands neutral to the political tensions between the Duke Larg and the Duke Goltana.
I'm certain he wouldn't dare do something so immoral as to deliver Your Highness to one side or the other."
OVELIA "That may be so, yet...."


(Ovelia steps to a tree, plucking a leaf from its branches.)

AGRIAS "...In any case, the Cardinal has the grace and goodwill of the church of Glabados.
If the Cardinal so wishes, the church will bestow its good will upon you, Princess Ovelia. Quite gladly..."
OVELIA "...quite gladly... would it be that I were never the princess at all."


(Ovelia drops the leaf from her hand. It flutters to the ground.)

AGRIAS "Princess Ovelia..."


(Ramza enters, and not wanting to interrupt the moment, quickly takes cover to eavesdrop.)

OVELIA "All my life, I have known monastery walls...Walls that would want that I should believe the world beyond it entirely empty.
I lived at another monastery before Orbonne. Have I told you, Agrias? No.I don't think I have.
As the adopted daughter of the late king, one would think that I would have been accepted into my family... and yet I was sent to live my life in a convent.
Mm... I'm not saying that it may be without reason. It's merely....
It pains me. To know that while I hide behind walls, so many people are dying in my name, dying for the sake of the princess..."
AGRIAS "Princess Ovelia, do not condemn yourself.
The fault lies not with you, but on the heads of evil men that would use you."


(Ovelia takes another leaf from the tree and releases it to fall on the ground.)

OVELIA "I made a friend while at Orbonne Monastery.
She, too, told me that she lived her life within the monastery for as long as she could remember.
How often we laughed. How similar we were! Despite being born into seperate lives.
Hahaha... How ridiculous, no?"
AGRIAS "She was the daughter of the Beoulve family. Lady Alma, was she not?"
OVELIA "My one friend, my dear friend...
...I wonder if Cardinal Delacroix, too, will use me?"
AGRIAS "..........."


MUSTADIO'S VOICE

 "Ramza! Where are you? We have to leave soon!"


(Mustadio enters, finding Ramza crouched taking cover.)

MUSTADIO "What are you doing in a place like this?"


(Ramza desperately brings a finger to his lips, indicating Mustadio to be quiet.)

AGRIAS "Well, how goes it?"


(Cover blown, Ramza gets up easily enough.)

MUSTADIO "It's all right. The Nothern Heaven Knights haven't come to inspect this city yet."


(Ovelia attempts to play the reed flute.)

OVELIA "My friend taught me how to do this, before... it came to her so easily. I...don't seem to be as skilled, do I?"


(Ramza simply walks over to the princess, plucking his own reed)

RAMZA "This is the way to do it."


(He plays it.)

OVELIA "Like this?"


(She tries again, successfully.)

OVELIA "Oh, it made a sound!"


(Happily, she plays it again. Ramza joins in a moment later.)









[BELIAS HILL]

RUDVICH MERCENARY "We know not who you are, so just leave the boy in our hands!
We do not seek a fight! Just deliver Mustadio to us obediently and we'll all go on our merry way. Well?"
AGRIAS "I couldn't agree more! Save for a particular detail—you withdraw obediently so that you are still alive to go on your merry way!
Go along back to your Lord Rudvich! Tell him we will surely slay whomever dares cheat a person of their rights by force!"
RUDVICH MERCENARY "Then, we have no choice. Try us, for we are ones that will take him by force! Forward!"


(The entourage fights with Rudvich's hired men, and emerge the battle on Belias Hill victoriously.)

RAMZA "Why do they chase you so persistently? Won't you explain to us their reason?"
MUSTADIO "I'm sorry... Like I said, I can't tell you yet."








[DYCEDARG'S EVIL DESIGN]

(In an office at Igros Castle, Dycedarg holds audience with Gafgarion.)

LORD DYCEDARG "Assume any means to capture Ovelia.
Naturally, Agrias and those accompanying her will interfere with such action. Kill them where they stand!"
GAFGARION "Ramza too, then?"


(Dycedarg rises from his seat, moving to pour himself a glass of wine.)

DYCEDARG "He has not only disgraced the Beoulve name, but now seeks to make nuisance of himself.
I had thought he had the perfect opportunity to know how harsh the real world truly is, hence I left him to his childish games. I hadn't thought his foolery would reach these extremes."
GAFGARION "That sense of justice of his come from the old goat?"
DYCEDARG "My father, too, spoiled him...
If he cooperates nicely, wonderful. If he resists, the very moment he does, he leaves me with no choice..."


(Dycedarg drinks the wine.)

GAFGARION "I doubt a devoted brother should say such words. Even my own black heart's dsigusted!
...However, if the Cardinal of Lionel were to become a hindrance, what then?
If the church backs the boy and his crew, not even le Duc Larg would be able to carelessly march in for them.
DYCEDARG "I've already prepared for such a scenario. You needn't worry."
GAFGARION "Prepared for everything, are you? I'd say you're the Devil's own."
DYCEDARG "Even if you think such, best watch your tongue, Gafgarion.
It'd be a simple thing to claim your head. Don't forget that."
GAFGARION "'Hey now, stop that. I am your most loyal dog.
I'm not as stubborn as Sir Arch Knight. Don't forget that, s'il-vous-plaît."
DYCEDARG "In that case, make the effort not fail as spectacularly this time."
GAFGARION "And of that matter, who on Ivalice did you order to abduct Ovelia?
We were ambushed in Dortar as we made chase. What was the meaning of that?"


(Dycedarg looks out the window.)

DYCEDARG "The true kidnappers assigned to the task were discovered dead within the woods near the monastery.
Someone had learned of our plan and decided to become an annoyance, it seems...
At any rate, all is fine so long Ovelia is still under Agrias' care. There will be many chances to snatch her away..."
GAFGARION "Let's hope you're right."








[CARDINAL DELACROIX AND THE STONES OF SAINTS]

(Agrias' party present themselves at the gate of Lionel Castle.)

LIONEL CASTLE KNIGHT "Who goes there! What business doth thy bring to Lionel Castle?"
AGRIAS "I am Agrias Oaks of the Lesalia Imperial Saint Guard.
I come way from Orbonne to seek salvation from the son of God, Saint Ajora. I beg thee, raise the gate!"
LIONEL CASTLE KNIGHT "Thou seeks Saint Ajora's salvation in the name of His Grace.
All those who seek the salvation of His Grace stand equal, thus may Lionel Castle welcome thee.
Raise the gate!"


(The gate opens, and the party enters. Within the castle, the Cardinal holds audience in his office.)

CARDINAL DELACROIX "I see, I fully understand your situation, Sir Agrias.
If it is as you say, then this Delacroix has already decided to lend his hand to thy cause.
I shall send an emissary immediately to the Holy Land, Murond. It shall be a direct word to His Holiness, the Pope.
While we work to expose the Duke Larg's injustice, we shall see to it that Her Highness Ovelia's life and person go untouched."
AGRIAS "Would His Holiness, the Pope Funeral, truly grant this, Your Grace?"
DELACROIX "Worry not, Sir Agrias. This man before you is with you.
Leash your anxiety, lest the Princess Ovelia's heart go uneased.
Until word returns from the Holy Land, please rest at your leisure in this ancient castle."
OVELIA "Your Grace. I offer my deepest thanks."
DELACROIX "We are under the care of Saint Ajora. Be at peace.
...And now, my young mechanic. Your prayer, too, has been heard.
I shall dispatch Lionel's best to the Mechanical City of Goug to destroy the Bart Compay."
MUSTADIO "Thank you, Your Grace."
DELACROIX "But, before such, won't you please explain why is it that you, both a father and son, are targeted?"
MUSTADIO "Tha...That's...."


(Mustadio lowers his head, silent.)

DELACROIX "Be calm... Is this the reason?"


(Delacroix places a vibrant, red stone on the table.)

AGRIAS "What is that crystal...?"
DELACROIX "I wonder if you are acquainted with the 'Zodiac Brave Story'...?"
AGRIAS "That faery tale we used to hear in church, when we were children...?"
DELACROIX "Oh my, now. Sir Agrias, surely you do not mean to say that the church tells lies...?"
AGRIAS "N-no, I would never suggest...."
OVELIA "....In the days of old, in a time when the land had not yet come to be our own,
but instead was the land of the Lucavi which conquered it, twelve men of valour rose to challenge the Lucavi.
They wrought a desperate battle to the death. And in its final hour, the heroes stood victorious, the Lucavi banished to the Underworld. The land knew peace.
It was said that each of the twelve warriors posessed a crystal engraved with their crest of arms: the twelve signs of the zodiac.
It was because of this that these brave heroes who bore the zodiac were henceforth titled... the Zodiac Braves.
Forever afterward, in the ages that follow, whenever the people would know peril—the Braves would manifest in this world and save us once more."
DELACROIX "You are well learned, as expected of Her Highness...."
OVELIA "It was Father Simon who taught me at Orbonne Monastery. ...Which reminds me,
I heard from him that the Braves who rescued a chaotic Ivalice were led by Saint Ajora."
DELACROIX "We call the crystals the Braves posessed the 'Stones of Saints'.
And this very stone you see before your eyes is one of the stones of legend: the 'Zodiac Stone'..."


(The stone glitters strongly. Mustadio once again lowers his head.)

OVELIA "Impossible... To think the Stones of Saints truly exist..."
DELACROIX "It's said that the Stones of Saints is endowed with a 'divine power' that surpasses even the Lucavi...
It's true that I sense a mysterious aura with it, but it still appears to be a typical, large crystral to me..."
RAMZA "What's the matter, Mustadio? You don't look well...?"
DELACROIX "I see that you have seen a similar stone in the undergrounds of Goug...?"
MUSTADIO "There's a mountain-load of broken or deactivated machinary buried underground Goug...
But, if that stone gets close enough to the dead machines, they start to howl..."
DELACROIX "And so the Bart Company is after this stone...?"
MUSTADIO "Whatever power that stone has, I haven't a clue...
However, Rudvich wants to exploit that power for things like weapons...
Pa said... He said that I musn't let him at the stone. As a result, they... my Pa..."
DELACROIX "Worry not, O young mechanic.
The church shall handle this burden. As our courageous men do battle, that will be our opportunity to take back the stone."
MUSTADIO "Y-yes, Your Grace."
RAMZA "I, too, will join you to Goug."
MUSTADIO "Thank you, Ramza."
AGRIAS "It's thanks to you that we've made it here. Ramza, I give you my gratitude."
OVELIA "I wish I could lend what power I have, but... Please take care."
RAMZA "There's no need to fret, Her Highness' kind offer was more than enough."








[THOSE WHO SWARM TO THE STONE OF SAINTS]

(A flashback, Besrodio and Mustadio are in a room, harried.)

BESRODIO "Listen, Mustadio. Take this and run!"


(Besrodio gives a bright, yellow stone to Mustadio.)

MUSTADIO "You say 'run' but you don't say to where...!?"


(Outside the room...)

RUDVICH MERCENARY "We know you're in there! Save us time and open the damn door!!"
MUSTADIO "Pa! It's all right, we can escape together!"
BESRODIO "I can't run with these legs! Now, hurry and go!!"
MUSTADIO "How do you expect me to leave you, Pa!?"
BESRODIO "That Stone of Saints has enough might to destroy an entire country, so hide it well!
You can't let it fall into Rudvich's hands! Get help from Cardinal Delacroix!
The Cardinal will help, I'm sure of it!!"


(Rudvich and his mercenaries break into the room.)

RUDVICH "What a waste of my time...
Now, hand over the 'Stone of Saints'!"
BESRODIO "GO—!! MUSTADIO!!"


(The mercenaries quickly try to grab Mustadio.)

BESRODIO "HURRY AND RUN!!"


(Mustadio escapes.)

RUDVICH "After the boy!! Don't let him escape!"








[ZIGOLIS MARSH]

(In the deep marshes, Ramza's party runs into monsters.)

RAMZA "Such ill luck, running into monsters in the wetlands..."
MUSTADIO "The rain's no help for anyone's footing, either. Keep up your guard!"


(It's a tricky battle, the rain making footing slippery, and those who fall into the waters become instantly ill with natural poison. It was slow and messy, but the battle was won.)

RAMZA "...all right, Mustadio?"
MUSTADIO "Yeah, no thanks to this.
Once we cross the marshes, we'll be at the sea. Machine City Goug is just a little futher."








[MACHINE CITY GOUG]

(The group arrives to Machine City Goug, going about normally. A little too normally...)

MUSTADIO "I don't see anyone from the Bart Company...
Besides that, I don't even think the Lionel Knights've been here, much less fought... Doesn't it seem odd?
I'll poke around for a bit. I'll meet up with you later."
RAMZA "Meet where?"


(Mustadio points to the slums.)

MUSTADIO "Around there, in the slums. We won't stand out, there."
RAMZA "All right. Watch your back."
MUSTADIO "No problem, leave it to me."








[GOUG SLUM QUARTERS]

(Ramza appears in the dreary slums, searching for Mustadio over some toppled buildings.)

RAMZA "He's late... Too late...."


(It begins to rain.)

RAMZA "Damn that Mustadio, it couldn't be that he was arrested...?"


MALE VOICE

 		"Are you a friend of Mustadio's?"
RAMZA "Who goes there!?"


(A man and two female archers come out from the shadows.)

ILL-LOOKING MAN "Ho, bring him!"


(A thief drags a captured Mustadio to the scene.)

MUSTADIO "So...Sorry, Ramza."
RAMZA "Mustadio!! Are you all right!? "
ILL-LOOKING MAN "Oh no, no, no. That's as far as you go, I think. Don't dare take another step!"
RAMZA "You're Rudvich, then!? Release Mustadio!!"
RUDVICH "Hand over the 'Stone of Saints' peacefully and you'll have the boy."


(Rudvich looks at Mustadio.)

RUDVICH "Now, speak! Where have you hidden it! Spit it out!"
MUSTADIO "............."
RUDVICH "Silent as the grave, are you? Perhaps seeing this will loosen your tongue?
Ho!"


(Rudvich waves a hand, and another thief comes with Besrodio at his mercy.)

MUSTADIO "Pa!! Are you all right!?"
BESRODIO "I'm... fine... Don't hand over the 'Stone of Saints'....."
RUDVICH "Now get him out of my sight!"


(The thief throws the older man into a shack.)

RUDVICH "So. Feel inclined to confess now, boy?"


(Mustadio lowers his head.)

MUSTADIO "Inside the chimney... at Ramza's feet..."
RUDVICH "He learns! You, pick it up! If you wish to save his life, that is!"


(Ramza reluctantly searches for the stone, finding it within the chimney as told.)

RAMZA "So this is it...?
Release them!"
RUDVICH "First hand over the 'Stone of Saints'!"
RAMZA "Not until they're free!!"
RUDVICH "Throw the stone to me! Then they'll be released!"


(Ramza throws the stone at Rudvich, and Mustadio is freed. The stone glitters in Rudvich's hand.)

RUDVICH "The fabled Zodiac Stone!
Wonderful, it's finally ours! The Cardinal will surely be delighted!
How troublesome this all was. I'm done with you!
Make sure they never rise to their feet again!"
RAMZA "This was the Cardinal's plot...!?"


(As Rudvich leaves, Ramza's troop make it to the scene at the nick of time, bettering the odds against the henchman. Mustadio, though disarmed, catches the nearest man by surprise and so starts the battle. It wages spectacularly, until finally Ramza's men are the ones still standing, exhausted and miserably wet from the rain.)

MUSTADIO "Pa... Is my Pa all right?"








[BESRODIO'S RESCUE]

(In a house.)

MUSTADIO "...Are you all right, Pa?"
BESRODIO "Don't worry about me... In the end, they managed to take the stone.
Rudvich will use the stone's power to revive the dead machines in the undergrounds of Goug.
Or, more likely, he'll exploit the God-like power...
And as the crowning glory in all this: the Cardinal, what was once our last hope, may be conspiring with the Bart Company even as we speak..."
MUSTADIO "Hehehe... Best luck to 'em."
BESRODIO "What do you mean?"


(Mustadio brings out a bright, yellow stone from his shirt pocket.)

MUSTADIO "Oops! I mean to say is... we just might still have it. I...might've decided to play a little prank, you see. Maybe, sorta, kinda just happened to have made a mock-stone just in case this sort of thing came up."
RAMZA "Then what I gave them was a fake!"
MUSTADIO "Exactly. They'll be running up the walls by now, no doubt."
RAMZA "...No, this means that Princess Ovelia and Sir Agrias are in danger!"
MUSTADIO "What do you mean by that!?"
RAMZA "The Cardinal joined hands with the Bart Company to obtain the Stone of Saints.
More likely than not he'll take Princess Ovelia and Sir Agrias hostage for the sake of getting it..."
MUSTADIO "Like Hell! If he does that, he'd be making an enemy of the crown!"
RAMZA "Why is it you think the Cardinal wants to obtain the stone?
People are tired and of the long wars caused by political strifes and in-fighting. More than anything, the people of today want salvation....
What Cardinal Delacroix plans is to exploit the 'Zodiac Brave Story'.
He means to create his own 'Zodiac Braves' by assembling the stones, and with that... The total trust of the people..."
BESRODIO "...What he says is true. We musn't give the stone to the Cardinal."
RAMZA "We must save them!"
MUSTADIO "All right. But there's probably already a blockade on the road to Lionel.
There's no way in from the front. It'll have to be a rear attack. By ship. By sea."








[DELITA'S ADVICE]

(In Warjilis Harbor, Ramza looks from the docked boat.)

RAMZA "...Seems like there aren't any of Lionel's troops in Warjilis."


(He gets off the boat, stopping as he sees Delita appear.)

RAMZA "Delita! Why are you here!?"
DELITA "Some advice? Do not underestimate our intelligence."
RAMZA "'Our'?"
DELITA "...You're still not in too deep. Return to Igros.
It's better for your sake you don't stick your nose into this any more than you have, what with things like princesses and stones..."
RAMZA "Delita, what is it you're not telling me?"
DELITA "You're being short sighted.
You think you can save the princess, but that only solves the present problems.
I'm the only one that can truly rescue her from all of it."
RAMZA "What are you on about? I haven't a clue what you're saying."
DELITA "The best laid plans often go awry.
Meaning you can't save her, no matter how hard you try.
You'd do well to remember that."


(Delita turns to walk away.)

RAMZA "Please wait, Delita.
What exactly are you trying to accomplish? What are you...?"
DELITA "Duke Larg, Duke Goltana, your brothers, everyone...
Everyone is caught in one, great tide.... and none of them notice. Not one.
I'm only going against it. That's it, in an essence...."


(Delita looks over his shoulder.)

DELITA "If you still live, we'll meet again."


(He leaves.)

RAMZA "Delita..."








[THE CARDINAL'S WRATH]

(Lionel Castle's office, Gafgarion and Rudvich stand before the Cardinal.)

GAFGARION "Ah, so you plan to use the princess as bait to retrieve that little gem?
It's not something a holyman should consider, non?"
RUDVICH "What say you! Bastard!
It's because you let those boys slip away that we've come to this! "
GAFGARION "Your mistakes make no difference to me; they count not among my responsibilities!"
DELACROIX "Enough, Rudvich.
The princess shall be delivered to Lord Dycedarg, as we arranged. It is, after all, my side of the bargain.
However, do you not have the matter of those who know of the Princess' abduction at hand?
The one who took the gem is among their company.
With the princess as a lure, we can capture them all. 'Killing two birds with one stone' is how the saying goes, no...?"
GAFGARION "Exactly what I'm thinking. However, there's still a chance that..."
DELACROIX "Have you grown faint-hearted, I wonder."
GAFGARION "I prefer the word 'prudent'.
There is certain amount of caution one must command—if they expect to come out of the battlefield alive."
DELACROIX "So be it. We shall adopt a plan of evasion.
Furthermore, we shall prepare the bait for the perfect trap."
GAFGARION "Magnifique. The little lamb is perfect for it.
Trust in me, I'll see to it they'll be dealt with. Isn't it the relief! That I'm not like this fine gentleman!"
RUDVICH "You dare...!"
DELACROIX "As you wish. I shall leave this to you."
RUDVICH "Your Grace...!"
DELACROIX "Please proceed, Sir Gafgarion."
GAFGARION "It shall be done. I'll even fetch that pretty gem!"


(Gafgarion leaves.)

RUDVICH "But why a man like him, Your Grace...?"
DELACROIX "You've failed me once too often. I believe this best be your hour to repent..."
RUDVICH "Yo...Your Grace, what....!"


(A dying man's agonizing cry fills the room.)









[BELIAS VALLEY]

(Agrias is seen running through the valley.)



MAN'S VOICE

 "Where are you!! It's futile to try to escape—!!"


(The man, a Lionel Knight, enters the scene, finding Agrias past the trees.)

LIONEL KNIGHT "So it's here you've fled!"


(The knight whistles, his companions quickly follow.)

LIONEL KNIGHT "Now then, prepare yourself!"


(Ramza's party comes from the opposite way, without a second to spare.)

LIONEL KNIGHT "Hn!?"
RAMZA "Protect Sir Agrias! Forward!!"
AGRIAS "Ramza! Why are you here!?"
RAMZA "I'd thought to take the castle at the flank to save you.
But here, I am able to ask the same of you: Why are you here?"
AGRIAS "The Cardinal betrayed us! No, he's conspired with Duke Larg from the very start!
We tried to take our leave, but the princess was seized!!
I had not the means to get to her....!
And now those bastards are to execute her... if we are to go, if we are to save her, we must fly...!!"
RAMZA "One thing at a time! First, we must bid these fine friends of ours goodbye....!"


(If Agrias falls in battle)
AGRIAS "Princess Ovelia...."


(They do. The fight is won, bodies of their enemies lay scattered over both sides of the valley river.)

RAMZA "Sir Agrias, how do you fare?"
AGRIAS "I live. I breathe. And that is hardly the matter that concerns me!!
Princess Ovelia is to be taken to the gallows in Golglarda! We must move!!"
RAMZA "I understand. Let's hurry, then!"








[GOLGLARDA EXECUTION SITE]



EXECUTIONER

 "Any last words...?"


(The princess stands at the gallows, the noose around her neck and ready to be sent to death by the executioner.)



EXECUTIONER

 "I see, nothing to say."
LIONEL KNIGHT "Hm...? En...Enemy attack!!"


(Ramza's party rushes in.)

RAMZA "That's as far as it goes! Return the princess, now!"


EXECUTIONER

 "Heh heh heh... you'll not be leaving, you know!"
RAMZA "!?"


(The executioner throws off his robe, revealing Gafgarion. The princess throws off her disguise, showing herself to be an archer. The soldiers march in, surrounding Ramza's party.)

GAFGARION "Still as honor-bound as I remember you, boy."
RAMZA "Where is Princess Ovelia!"
GAFGARION "At Lionel Castle. Now my turn: Where's the Stone of Saints?"
RAMZA "Stone of Saints?"
GAFGARION "Oh spare me your foolery. The Cardinal's stolen gem.
The one who took it is in your company, ouais? You only need to hand it over!"
RAMZA "If you want it, then by all means, come and pry it from my stiff cold hand!"
GAFGARION "Ho, looks as though the cub's found himself a lion's roar. ...In that case, I'll take you up on your offer!"


(The odds were not in Ramza's favor, outnumbered and against one of the best known mercenaries. Nevertheless, weapons are drawn and the battle begins.)

GAFGARION "It's not too late for you, you know! We can both return to Igros!
Your brother Dycedarg is willing to forgive everything! Wake up, take advantage of this favor!"
RAMZA "I refuse! I'll no longer support his evil deeds!"
GAFGARION "'Evil deeds', is it!? And what do you mean by 'evil deeds''!?
You were once of the Beoulve family! You once worked to better the Beoulve name!
Yet you mean to say that obligation is an 'evil deed'!? Imbécile!"
RAMZA "My brothers are making war for their own interests!
If you say that is not an evil doing, than I ask you: what is!?"
GAFGARION "Some things require 'sacrifices'!
You'll not get anywhere without giving nothing! No man can progress! No history can be made!
Just look around! The heart of Ivalice rots!! Someone must change it!
Your brothers aim to accomplish just th