Path of a Summoner

That night, at the travel agency, Twill was already waiting for them in their room, by the table. They sat near the window, which they’d covered, their scarves removed for ease of comfort. On the bed was a long object, wrapped in a thick, crinkly paper.

“That’s for you,” they said, pointing to Wren.

“This is the staff?” she asked, sounding pleasantly surprised.

“And this is for you,” said Merris, setting the cooked fish before the Guado.

“Where did you get this?” asked Twill.

“Spent some time talking to a summoner in town,” he said, grinning. “She let us stay for dinner and told us to take this back to you. You’d better be hungry.”

“I am,” said Twill, smiling faintly. “I actually haven’t eaten yet, I was waiting for the two of you to return.”

“Sorry about that,” said Wren. “I didn’t want to turn her down, you know...”

“It’s fine. Just take a look at the staff I bought,” said Twill, unwrapping the fish. “I’ll help you practice with it a bit before we leave, if you like.”

Wren placed her hand on the item in question, taking hold of it and holding it upright to compare its height to herself. It felt lightweight, even clumsily wrapped in the paper, which was good because it was quite long. Not too much for her to carry, but enough to be cumbersome. Finally, she unwrapped it, starting with the heavier end, revealing a crystal bauble on the end of the staff, the other end made of a lightweight wood. It was very simple, but that was all she needed.

“It’s perfect. Thank you,” said Wren, smiling widely.

“You’re gonna train her to use magic?” asked Merris, tilting his head at the weapon.

Twill’s mouth was full, and they frowned as they swallowed, quite enjoying the fish until that moment. “I’m glad you like it. And if I must teach her, then yes. I’m not really advanced with magic myself, but I can certainly give a few tips that will make things easier. We can practice together, as long as we keep our energy up.”

“Casting usually takes a lot out of me,” said Wren honestly.

“With a conduit, it should be easier on you. You’ve been using yourself as one, essentially, until now. Of course you were putting strain on yourself. Now that you’ve got your own staff, things should go much smoother, and you’ll be able to focus on strengthening your spells.”

Wren smiled, touching the body of the staff gently, like she couldn’t wait to get started. Her fingertips felt tingly, and she held the staff closer to her body almost protectively.

“This means a lot,” she said. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

Twill waved their hand, nodding. They were once again engrossed in the fish, but they seemed to appreciate her gratitude. Maybe they were embarrassed, realized Wren.

“Do anything else interesting while we were gone?” asked Wren.

Swallowing, Twill nodded, glancing at her. “Not something I did, exactly, but I almost forgot. I heard something interesting in the market... I heard that there’s a man visiting from out of town. They say he’s been visiting all of the temples, lately. I think he must be some kind of expert, or... something, in order to be drumming up excitement among the religious in town.”

Wren thought for a moment. “I didn’t know there was anyone else with that much of an interest, to be called an expert... Maybe I should try to meet with him, before the boat leaves tomorrow. We’ve got until the afternoon, right?”

“Do you know how to find this man?” asked Merris, looking at Twill.

“Actually, I thought you might like to look into it and compare notes, or something of that nature, so I did inquire about him a little,” said Twill, smiling slyly. “They told me what he looks like, and his name. He doesn’t dress like he’s from around here, so he won’t be very hard to find.”

“What’s his name?” asked Wren.

“They said his name is Mobius,” they answered. “Supposedly he’s a man who isn’t much older than any of us, with long black hair, and glasses. Paired with his heavier clothing, he won’t be hard to spot.”

“Most of the islanders dress pretty sparingly,” said Wren, giggling. “Yeah, doesn’t sound like we’ll have a lot of trouble finding him if we ask around.”

“Tomorrow, right? We’d better hurry, and we’d better hope he’s still here,” said Merris.

“They said he just returned here from Besaid, and tomorrow he’s going to the temple before he leaves for the mainland,” replied Twill, eyeing the remainder of the fish. “We’ll have to be quick.”

Wren gave her new staff a little hug, grinning. “Alright. Tomorrow. Everyone make sure we’re packed up before we go back to the temple.”

The second trip to the temple was shorter, since they had navigated it before already. Everyone’s belongings had been left behind in the travel agency, ready to be collected before leaving the island, but they were still short on time. If they wanted to meet with this researcher, they had to be quick.

When they arrived at the temple, everything was exactly as the day before. The caretakers were going about their daily chores and rituals, and there was no one who fit the description that Twill had been given to be seen.

Wren approached a man who was tending to the fires burning in the temple. “I was here yesterday, you might remember. I was planning on leaving for Besaid today, but I was told there was a man who would be visiting today, named Mobius. Have you seen him?”

The man paused his work for only a moment to listen, stoking the flames as he answered. “I have been informed of his arrival, but he is not here yet. If you wait, he should arrive sometime soon. He came here a few days ago, on his way to Besaid, and I’m told he plans to be here only for a short while before departing as well, to Luca.”

“It seems to be a popular route lately,” murmured Twill.

Wren thanked the man, then turned back to her companions as he returned to working in silence.

“We can spare a few minutes… It’ll be a couple of hours before the boat arrives,” she said. “...I guess I don’t expect to speak with him for very long, especially since he’s here on his own business.”

“It’s fine,” said Twill, reassuringly.

“I wonder why they knew he was coming ahead of time,” said Merris, frowning.

Wren murmured in agreement, but continued standing patiently as she waited for the man to arrive. She wondered if it would be rude to ask, feeling a bit nosy, but now that it had been brought up, she wondered that as well.

Only a few minutes later, a heavily dressed man entered the main room of the temple. He had long, dark hair which he wore in a braid draped over his shoulder, and rectangular, silver wire glasses framing his eyes. His brightly colored cloak appeared to be connected to his sleeves somehow, which flowed down to his mid calves. The shirt he wore didn’t cover his midriff, instead being paired with a skirt of the same color that had a slit running up to his thigh, exposing most of his left leg.

He was notably barefoot, even though the sun beating down made the stones leading up to the temple rather hot.

This surprised Wren, since he was dressed warmly otherwise, apart from his bare middle. Maybe it was his way of cooling off? She didn’t know. Maybe he was just eccentric.

Before Wren had a chance to approach him, he greeted the temple’s head priest respectfully, but warmly, as if they were familiar. She saw him place something in the priest’s hands, which appeared to be a thick piece of paper. The man read it over for a few moments, then nodded, saying a few words to him that Wren couldn’t make out.

“I was surprised when you decided to indulge my whims for the sake of my research,” said Mobius, to Wren’s curiosity. “But this is a great honor, I truly appreciate being granted your permission to enter the sacred halls of the Cloister.”

Wren perked up at that, looking at him with widened eyes.

“You… you’re going into the Cloister of Trials?” she asked out loud, enough for him to hear.

The man who appeared to be Mobius turned to look at the source of the voice. “I have been granted special permission to enter, for my research. It’s not a privilege that’s given lightly.”

“Oh, I don’t mean to offend,” said Wren, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m surprised. I actually came here to speak with you, about my own research.”

The head priest spoke up this time. “She’s a sphere recorder who was here yesterday, asking questions about the pilgrimage.”

“Oh?” asked Mobius, tilting his head at her and her entourage. “You have an interest in the pilgrimage?”

Wren nodded eagerly. “I’m… working on a movie sphere about it. I’m traveling to the different temples and talking to people about the history of it. The tradition isn’t practiced anymore, now that we’ve entered the Eternal Calm, but I think it’s important to make sure its history is recorded.”

He seemed to think about this for a few moments, then turned to the priest once more. “I ventured to Besaid to obtain Lady Yuna’s blessing to enter the temple, but perhaps I could bring them along? There were issues with fiends a few years back, after all. I may need assistance in clearing a path for myself, if there are any still left inside.”

The priest scratched his neck absently while he thought it over, looking to the three of them.

“She may go by herself,” he said, gesturing to Wren. “But she may not take her recording equipment with her. Whatever you find, you use in your research, but the Cloister of Trials was not meant for the eyes of non-summoners. If you can aid him, you may enter.”

Wren put one hand over her heart in absolute shock, nodding. “I can help! I mean, if you need a hand with fiends, I can help. I know some magic…”

Mobius chuckled at her enthusiasm, then looked to the priest. “If she leaves her equipment behind, then. I will take her with me.”

Putting her hands on her face, Wren turned to the other two, absolutely giddy as she looked at them. She couldn’t find any words to speak as she tucked her pencil and paper into her belt, and removed her belt to pass to Merris. “Take care of this. I’ll be back when we’re done.”

“How long will it be before you’re finished?” Twill asked, looking at Mobius. “I don’t want to hurry you, but we’ll be on our way to Besaid, once the ferry arrives.”

“It shouldn’t be very long,” assured Mobius. “If I find nothing, we’ll be back shortly. You’ll make it in time for the ferry.”

Twill nodded, then turned to look at Wren again. “We’ll wait outside for you. Be careful in there.”

“I will,” said Wren, removing her staff from her back and clutching it tightly. “I’ll come back in one piece, I promise.”

She turned back to the two men, and bowed gratefully to the priest. “Thank you so much. I promise, I won’t do anything to disrespect the sanctity of the temple. I won’t even touch anything, if I can help it.”

Mobius smiled faintly, then nodded to the two of them. “Come along, then. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you.”

He started in the direction of the cloister, and Wren followed, gripping the staff gleefully as she passed the door into the sacred ground of the Cloister of Trials.