Raulke - In-Game History, Part V
Reshuffling Fate's Deck
It took a lot of traveling. Eventually he and Shalaja ended up in Treno. Cadence was apparently found, too. Not by Raulke, though. Raulke chose to search the surrounding area, and Shalaja searched the city. Apparently he found her, and the two of them left for Figaro.
However, while Raulke didn't find Cadence...he found someone else. Just outside Treno, he came upon a mugging in progress. Lo and behold, who was the victim? An elf. Male. Older man. His name was Aluuin Auldwyn. It was Valcia's father. But he didn't remember a child, a wife, or anything. Raulke realized something that brought a stab of cold dread to the pit of his stomach.
Aluuin had amnesia.
This was an unfortunate development. Raulke let Valcia know that he'd found her father, and she was more than a little freaked out, understandably. However, Raulke also cautioned her that it would perhaps not be a good idea for her to come to Treno yet, so as not to besiege Aluuin with too many memories at once. Valcia agreed, and at his urging, supplied Raulke with information that he could use to help Aluuin recover. Among them being a lullaby that her father used to sing for her. Raulke performed this song for him. Aluuin knew it...but knew not where from.
However good his intentions, Raulke will be Raulke. And thus, he went out one night to hunt monsters, as he always does. However, he and Chokl -- for the demi-human had decided to tag along with them for a while -- came upon a monster that was a little too much for them. It was a Catoblepas. He and Chokl were both injured, and so was Aluuin when the elf later joined in. But none of them were hurt seriously, and they managed to run the creature off. Chokl allowed them to stay at his camp until the following morning; at dawn Raulke and Aluuin went back to Treno, and Chokl left for Lindblum.
Settling Down
Raulke continued to take care of Aluuin, though it was a bit more difficult seeing as he had his own injuries to heal from. However, he did send a letter to Valcia, explaining his current condition. And she came to Treno, against his advice. However, the first meeting went well, as Valcia didn't throw herself into Aluuin's arms. Aluuin did notice her hair clip -- a leaf that he apparently carved for her long ago -- and he pulled it gently from her hair, then went back to his room to think on it, the clip still in his possession.
Valcia told Raulke she planned to stay in Treno a while, since the trip there was so long, and she intended to rest a good long while. She asked if he would also be staying, and Raulke told her that yes, he too would be staying in Treno for a while too; the doctors said he wasn't good to travel just yet. Thus assured, Valcia kissed Raulke on the forehead, and then went to bed.
Raulke was recovering well, and so the doctors let him out of the inn to explore. He was cautioned against entering the slums, however. Not only because Raulke could be hurt seriously (as he wasn't up to full strength yet), but because they knew that the man would be apt to try to intervene in crimes in progress to stop them. Thus Raulke did not go into the slums as he explored the city. He stayed on their borders.
It was this they brought him into the range of a Kray Trading Kiosk. He would have passed right by without noticing...if a chocobo hadn't tried to make a meal out of his face! Sure enough, an ill-tempered chocobo reached out as he walked past and tried to peck at him. After a few moments of speaking with the saleswoman, he determined that the chocobo was probably an albino and had vision problems. He had also been used as a fighting chocobo...which didn't do a thing for his disposition! The upshot of it was that Raulke bought the bird off of the saleswoman. It seemed like the pale bird needed a second chance. And Raulke was all about second chances. Now with the bird he soon named "Nemesis", Raulke returned to the inn to inquire about stabling--and stabilizing!--the unstable bird.
Myself Again
While at the Treno inn, one night, Raulke heard a scream. He recognized it as Aluuin, Valcia's father. Treno was not the safest of cities, and it was possible that someone had come in uninvited. Fearing that some ill had befallen Aluuin, he and Valcia (whom he joined in the hallway) entered Aluuin's room--luckily, the elf had realized his frail mental state and had left his key with Raulke.
The two found only Aluuin there, sitting up in his bed, knees pressed to his chest. It didn't look as thought he had been attacked. Valcia and Raulke asked after his health...however, Valcia slipped, calling him "father". The Dark Knight explained it away--Valcia had lost her father, and Aluuin reminded her of him, he explained. But it wasn't necessary. Aluuin's mind had recovered, and he now remembered who he was. Upon realizing that her father remembered her, Valcia leaped into Aluuin's arms, tears of relief and joy in her eyes.
A short bit of conversation followed, Raulke explained a bit more about himself--mainly why he no longer lived in the city of his birth, since it too had come to the Converged world. However, Aluuin's weakened body soon demanded rest. Raulke and Valcia left to allow him to sleep.
A Period of Settling
Valca and Raulke remained in Treno a while longer, watching over Aluuin as he recovered. Eventually Aluuin decided that he would leave Treno and search for Fiell, his beloved wife, who he now remembered. Both he and Valcia knew that she was in the Converged World--Valcia had, some time ago, found her mother's circlet in a dusty shop, and believed that it was a clue to her mother's whereabouts.
While sadly entertaining the notion of her father leaving, Valcia came across a scuffle; a Burmecian noble by the name of Ashley had a ring stolen from her. The monetary value of the trinket was bad enough, but whatever it was, it held great sentimental value to her. Raulke, by chance, was also there, and retrieved it for the noble, while Valcia tended to Ashley, who appeared to be wounded. Introductions were made.
Incidentally, it turned out that Lady Asharra Zephyr (her real name) was a friend of Faruja, whom Raulke had met briefly outside Lindblum, and who Valcia knew well from Baron. She was not related to the other Burmecian, however, and made her distaste with this idea known very quickly. But as the three spoke, Ashley suggested they head to an inn to speak more of it, and took them to the higher-class areas of town.
Raulke offered to assist Ashley in locating Faruja, as not only had he traveled much in his time, he hadn't had a chance to properly explore the world around him. Besides that, with Aluuin gone, Valcia wanted to leave Treno as well. Thus, since they were leaving anyway, why not assist Ashley in finding her friend? They would speak more of it at the inn, however.
On the Road Again
In return for their kindness, Ashley arranged for them to stay at a much better inn, one on the richer side of town. It was a welcome change after so long in one of the more seedy places in the city. The next morning, the trio spoke of their next destination. Raulke and Valcia were eager to render aid to Ashley when they heard of how she had lost her friend Morvain in Coverging.
Initially, however, Ashley was resistant to accepting it, not wishing to feel as though she were relying on charity. But eventually, she accepted, and the three of them set off from Treno, first to find Morvain, then to find Faruja, whom Ashley was seeking.
More To Come!