Title: Shadow of Tiamat
By: Tamtu
Rating: E
Word Count: 3,306 words

(more…)

Massimo’s melancholy was swiftly replaced with annoyance. “Are you SURE it’s all the way at the top?” he whined. Sooraya shot a glare at him. “Stop whining, Massimo. Veloxe knows where it should be. So if it’s all the way at the top, then it’s at the top.”

Tamtu felt a lot better, seeing his ninja friend get burned the whole time, and bruised by the girls even more. If anything, it made reassured him that all negative physical attention was going to be directed towards the Ninja.

But in the back of his mind, the dream still crept around. Or maybe it was actually something else creeping around. And why wouldn’t there be? A secluded tower, once the home of a ferocious dragon, would be, and has been, the ideal stage for epic battles. But he silently hoped there wouldn’t be any epic battles tonight.

“What was that??”, Massimo cried out.

…So much for no epic battles.

(more…)

“Hold still.”

Lights emitted from his hand, healing the bruise on the cheek of a young Mithra. “There we go. All better.” The girl gently touched her face to confirm that it was indeed healed. It was the last bit to full recovery after Tamtu had found her in a corner of Al Zahbi, wounded due to collapsing walls. “That trrroll shook up the place a lot, it was so hard to concentrrrate.” she smiled. “But at least we got rrrid of them!”

Tamtu nodded. “Good job, Sylbie. Be careful, okay?” he said, as he pulled her up to her feet. “Beastmen assaults are trickier to handle when I don’t have my favorite scholar around.” He winked at her, and reassured her that she was doing a fantastic job as always. So often did the empire’s capital come under siege by the Beastmen from the Near East. If it weren’t the lizardlike Mamool Ja, it would be the serpentine Merrows and Lamiae. Or the enormous Troll Mercernaries, with their hordes of foul monsters. Tamtu particularly hated the Wamouracampas the Trolls brought with them . For some reason or another, they would always manage to hit him when he was trying to find a place to recover. Strolling around the streets of Al Zahbi, the white mage looked around to see if anyone needed help, but with so many adventure–…mercernaries coming to the Empire’s aid when needed, it was no surprise that the wounded were all taken care off swiftly.

Snap.
(more…)

Whiff!….Thud!

“And that, my little white mage friend, is how you stay out of trouble. Take them out before they even know you’re there.”.

A silver feather on the tall Hume’s beret glowed in the light of the sun. The Ranger known as Nightbird walked over to the Orcish Fodder, confiscating its axe from its three-fingered hand. “That’s yours, buddy. It should help your boss about how close to the city walls the Orcs are hanging out at.” Tamtu looked at the axe. There wasn’t even blood on it. Just a single arrow from afar and it was done.

“What’s so cool about being a Ranger anyway? You never get to experience the thrill of battle.”, the White mage asked. Nightbird bursted out in laughter. “Hunting prey is a different thrill altogether, pal. And it’s complete efficient, too. No bloodshed on our side, saving you the trouble of healing.”

The archer had a point. (more…)

“Wake up, kupo! Wake uuuuup!!!”

Tamtu was woken up from his rest, as his pet moogle shook him wildly at the collar. He sleepily looked at Moogle and wondered what the hell was going on. “I have a message from Sooraya!” His eyes shot open. “What?! Tell me!” Tamtu said as he shook Moogle at its collar in return. “Is it bad? Is she okay?”

“KupooooOOOooOOooOOooooo. She’s fine, master. She just wanted to let you know her ship to Al Zahbi was delayed due to to really really bad weather, kupoooo”. Poor Moogle descended onto the floor to sit and recover to get his head straightened out. Tamtu chuckled. “Sorry. Just don’t shake me up like that and worry me anymore. There’s plenty to do here, so…” Moogle nodded and rose up into the air again. “So what’s the plan today, kupo?”

Tamtu headed to the closet and stared at the clothing options. “I don’t know. I think I’ll drop by the Commoner’s Ward and check up on the Generals. I didn’t get the chance to talk to them yesterday, aside from the occasional “thanks!” during the siege. What about you?”

“I think your flowers back in San d’Oria are blooming now. I’ll go harvest them and prep them up for you for sale!” Moogle replied happily. Tamtu nodded as he put on his good old adventurer’s vest from so long ago. He headed towards the exit and waved at his fluffy housemate. “I guess I’ll see you later then, Mog. Have fun!”

“Bye, kupoooo!” (more…)

It was shortly after Doctor Shantotto had opened the ferry from Mhaura to Aht Urhgan Whitegate when Tamtu and Sooraya decided to explore the new continent together…facing more trials together, more dangers…

A loud battle cry sounded from the Baflau Thickets. It almost sounded desperate, frightening..but at the same time, angry. “TAMTU. I. HATE. YOU.”
(more…)

“Mrrrew. I still don’t think it’s such a good idea.” Sylbianna said as she put a book back in her bookshelf. She may have been young, but she was a talented Martial Magician, also known as Scholars in common tongue. Tamtu had fought alongside her in many battles in Al Zahbi and it was thanks to her stellar perception of battle situations that Tamtu and Sooraya were able to clear some situations with ease. Any other time Tamtu would’ve taken her advice to heart, but it was different this time.

Tamtu stretched out on his chair and put this hands behind his head. “I owe her that much. If no one’s going after her and the other captives, who will?” he said, gazing at the ceiling which, in the usual Aht Urhgan fashion, was also decorated with golden tints.

He hopped from the chair and pouted at Sylbianna. “No one can do aaaaaa~ny~thiiiiiing for my poooor Najelith, Sylbie….Nobody waaaaants tooooo…”. The scholar sulked and looked at Tamtu.”I-I’ll come with you.”

FLASH. (more…)

Tamtu never had any formal training in any way. Most of his knowledge of white magic was learned by trial and error, under the guidance of Piper. Any combat skills were developed through his adventures with Sooraya.

But Najelith was the first one who gave him proper training in tracking, marksmanship and archery. The proper way to hold a bow, the most efficient way to use ammunition and how to create different kinds of arrows. Each training session was usually scheduled whenever she would visit the watchtower. It became a regular activity. Every other Windsday, she would head to the tower and find Tamtu already waiting eagerly for the next lesson. They would ride deeper into the woodlands in search for monsters to practice on.

One time, Tamtu had missed a sapling and hit a Wajaom Tiger resting behind it. That day, he definitely learned that the most efficient way to keep himself alive was to stick with white magic. Thankfully, Najelith was equally skilled with the dagger as she was with the bow and made short work of the beast.

The winds were strong, as could be expected on Windsday, but she was able to harness the elemental power into a powerful thrust, gusts of wind surrounding and slashing into the tiger as it fell onto the ground.

It was the Cyclone dagger technique. A sense of familiarity hit Tamtu when the leaves swirled into the air, reminding him of Sooraya’s favorite technique when they were travelling around and fighting off beastmen and goblins that would try and attack them.

After training, they would usually conclude with a meal, made from the beasts they had just hunted. It was at that moment they would share stories. Najelith always enjoyed listening about Tamtu’s adventures with Sooraya, while he always listened to her stories of great battles in the Far East, as well as in the Empire. They were from two different worlds, yet the tales were always familiar if it was about companionship among battle comrades. But it was the first story she ever told him that forever stuck with him. (more…)

The tower was often checked upon by Imperial soldiers, so it was safe to leave the Chocobo here for them to take it back to Whitegate. From here on out, TamTu would continue on foot. He had done multiple sneaking missions before in this area, spying on Troll activity. His Ninja friends Sharlene and Massimo often teased him for trying to play their job, but they supported him regardless. White Mages possessed particularly useful abilites for rescue-missions. And that’s what he would do again, this time. (more…)

Sooraya sighed. She had been spending the entire morning fishing at the docks of Mhaura and managed to get a decent haul to sell to Rycharde. She didn’t mind selling stuff as it meant that more gil was going into her savings for her inevitable dream-wedding. It was the long wait for the ferry’s departure to Al Zahbi that was bothering her. Tamtu had already used his warping “priviledges” to instantaneously travel to the Near Eastern capital early in the morning to make sure a Rent-a-room would be ready for them. Unfortunately, Sooraya wasn’t as advanced in the magic schools as he was, often restricting her transportation methods, but she enjoyed beating the crap out of any fiends attempting to hurt her beau more than casting magic anyway. (more…)