A Learning Curve - Etrian Odyssey 4 - Boyxboy

Chapter 15

AN: Thanks so much Ame_Tasogare for commenting on the previous chapter! In this story, the bosses from the labyrinths won't be used, I'm afraid. That isn't to say that they won't appear in future stories, now does it? :3

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Chapter 15:

Stepping out of the patient room, Baldur quickly noticed that everyone else was pulled out of the preparations by the sound of something occurring just outside the front door. It sounded almost like a scuffle of some kind.

"Someone's coming," Nitish suddenly murmured, looking pale and uneasy. "They're...they've got Falkner."

Before anyone could ask for more details, the doors to the clinic flew open forcefully, like someone had kicked them in. And standing on the threshold was Falkner, with his arm pinned behind his back and a knife to his throat!

Immediately, Varuna's protective instincts sharpen at the thought of a teammate in danger. He reached for his knives, his eyes searching for a vital point. However, before he could pull out a knife from his cloak, Telem unexpectedly dropped the knife he had to Falkner's throat and pushed him forward. As Falkner stumbled to stay on his feet from the unexpected shove, Telem held up his hands in a surrendering position.

Varuna suddenly became still, his senses seemingly unexpectedly relaxing. He looked perplexed. Like he couldn't sense a threat anymore...even as Telem's companion, Durriken, stepped next to him, his hands also raised in surrender.

A tense silence fell over the group as Isiah reached out to grab Falkner by his arm, pulling him to the side and toward them, his guild. His brother was immediately by his side, wrapping his arms around his waist in a hug.

"What the hell is this all about?" Bryce broke the silence with what was quickly becoming the most frequently asked question of their lives.

"We couldn't afford to let anyone stop us from reaching here," Telem explained rather emotionlessly. "Nor could we afford to be attacked on sight."

Odd way to go about it. Varuna was ready to slit his throat the second he saw Falkner was being held hostage.

"That doesn't explain shit," Bryce spat. "Don't you work with those Extremists?"

"No," Durriken was the one to answer, his voice rather terse, almost insulted by the accusation. "It appears so, yes, but it was to learn their real motives."

Once again, there was a tense silence before Falkner, the one they had taken hostage, gently pushed his brother behind him and took a half step forward. "Let's just hear what they have to say," he requested surprisingly before turning his attention back on the shadowy duo. "Well?"

Telem seemed to almost nod his head in gratitude toward Falkner before turning his focus back to everyone else, lowering his arms and letting them hang idly by his sides, but still visible. "We come baring answers to your many questions."

"Your leader has been kidnapped for his leadership and supportive skills," Durriken explained in a far too blunt manner.

"The extremists have Roxbury?" Mahalah gasped, his face turning pale.

Telem nodded before adding, "And the wharf-master."

"C-Ciaran? Why?" Varuna spluttered in disbelief before levelling the two with a piercing glare. "Tell us everything. And start from the beginning."

"Initially, the extremists were targeting and sabotaging the Tharsis and adventurer's airships to cause chaos and confusion," Telem explained. "But when the wharf-master moved your two important airships to a safer location, the extremists decided that he was too much of a liability and needed to be removed."