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Post by Alexander on May 22, 2011 19:32:18 GMT -5
Money...
Nibelheim.
A peaceful morning.
A sunlit Dining Hall.
"I seen it, I tells ya, I seen it!" Cried the cry of an old codger, "With my own two eyes, I seen the ghost up in the second floor and it looked right at me!" Some scoffed, others grew mildly fearful, while some, more adventurous, developed a quick rooting curiosity at the old man's tall tale of unseen specters.
"Sure you weren't lookin' at your shadow, Old Man?" Smug words spoken through the smug smirk of a young adventurer who lounged lazily in the dining hall. Though skeptical, his curiosity beckoned him, yet his pride would not allow him to suffer the humiliation of a belief in things as whimsical and childish as ghosts.
"Don't get smart," The old man's cane wobbled in the weight of his hunched gait as he walked quickly, as quick as an old cane-assisted man could walk, toward the boy, "Don't you get smart, boy! These old eyes of mine may be going bad by the minute but I know what I saw!" A shaking finger waved wildly before the young adventurer's face.
"Relax, old-timer, I believe you!" Subtle desperation trembled in the young adventurer's voice. He would never strike an elderly man nor place his hands upon one in any way and the presence of an hostile, obviously eccentric, elder made him uncomfortable, more so because he was the target of the old man's hostility.
"You young'ns these days..." The old man scoffed and muttered many words, most incomprehensible, as he took passionate strides, the strides of a cane-assisted elder, toward the bar counter. With a harsh scowl, the old man cast some few odd glances back toward those travelers.
In one lonesome corner of the dining hall sat two vagrants that seemed to be doing somewhat well for themselves. There was the glimmer of adventure in their eye that sparked more so upon hearing the words of the Old Codger that now sat restlessly at the counter.
"Kupo... a ghost, eh?" One sat opposite a young girl at a small, rounded, and wooden table. Taking the odd bite out of a sandwich, the traveler contemplated in curiousness and an instinct to seek treasure in the most odd of places, "Do you think there's anything interesting in that spooky old house? Mogu thinks perhaps so."
"Treasure? Really?! In that place up on that hill?" Though a glimmer of excitement and anticipation streaked across the young girl's eyes, she soon found herself muddled by a child-like fear that roused much hesitation with her, "....Do you think we'll see a ghost?"
"Don't tell me you actually believe that senile old man, kupo. He probably saw some reflection and thought it was a ghost."
"...I don't know... but I guess if we go together... what could possibly happen, right?" With a sheepish smile given, her heart grew content with the fact that she was in the presence of an old friend who would just so much as give his life for her as she would for him. Though she remained fearful of ghosts, the incentive of treasure hunting with a friend who would keep her safe was outweighing.
Just then,
A voice,
"I seen it! I seen that ghost!"
The doors barged open and the young man who owned the Nibelheim Item Shop came forth, running as though running for his life, into the Dining Hall. Out of breath, and ecstatic, his proclamation ceased the scoffs and he stood before them drawing further curiosity, further fear, and further skepticism.
"It was standing at the window on the second floor! Like a shadow in a hood!"
Immediately then the murmurs of excitement grew thick. Voices filled the room, as that of a multitude, each speaking of the ghost and each arguing it's reality, it's fabrication, it's justification. "Maybe it's the wind," some said, "foolish ramblings," others argued, and yet some, more curious, proclaimed, "I will uncover this mystery!"
"I told the lot of you!" The Old Codger practically leaped from his stool at the side of the bar counter, "Didn't I tell you all? But no! Nobody listens to the words an old man anymore!"
Yet his voice only slightly rung louder than that of the crowd's.
Immediately then did some leave Nibelheim.
Perhaps out of fear,
Perhaps being annoyed,
Perhaps to places of better entertainment and excitement; Nibelheim being but a humble little mountain village with little attraction but the Shinra Mansion that is now stirring a small string of commotion to the otherwise quiet hamlet.
"Oh for Mogri's sake!" Exclaimed the frustrated barkeep at the sight of the small loss of customers. The commotion increased at the passing of mere seconds, so much so that collars became gripped in the aftermath of heated debates and disagreements.
But thereafter,
"500 Gil!" The Old Codger's voice rung loudly, bringing a silence to the sound of a crowd growing hostile and they all turned their eyes toward him, "500 Gil to the man who uncovers this mystery! And I'll even throw in a shiny staff I found on the last day." The tension in the room slowly diminished, all stared at the Old Codger in silent awe as the eyes of the adventurers and wanderers lit with the opportunity of fortune.
"Now that's an offer, kupo!" Said one adventurer to his female friend as he took the partook of the last of his sandwich.
"500 Gil... just to go see if some old house is haunted? Count me in!" And the young girl's mind had forgotten all about the fear that had taken hold of her heart. Yes, it seemed as though the opportunity to gain fortune and perhaps fame outweighed the better measure of sensibility in the hearts of these adventurers.
Quickly, the barkeep drew forth a pen and parchment paper. With swift hands, he began writing out what would soon be the first Bill ever to be written in Nibelheim since the years long passed. And the Bill was tacked upon a board, amongst other such postings that told of recent world events and the climatic news of continents abroad.
And the crowd quickly scattered.
....It often costs too much.
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