The desert stretched before them like a motionless ocean of sand and wind. The sun burned with a divine, merciless gaze as Benjamin and Tristam approached the treacherous lands surrounding the dreaded Bone Dungeon. The dunes shifted beneath their feet, and the air thrummed with a low hum — almost an ancient warning.
Before Tristam could even shout, Benjamin stepped wrong. The ground gave way beneath him, and a vortex swallowed him whole in a whirlwind of scorching sand.
- Benjamin: "QUICK! HELP ME!" - Benjamin's voice tore through the wind, hoarse with panic.
- Tristam: "Last time, these sands weren't like this."
Tristam sprinted to the edge, heart pounding.
- Tristam: "Grab that rock, kid! NOW!" - He barked, voice a blend of command and fear.
Benjamin didn't think. His hands instinctively clutched the slippery stone as Tristam hurled a grappling hook — a strange iron claw that sang through the air before biting deep into the rock. With a harsh pull, Benjamin was yanked from the abyss.
Coughing and spitting sand, he rolled onto solid ground.
- Benjamin: "Damn it... I swallowed half the desert." - He muttered, grimacing at the gritty taste.
Tristam let out a short laugh.
- Tristam: "You look just fine, kid."
Benjamin glared at him.
- Benjamin: "Ha. Ha. Very funny. So tell me, genius, how the hell are we supposed to get into the Bone Dungeon now?"
Tristam scratched his chin with that infuriating grin — the kind of grin that meant he either had a plan or was pretending to.
- Tristam: "I know someone. Out near the battlefield. He might know a way through."
Benjamin wiped his face, still annoyed.
- Benjamin: "Fine, let's go. Bleh!" - He spat out more sand and made a face. Tristam just muttered something between a laugh and a scoff.
After a full day of walking, a tavern rose on the horizon — a stone refuge amid the chaos of the dunes. The air reeked of iron, sweat, and old ale.
A man in armor with blue hair watched them from a nearby table.
- Tristam: "Albert!" - Tristam called, entering with the confidence of someone who never asked permission to walk into hell.
Albert looked up, surprised.
- Albert: "Tristam? Ha! It's been a while. What's the world's most stubborn treasure hunter doing out here?"
Benjamin frowned, watching silently.
- Benjamin: "Who's this guy?"
Tristam ignored him.
- Tristam: "Business. But I didn't just come for treasure. Wanted to see you, old friend. Still betting your coins at the battlefield?"
Albert chuckled.
- Albert: "You know me. Always chasing easy money."
Tristam leaned back, amused.
- Tristam: "You should've seen what the kid and I pulled off yesterday. We cleaned the whole arena. Hey, kid, show him what you got."
- Benjamin: "I already said that my name is Benjamin."
Benjamin rolled his eyes but pulled the Charm from his neck. The amulet glimmered faintly under the lamplight.
Albert raised a brow.
- Albert: "Well, well... that's rare. Didn't see that one coming. I'm Albert Dunes. You must be Benjamin, right?"
Benjamin nodded.
- Benjamin: "That's me."
Tristam cut in.
- Tristam: "Enough small talk. We need to cross the quicksands and reach the Bone Dungeon. The treasure's waiting."
Albert folded his arms.
- Albert: "That treasure's a myth, Tristam."
- Tristam: "It's not..." - Tristam said flatly. - "Last time, I got close. But the creature woke up before I could open the chest."
Benjamin's thoughts flickered.
- Benjamin (thinking): "Creature? Could it be one of the Vile Four?"
Albert tilted his head.
- Albert: "You might try a Chocobo..."
- Tristam: "They don't exist in Crystalia." - Tristam replied.
Albert smirked.
- Albert: "Maybe now they do. Heard a golden one's been seen in the eastern woods. Must've migrated from another continent."
Tristam snapped his fingers.
- Tristam: "Got any idea how to catch it?"
- Albert: "For 1000GP, I could tell you."
Tristam nearly exploded.
- Tristam: "WHAT!? You're the one who owes me 1000GP!"
Albert laughed.
- Albert: "Alright then, buy a Gysahl Green off me. Imported. Fresh. Rare as hell around here."
- Albert: "Business is business." - Albert said, raising his hands. - "And this one's priceless."
Tristam was ready to swing when Benjamin grabbed his arm. His strength surprised him.
- Tristam (thinking): "This kid is strong."
- Benjamin said calmly: "Forget it. I'll pay."
Tristam sighed.
- Tristam: "You know once we go in, there's no turning back, right?"
Benjamin answered firmly.
- Benjamin: "I know. Give me the Gysahl Green, Mr. Dunes."
He paid, and the two set out eastward.
Two days of travel followed — freezing nights and burning days. They fought Basilisks, Poison Toads, Mad Plants, and Sand Worms. Each battle drew them closer together, even if neither would admit it.
At last, they reached the woods, where the Golden Chocobo waited among the trees. Its gaze — human yet wild — fixed on Benjamin. Tristam held up the Gysahl Green but was immediately met with a furious headbutt.
- Tristam: "Ow! What the hell!?" - Tristam growled, rubbing his forehead.
Benjamin stepped forward.
- Benjamin: "Let me try."
The Chocobo watched him. Their eyes met — something ancient stirring between them. Benjamin extended his hand, gentle and unafraid.
- Benjamin: "You like this, don't you?" - He said softly.
- Golden Chocobo: "Wark... wark?" - The creature chirped, stepping closer.
Benjamin smiled.
- Benjamin: "It's yours."
The Chocobo ate the fruit and knelt. It allowed them to climb on. Tristam muttered something halfway between awe and jealousy, and in one great leap, the Chocobo soared. The wind split beneath them with divine speed.
They landed before the Bone Dungeon. The ancient doors groaned under the weight of centuries. Benjamin patted the Chocobo's neck.
- Benjamin: "Thanks, friend."
The creature bumped Tristam with its beak and let out a soft wark before vanishing into the sands.
- Tristam: "Tsk."
Inside, the air was thick — smelling of dust, rust, and old bones. Monsters lurked: Poison Toads, Mad Plants, Sand Worms, Basilisks. Tristam unleashed his fury, hurling shurikens that burned through them like fire. Benjamin, wielding Kaeli's axe, carved a brutal path through the beasts.
They reached a sealed passage. Tristam grinned.
- Tristam: "Nothing a bomb can't fix." - And hurled one without warning.
Benjamin was thrown against the wall.
- Benjamin: "ARE YOU INSANE!?" - He shouted, dazed.
Tristam laughed.
- Tristam: "Aren't they great? I can sell you fifty for 30GP."
Benjamin groaned.
- Benjamin: "No way. Albert nearly cleaned me out."
Tristam scratched his head.
- Tristam: "Fifty for 15GP? Deal?"
Benjamin smirked.
- Benjamin: "Deal."
Later, under the flickering light of a small camp between ruins, they ate in silence. Benjamin watched the flames, thoughtful.
- Benjamin (thinking): "That Chocobo... it felt like I'd seen it before."
Tristam noticed the shadow in his tone.
- Tristam: "So, kid... where are you from?"
Benjamin hesitated.
- Benjamin: "I woke up two years ago at the base of the mountain. My grandpa took care of me, but... I don't remember anything before that."
Tristam let out a rough laugh.
- Tristam: "Figures. A mysterious life for a brave idiot, hahaha!"
Benjamin frowned.
- Benjamin: "And you?"
Tristam looked away. His voice lowered.
- Tristam: "Born in the mud. My mother said I was a burden. I learned early that the world isn't fair. One day she told me to steal food — and I ended up in a barrel, shipped off to the battlefield. Been fighting ever since."
Benjamin sat silent, taking it in.
- Benjamin: "I... don't even know what to say."
Tristam gave a weary smile.
- Tristam: "Don't bother. I stopped believing in the world long ago. What matters is what's in your pocket, not your heart. These days, I depend on no one."
Benjamin's eyes met his.
- Benjamin: "If you ever need someone... I'll be there."
For a moment, silence settled between them. Tristam looked away, something faint — almost human — flickering in his expression.
- Tristam: "Hahaha! You're such a sentimental kid. Sit down, relax. Tell me more."
And there, beneath a ceiling of bones and forgotten memories, they talked for hours. They laughed. They shared stories the world would never know.
When sleep finally came, they took turns keeping watch — guarding one another from the shadows that haunted the dungeon.