Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 3: Pursuit

SEVEN

South Argen was a lot like its sister town back on the other side of the mountains. A small mining settlement tucked at the base of a wide, jagged peak. There were men guarding the way into the mines just like in North Argen, but they didn't seem surprised to see us as we headed outside. I had to squint at the brightness of the early afternoon sun for a moment until my eyes had adjusted. After several days in the gloomy underground, being outdoors again took a little getting used to. Aerith and the others were all the same way.

"Are you Cloud?" one of the men asked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

He motioned to us. "This way. Dorgan's been expecting you. Once the Turks finally left, we knew it wouldn't be long 'till you guys showed up. And thanks for clearing all those monsters outta the mines. You've done helluva lot for us, and we won't forget it."

"Our pleasure!" Aerith smiled.

Barret pumped his fist. "That's the Avalanche way!"

The guy led us over to a small, one-story building to the right with a short wooden staircase leading up to the front door. After he left and I knocked on the door, it opened a moment later as Dorgan greeted us. He looked a bit younger than Bear and didn't have as much gray in his tousled brown hair, but he was still just as big and stocky as his partner in North Argen. His pale blue eyes looked us over, and when he spoke, his voice was thick with a backwoods drawl.

"You must be them fellas that brought down that dragon," Dorgan said. "I'm mighty obliged to ya, friends. Name's Dorgan, overseer of the mines along the southern reaches. But I expect you already know that. Come on in an' we'll talk for a spell."

"Bear said you had something for us," I reminded him.

He held the door open for us as we went in. "That I do. We'll go on over all that an' more, don'tcha worry."

"Thank you," Tifa said.

After we'd introduced ourselves and settled into his office—which was a lot like Bear's with its large desk and wide drafting table covered with papers and blueprints—Dorgan opened a tall storage locker, took out a pair of tough, black leather boots reinforced with metal, and gave them to Barret. They were thick, sturdy, and went right up to his knees when he put them on after taking off his old ones.

"I hear you was a miner yourself once," Dorgan told him. "You got the look. So I reckon I don't really need to tell ya what these are. Seems like they're a pretty good fit on ya, too."

Barret grinned. "Sure are, man. My thanks."

"What are they?" Tifa wondered.

"Protective boots," Dorgan explained. "We use 'em in places where the footin' ain't so good. Ain't jus' water that can collect down there. All kindsa muck and sludge builds up in spots, an' these are made to let ya walk on through without gettin' slowed down or stuck. No matter if it's monster webs or thick mud or what have ya."

Red nodded. "Such an ability could prove quite useful."

"Got that right, Red," Barret agreed. "Used to wear these from time to time in my mining days. Got me outta more than one jam, I can tell ya. Them and my best pal... uh, nevermind."

"Hmm?" Aerith blinked.

He shook his head. "It's nothin' y'all need to worry 'bout."

I glanced at him. "You sure?"

"Yeah, merc," Barret grunted. "Damn sure."

Then Dorgan took a large pouch of gil from the locker as well and tossed it to me. "Here. Ten thousand gil. Oughta be a fittin' bounty for killin' the archdragon and clearin' out the mines."