Tales of Symphonia Story, Tethe'alla Chronicles (3)

Quiz Start: It was good to see Mithos again, and he was happy to see all of you as well. He spent the night with the group, and then bid you goodbye in the morning when you all left. Despite the early leaving hour, even Lloyd was wide awake.
"I'm surprised you're up so early, Lloyd." you comment,
"I guess it's because I'm excited." he responded, "I can't wait to see dad again!"
"I'm sure he's really worried about you." Colette commented, "We should hurry."
"You know where we're going," Presea said to you, Colette, Raine, Genis and Lloyd, "Please lead the way." Mithos' expression fell slightly when you, in particular, said goodbye. But he bid you good luck and waved as the Rheairds rose off of the ground and flew away into the air.

It felt sort of weird to be flying over Sylvarant instead of walking or taking a boat the way you had when you'd traveled on the Regeneration Journey for those few months... After a few hours you neared Iselia, opting to fly around the village instead of over it, thereby avoiding panic. Raine called,
"Regal, Zelos, Presea and Sheena, don't forget that people here don't know about Tethe'alla. Don't tell Dirk where you're from when you introduce yourselves."
"Got it."
"I will not say."
"Of course not."
"Can do."

You touched down in a clearing in the forest leading to Lloyd's house, and walked the rest of the way after returning the Rheairds to their Wing Packs.
"I wonder how Dirk is doing." Genis commented, "It's been a few months since we left Iselia."
"I bet he'll be glad to see us." the brunette grinned. After walking uphill through the forest for ten minutes you arrived at Lloyd's home; a small two story wooden house on a flat area of rock at the top of the hill. A small creek flowed around the house, a log bridge providing a path over it. A familiar green and white dog dashed to Lloyd after everyone had filed over the bridge, "Hey, Noishe!" he greeted, patting the dogs head. The door opened and a short dwarf with brown hair and beard walked out of the house.
"Come on now, Noishe. Settle down." he said.
"Dad!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Oh?! Lloyd?!" Dirk asked, "Welcome back! What is it? What's wrong?"
"Ah, I just...kind of wanted to see you." he responded. The dwarf laughed lightly,
"What, you homesick?" he joked,
"It's not like that!"
"Mind you, I'm happy to see you..."
"Dad...Oh yeah, these are my friends." Lloyd remembered, "Zelos, Presea, Regal, Sheena and Aura."
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you." he nodded, "The name's Dirk. Hm...Well, since you've come all the way here, I've got something for you. Come in, all of you." You filed into the house and spread out around the one-room first floor. You sat next to Zelos on the small step that raised the dining area. Dirk rummaged around by a stove, blacksmithing tools laid out on the wall. He finally recovered a small burlap sack which he gave to Lloyd.
"What is this stuff?" Lloyd asked,
"Not too sure. Some of it might be junk. That gem there is called an 'EX Gem'. I'm not sure how to use it, and if you can't figure it out you could sell it. Same for the metal sphere there, too."
"...Dad."
"What?"
"Your son comes back to visit and you give him junk?!"
"Shut up! If you make fun of junk, you'll regret it!" Dirk ordered, striking the boy in the side in a disciplinary way, "There's useful stuff in there!"
"Ow!...Sheesh!"
"...Well, anyway....I know it's not late, but if you want rest, you can stay here for tonight."
"Dad...Yeah, we will. Thank you."
"Dirk, we need an Exsphere shard." Raine told him.
"An Exsphere shard?" he blinked, "What in blazes would you need an Exsphere shard for?"
"Well, you see," Lloyd explained, "Well..."
"There's a tree that's dead," you say, "It's called a Linkite Tree, and we need the nuts that tree produces to be able to call Aska."
"Aska...the Summon Spirit?"
"Yes."
"Why do you need to call Aska?"
"That's a longer story that's extremely complicated." Raine said, "Explaining it might put you at risk.... Let's just say it's vital that we summon Aska." Dirk looked at her for a long moment before nodding,
"So, you need an Exsphere shard to help revive a dead tree, eh? Hm... Well, I think there's an Exsphere shard around here somewhere. You all relax for a while and I'll see if I can find one for you."
"Thank you."

While Dirk looked around his work area you walked outside to be in the sun; you'd never visited Lloyd's house before and wanted the time to look around outside. Following the small creek towards the log bridge you noticed a gravestone towards the back of the house. Walking back you found it read 'Anna' carved into the smooth gravestone, but that was all; there wasn't a last name, and there were no dates of her birth and death. *Anna...Lloyd's mother.* you thought.
"Lloyd's mom, huh...?" Sheena's voice asked. She walked to your side, looking at the stone. "It's sad..."
"Yeah, it is." you agree softly. What Kvar had said rang in the back of her mind. How Lloyd's mother was struck down...by his own father. You pushed such depressing thoughts from your mind and returned to slowly wandering around Lloyd's yard. Noishe whined when you came near him and held out his head for you to pet. Smiling slightly, you reached out a hand and scratched behind his ears.

Genis and Presea helped Dirk cook dinner that night, everyone sat around the small lower room eating.
"Ah, yes. Lloyd, I found an Exsphere shard." the dwarf walked to his son and handed him a piece of a shattered Exsphere, "Hope it'll do what you need it to."
"Thanks, dad."
"Well, when it comes to accommodations tonight I'm afraid I don't have much to offer." Dirk apologized, "This is a small house, after all."
"My house isn't far." you say, "And it's outside the village."
"How about the girls go with you and we'll stay here?" Regal asked, "We can meet at your house tomorrow morning." Everyone agreed, and you and the other girls departed, only heading deep enough into the forest to not be visible from the house, after which you boarded your Rheairds and flew to your home.
"Is this your home, Aura?" Colette asked as you all stepped inside. Everything was coated with a thin layer of dust from no one entering the house for a few months.
"Yes...Wow, it's been so long since I've been here." you comment. You glance out the window at the distant village of Iselia, remembering Marble and how you were banished...

It felt nice to be home again, even though you'd only lived in this house for a little over a week...and that was a few months ago. Still, it was your home.
"So, now that we've got the Exsphere shard, it's time to go talk to Sylph, right?" Sheena asked,
"Yes. We'll make a pact with Sylph, then revive the Linkite tree. Pacts with Luna, Aska and Ifrit can wait."
"So we're off to Balacruf tomorrow." Colette nodded.