Work upon Vivienne’s cosplay proceeds apace! I’m not done yet, though. There’s so much to do! I’m nearly done the main part of the chestplate, but there are so many little details! And then there are the gloves and boots, which have a bit less detail, and I’m still debating if I want to make a helmet or not. I don’t think I will have time before Halloween for a helmet, but for the cosplay in general.
This chapter is a little bit fillery, but hey my characters wanted to talk! Also there are sure a lot of people with swords in the 24-man, but obviously the PLD or GLD characters who are not Achiyo are not tanking.
Also I didn’t consciously decide to write the spooky ship during spooky month, but hey this works out!
Chapter 34: The Void Ark
“So how was your honeymoon?” R’nyath asked Kekeniro as the Warriors of Light and Y’shtola appeared around the aetheryte on Azys Lla.
“We can speak of that later,” Aentfryn said. “Should we not begin by summarizing the situation?”
R’nyath pouted. “Fine, I guess. But I want to hear what you guys got up to while you were away!”
Kekeniro smiled. “We went to Idyllshire and hiked around the hinterlands. Come this way, we managed to get a… display-thing working that will let me show you better what we are dealing with, but we have to fly to the Flagship first.”
In the centre of the top deck of the Flagship, they entered a broad antechamber filled with red lines of dim light, and at the back was a huge door, sealed not only by aether and computers, but by huge chains and locks. There they were met by Lilidi, Y’shtola, Urianger, Krile, and a masked and robed figure with the stature of a Hyuran child.
“Who’s this twerp?” Vivienne said rudely, pointing at the last.
The person bowed. “Unukalhai is my name, and I serve a friend. I am here to aid you with the rising threat of these eikons.” It was still a little hard for R’nyath to tell, but the person was probably a boy. His voice hadn’t changed yet.
“Isn’t that what the Empire calls primals?” Tam asked, leaning against a wall. Even he had been located for this event, deep in the wilds of Mor Dhona where linkpearl connections fizzled out regularly.
“The term ‘eikon’ and the beings to which it refers precede the Garlean Empire by eras,” said the boy. “It is the name by which the Allagans called godlike beings, and the Garleans, who seek to emulate the glory of ancient Allag, have simply availed themselves of it.”
“Makes sense,” R’nyath said.
“I don’t care,” Chuchupa said, trying to peek under the mask from her lower vantage point. “Ye’re suspicious as all hells. How old are ye? Why d’ye wear a mask? D’ye have some gnarly scars under there or summat? Maybe a Garlean third eye? Hi, Krile!”
“Hello, yourself,” Krile said, as Unukalhai stoically weathered the scrutiny. “It’s good to see you all again. I see you’re still alive, Chuchupa.”
“Not fer lack of people tryin’ to make it otherwise,” Chuchupa teased.
Kekeniro had hopped on a box to commune with a console, and an image of a strange being popped up, projected with light into the air among them. “Unukalhai’s not talked much about himself, but Urianger trusts him, and he’s helping us solve this potential catastrophe before it happens, so that’s all right for now. Look, this primal is called Sephirot, and he’s the closest to waking of the three primals imprisoned here by the Allagans. Due to the way he’s been imprisoned, sort of like Bahamut, we can’t just eliminate him without first releasing him – which probably means a fight. And probably a pretty hard one, given that the Allagans recorded him defeating multiple of their armies before they captured him.” Data floated around the figure; Achiyo and Aentfryn leaned closer to read it better.
“And given the nature of our adversary, none save those under the aegis of the Echo should be permitted to enter the containment facility,” Y’shtola said.
“Which is one reason why I’m here!” Krile said cheerfully. “I will disable the restraints, and you all will welcome Sephirot back into the waking world. Better that than the other way around, I’d say, considering our respective fields of expertise – and, of course, my diminutive stature.” She shot an arch look at Unukalhai.
“Oh boy, ye’d best not underestimate Lalafells,” Chuchupa said, and smacked her hands together. “I’m not even talkin’ ’bout Kekeniro an’ Krile bein’ crazy smart. I’m talkin’ ’bout the fact I can wrestle a Roegadyn – and win.”
“Duly noted,” Unukalhai said, with a thread of uncertainty in his voice – and when Chuchupa turned back to talk to Krile some more, edged away from her.
“Oh by the way, it seems Unukalhai has the Echo, so he’s going to help Krile,” Kekeniro said. “Any questions?”
Achiyo put up a hand. “Does this Sephirot have any particular weaknesses? He looks frighteningly powerful.”
Kekeniro shrugged, grimacing. “If I knew, I’d mention it. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about him himself besides the fact he was summoned by a race of tree-people, as it says in this paragraph here. We’ll just have to wing it. Like we always do-”
The console flashed, and a mechanical voice spoke. “Warning! Verification systems detect multiple unauthorized vessels entering restricted airspace. Security systems engaging intruders.”
“The Garleans,” Y’shtola said. “Come, Urianger, Lilidi, we must keep them occupied.”
Urianger nodded and followed her. Lilidi waved affectionately to Kekeniro and did as well.
Krile strode to the door that led into the Flagship. “We too should be on our way. Gods… I would be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly terrified… But I can’t very well leave every deadly task to you Scions. I shall do my best not to wake the eikon up too much. As my grandfather always used to say of certain little monsters: ‘Get them up and get them moving while their brains are still abed’.”
“Was that about you, perchance?” Chuchupa teased her.
Krile chuckled. “No… at least not often.”
The locks fell away from the door with loud, dramatic clangs, and with flashing lights and loud alarms, the door slid open. Within was a lift much like the ones they had operated on their last visit to the Flagship, with two other stops marked on it. Krile indicated the first one.
“So what else did you do while hiking around the most picturesque hinterlands?” R’nyath asked Kekeniro.
“Sorry, R’nyath, I’m trying to concentrate,” Kekeniro said. “I promise I’ll tell you all about it when we are done.”
R’nyath tried not to let his ears sag in disappointment. His friend was right, of course, and he really needed to let the strategist focus – but it had been so long since they’d seen each other! And it felt like they hadn’t had a drama-free moment in… months. Even if he was a bard, he didn’t live for all drama all the time, that was unhealthy.
“Here’s my stop, I suppose,” Krile said. “This way should lead to the command station that houses the restraint controls. Come along, Unukalhai.” She disembarked from the lift at a corridor lit by stark blue lights. “Good luck, everyone.”
“Thank you,” Achiyo said. “I know we will prevail.”
“Aw, no worries!” Chuchupa said.
Then the lift descended further and R’nyath’s jaw dropped and his ears went back. There was a large circular platform, and suspended above it in a glowing white bubble of aether was a colossal man with far too much musculature. Both the bubble and the figure were heavily bound in glowing white aetherial chains. R’nyath couldn’t make heads or tails of the figure at first, through the sheen of the bubble and the fact that the being was curled around itself – and not just heads or tails, but arms and legs, mostly arms as he peered closer, not to mention wings. “Holy hells.”
Even Kekeniro was looking more worried than he had before. “He was supposedly specifically summoned to fight off Allagan armies.”
“All I can say is… don’t get hit,” Chuchupa said, cracking her knuckles. “Ye’d turn into paste, Kekeniro.”
“Don’t remind me,” Kekeniro grumbled under his breath.
“That goes for you too, Urselmert,” Aentfryn said to Vivienne, who scoffed.
Rinala clutched her cane, her fluffy blue tail already poofing up to its full size. “Twelve preserve us… I’m scared. He’s too big.”
R’nyath reached out to pat her shoulder. “It’s all right. We’ve fought Nidhogg. What’s a guy with too many arms compared to him? Or Bahamut?” She managed a weak giggle.
“Well, I hope your gods do preserve us, because this is going to be interesting,” Tam drawled.
Achiyo led them off the elevator. “I imagine I will have to cast Hallowed Ground, Rinala, so that will aid you when I do. Is everyone ready?”
Rinala cast Protect and took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
“Ready!” Kekeniro said, swapping Garuda for Ifrit with a sweep of his hand.
One by one, the eight of them confirmed. “At your pleasure, Krile,” Achiyo said to her linkpearl.
The primal’s eyes snapped open, glaring and red. The bubble exploded with a wash of aether around them. Sephirot landed heavily on the platform before them and flexed all six of his arms, growling and roaring, no trace of sleepiness in his form. R’nyath gulped.
Kekeniro fell back onto the platform, heedless of the not-real aetherial jungle terrain and the very real broken glass scattered across the arena of battle, and let out a long, hoarse scream. The jungle that Sephirot had magically generated partway through the fight was dissipating into the air slowly, and thus he slowly sank through the residual aether to the cold metal ground. Everyone else was making sounds between breathless cheers and huge sighs of relief. Kekeniro could only thank the Twelve that he had such skilful, well-trained teammates at his command.
“You all right there, buddy?” R’nyath said, coming up to flop to sitting beside him, still panting for air. His ruddy face and the chest visible through his open shirt gleamed with sweat.
“I need another vacation,” Kekeniro groaned.
“Well, you don’t get one,” Vivienne said, leaning on her sword. “If there are two more of these things…”
“I know,” Kekeniro said. “My everything is just so tired right now. Do you know how hard it is to read the aether and figure out what he might be doing next, and then figure out how to communicate it to you all so that you all avoid getting hit by it!? And making sure I don’t make any dumb mistakes myself because I’m too busy thinking to notice if the spot I’m standing in is safe or not?”
Achiyo’s face appeared in his field of vision; she was smiling, and Kekeniro noted that there was more of a genuine sparkle in her eyes than… in the past. He wasn’t sure. He’d only been gone a month! Had things changed so much so quickly? Or was he just now noticing something that had happened gradually? “You were brilliant. We could not triumph in battles like this without you.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’m not quitting or anything!”
“Thank the gods for that,” R’nyath said. “But I don’t think anyone will complain if we take a few days to rest up after almost dying five million times in half a bell!” He wiped his face with one of his sashes.
“Unless Ishgard collapses again,” Tam said.
“They’ll call us if that happens,” R’nyath said.
The Warriors of Light arrived at the Rising Stones to find it full of people – Domans who worked for the Scions, ex-Crystal Brave adventurers joining the Scions, all of the junior Scions, and of course, several of the senior Scions. It turned out everyone had gathered to welcome back F’lhaminn and her party, who had escaped all the way to Radz-at-Han, and the Warriors of Light had arrived just in time to join in. The only ones who were still missing were Minfilia, and Thancred and Krile who were out searching for her, and Yda and Papalymo.
Still, it was enough people to really make some noise. “R’inwa!” R’nyath pounced on his half-brother, putting him in a headlock and scratching his ears. His brother was wearing new and exotic clothes, much like Coultenet and F’lhaminn. “You got back and didn’t let me know!?”
“R’nyaaaath,” R’inwa yowled. “You’re my brother, not my mom! I can take care of myself, especially if I’m with Hoary and Coultenet and F’lhaminn!”
“Wow, you look sunburned. You’re almost as red as me. You really need to take care of your skin, especially when you’re out of the woods!”
“Well, maybe you should go to Radz-at-Han for a few months and see how you like it there.”
“Fine, fine, tell me all about it!” R’nyath let his taller little brother up, eager to hear his tales of exotic adventure. For once, his little brother had had an experience all of his own, that no one else in his immediate family had! But while he was so young, he’d had capable guardians, and had pulled his own weight in their adventure.
There was so much to hear, and the festivities weren’t half bad either! To watch ever-thirsty Aenor drool over the ripped Roegadyn men and her sister Clemence wail softly to herself about it, to see the old men Isildaure and Homei swapping tales, to see Alphinaud getting emotional with lingering guilt, and Rinala and Tataru trying to comfort him, to see Chuchupa challenge Hoary to a drinking context, to see F’lhaminn say something to Achiyo that made her laugh, it was great to sit down at a table, sipping a cold ale, and see everyone catching up in their own way.
“And what have you been doing?” R’inwa said eventually. “Saving the world, I guess?”
“Absolutely!” R’nyath said. “I just did it again today. No big.”
R’inwa rolled his eyes. “How come the world is always in so much trouble?”
R’nyath held his hands just so, as a character in a play they had once seen. “Allagans. …If you roll your eyes any harder they’re gonna fall out of your head. Hey, I haven’t just been saving the world. I got a girlfriend!”
“Ugh, I don’t want to know,” R’inwa responded. “I’m guessing it’s not Rinala, or she would be here.”
“Nah. Her name is Hilda, and she can shoot the wings off a fly with her gun. And she only wears black leather.” R’nyath waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
R’inwa howled and pushed him, tail fluffed. “I don’t wanna know!!” R’nyath was snickering so hard he had trouble keeping his seat even without the push.
“Is everything all right over here?” Tataru said, coming to them with new drinks.
“My brother is terrible!” R’inwa complained.
“Oh dear,” Tataru said, with a little giggle. “He’s not so bad, truly. But I’m glad you’re back, R’inwa. You’re so reliable!”
That made R’inwa puff up a little. “Hear that, Brother? I’m reliable! What are you?”
“I’m fun!” R’nyath said, with a wink at Tataru, and she giggled even more. “What do you think, Kekeniro?”
Kekeniro climbed onto the chair next to him, and Lilidi followed. “I think you are a goodhearted friend, and a strong Warrior of Light, even if scatterbrained and easily distracted.”
“Hey!” But it was impossible to take offence at Kekeniro when he smiled like that. “All right, so spill the Mun-Tuy beans, my friend.”
“Huh? What?” R’inwa wanted to know.
“He got married to Lilidi and they’ve been away for the past month!”
“You’re so nosy,” Lilidi said. “All you need to know is that we had a wonderful time, and that for us the wilderness is the most romantic of destinations. Also, Kekeniro, I should tell you again I’m very proud of what you did today. I have the most talented husband in the world.”
Kekeniro blushed brightly. “Aww. Th-thanks, Li. But I have the most talented wife in the world, so w-we’re even?” Lilidi grinned, and a slow blush bloomed on her cheeks too.
“How come they can be lovey-dovey and it doesn’t bother you, but I can’t?” R’nyath asked R’inwa. “My girl isn’t even here!”
“Because you’re my sodding brother, hairball-brain!” R’inwa turned to the two Lalafells. “But I am kind of curious too, where did you go?”
“Cats,” Lilidi muttered.
“I know I promised to tell R’nyath about it, but it’s not really that interesting,” Kekeniro said. “I’m sure you would be less than interested to hear that we visited the Gubal Library again. And we went fishing at the lake in the Dravanian Hinterlands. And she went hunting for most of our dinners. Umm, we climbed a couple of mountains… it’s a beautiful view, you can almost see to the ocean, if I judged the map correctly. With the glittering rivers winding away through the lowlands in the distance, dipping beneath evergreen boughs…”
There he goes, R’nyath thought to himself happily. Kekeniro might not be good at stories, but he could paint a decent word picture once he warmed up to it. Lilidi, too, put her chin in her hands to listen, and beamed at her husband.
Naturally, the Warriors of Light eventually congregated at the same table. “I was thinking about what happened the other day,” Rinala said. “Isn’t it sweet what Count Edmont said to Ser Aymeric?”
“What did he say?” Lilidi asked, and Kekeniro nodded, and R’nyath quickly filled them in.
“Aymeric-sama and Haurchefant were such close friends,” Achiyo said. “It is kind of Count Edmont to say they are alike, knowing how much he loved Haurchefant.”
“‘E all but said ‘e loves Aymeric too,” Chuchupa said. “‘E’s adopted him.”
“You’re very drunk,” Rinala said.
“No ‘m not,” Chuchupa said. “But I woulda won – if anyone woulda played wi’ me.”
“That is mayhap why they did not,” Achiyo teased her gently.
R’nyath liked the earlier topic better. “Aymeric does need a new father. His old one was terrible. And his adopted one passed away. Count Edmont is fantastic for him. Count Dadmont.”
“Count Dadmont,” Chuchupa snickered, and nearly choked on her gin.
“You know I’m right,” R’nyath said to Chuchupa.
“I think it’s very touching,” Kekeniro said. “Everyone deserves a family. Hopefully one they can get along with.” He laughed a little to himself.
“Though I hope Artoirel isn’t jealous,” Rinala said. “Did you see how he looked after his father said that? I couldn’t tell what he was thinking but he seemed bothered to me. Do you think he’s feeling left out?”
“I am sure he knows his father’s regard for him,” Achiyo said, but she looked concerned. “And that he is held in high regard by many, Aymeric-sama included.”
“I mean, Count Edmont looked a little worried when Artoirel said he was going to help us, though he let him come,” R’nyath said. “I’m sure it will all work out. Hey, if I get out my guitar, do you think F’lhaminn will join in?”
“Right, you lot!” Chuchupa exclaimed about a sennight later. It had been a blessedly quiet week, according to some – a right old boring week, according to Chuchupa! She’d even gone to the Wolf’s Den to see who’d be about for a fight, that was how bored she’d been! But then she got wind of something new, and that was why she was now stamping through the Rising Stones, bellowing at the Scions present – Rinala, Vivienne, and Aentfryn. “We’ve got adventure on our hands!”
Rinala looked up with concern, Vivienne with flat disinterest, and Aentfryn not at all. What was wrong with these folk? Why weren’t they excited? “Didn’t ye hear me?”
“We heard,” Rinala said. “What kind of adventure?”
“Why d’ye look so worried? It’s going to be fun! It’s only me new mate Leofard and his crew found a ghost airship out in the Sea of Clouds!”
“That sounds terrible,” Vivienne said, looking away again. “What does it have to do with us?”
“Is there a primal involved?” Aentfryn asked, looking up from his book.
“Dunno!” Chuchupa said cheerfully. “All I know is, any who enter are never seen again! Which prob’ly means monsters and traps! What are ye waitin’ for?”
“Well, you can go,” Vivienne said, and went back to tipping her chair back on two legs. “What’s in it for the rest of us?”
“What else?” Chuchupa demanded, putting her hands on her hips and glaring up at the woman more than twice her height. She would have called all these tallfolk boring, but then again Kekeniro was shorter than her, and he was just like them. “Fame! Treasure! Glory!” She snuck a look at Aentfryn. She didn’t really know what he was into, even after all this time. “…Knowledge about… like… the Allagans, maybe! They mighta built it.”
That got even him, and he sighed and closed his book. “Very well. Who else is coming? Is it just this Leofard?”
“Oh, no,” Chuchupa said. “He and his crew will be comin’, o’ course, but we gotta recruit a nice big group. I’m hopin’ to get all the Warriors o’ Light on board, but any skilled fighter’s welcome to join. You remember that Naomi woman from the Crystal Tower boarding party? She was there too, she’s off makin’ inquiries of her own. What say ye we grab as many adventurers as we can and make our way to… Ok’ Zundu’s prob’ly closer. In three days or so.”
“Fine,” Vivienne said, and reached out to pat her greatsword where it leaned against the wall. “I’m ready, then.”
“I’m not!” Rinala cried, jumping up. “I have so much to do… Oh dear, how many people are there going to be?”
“Dunno,” Chuchupa said. “I’m goin’ out recruitin’. Ye just sit yer pretty arse tight, there’s naught to worry about until three days from now.”
“She’s right,” Aentfryn said. “Conserve your energy, Rinala. Make preparations without fretting, or your preparations will be useless.” He packed his book away in his satchel and stood. “I will come with you. Let us go to the market.”
“Thanks,” Rinala said, smiling at him. “That makes me feel better already.”
“See ye in three days!” Chuchupa said, and ran back out, looking for more vic- errr, co-conspir- errr… crew. Teammates. Whatever it was called in these parts.
Roughly two dozen adventurers and a dozen sky pirates met in the eastern Sea of Clouds three days later. Chuchupa had successfully pressganged all the Warriors of Light into coming, but there were some other familiar faces as well. “Tharash!” cried Yllamse upon seeing the Hyur. “You like books, right?”
The summoner closed his book, looked at her, and slowly pushed his glasses up his nose. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
“I’ve sent you another bookshelf,” she said, with an oblivious smile. Tharash facepalmed.
Doctor Naomi looked over at her, tucking blonde hair behind one of her white horns. “Are you all right?”
“Y-yeah,” Yllamse said, her smile faltering. “I’m fine. I’m good! I’m ready to punch things!” Naomi looked unconvinced, but went back to talking with Leofard.
And Khem, the Duskwight from the Northern Shroud came over. “Hola, my friends! Guten tag!”
“Khemmm!” Yllamse screamed, and gave him a quick hug. He took it with an awkward smile.
“How many languages do you speak, Khem?” asked Rinala.
Khem thought for a minute. “Three!”
“What’s wrong with the common tongue?” Chuchupa demanded.
Khem shrugged. “Nothing, it’s just the second one I learned. It is a pleasure to see you all again!”
“Likewise,” Tharash said.
“I need to know everyone’s names, combat strengths, and combat weaknesses,” Kekeniro was saying to a bunch of new people, including a young and nervous-looking Elezen man in heavy silver armour, a grouchy-looking redheaded Hyuran man who looked awfully like some kind of cultist, and a pink-haired Hyuran girl in an Ishgardian dress. “Oh, um, I’m Kekeniro, your tactician.”
“What about them, ain’t they new?” Chuchupa demanded, pointing at two more Hyuran men in armour, one with neat orange-red hair, the other with artfully tousled brown hair.
“They are my retainers,” Lilidi said with a sigh. “Kekeniro knows them well. They decided they couldn’t let me go off on yet another mission without them.”
“You must be my lady Chuchupa!” cried the one with brown hair, with a bow and a wink. “Truly, you are as fearsome as you are lovely. I am Cent, of the Green Lance! This is my boon companion, Kane of the Crimson Sword!”
“Do hold your tongue,” Kane scolded him. “Dame Chuchupa has no need of your nonsense – certainly not when you’ve a wife at home already.”
Chuchupa cracked her knuckles. “Aye, ye’d better not call me anything foolish. No dames or ladies, got it?”
“Yes, my la- ummm…” Cent thought for a minute. “Aye aye, captain?”
She cackled. “I like you! I won’t bust your kneecaps!”
“You are too kind,” Cent said with another low bow and a smile that said he didn’t really think she’d do it. She would! Just not if he behaved!
Rinala pushed past. “Oh! That’s Penelope! I met her when Ishgard was on fire and we were being medics together!” She approached the pink-haired woman. “Hello, how did you find out about this?”
“Hello again, Rinala!” Penelope said. “Well you see, I’m friends with Syndael-” she pointed to where the golden-haired Temple Knight was holding hands with a brown-haired Hyuran woman. “-and he’s dating Linnea, and she’s friends with someone named Naomi, who is friends with Leofard over there. It’s quite the chain!”
“It certainly is!” Rinala said. “Oh, wait, Linnea? I know her too, she helped us with the Crystal Tower!” And she ran off to greet her.
R’nyath laughed. “Rinala knows all the healers, huh? Technically I’m a healer too… I wish Hilda could be here, but she said she didn’t have time for a vacation, particularly a dangerous vacation. Ah well.”
“Linnea!” Rinala cried. “It’s good to see you again!”
“A-and you,” Linnea answered, smiling shyly. “I took your advice, Miss Rinala. I started learning conjury!”
“I can see that!” Rinala said. “Actually I think you were doing that when you came to help us defend Ishgard against that huge dragon on the Steps of Faith. Afterwards, when we were tending the injured together. Do you like it?”
“It’s a lot harder than thaumaturgy, but… yes, it’s a lot more satisfying. It’s harder, but I’m also better at it, if that makes sense?” Linnea looked up at Syndael.
“‘Tis a fact that we might not have met if not for your conjury,” Syndael said to her.
“Yes, how did a Temple Knight and an adventurer meet?” Rinala asked, eyes aglow with curiosity.
Linnea blushed. “He saved my life on the Steps of Faith, and he was so kind afterwards.”
“I only did my duty,” Syndael said. “But your sweetness opened my heart. And then, of course, Miss Rinala, we kept in touch by letter – out of friendliness at first, but soon it became something more – and met on the rare occasion that Ser Aymeric could spare me from the city.”
“That’s how he’s here now!” Linnea explained. “When he heard I was going to come on this trip, he asked special permission to come with me.”
“Oi, Achiyo!” Chuchupa yelled over the hubbub. “Are we splittin’ into three squads like we did last time we had a crew this large?”
“I don’t see why not,” Achiyo said. “I believe it makes it easier for Kekeniro, in several ways.” She looked out into the clouds, as if she’d be able to spot the ghost ship from where they stood. “I hope it is not as dangerous as the rumours say. As the Crystal Tower was.”
“Fear not,” said a new voice, and Achiyo and Chuchupa turned to see a familiar-looking dark-haired Raen mage, with a green-haired Miqo’te archer behind her like a bodyguard. “I am Meanna Tel’sirin, and my brother Florian and I will purge any darkness we find. As you, the Warriors of Light, do.” They had been at the Crystal Tower as well.
Achiyo nodded to her. “We all appreciate your aid.”
“As long as you keep that Sun Seeker away from Meanna,” Florian grumbled, gesturing at R’nyath.
“Oh, ye don’t have to worry about that,” Chuchupa said. “He’s got hisself a womanfriend, he’s settled right down.”
Meanna smiled. “Thank the gods.” Somewhere behind her, R’nyath looked offended.
Leofard, waiting by his tiny airship, whistled piercingly. “Are you just ’bout ready to go, adventurers?” he asked when the noise settled down.
Achiyo looked to Kekeniro. “Just about,” Kekeniro said. “Five more minutes, Achiyo?”
“Five more minutes,” Achiyo said to Leofard. “Kekeniro, I shall begin organizing everyone while you complete your tasks.”
“Yes, yes,” Kekeniro said, nodding, and handed her a slip of paper. “Here is your group, I’m still sorting out Vivienne and Chuchupa’s.”
With Utata’s ectocompass, Leofard led the pack of airships confidently into an area of thick cloud, far north of where anyone else had been. There were the small ships of the pirates, and a larger vessel carrying the adventurers. Flying on chocobo would have been too slow, and while Chuchupa wanted to fly her manacutter, there might not be a good place to set it down at their destination.
It was not long before it came within view – a huge, ominous, angular bark drifting through the clouds, emerging from layers like a hideous ribbed leviathan, lit from within by violet glows. It was festooned with spikes and irregular protrusions, and patterned with strange shapes that strongly resembled coffins. Monsters swarmed around it, and the pirates set to shooting those that flew around the hull’s exterior.
“That does not look Allagan at all,” Aentfryn said to Chuchupa.
“Well I di’n’t know,” she said. “What’s it look like, then?”
Selene bent down to chime in his ear. “Perhaps something from Mhach,” Aentfryn said.
Kekeniro shivered. “I don’t like the way it looks. Like it was made by something with tentacles.”
“Ew!” Rinala said, and several other adventurers echoed her.
“It seems like something we should not allow to linger,” Achiyo said. “While it may not have caused trouble for thousands of years, it does not seem beneficient either.”
“Great!” Chuchupa said. “For a moment there I thought ye were gonna suggest we leave again without fighting anything.”
“Or looking for valuables,” Naomi added.
“Okay,” Leofard’s voice came through the expedition’s linkshell. “We’ll keep an eye out here for monsters and that Radlia. Have at it when you’re ready!”
The adventurer’s vessel touched down on the top deck of the disturbing ship, and they stepped gingerly onto the heavily patterned surface. Looking around, Achiyo thought that while tentacles might have been the first thing to Kekeniro’s mind, bones was the first image that came to hers. An entire ship made of bones…
Not really, only the intricate patterns in the ancient metal suggested it to her. She looked down at Kekeniro beside her. “I suppose we should go straight ahead – unless you have sensed something else.”
Kekeniro nodded. “Straight ahead sounds good to me for now.”
“I’m doubting the structural integrity of this decking,” Tam said, giving the surface a bit of a stomp that sent vibrations through the group; Linnea squeaked. “Watch your step, all.” Their transport lifted off again; it would probably be safer for their pirate pilot to be in the air rather than waiting for them to return.
The safest path forward wound around gaps in the floor and fallen pieces of fuselage, dealing with a few flying monsters the pirates had not gotten yet, but even so Achiyo could not restrain a yelp as suddenly the floor gave way beneath her and she tumbled into a huge pipe – with such a wind through it that she was blown further down, tumbling head over armoured heels through bends in the pipe, eventually tossed out on a new level much lower down than she had been. She rolled to the side in case anyone else had been caught with her, and found herself gasping for air with fright, her sword and shield clenched in a white-knuckled death grip. It had been fortunate she had not cut herself while whirling about like that.
“Achiyo!” she heard very faintly over the rushing wind, and then in her linkpearl. A chorus of voices, resolving into Kekeniro’s as the others let him take over. “Achiyo, where are you?”
“I am all right,” she said back into her linkpearl, but she feared her voice trembled just a bit. “I was carried to a lower point. I will try to make my way back-”
“Too late!” Chuchupa exclaimed in a wobbly way, and a moment later the pink-haired Lalafell bounced out of the same opening Achiyo had. “That was fun! C’mon down everyone, but stow all the pointy objects first!”
Achiyo needed to sit down for a moment as the other adventurers came through one by one; that had been a bit too exciting and out of her control. Kekeniro saw this and assigned Vivienne and her group to take the lead. Everyone was just a bit more cautious as they set off again.
Doctor Naomi had been assigned to Achiyo’s group, and Achiyo found her fellow Raen hard on her heels, her eyes aglow with excitement. “Careful not to get ahead of me, Doctor. I must be able to defend you if anything jumps out at us.”
“Yes, yes,” Naomi said impatiently. “But I’m thinking if you’re looking for danger, you might miss any treasure. Not that that’s a bad thing, of course, if we’re all looking for treasure, then no one is left to- ahh!”
Something huge stirred ahead as they came into a large open space, and then lunged at them. Like the monsters they had seen flying around the outside of the ship, it looked like some kind of exotic wavekin, like a gnarled, deformed manta ray, but large as a small plaza, and it flew above them. It gurgled somewhere within its body and watery tornados spun from its opened maw at them.
“Scatter!” came Kekeniro’s call. “Melee, defend the ranged attackers! Keep an eye out for reinforcing monsters!”
Naomi recovered from being startled quite quickly. “What a majestic sky pancake. Does it just live here?”
“Pancake?” Achiyo ducked a blast of water and took another glance at the monster. It was rather flat, to be sure, flying above them in small circles.
“It must live here, where else could one store a creature of this size and not have anyone see it?” asked Lilidi, taking aim with her bow at something that might be an eye. “I want to know what it eats.”
“Lalafells,” said the redheaded Hyur with a deep voice, twirling his thaumaturge staff.
“That’s th’ oldest joke in the book,” Chuchupa retorted. “Though ‘twould be its last mistake if it et one of us! Right, Lilidi?”
“As happened with Cerberus,” Lilidi said, “and we did not need reminding of that event. I had considerably less fun than you did.”
“Look out, Khem!” Kekeniro called, and the… sky pancake bellyflopped towards the Duskwight, who giggled nervously and ran away before he was crushed under the creature’s bulk. “Tharash’s been hit, heals please Penelope! Achiyo, get its attention back!”
“Shield your eyes!” Achiyo cried and unleashed a Flash of light that brought the monster around to her again. It undulated swiftly towards her with a rush of wind and lightning.
The beast was terrifying, but it was not heavily armoured, and they managed to slay it without anyone being severely injured. “I’m remembering why I like joining these dramatic quests,” Khem said, prodding the dead pancake.
“So, Doc,” Chuchupa said as they continued on. “Ye know Leofard too, huh? Been meaning to ask how.”
Naomi shrugged cheerfully and gestured towards a red-haired Auri man further back in a stylish vest. “Pirates get around. My dear Crim wished to see more of the world than just La Noscea, and we eventually ended up out here. But yes, it’s surprising we haven’t run into each other before now, you and I!”
“Aye, I suppose the Sea of Clouds is real big,” Chuchupa said. “And Leofard don’t go near anything Ishgardian if he can help it, seems like.”
The corridor narrowed; white-violet lights glowed dimly overhead. One of them was flickering, as if its aether source was on the verge of expiring. Every surface was carven with disturbing shapes that were simultaneously sinuous and boney, dark and gleaming, creating the impression of petrified demons ready to break free.
The young Elezen knight, Constaint, pulled closer to Achiyo. “How brave you are to take the lead, Dame Achiyo! Is this place not terrifying simply to behold?”
She glanced back and up at him. He was not much more than a boy, really, and his armour was new. He seemed to be bracing himself against being attacked at any moment. With more experience, he would be steadier. “My responsibilities give me the strength to venture on.” She would not say aloud just how her stomach was twisting like the patterns on the walls, nor how the flickering light quickened her heart with nerves. It wasn’t just from her mishap earlier; the ship felt oppressive to the spirit.
“I don’t like it,” Linnea muttered, reaching out for Ser Syndael’s hand. “The Crystal Tower was far less creepy. The World of Darkness was less creepy.”
“I will defend you, fear not,” Syndael said to her, squeezing her hand.
“I do like it,” said the redheaded Hyur, and did not elaborate.
“Yeah, well, you’re a creep too, Reid,” Linnea said.
“Welcome to my dreams, kids,” Tam said sardonically, and Reid chuckled.
Crim, Naomi’s boyfriend, looked offended. “We are not children, thank you.”
“Don’t provoke him,” Vivienne told Crim.
“You do not really have dreams that look like this?” Achiyo asked Tam.
“Just joking,” Tam said.
“Why do I not believe you?” Yllamse said in innocent wonderment.
The ship may have looked like it was partially constructed, partially grown, before somehow turning to otherworldly metal, but there were currently things growing on it; things that took offence to their presence. After a couple more bouts with morbol-like creatures and a huge strange plant-beast combination, Achiyo let the group rest. Even if the rest of the ship’s inhabitants came to attack them, they would meet them no sooner than if they kept going; a rest would help everyone.
“Something is definitely wrong,” Tharash said as they sat about the strangely muddy room, eating and drinking a little. “Yllamse, you haven’t screamed in my ear about punching things even once since we landed. You’ve just punched them. What’s the matter?”
Yllamse fidgeted and looked away. “I… I don’t want to talk about it. A dear friend died and… it’s been hard to be cheerful since then. He was the most cheerful person himself, and…” She sniffled.
“I’m sorry,” Khem said. “It was that Ishgardian lord, was it not?”
The Warriors of Light all froze. “Lord Haurchefant?” Rinala asked timidly.
“Y-yes,” Yllamse said, her voice quavering. “I know it was a while ago but I can’t get over it.”
Rinala got up and went over to give her a hug, her own eyes damp. “I’m really sorry. We miss him too.”
“He was so kind to adventurers,” Yllamse said, hugging Rinala back. “I really admired him.”
“He was,” Rinala said. “He was always very kind to me.”
There was an awkward silence, broken by the sound of linkpearl alerts. “How’s it going?” Leofard’s voice echoed in everyone’s ear.
“We have made some progress, but we have not cleared the ship yet,” Achiyo said. “There seem to be many levels. We are taking a short rest. Is all well above?”
“Your escape route is secure,” Leofard assured them. “Couple of small devils tried to sneak up on us. Didn’t work too well for them. Stay safe.”
The adventurers packed up their things and continued on, through corridors lined with coffins now – until they came to a dead end in the bowels of the ship, a balcony overlooking a vast space. Filled with coffins. “I’m sensing a theme,” Reid said, pointing at them, and Vivienne snorted.
“If only we could fly,” R’nyath sighed, looking at Eos. She giggled at him.
Aentfryn had been inspecting the floor, and straightened up. “I think we shall. Urselmert, stand here.”
Vivienne glared at him. “Shan’t until you tell me why.”
“I believe this is a platform that will convey you through the air like to some of the Allagan contraptions within the first hulk of Bahamut,” Aentfryn said with long-suffering patience. “And I am not going first.”
“I’ll go!” Chuchupa said, jumping on the platform before Vivienne could make a move, and rings of aetherial light lit up in a pathway through the air as the Lalafell lifted off. “Oh, this is kinda slow, I was hopin’ to get launched.”
“This is not an efficient mode of conveyance,” Meanna objected. “Nor is it dignified.”
“Dignity is overrated,” R’nyath said, and she glared at him. “Hey, let’s have some fun on the spooky ghost ship, right?”
“I’m all right!” Chuchupa called from the platform up ahead. “C’mon over, there’s monsters afoot!”
Achiyo did find it more disconcerting than fun, at first, but they had to do it again and again, and it seemed that those who were reluctant, as she was, got more used to it, and those who wished indeed landed each jump with smiles and even laughter.
At least until the demon called Diabolos emerged from the shadows, growled threats at them, and flew away. “Not that guy!” Chuchupa groaned as she readied her axe to hit a voidsent knight about five times her height. “I thought we killed him a while back.”
“We had hit him pretty hard, but I thought he got away,” Tam said. “Why is your memory so short?”
“Hey, I remember lots of stuff! Just not every dang voidsent I punch in the mug.”
Past a corridor with the proportions of a coffin, in a chamber of deep shadow, they were met with the most horrific thing Achiyo had ever seen – a writhing pile of slimy fat tentacles, as tall as King Thordan had been and with gaping mouths full of teeth scattered randomly about its bulk. It stank of rot and decay, like a refuse heap in a swamp. It saw them and laughed to itself in anticipation, but it was waiting for them to come to it.
“Is that Ultros’s eldritch cousin?” Naomi quipped, and R’nyath laughed, but Achiyo did not know what they were talking about.
“A demon from the seventh hell,” Meanna said. “How do we destroy this abomination, tactician?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Kekeniro said, switching to Titan-egi. “Whenever you’re ready, Achiyo.”
Achiyo wanted a bath just for looking at the horrid thing. She didn’t think she was ever going to be ready for this. But she charged, about to throw her shield – and then thinking better of it and casting Flash instead. It wouldn’t do for the monster to seize her shield from her, or for it to simply lodge in the slimy flab instead of bouncing back like it was supposed to. The monster reeled from the light anyway, and she took its attention with her away from the others.
That didn’t help much, as it immediately began spewing bile from every orifice in every direction. Everyone began screaming, and the stench increased exponentially. Achiyo caught glimpses of their disarray; Ser Syndael trying to protect both Linnea and Penelope; both Cent and Kane getting in front of Lilidi, not seeing that she dodged around them to keep shooting her arrows; R’nyath running to the edge of the arena to vomit into the abyss with his tail at full fluff.
“Everyone, shut up!” Kekeniro bellowed over the chaos, the most blunt Achiyo had ever heard the soft-spoken man, and the noise dropped significantly, enough for the strategist to call out new orders at a reasonable volume.
But the creature continued to undulate, and flail, and disgorge putrid slime, even as it was blasted with fire and ice, Ruin and stone, from all sides. Blades and arrows cut into it easily but it did not seem to flinch. Vivienne took a blast of goop full in the face and had to turn away to scrape out her helmet’s visor, narrowly missing getting flattened by one of the larger tentacles. Then the thing began to call to the Void, summoning large slime monsters as if they didn’t have enough to deal with. It plucked one from the ground and dropped it into its largest mouth as if it were some sort of delicacy, then turned to another – that Chuchupa was fighting.
“Chuchupa!” Achiyo cried out, as both slime and Lalafell were grabbed and tossed into that gaping maw. There was no time to get her out again, only to kill the thing and hope that Chuchupa’s penchant for cutting her way out again held before she was suffocated, poisoned, or crushed.
“I hate this thinggg!” R’nyath yelled, swapping his bow for his rifle and aiming. The next thing Achiyo knew, the top had blown off the creature with a deafening bang and it settled, quivering, deflating slightly, to stillness.
Except for the lower front of the creature, which bulged and tore, and Chuchupa emerged, completely drenched in slime, grinning with her axe in hand. She spat out slime and wiped her face. “Say, Princess, got a hanky ye can spare?”
Achiyo checked her pockets but they, too, had been spattered. “I’m afraid not…”
“Rinala!” Vivienne barked. “Come here.” Rinala bounded over, looking anxious. “I need you to blast me with Fluid Aura right now.”
“Oh! Yes, I can do that.” Rinala lifted a hand and a relatively gentle spray of water hit Vivienne’s form. Linnea checked her staff and also began to wash off adventurers. Achiyo took a spray of water which did not clean all the slime from her armour, but greatly reduced it; her hair would need more attention later but she’d live for the time being. She hoped it didn’t mat up and solidify when it dried.
“That was… unpleasant,” Ser Syndael said mildly. “Does that sort of thing happen often in your adventures?”
Linnea shook her head vehemently as both she and Rinala together worked on cleaning up Chuchupa, who was dancing. “No, not even when we have fought other voidsent. That was… not normal.”
“And you two have to stop fussing,” Lilidi said to her retainers. “I’m a smaller target than you anyway, and if you jump in front of me like that, I might shoot you in the back!”
“Sorry, milady,” Cent said. “I’ll do my best not to hinder your glittering arrows or dazzling sword.”
Naomi was on her linkpearl with Leofard. “We’re still alive! Killed lots of things. Haven’t seen much in the way of treasure yet, the conventional kind anyway.”
“Never mind that, glad to hear you’re all still alive,” Leofard said. “Things seem to be quiet up here so I’m going to head in after you. Keep goin’!”
“We need to move on before more people lose their lunch,” Penelope said, glancing at Constaint and Florian, who both looked decidedly green.
“Then follow me,” Achiyo said, and turned to the aerial transport device.
Not too far forward they came to a great closed door, but it seemed to register their approach and ground open with a blast of cold air. They stepped into a chilled spherical chamber, lined with coffins as the rest, but these pulsed with a blue energy. And in the centre of the wall facing them was a coffin the size of a tower, chained with huge glowing scarlet chains; before it lurked a gangly creature that seemed built entirely out of blades, with also a pair of wings and a woman’s face. It scuttled.
The next thirty minutes were harrowing, and it wasn’t until the adventurer’s airship was safely headed back to Leofard’s hidden base that Achiyo felt like she could breathe properly. Even then she could not exactly relax, for there was the mysterious cat to deal with, and the threat of Radlia. The cat, Cait Sith, might have been a cartoonish parody of an actual cat, but she had no reason not to believe what it said about the voidsent on the ark.
The rest of the adventurers seemed to agree, and everyone pledged to return once further events had developed. Naomi was a little disappointed that they had not collected more in the way of conventional treasure, they had a little but not a lot; Kekeniro wanted to know if the Void Ark would continue to fly if all its voidsent were freed and slain; Cent had briefly been petrified to stone during the final battle and now Kane was fussing over him rather than Lilidi; Ser Syndael was already composing a report to his superiors. And Constaint pledged to follow Achiyo’s example, to be a peerless knight of Coerthas.
The Warriors of Light returned to Ishgard to rest after their ordeal; most of their companions, excepting of course Syndael and Penelope who also lived in the city, had gone elsewhere. Chuchupa turned to Achiyo as they stepped off their airship.
“Hey, ye ever think o’ gettin’ yer own place here?”
Was this more of the never-ending teasing? “No,” Achiyo said, a little more bluntly than she would normally.
It seemed that Chuchupa was being sincere for once. “Really? I’ve been thinking ’bout it a lot. We’ve been spendin’ a lot of time here, and the manor’s stately halls just ain’t my style. Sure, it’s free and I like that, but maybe I want to stay at the Forgotten Knight or someplace like that. Someplace where if I break things, I can actually afford to pay fer it.” She laced her tiny fingers behind her head, strutting along contemplatively.
“Oh, that’s a great idea!” R’nyath said. “Then I could be closer to Hilda!”
“Pipe down, smitten boy,” Chuchupa said. “I don’t wanna be closer to you.”
“I don’t know, I can’t see myself living here permanently,” Rinala said. “It’s too cold, even when it’s sunny out!”
“True,” Achiyo said. “I had not thought about it. But I feel I am still a target here. If that changes… Mayhap I will consider it further.”
“Thanks for coming,” Kekeniro said to Syndael and Penelope. “It was great to have you both. Take care!”
“You as well!” Penelope said, and Syndael bowed, and then the knight offered his arm to escort his friend to her home in the Brume.
“Well, since we are here, I suppose it’s easiest to stay at Fortemps Manor tonight,” Tam said. “Unless you already made arrangements at a tavern?”
“Nah, not yet,” Chuchupa said. “I bet the manor has way better stuff for cleaning gear, anyway.”
“True,” Vivienne said. “I’m going to be up past midnight cleaning gunk out of my armour anyway. So let’s get on with it.”
So the eight of them made their way to Fortemps Manor, where the guards ushered them inside with concern in their eyes to see the battered state they were in. Vivienne wouldn’t let anyone else touch her armour, but Achiyo was very glad to hand her gear over to a servant who assured her it would be spick and span by the morn. And a little bath – what would she have given for an onsen at that moment! But there were no onsen in Ishgard, and the nearest hot springs were malms away, and they didn’t have the amenities she was used to there anyway. So a sponge bath was all she could have, but even that made her feel much better and dispelled the last lingering stink of the voidsent.
After they had all eaten dinner together, with Alphinaud and the Count, she returned to the drawing room to see who of the others might wish to gather there, and found Artoirel gazing into the fire. Tam was in another corner, keeping to himself, and Emmanellain and Honoroit were in yet another corner, uncharacteristically silent. It was painfully awkward in the room, but when she entered, with most of the others trailing in behind her, Artoirel turned around and straightened up. “Ah, Lady Achiyo. I am glad you are here. I wished to speak with you and Master Tam.”
She looked at Tam. Was that why he was here when clearly he wanted to be anywhere else? “For what purpose, Lord Artoirel?”
He nodded to the Fortemps steward, who came forward from the doorway bearing shields with House Fortemps heraldry.
“Fit for true knights,” Artoirel said. “An expression of our gratitude to you and yours, long overdue. We had wished to give this to you sooner, but… then there was the primal. I would bestow these on Lady Achiyo and Master Tam, but truly you are all knights of House Fortemps now.”
The steward handed the first shield to Achiyo, and she accepted it with dignity. “It is an honour. Thank you.” Tam looked confused, and a little annoyed, but accepted his as well.
“And as knights of House Fortemps, you have the right to bear our crest, if it is your desire to do so,” Artoirel went on, gesturing to the remainder of the shields, and badges with the Fortemps unicorn emblazoned upon them. “…But there is something else I would discuss ere you part from us again. Something which cannot leave this room. My father will soon step down as head of our house. Ser Aymeric was not the only one to fall under suspicion following the death of the archbishop. There are some who believe my father complicit in a coup d’état. Thus he intends to renounce his title to absolve our house of suspicion and secure the support of our peers.”
“Surely there must be another way to convince Houses Durendaire and Dzemael?” Alphinaud cried.
Artoirel shrugged. “So I said to him. Alas, he will not budge.” He shrugged dismissively. “I shall do my duty, of course. I thank you for your attention.”
As the others began to talk amongst themselves, and Chuchupa and Vivienne relieved Achiyo of her new shield for further inspection, she drew closer to Artoirel. “Are you well? I know it is a shock that your father would step down so suddenly…” And to change leaders in this uncertain time… perhaps it was time for fresh blood, but Count Edmont had so many years of experience – well, he would be on hand for Artoirel to ask for advice, at least.
Artoirel paused and closed his eyes for a moment in introspection. “Ever since I was a child, I knew that I would one day succeed my father, and the thought of it filled me with pride. Yet once I learned the day was at hand, my heart was filled with naught but dread. Our legacy is built upon the lies of our forefathers. In accepting this title, am I not perpetuating this injustice? Why should I become the next count? Why should there be a Count Fortemps?”
Achiyo looked up at his stern face as he stared into the distance, into a future he could not yet believe in. Memories brushed past her, thoughts of men who now lay dead but who had believed in a future they could not see, and she murmured: “A knight lives to serve.” As Artoirel looked at her in surprise, she added: “I believe you are ready. Your very doubts prove you so.” He was, in his own way, just as idealistic as Aymeric; he would be a just and thoughtful leader among his people.
Artoirel smiled wistfully. “You sound just like him. Aye, I suspect that is what Haurchefant would have said. ‘To aid those in need…’ When you look on that shield, I trust you will remember his words. And should I once more find my resolve wavering, I ask that you show me the way.” He looked straight into her eyes. “You were like a sister to Haurchefant. Will you be a sister to me as well?”
Her mouth dropped open and she covered it involuntarily. She had not expected that! “I would be greatly honoured to be so.”
Artoirel smiled, then turned to Emmanellain with a gesture of determination. “Come, Emmanellain! There is much to be done. For Father, and for Ser Aymeric, and for Ishgard!”
Emmanellain was doing his own thousand-yalm stare – at the floor. When he realized Artoirel was speaking to him, he jumped, then once more looked down with a complex expression of shame, guilt, and anger. Without speaking, he turned and walked quickly from the room. Honoroit hurriedly bowed to them all and ran after him.
Artoirel shook his head. “To think we share the same blood. …Pray excuse us.”
“What’s that about?” Chuchupa demanded, coming back over with the shield. “Ye’re clear to use this, Achiyo. It’s combat-worthy. Needs some stronger enchantments to keep up with the one ye have already, but we can get that fixed up.”
“You should probably use it,” Vivienne told her. “It will give you a modicum of political protection for the time being.”
Tam came over as well. “I wish he hadn’t given me a shield. I understand, but I don’t want it.”
“You may pledge your lance to no one,” Achiyo told him, maybe a little on the stern side, but she softened. “But Haurchefant would have wished to see you part of his family. Mayhap one of the badges would serve you better…”
Tam rolled his eyes a little, doing calculations on his fingers, and hefted the shield onto his back. “The things I do for love.”
That stung her as insensitive. “You make too light of this gesture, Tam.”
Tam glared back at her. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I was speaking the truth in my own way. It’s not a meaningful gesture to me. It is to you, but that’s because Artoirel actually likes you and meant what he said to you. To me, he did it out of guilty obligation.” He turned and headed for the door.
She took a quiet breath, controlling her anger – and her sudden fear. Tam had come for their recent battles, but he had been erratic ever since Haurchefant’s death, even after Thordan’s defeat. She could not read him – how badly did he still hurt? Would he quit the Warriors of Light to make his own way in the world? When they first met he had said he preferred to work alone. Perhaps she should only be grateful that he had fought at their side for as long as he had. And though he was a stranger to this world, he certainly did not need them as much as they needed him.
Well. She would see what the morrow brought.