Training with Benefits

Melanie slowly opened her eyes with a pained groan.  Her neck and back felt a little sore from having slept on her stomach all night.  The heat was already starting to build up in the room which was filled with the spicy fragrances of Ul'dah's markets.  Slowly she pushed herself up onto her knees and blinked several times and looked down at herself.  She was back in her mi'qote body again and wearing the same clothes she had been wearing the night before.

Melanie began to think about the dream she had, or was it a dream?  It seemed far too real to have been a dream.  "I have to overcome my fears...hmm..." Melanie muttered to herself.  "And just how am I supposed to do that?!"  Melanie winced and raised her hand to her head as a headache spiked in her temples.  Grimacing she pushed the base of her palm against her temples until the pain started to subside.  "This...wasn't a dream" she said to herself as she recognised the signs of having just received a vision via the echo.  She started to laugh a little and then tears began to well up in her eyes.  "I have tried for years to overcome my fears.  I don't know if I can... there are so many, more than I can count.  But knowing you're being held against your will and that you cannot be freed until I have learned how to overcome them means I must try harder.  I will try, whatever it takes I will try.  I promise.  I will free you and our friends on the First."

Melanie clambered off the bed and began to collect her belongings from the floor where she dropped them that night.  Standing in front of a dresser she adjusted her hair and her clothes and left her room.

Just moments later she was at the top of the stairway leading down to The Quicksand.  This time Reubemont hadn't been waiting outside her room to help guide her down the stairs.  "I guess I made him feel uncomfortable last time."  Melanie let out a sigh.  Slowly she took a step forward followed by another.  Her knees started to tremble and her heart palpitate.  She pressed herself up against the side of the stairs and placed both hands against the wall to steady herself.  "Come on, one step at a time" she thought with determination.  She took in a few quick breaths and lowered her feet down to another step.  It was slow progress but with each step she noticed it was getting easier.

She was already halfway down when Reubemont saw her from one of the tables below.  "Brovola!  I forgot..." he gasped running towards the stairs.  Melanie quickly held an arm out in front of her in protest and he stopped at the bottom of the stairs and watched.  Taking a couple more quick breaths Melanie steadied herself against the wall again and proceeded to make her way down the remaining steps.  Reubemont smiled proudly to see her make it down by herself.  He held an arm out to her as she reached the final step and Melanie grabbed hold of it.  "I did it!" she exclaimed giddily.

"You did it!" Reubemont said with a smile.  "And by yourself!"

"I did..." Melanie said catching her breath and holding herself steady next to Reubemont.  Once she finally relaxed she then began to laugh.  Reubemont was glad to see her looking so happy especially after the events the day before.  "Full glad am I to see you smiling again" he said to her with a gentle smile.

Together they walked over to the table Reubemont had been sitting at.  The rest of the team hadn't yet arrived so it was just the 2 of them for now.  "Did you sleep ok?" Reubemont asked her.

"A bit rough" Melanie replied.  She was about to describe her dream when she remembered she wasn't to speak of her true identity.  "I slept a little odd and it's given me a bit of neck ache" she said.

"Oh?"  Reubemont looked over to the back of her shoulders.  He could see they looked a little swollen and started to reach over to them.  "May I?" he asked holding his hands back.  Melanie gave it momentary thought and then nodded her head, after all it was only a massage he was offering.  "What's the worst he could do, throttle me?"  Melanie started to moan a little as she felt Reubemonts fingers gently dig into her neck and shoulder muscles in slow circular movements.  It still hurt yet was also soothing at the same time.

"You call that a massage?" a loud voice spoke out from the other side of the room.  Melanie and Reubemont glanced over to see who was speaking out to them.  He was a tall and muscular hyur with short white hair and a very well trimmed beard and moustache.  On the middle of his forehead were 6 small gems arranged in 2 vertical lines.  His attire was very minimalistic down to a pair of white underpants, sandals and red tinted spectacles.  Despite his disturbing appearance there was something gentlemanly about him.

The loud and boisterous hyur suddenly appeared behind Melanie, he had moved so fast that she barely even saw his shadow move.  "Stand aside young boy, let a gentleman show you how to do a proper massage!" he said with a slight smile behind his bushy moustache.  Flamboyantly he whipped out a vial from goodness knows where although Melanie really didn't want to think too much about where he pulled it out from, and poured the contents of what looked like an oily substance onto his hands which carried a potent and floral scent unlike anything Melanie had come across before.  Rapidly rubbing his hands together he then clapped his hands onto Melanie's back and began to rub the oil over her neck and shoulders.

"Oh...ahh...ooh!" Melanie gasped loudly as she felt his fingers rapidly dance around her neck and shoulders and rubbing the massage oil deep into her tissue.  The pain was so intense and his hands seemed to be moving faster and faster.  A warmth began to burn into her shoulders and radiated down all the way down her back and arms.  "Woah...!" Melanie cried out as the gentleman relentlessly rubbed his hands deep into her skin that she could feel her eyes roll into the back of her head.  Despite how intense the massage was it felt extremely satisfying and within moments he had finished and her neck and shoulders felt like they had been renewed.

"Oh my goodness, that was amazing and the pain is gone!" she gasped.  She turned to face the gentleman with an amazed look on her face.  "Thank you so much..."

"Godbert's the name, and you needn't thank me my dear" he interrupted her.  "It is my pleasure to help a young woman like yourself in distress, however next time I will require a fee for the service."

"Of course" Melanie said with a nod.

"I best be on my way now.  Do take care of yourselves and when you have some free time feel free to pay a visit to the Gold Saucer.  The first game is on the house to all new visitors.  Maybe you'll be lucky and walk away with your pockets loaded with MGP."

"Thank you, Godbert.  We accept your invitation and will be certain to pay a visit" Reubemont said to him.  Godbert responsed by tapping the middle of his glasses with a finger and then proceeded to do a pose which accentuated his already bulging muscles through his coatee and grinned.  A sparkle of light was seen from behind his moustache and both Melanie and Reubemont could only stare agape in surprise.  As quickly as he had arrived Godbert had vanished from sight.

"What a strange man" Reubemont said in a bemused tone.

"Yes...a Manderville man" Melanie added.

"A what now?" Reubemont asked confused.

"Oh, never mind" Melanie waved a hand in front of her face shaking her head.  She then caught sight of their friends entering The Quicksand and waved over to them.  Reubemont turned around to see who she was waving to and welcomed his friends over.

"Wow, what is that fragrance?" Suyaya gasped as she breathed in the scent from the oil on Melanie's shoulders.

Johna and Holskwyb breathed in the air and gasped in amazement themselves.  "Oh wow, that smells incredible!" Johna exclaimed.

"Err, we had a gentleman by the name of Godbert offer Brovola a free massage" Reubemont replied.

"Oh, how very nice!" Suyaya said in a percussive voice.  She looked up at Melanie with a smile happy to see that her friend was no longer looking as sad as she did the night before.

"So, do we have any plans for today?" Holskwyb asked as she sat herself down at the table.

"I was thinking due to how we managed to handle Bockman that we should press on to more stronger prey, perhaps ones located over at Camp Drybone in Eastern Thanalan.  I believe this is now the season for culling the overpopulation of wild aldgoats which are both a source of food and leather to the locals.  We would be doing them both a favour in providing them with supplies and there would be a reward involved also."

"Hmm, training with benefits, I like the sound of that" Holskwyb said with a grin.

"That was my thought too" Reubemont smiled.  "Let us order breakfast and then we can be on our way."

The group continued to talk over breakfast discussing various other things.  Melanie was in deep thought over her encounter during the night and barely noticed she was being addressed.  All she could think about was how she was going to be able to overcome her fears.  Conquering the stairs to The Hourglass was one thing, but what about bridges, tall mountains, crevasses, flying airships and chocobos, spiders, monsters that would be twice her size and more?  In a video game where she was still safely in her chair it was one thing, but to be doing these in person was an entirely different ball game.

"Brovola?" Reubemont said looking at her.  Melanie suddenly snapped back to reality and look at him.

"Uh, yes?" she asked.

"Are you all right?  You seemed yalms away for a moment there" he said slightly concerned.

"Oh, yes I'm fine.  It's just..." Melanie tried to find an answer but nothing came to mind.  "I'm sorry, my mind wandered" she finally said.

Reubemont sighed with relief and smiled at her.  "I was just worried about you, that was all" he said.

Johna placed his knife and fork down on his now empty plate and pushed it from him and patted his belly.  "Nothing like a good hearty breakfast before going on an adventure."

"I take it we are all ready then?" Reubemont asked as he looked around the table of empty plates and cups.  Everyone nodded at him.  "Then let us be on our way.  To the chocobokeep, we can get there much sooner and start before any competition arrives."

"Oh, must it be chocobos?  All that bouncing around is going to make me throw up breakfast" Suyaya groaned.

"Would you rather walk?" Reubemont said looking down at her.  Suyaya let out a deep and long sigh.  "I guess not" she said dejectedly.

The chocobokeep was strategically located just opposite The Quicksand so that adventurers who stayed over at The Hourglass could immediately get about with their day right away.  Outside The Quicksand the group descended a small set of stone stairs and crossed the street where loud cooing noises could be heard.  A chocobo handler wearing a long yellow apron and a chocobo mask was sweeping away some of the hay that was scattered in the ground with a long broom.  On seeing the group approach he put aside his broom and greeted them.  "All of you here for a ride?" he asked cheerfully.  Reubemont nodded to him.  "Where are you all heading?"

"Camp Drybone, Eastern Thanalan" Reubemont stated.

"All right, help yourselves to a ride.  Remember one bird per person.  They haven't been flight trained yet but they should still get you to your destination just as swift."

Melanie breathed a sigh of relief at hearing they hadn't been flight trained yet.  The thoughts of riding on the back of one of these was scary enough.  They were the size of horses with thick muscular legs that looked like they could cause severe damage if they were to kick out.  Melanie approached one of the birds and gently stroked its neck.  Its feathers were soft and silky and the chocobo cooed gently at her touch.  "Is this your first time riding a chocobo?" the handler asked her.  Melanie nodded.  "Well sweetie there's not much to it.  With the new saddle design this should make it more easier to climb up.  All you do is put your left foot into the stirrup and place your hands onto the pommel here then pull yourself up and swing your other leg around."

"Like this?" Melanie grabbed onto the top of the leather saddle and began to hop herself onto it.

"That's right, just push yourself off the ground with your left foot and pull up using the pommel."

Melanie used all her strength to push herself off the ground and held tightly onto the saddle.  After a couple of attempts she pushed herself upwards and slumped over the back of the chocobo.  "Okay now, just hold on tight and swing the other leg around" the handler stood ready to catch her in case she fell back down again.  "Hnngh!"   Melanie pulled her body across the saddle and tried to drag her other leg across the chocobo's back to the other side.  This was way less easy than she thought it would be.  "Gyaah!!!"  Melanie dragged her right leg across to the other side of the saddle and was now able to sit herself upright.  It felt strange sitting on top of a giant bird and being high up made her feel very jumpy and nervous.

"You will get used to it eventually" Reubemont said to her as his chocobo gently trotted towards her.  "Be sure to hold onto the reigns and never let go of them."  The handler stepped back satisfied that Melanie was now safely in place.  All the other team members were mounted up and ready to move on.  "Kweh!" the chocobo cooed and started moving forward.

"Woah!" Melanie gulped and started to shake as she felt the chocobo moving.  Its powerful claws made a loud thumping noise as it walked across onto the cobbled street and turned around to one of the city's main entrances.  "Remember all you got to do is just dismount when you are finished with your journey and the chocobo will find its way back to us" the handler called out to them.

Thud!  Thud!  Thud!  Thud!

The noise became louder as the chocobo exited the city onto the dirt path outside and started to pick up pace.

"Oh my god...woah!!!"  Melanie leaned forward and held more tightly than ever onto both the reigns and the saddle as the chocobo began to swiftly accellerate.  She started to feel the wind against her face blowing her hair back from her shoulders.  The chocobo still continued to move faster.  Melanie could feel her breakfast being tossed around in her stomach that she thought she was going to throw up.  She wanted to scream out in fear but also in excitement and then she began to laugh  "I can't believe I'm riding this thing!  This is fun!"  Melanie thought to herself.  She gazed at how fast the world was moving past her as the chocobo pounded its way across the dry landscape at high velocity.

"Ha ha ha, woo!!!" Melanie shouted as the chocobo turned down a slope into a small shallow lake area and passing several large toads that were the size of cars.  Ahead in the far distance Melanie could see another landscape cluttered with large orange crystaline formations that curled unnaturally high into the sky as if they had burst from the land itself.  Chunks of land were caught in its structure with trees still growing on them.  It was another reminder of just how different this world was to her own.

The trail started to twist and turn towards a small outpost and the chocobo began to slow down.  The outpost was built into a wide crevasse near some rocky cliffs.  A tall aetheryte stood in the heart of the outpost barely visible from the ground.  Just above the outpost was a church-like building and a large graveyard.  Melanie could sense the smell of death, insence and embalming oils coming from the church.  A small number of hyur dressed in long white hooded robes slowly walked around the premises with their heads held low in respect and speaking out prayers for the dead.

Below in the crevasse more white hooded men and women walked among the few citizens that remained preaching their ways and offering aid to them.  One particularly loud roegadyn whose robes were heavily soiled and hidden behind a dark brown cowl was trying his hardest at convincing those who would listen that the calamity was divine judgment but nobody seemed to pay attention to him.

The chocobos came to a halt at a stable just outside of the outpost.  A handler wearing the same yellow attire and chocobo mask helped steady the chocobos as Melanie and her comrades climbed down from them and offered each chocobo a krakka root as a reward for their job before they turned around and sped back towards Ul'dah.

"I'll go check in with the locals and find out if they need any supplies" Reubemont said to his team before descending down the crevasse.  Melanie heard a noise behind her and turned around to see a caravan of roughened up adventurers solemnly carrying the body of a fallen comrade on a makeshift stretcher towards the graveyard.  The corpse had severe burns spread across the body and several holes had been burned through the armor.  "I told him to not to stare into its eyes" one of the adventurers who was following the caravan said outloud in a distressed voice.

Johna looked up at the caravan as they carried the body into the nearby church.  "No doubts fallen to Maahes" he said in a low voice.

"Of course!  They were the people we saw fighting from above" Melanie recalled.  "Is there nothing we can do to help?" she asked.

Johna shook his head.  "Nah, he's been long dead.  Any chance of reviving him was long gone and doesn't look like they had a healer with them."

Melanie looked down sadly.  She knew if this was still the game she could've taken down Maahes and nobody else would've died.  Perhaps if it wasn't for the training band suppressing her magic she could've taken down Maahes herself.  She looked down at the ring on her finger and gently ran a finger over its setting.  Her skill in magic mastery had improved since she was first made to wear it.  She began to wonder just how strong her magic would be now without the ring and then recalled the explosion that took place in the Thaumaturge's Guild.  "Yeah, I probably shouldn't take this ring off just yet."

Reubemont emerged from the crevasse.  "The locals aren't for want of any supplies, however they did mention that the Golden Bazaar further up north have been in need but they just haven't had the muscle to be able to set up any trade arrangements yet" he said to his comrades.  "I would say this is a good opportunity to cash in ourselves while we can."  He looked over beyond the crevasse to the rocky plains where several young aldgoats were roaming around.  "No other competition has arrived.  This is our lucky day!  Shall we begin?"

Everyone nodded in agreement and followed Reubemont around the crevasse to where the aldgoats were grazing on what little grass remained on the plains.  Seeing the small crowd approaching the aldgoats started to move around unsettled.  Melanie let out a gulp as she sized up the aldgoats.  She had forgotten how big they were.  They were as tall as horses and their overall size made her feel a little uncomfortable.  Reubemont drew out his sword and shield and lobbed his shield towards one of the aldgoats which bounced back to him like a boomerang.  Upon seeing one of the young being injured an older aldgoat roared and both began to charge towards Reubemont.  "That's right, come to pappa" Reubemont said under his breath posed ready to assault.  Melanie was already mid-casting a sleep spell on the older aldgoat and within seconds it had stopped in its tracks and closed its eyes into a deep slumber.  With the older aldgoat sleeping it made the battle so much easier.

Melanie was now getting used to using magic to strike down foes, however deep down she still couldn't help but feel that slowly burning and freezing a creature to its death was a barbaric way to do it.  By all logic a single deep slice with a sharp blade should result in a fatal cut without unnecessary prolonged suffering, but having been bruised a number of times herself she started to understand that life on Eorzea was far more tenacious than life on Earth and that aether was most likely the reason behind it.  Unlike soldiers on Earth who were trained to endure all kinds of conditions to survive, aether played a vital role in how much a person could withstand before succumbing to mortal blows.  As well as providing life and being able to be manipulated into powerful magics, aether acted both as a shield and an amplifer towards a persons' magical and physical strength and the more that person trained in combat the more potent it was.  This also explained the discrepency between adventurers and normal citizens who could easily fall to a simple knife wound.  It also explained why life on Eorzea was so very different to Earth and why every city was enclosed by protective walls to keep out the wildlife to protect its citizens.  If every encounter was like a slow battle to the death then this would make culling the wildlife to a more manageable population most difficult and thus was left to adventurers to provide the necessary muscle when it became too densely populated.

The day went by with very little fuss.  No other adventurers had come into the region so they were able to cull as many aldgoats with no interruptions.  Reubemont began tallying the amount of meat and undamaged hides and horns they had gathered.  "This looks plenty enough to feed and clothe an entire village for several days" he said with a satisfied smile.  "We should haul this back over to Camp Drybone."

As Reubemont began bagging up the spoils another group of adventurers were heading towards them and hailed as they approached.  "Well met fellow adventurers, I see you have a fine haul there" the leader of the group said as he eyed the collection of hides.  "Is there any left for us to profit from?"  The hyur leader wore a mixture of leathers and furs and carried a big heavy looking double-edged axe strapped to his back.  His large muscular body featured a thick red moustache and beard, unevenly cut red hair that reached down his back, and a deep scar across his left cheek and also on his chest.  The other members of his team comprised of what appeared to be a female lalafel arcanist with an emerald carbuncle companion, a female roegadyn pugilist, and a male elezen lancer.  "Afraid not, but you might find some further up north near the Highbridge as we haven't traveled that far yet" Reubemont replied.

"Suyaya, is that you?" the lalafel arcanist said as she squinted her eyes towards her.  Suyaya looked over and gasped in surprise.  "Memesi, it is you!" she said excitedly running towards the arcanist with her arms open wide embracing her in a hug.

"I see you're already well acquainted" the leader said as he stared in surprise at the two lalafels.

"Of course!  This is my sister Suyaya" Memesi said excitedly.  It was now that Melanie could see the resemblance.  Memesi had the same dark pink eyes and slightly raised ears as Suyaya, and she had long mint green hair that was braided at the back.

"I see" the leader said with a slight smile.  "Ah where are my manners!  Varin's the name" he said facing Reubemont and extending a hand out to him.  Reubemont now finished packing raised himself to his feet and took Varin's hand with a firm shake.  "Reubemont, well met" he replied.  "We have just finished up here so the area is all yours.  We already cleared up from here down towards Halatali and the areas far east and up north we left untouched.  We haven't seen any other competition since our arrival this morning so there should be plenty left over for the taking."

"Thanks for the advice" Varin said nodding slightly, then he twisted his head over his shoulder towards his team.  "You hear that?  There's still fightin' here to be done and the field is all ours!" he bellowed with a grin.  Memesi gave Suyaya a fond farewell as Varin led his team away northwards.

Reubemont picked up the satchel of spoils and swug it over his shoulder.  "That was a nice fellow" he said with a slight smile.  "Let us be on our way now though, the next group of adventurers we could bump into might not be so friendly."

As they headed towards Camp Drybone on foot Melanie ran up to Suyaya.  "You didn't mention having a sister" she said to her.

"I have two sisters, and three brothers" Suyaya replied.  "Only us two took to adventuring whilst my remaining siblings took to either farming or studying in Sharlayan.  We don't often see each other, that is the ones who are studying.  Sharlayan isn't one for opening its doors to random visitors even if they are family."  Suyaya tilted her head up to look at Melanie.  "What about you, do you have many siblings?"  Melanie began to stammer for a moment.

"How do I answer this?  In sunseeker society it's known that a single Nuhn will produce many offspring, hence I would have several siblings, but I don't even have parents on Eorzea let alone siblings.  If I answer no that would come across strange as it should be expected I'd have many siblings, but if I answer yes then by what number do I invent?  And what happens when we one day stumble upon the M tribe themselves, then how do I explain how none of them know me?"

Melanie tried to think of an answer and then had a eureka moment.

She looked down at Suyaya.  "Actually I don't know the answer.  Ever since the calamity I've had memory blocks of where I originally came from.  All I remembered was my name.  When I asked the M tribe leader he too had never heard of my parents and since he'd declared himself as the sole breeder of his tribe he assumed that my parents must've been from a band of mi'qote that went rogue some many years before the calamity and established their own tribe in deep hiding.  It's possible that I might even be the only survivor."

"Oh, that's sad" Suyaya said as her face curled into a sad frown.  "So you don't remember anything since before the calamity?"

"Yes and also for up to 5 years after the calamity, it's all a complete block."

Suyaya shook her head in despair.  "It's so sad.  Many Gridanians also have memory blocks of the calamity, mostly to do with the Warriors of Light who were said to be around at the time.  None can remember their faces or even recall their names, yet they remember their shadows and their presence.  Some believe that the present Warrior of Light may have once walked among them although she never declared herself as one."  She then looked up eyes wide as if realising something important then gazed up at Melanie.  "Perhaps you too once walked among them!  That could explain why you have no memories and how you already have the gift of the echo."

Melanie looked at her startled and started to panic a little.  "Uh oh, that was a bad choice coming up with that excuse...although maybe I could work with this."  She smiled awkwardly and shrugged her shoulders.  "Perhaps" she said.

The group finally arrived at the dirt trail that led down to Camp Drybone and followed Reubemont towards the market stalls that were housed on the perimeter of the camp.  He approached a large tent where a lalafel in traders' clothing was stood behind a small wooden table and surrounded by barrels containing hand-woven rugs.  Reubemont slid the satchel from his shoulders and opened it up revealing all the spoils they had gathered that day.  The trader eagerly hopped from behind the table to get a closer look.  "Let's see here...these are some fine hides and horns you have, and those meats look to be of good quality too.  I'm sure the people of the Golden Bazaar will be quite happy to accept those rather than yet more red and green lentils" he said as he shifted his eyes towards the roegadyn trader next to him who was sitting behind a stall with several bags and bowls full to the brim of lentils.

"Hey!  It's the only decent thing that grows here!" the roegadyn shouted back.

"Oh yeah?  Then how do you explain the girl at front with an entire garden salad on display?" the lalafel motioned towards a stall just around the corner that was twice the size as the roe's and hosted a fine display of varying fruits and vegetables.

"Bah, she got lucky!" the roe said folding his arms and sulking.

"It's not luck you dodo head!  She is far more skilled in foraging and knows where to find such succulence rather than depending on spending her entire day staring at a single crop field.  You would do well to learn from her if you want more than just lentils on your plate!"

The lalafel then coughed gently and turned his attention back to Reubemont.  "I can't offer you nearly as much for this as a city market would, you are aware of this right?"

Reubemont nodded his head.  "As I understand the people here need wares to trade, without such wares the camp won't be able to survive.  We were mostly here just to train but we are willing to part with the spoils at a lower profit if it will help the camp to stay afloat."

The lalafel nodded and glanced once more at the spoils.  "I can only offer 500 gil for the entire lot.  It's all we can really afford.  I know you can get thrice the amount for half the spoils but we really are on a very tight budget."  The lalafel looked at Reubemont's face which expressed a slight disappointment and let out a sigh.  "Tell you what, how about I take half the product and give you 300 gil for it?  You can market the rest at the city.  It would still be more than enough we need to establish trades over at the Golden Bazaar with."

Reubemont shook his head as he refilled the satchel and placed it into the lalafel's hands.  "It is fine.  I will accept 500 gil.  If we want more we can always return to the flock once the numbers start becoming unmanageable again."

"You are a good gentleman" the lalafel said accepting the satchel and placing it behind the table.  He then pulled out a small purse that was tied to his belt and started to count out the gil in his hands.  "That's 500 gil" he said, then he reached below the table and pulled out a dozen hides from the satchel and placed them in front of him with the gil and pushed it towards Reubemont.  "Please, I insist" he said with a smile.  Reubemont nodded thankfully and carefully bagged the hides into his own personal bags then picked up the gil.  "A pleasure doing business with you" he said.  He then turned to his group and began counting the gil.  "500, that's 100 gil each" he said as he divided the gil between his comrades.

"Hmm, not much, but I guess it's enough to buy a new pair of blades" Holskwyb said as she pocketted the gil.  "Any chance this small village sells any weaponry?"

Reubemont pointed to a large building nearby.  "That place next to us had a few on display although nothing that looked that much better than what we already have."

"Hmph, I'll go take a look anyways" Holskwyb said as she turned towards the building.  Johna followed her inside leaving Reubemont with Suyaya and Melanie.

Suddenly a man wearing a mixture of dark and blue scale armor and a silvery plate helmet raced into the camp and on the brink of collapsing beckoned towards Reubemont.  "Th...thank the gods you're here!" he gasped pulling the helmet off his head and then balancing himself on his knees trying to catch his breath.

"What is wrong?  Is everything all right?" Reubemont asked with a worried look on his face.

"Halatali...is...danger..." the man's eyes started to roll around and his body began to go limp.  Reubemont caught hold of him before he crashed to the ground and dragged his body over to a shaded part of the wall and propped him up against it.  He looked around to the nearby traders who were looking worriedly at what was going on.  "Water!  Hurry!  Fetch me some water!" he called out to them.  The lalafel trader quickly rummaged below his table and then leaping over the table raced across to Reubemont with a bottle full of water.  Reubemont held the bottle to the man's lips and poured some of the liquid into his mouth.  The man coughed as he tried to swallow the water and then started to take some deep breaths as his eyes finally rolled back into place.

"Now, what was it you was saying about Halatali?" Reubemont asked gently.  Johna and Holskwyb emerged from the building and rejoined their comrades looking confused at all the commotion.

"A fresh new group of adventurers barged their way into Halatali.  We had established a series of new trials intended only for more seasoned adventurers, but they were stubborn demanding we gave them access and forced their way in.  Not long after our own men spilled out from inside stating that several beasts that had been trapped deep inside the walls had somehow found a way through them and began a rampage.  The adventurers were nowhere to be seen, presumed dead, along with some of my own men.  We tried to retake the chambers but we were vastly outnumbered.  I beseech you, adventurers, help find my men and bring them safely back out."

Reubemont stood up and for a few moments was in deep thought.  Melanie looked down at the exhausted man and started to feel a pain in the side of her head.  Reubemont also groaned outloud pressing his hand against his head.  Their vision started to cloud and warp until they were stood outside of Halatali.  Outside the entrance of the dungeon was the man facing a small group of adventurers who were looking very impatient.  "We said we're ready!  I don't care if you think we're not strong enough!" the leader of the group said swinging his weight around in front of the man.

"I already stated I cannot let you inside!" the man said.  "No unlicensed adventurers can enter the building without proper authorization."

"I don't believe this...stand aside!" the burly adventurer pushed himself up against the man knocking him off balance.

"What the...hey wait, you can't go in there!" the man shouted as he tried one to wrestle with the adventurer.

"Grr!" the adventurer wrestled and pushed the man so hard that he fell and crashed against the walls outside the dungeon.  "Puny soldier!" he scoffed then waved the rest of his team to follow him into the dungeon.

The scene then changed to maybe an hour later when several armor-clad men clambered their way out of the dungeon dragging wounded with them.

"It's gone crazy in there!" one of them gasped.  "Monsters just poured out of the walls from nowhere!  Some of our men are still trapped inside.  We need help!  Call for anyone who'll listen, I don't care if they're licensed or not, we must reclaim Halatali!"

The scene then faded away and both Melanie and Reubemont were back in Camp Drybone, their heads slowly recovering.  Shaking his head Reubemont looked at his team who were expressing concerned looks.  "We have to help them, but I don't know if we are strong enough" he said as he went back into thought.  Melanie started to scour her thoughts trying to think of a solution to the situation.  In the game Halatali was designed for people who were barely that much stronger than they currently were, but the more harder version was designed for much higher levels.  As much as she wanted to help she couldn't help but feel this was beyond their capabilities.  Reubemont turned towards her.  "What do you think?  Does your gift give you any insight to whether we can succeed if we were to engage whatever's in there?"

Melanie shook her head.  "I don't think we're strong enough" she replied.

Reubemont looked down for a moment and sighed.  "We should head back to Ul'dah and send in word, see if we can find some others who are willing and able to persue this."

The man reached up and grabbed hold Reubemont's arm startling him.  "You must hurry!" he gasped.  Reubemont nodded and the man let go of him.

"I'll use a teleport so I can get there faster.  We can regroup at The Quicksand once everyone's arrived."  Reubemont stepped aside and pulled a small glowing crystal shaped like a tiny aetheryte from his pockets and held it close to his chest and started to concentrate.  A blue light started to whirl around his body causing him to levitate above the ground.  His aether began to thin and within moments he disappeared from view.

"Let's head to the chocobokeep" Suyaya stated.  The group hurriedly scaled the ramp leading up and out of the crevasse and towards the small chocobo stable sat above the camp.  "To Ul'dah!" Suyaya said quickly as the handler passed her a smaller chocobo to ride on.  Suyaya quickly handed a small handful of gil to the handler then with a gentle tap of her feet the chocobo immediately started to move and pick up pace.  Melanie dropped a small handful of gil into the handler's hands then hoisted herself up onto her chocobo's back and gave a gentle tap with her feet.  The chocobo responded by moving onto the dirt track and began to swiftly pick up speed.  Melanie held on tightly as before and within moments the entire group were zooming across the landscape back towards Ul'dah.

Encouragement Where It's Needed

Outside the Fragrant Chamber, Reubemont was quietly pacing on the spot wondering about his friend.  This meeting was extraordinary, nothing about the way it went seemed to make any sense.  Normally he'd be marched straight to his superiors, reprimanded for his actions and made to scrub stalls for a month.  And what did the Sultana want to discuss with D'brovola?  Such questions circled in his head but no matter how he tried to make sense of it all the more it left him feeling confused.

The tall doors to the chamber opened and Melanie walked out looking none the worse for wear.  Reubemont breathed a sigh of relief to see his friend once more.  "Brovola, is everything all right?" he asked her calmly.  Melanie nodded as she began making her way down the long staired hallway.  "What was all that about in there?  Something's not quiet right, that meeting made no sense at all."

"What do you mean?" Melanie asked without stopping trying not to answer him.  Reubemont quickly stepped in front of her halting her steps.  "What, you don't think it was strange that the Sultana herself wanted to question us?  Don't say you don't think that wasn't strange, and add to the matter that we got away with it so lightly.  And what did she want from you?"

Melanie let out a sigh.  "What do I say to him?  I need to think of something."  Melanie tried to come up with an excuse that was plausible enough that Reubemont would just let it go.  She looked up into Reubemont's eyes hoping to put on a believable show.  "She just wanted to know how I was getting along with my training" Melanie replied.

Reubemont blinked his eyes in disbelief.  "She wanted to know about her training?  Why has she never taken an interest in my training?"  Melanie stepped around Reubemont and continued walking towards the Royal Promenade.  Reubemont was still stood where he was looking more confused than ever.  "That can't be the reason she wanted to see her privately."  Quickly he turned around and chased after Melanie before he lost sight of her.  "I understand if you don't want to answer truthfully, and I'll respect your privacy and question no further.  You are certainly a woman of mystery" he said to her.

Melanie stopped in her tracks.  "I should've known that would never have been believable" she thought to herself.  She felt a little guilty that she couldn't really be honest about herself to him, after all he did help her many times already in the short time they'd known each other.  She tried to swallow away her guilt which felt like a huge pill stuck in her throat.  "Thank you for understanding" she said quietly.

"Reubemont!  Brovola!" Suyaya's voice called out to them across the promenade along with Johna and Holskwyb waving them over.

"My friends, full glad am I to see you again" Reubemont exclaimed excitedly as they rejoined together.

"It is ever so strange.  We were released and told we were free to go, no punishment or anything, except we were told Gridania is currently off-limits for the time being" Holskwyb said.

"Well for you it is, it's currently closed off for all non-citizens which means that me and Johna can return at any time" Suyaya said with her hands on her hips doing a cocky little dance on the spot.  "Although I am not sure we would want to go back there right away.  Perhaps we should wait a day or two so we can check in with our mentors.  It will give us a chance to get some insight into what is really happening over there after our departure."

"Agreed" Johna replied, "I am not so sure I want to face my mentors just yet."

"Then it is settled.  Let us remain in Ul'dah for a couple of days.  We can use this time to do some more training outside" Reubemont replied with a little optimism in his voice.

Suyaya glanced over at Melanie noticing that she was quiet and looking a little sad.  Melanie couldn't help but think about what had happened over in Gridania and about lying to Reubemont.  She also couldn't stop seeing the face of the two sisters who were failed by the Gridanians and condemned to live and die as outlaws.

"Chin up sweetie" Suyaya said to her with a smile.  "It will be all right, you will see."

Melanie looked surprised at Suyaya and closed her eyes still feeling a little despaired.  "I hope so" she said clutching at her chest.

Suyaya knew her words barely touched Melanie at that moment but she was hopeful that she might feel some amount of comfort and be able to rest easier.

"Tomorrow morning we should reconvene at The Quicksand as usual and plan our day ahead.  In the meantime let us take some rest while we can and try and clear our heads" Reubemont said in a slightly more confident voice.  Everyone nodded in agreement.  He then turned to Melanie.  "Will you be all right?" he asked her calmly.

"Yes, I think I'll be fine after I've taken some rest" Melanie replied with a nod.

"Very well.  I shall see you tomorrow.  In the meantime if you want to talk about anything or just want some company you can always contact me via linkpearl."

The group began to disperse and Melanie was once more alone.  She looked around hoping to find something to distract her so she wouldn't let her worries overcome her or cause her to have an emotional breakdown in public, however it was now dark and most people had turned in for the night.  "I need to get away from here" she thought to herself and began to head towards The Hourglass so she could book herself in.

Once she was booked in Melanie immediately headed to her room.  As soon as she was all alone she dropped her satchel on the floor, unbuckled her weapons and let them fall to the floor and then stared at the bed.  Her body started to feel very heavy as she slumped towards the bed and collapsed face down.  "I am such a failure!" she began to sob.  "All I do is cause trouble wherever I go.  What am I even doing here?!"

Melanie began to think about her home world and started to feel homesick.  How simple this would be if she could just log out and return back to her normal life and no longer worry about the consequences.  She started to miss seeing Tony's face even though they rarely spoke to each other anymore.  He might even for once offer her a hug seeing her in such distress.  She missed her old bed, she missed her online friends in the game, and she missed watching Netflix and Youtube.  There was nothing here on this world to take her mind off her worries save drinking, studying and fighting monsters.  There was nobody she could really confide in except maybe Tataru but she was all the way out in Mor Dhona.

Feeling helpless Melanie buried her face deep into the sheets.  Perhaps if she fell asleep like this she would suffocate in her sleep and put this world out of its misery before she caused even more trouble.  She started to feel sleepy and within moments began to slip away into a deep sleep.

---

Come and find me.

Melanie found herself walking in a large and empty white space.  "Did I die in my sleep?  Is this what it is to die?" she questioned herself.  She caught sight of her belly sticking out in front of her and gasped in a panic.  Her cat ears and tail were also gone and her hair was now a long dark brown with smaller ears at the sides of her head.  Familiar moles on her arms confirmed her suspicions.  She was her human self again.

Melanie then noticed she wasn't alone.  Another person was sat on a small wooden chair ahead of her.  She was a mi'qote with the same pink hair and style Melanie had when she arrived on the First.  Melanie was surprised to see her as there was nobody else there just seconds ago.

"Hello?" Melanie called out to the mi'qote but she was too far away to hear her.  Melanie walked towards the mi'qote.  "Excuse me, can you hear me?  Where are we?" Melanie said as she approached her.  The pink haired mi'qote raised herself from her chair and turned to face Melanie.  Melanie double stepped backwards almost tripping over her own feet with a gasp.  The mi'qote was exactly the same as her Final Fantasy character.  "What the... who are you?" Melanie stammered.

The pink haired mi'qote closed her eyes and giggled a little then opened them again.  "That is an interesting question.  Although I had no name to begin with you named me M'leineya" the mi'qote replied.

Melanie's heart began to palpitate and she began to struggle to breathe.  "How..." she stammered again.  "How is this possible?  What's happening?"

The pink haired mi'qote closed her eyes momentarily again and smiled gently.  "I have been trying so hard to reach out to you.  Please, take a seat so we can talk.  I have eagerly awaited meeting you face to face."  She gestured towards a chair that was now behind Melanie.  Melanie turned around and looked startled to see the chair just materialize from nowhere.  M'leineya pulled her chair up towards her and sat down in front of Melanie.

Melanie nervously took her seat and glanced around her surroundings.  Nothing else had changed, it was still white as far as the eye could see.  "Where are we?" she asked.

"This is a very special place, one where our minds can interconnect so we can both communicate" M'leineya replied.

"Okay...so, what is happening?  How come you're here?  I mean, didn't I create you?" Melanie asked her nervously.

"No, I have always been here" M'leineya replied.

"Where's here, in my head?  I mean, your head?"

"Not exactly.  My soul is being held prisoner in a dimension outside of yours.  I can see what you see, hear what you hear, and as of recently I can sense what you think and feel and I can project my thoughts to you although with great difficulty, but beyond these there is little else I can do."

Melanie stopped panicking for a moment as she heard M'leineya mention being a captive.  "You're a prisoner?  Is there anything I can do to help and free you?"

M'leineya shook her head sadly.  "I have been separated from my body for so long that I am no longer able to reclaim it as my own.  Were by any chance you were to find me and free me my soul would dissipate and return to the aetherial sea."

"But aren't you here now?" Melanie looked puzzled.

"No, this is just a place where both our thoughts are able to reach out to one another.  You are still in your bed sleeping while I am held in shackles far above our star in a realm shrouded by darkness."

Melanie started to feel sorrow and guilt.  She was pretty certain she was the reason why M'leineya was being held a prisoner.  "A realm shrouded by darkness...this sounds like the Ascian plane."

"How did all of this happen?  Perhaps I can stop them from doing it to someone else."

"From what I remember I was speaking to Hydaelyn when she warned me of a darkness that was approaching.  I saw a light and I was being drawn to it, and then a dark hooded figure stood in my way and blocked my path.  He struck me down and bound me in arcane chains, the same ones that hold me now.  I will never forget his words to me, "I know who and what you are.  This time you will not get in the way of our plans."  I was then pulled away and cast into the darkness and made to watch my life played for me.  At first I thought he had possessed my body and was using me to commit dark deeds, but then I saw myself helping others instead and I immediately knew it was not him.  This was confirmed when he made himself known to you and fought against you, and with that I learned of his name - Lahabrea."

Melanie gasped, her jaw agape and her eyes wide open.  "But Lahabrea was defeated a long time ago by my hands!  I mean, your hands!  Ugh... never mind.  Wasn't this enough to free you from his spell?"

M'leineya shook her head sadly.  Melanie sat back in her chair trying to catch her breath again.  "Then what happens from here?  Is there no way you can reclaim your body?"

M'leineya sat silently for a moment looking straight at Melanie.  "If there was a way I could reclaim my body for myself it would be at the cost of your own soul.  I could not and would not do that even if such a thing were possible.  However there is something else I could do now that Lahabrea is no longer able to further shackle me that would benefit us both."

"Then why not do it?" Melanie exclaimed with her palms held outward.  "You have my permission.  I don't care what happens to me, it's your body not mine.  Do whatever it is you need to do!  The realm needs you back, all I'm doing is screwing things up."

M'leineya quickly shook her head.

"Why not?!" Melanie gasped exasperated.

"Because to do so would require a great sacrifice" M'leinya replied.  "Besides there is something I want you to do first for me."

"Well, name it then!"

"I want you to show me your strength.  Show me you can fight and overcome your fears.  Once you have shown this to me then you will be ready for my proposal."

Melanie sat back in her chair again with a look of disbelief on her face.  "So that's it, you're giving me a quest to do before you'll do anything to help yourself or your people just like an NPC?"

"No, that is not what I mean..."

"Well that's what it sounds like to me!" Melanie leaned forward hissing exhasperatedly.

"I only have one shot at this and there would be no going back for either of us!  We need to both be in sync with each other but as you are currently you are not strong enough in both mind and body and to act now would be a waste."

Melanie slumped backwards into her chair again feeling defeated.  "You know how I feel about myself.  I have no confidence.  Everyone is relying on me to become this great hero but no matter what I do things go to shit.  Look at what I started in Gridania!  And as for my fears I've had these all my life.  I can't just switch them off like a light switch."

"This is why you will need to work hard to overcome them" M'leineya replied leaning foward to her.  "With the help of your friends you will grow stronger and more confident in yourself.  You will be able to face your fears and cast them aside.  You will stumble on the way and not always make the right decisions, but people will still stand with you because they are drawn to the light that is within you.  I know how good your heart is and how much you desire to do what is right.  I know how much you love this world and its people and will do anything to protect it.  You can do this.  I know you can.  And as for Gridania I would not be so quick to judge that things are not going to turn out well there."

"How would you know that?" Melanie asked puzzled.

M'leineya leaned back in her seat, raised a hand to her face and chuckled.  "Because I would have done the same thing myself" she replied.

Big Trouble Little Gridania

The Carline Canopy was almost empty by the time Melanie and her comrades arrived back in Gridania with news that a new group of adventurers had disposed of the Bockman threat.  They hadn't spoken since leaving Tam-Tara and even now they were sat around a table silently staring into tankards of mead.  Neither of them felt comfortable about what happened at the tower.  Melanie felt she needed to break the ice but she had no words to offer.  Only Reubemont knew exactly what she saw in her vision and would truthfully understand.

Holskwyb finally had enough of the silence and slammed her hands down onto the table.  "Listen, I know what we saw today was a shock for all of us.  Perhaps we've forgotten that we're all adventurers and this is just merely the beginning of what's still to come.  We won't be fighting monsters all the time, there will be times we must draw swords against other people."

Reubemont sighed and lowered his gaze further.  "It's not just about her death.  What I saw, what both me and Brovola saw, was something much deeper.  She and her sister no doubts hoped for a life here and instead they were treated like dirt and made to feel unwelcome.  They were driven to become outlaws in order to survive, and when her sister was killed by the same people who abused them she sought revenge.  I do not condone what she did however, but I do not also condone the actions of the people here before they became outlaws."

Johna felt a shudder through his body and moved around shiftly in his seat.  "I noticed an imbalance among the citizens, especially those who aren't native to the city" he said.  "Since my coming here trying to find work was very difficult, if not impossible, and the attitudes of the natives were rather hostile.  In the end I turned to adventuring as a source of income and even then trying to find work as an adventurer wasn't easy.  One really has to work hard to get treated decently.  I also noticed that certain races get even far worse treatment, especially those of the duskwight tribe and the keepers of the moon."

"I too noticed the imbalance" Suyaya added.  "Whilst I am a born citizen of Gridania other people who are not Gridanian natives struggle.  It is little wonder many have turned to adventuring to try to make a living whilst others have left to other cities.  The levels of snobbery here have no bounds when it comes to outsiders."

Reubemont continued to brood until he heard a familiar voice behind him.  Melanie's ears pricked up upon hearing the same voice.  "Word is they downed another one of those Coeurlclaws over at Galvanth's Spire.  What's more she was posing as one of us!  At least now that's one less of those little whores scurrying around our woods" he gloated to his partner who laughed along with him.  "That's the same voice from my vision!" Melanie thought to herself.  She looked across at Reubemont who was looking directly at her and giving her a very slow and stern nod.  Melanie looked straight into his eyes and slowly nodded in response.  Together they slowly rose from their seats with weapons drawn and walked over to two elezen men dressed in wood wailer clothes settling down at a table with a couple of tankards of ale whilst their friends looked on confused.

"What's happening?" Suyaya asked the others as they watched Reubemont and Melanie walk away.

"I don't know but I smell trouble" Holskwyb muttered as she took a sip from her tankard, her eyes following Reubemont and watching his every move.

As he approached the table the elezen men stopped laughing and looked up at Reubemont with a disgusted look.  "Ugh, what do you want?" the loud one asked.  Reubemont swiftly slammed the elezen's head down onto the table.  Before the other could respond Melanie was already mid-casting a sleep spell.  "How about you take a nice nap" she said as the spell worked its magic causing him to slump into his chair and fall asleep.

"What is the meaning of this?  How dare you!" the elezen man yelled angrily.

"That whore you was just talking about was driven by you and your partner into becoming outlaws.  Perhaps you will remember those two miqo'te that you pushed aside in the streets who were begging for mercy where you showed none.  Because of your heartless actions both of them are now dead!" Reubemont growled in a low voice.

"Wha???  Oh yeah, I remember those two" the elezen man said grinning under the weight of Reubemont's hand who was holding his head down on the table.  "What, do you expect me to feel sorry and beg for forgiveness?  Like I care about a pair of outsider scum!"

Reubemont raged, dragging the elezen from his seat and tossing him across the room causing tables and chairs to scatter.  People started to gasp and panic as they watched the scene unfold.  The elezen slammed against a wall with a loud crunching sound and collapsed onto the ground groaning.  He slowly rolled over to look up at Reubemont still grinning with blood-stained teeth.  "You'll regret assaulting a member of the wood wailers, immigrant pig!" he shouted as he defiantly spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor.

Melanie's ears pricked up as she could hear the sounds of more men hurrying towards the canopy.  Down below she also heard the sounds of propellors as an airship was docking in at the landing.  Quickly she pulled onto Reubemont's arm.  "More people are coming, we have to leave!  We can take the airship out of here" she said in a desperate voice.  Reubemont glared angrily at the elezen wood wailer.  "You forget that you too are elezen like me.  To think you are one of my own flesh and blood makes me want to throw up in disgust" he said before turning around and following Melanie towards the stairs leading down to the airship dock.  The rest of their friends quickly downed their ale and grabbed their belongings and followed.

As they approached the stairs Melanie hesitated until Reubemont was in front of her.  She could hear the voices of more men getting closer to the canopy.  The fear of being caught overpowered her anxiety and as quick as she could she began to descend the stairs.  Reubemont was already at the bottom and had bought several tickets from the ticketeer.  As soon as Melanie and their friends reached the gate he ushered them through to the airship which was waiting outside.

"HALT!  Do not let that airship leave!" a voice from above shouted out.  By the time reinforcements had arrived the airship had already left the dock and was ascending above the trees heading towards Thanalan.

Now that they were safely out of Gridania Melanie remembered her fears and quickly clung onto Reubemont, causing Holskwyb to give her a quizzing look.  "Err, it's not what you think" Reubemont said a little flustered.  "She has a fear of heights."  He put his arms around Melanie and held her gently as she trembled in fear and buried her face into his chest.

"Huh, I see..." Holskwyb said as she watched Melanie shaking and sobbing.  "Good thing she has you to comfort her, just like Junnelle" she said and she smiled in the corner of her mouth.

Reubemont looked up at Holskwyb a little startled then smiled and looked back down at Melanie and gently stroked her hair.

"So, would you care to explain what all that was about back there?" Johna said walking over to Reubemont with his arms crossed and a slightly angry expression on his face.  "In case you have forgotten I am still training under the wood wailers and they will no doubts detain me and Suyaya and question us the next time we step on Gridanian soil."

Reubemont looked at Johna regretfully.  "I am sorry, I didn't think about that" he said in a remorseful voice.  "Those two wood wailers were the same people we saw in our visions.  They drove that poor girl and her sister into becoming outlaws" Reubemont lowered his head sadly and shook his head.  "I knew Gridania had its issues but I had no idea they could harbor such contempt towards people not born of its citizens."

"Well it's too late for regrets now" Suyaya said walking up towards Reubemont.  "We are just going to have to face the music when we return and pray we don't get hit with criminal charges."  She looked up at Melanie with a pitiful look on her face.  "She really is afraid, isn't she?" she said calmly.

Time passed by with the group scattered around the ship.  Melanie was still holding onto Reubemont tightly although she had now stopped shaking and sobbing.  Johna scanned the area to see where they were.  He had ridden airships many times so he could judge how far they had come and how long it would take to reach their destination.  They were now starting to clear the trees of the Black Shroud and were entering into the dry lands of Thanalan.  He estimated it would take another 25 minutes before they'd arrive at Ul'dah.

Suyaya had found herself a small crate to perch herself on and was meditating on her magic whilst Holskwyb lingered around the back of the ship with her arms crossed looking back on the Shroud.

Johna's eyes caught sight of the silhouettes of Ul'dah's spires far into the distance.  He felt somewhat relieved they were now far from Gridania.  The wood wailers had no juristiction over Ul'dah's citizens, however word could still reach the Sultana from the Elder Seedseer and if she saw it fit she could have them arrested before they could even take a step off the airship and sent back to Gridania to face any charges awaiting them there.  He tried not to worry about what might be awaiting them at Ul'dah and appreciated the fact that whilst they were in the air they were still free citizens.

Looking down below them Johna saw a battle taking place with a large creature resembling a black coeurl and several people in adventuring gear.  He waved over to his friends.  "Everyone, quick, you gotta see this!" he beckoned them over.  Melanie held onto Reubemont's arm and slowly edged her way to the port side of the airship hoping to catch a glimpse without completely freaking out.  Her stomach lept up into her throat several times and she felt a panic attack coming on but she was able to peer enough to see the commotion below them.  "Looks like another creature took on the mantle of Maahes.  See those adventurers?  They are participating in what is known as The Great Hunt.  Whenever a fiend takes on the position of its predecessor and becomes a threat it's up to the Grand Companies to set up a hunting bill for highly skilled adventurers to participate in taking it down."  They watched as the coeurl used its whiskers to electrically charge the air around it and burst with a loud explosion causing everyone to fall to the ground and struggling to get back onto their feet again.  "Woo!  That is one of its paralysis moves, a very potent one at that.  You really do not want to get hit by that even as a healer as it's a real pain to cleanse it off."

The airship quickly passed over the hunting party and everyone backed away from the edge of the airship.  "You know a lot about hunts" Holskwyb said with a keen interest.

"That is because my father used to participate in them himself when I was a child.  He would tell me stories about them and would bring back gifts from the huntmasters' coffers.  That is until one day he got too cocky and tried to face off with Safat all by himself.  Stood too close to the edge of a crevasse and got sent down to his death.  Stupid wanker.  His body was found hours later by a passing hunt party after they took down Safat themselves."

"Sorry to hear about your father" Holskwyb lowered her voice.

"Nah don't be, that cocky bastard would have died anyways to some other fiend.  He believed himself strong enough to take on any fiend and reap all the rewards for himself and would brag about it in all the local taverns.  He wanted to make a big name for himself you see, as Eorzea's sole and dependable huntsman.  I pray I never become that cocky and selfish.  That is why I joined the adventurers' guild, so instead of trying to be independable like my father I would find like minded adventurers to enter into forays with together and do it properly."

Ul'dah's spires began to take on shape and colour as they approached closer to the city.  Holskwyb began to frown a little as she squinted towards them.  "Do you think word has reached the Sultana about our antics in the Shroud?" she said to Johna.  Johna nodded with a frustrated huff.  "Most likely" he replied.  "Hmm, then I wonder if she will let us back into the city again" Holskwyb muttered to herself.

Reubemont pulled Melanie towards him away from the edge of the airship and began to speak quietly to her.  "Since you and I are Ul'dah's citizens we will be the ones likely taken into questioning whilst the rest of the team will be held in custody or even sent back to Gridania for questioning there.  Try not to worry though, I will take full accountability for what happened."

Melanie shook her head at him.  "No, I was involved too" Melanie argued.

"I was the one throwing the punches, so if anyone is to blame it is me" he said holding her face still with both his hands.  "Please Brovola, do not get yourself into more trouble than you need to.  I will handle this."

Melanie let out a frustrated sigh in defeat.  Reubemont smiled and let go of her then put on his serious face as the airship started its descent towards the city's docking port.  He could already see there was a waiting party for them led by the Immortal Flames.

The airship jolted slightly as it stopped and the team started to disembark.  The team leader of the Immortal Flames approached them before they could step down from the airship.  "Sir Reubemont Lebier and Miss D'brovola Selah, I have orders to escort you directly to the Fragrant Chamber for questioning in regards to recent activities reported from Gridania.  I request that you cooperate and come quietly.  The rest of you are to be taken into custody until further notice."

Reubemont and Melanie looked at each other with dejected looks and then followed the team leader to the lift whilst the rest of the Immortal Flames escorted Suyaya, Johna and Holskwyb back across the airship towards a sealed room behind them.  Melanie started to worry about what was going to happen.  She'd never been in trouble with the law before and here she was just barely a week gone by on an alien planet causing a ruckus and getting her new friends into trouble.

Reubemont could see Melanie was troubled as they entered the lift and leaned over towards her ears.  "Remember what I said earlier, I will take full accountability" he said quietly under his breath.

"No talking" the Flame said to them in a stern voice.  Reubemont stood back upright and began to breathe calmly whilst Melanie nervously took in a deep breath.  The gate in front of the lift raised up as they arrived at the Hustings Strip and quietly walked around the Royal Promenade towards a heavily guarded door up a long and wide flight of luxuriosly carpetted stairs.  Melanie tried her best not to look down from the promenade incase she'd have a panic attack.  She was already nervous enough as it was.  The stairs weren't very steep but they were quite long and the steps were more further spread apart the further up they went.

The Flame knocked on the door and stepped back ushering Reubemont and Melanie to enter.  Taking a calm breath Reubemont pushed open the doors and they both walked into a large chamber which was mostly open space save for a large stone table with ornate wooden chairs in the back and large golden chandeliers that brightly lit up the room.  Other rich and royal decor adorned the sides of the chamber indicating that this was a room exclusively reserved for its wealthiest delegates and the Sultana.

Sat at the far back of the table was the Sultana herself, Nanamo Ul Namo, in her pink and gold attire and wispy pink pigtails.  She looked so sickeningly cute that Melanie struggled trying not to vomit in her mouth.  Reubemont and Melanie both bowed before her and stood to attention.  Nanamo looked up at them with a very stern look on her face.

"Since you no doubts know the reason why you are both here let us get straight to the point.  Your actions in Gridania have resulted in a civil war between its citizens and those in charge of keeping the peace in the city.  For the first time in history Gridania is in a lockdown with people protesting in the streets.  Do you have anything to say for yourselves?"

Reubemont stepped forward in front of Melanie trying to shield her.  "It was my fault your grace.  I engaged the wood wailers and made the first strike.  The rest of my comrades were not involved nor were they aware of what I was planning to do.  I take full responsibility for my actions and will gracefully accept whatever punishment you see fit."

Nanamo glared at him with her expression unchanged.  "Duly noted" she said in a stern voice.

"Your grace, with your permission I would like to speak freely" Reubemont said lowering his head.

"Granted" she said still without changing her expression.

"Why are you in charge of the questionings?  Shouldn't this be left up to the Immortal Flames to detain and question us?"

"Since your actions have resulted in a civil war in one of our allied states it is my responsibility that you are held and questioned in order to protect my own city and its citizens.  We wouldn't want you causing the same kind of trouble here as you did in Gridania now wouldn't we?"

Reubemont shook his head.  "I would never" he said under his breath.

"Good" Nanamo said nodding her head.  "Now then, what prompted you to start this war in the first place?"

"I had a vision..." Reubemont was interrupted as Melanie stepped around and in front of him.

"We had a vision" she said outloud.  "Reubemont and I have been blessed with the gift of The Echo.  We witnessed 2 young girls - sisters - who tried to settle in Gridania being abused by its citizens and became outlaws in order to survive.  The men we attacked were the very same ones who abused those girls when they tried to seek help and were the reason why they became outlaws.  We couldn't just let what they had done slip especially when they were gloating about it in public."

Nanamo listened quietly trying to think of how to respond.  She closed her eyes for a moment.  "I know of Gridania's biased behaviour towards its citizens and non-citizens, and whilst it's not for me to judge them I cannot deny that a good portion of our own citizens were once travelers trying to seek assylum in Gridania who faced prejudism and were driven out by its bigotry."  She then opened her eyes again and looked at them directly in their faces.  "It's also not in your hands to try to sway the citizens of Gridania into trying to change its behaviour.  However what has begun has begun and nothing can change that now.  That is why I have been requested by the Elder Seedseer not to punish you, but to rather give you a personal warning and to order you to keep the vigilante behaviour under lock and key and buried beneath Thanalan's sands.  Do I make myself clear?"

Reubemont and Melanie nodded in compliance.  "You are both free to go, as are your friends.  However, D'brovola, I would like a few moments alone with you before you leave."

Reubemont looked at Melanie a little surprised and then with a bow left the room.  As soon as they were alone Nanamo looked at Melanie with a slight hint of anger in her eyes.  "What were you thinking?!  I seem to recall Krile telling you to lay low and keep your head down, or did that correspondence slip from your mind?" she snapped at Melanie.

"I'm really sorry, yes I know but I couldn't just stand by and let those bigots get away with what they did to those innocent girls" Melanie said hanging her head low.

Nanamo closed her eyes again and let out a dejected sigh.  "I understand, it is what is in your nature to do.  You and the person I remember as once being you are so very alike that even I am having a hard time remembering that you are not the same person.  Like her you care about people other than yourself and will go out of your way to do what you see is right.  Were you still in the same position I would have let this slip as yet another one of your heroic deeds, but as a new adventurer I have to set an example otherwise every other new adventurer is going to think they can do what they please the moment they register with the guild."  Nanamo opened her eyes and looked up at Melanie.  "Gridania is in a dire state and currently off-limits to its non-citizens until things are put back in order again.  For now I would say continue your practices and your studies here in Ul'dah and pray try not to get into any more trouble while you are here."

Melanie nodded and Nanamo gave her a smile in return.  "Now then, with that aside, you said that Sir Reubemont has the gift of The Echo?"

"Yes, it happened in our last mission when we went to face off with Bockman - an entity one of those young girls I mentioned earlier reawakened using necromancy to avenge the death of her sister to the wood wailers whilst they were living as outlaws.  There was a crystal of light and it awakened the gift in Reubemont."

"So Hydaelyn's blessing is still being distributed among her chosen creating new warriors of light" Nanamo gasped excitedly.  "And they are none other than the people who are now your comrades!  I would say this is no coincidence that your new comrades are among the chosen.  Whilst I don't fully understand who gets chosen nor why I do know that those gifted with The Echo are very few in number.  Perhaps all of this is part of Hydaelyn's plan, in which case I would be foolish to try and stop you."  She glanced up at Melanie one more time.  "I needn't say this to you but pray be careful out there" she said earnestly.

Melanie nodded and proceeded to leave the chamber.

A New Warrior of Light Rises

Melanie stirred again to the sweet smell of desert flowers and grasses.  It was early morning so the air still felt cool.  Rising from her bed she began to put on her new robes.  She'd now accepted that she still needed to wear night clothes to bed and sleep under the covers and that the only reason why in the game their characters slept in their clothes on top of the beds was because the game engine wasn't designed to do it any different.  Luckily she had already crafted suitable night wear in the game.  It was just a simple long white night dress with a pale blue and white dressing gown.  There was also a pair of bottoms and a couple of matching night caps that after one look at them Melanie decided she wasn't going to wear either, not unless she was in some cold climate where keeping her head warm would be ideal.  The slippers however were rather cute - fluffy white slippers with a pair of tiny pom poms and a thin black ribbon sewn on the front.

After folding her night clothes and placing them back into her backpack she picked up a thick red leather-bound book from the nearby cartonier then sat on the edge of the bed and began reading.  The thaumaturges' guild were very generous in allowing her to take one of their books from their collection outside their halls.  She flicked open a page on a new spell and began reading.

"Scathe" is a unique spell among thaumaturges as this spell requires no elemental attunement nor does it require the caster to focus as much in invoking it.  Its ability comes directly from the latent aether within the caster.  Because of this the impact is greatly lower than other spells that require attunement whilst still drawing on the same amount of aether, therefore caution is advised when using this spell in succession.  To invoke this spell the caster must recite the incantation "pain".

"Well that explains why the damage is weak in comparison" she said to herself as she closed the book and placed it in her backpack.  She stretched her arms and then began to collect the remaining of her belongings and made for the exit.

Outside Reubemont had been waiting near Melanie's room for at least 10 minutes.  On opening the door to her room Melanie felt her heart leap to her throat on seeing him.  "Reubemont?  I was startled!  Wait...was you waiting outside my room?"

"Yes I... I was waiting so I could help you down the stairs" he replied.

"Riiiight... he was waiting outside my room."  Melanie put on a fake smile as she began walking down the hallway.  Reubemont noticed her smile didn't look at all natural and felt a cold rush through his body.  "Did I do something wrong?" he began to worry and doubt whether waiting for her outside her room was such a good idea after all.  Reubemont followed close by silently until they reached the top of the stairs.  He started to fumble nervously trying to put his arm around Melanie and hesitating.  "What should I do?  Should I try to help or will she get upset?"

Melanie sighed as she realised he was now acting nervously.  "Now I've gone and done it.  All he was doing was trying to help and now I've made him nervous by overreacting.  Besides how else am I going to get down the stairs if I can't do it by myself?"  She put on a proper smile and looked up at him.  "It's alright.  I know you're trying to help and I wasn't being greatful.  I'm sorry I made you feel unappreciated."  Melanie then motioned to the stairs.  "Shall we?"

Reubemont let out a sigh of relief and composed himself, then placed an arm around her shoulders and together they slowly descended the stairs to the inn area.  "I feel I must apologize.  I haven't had much experience with women other than my sister.  You remind me of her so much that I keep forgetting you're not her and that I shouldn't treat you in the same manner" he spoke as they began to approach the last few steps.

"You care a lot about your sister" Melanie replied.

"That I do.  She's all I have left."  Reubemont stopped at the bottom of the stairs and lowered his head.  "I'm sorry, I said too much."

Melanie started to feel a sharp pain in her head and her vision begin to cloud.  She raised a hand up against the side of her temples and grimaced.

"Brovola, are you alright?"  Reubemont's voice became distant and was instead replaced by another voice.  The world around her had completely distorted and changed to that of a different place.  Everything sounded and felt strange as if she was inside a movie.

"You must take them to safety.  Go to Ishgard, anywhere but here.  I'll come and find you when this is finally over" a man's voice spoke out.  Standing in front of her was an elezen woman with white hair and blue eyes wearing an elegant green dress and an elezen man with black hair and lilac eyes wearing a mixture of mail and leather armor.  In her arms was a baby girl and next to her a very young boy with white hair and lilac eyes.

The scene changed to Ishgard where the woman sat at a table with her head buried in her arms crying.  The baby girl was also crying in a crib nearby and the young boy was standing next to the woman tugging at her dress.  "Mommy, when is daddy coming home?" the boy asked in a sad voice.  "I'm sorry Reubemont.  Daddy will not be coming home."

The scene changed once again.  It was snowing in Ishgard and the woman was outside browsing some of the market stalls, her baby girl now having grown into an infant and the young Reubemont having aged by a couple of years.  The woman started to cough and shivver.  The young Reubemont looked up at her and tried to hug her hoping that even the smallest bit of warmth from his body would help her.

The scene changed once more to her taking her children through the snow.  Her skin had gone paler and she was looking exhausted as if she was about to collapse any moment.  "Where are we going?" the young Reubemont asked.  "To Idyllshire.  It's said to be more warmer there and they have medicine that can help mommy get better" she said trying to smile at her little boy.  She started to cough and held up a white lacy handkerchief to her mouth.  As she pulled it away there were spots of blood staining the handkerchief.  She quickly stuffed it into a pocket so her children wouldn't see.

Another scenario took place.  The woman's health had deteriorated and she was now lying in a bed, her skin was clammy and pale as snow and her eyes having sunken into their sockets.  She coughed and wheezed heavily.  "I don't have much time left.  Remember what I taught you Reubemont, pray take good care of your sister while I'm gone."

"I don't want you to go!" the young boy began to cry.  The woman looked at him trying to smile as she stroked away the tears from his face.  "My brave, sweet children...I love you both and no matter where I go I will always be with you."  The woman sighed as her eyes became heavy and closed.  Her chest lowered and her hand fell against the bed.  "Mommy, no..." the boy wept lowering his head and began to shake her arm.  "Wake up mommy, please wake up!"

The scene changed one more time.  Both Reubemont and his sister were back in Ishgard standing in front of a tall elezen man with a long white beard wearing white, blue and gold archbishop robes and carrying a tall white and gold staff.  Another elezen male with long white hair stood facing away from them wearing an ink blue and silver outfit made from a combination of metal and dragonscale.  On his back he carried a tall lance with spikes that resembled dragon wings stained with blood.  "And these young children are the latest victims of the dragonsong war, both their parents having been killed by the dragons" the archbishop said to the man in dragonscale armor.

"I see" the man said, a low growl was heard in his voice.  Melanie instantly recognised the voice.  "Estinien?!!"  Estinien turned around to face the children and lowered himself to their level.  His face was twisted and stern, his lips tightly pursed and his blue eyes sharp and cold with bitterness and a hunger for vengeance.  "The dragons will answer for what they did to my people and to your parents, this I swear" he said to them in a dark and husky voice.

"But that's not true, mommy didn't die to the dragons.  She was sick!"  The scene had changed again to Reubemont with his young sister who was looking confused and like she was about to cry and Reubemont holding onto her.  "We won't let that bishop and his lies tell us any different.  One day we will tell the truth and people will know the dragons weren't to blame."

"I miss mommy" the young girl started to sob.  "Me too Junnelle, me too" Reubemont hugged her.  "I promise I'll never leave you.  I'll become a paladin and protect you as I promised mother."

Everything began to distort around her and changed back to the inn.  The pain began to ease off and she could hear Reubemont's desperate voice again.  "Brovola!  Brovola, are you okay?"

Melanie looked up at Reubemont with sad eyes.  "I saw it all" she said, her voice starting to crack.

"Saw what?" Reubemont asked confused.

Melanie put her arms around him and held him tightly with tears starting to form in her eyes.  "I saw what happened to your parents.  How Thordan lied to Estinien and tried to blame it on the dragons."

"What...how could you possibly know about that?!" Reubemont gasped.

Melanie pulled herself away from Reubemont and dried her eyes trying to compose herself.  "It's a gift I have called the Echo.  It allows me to see both into the future and also into someone's past."

Reubemont was still a little confused.  "So, you're saying you saw into my past and saw my mother...?"

Melanie began wiping her eyes once more.  "I'm sorry if I made you feel violated.  Visions seem to take place either before a dangerous encounter or when someone starts thinking about their past and I don't know how to control it."

"I see...I think.  You don't need to apologize.  I probably would've told you about it eventually."  Reubemont started to ponder a little.  "A few days ago you stopped us from assaulting the goblin camp in Hammerlea, was that because you saw something then?"

Melanie nodded feeling uncomfortable as she recalled the event in her mind.  "Had we gone ahead we wouldn't have survived."

"Oh wow.  That sounds both handy and a little disturbing too if I think about it.  I can't imagine what it was you saw but I can tell by your eyes and the way your reacted that day it was quite horrifying.  I hate to ask this of you but knowing you have the gift of foresight then should you ever have concerns over which path we're following I won't doubt your word."

Melanie calmed down and nodded.  Reubemont looked around the different tables in the room and started to hum.  "Looks like the others didn't make it here yet, I wonder what's keeping them."

Both Reubemont's and Melanie's linkpearls started to chime.  Together they raised their hands to their ears and lightly touched their linkpearls.  "Oh good you're both up" Suyaya's voice was heard in their ears.  "Something's going down in the Twelveswood and I really think you should all come and investigate."

"Can you provide more details?  It would take a while to get there even by airship" Reubemont said.

"According to reports an undead knight known as Bockman has once again risen and is terrorising gleaners and merchants in Central Shroud.  Already there's been several adventurers and soldiers sent out to control the threat but few have returned with severe wounds and speaking of horrors awaiting anyone who's bold enough to try to challenge him.  I think we can probably handle it as a team, what do you think?"

Reubemont quickly glanced down at Melanie seeing her face writ with concern.  "We'll be down as soon as we can.  In the meantime keep us informed of the situation and if anything changes."

"All right, looking forward to your arrival."  Suyaya signed off and both Melanie and Reubemont lowered their hands.  Melanie started to feel knots in her stomach at the thoughts of going onboard another airship.

Reubemont could see Melanie was looking fretful and gently stroked her face with his palm.  "It's alright.  I'll be there with you and keep you safe" he said calmly.  Melanie nodded in agreement yet every bone in her body felt like it was shaking.  He took hold of her hand and walked to her towards the exit.  Melanie tried to swallow her nerves as they left the inn and headed into towards the inner part of the city where a lift nearby would them up to the airship landing.  "Airships, why does it have to be airships.  Why not underground railways or a ferry or even a horse and cart?  Just anything that doesn't involve flying!"

Melanie could feel her body resisting movement as they entered the lift.  She really did not want to ride an airship, not so soon after her last experience.  She felt the lift begin to move and squeezed Reubemont's hand tightly. 

Atop the airship landing Melanie's body began tremble.  Reubemont was already at the ticket desk and booked a pair of tickets.  "Next flight out is in about 10 minutes" he said as he handed her one of the tickets.  He took hold of Melanie's hand as he noticed her trembling.  "Hey, it'll be alright.  Come, let's get ready to board" he said softly as he walked her to a pair of gates that led to the main docking area.  Each step Melanie took felt like she was dragging lead weights for legs and the more she could see the rooftops outside the more she felt her stomach leaping about inside her and her heart beating faster and harder that she could hear it pounding in her chest.  Reubemont could see she was frantic and placed an arm around her once she crossed the gate and held her close.  He'd been in this scenario many times in the past with his sister.  Melanie felt both a little awkward and thankful that someone was holding onto her.  The alternative would be her wandering around getting more and more worked up and wishing for someone to just hold her and let her know she was in safe hands.

10 minutes seemed to go by ever so slowly.  Melanie started to calm down and became curious about her surroundings.  She eyed an alcove nearby of what looked like a souvenier shop.  Various small boxes lined in front of the large counter with localised trinkets inside them.  At the far back were a few large crates, bags and vases containing local herbs, crops and oil, and on a smaller counter were some of the local wines and a few books about Uldah's history.  Melanie was tempted to walk over buy one of the wines but decided it probably wasn't a good idea to be drinking whilst flying even if it might help to calm her down, besides she hadn't had breakfast yet and drinking on an empty stomach was an even worse idea.

Melanie heard the whirring of propellors as an airship pulled in at the landing.  Several crates, barrels and bags were already lined up on the landing ready to be loaded into the hull by nearby workers.  Reubemont still holding on to Melanie carefully helped her board the airship.  Once they were on the top deck she looked down at the stairs that led into the airship hull.  "Aren't we going down there?" she asked.  Reubemont looked at the stairs.  "There?  That's where all the cargo is going.  It's not permitted for passengers to go down there."

Melanie started to panic wide-eyed.  "How am I going to ride this?  I can't stay on the top deck, I'll freak out!" she cried out.  Reubemont held both her shoulders and looked into her eyes.  "It's alright.  I'm here with you and I promise you you'll be safe.  Just hold on tight to me."  Melanie started to whimper fretfully and tremble once more.  She felt the airship jolt as it disembarked and quickly she wrapped her arms around Reubemont with a squeal and buried her face in his armor sobbing loudly.  Reubemont was stunned at how quickly she gripped onto him.  "She's even more fearful than Junnelle was and we've barely taken off."

The airship continued to scale upwards and pick up speed.  Melanie closed her eyes tight as she held onto Reubemont for dear life, her sobbing getting even louder.  The flight would take at least an hour and she was getting more and more panicky that he felt if he didn't do something soon her hyperventilating would cause her to pass out.  "What do I do?  What do I do?!"  Reubemont looked around desperately for something to try and help her calm down but there was nothing.  He looked down at her worried as her breathing had gone so much faster that she was starting to wheeze and her body feeling limp.  Quickly he knelt down to her level and cupped her face in his hands.  "Brovola!" he shook her gently trying to grab her attention.  When she wouldn't open her eyes he pulled her into him and held her tightly.  Just the warmth of his muscular body and the side of his face against hers was enough to slowly stir her back to her senses.  "This feels nice, so warm and comforting" she thought to herself and her sobbing began to calm down.  She lowered her head onto his shoulder and placed her arms around his back.

Reubemont continued to hold onto her a while longer until he was certain she had thoroughly calmed down.  He pulled himself away a little to check on her to make sure she didn't just pass out.  Her eyes dry from all the sobbing met his, her face soaked with tears.  He once again saw his sister in front of him and started to wipe the tears away from her face with a gentle smile.

Melanie continued gazing into his eyes astonished.  A tightness formed in her chest and throat and she felt like she was about to choke and break into tears again.  Nobody had ever been this understanding and kind to her, not even her own husband.  "Why was Tony never like this with me when I needed him?"  She started to recall the number of times Tony scorned her over her fears and made her feel unappreciated and helpless.  Like the time she was trapped upstairs in a strangers' house whilst house hunting because of the unusual design of a narrow and frighteningly steep staircase.  Tony scowled at her from the bottom of the staircase whilst the estate agent was on the phone calling for an ambulance.  "I don't believe you" he said to her in a disapproving tone, leaving her to sob at the top of the stairs.  Many other similar incidents followed where he'd abandon her to her own fears.  He would shake her off him if she tried to hug him and completely ignore her when she was in any kind of distress.

That was when she realised Tony no longer loved or cared for her and when she started to resent and no longer love him in return, yet they continued to remain married for another 15 years and for what...because divorce was too costly and too messy?  Because they believed that nobody else would be able to cope with them?  Whether or not that was true she'd felt it would've been better had they broken up years ago and sorted themselves out instead of being prisoner to a loveless relationship that left her feeling desperate, unloved and miserable for years.

Melanie sank back into Reubemont's arms again.  She no longer cared whether it was inappropriate behaviour or not.  She just wanted to feel safe and cared for.

Reubemont was surprised as she fell back into his arms.  "Is she still afraid?" he pondered to himself.  He looked down at her as she buried her head into his armor and started to sob gently.  "No, this is something else, something she hasn't yet told me.  Someone has done this to her, but why?"  Reubemont held her in his arms in a comforting embrace and rested his head against hers.  Melanie let out a calming sigh as she felt Reubemont's chest gently rise and fall and his arms holding onto her tightly.  For a time she completely forgot about her fears as she for the first time felt someone actually cared for her and wasn't just going to push her away when she was an inconvenience to them.

After some time Melanie's eyes started to wander and the sight of the sky would make her stomach leap, although this was now starting to be less frequent.  She was so glad they didn't have breakfast that morning else she might've embarrassed herself by throwing up all over Reubemont's armor.  She looked upwards and could see the clouds were still far up above her so they weren't very high up, at least not as high as an airplane.  She was now curious to just how high up they actually were.

"I'd like to try to see if I can look beyond the edge."

"You certain you're ready for that?  I wouldn't want you to scare yourself or pass out" Reubemont looked at her with concern.  Melanie nodded.  She had been psyching herself up for it the past several minutes believing that the more she got to see the better she'd be able to cope each time they'd take the journey.  "All right, but hold onto me tightly and let me know when you want to back up."

Reubemont rose to his feet then put an arm around Melanie's shoulders and held her close to him.  Melanie began to slowly move towards the edge of the airship.  She started to make out tree tops a little ways below them and quickly pulled at Reubemont's arm to signal to stop.  He stopped moving and watched her as she started to go into another panic and felt hesistant about keeping her so close to the edge.  She held tightly onto him, her body starting to shake and a feeling of butterflies in her stomach.

Moments went by without moving from their spot and Melanie had stropped shaking and began to breathe normally again.   She started to appreciate how beautiful the landscape looked from above.  If it weren't for Reubemont she probably would never have been able to board an airship let alone ride one by herself.  She could just make out in the distance what looked like a small clearing with a couple of wooden towers and buildings, several tents, and a large aetheryte crystal in the midst of it.  This was Bentbranch Meadows in Central Shroud.  Further up ahead was a small waterfall where she could see a number of large wooden structures surrounding it including a water wheel.  This was Gridania, their destination.  Melanie held on tightly to Reubemont once more, her stomach starting to knot and her heart starting to palpitate as she felt the airship dip downwards until they finally pulled into a landing area.

Reubemont still holding onto Melanie walked her onto a wooden platform shaded by a large canopy.  Behind her she could hear the roar of the waterfall that cascaded into a lake below them.  So many fragrances overwhelmed her senses.  The smell of fresh water, of trees, grass and various flowers, the scent of chocobos nearby, even the food and alcohol wafting from inside the wooden building in front of them.  It was so much more fresher than the scorching hot air of Ul'dah.  The sound of various song birds filled the skies and the excited purring of chocobos as their handlers came to feed them.  She was so overwhelmed over just how tranquil everything was here that she didn't even notice they were on a platform hovering halfway up a waterfall.

Inside the wooden building there were large arched stained glass windows at one end of the room.  The way the light shined through them sending mostly green and rainbow colours across the room made her gasp and her heart leap with awe.  It reminded her of her visit to the Crystarium.  At the other side of the room were smaller plain arched windows allowing normal light to shine through and break up the darkness.

Following up a long and winding staircase was the upper floor where the adventurers' guild known to the locals as the Carline Canopy resided.  Several round tables and small stools were scattered around and was completely packed by dozens of adventurers, many bearing solem and worried faces drinking ale and talking amongst themselves mostly about the threat down at Tam-Tara Deepcroft involving the being known as Bockman.  Since the walls surrounding the staircase had windows with a clear view of outside and the other side of the stairs had wooden railings Reubemont had to hold onto Melanie so she wouldn't have another panic attack.

"Oh oh, over here!" Suyaya's voice called out to them as she stood up on a stool and waved them over.  Holskwyb and Johna were also with her sat around a round table.  Reubemont and Melanie quickly shuffled through the crowd of adventurers and took a seat at the table with their comrades.

"I've never seen this place look so busy!" Reubemont gasped as he made himself comfortable and looked around the room.  "Must be because of what's happening with this Bockman."

"So many adventurers have been drawn to Gridania after the Twin Adder declared Tam-Tara as unsafe for exploration and set up a reward via the adventurers' guild to anyone who'll dispose of the threat" Suyaya replied.

"A reward eh?" Holskwyb leaned forward with interest.  "And you're certain you think we can handle this threat together?"

Suyaya nodded.  "Many of the adventurers who've shown up so far are more fresher than we are.  Other more seasoned adventurers talked of a dampening effect when entering the area surrounding Tam-Tara that made them more weaker and incapable of performing certain spells.  More so the ones who've tried were often alone wanting to claim all the rewards for themselves or only just met so they haven't had a chance to work together.  This is why I'm almost certain we can handle this together."

"Is there anything else you can tell us about Bockman, something that can help us when we go to face him?" Reubemont asked.

"From the ones who survived they spoke of the area swarming with undead.  Anyone who challenges Bockman would not only have to battle against those but he also summons more of them from the nearby tombs, enough to overwhelm even a handful of the bravest soldiers.  Alas the more who fall the more become part of Bockman's undead army."

Reubemont felt rather unsettled by the news, however Suyaya seemed all but confident they could overpower this Bockman and Holskwyb and Johna certainly seemed interested in the prospect of a handsome reward if they were to succeed.  He looked over to Melanie.  "What about you, do you sense anything that could indicate we wouldn't survive?"  Melanie shook her head.  Nothing so far had come into her mind that would show they would fail.  Suyaya, Johna and Holskwyb looked curiously at Reubemont.  "Oh, I forgot to mention.  Brovola has an ability that grants her the gift of foresight.  I'm guessing that without a vision means we'll likely succeed."

Nearby a highlander hyur and a roegadyn had been evesdropping on the group.  "You hear that?  She has a gift of foresight!" the roegadyn whispered to the human.  "If she's not sensing any danger then that must mean it's safe for us too.  That reward is as good as ours!"  Together they left the building and made their way outside the gates leading into the city.

"In that case I'm definitely up for the challenge, but not on an empty stomach!" Reubemont said enthusiastically.

Half an hour went by and the team now had full bellies and feeling ready to take on the world.  After attuning to Gridania's aetheryte they made their way outside into Central Shroud.  Following the path leading south-west towards Bentbranch Meadows, Suyaya began handing some advice around.  "The diremites around here can be a bit aggressive, but we should be fine if we stick to the road and avoid them" she said as they approached a small bridge over a gentle flowing stream.  The group stopped walking once they reached the other side of the bridge and Reubemont drew out his sword and shield.  Melanie peered around the group and saw ahead a diremite wandering on the path.

"We may have to fight this one" Reubemont said.  Melanie quickly looked around for another path but there was diremites spread around every possible route.  The group slowly began down the path bracing themselves for battle.  As if luck would find them the diremite moved off the road giving way for the group to walk by safely towards Bentbranch Meadows.

Bentbranch Meadows was a large outpost in the middle of Central Shroud although there wasn't really a great deal of things of interest here aside from nearby stables where chocobos were being raised and trained as carrier birds.  It was mostly wooden platforms and planks surrounding the base of what used to be an extremely large tree.  Melanie could not fathom just how large this tree would've been, never had there been records of such large trees existing on Earth, but like almost everything else that was in this universe seemed to be excessively large as if it were meant for a race at least 3 times taller.  In the center of the tree base a tall aetheryte hovered and rotated above a stone fountain.  "Let's attune ourselves in case we need to come back here later" Reubemont sheethed his weapons and walked the group towards the aetheryte.  Together they all reached out and started to focus.  Streams of aetheric light stretched from their hands to the aetheryte causing it to pulse in response.

Satisfied they were all attuned they began heading southwards leaving Bentbranch Meadows behind them until they reached a split in the path.  Eastwards led to the Mirror Planks Docks and into South Shroud whilst westwards led towards the Tam-Tara Deepcroft.  Nearby was a wooden tower with a couple of Wood Wailer sentries stationed outside.  On seeing the group move towards Tam-Tara one of them, a miqo'te, immediately ran after them.

"Halt adventurers!  Don't you know about the dangers of what lies down there?" she called out standing in front of them with her arms outstretched to her sides.

"As a matter of fact we do, and we intend to put an end to that danger" Reubemont said as the group stopped before her.

"You're mad!  You're ill equipped.  Several have already made attempts and very few have come back alive.  You'll just add your numbers to the undead.  Just moments ago a hyur and a roegadyn went into the deepcroft convinced they'd be the ones to slay the threat.  They haven't been seen since.  I highly doubt they are still among the living."

Melanie remembered hearing them talking back at Gridania.  Whilst they were whispering quietly enough to each other that nobody else could hear them Melanie with her miqo'te ears was able to hear every word yet she brushed it off and focussed on her comrades.  "Oh no, they really went ahead!  I should've tried to stop them."  She lowered her head sadly when she could hear a voice in the distance.  "Please, someone, help!"  The voice was that of the human from earlier and was very faint that nobody else could hear yet she was able to hear it.  She looked down the path desperately.  Reubemont could see Melanie was eager to press on and nodded to the sentry.  "We may not be equipped like soldiers and brave heroes, but we do have each other and I put my full trust in my comrades.  Pray, allow us to pass so we can put an end to this threat."

The miqo'te sentry shook her head and stepped aside.  "Don't say I didn't warn ya" she said as they walked onward.

Down the cobbled path towards Tam-Tara the air started to feel different.  Melanie could detect the smell of blood and death.  Once more she could hear the voice calling out only it was now close enough the rest of her comrades could also hear it.  "Anybody, help me please!" the voice cried out weakly and desperately.  Ahead of them they could see a highlander hyur male crawling on the ground.  The group ran towards him and reached him seconds after he collapsed unconscious.  He had horrendous gashes all over his body, his stomach had been sliced open and pools of blood had already been gushing out onto the path where he crawled from.  Suyaya quickly pulled out her branch and began reciting a spell.  Aether poured into the unfortunate man's body sealing his wounds.  The man's eyes failed to open even after she finished reciting and lowered her hands.  "It's no use, he's gone" she said remorsefully.

"Who dares to intrude upon my presence?!!" a loud and dark voice was heard inside the crypt that led to Tam-Tara Deepcroft.  Everyone rose to their feet and looked deep inside the crypt.  Shadows moved around accompanied by the sounds of bones clicking against each other and unearthly screams and laughter.  As they were about to approach the entrance Melanie started to feel dizzy and her head started to ache.  "Brovola?  Reubemont, wait!" Holskwyb called out.  Reubemont turned around seeing Melanie grimace and clutch her head.  "It's a vision" he said as he rushed to her aid.

The world around Melanie began to swim and multiple scenes from inside the crypt began to play out, each one with a different ending.  So many of them showed their failed attempts at defeating the abominations awaiting them except for one.  She shook her head as the scenarios stopped playing.  "Is everything all right?  What did you see?" Reubemont asked her.

"We must follow my lead if we're to succeed" she said to her comrades.  "Reubemont, you'll need to attack Bockman and make sure he stays focussed on you.  Holskwyb, you'll need to assault the skeletons with myself.  Suyaya, try to keep Reubemont healed up as best you can.  Johna, you'll be assisting Reubemont in taking Bockman down."  Everyone nodded, they then drew out their weapons and walked forwards into the crypt.

"Come adventurers and join me as one of my undead minions!" the deep voice chuckled loudly.  Inside the crypt was dimly lit by a number of small stone braziers.  Several cadavers wandered around whilst standing in the middle was a tall and bulky dullahan covered head to toe in a dark steel armor single handedly wielding a huge wide sword that was even taller than he was.  "We'll see who has the last laugh, hyahh!!!" Reubemont yelled as he rushed in and struck against Bockman.  Everyone assumed positions with Melanie and Holskwyb taking down the cadavers whilst Reubemont and Johna assaulted Bockman.  The cadavers easily broke apart to Holskwyb's fists and Melanie's fire magic whilst Johna's arrows pierced through Bockman's armor with little resistance.  Reubemont blocked most of the attacks from Bockman whilst continuing to taunt him.  His bronze shield was taking a hefty beating but managed to keep him from being pulverized by Bockman's huge sword.

Bockman seeing that his opponents were proving to be more than a match for him began to raise his other hand.  A dark spell was woven and more cadavers began to rise from the earth whilst Bockman laughed hysterically.  Holskwyb and Melanie quickly turned their attention to them and began culling them down.  It didn't take long and Bockman was starting to show signs of weakening.  Reubemont began to rain down a flurry of attacks on him determined to smash through his armor plating.  He struck a piece that broke off and landed on the floor.  Reubemont gasped as he saw underneath the armor there was nothing.  Bockman started to laugh again at the futility of Reubemont's attack.  Reubemont stared into the darkness inside the armor and noticed something.  High up inside the armor there was a blue glow from what looked like a floating orb inside it with a tail.  Reubemont used all of his might to thrust his sword up inside the gap in the armor and upwards.  Bockman let out a loud unearthly shriek and fell to his knees.  Reubemont pulled his sword out and smashed it up against Bockman's chest, causing another piece it to break away and expose the abomination inside it.

"It's a revenant!  With me my friends, aim all your attacks here!" he called out to his comrades.  Everyone rushed in to Reubemont's side and began to focus all their attacks on the exposed revenant which screamed agonizing shrieks until its light went out and collapsed.  The revenant's body began to dissipate causing the armor to fall apart in a heap.  Reubemont collapsed to his knees gasping for air whilst everyone else was doubled over panting.  "Is it over?" Suyaya asked.  Melanie tried to nod but was too exhausted.  After taking a few moments Reubemont lowered his head in prayer.  "May you find rest in the Underworld."  He was about to stand up when he noticed something else inside the armor, something shiny.

"What is this?" he asked as he reached into the armor.  His hands felt something solid, cold, and almost cylindrical with smooth edges.  He pulled his hand out of the armor holding onto a large piece of crystal that had a golden glow.  Melanie gasped as she recognised it instantly.  "It's a crystal of light!" she gasped excitedly.

"Crystal of light?" Reubemont looked up at her quizzically.  "Argh!"  Reubemont dropped the crystal and clamped his head grimacing.  The others began to panic.  "What's happening?" Suyaya gasped.  Holskwyb was about to grab the crystal and throw it away when Melanie stopped her.  "Don't!" she cried out.  "This is meant to happen.  What he is experiencing right now is Hydaelyn's call.  That crystal is what will protect him as one of her chosen.  In other words he's been chosen to become a Warrior of Light!"

"A Warrior of Light?" Holskwyb asked surprised.  She backed away from Reubemont still looking concerned for him.  Reubemont eventually stopped grimacing and looked at everyone with astonishment.  "I saw her" he whispered.  "First it was a star shower, then I saw a large crystal and heard her calling to me..."

"Hear... Feel... Think" both Melanie and Reubemont said together.

"How do you know all this?  Is this how you got your gift?" Suyaya asked Melanie.

Melanie reached into her robe and pulled out a crystal similar to Reubemont's only hers was pure white.  Reubemont reached over and picked up his crystal and placed it next to Melanie's.  "It's a different shade, what does that mean?" Holskwyb asked.

"I don't know" Melanie replied.  "There are various other crystals, each has a different colour.  I don't know their specific meaning other than to own one grants you with Hydaelyn's blessing which protects you from primal influences and grants you with the gift known as The Echo."

"I've heard of The Echo" Suyaya pondered.  "Yes, I remember!  There's a band of people who go by the name of, um, the Sirens?  Cyclones?  But anyways, these people along with the Champion of Eorzea would travel all over Eorzea defeating primals.  That is why she was also known as The Primal Slayer."

"You know your history" Melanie smiled.  "She has no idea she's talking about me.  I wish I could tell them but I cannot."

"How did you manage to come across your crystal then?" Reubemont asked Melanie curiously.

"Err, I inherited mine a long time ago" Melanie replied trying to think fast.  "I don't exactly remember how it happened but like you I heard Hydaelyn's voice speak to me and since then I've been having these visions."

"So what happens if I was to be in possession of the crystal, would I too receive this blessing?" Holskwyb asked.

"You can try it if you want" Reubemont said handing the crystal over to her.  Holskwyb took the crystal and held onto it for several seconds bracing herself but nothing seemed to happen.  She shook her head and handed the crystal back to Reubemont.  "I guess it only works for the person who found it first" she said a little disappointed.

Reubemont stuffed the crystal inside a pocket hidden within his garments and pushed himself onto his feet.  "I guess we're done here then" he said as he dusted his clothes down with his hands.  "We should let the sentries know that the threat is over before they think we've joined the Underworld."

The group left the crypt together.  The body of the hyur who was left outside was still lying down, his skin having turned white and his clothes completely soaked in blood.  Melanie found it strange how everything else they defeated would dissipate into aether yet a persons' body would still remain as it were.

As they approached the wooden tower the sentries looked surprised to see them still in one piece.  "You're still here!" the miqo'te sentry gasped.  "Does that mean the threat no longer exists?"

Reubemont nodded.  "It's been taken care of.  You should find there's a body further down the path that's in need of burial."

"Congratulations young adventurers!  You have rid the Twelveswood off a formidable fiend.  I do believe I owe you each a reward for your heroics" a young man wearing a fancy green, red and white adventurer's outfit and a red leather hat stepped from inside the tower.  In his hands he held a large purse and began to empty its contents into each of their hands.  As they pocketted the gil Melanie looked up at the miqo'te sentry and noticed the look on her face.  It wasn't the look of gratitude but one of hatred.  Reubemont looked up to see Melanie staring at the sentry and turned his gaze over to her.  "Gaaah!" he cried out along with Melanie as they both doubled over holding their heads.

The world around them began to change.  They were in a different part of Gridania where the miqo'te was with another girl who looked similar to her.  They both looked desperate and fatigued, begging to the other citizens for help but being ignored.  A couple of elezen men dressed in wood wailer gear scoffed at them.  "Move away swine, you're in our way!" one of them pushed the younger miqo'te aside that she fell over.  "Dihna!"  The older miqo'te ran over to the younger miqo'te and tried to help lift her back onto her feet again.  "Have you no mercy?!" the older miqo'te cried out to them.  The elezen men stopped in their tracks.  "Surely you can see we are hungry and desperate!  We've tried to find work here but nobody would take us.  We've begged for help from your piers but they've outright refused without reason.  What else are we to do?  You would have us freeze to death and starve?"  The elezen snorted at them, "Perhaps you should, then we wouldn't have to put up with people like you!" one of them shouted back without even looking at them.

The scene changed to the girls now out in the Twelveswood watching a small herd of deer.  The oldest of them had a bow and arrow readying in her hands.  "It's either this or we starve to death.  Those Gridania bastards don't care whether we live or die, but I choose to live" she whispered to Dihna.  "So, you're willing to break rules then?" a voice purred from behind them.  The girls swiftly turned around to see another miqo'te female with darker skin with war paint streaked across her face and wearing leather tribal hunting clothes.  "Who are you?!" the elder miqo'te pointed her bow at her.  "I'm a friend as long as you don't point that arrow at me" the dark skinned miqo'te replied.  "If you'll hear me out I know of a place where you can stay, be well fed, and never be judged for simply being who you are.  But first a little test to prove whether or not you'll fit in with us..."

The scene changed to deep in the Twelveswood where the miqo'te was now with several other miqo'te wearing tribal hunting clothes inside a makeshift tent.  "What do you mean she's dead?!" she shouted to another who was standing in front of her looking downwards remorsefully.  "They came from nowhere.  One minute we were together and the next we were ambushed.  There were too many of them to fight back.  We tried to separate in hopes they'd split apart but they instead went for Dihna and then..." the other miqo'te held her head down further unable to look her in the eyes.

The scene changed once more to where she was standing over a table looking down at a book and a collection of dark steel armor.  "Let's see how the Wood Wailers handles this once I unleash this upon them" she hissed in a sour voice, her face twisting menacingly.

The scene changed to inside the crypt where she stood in front of the armor worn by Bockman.  "Those Gridanian bastards will pay dearly for murdering my sister" she said as she raised the book open in front of her and began chanting some undeciperable language.  "Rise once more and reclaim your place in the Twelveswood!" she finally chanted.  A whirl of dark mist began to form around the armor as it started to animate.  The miqo'te quickly closed the book and ran out of the crypt.

The world started to swirl once more and they were back with their comrades.  Reubemont grit his teeth and drew out his sword and shield and aimed them at the miqo'te sentry.  "It was you!" he shouted to her.  "You were the one who summoned Bockman from the Lifestream!"

The miqo'te sentry looked shocked.  "Me?  Why would you say that?  I wouldn't do such a thing!"

"I saw it too" Melanie said holding her staff in front of her.  "You used an incantation from a book whilst summoning Bockman back to the realm of the living.  It was your intention to cause chaos among the Wood Wailers after they mistreated you and took the life of your sister."

The miqo'te stared at her with a surprised look, then her look was replaced with a sneer.  "Fine!" she said angrily.  "You may have caught me but you will never stop our cause!  The Coeurlclaw tribe will take over these forests as their own!"  She proceeded to run when a whistle was heard in the air followed by an arrow embedding itself into the miqo'te's back.  Melanie looked behind her to see one of the sentries holding an empty bow in his hands glaring angrily at the miqo'te's body.  "As with all those who consort with the Coeurlclaws, the punishment for consorting the enemy is death."

Melanie lowered her staff and closing her eyes tightly looked away from the miqo'te's corpse.  This wasn't what she expected to happen.  They didn't have to kill her like this, not after what she and her sister went through.  "Thank you adventurers once again.  You discovered a leak in our establishment and rid our forests of 2 major threats.  Had we known she was a member of the Coeurlclaws we would've executed her on the spot instead of recruiting her as one of us."  Reubemont sheethed his sword and placed the shield back onto his back.  He took one last look at the miqo'te's corpse with pity and remorse.  This didn't sit well with him either even if she was from a tribe of criminals.  "Come, let's return back to Gridania" he said to his comrades in a slightly despondent tone.  The group slowly and silently followed Reubemont back on the path being careful not to walk over the miqo'te's body.