Melanie woke up groggily from her slumber. She didn't get much sleep at all that night, partly because a gull had been perched on a wall mount outside near her window since 5am non-stop calling and keeping her awake. She had tried a few times to shoo it away but it was very persistent and too far away from her to reach out and knock it off its perch.
She dragged herself out of bed with her eyes still half open and let out a big and wide yawn and gave her body a long stretch. Splashing water onto her face from a nearby bowl of luke warm water didn't seem to help with waking her properly. She glanced at herself at a nearby dresser and saw how dark her eyes looked. People were going to think she'd been in a fist fight.
Slowly Melanie dressed herself. As she did so she began to mull over what she was going to tell Reubemont. Whilst she found comfort in his kindness and affection she could ill afford to allow herself to fall for someone else. For one she was already married, the body she was currently occupying was on loan, and she had no idea how long she'd be in this universe for. Even if she decided to let her emotions carry her away then what would happen when it was time to go back home? It wouldn't be fair on either party. This would also be true for G'raha Tia who she had very strong feelings for. She felt a deep pain in her chest as she thought back to how he last looked at her on the First.
Melanie grabbed her belongings before departing from her room. The day had only just started and the heat was already beginning to build up. Luckily there was no stairs here, just a long and winding ramp that led back down to The Drowning Wench. Seated at the bar her friends were already waiting for her arrival, including Reubemont who didn't look like he had any trouble sleeping at all himself. His face turned to shock as he saw Melanie seat next to them and stared at her face in horror.
"By the Gods, didn't you get any sleep last night?" he gasped.
"Not much" Melanie grumbled feeling slightly agitated that she was the only one who didn't get much sleep.
"Ok lads and ladies, what can I....oh my!" a waitress stared shocked at Melanie who could barely keep her eyes open and her head from dropping down to the bar counter. "Aren't you in a right mess Miss. Well don't you worry your pretty tail off, we have just the right stuff for you behind the counter!" The waitress shuffled behind the counter and grabbed a small bottle filled with orange liquid and brought it back to Melanie with a metal tumbler. "Here, on the house!" she said with a grin as she popped open the lid to the bottle.
"What is it?" Melanie asked looking at the bottle curiously. A strong smell of oranges began to tickle in her nostrils.
"It's a special blend of some of our local La Noscean oranges and water that's rumoured to flow near a powerful source of aether, plus a secret ingredient" the waitres said happily as she helped pour the liquid into the tumbler.
"So it's basically orange juice?" Melanie looked over to the waitress with a slightly unimpressed gaze as if they were trying to sell her snake oil.
"Oh no, it's more than that! Mr Mander...I mean, the man who invented the recipe claims it's so powerful that it could even wake a man from his death bed."
"Mander...ville? As in Godbert Manderville?!" Melanie gasped.
"Oh dear, seems I let my tongue slip again" the waitress sighed shaking her head in dismay.
"As in that gentleman from The Golden Saucer? That man sure does get around" Reubemont commented.
Melanie took a few moments before drinking in a few sips of the orange juice. It tasted like any ordinary orange drink, except the juice was more thicker and smoother as if something else had been blended in to give it a little viscosity.
"How is it?" Reubemont queried.
"It's alright. Smooth, silky... very orangey, kind of reminds me of a drink back at home we called Sunny Delight" Melanie looked at the tumbler trying to determine what it was she was tasting in the background. It seemed that the orange was there to mask whatever the water was mixed with to make it more palatable. She took in a few more sips and began to notice a surge of energy flowing through her. It was as if she just drank a dozen coffees in one sitting. "Wow!" she exclaimed in surprise at just how quick and potent the drink was.
The waitress nodded with a satisfied grin on her face. "That would be the secret ingredient doing its work."
Melanie now felt more wide awake than ever and ready to take on the world. Reubemont blinked in surprise as he watched her dark and puffy eyes suddenly return to normal and her body straighten up alert and attentative to the world around her. "I dare say that's some amazing beverage" he remarked.
"Now then, may I take your orders?" the waitress asked with slight eagerness in her voice.
"Ah yes, I'll have a boiled egg and a glass of pineapple juice please" Reubemont said heartily.
"Just a plate of scrambled eggs and a glass of water for me" Johnas said.
"I'll have the scrambled eggs too with some orange juice" Suyaya piped up.
"Frumenty and a glass of orange" Holskwyb added.
"Frumenty? What's that?" Melanie asked curiously.
"It's a blend of wheat, raisins and cinnamon boiled together with aldgoat milk. I used to have it every day as a child. It's fairly sweet and very satisfying" Holskwyb replied.
"Hmm, that almost sounds like a porridge" Melanie mumbled to herself. "I'll have the frumenty also" she said looking over to the waitress who then nodded and skipped her way back to the bar.
After the waitress left Reubemont then turned his attention to his friends.
"So, did you manage to find out anything about the Dark Jekyll?" he said to Johnas and Holskwyb.
Holskwyb lowered her head as if having been defeated by the question. "Sadly no, there hasn't been nearly as much talk here in Limsa about this Dark Jekyll as we came across in Gridania spare a few suggestions here and there that he might be from a secretive organization based somewhere within La Noscea."
"What about you Johnas?" Reubemont said.
"Same as Holskwyb" he said with a dejected sigh.
"Well, that's rather disappointing" Reubemont sighed with disappointment. "Well, at least I have better news for us to make some gil whilst we're here." Reubemont pulled out the notice he swiped last night from the bulletin from his pockets and showed it to his friends. "There's been an outbreak of a new band of pirates setting up seige in Satasha. Brovola had a premonition that we'd be infiltrating their base, so based on her gift I believe this is something we can most definitely handle as a team, and there's quite a big reward should we successfully complete the mission."
"Pirates, huh?" Holskwyb said in a questionable voice.
"Is...something the matter?" Reubemont queried.
"Oh, nothing" Holskwyb replied shrugging her shoulders slightly.
"Then we set sail for Aleport in a couple of hours" Reubemont said in a satisfied voice and placed the notice back into his pockets.
The waitress returned to the table carrying a number of plates of mostly egg dishes and drinks on a wooden palette. Melanie could smell the frumenty and her mouth started to water.
"Before I forget I did some enquiring on where to find some new equipment for us" Suyaya spoke out. "As luck would be there was a new shipment of goods arrived in the early hours this morning destined to the market stalls in Hawkers' Alley with a promising ledger."
"Excellent news" Reubemont nodded with a smile. "We should stop by the markets and see what they have in stock."
Everyone began to dig into their breakfast. Melanie was glad she stuck with the frumenty. She had no idea how she'd react to eating eggs even in this body. Back on Earth even the smell of boiled eggs was enough to turn her stomach sour, and the very texture or taste of eggs even in the slightest of trace would make her throw up. Just the smell of the eggs was already making her feel slightly uncomfortable so she could only guess that she'd react in the same way as she would on Earth when eating them.
After having their fill Reubemont was ready to depart with his team. The waitress collected their now empty plates and tumblers and disappeared with them behind the bar. Collecting their belongings they departed from the inn and made headway towards a ramp that led down to the lower decks of Limsa.
Despite being high up above the gentle ocean waves Melanie didn't seem too flustered about how high up they were. Having ridden airships as many times as she had recently had made her feel a lot more grounded from lesser high locations, and with the ramp being so wide and built up against a stone pillar made her feel safer as long as she didn't go too close to the edge.
Melanie felt an opportunity to grab Reubemont to talk. She gently tugged at his arm indicating that she wanted to speak privately. "Err, I'll catch up with you guys in a moment" Reubmeont said as his team noticed he'd stopped. They gave a gentle nod and carried on down the rest of the ramp. "What's wrong Brovola?" he asked Melanie once they were alone.
Melanie started to feel a little flustered as she tried to find the right words to say to Reubemont. "About last night..." she started, then her face went red as she lost the nerve and couldn't look him in the face. Reubemont looked at her curiously as she bit her lower lip and looked a little stressed. "I...I like that you care for me and, um, I'm in love and, uh, I'm married and I can't..." Melanie stumbled with her words that it all came out as a mangled mess and her face kept getting redder until she was virtually glowing like a fireball. Reubemont smiled and walked up to her and gently patted her on her head.
"What???" Melanie felt confused as Reubemont continued to gently pat her head. She looked up to him seeing him smiling gently and still patting her head. "There there" he said as he continued to pat. The Echo began to pull her back into a brief moment of Reubemont's past where he was but a teenager, his sister was looking very stressed and he was patting her on the head in the same way. "There there, sis" he said to her as she started to sob.
Melanie was pulled back into the present with Reubemont still patting her on the head. She smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "Of course, you don't think of me that way" she said finally able to look him in the face again. "I let myself get all worked up over something silly."
Reubemont stopped patting her on her head and continued to smile at her. "It wasn't silly" he said in a reassuring voice. "But you are right about me. I see you as a friend and as a part of my team. It would be inappropriate for me to take advantage of someone who is under my guidance and even so for someone who is betrothed to another. I will admit however that I may have become a little too comfortable in your presence, so perhaps it would be best if we were to dial things down a little and be a bit more professional about how we do things from here on."
Melanie nodded in agreement with a gentle smile, her face having returned to a normal colour again. She felt as if a huge weight of worry had been lifted from her shoulders.
"Let's head on down before the rest of the team starts wondering whether we're coming down yet" Reubemont said. Melanie followed closely behind him. Her mind felt so much more relaxed now, however she was now going to be a bit more mindful over how she sought comfort in stressful moments.
Eventually the ramp ended at a circular plaza with a large crystal aetheryte spinning on its axis in the middle of the plaza above a golden setting set in a stone dias. Many people were gathered around the aetheryte fanning away at the morning heat or resting at one of the few benches that lined the edges of the plaza. Nearby a stone building acting as a tunnel housed several small stalls inside it where traders called out to the locals eager to sell their wares. Reubemont ushered his group towards the building and they began to browse through the various items on display.
As Melanie gazed at some of the stalls in awe she could hear an old lady's voice behind her and felt a gentle tugging on her robes. "Excuse me Miss, are you an adventurer?" an old lady in simple clothing said to her with a desperate look on her eyes. Melanie turned to face her properly and gave her a nod.
"How may I help you?" she asked the old lady.
"Thank Llymlaen someone has finally stopped to listen!" the old lady gasped excitedly. "I'm in dire need of certain special ingredients obtained from the local wildlife outside. None of the traders here have what I need so it befalls on me to ask adventurers for help."
"Is there something we can help you with?" Reubemont said noticing that Melanie was preoccupied with the old lady. The old lady scorned at him for interrupting.
"I wasn't talking to you" she hissed.
"I'm sorry, we're all together so I wondered..."
"I'm not paying all of you to help" the old lady continued to snap at him.
Melanie looked up at Reubemont with an awkward smile.
"Ah, it's alright I guess" Reubemont stammered. He then looked down to Melanie. "You can go ahead and help this lady, we still have plenty of time before we need to depart to Aleport" he said to her.
Melanie nodded to him and turned her attention back to the old lady. "Please continue" she said.
"Ah, such a nice young lady" the old woman said with a crooked smile. "As I was saying, I'm in need of some livers from the wild lambs outside Limsa. Being a by-product they're often discarded by the traders here who see no use for them as nobody else wants to purchase them - nobody except me that is, but since I'm just one person and not needing them every single day there's no profit in keeping them around and they spoil within a matter of a few hours of harvesting them. Would you ever be so kind in bringing me back a few, say four livers? I'll reward you handsomely for them."
"Err, yes of course" Melanie stammered a little.
"Thank you so much, such a kind young lady" the old lady said with a smile. "I'll stay right here whilst you go and find me those livers. Now, run along now."
Melanie nodded and looked over her friends who were far too occupied browsing the stalls and closely inspecting some of the fresh new wares. She sighed a little and turned back around heading out towards the plaza.
Melanie knew the way around Limsa having had played the game so many times. The exit to La Noscea was not too far away. She'd have to go through another small building below The Drowning Wench and then cross a long and tall bridge that linked Limsa Lominsa to the main land. Being alone this time however she started to feel a panic as she approached the bridge. She slowed her pace as the road lowered itself down to the bridge's level and stopped short of stepping onto the bridge. Her heart started to race and her legs started to feel weak.
"No, not now! Just because Reubemont isn't here doesn't mean I should start to panic here and now" she thought to herself. She swallowed hard and forced her legs to get moving. Each step felt like she was fighting against a force that was holding her legs down and her legs wobbled as she began to cross the bridge. Panic set in and her heart began to leap several times causing her to cry out in fear. "I've been on airships, I've been in higher places, why am I now struggling so hard?!" Melanie stopped for a moment to catch her breath. She was now already halfway across the bridge. "There's no going back now, the distance back is exactly the same as the distance ahead." Determined to reach the other side, Melanie started to move forward again. Her body's resistance started to give way and she was finally able to reach the main land at the other side of the bridge.
Panting heavily Melanie leaned up against a stone archway that led back into the city trying to catch her breath. She closed her eyes and started to slowly breathe in the sweet smell of grass and fresh sunkissed grapes being carried by the gentle winds. She listened to the sound of gentle waves lapping against the cliffs, the calling of gulls, the rushing of water that cascaded down from nearby streams to the cliffs creating powerful waterfalls, the wind blowing through the grass, and the sound of bleating in the near distance. After a few minutes of respite Melanie gathered herself together and made way towards the bleating.
--
Melanie stared with a look of regret on her face for having accepted such a mission. Dozens of fluffy lambs bounced around the grass nibbling on the fresh shoots. It was more than she could bear. They were too cute. Letting out a groan she slumped down on her knees and watched the lambs nibbling away. One noticed her and came close up to her and after giving her a sniff let out a gentle bleat. Melanie smiled and reached out to the lamb and started to scratch its head. The lamb closed its eyes rubbing its head into her fingers and bleated happily.
"Aww, you're so cute, I can't bring myself to kill one of you let alone four" Melanie said in a motherese voice. The little lamb bounced up and down excitedly. Another lamb seeing what was happening wandered over and started to demand being petted. Melanie chuckled under her breath and moved her hand across and started to scratch its head.
Another lamb then started to approach, and another, and another. Melanie realised she was getting overwhelmed by lambs all bleating and demanding her to pet them and started to panic a little. "Hold on, I can't pet you all at once" she stammered. More lambs began to crowd in front of her pushing into her and almost knocking her over. Quickly she tried to get back on her feet and this startled one of the lambs who then bit her fingers.
"Oww!" Melanie gasped shaking her hand free from the lambs' mouth. The other lambs were now becoming agitated and were no longer demanding to be petted and began to bite into her ankles. "Oww, stop!" Melanie cried out trying to kick them away, but they just kept on pushing into her. By now they had all ceased to be friendly and continued to press and bite away at her.
Melanie couldn't take it anymore. Without thinking she quickly grabbed her staff, reached out to a fire aspected aether and banged the base of the staff to the ground. A wave of fire hit all the lambs causing several to get slightly singed and bounce away in fear. Of the ones that weren't so lucky they lay dead before her feet, their fur completely burned off and the smell of burnt flesh and grass filling the air with a sickening crackle. Melanie took in a few slow breaths to calm down and looked down at the dead lambs at her feet with a look of deep regret. Tears started to flow down from her eyes. "I'm so sorry, but I had no other choice" she said remorsefully.
She slowly lowered herself back down on her knees and took a look at the bodies. Two were completely obliterated to the bone however there were four that still were salvageable. Melanie pulled out a small knife she had tucked away on her belt and waved her hands around the lamb corpses. "Eugh" she groaned, then she wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her arm and with a grimaced look began to cut into the lamb corpses. The smell and the sight of blood and squelching noises as she placed her hands into their corpses started to make her gag a little and several times she had to look away. Her hands were completely covered in warm blood as she reached for the livers and after a few slices tugged away at them until they were prised out of their bodies. Using a spare linen bag she placed the livers inside of them and once she was done she looked around for a nearby source of water to clean the blood from her hands and blade. Nearby was a stream of water coming from the hills that ran towards the cliffs.
Melanie walked over to the stream and started to wash her hands in the running water, barely noticing a small group of roegadyn men walking her way. After drying her hands on her robes and placing the blade back on her belt she finally noticed the three roegadyn who were staring at her with dirty looks on their faces.
"Well well, what have we here..." one of them said with an evil grin. "I believe this is the competition that old fossil sent us out here to find." He looked down at the grass below Melanie's feet where the bloodied linen bag containing the lambs' livers was. "And looks like that's the booty we've been sent to obtain." He then looked back up at Melanie's face with an even wider grin. Melanie could feel her body tensing nervously. She certainly did not like the look of these guys. He snorted under his breath and began to crack his knuckles. "Why don't we just take those livers and we can just say you fell off the nearby cliffs, eh?" he said as he started to advance towards her.
Melanie realised she was in grave danger and that these thugs were certainly not the type who could be easily talked out of a fight. She'd never been in an encounter like this in her life but she knew if she wanted to get out alive she was going to have to fight her way out. Melanie pulled out her staff readying for an assault. "Don't make me hurt you" she said in a threatening voice, although deep down she was quaking in fear and they could hear it in her quivvering voice.
"Ooh, looks like we have a fighter, lads!" the lead roegadyn laughed a belly laugh and then looked at her with a widened smile. "In case you haven't noticed, lady, it's three against one. This is not your lucky day."
"Oh my god, they're really going to kill me!"
The roegadyn made for another approach and with a grimace Melanie reached out to a fire aspect. "Burn!" she called out. The focus in her staff responded and a fireball launched itself from the aether surrounding her and hit the roegadyn leader square in the face causing him to recall in pain. His comrades watched him stumble and their faces contorted in anger. "You'll pay for that!" one of them shouted and made a run towards her.
Melanie started to panic. She had no time to launch another fireball and she'd soon have both men tackling her. Her only other option was to put one of them out. "Sleep!" she called out. One of the men was quickly surrounded in a gentle mist that caused his eyes to roll into the back of his head and his body crumpled to the floor into a deep slumber.
Now it was one against one, but she no longer had any time to cast another spell. The roegadyn overpowered her, grabbing her tightly and trying to wrestle her to the floor. "Now I've got you!" he said as Melanie screamed and squirmed. "Let me go!" she called out as she struggled against his burly arms, but his grip was like a vice. "Hehe" the roegadyn cackled, "after I've had my fun with you you're going to wish you'd never been born." Melanie needed to act fast. Without her hands free she wasn't able to cast another spell, and she couldn't fight her way out of his arms. There was only one other thing left to do. She bent her head down and sank her sharp teeth into his arms.
"Yaaargh!!!!" The roegadyn loosened his grip giving Melanie the opportunity she needed. Using her staff as a weapon she knocked him hard under his chin, causing him to completely let go and stumble backwards in a daze.
"Electrify!" she cried out. The roegadyn crashed to the floor screaming in agony as his body was engulfed in waves of electricity.
The leader who had now recovered from his burns that left one side of his face scorched growled angrily seeing both his friends encumbered. He pulled out a long knife and made a launch towards Melanie. Her eyes opened wide as she saw the weapon. There was no other choice, she was going to have to fight for her life. She thrust her staff in front of her, launching a series of fire bolts that knocked him back to the ground screaming in agony. The burns were severe leaving his face competely blackened and he let out a final gasp as he gazed blankly at the sky above him. His other friends were completely unconscious from their encounters.
Melanie lowered her hands and tried to slow her panicked breathing. Her whole body was shaking from the encounter so much that she felt she was about to throw up. Her head was spinning slightly and she felt utterly exhausted. She thought perhaps she felt exhausted from the fight, but with the encounter having been so intense she had forgotten the first rule of thaumaturgy - don't exhaust your mana. With tears rolling down her face she slowly knelt down to pick up the bloodied bag of lambs' livers and slowly dragging her feet began to make her way back to Limsa, but before she did she walked over to the burnt corpse of the roegadyn leader and with a tearful yell kicked his body as hard as she could and then stumbled back on her journey.
--
With an expressionless and dirtied face Melanie thrust the bloodied bag in front of the old lady waiting for her in Limsa with eagerness. "Ooh, you've finally brought them!" she said grabbing the bag from Melanie's hands with her crooked fingers. "And now for your payment..." the old lady pulled out a purse and tumbled a few coins into Melanie's hands, who then silently stuffed the coins into her own purse. "By the way, I sent some men to go after you when you hadn't returned. I was getting very concerned. I take it you didn't see them? They didn't seem quite the friendly sort but they were so very eager to go hunting" she queried.
Melanie glared at her a little and then forced a big smile. "Let's say they won't be so willing to go hunting for me next time" Melanie replied. She then walked past the old lady and lowered her smile.
Reubemont and his friends had finished with their purchases as Melanie walked by them. "It's not the best but it'll do" Reubemont said as he inspected his new weapon. He then caught sight of Melanie walking towards them. "Ah, just in time..." he said, then he saw the look on her face. "Is everything all...."
"I'm just fine. Let's get moving and kill some damn pirates" without even looking at him Melanie cut him off in sharp and cold voice.
