The trip to Limsa Lominsa was no easy journey for Melanie. Despite riding the airship several times already she still wasn't yet used to flying so high up in the air and was still worried that a gust of wind could blow her off the airship or that she'd fall off the edge. The journey was also longer than it was between Ul'dah and Gridania and the air was much cooler sending a slight chill down Melanie's spine and making her feel even less comfortable.
Reubemont gathered his friends close by so they could discuss their next plan of action. "So here's the plan - Johnas and Holskwyb, I want you to question the locals to see if they have any intel on the Dark Jekyll. Suyaya, I'll leave the administrative part for you to register us at the inn and secure rooms for us, and see if you can find somewhere we can get some new supplies too as I'm starting to feel this blade is getting a bit light these days and my shield looks like it could break any time soon. I'll find us some work in the meantime either at the guild or by asking any of the locals."
"What about Brovola?" Suyaya asked as she looked across at her shivvering quietly and looking petrified huddled against the mast.
"I''ll take her with me" Reubemont said glancing down to her. "I have a feeling she'll have a hard time navigating Limsa alone at her current state."
"Oh, right.." Suyaya pondered as she remembered the layout of Limsa Lominsa. Whilst Ul'dah and Gridania were mostly on solid ground, Limsa was built upon large stone pillars that rose from the ocean just off the coast of La Noscea and was connected by many wooden bridges and walkways. Reubemont remembered the first time his sister visited Limsa and she went into a full blown panic attack, so he knew what to expect from Melanie once they'd arrive.
As his friends moved off to discuss among themselves where they'd split their tasks Reubemont sat down beside Melanie. "You heard all of that, right?" he said to her. Melanie nodded, pulling her knees up closer to her chest trying both to stay warm and give herself a sense of comfort. "Here..." Reubemont said, taking a small brown cloak from his backpack and wrapping it around Melanie's shoulders. The cloak was fairly old but it kept the cold air from brushing her skin and she could already feel the benefit.
"Thank you" Melanie stuttered as she gently grappled at the edges of the cloak and pulled them more tightly around her.
"Hey, it'll be ok" Reubemont said in a reassuring voice. "We'll stick together you and me. I'll help you get around and I won't leave you alone. Besides Limsa is not the kind of place I would want to leave a damsel in distress all by herself."
"What about Suyaya?" Melanie asked nodding towards her.
"Suyaya can take care of herself" Reubemont said with a slight smile. "She's travelled to Limsa many times before and knows how to deal with the more brash population."
The air started to smell less like sea water and a sweet scent of fresh grass and wines muddled with grape and apricot started to fill the air. The temperature had also changed from gentle cool breezes to hot summer heat, although not as hot and dry as the heat in Thanalan mostly as it was now approaching evening hours. Reubemont breathed in the scent with a satisfying and gentle smile. "We must be approaching Limsa soon" he said standing back up again and giving himself a gentle stretch. Melanie started to stand up readying to disembark. "Oh, we're not there yet" Reubemont said as she stunbled on her feet.
"Oh" Melanie said a little disappointed, but then she started to feel curious to where they were. She'd managed to look over the airship edge before and seen glimpses of the Shroud and Thanalan, so now she was curious to see what La Noscea was like from above. "Actually I'd like to take a look" she said a little nervously. Reubemont guided her towards the edge of the airship and she peered over from a distance so as not to get too close to the edge.
"We've already past Costa Del Sol, an area known for its tranquil beaches and nearby distilleries, but over there is..."
"WOAH!!!" Melanie interrupted him as she caught sight of the spiral city of Limsa Lominsa peering over the tall hills below them, it's central point looked like a bright palace glimmering in the distance.
"And that is Limsa Lominsa" Reubemont said with a smile. "Be wary that whilst the city looks beautiful from this distance it was founded and built by pirates. Chief Admiral Merlwyb may have imposed laws and regulations amongst its founders and residents but despite her efforts there is no shortage of thuggary and piracy lurking in the shadows. You'd best make sure that anything of value such as gil is tightly sealed and hidden well inside your backpack, lest you find yourself very short of coin."
Melanie turned to him and then looked shocked as he was dangling her purse in his hands above her head and handed it over to her with a grin. "A simple trick I once learned whilst I was there back in my younger days" he said with a gentle nod. Melanie quickly stuffed the purse into her backpack along with a few other items she had loosely tied to her belt and double checked to make sure her backpack didn't give an inch for any sticky fingers to find their way in. "Sounds like this place is not much different than Salford, I'd best treat it as such" she thought to herself swinging her backpack back onto her shoulders. Reubemont helped adjust the straps on her shoulders ensuring they were secure and not easy to just pull off.
Melanie noticed that Reubemont was touching her more often and that she was also starting to feel a little affectionate towards him. She had to remind herself a few times that her residence on Eorzea was only temporary and that she still had a husband waiting back on Earth for her return, even if she felt resentment towards him. Surely she wasn't going to just fall for the next man to show her kindness after such a short time. Perhaps it was because she had been so starved off affection for so long that she was noticing it more. She quickly brushed aside the feeling with a nervous smile and watched as the airship moved closer towards the city. She could now see the edges of Eastern La Noscea and once again the scent of sea salt began to cut through the air and carrying with it scents of rum and fresh fish.
As the airship began a gentle descent towards the city Melanie noticed that the city was no longer as impressive as it appeared at first glance, yet it still was a sight to behold. Many small wooden shipping docks were scattered around the base of the city. There was also numerous cables that attached to various pillars and mounting points which seemed to lead below water. Melanie wasn't quite sure what these cables were for, perhaps to prevent the pillars from shifting and destabilizing the city when the winds and tides picked up speed? Whilst the stone work of the city showed signs of age the briny air and hot sun kept most of the stone polished and bleached white. Small windows carved into the thick stone pillars suggested that as well as being supports for most of the also acted as a place of residence. At the very tops of the pillars that was left untouched for many years moss and large bushes grew around tall spires and chimneys from the resident buildings. Behind the city further out to sea was a lighthouse made of a single tall pillar of stone that at its tip housed a large light that glowed a brilliant blue, lighting up the city from afar with a gentle blue glow.
The airship descended towards the large central building where high up a large cavity had been built to house the airship. Melanie's ears was greeted with the sounds of dozens of gulls, the gentle rippling waves and the creaking of the wooden ships docked below, as well as the noises of the city itself with what she could only describe as "pirate speak." With gentle maneouvering the airship gingerly swept past some of the nearby tall pillars and wooden walkways and came to a landing inside the cavity. Everyone began to disembark onto a stone platform. Just as she disembarked Reubemont lowered himself to her ear. "Remember, stick together, and don't get too close to the edges of the walkways. If you start to feel scared walking over them let me know and I'll help you get across" he whispered. Melanie nodded and continued walking through a checkpoint where Suyaya had already accounted for their arrival. Ahead of them carved into the stone was a wooden lift shaft leading to the different city levels and a green skinned Roegadyn attendant dressed in a yellow jacket standing nearby. After the attendant closed the gate to the lift behind them she felt the lift jolt into action and heard the sound of taut rope and wood creaking as the lift lowered itself to the bottom layer of the city. It still gave Melanie the heebie jeebies with the initial jolt and the creaking noises that made her close her eyes tightly and cringe. It was a noise that with her larger Miqo'te ears was even more dreadful than she would've barely tollerated in her human body.
The lift arrived at another gate where another green skinned female Roegadyn attendant was waiting for them to allow them to depart into a circular room full of people sat around round tables cheering and chugging down grog like no tomorrow. Waitresses in small red leather hats, red dresses and white aprons walked back and forth between the tables and the bar taking in orders and bringing wooden palettes filled with silver tumblers and tall green bottles of Melanie could only guess was more alcohol. The crowd here were far more rowdy than any of the other cities that Melanie could barely hear herself think. Despite the crowd being so alive there was a reasonable amount of conduct to ensure that nothing went awry - even if it did the was plenty of entrances back into The Drowning Wench where city guards could easily rush in and break up whatever was taking place.
Reubemont nodded to his friends who then quickly dispersed on their tasks. Suyaya made a beeline to a nearby counter to make reservations at the inn whilst Johnas and Holskwyb went their separate ways to less noisy grounds where they could evesdrop on any passers by or find people who'd be willing to talk for the right price. Reubemont looked around the room and beckoned Melanie over to a nearby billboard and started to scan through some of the various jobs that were on for offer. "Hmm" he mulled as he ran his finger over the requests. He then stopped at one and pulled it from the billboard to get a better look. "Ah, this looks promising" he said with slight enthusiasm. After finding an empty table to sit at Reubemont passed the note over to Melanie. "Here, what do you think of this?" he asked. Melanie took the note and as she started to read it outloud everything started to sound distant and her surroundings began to change.
The Echo reached out to her showing her dozens of pirates taking up seige inside Satasha. Among them a woman who was dressed more elaborately than the rest was flicking through a number of charts on a table nearby. "Those red jacketted fools, they just left this place untouched - easy pickings ripe for our taking" she gloated with a wicked smile. She turned around pointing out to a small group of pirates who were gathered together doing nothing. "You there!" she called out to them. The group turned to face her. "I want you to help secure The Rambade. Don't let anyone other than our own people get through those gates or your life will be forfeit, you hear? Wait...what was that?" The female pirate in charge quickly looked up hearing noises coming from down one of the nearby tunnels, then a pirate came rushing into the room with a scared look on his face.
"Captain Shardon, adventurers! They breached The Cattery and are making their way up here!" he called out in a desperate voice.
"What?!!!" Captain Shardon drew her sword and looked onward as she heard the sound of clashing swords, firey explosions and the sounds of people screaming in agony. She quickly ushered some of her men next to her as they backed off out of the room. "Keep them from coming any closer, and you lot with me!!!" she ordered the rest of her people who quickly formed up a barrier and drew their swords. As she ran into the back of the room through a heavily reinforced wooden gate the sound of running feet became louder and louder. Shadows began to take form as they entered the brightly lit room and leading them was an elezen paladin that Melanie immediately recognised as Reubemont.
"Are you alright?" Reubemont's voice cut through the vision. Melanie shook her head to find herself back in Limsa, the pain in her head starting to settle. "Was that The Echo just now?" he asked her.
"Ungh, yeah" Melanie said as the pain subsided.
"Strange that I didn't get to see anything" Reubemont pondered. "What did you see?"
"It was us in Satasha" Melanie answered him.
"So it was a premonition?" Reubemont continued to ponder. "It seems your gift is quite different from mine. Last time when we both saw something from The Echo it was of a past event, but you can also see what's about to happen." He sat back with a smile and looked at the paper. "And from your premonition it would appear our next destination is to infiltrate Satasha."
Melanie lowered her head as she thought about her vision. In it they had been killing other people. Up until now they had only been culling animals and even that had proven difficult for her at times, but other beings? It made her feel very uneasy at the thought.
Reubemont noticed Melanie was looking uncomfortable. "Is everything okay?" he asked gently.
"I saw us...killing people" Melanie stammered. Reubemont's smile lowered as he saw how distressed she appeared. "Up until now all we've done is fight other creatures, but the thoughts of me killing another person doesn't sit well with me. I've never struck against another person in my entire life, so how am I to suddenly turn into this...murderer?"
Reubemont slowly looked down at the note with a sadenned look on his face. "Perhaps we should consider a different mission then" he said readying to return the note to the board. Melanie swiftly placed her hand on his, stopping him from picking up the note and startling him. "No, don't" she said. She closed her eyes and took in a few deep and calming breaths. "If what The Echo has shown me is to be true then this is our destiny. It might not sit well with me now but this is the path I'm to go down. It was inevitable that this day was to come. I just didn't expect it so soon..."
For a moment they just sat there, Melanie's hand still on Reubemont's. He started to notice the warmth and softness of her hand on his. His heart started to pound and he began to swallow hard. "Why hasn't she moved her hand yet? Could she...? No, it can't be that. She already has someone, besides I'm her captain so even if it were that it would be inappropriate for us to..."
Melanie realised she still had her hand on his and quickly drew her hand back and started to blush. "I'm sorry, I wasn't meaning to keep my hand there" she said, turning her gaze away from him.
"No, it's fine" Reubemont said with a sigh of relief and trying to hide his nervousness.
"What was I doing?!!! I can't believe I kept my hand there. What if he now thinks I'm trying to flirt with him?" Melanie felt angry and embarassed with herself for letting herself slip out of character.
Suyaya began making her way towards the table from the counter at the other side of the room. "I've secured us rooms to stay for a few nights" she said as she took a seat, then looked across at the paper in Reubemont's hands. "I take it you've found us some work?" she queried.
"Oh, yes" Reubemont stammered a little distracted and handed her the note.
"Hmm, new band of pirates over at Satasha" Suyaya read outloud. "Sounds like this will offer us quite the bounty." She handed the note back to Reubemont with a grin and then noticed Melanie looking very sheepish. "Is she ok?" Suyaya said quietly to Reubemont.
"Ah, err, she's suffering a bit of sea sickness" he stammered a little.
Suyaya frowned a little confused. "Isn't that normally when people are riding on a boat?" she asked.
Err...um, it's the air not the motion" Reubemont replied scratching the side of his head trying to come up with an answer.
"Oh... Well then" Suyaya said shrugging her shoulders a little and then smiling at Melanie. "Don't worry, it'll pass soon" she said to her in a reassuring voice, then she turned her attention back to Reubemont. "I'll go turn in for the night. I've already alerted the others via linkpearl their rooms are ready when they are." She then gave a gentle wave and headed off to a small gated area near the lift.
Melanie and Reubemont continued to sit in awkward silence for a while. "I should probably turn in too" they both said, standing up in unison and crashing into each other. "Um, ladies first" Reubemont stepped back and ushered Melanie forward. Melanie looking rather flustered quickly shuffled away to the snall wooden gate followed by Reubemont.
