The titanic hrothgar glared at the map before him
They had to be destroyed, these agents of Krick’s. The blonde miqo’te was the last head of a dying a hydra that must be obliterated before the body could give rise to more writhing necks and looming skulls. For a decade, Hojo had hunted Krick and his dark colleges and had succeeded where no one else seemed to be able too.
Hojo had killed so many of Krick’s companions. Crate. Jin. Allorot. Even the cult leader self-entitled the ‘Voice of Darkness’ had fallen to his axe. Yet somehow K’rick, the ‘Wytch of Gridania’, had avoid his date with the executioner’s axe. Time and again, the aged mage had slithered free like an insect just before the crushing boot fell. Their dance of hunter and prey had become a staple of Hojo’s life and he would see their tango brought to an end. He was a holy weapon wielded by the leader of his Free Company and he would save Eorzea. It was his mission to burn away the darkness and the heretic to keep the common people safe. For too long at K’rick been his one blemish upon his perfect record. He growled as he flicked his tail.
“You seem very focused.” came a voice dripping with aristocratic superiority. Hojo glanced up from the map of the world to look at a tall, grey-haired elezen well into his advanced years standing in the doorway. A trimmed beard covered his chin and there was not a single threat out of place of his gilded uniform of white.
“High Inqisitrror Neerrrr.” Hojo rumbled out as he watched the elezen step into the room and examine the map on the table between them. Neer was the left hand of their leader while Hojo was the right. Hojo smashed and destroyed while Neer played sweet words and crept in the darkness to find the enemies of the people. They could not have been more different in their methods, these two captains, but their mission was the same: protect the people from the dark powers that haunted the shadows.
“Staring at that map hoping for a sudden burst of inspiration?” Neer mused, trailing a gloved finger over the drawn borders of Eorzea.
“Something akin to that.” Hojo flicked his tail and rolled his giant shoulders. “The enemy has rrrun to grrrround once again.”
“As K’rick is known to do.” Neer mused. “Yet he was already proven to be more aggressive than his predecessor now that the mantle of leadership has passed to him. The attack on the caravan was a message of that for certain.”
“You still think that was them?” Hojo commented. “We have many enemies beyond that man.”
“I do.” Neer thought. “A message to show us they are willing to consider a more aggressive play than we’ve seen from them before.”
“Then why stop with a small attack on the caravan?”
“Let us not forget the bravado they displayed during that prison break they performed on our outpost to save K’rick. This group is not the same as what we have been used too. These new members are more capable and aggressive. And that makes them both refreshing and unpredictable.” Neer looked up at Hojo.
“It is simply because they are despearrrrate, a wounded wolf strrruggling beforrre it is slain.” Hojo spat.
“Possible, but I fear the wolf has lived long enough to heal. My spy has informed me they are already planning to restore the Lady Kataani to health despite your spell.”
“Impossible, they-“
“I have yet to have my spy lie, Hojo.” Neer mused quietly with a thin smirk. “As insufferable as they are, there is weight in their words.”
“Then we stop them. We crrrrush them now. Have your spy give us theirrrr location again and end it.”
“Afraid that is not an option at this time. After our two assaults on their strongholds prior, our free company’s reputation has...suffered some. Not everyone likes seeing their neighbor’s house burned.”
“Those were dens of darrrkness in need of a purge.”
“Hojo.” Neer sighed and rolled his eyes. “No one can say you are not the most devoted of us to the wellbeing of the people but there is more to this than simply ‘cleansing’ and a frontal attack is not an option. Your very notable actions of late have raised flags among the city-states and the Grand Companies. So notable have we been that that our free company’s reputation is somewhat besmirched. Being accused of reckless vigilantism is a dangerous accusation and our leader is trying to soothe relations and nerves as we speak. For now, we have to lay low as our enemy scurries about in the shadows.”
“Building its strength.” Hojo hissed.
“Oh, that they have been. As of last moon, apparently, our foe has established ‘The Nosshoku Group’ free company. In less than a moon, they have dropped large amounts of gil all over Eorzea and Kugane to buy up banks and trading companies to present themselves as a legitimate organization.”
“Then we purrrge these companies we-”
“Hojo, you cannot smash -every- bank and storefront they own. First, there are many innocent employees working in these locations that have no idea who their new masters are truly. Further, I suspect a large deal of their funding is coming from the drug trade as well. So, even if we managed to convince the city-states to close these banks, which currently they won’t given our reputation, our foe has allies that the law cannot touch. And despite what YOU think, we don’t have the numbers, power, or influence to take on the criminal underworld. You start acting like an unsanctioned vigilante inside Ul’dah for example and you tell me how long it is until the Blades have you in chains or beheaded.”
Hojo was seething as his fists clenched.
“So we arrre letting this cancerrr grrrow? We-” Neer raised a hand to interrupt the Hrothgar once more.
“No, I am handling this. You have always been the hammer and I the scalpel. And right now our foe requires a delicate touch. For now, I will cut and sew as needed to put our foe in a position where, when I can unleash you, you can destroy them.” the elezen smirked. “You maybe the Witch Hunter Captain of our free company, Hojo, but ultimately you must obey me. Our leader understands the situation and has placed me in charge of handling matters. So, for now, focus on training our soldiers and defending the masses.”
“This is folly.” Hojo hissed, utterly frustrated but not wishing to go against the will their leader.
“No, Hojo,this is wisdom. We play slowly, repair our reputation, we learn about our enemy, and wait for our enem to make a mistake. And then,” Neer’s face split into a cunning smile, dripping with self-assurance. “We crush them.”
