It was always a bit jarring stepping foot into Castrum Oriens from the serene greenery of the Twelveswood. The rigid and unyielding metal constructs seemed so out of place;about as out of place as many thought of the female midlander and her carbuncle out in the fringes of civilization. Clutching her satchel strap, Alysia was rather oblivious of any of the skeptical looks from the denizens of the outpost. In her mind, she had all the appropriate travel papers to move freely over the border. The fact that she was alone and could be easily perceived as delicate by her appearance alone was nothing she even considered.
In truth, her thoughts still lingered on her bristled pride after her encounter earlier in the day with Mattisaux. Though she no longer muttered unlady-like curses under her breath, Alysia was still distracted by the turbulent direction that their conversation had turned. His unpredictability always made her equal parts intrigued and uneasy. If he had not aided, and in turn saved her, in Ala Ghanna, the Hyur may have just dismissed the Elezen as a disgruntled prat. Instead, she now had unwittingly let him get under her skin.
Regardless, she had succeeded in her endeavor in Gridania of finding accurate and recent mapping of the more rugged outreaches of the Peaks during the occupation. The cartographer had been most helpful and with this new information, the likelihood that she would find the hidden Garlean testing facility where that chimera must have come from had increased exponentially. All that mattered now was finding someone willing to act as a guide; a local perhaps. Pity that Mattisaux had not been more accommodating or interested in helping her. As annoying as he could be, he was a capable fighter.
With such thoughts, Alysia went to the canteen hoping to find a quiet place to rest. Her feet were sore and a good cup of tea would help gather her constitution. Soldiers in the colors of the City States mingled with other adventurers. She did her best to keep from underfoot, side stepping out of the paths of the more grizzled and intimidating of the lot. It was only by chance that she noticed a familiar face amongst the crowd.
It wasn’t that the man was well known to her. They had only really passed a handful of sentences between each other during her time in Ala Ghanna. What made him so memorable was how heavily scarred the highlander’s face was. A survivor of Garlean atrocities. His story had pulled on Alysia’s heartstrings. All the pain he’d endured and the loss of his family. It was hard not to pity the young man.
He stood aloof in the main thoroughfare, cowl pulled up to dissuade any gawking from others. The way he kept looking about, it seemed as if he was searching for someone amongst the crowd. It was strange, considering that he had a reputation for being withdrawn but Alysia always took gossip with a grain of salt. “Gregoire?” She called out as she approached.
The highlander seemed startled at the sound of his name spoken, jumping somewhat as he tried to lay eyes on its origins. With a beaming grin, Alysia came to stand in front of the man. “You are a long way from home! What are you doing here?” She asked curiously in the hopes of striking up a conversation. Gregoire nervously tugged at the front of his hood for a moment, turning his head ever so slightly so his scarring wasn’t so visible.
“Ahh...yes. Um...Miss Fairwind wasn’t it? The elders sent me to look for you. They said you’d be coming back soon after you went to Gridania.” he stammered anxiously. Alysia cocked her head to the side in curiosity, having not anticipated such concern from the citizens. Yes, she’d been one of the few to help them with their prior plight but had told few of her brief absence. Though the fact that he was clearly self conscious made the young woman realize that questioning the man might only cause him more discomfort.
“That is quite kind of them. Did they want you to escort me? I intended to go through Rhalgr’s on one of the caravans.” She replied, taking great effort to be as warm and friendly as possible.
Gregoire cleared his throat and took a quick glance around. His eyes momentarily fell upon the carbuncle who lumbered around behind the redhead before returning his gaze to her. “Yeah, something like that. They wanted me to bring you back as soon as possible.”
This stoked Alysia’s interest, eyes going wide with concern. “As soon as possible? Was there another attack on the village? More sightings of creatures?” Her worst fears seemed to be coming true. When she had seen the transmitter implanted into the neck of the chimera, it had left the impression that the ordeal was far from over. The look of alarm was blatant on her features.
“Aye. Another one of the beasts.” His words seemed rather flat, lacking the urgency that she felt in the tight knot of her stomach. “They said that you were the only one they trusted after you helped with the last one. I know shortcuts up through the mountains that will get us there faster. If we hurry, we can make considerable time and bypass the Reach entirely.”
Though that cup of tea still would have been much preferred, Alysia knew the right thing would be to make all due haste back to the village. The sooner they found their way back, the sooner she might be able to find a way to stop this nightmare. With a heavy sigh, the hyur nodded in agreement. “It’s not ideal but I agree. If you say you know your way, I believe you…”
It had been hours since they had left the Castrum when Gregoire finally diverted off the main road. The sun was starting to fall behind the jagged horizon, casting the arid surroundings in vivid pinks and oranges. It might have been considered beautiful had the ominous tension not nagged at the back of Aly’s thoughts. Her escort had not been particularly chatty, despite her best efforts to engage him. The highlander seemed intent to keep a rigorous pace, most likely to cover as much ground before evening settled in.
“How much farther do you think?” She inquired with an exhausted sigh. The terrain had become much more rugged now that they were navigating along game trails and smuggler paths. Stopping for a brief moment, the redhead brushed off the travel dust from her skirt hem.
Gregoire cast a glance over his shoulder, his lip curled up slightly in exasperation. “If you need to rest, just say so.” He said rather curtley. The sudden sharpness of his response made Alysia purse her lips in concern.
“I’m sorry. That’s not what I…” She tried to explain as the man rounded abruptly to face her.
“Sorry for what? Meddling in matters that aren’t your concern?” He spat down at her. “If you had just kept your nose out of it all, it wouldn’t have had to come to this…”
Alysia opened her mouth to respond but said nothing as she saw two imposing shadows rise from behind nearby crags. Towering monstrosities of muscle and sinew, it was impossible not to notice the Allagan hand in it’s creation. Glowing eyes of malice glared down the length of canine snouts and jutting horns like that of an aldgoat framed its face. In it’s elongated hands gripped savage looking axes that were as frightening as it’s wielders.
The realization hit Alysia hard. “The Chimera...it was you?!” She blurted loudly despite the tumultuous position she found herself in. Gregoire reached back and pulled off his cowl, exposing the intricate circuitry that had been implanted behind his ear and around his neck.
“Aye, me. You had to get in the way of my revenge. You and that bastard Elezen you were with. You clueless do-gooders have no idea what you even are doing. You came and inadvertently protected all those Carnia Lupi bastards that thought that they could just pretend that they didn’t do horrible things to us for the Garleans!” He shouted at her as she slowly tried to back away from the trio. Carbuncle’s hackles bristled as it growled but seemed a trifle threat compared to the Shabti flanking Gregoire. “Those bastards killed innocent people and shouldn’t get to live with their sins. I intend to see vengeance done!”
“Wait…” Alysia said, hands up in the hopes of trying to calm the man before he did anything rash. “It doesn’t have to be this way. Please,I promise if you just stop we can talk…”
“TALK!?” He interrupted loudly. “The time for talk is over. You know too much now. I hate to have to kill you. Under other circumstances, I might have liked you.” A wicked smile said more than any of his words. He would gladly kill her and enjoy it, as well.
“People will come for me!” She declared, keeping a keen eye upon the monsters at his command. “This won’t accomplish anything.” Gregoire only snickered at her assertion as his hand reached up to toggle a switch on his magitek implant. The two shabti simultaneously turned their attention upon the lone Midlander, slowly beginning their advancement.
“That might be so. Hopefully your Elezen companion will come and I can kill two birds with one stone! Take her. She might be of some use, afterall..” He barked loudly, causing Alysia’s heart to plummet into her stomach. There was no reasoning with the man. All she could do was do her best to try and escape.
Turning on hard on her heel, Alysia bolted into a dead sprint along the rugged path they had ascended. She could hear the guttural growls of the lupine constructs confronted by her summons. Only the briefest glances over her shoulder saw the glint of waning sunlight on their weapons as they came down on the ephemeral carbuncle. The sharp pain in her chest as the dual attack snuffed out it’s life made Alysia cry out even though she knew that as long as the emerald was safely intact within her pocket, it wasn't’ truly dead.
Narrowly dodging rocks and exposed roots, it was all too evident that she would never outrun the creatures at Gregoire’s command. She reached into her pocket with frantic panic and pulled out the small pearl. Pressing it’s activation trigger for general broadcast, she practically shouted into the device. “Anyone in the general vicinity northeast of the Velodyna River, I require immediate assistance! I repeat! My name is Alysia Fairwi….” Her message was cut short as her divided attention caused her to trip and fall hard to the ground. The linkshell dropped, lost amongst the dirt and scraggly weeds.
She tried to scramble to her feet, struggling to get them beneath her as her heart hammered in her chest. The lumbering forms lingered in her peripherals and she could sense their malicious intent. One grabbed at her leg, halting her retreat as it dragged her back several feet. Her fingernails dug into the ground, leaving long trails in their wake. The sound of her screams echoed off the rock edifices but it was unlikely anyone would ever hear them. Her bag fell off her shoulder, leaving her belongings strewn about as she was lifted up like some ragdoll.
Hot, rancid breath washed over her as she was brought up to be sniffed and examined by the Shabti. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she tried to concentrate hard enough to cast anything that might save her but all her attempts fizzled as her grimoire lay discarded beneath her. So many doubts and regrets flooded her thoughts, considering she imagined this was the precipice of her death. Even the thought that she would soon be reunited with her parents brought her little comfort.
The Shabti swung it’s arm and her in tow and with a simple flick, it slammed her frail form hard against the earth. The pain of the impact was too much for her to bear, as darkness enveloped her senses and her body went limp.
Gregoire watched on from his vantage point, his scars no longer the ugliest part of his feature. The joy in his eyes as he watched his Allagan servants incapacitate the Midlander was all too apparent. “Bring her back to the lab. She will be our guest and leverage if it comes to it. If not, I’ll let her be your ‘plaything’ as a reward.” He chuckled, as if those that served him were some sick semblance of pets.
@the-baschet for mentions
- The pre-flight safety speech being recited at meme levels.
- Isaac. Seemingly everywhere and hard to miss on the main floor.
- One of the particularly shorter commanders scurrying with a toolbox and a green boilersuit, startling people.
-Said commander going cryptid mode for weeks and crawling out of random vents and spaces during the annual maintenance run, usually yells at the nearest reploid and leaves never to be seen for another three days.
- Weather forecast being shown on the central room screen and reploids reacting the same as they would watching their favourite sports teams. Both cheering and crying imminent.
- Commander Camden and co literally kidnapping their co-workers as training exercises and shuffling the poor confused victim to the canteen for a free lunch for being a good sport.
- People standing at attention seemingly out of nowhere, confusing many until Commander Avi walks in to view. Screams of terror on occasion heard.
- Reed pushing his luck to the brink. Inevitably receives a verbal ass kicking from one of three commanders.
- On duty reploids in departure lounges napping or doing stupid stuff to pass the time.
- Field crew summoning an anomalous amount of traffic cones from nowhere.
- Field crew sheepishly shuffling broken aircraft pats on trolleys towards engineering.
- Engineering crew looking terminally mad/annoyed walking towards the flight crew bunkers.
- Soldier units using the Inclinators or empty corridors as training exercises. (On calmer weather days they use the empty tarmacs)
- Isaac Carrying Avianna on his arm or shoulder like a falcon.
- Reed seen in various stolen hats throughout the day.
