Hydaelyn Role-Players

Quote:The well-informed public was shocked to awake to the news that the family home of Lolorito, head of the East Aldenard Trading Company, had been attacked late last night. Sources close to the family say that a small squad of hired swordsmen had been admitted to the house in what appears to have been at least partially an inside job. Lolorito's personal guard repulsed the attack, slaying most of the swordsmen but taking one captive. Speculation abounds as to the source and the reasons for the attack, but most are centered around a recent spike in criminal activity.

"It's clear that the landscape of the Ul'dahn underworld is changing", said scholar Hadi Shouna. "We've seen this before, where a new Power attempts to dislodge an established Power in order to fill the vacuum created."

Law enforcement officers have begun an investigation into the attack, but have released no details.

Sasani wiped the blood from his hands with a wet cloth as he walked through the heavy door. Behind him something that was once a kitchen servant dripped and quivered and made soft animal noises. As the door closed, the little Lalafell turned to his patron.

"My Lord Lolorito", he said, his voice soft and sibilant. "We have a name. C'kayah."

The Lalafell gripped the piece of parchment tightly within one hand as he barged through one of the doors into the home he shared with him. He stopped short when he noticed it. The place was empty. The feel of what he'd come to call home was... not the same. Things were still the same but not.

Kage absentmindedly fed the little baby opo-opo he'd found a few days ago when he was depressed in La Noscea. He searched the atrium and the large bed. He didn't find who he was looking for.

He knew he wouldn't.

But he had promised. He said he wasn't going to leave again. He said he'd include him. They were a family right? A "tribe" he'd said.

And this. Kage stared at the crumpled parchment he still gripped. He closed his eyes as he balled it up and threw it into the fireplace with a cry of anguish. His back hit the wall lightly, his armor digging into his back as he slowly slid down against it. He knew what he would have to do. What was called of him. Here in Ul'dah.

"Twelve be damned, Kayah!"

It was only then when Kage realized that he was sobbing.

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A few suns later and the Lalafell's mood was getting surlier each sun. He had snapped at a patron in the Quicksand while he was drinking and he hadn't been home.

I don't think I can do this anymore. The words rang through his mind each time. Whatever this was, was left unsaid.

In the inn room, Kage took a look at his surcoat and armor with a drooped gaze for a second before he closed his eyes. A clenched fist trembled around a couple of linkpearls before he dropped them to the floor and crushed them. He opened his eyes to look once more at the surcoat before donning his armor and grabbing his equipment.

Maybe just leave everything.

He leaned his head against the cool surface of a wall in the room. A large shaky sigh escaped him as he stood up straight. He took a deep breath of air before exiting the room with a slight glance at the parchment left on the desk.

Maybe this really isn't the life I am meant to live.

If he didn't have this, perhaps an extended visit to Jajara really was in order.

Or maybe it would be a permanent one.

They were waiting for him back at the house. Two burly Hyur with heavy swords and an air of impatience. He leafed through his letters as he approached. the sword he’d become accustomed to wearing slapped against his thigh as he walked with reassuring mass. He stopped half a block away, his brows furrowing as he caught sight of them. They hadn’t seen him by this point, but it was clear they were waiting for him. He tucked the letters into his belt as he stopped, feigning interest in a peddler’s table of books.

Two swordsmen, he thought to himself. Enough for a probable victory if they had violence on their mind. Not enough to be confident of it. A distraction, then? For what? His eyes scanned the buildings around. Few windows - the afternoon heat of Ul’dah prompted most houses to be blocky affairs devoid of windows. Rooftops… Alcoves… There! He grinned to himself, his eye catching the glint of a steel arrow head on the top of a two story building. There was an alley providing shadowed access to the building - probably how the archer had gained access to the roof.

The stone of the building was smooth, but there was a covered door low enough to climb onto and high enough to provide a good jumping-off point to the roof. He left his boots on the ground, and his sword on the little roof covering the door to avoid any sound of the metal on the wall. His sling and a few lead stones would have to do. He leapt from the little roof, his fingers catching in a crack, his bare toes scrabbling for a moment before finding purchase. Slowly, carefully, he climbed to the edge of the roof and peered over.

The archer was alone, and focused on C’kayah’s house below. He was tall, with a heavy longbow and three arrows laid neatly on the stone beside him. The sun shone hot on the roof and onto their faces as he watched. A short wall, maybe three fulms high, ran around the edge of the roof. Levering himself over the wall onto the roof, he slipped his sling and a lead pellet from his belt pouch and began to make his way silently to where the archer waited. He must have made a sound right before he reached the man, for he turned to look, then struggled to bring his ungainly Elezen-style bow to bear. C’kayah whipped the sling by one wooden handle, the other striking the man’s temple with a sharp crack. The archer pitched to the side and lay still.

C’kayah carefully looked over the side. The two burly swordsmen still waited, unaware that their sniper had gone down. He looked to the bow and the steel-tipped arrows. He had to get into his house, and the pair stood in the way. As he considered, an arrow hit the roof half a fulm from his foot. He threw himself to the ground, rolling to the side and grabbing the bow as he did. Looking across the way he could see a second archer on the third story roof opposite him. A Roegadyn with a massive bow, already drawing a second arrow. He threw himself into the shelter of the wall, his hand grasping the arrows. The Roegadyn’s second arrow struck the stone where his body had rested a second earlier.

As the arrow struck, he levered himself upright and drew, sighting where he remembered seeing the other archer. The Roegadyn was pulling a long arrow from his quiver as C’kayah came into view, and he could see a shocked expression on the man’s massive face as he released. The arrow took him just below the throat and, with a gargling cry, he toppled forward and onto the swordsmen below. C’kayah nocked a second arrow, scrambling to the look down at the swordsmen who were staring at the body of the archer. He drew again and loosed, felling one of the swordsmen. Jarred into action, the other swordsman began to run, darting from side to side to spoil C’kayah’s aim. He sighted on the man’s back, but just as he was about to loose his arrow  the man darted to the side and out of sight. C’kayah cursed silently.

He turned to the archer he’d knocked out. The man was beginning to stir. Smiling grimly, C’kayah’s hand went to his knife as he approached. “Wake up”, he purred. “We have to talk…”

It was a little house in a dark place in the forest. A glorified one room shack, but solidly built of wood with a cedar roof. He'd last lived here two years ago, and he could tell that someone had used it since then. There was a small store of split firewood stacked neatly by the door, and some sign that repairs had been made. The shutters were tight, and from the looks of it whoever had stayed here had since moved on.
The door opened at a touch, the neat little room inside exposed to his sight. The Keeper-style stove still sat in the corner. The cabinets were opened, barren of supplies but still with the plates and cups he’d left. He grinned and shook his head. This was better than he’d expected. Stepping inside, he let his pack fall to the ground. Out of his possessions and his wealth, his life had contracted to this little house and this pack. He’d taken such things as could easily be carried, but he had dared not leave even a note.

Lolorito, he thought to himself. Someone had attacked Lolorito. The men at his house in Ul’dah were Lolo’s, sent to seek revenge for an attack they thought he’d done. He knew of the Lalafell, though he hadn’t ever met him. A shrewd man, with great store of resources and a ruthless nature. Lolorito wouldn’t rest until he’d eliminated the threat he perceived.

Natalie, he thought. Kage. Shifu. The trio were vulnerable so long as he was there. Lolorito didn’t have a reputation as a vengeful man. He doubted Lolo would go after the rest of the tribe, so long as C’kayah didn’t involve them. But he would certainly watch them. If he thought they knew… If he thought they were even just covering for C’kayah, he wouldn’t hesitate to strike them.

C’kayah cursed, unpacking the bag he’d brought. He had another enemy, it seemed, and until he could deal with that enemy, Ul’dah wasn’t safe for him.

C'kayah watched the package containing the remnants of the Cat Tribe away - link pearl and flask, ring and sword. He felt surprisingly alive, the freedom that comes from losing everything running cold and clear in his veins. His mate, gone. His tribe, gone. Lolorito's assassins still combed Eorzea, while a sizable price on his head made hiding difficult. And now news of a new threat from a corrupt Flame. Last night he'd blamed the strain of these things for their breakup, but in the light of morning he recognized that this might simply be the shape of his relationships. S'aitei had ended the same way, and the common link was him.

No matter, he thought to himself. Lolorito's assassins were still out there, and nothing stood between he and they save his own wits. He checked his gear: his sword, bow and quiver, before turning and making his way out of Horizon into the Thanalan desert. He had no one to protect, now. It was time for the hunted to become the hunter.

In the evening as the tide was going out C'kayah met Osric on the beach. He walked steadily onto a wooden ramp that led to a little platform where the Hyur waited, wearing his full set of Immortal Flames armor. Osric stood up and walked to meet him, but C'kayah stopped thirty feet away.

"That's far enough, Flame", he called out. The wind plucked at his loose shirt, the red fabric flapping. He wore a sword, sturdy and workmanlike, on his hip.

"What's your plan, Osric?" he said. The Hyur's visor masked his expression, but his consternation was clear in his voice.

"You were supposed to do that"

"I had one", C'kayah replied. "Things changed. I needed my tribe, Osric, but I don't have one anymore. Because of you, I'm being hunted by Lolorito's assassins and you."

"Not my problem!" the Hyur called out. He drew a knife, shifting it in his hands. "So what then? Do you want to die?"

"Not really", C'kayah said, drawing his own sword. "If I did, I wouldn't have poisoned my blade. Come on!"

"You think I'm stupid?"

C'kayah watched him flatly, holding the sword in sixte the way he'd been taught. He advanced towards Osric.

"They're watching", Osric hissed as he came close. "They'll kill everyone I loved. It was them or you."

C'kayah shrugged then, sliding the sword into its scabbard. "Then do it", he said. Osric took a step back. There were Flames who upheld the law, C'kayah knew, and there were Flames who were in it for the violence. Osric, it appeared, was the former. He advanced again, hands held to the side and Osric leapt from the platform into the water. C'kayah turned with a snort.

"You're not going to do a damn thing", the Miqo'te said with a sneer. "It's easy enough to say you'll kill someone. It's something else when they're standing in front of you. You disgust me."

He walked back down off the platform. Behind him he could hear splashing as Osric hurried after him. 

"Stop!" the Hyur hissed. C'kayah kept walking.

"You'll have to stab me in the back", he said. "I'm an easy mark. Look."

"I said stop!"

C'kayah walked on. As he reached the sand, he felt an arm go around his neck, saw the blade. He struck back with his elbow and felt his blow connect with the Hyur's belly. He spun around and the two faced each other. Osric threw the knife. C'kayah almost managed to sidestep it, the spinning blade gashing his arm. Osric dropped his shoulder and charged him.

C'kayah drew his sword and pivoted out of the way, striking at the Hyur as he ran past. The blade cut into Osric's back, slicing through the leather into flesh. The Hyur screamed.

"Burns, doesn't it?" C'kayah purred. "It'll hurt more, before the end. You kill me now, you don't get the antidote."

"I don't care!" Osric howled, closing in again. He ducked another sword thrust, then threw the Miqo'te. C'kayah rolled in the sand and was up on his feet before Osric could close the distance. The Hyur panted.

"You can feel it, can't you?" C'kayah said. He grinned cruelly at the man, who looked at him with a puzzled expression. C'kayah winked at him, then nodded almost imperceptibly towards the ground. Osric understood - the sword carried no poison, it was an act. He took a step, then stumbled, shaking his head dizzily. C'kayah approached, his sword held cautiously before him.

"I'll make it quick", C'kayah said. Osric snarled in response, hurling a handful of sand into the Miqo'te's face. C'kayah wiped at his eyes, blinded, and felt a knife stab into his leg. He kicked out blindly, connecting with Osric. The two went down in a tangle.

C'kayah seized his sword and half-crawled to the water, splashing himself to clear his eyes. He rose as he heard Osric splash into the water behind him. He rose and turned, grinning ferally at the man.

"Hilt first into my chest", he hissed, then raised his sword for an overhead swing, wildly telegraphed. "Don't forget to report this in Ul'dah…"

Osric advanced, bringing the knife around as C'kayah struck. His hand and the hilt of the sword struck the man's head just as the hilt of the knife slammed into the bag of pig's blood he wore under his shirt. Blood sprayed and both men fell. C'kayah floated on his back, his eyes unfocused, as the receding tide began to carry him out. Osric panted on his hands and knees, waiting for his vision to return after the hit. By the time he regained his feet, the Miqo'te's body had washed out beyond the platform. By the time he'd receded out of sight, a newcomer had joined Osric on the beach.

C'kayah grinned to himself as he dragged himself out of the water. His arm and leg had stopped bleeding, and he would need conjury. Still, he was dead, and that should get Lolorito off of his back for a least a little time.

Sometimes it was all Kage ever did when he was alone. The words of the filed report were burned into his mind ever since he had read it.

C'kayah Tia
Status: Dead
Details: Body drifted out into Hidden Falls of Eastern La Noscea, Bloodshore region

Kayah was dead. Of course, Kage was upset when Kayah had left the tribe. Left their home and gave up on them. Were they not a family? The faint distinct sharp pain in his palm pulled the lalafell back to an awareness of where and when he was. He had broken another quill. He sighed as he cleaned the mess up, remembering how it always seemed as if Kayah had wanted things neat and orderly.

He thought back to the day after Kayah had left, leaving and sending Natalie remnants of the tribe. Linkpearls and whatnot. Kage couldn't bear the thought of anymore of his loved ones, his family leaving or not having a place. He had promised Natalie that he would step up and take over. Kayah had been Nunh but then he'd left them. If Kage had to be it to protect his family, the people he loved... then so be it. The tribe would always have a home. He'd keep them together and protect it, so it could flourish and always be a place for the people he loved to belong.

Kage shook his head before adjusting the straps of the armor he wore, not the surcoat as he wore that when reporting to Ser Jenlyns or when he was on a more official capacity. He plopped the blue beret atop his head as he settled his sword and shield. Maybe Aya was right. Maybe Kayah wasn't dead; it would certainly make him happier. But Lolorito would still be after him and he'd left the tribe behind. Kage frowned at the last thought, a dark scowl crossing his face. He certainly didn't want to see the Flames Sergeant again. For Kayah's leaving at the least, he blamed the Flame.

He hoped he didn't see him anytime soon because the lalafell wasn't sure if he could hold his temper.

“Was he satisfied?”


“Good. I need Mister Kayah to be able to return to Ul’Dah. I need his network rebuilt.”


A small pause. “One should never trust a man like Mister Kayah. Simply make certain his interest aligns with yours. Then he can be of great asset.”


“He seems to have developed a distaste for the Sultansworns. Something he and I perhaps can share. He was useful to me once. He can be again.”


“Now that he and his… lover have parted ways, they no longer have a way to recognize my face. They still know my name, thanks to Miss Delial, and seem eager to find me. Something that needs to be rectified.”


“Yes, I saw his report. Replacing the core with the one from Mergrey’s foolish attempt. … Clever. What of the Brass Blades side of the investigation?”


“Good. She may come across more leads soon.”


“That will be all. Do send Lord Lolorito my regards.”