Castrum.
It was the most impressive thing she had ever seen.
The dark metallic walls rose up before her, towering into the sky, its smooth surface seeming infallible and unassailable. Uniformed guards stood at every entryway, though many of them gave the little girl of ten years no mind as she walked past them, her grey eyes wide and her mouth hanging open.
Or perhaps it was her taller companion she was following that invited their gaze instead. Fenn's stride was long and confident; the pale-haired hyur youth did not pause for any guard, and the flash of his keycard got him through any door he wanted. Roen had to quicken her pace to keep up, but she often found her head turned, gawking at whatever presented itself when she rounded a new corner. Some magitek creations seemed to even look at her way as she passed, glowing eye watchful.
"What do you think, Roen? Beautiful, aren't they?" she heard Fenn say too late. She crashed into him before she could see that he had stopped to wait for her. She would have bounced right off of him onto the floor if it wasn't for his hands on her shoulders to steady her. She peered sheepishly up into his light blue eyes. He smiled at her.
"The technology behind them is more intricate than you can imagine just by looking at them," Fenn said as he approached one of the dark machines, Roen following tentatively behind. When she came to stand by him, he took her hand and laid it flat against the dark metal surface, lightly pressing down with the weight of his own. "Feel that pulsing hum?"
Roen blinked as she watched a web of faint light appear beneath her fingertips as if to respond to her touch. "Is it alive?"
The pale-haired youth let out a laugh, full of mirth and amusement. "Well, no. It isn't. But it is sophisticated enough to fool you sometimes." His hand left hers to open a small panel on the side, displaying an array of controls within. "You just have to know how to tell it what you want. Magitek is powerful, and it can be can be very dangerous in the hands of someone who knows what it is capable of.â€
He took her hand again, guiding her to a nearest terminal. His use of the keyboard was quick and efficient, and within a few clicks the monitor displayed the schematics of the floor they were on. Fenn tapped his finger against the screen. "We are here, and..." he clicked on the keyboard again. And a blinking light appeared on the other side of the screen. "And there is Ferah."
Roen squinted at the blinking light. Ferah was Fenn’s serious older sister, but she never had any mean words for her. "And Sera? She is with Ferah?" She knew Fenn’s younger sister was usually not far from her siblings. Sera was Roen’s age, and was often prone to fits of temper or dark moods. Roen always thought something made her unhappy, much like her own father, and Roen often took it as a silent dare to try and find something to bring cheer to the fickle girl. When Fenn gave Roen a knowing look as an answer, she smiled and studied the floorplan, anticipating what he was going to say next. He always did love games.
Fenn grinned back at her. "Let's see who can get to them first." He clicked the terminal once more, turning off the monitor. He turned to her, giving her his keycard, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "You can use my keycard, and take any route you want, but you can't be seen by the guards. If you are not with me, they will likely question you.â€
Roen took his keycard with wide eyes, she did not have one of her own, despite the fact that she knew her father to be a very important man in this building. He had never seen it fit to bring her to a Castrum, nor allow her any access to where he spent the most of his days. It was Fenn who had brought her here on a whim, declaring that day he was going to give her an impromptu tour of one of the proud paragons of the Empire. She closed her small hands around the keycard, holding it carefully as not to lose it.
"And you? You do not need a keycard?" She peered up back at Fenn.
He winked back at her, confidence clear in his gleaming smile. "I will have to maneuver without. That's my challenge." He nodded to her. “Are you ready to play, Roen?â€
Roen grinned wide at him and nodded.
“What… is that..??â€
Hroch’s question was high pitched, betraying his bewilderment and utter confusion. He was staring at the screen over Roen’s shoulder, as she worked on the terminal to bring up the floor plans.
Prisoner: Brenden Deneith. Eorzean. Floor 24. Section 5.
A blinking light appeared on the screen within a grid. Roen scanned it quickly, as she was taught to do as part of a game when she was a child. She silently thanked Fenn in that moment, even though ironically he would be opposing her if he were here this day. Had her life taken a different course, Roen could have been in this facility working against the Resistance now as they worked to free her adoptive father. The brief reflection of herself in a Garlean uniform as she turned off the screen, only seemed to punctuate this twist of fate.
Donning uniforms from a few Garlean soldiers that Gharen had ambushed the night before, it had made sneaking into the Castrum and taking out a few more guards much easier. And while her mentor dispatched the guards with quiet efficiency, Roen preferred to take on some of the Vanguards that patrolled the area instead, finding faceless magiteks easier to swing her blade against than living breathing guards. Those she did have to face however, she left them wounded and unconscious, but still breathing. Eventually the two had cleared the way enough for Xydane, Hroch, and Daena to join them within the walls. And while Gharen and Xydane took to dealing with more patrols, Hroch and Daena followed Roen as they searched for her father. She knew of ways to get around some of the security measures, as she was familiar with the layout of the Castrum, but even with disguises in place, they could not rely on subterfuge for too long. Roen knew they had to hurry and find Brenden Deneith before all of Castrum Marinum was alerted to their presence. Â
“Found him,†she said as she snatched up the keycard she had confiscated from one of the guards. If her mentor noticed earlier that she had left them alive, he did not make it known. Hroch and Daena now accompanied her, and their fists delivered hard blows to knock out any other guards they came upon as well. She tossed another keycard at Hroch who caught it in midair, then stared at it with a befuddled eyes.
“What am I supposed to do with this?â€
Roen flashed him a nervous grin and answered with the toss of her head toward the hallway. “Follow me.â€
Floor 24. Section 5.
Roen flashed her keycard for Hroch and Daena, then slid it in into the slot by the door. It hissed open but was empty. Roen motioned them down one hallway and pivoted towards the other. She could hear the sounds of steel against steel outside the bunker, and more yelling and shouts that were quickly muffled. Their luck was holding out in that alarm had not gone off yet. But Roen knew it could not last for long.
Her heart raced as she ran from door to door, sliding the keycard and waiting for that glimpse into the room. It was the third door before she saw a familiar face within, an older man that raised his hand in front of his eyes to shield it from the bright light that flooded the darkened cell. Roen smile widely as she stepped in.
“Aren’t you a little short to be a Garlean trooper?†He muttered, slowly rising to a seat from his prone position.
“Hm? Oh the mask,†Roen pulled off the mask and the helm. “I am here to rescue you!â€
Brenden Deneith blinked. “Roen..?â€
Roen rushed forward to take the man in a fierce embrace, her grasp tight with overwhelming relief. Her chest sunk just a little to find his form more frail than she had remembered. Even in the two days he had gone missing, it was already obvious he had received beatings, and likely little to no sustenance. “Can you stand? We need to get you out of here.â€
Brenden Deneith nodded as he began to rise, although Roen could see he was moving slower. She slid her arm under his to support him. He reassured her with a weak smile. “Aye, I can manage.â€
Soon they were moving with as much speed as they could manage as they made their way out of Castrum Marinum, with her Master at Arms heading up the front, Daena and Hroch guarding their sides, and Xydane covering the rear. Roen tried not to notice the mercenary’s axe that was stained and dripping darkly red.
As the final guard fell before Gharen Wolfsong’s feet, Hroch and Daena rushed out past, with Brenden Deneith managing to follow closely behind. Roen paused at the gate, turning around to wait for Xydane. He had dispatched another guard behind them and trotted up, his eyes lit with a fire she had not seen before. She nodded to him as she turned, giving a look to her mentor as well. But as Gharen and Roen made their exit, she heard Xydane’s footsteps heading away, running back into the Castrum.
“What are you doing??†Roen called out after him, eyes wide.
Xydane shot her a wicked grin and a small salute. “I am going to make sure no one follows.†He spun away and disappeared around the corner.
“He knows wha’ he’s doin’ lass,†Gharen put a hand on her shoulder.
Roen glanced up at him, nodded, and trotted after Brenden Deneith. Â She would see him to safety. It was not long after that she heard the screeching alarm sound through the Castrum walls.
Roen watched him sleep as she sat on the edge of the bed, the man who saved her over five cycles ago, the one who took that delirious wandering girl as if she were one of his own, and loved her as he did his own two children. That same strong man seemed so gaunt and weak now.
“They will both be fine,†Gharen Wolfsong’s voice broke the listless silence, turning both Roen and Hroch’s gaze toward him. Her Master at Arms was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed.
Hroch was sitting across from her on the edge of the second bed in the room in Vesper Bay, next to Daena who was tossing and turning in her sleep. Roen glanced to the young Highlander girl as well, her eyes narrowing at the beads of sweat that were on the girl’s brows. She had been bitten by a yarzon during their escape from Castrum Marium, and had collapsed just as they arrived in Vesper Bay. They had given her a dose of an antidote, and Roen had used conjury to help her body fight off the toxin and mend her from within. She reassured Hroch that the girl just needed to rest through the night to allow her body to recover, but the young man hovered near Daena still, clear worry in his bent brows.
Roen would be forever grateful to them, for helping her rescue Brenden Deneith. She would forever owe them for this. She had already given her promise of aid to Daena and Hroch, for whatever they would ask of her in the future. She was indebted to this Xydane Vale as well, although the quiet warrior asked for nothing in return. And then of course, her Master at Arms. She did not know how to repay them all.
But her thoughts did not linger there. She had to get the Deneiths to safety. The eyes of the Empire would seek them out again, and because of their association with her, they were no longer allowed to return to their previous lives. Roen would see them to some semblance of normalcy and safety. This she vowed. Â
Brenden Deneith had always wanted to see Limsa Lominsa, and to fish off the coasts of La Noscea. Perhaps she would make arrangements to move them there. She knew Nazeru had connections with the Maelstorm, and Dandaroun had a farm in Summerford. She would return to Ul’Dah in the middle of the night to retrieve Anna and the children, and leave with Brenden from Vesper Bay for Limsa in secrecy.
Still. What of after? The Empire still sought her out. This entire ordeal was orchestrated with the purpose of returning her back to her Garlean home. Even with her family safe, could she return to her life as before? Would they dare try again while she walked amongst the people of Ul’Dah? And trained amongst the Sultansworns? And what of the Resistance who helped her rescue her adoptive father? Roen sighed quietly and returned her gaze back to Brenden, absently tucking the blanket around his shoulders.
“Even if I get my family to safety, they would still be searching for you all,†Roen said quietly, giving Hroch and Gharen a sidelong glance.
“Aye. I say we start figurin’ out how Aylard disappeared, and see who is on who’s side.†Gharen uncrossed his arms, as he pushed off from the wall. “I intend tae track down an’ start tailin’ Miss Delial. I think she be our strongest lead yet.â€
Roen frowned a little at the thought, but did not offer an argument as he made his way toward the door. “Take care o’ yerself lass, and yer kin, ye hear?†he said as he paused at the door.
“Stay well, Master Gharen,†Roen answered with a nod. As she always did at their parting.
She did not know that that would be the last time she would see him as he was.
