It wasn't long before the sounds of a dock reached them. Vesper Bay was just in front of them.
"Oh, it seems I got lost and went backwards. How silly of me." the lalafell explained with a joking tone. "But now that we are here, we could see a proper healer. Althyk does not allow for coincidences!"
Cypress ground her teeth at that, "When you lead us back back here against my wishes, of course it cannot be one. Do not mock my faith, little one." She could still smell the sulfur in the air now that they were close to the town. If the wind had not been on their back she could have realized Ulanan's intentions sooner.
"I do not mock your faith. I mock your interpretations." She pulled from the Roegadyn's clothes. "We are closer now to the town and a healer than from anybody that could be there on the beach. You might as well take the opportunity."
Something that sounded a lot like a 'hrmph' sounded from Cypress. She didn't resist much though when she was pulled towards town.
The lalafell smiled as she led the other woman. The Brass Blade keeping guard at the gates gave them both an odd look.
"She needs a healer." Ulanan said, pointing up with the free hand at Cypress' face.
"Go to the quarters next to the south gate. Should be a healer there." was the sharp, uncaring reply she got.
As they passed through the gate, Cypress spoke, "So. You know this land better than I. And you know the v-" she cut herself off, rephrasing, "D'aijeen. Do you have... suggestions?"
"I never met her until she was like you saw she was." Ulanan answered. "She was very attached to her sister, from what I gathered, and hated her mother. If she's still...alive, she might try to get to them."
Rather than go through the plaza, she chose to hug the outer wall and move across the cramped alley that was formed between the houses and the wall, imagining the Roegadyn wouldn't wish to go through the central plaza under the eyes of anyone and everyone.
"Then you think that we should catch up with them then, and hope that D'aijeen will show her face once more?" Honestly, Cypress probably would not have cared if they went through the plaza, its not like she could see the gawkers anyway.
"Do you think the voidsent can take many body at the same time?" Ulanan asked, suddenly and out of nowhere.
"Not that I have seen, or have heard in our tales of them," Cypress answered simply.
"If that...kid in the shipwreck had the voidsent..." the little woman started, turning around a corner. "...well, maybe it was another one? Or was it the same? Could you tell?"
"I... do not think that it was the same. But it was at the least the work of... D'aijeen," she settled for the sake of ease, calling it that, "the body that it chose is gifted in the arts of necromancy and the manipulation of the void."
They were close to the Blade quarters now. "Whatever we do, it's going to be terrible. If she's still alive, she'll go for her family. Or maybe not. Maybe she needs to recover. Which means we should keep trying to find her in the shore. But then...watch the steps up." The entrance to the quarters had a number of stairs that Ulanan would describe as "too many". But for now, she simply guided Cypress' feet with careful pulling.
The steps weren't actually so bad, "She isn't alive," Cypress corrected, "But the actual girl inside hasn't been in control for at least quite sometime, you realize."
"You know what I meant. Hey! Hello!" Ulanan knocked on the door loudly. "We need a healer and we were sent here. Hello?"
A short hyur dressed in the Brass Blade uniform opened the door and the first thing he saw was the Roegadyn. "Holy Thal! How did you reach here, and why is your voice so lalafell-like..." he started, and then went quiet when he noticed the small blonde lalafell with the huge hat.
"Come in and...wait there." he pointed to a bench nearby while he turned around and left towards the interior of the quarters. "I'll call our healer."
Ulanan pulled Cypress inside.
The blood had stopped flowing down sometime ago, but it had dried on her face. The pupils of the eyes had been stuck clean through, it was a miracle in and of itself that they hadn't simply been plucked out by the demon. As much use as that was.
Cypress settled onto the bench that Ulanan led her towards, "You know. Perhaps it would be best now to catch up with that family."
"If you think the voidsent won't need any time to recover, then I would agree." she nodded.
"With the time that we have wasted returning here and the time it would take to even resume searching where we left off from, the voidsent will be long gone."
Ulanan pouted. Not that Cypress could see it. "I choose to believe you just thanked me for not letting you bleed to death in the way and leaving me to deal with the voidsent on my own."
Two hyurs emerged from one of the doors. One was the guard that had greeted them, and who quickly went back to his post. His post was, apparently, sitting on a chair near a tiny desk and do nothing. The other one was carrying a long, curled dry branch. He stopped in front of Cypress with his hands on the hips.
"Hello, I'm your healer for today. What happened?" he asked with a gravelly, slightly asleep tone.
Cypress merely lifted her face upwards towards the man, "My eyes have been ruined. I was brought here to ensure that they do not fester or cause more issues than they already do."
"I can see that. I meant in a more...you know...how it happened? But you can answer that after we look at it, now that I think better about it. Horse!" the hyur yelled, looking at the other.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" the other complained, standing from his chair.
"Because you used a stupid hat in the holydays. Be a good Blade and ask that lalafell what happened while I see this one." The conjurer extended one hand to take Cypress' shoulder and guide her farther into the quarters.
Cypress rose back to her feet, when she felt the hand on her shoulder and followed the healer into the back room, trusting Ulanan to know what to say to the Horse-man. "We cannot tarry in this town," she explained to the healer, "So simply do what you can now, and worry not beyond that."
"Yes, ma'am. I mean...no, I do my job right. No matter how much I was enjoying that nap and wishing to go back to it. You get to tell me what to do if you become a Brass Blade -and- a captain." he replied.
They went through a few cramped hallways until they reached the infirmary. It was just a room with two beds and a table filled with alchemical reagents, potions and linen wraps. He guided her to one of the beds. "Sit there." he ordered, taking the focus from his back. "This is the second time in less than two days that I tend to someone who got one of his senses destroyed.
If she could have, Cypress would have narrowed her eyes, "And what happened to that person?"
"He left. He was just deaf."
A large mass of aether washed over Cypress's body as the man casted the first healing spell. "-Just- deaf, I say? As if that was not a big deal. But yes, he left. He was in a hurry and was worried about some young woman. He wouldn't hear...well, he -couldn't- hear me or anyone telling him to wait or give us more detail. Just ran off. Or...walked off. Ran-walked, maybe."
The pain in her eyes left as the healer blocked the nerves within them, "A... young woman you say? Did he say anything more about her?"
Another spell fell upon the woman, much more focused and aimed at the wounds directly. "He described her shortly. Green hair, dark skin. Dressing in some kind of red dress, I think. Why? Does that sound familiar to you?" The man left his branch over the table and rummaged through the stuff laying on top of it.
"Yes. Very." The roegadyn did her best to keep her lids open as the healer worked, "Where did he go? What direction at least?"
The Blade, being attentive enough to notice her struggle, took off his gauntlets and used one hand to keep one of her eyes open.
"Can't say. He channeled a teleportation spell as soon as he was outside. Are you feeling anything up here?"
"What little I can feel is strange," she answered before changing the subject immediately back to the deaf man, "He said nothing then of his intended destination? That is of far more importance than my eyes."
"Is it? Are you looking for that girl, too?"
"You could... say that," Cypress said.
The healer moved away, taking one of the linen piles from the table. They turned out to be really cheap bandages. He wrapped Cypress' eyes with them. "I don't know who the girl was, or where that man went to. But he announced himself as Qion'a. He's a moonkeeper. Really dark skin, black hair and golden eyes. I don't know if that will help you in any way, and I sure hope that I'm not helping you in getting him killed or something. It could weigh on my conscience. If I had one." he chuckled.
The bandages pressed over Cypress's eye sockets and through her hair, the harsh material already causing her skin to itch. Really, it seemed they were more for the benefit of others looking at her than to actually help the healing process, "I currently have no intention of getting him killed, should you remember anything else... I am certain that my unfortunate companion will be able to compensate you."
"You shouldn't say those things. I might just make things up." the man chuckled again. "You haven't told me how you got those wounds yet."
"The story would be wasted on you, I am afraid. But suffice to say that it is my companion's fault. She has told me that she has now learned her lesson though. So at least some good came from this. It seems that she is finally playing a useful role." There was no amusement in Cypress's rough, deep voice.
"That's harsh. But I think I would also be angry if one of my fellow Blades blinded me." He placed one hand on her shoulder, urging her to stand up. "A quick heal, like you wanted. Change the bandages often, and get some rest. That's an order. From a healer. Because I know what's good for your health. Alright?"
"Fine. Give extra supplies to the lalafell if you must." Cypress stood to her full height, towering over the midlander. She was about to start walking when she realized that she had no idea where to go. Her jaw clenched as she simply stood there, ashamed of her inability to do such a simple thing as leave an unfamiliar room on her own without blundering about.
"I also suggest you get a stick. Good thing you have your own blame-filled lalafell to guide you around. But she might not stick around forever." the man said, mercilessly. "Come." he added, grabbing her from the arm. "I'll guide you back."
"I'll adjust," she said taking ahold of his arm and allowing herself to be led out.
Back at the hall, Ulanan was sitting on the chair of the tiny desk, while the other Blade, the lazy one nick-named "Horse", stood next to the door from where Cypress and the healer were approaching. He looked nervous for a moment and then went out of their sight.
"They are coming back!" he murmured to the lalafell. "Are you done?"
She nodded, making one last flourish with the quill. "Your report is done. I was a great witness and I didn't mention you have a bag of Somnus on you. Just like you wanted!"
When Cypress and the medic arrived at the hall, Horse was back on his desk, smiling suspiciously. Ulanan was sitting on the bench. "I wrote a report about this incident!" said Horse. The healer raised his brows and gently pushed Cypress towards the lalafell woman. "That's great, Horse. Do a hundred more and we might need to use your real name out of respect."
"I do hope that you did not burden the man with unnecessary details..." Cypress said said to Ulanan.
The little woman huffed. "Of course not. How are your eyes?" she asked.
"She needs to rest, resist the urge to deal with the itch, change the bandages...probably every day if you have the funds. Maybe see a healer if the ache continues for more than a week." the non-lazy hyur said, not moving from the door. "I hope you both have a better day from now on."
"That is doubtful, but perhaps Althyk will bless us." Cypress lets go of the midlander's arm and walks towards where she remembered hearing Ulanan's voice coming from.
The lalafell stood up and grabbed Cypress' clothes once more. "Thank you." she said to the Blades, offering a smile and a little bow. Then she pulled her 'friend' towards the exit. "This way, watch the steps again."
As soon as they were out of the building and the door behind them closed, Cypress spoke, "Apparently there was a moonkeeper that went to that healer for treatment of his hearing. And he'd spoken that he was worried about D'aijeen. But gated away before speaking of much more."
"Mm. That...is not helpful. Did they know who he was?"
The red woman shook her head as they traversed the steps, "No. But he described the man. Dark skin and hair with gold eyes."
The lalafell took a long breath, thinking. "That's something. Thankfully, miqo'te men are not very common. But then they are usually reclusive. He could have gone anywhere."
"The healer claimed no knowledge of where the man was headed."
"Where do you want to go, then? We can't follow him."
"To the family, perhaps they can shed light on where it might go if it does not simply show itself."
"I imagine you didn't attune to the aetheryte in Ul'dah, did you? We'll have to rent chocobos."
"... Attune to aetheryte?" Cypress asked blankly not having any clue what Ulanan spoke of.
"Just what I imagined." the lalafell commented under her breath. "We'll talk about that and how handy it will be on our way to Horizon. This way, now!"
"Oh, it seems I got lost and went backwards. How silly of me." the lalafell explained with a joking tone. "But now that we are here, we could see a proper healer. Althyk does not allow for coincidences!"
Cypress ground her teeth at that, "When you lead us back back here against my wishes, of course it cannot be one. Do not mock my faith, little one." She could still smell the sulfur in the air now that they were close to the town. If the wind had not been on their back she could have realized Ulanan's intentions sooner.
"I do not mock your faith. I mock your interpretations." She pulled from the Roegadyn's clothes. "We are closer now to the town and a healer than from anybody that could be there on the beach. You might as well take the opportunity."
Something that sounded a lot like a 'hrmph' sounded from Cypress. She didn't resist much though when she was pulled towards town.
The lalafell smiled as she led the other woman. The Brass Blade keeping guard at the gates gave them both an odd look.
"She needs a healer." Ulanan said, pointing up with the free hand at Cypress' face.
"Go to the quarters next to the south gate. Should be a healer there." was the sharp, uncaring reply she got.
As they passed through the gate, Cypress spoke, "So. You know this land better than I. And you know the v-" she cut herself off, rephrasing, "D'aijeen. Do you have... suggestions?"
"I never met her until she was like you saw she was." Ulanan answered. "She was very attached to her sister, from what I gathered, and hated her mother. If she's still...alive, she might try to get to them."
Rather than go through the plaza, she chose to hug the outer wall and move across the cramped alley that was formed between the houses and the wall, imagining the Roegadyn wouldn't wish to go through the central plaza under the eyes of anyone and everyone.
"Then you think that we should catch up with them then, and hope that D'aijeen will show her face once more?" Honestly, Cypress probably would not have cared if they went through the plaza, its not like she could see the gawkers anyway.
"Do you think the voidsent can take many body at the same time?" Ulanan asked, suddenly and out of nowhere.
"Not that I have seen, or have heard in our tales of them," Cypress answered simply.
"If that...kid in the shipwreck had the voidsent..." the little woman started, turning around a corner. "...well, maybe it was another one? Or was it the same? Could you tell?"
"I... do not think that it was the same. But it was at the least the work of... D'aijeen," she settled for the sake of ease, calling it that, "the body that it chose is gifted in the arts of necromancy and the manipulation of the void."
They were close to the Blade quarters now. "Whatever we do, it's going to be terrible. If she's still alive, she'll go for her family. Or maybe not. Maybe she needs to recover. Which means we should keep trying to find her in the shore. But then...watch the steps up." The entrance to the quarters had a number of stairs that Ulanan would describe as "too many". But for now, she simply guided Cypress' feet with careful pulling.
The steps weren't actually so bad, "She isn't alive," Cypress corrected, "But the actual girl inside hasn't been in control for at least quite sometime, you realize."
"You know what I meant. Hey! Hello!" Ulanan knocked on the door loudly. "We need a healer and we were sent here. Hello?"
A short hyur dressed in the Brass Blade uniform opened the door and the first thing he saw was the Roegadyn. "Holy Thal! How did you reach here, and why is your voice so lalafell-like..." he started, and then went quiet when he noticed the small blonde lalafell with the huge hat.
"Come in and...wait there." he pointed to a bench nearby while he turned around and left towards the interior of the quarters. "I'll call our healer."
Ulanan pulled Cypress inside.
The blood had stopped flowing down sometime ago, but it had dried on her face. The pupils of the eyes had been stuck clean through, it was a miracle in and of itself that they hadn't simply been plucked out by the demon. As much use as that was.
Cypress settled onto the bench that Ulanan led her towards, "You know. Perhaps it would be best now to catch up with that family."
"If you think the voidsent won't need any time to recover, then I would agree." she nodded.
"With the time that we have wasted returning here and the time it would take to even resume searching where we left off from, the voidsent will be long gone."
Ulanan pouted. Not that Cypress could see it. "I choose to believe you just thanked me for not letting you bleed to death in the way and leaving me to deal with the voidsent on my own."
Two hyurs emerged from one of the doors. One was the guard that had greeted them, and who quickly went back to his post. His post was, apparently, sitting on a chair near a tiny desk and do nothing. The other one was carrying a long, curled dry branch. He stopped in front of Cypress with his hands on the hips.
"Hello, I'm your healer for today. What happened?" he asked with a gravelly, slightly asleep tone.
Cypress merely lifted her face upwards towards the man, "My eyes have been ruined. I was brought here to ensure that they do not fester or cause more issues than they already do."
"I can see that. I meant in a more...you know...how it happened? But you can answer that after we look at it, now that I think better about it. Horse!" the hyur yelled, looking at the other.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" the other complained, standing from his chair.
"Because you used a stupid hat in the holydays. Be a good Blade and ask that lalafell what happened while I see this one." The conjurer extended one hand to take Cypress' shoulder and guide her farther into the quarters.
Cypress rose back to her feet, when she felt the hand on her shoulder and followed the healer into the back room, trusting Ulanan to know what to say to the Horse-man. "We cannot tarry in this town," she explained to the healer, "So simply do what you can now, and worry not beyond that."
"Yes, ma'am. I mean...no, I do my job right. No matter how much I was enjoying that nap and wishing to go back to it. You get to tell me what to do if you become a Brass Blade -and- a captain." he replied.
They went through a few cramped hallways until they reached the infirmary. It was just a room with two beds and a table filled with alchemical reagents, potions and linen wraps. He guided her to one of the beds. "Sit there." he ordered, taking the focus from his back. "This is the second time in less than two days that I tend to someone who got one of his senses destroyed.
If she could have, Cypress would have narrowed her eyes, "And what happened to that person?"
"He left. He was just deaf."
A large mass of aether washed over Cypress's body as the man casted the first healing spell. "-Just- deaf, I say? As if that was not a big deal. But yes, he left. He was in a hurry and was worried about some young woman. He wouldn't hear...well, he -couldn't- hear me or anyone telling him to wait or give us more detail. Just ran off. Or...walked off. Ran-walked, maybe."
The pain in her eyes left as the healer blocked the nerves within them, "A... young woman you say? Did he say anything more about her?"
Another spell fell upon the woman, much more focused and aimed at the wounds directly. "He described her shortly. Green hair, dark skin. Dressing in some kind of red dress, I think. Why? Does that sound familiar to you?" The man left his branch over the table and rummaged through the stuff laying on top of it.
"Yes. Very." The roegadyn did her best to keep her lids open as the healer worked, "Where did he go? What direction at least?"
The Blade, being attentive enough to notice her struggle, took off his gauntlets and used one hand to keep one of her eyes open.
"Can't say. He channeled a teleportation spell as soon as he was outside. Are you feeling anything up here?"
"What little I can feel is strange," she answered before changing the subject immediately back to the deaf man, "He said nothing then of his intended destination? That is of far more importance than my eyes."
"Is it? Are you looking for that girl, too?"
"You could... say that," Cypress said.
The healer moved away, taking one of the linen piles from the table. They turned out to be really cheap bandages. He wrapped Cypress' eyes with them. "I don't know who the girl was, or where that man went to. But he announced himself as Qion'a. He's a moonkeeper. Really dark skin, black hair and golden eyes. I don't know if that will help you in any way, and I sure hope that I'm not helping you in getting him killed or something. It could weigh on my conscience. If I had one." he chuckled.
The bandages pressed over Cypress's eye sockets and through her hair, the harsh material already causing her skin to itch. Really, it seemed they were more for the benefit of others looking at her than to actually help the healing process, "I currently have no intention of getting him killed, should you remember anything else... I am certain that my unfortunate companion will be able to compensate you."
"You shouldn't say those things. I might just make things up." the man chuckled again. "You haven't told me how you got those wounds yet."
"The story would be wasted on you, I am afraid. But suffice to say that it is my companion's fault. She has told me that she has now learned her lesson though. So at least some good came from this. It seems that she is finally playing a useful role." There was no amusement in Cypress's rough, deep voice.
"That's harsh. But I think I would also be angry if one of my fellow Blades blinded me." He placed one hand on her shoulder, urging her to stand up. "A quick heal, like you wanted. Change the bandages often, and get some rest. That's an order. From a healer. Because I know what's good for your health. Alright?"
"Fine. Give extra supplies to the lalafell if you must." Cypress stood to her full height, towering over the midlander. She was about to start walking when she realized that she had no idea where to go. Her jaw clenched as she simply stood there, ashamed of her inability to do such a simple thing as leave an unfamiliar room on her own without blundering about.
"I also suggest you get a stick. Good thing you have your own blame-filled lalafell to guide you around. But she might not stick around forever." the man said, mercilessly. "Come." he added, grabbing her from the arm. "I'll guide you back."
"I'll adjust," she said taking ahold of his arm and allowing herself to be led out.
Back at the hall, Ulanan was sitting on the chair of the tiny desk, while the other Blade, the lazy one nick-named "Horse", stood next to the door from where Cypress and the healer were approaching. He looked nervous for a moment and then went out of their sight.
"They are coming back!" he murmured to the lalafell. "Are you done?"
She nodded, making one last flourish with the quill. "Your report is done. I was a great witness and I didn't mention you have a bag of Somnus on you. Just like you wanted!"
When Cypress and the medic arrived at the hall, Horse was back on his desk, smiling suspiciously. Ulanan was sitting on the bench. "I wrote a report about this incident!" said Horse. The healer raised his brows and gently pushed Cypress towards the lalafell woman. "That's great, Horse. Do a hundred more and we might need to use your real name out of respect."
"I do hope that you did not burden the man with unnecessary details..." Cypress said said to Ulanan.
The little woman huffed. "Of course not. How are your eyes?" she asked.
"She needs to rest, resist the urge to deal with the itch, change the bandages...probably every day if you have the funds. Maybe see a healer if the ache continues for more than a week." the non-lazy hyur said, not moving from the door. "I hope you both have a better day from now on."
"That is doubtful, but perhaps Althyk will bless us." Cypress lets go of the midlander's arm and walks towards where she remembered hearing Ulanan's voice coming from.
The lalafell stood up and grabbed Cypress' clothes once more. "Thank you." she said to the Blades, offering a smile and a little bow. Then she pulled her 'friend' towards the exit. "This way, watch the steps again."
As soon as they were out of the building and the door behind them closed, Cypress spoke, "Apparently there was a moonkeeper that went to that healer for treatment of his hearing. And he'd spoken that he was worried about D'aijeen. But gated away before speaking of much more."
"Mm. That...is not helpful. Did they know who he was?"
The red woman shook her head as they traversed the steps, "No. But he described the man. Dark skin and hair with gold eyes."
The lalafell took a long breath, thinking. "That's something. Thankfully, miqo'te men are not very common. But then they are usually reclusive. He could have gone anywhere."
"The healer claimed no knowledge of where the man was headed."
"Where do you want to go, then? We can't follow him."
"To the family, perhaps they can shed light on where it might go if it does not simply show itself."
"I imagine you didn't attune to the aetheryte in Ul'dah, did you? We'll have to rent chocobos."
"... Attune to aetheryte?" Cypress asked blankly not having any clue what Ulanan spoke of.
"Just what I imagined." the lalafell commented under her breath. "We'll talk about that and how handy it will be on our way to Horizon. This way, now!"
![[Image: 7gJtlcb.png]](http://i.imgur.com/7gJtlcb.png)
