Ishgard was still too risky, but Falcon's Nest was far away enough and Kasrjin was enough of a familiar face from his hunts that the area was relatively safe for now. The Xaela breathed, resting underneath a makeshift tent he had pitched beneath some cliffs some distance away from the outpost. A small campfire and some broth bubbled next to him, as Kasrjin stared at the keystone in his hands while considering the information.
Inquiries at the Falcon's Nest indicated that no one had seen an Au Ra matching Kaizhan's description in the past fortnight or so, save for one of the travelling sutlers having sold provisions almost a moon ago. Assuming that that information was true--and suspicious as Kasrjin was, the sutler had no apparent reason to lie--it set things in an important time frame. Kaizhan had arrived to Coerthas sooner than Kasrjin, which was not a wholly unusual circumstance given the latter's poor grasp of directions and navigation.
He picked up a small metal tin and scooped some of the broth from the stone bowl, sipping the hot liquid gingerly as Kasrjin studied the map of the Highlands that Roen had given him. Assuming that the ones who killed Kaizhan took no other objects from his body, the limited amount of rations that Kasrjin found on his compatriot's corpse indicated that Kaizhan had not resupplied in some time, and thus it stood to reason that Kaizhan was returning from his destination.
However, while this made some things certain, it only made the other questions more dire. What was Kaizhan carrying? Who had taken it from him, and how had they known that he possessed it? How had they found him, and perhaps most importantly...was Kasrjin's mission complete without that object, or did this keystone require another piece to function as intended?
As time passed, the chatter at the Falcon's Nest had inevitably reached the Xaela's horns: the Dragonsong War was over, and Ishgard was now at peace. Perhaps it was safe to return to Ishgard...perhaps. Kasrjin had spent the last few suns watching the Highlands intently for any suspicious activity, but when no knights nor war party revealed themselves, he began to pack his makeshift camp.
What he was looking for would be in Ishgard.
Inquiries at the Falcon's Nest indicated that no one had seen an Au Ra matching Kaizhan's description in the past fortnight or so, save for one of the travelling sutlers having sold provisions almost a moon ago. Assuming that that information was true--and suspicious as Kasrjin was, the sutler had no apparent reason to lie--it set things in an important time frame. Kaizhan had arrived to Coerthas sooner than Kasrjin, which was not a wholly unusual circumstance given the latter's poor grasp of directions and navigation.
He picked up a small metal tin and scooped some of the broth from the stone bowl, sipping the hot liquid gingerly as Kasrjin studied the map of the Highlands that Roen had given him. Assuming that the ones who killed Kaizhan took no other objects from his body, the limited amount of rations that Kasrjin found on his compatriot's corpse indicated that Kaizhan had not resupplied in some time, and thus it stood to reason that Kaizhan was returning from his destination.
However, while this made some things certain, it only made the other questions more dire. What was Kaizhan carrying? Who had taken it from him, and how had they known that he possessed it? How had they found him, and perhaps most importantly...was Kasrjin's mission complete without that object, or did this keystone require another piece to function as intended?
As time passed, the chatter at the Falcon's Nest had inevitably reached the Xaela's horns: the Dragonsong War was over, and Ishgard was now at peace. Perhaps it was safe to return to Ishgard...perhaps. Kasrjin had spent the last few suns watching the Highlands intently for any suspicious activity, but when no knights nor war party revealed themselves, he began to pack his makeshift camp.
What he was looking for would be in Ishgard.
