Blackness. Â
"Are ya wantin’ back in with The Sworn? Ya need somethin' ta show yer still worth yer salt?â€
Voices started to filter in. There was a distant tug of recognition. It belonged to the Roegadyn, Crimson Mountain.
"If so... I need help with a task I'm gettin' ready ta finish. I infiltrated a band o'... bandits... that sounds dumb, but... it was part o' my work fer the Flames. I don’t trust the Blades. But she trusts you, so I trust you. You can help me, and maybe get in good with the Sworns again."
He was Delial’s ally. Along with Askier who was there as well. She could not refuse his offer, to possibly raise her worth in the eyes of Ser Jenlyns again. Then she was staring at a door, with Crimson Mountain in front of her, Askier behind her. “I'll go in first. You come in behind me. Askier, you bring up the rear." The armored Roegadyn nodded to the Miqo’te. "We get one chance at this. Make it count."
Crim kicked the wooden door in, sending splinters into the air as he rushed in. Roen followed, blade drawn, expecting armed opposition. But soon as she entered, she heard rushed steps behind her, immediately followed by an explosion of pain at the back of her skull. The ground came rushing up to meet her.
Blackness loomed again.
More voices.
"What's done is done. But now... where the seven hells do we take 'er?" Crim said, his voice somber.
"We gotta get her out of Thanalan. She said there would be searches, so we get her out of their area of power. I'm thinking the Shroud. So many huts and forests up there, would be easy to keep her hidden. I hadn't, exactly found a place to hide her yet." Askier sounded uncertain himself.
"Either that or on a ship... I dunno..."
"And how many captains you know who are going to let us stow a prisoner away on a boat?"
"None. That's why ya kill the captain an' take the boat.."
She felt sensation returning to her fingers. But as her eyelids fluttered open, she saw Crimson Mountain and Askier looking down at her, and suddenly a liquid was being forced down her throat. She choked and shook her head, her hands fumbling to push away the Miqo’te's hand that held her mouth closed. The hold would not relent.
Then a shadow fell over her as Crimson Mountain brought his massive armored boot onto her throat, steadily increasing the pressure there. She swallowed the liquid in her mouth to try and take a breath, gasping as she did so. But the weight of his foot did not give way, and air was not forthcoming.
“Just drink and go to sleep,†Askier said quietly as he held her still.
Blackness fell again.
“What in hells happened to her since we saw her last?†Her senses were swimming through a sea of murk and shadows, but she could feel a soft pressure against her shaved head. It was the Miqo’te’s hand. “The Twelve must hate you, Roen.â€
"They don't hate 'er.†There was sorrow in Crim’s voice. “We'll be judged fer this. What we're doin'... it ain't right. It ain't right at all. We know better than this... Who are we?"
"This was all her idea to keep Roen safe, Crim."
"I don't care 'bout the Sworn. Her hands 're dirtier than mine... an' that's sayin' a lot."
Roen took a deep breath in, light finally filtering in through the darkness that had held her consciousness hostage. Her body felt weighted, and she remembered the sour taste of the sedative that ran down her throat. But what drew her from her drug-induced slumber was that familiar warmth of aether, washing over her body. It brushed over her old and new wounds like a warm summer breeze, mending the ache on the back of her head, the last traces of her broken ribs, the scars on her scalp and ear, and bruises that were left there only a few suns ago. It took two more breaths before Roen realized the weight of the hand that was against her ribcage, the source of the healing energy.
Her memory came flooding back with clarity. Alarm made her twist and jerk away from the hand at her side. But that was when she realized her hands were bound behind her. She spun in the bed, her eyes wide on the large Roegadyn that sat at the bedside, his eyes closed. She pushed away from him, squirming away to the opposite side of the bed. She placed her back flat against the corner of the room she did not recognize, and as her bare scalp touched the wall behind her, she felt a subtle chill there in the stone. She was no longer in Thalanan.
“I wish you wouldn’t do that…†Crimson Mountain slowly opened his eyes, his brows furrowing in a somber expression. His tone was muted, his voice just barely above a whisper.
Her grey eyes darted from the rest of the room to Crimson Mountain. “Where am I? Why did you bring me here?â€
"I'm afraid I don't have many answers for you. I only just became a part of this moments before you walked up on me. I'm still... I don't know what..." He shook his head, his brows bent. He looked confused. "I made a mistake, but... If you will be calm then I may be able to fix it."
Roen recalled that he drew her to the Nanawa Mines with the promise of a deed that would gain favor with the Sultansworns. Then she was hit from behind and forced a sedative down her throat. “You and I shook hands, promising no blood between us,†she hissed, her anger rising quickly. She had been fooled yet again, had trusted his words and called him an ally many suns ago when they last spoke. “This is how you keep your promise?"
Crim’s expression still held on to a shadow of regret about him. "We did shake hands, and that's why I'm trying to work something out with you. I need you to listen because I'm not smart enough to figure this out on my own. They're going to kill him, Roen. I need you to focus. I know it may not seem so right now, but I am not your enemy."
"I believed you, and now I am here, bound, against my will. And you expect me to make the same mistake again?" Humiliation quickly gave way to bitterness and his sober tones only emboldened her. “Untie me. If you want me to listen, start with untying me.â€
In a flash, Roen saw his sullen look vanish, and his features grew hard, his shoulders rising. She could see the muscles of his neck growing taut. “You are not in control. If I let you go, I die. If you don't work with me, your brother dies. Now focus and help me or just sit here and rot."
That made her pause, even as fury waged a war with dread in her heart. She had instinctively leaned away from the Roegadyn, her back against the wall. “...What about my brother?â€
As quick as it came, the Roegadyn’s temper faded, and his expression fell to one of apology. "This whole plan is about saving you. But... to do it, Gharen must die. I... I can't allow that, but... I can't stop it. Not on my own."
Roen stared at him, eyes wide.
"I don't know all of the details.†He met her eyes, ignoring her look of disbelief. “You came up on me right as I was finding everything out. It... it has something to do with you being a Garlean. Someone important wants Gharen dead. Someone said that if Gharen is killed, you'd be pardoned. The plan is to kidnap you, drawing Gharen out. When he's vulnerable, looking for you, the Syndicate will kill him." He leveled his gaze back at her. "After that, you're free to live your happy life as an Ul'dahn citizen, I guess. The part about losing your brother doesn't really seem to be on anyone's mind as far as I can tell."
“Wh-what...?†She was still numb with disbelief.
“All I know is that I promised Delial that I would never hurt you or your brother. Knowing of this plan to kill him... Don't get me wrong. I don't like him and I don't trust him. I believe with all of my heart that he will try to kill her. But I made a promise, and I won't break my word. Sitting back and doing nothing... letting him die... It's the same as killing him with my own hands. I can't. I can't..." He shook his head, his voice growing soft. “I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do..."
"I am the bait?†Roen finally managed, even as she tried to absorb all of the things Crim has just said. “To draw him out? You... you took me. You are setting him up!" She pushed herself off the wall, grimacing as she pulled on ropes that bound her hands. "If you do not want to see him die... then let me go. Do not carry out this plan!"
"I didn't want to. I wanted to talk with Delial but... you came. You just came right to us. I couldn't just let you go. They would have found someone else, and then I'd be in the dark. They'd never trust me with another detail."
"Who? Why does the Syndicate, why would they want him dead..." Roen paused, furrowing her brows in thought.. "Is... is this because of the Mines?" Â
"I don't know. All I know is that one of the Sultansworn set this up. If I let you go then they'll know the plan failed from the inside. I'll be in danger, as will Askier. Gharen won't be any better off, they'll just go about it a different way."
Roen’s eyes instantly narrowed with disbelief. "One of the.. Sultansworns?"
Crimson shrugged, seemingly oblivious to her quickly rising distrust. "I don't know, I guess she doesn't like Gharen. I don't know everything."
There it was. Roen suddenly felt herself grow cold, her fear and urgency for her brother quickly giving way to suspicion and humiliation. She had been fooled too often. “Now I know you are lying.†She felt her insides twist, that she had believed this tale so readily. “You... you lie almost as well as Delial does."
"I am a murderer. I am a thief. I am a horrible, horrible man who has committed deeds for which there is likely no redemption. This world will truly be a better place when I die. But one thing I am not is a liar. My word is something I take very seriously. You would do very well to heed what I say." He sat still at the edge of the bed, his hands on his knees, his words stern. "Tell me this, Roen. What reason do I have to lie to you? All I have to do is keep you here and do nothing. Gharen will look for you and you know it. If I do nothing, he dies. What possible reason could I have for letting you know all of this?"
She shook her head, refusing to be drawn in by another lie. Her misplaced trust in Delial had brought so much suffering to others, she could not let that happen again. "I do not know," she said, her words measured. "All I know is Delial brought me a head of a man, and told me of the fate of my brother, just to tell me to keep quiet about it. To act as if nothing was amiss. Only suns later, she tells me her true intentions: for me to murder my allies." She turned her gaze back to the Roegadyn, her eyes alight with renewed anger. Some old wounds would never truly heal. "Why did she do that? Just to witness my torment! To see me struggle for suns while she continued to witness my brother’s torture!" She spat out at him, her words full of bile. "So do NOT ask me why people lie. Trying to convince me they are trying to help my brother. You are trying to turn me against a Sultansworn, using my own brother to do so."
The Roegadyn’s eyes slowly narrowed, and the sullen expression instantly vanished. A dark shadow of anger fell over him as he leaned towards her. "I can't speak for the actions of others, but know this. I... hate your brother. I hate him. If he ever takes Delial away from me then I will do anything and everything in my power to make him suffer, even if it means burning the entire world, do you understand me? The only reason that I defend him is because she made me promise not to harm him. I hate him. Do you still think I am lying, you sharp-tongued little bitch?â€
Roen stiffened at his sudden rancor and leaned back against the wall instinctively, to put what distance she could from her and Crimson Mountain’s angry visage. His teeth flashed as he snarled at her. “You're no Sultansworn. My brother, he was a Sultansworn. It meant something for him to don the uniform. You and your friends, you're nothing but pretenders. You march around like you have a purpose, but you have no honor. Is that enough honesty for you? But even though I believe this to the very core of my being, I promised her not to cause you harm. And so here I am, coming to a worm to ask for help, you who are but a shell of those who have walked before you. I detest the fact that I need your help. I loathe the fact that I don't have the strength to do this on my own... but I don't. Here I am, reaching out to you, even as you spit my word and my honor back in my face. Wake up, Roen, or he... will... die."
Silence fell between them as she stared at him, conflict swirling her mind. “You hate him. You loathe me. And yet you do it because a woman that once regretted not killing us both asked you to spare our lives.†She slowly hung her head, her shoulders going slack. “And you expect me to trust you.†Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You ask the impossible.â€
The Roegadyn settled back into his chair, his voice forcibly calmed again. "No, I don't expect you to trust me. I expect you not to trust me. I just don't know what else to do but reach out to you. But since you're so short sighted, I'll give you a piece of information that I wanted to save you from. Natalie is the one who sold you out. She's the one who put the hit out on your brother and plans to feed him to the Syndicate. Natalie is the one that arranged all this.â€
"Are ya wantin’ back in with The Sworn? Ya need somethin' ta show yer still worth yer salt?â€
Voices started to filter in. There was a distant tug of recognition. It belonged to the Roegadyn, Crimson Mountain.
"If so... I need help with a task I'm gettin' ready ta finish. I infiltrated a band o'... bandits... that sounds dumb, but... it was part o' my work fer the Flames. I don’t trust the Blades. But she trusts you, so I trust you. You can help me, and maybe get in good with the Sworns again."
He was Delial’s ally. Along with Askier who was there as well. She could not refuse his offer, to possibly raise her worth in the eyes of Ser Jenlyns again. Then she was staring at a door, with Crimson Mountain in front of her, Askier behind her. “I'll go in first. You come in behind me. Askier, you bring up the rear." The armored Roegadyn nodded to the Miqo’te. "We get one chance at this. Make it count."
Crim kicked the wooden door in, sending splinters into the air as he rushed in. Roen followed, blade drawn, expecting armed opposition. But soon as she entered, she heard rushed steps behind her, immediately followed by an explosion of pain at the back of her skull. The ground came rushing up to meet her.
Blackness loomed again.
More voices.
"What's done is done. But now... where the seven hells do we take 'er?" Crim said, his voice somber.
"We gotta get her out of Thanalan. She said there would be searches, so we get her out of their area of power. I'm thinking the Shroud. So many huts and forests up there, would be easy to keep her hidden. I hadn't, exactly found a place to hide her yet." Askier sounded uncertain himself.
"Either that or on a ship... I dunno..."
"And how many captains you know who are going to let us stow a prisoner away on a boat?"
"None. That's why ya kill the captain an' take the boat.."
She felt sensation returning to her fingers. But as her eyelids fluttered open, she saw Crimson Mountain and Askier looking down at her, and suddenly a liquid was being forced down her throat. She choked and shook her head, her hands fumbling to push away the Miqo’te's hand that held her mouth closed. The hold would not relent.
Then a shadow fell over her as Crimson Mountain brought his massive armored boot onto her throat, steadily increasing the pressure there. She swallowed the liquid in her mouth to try and take a breath, gasping as she did so. But the weight of his foot did not give way, and air was not forthcoming.
“Just drink and go to sleep,†Askier said quietly as he held her still.
Blackness fell again.
“What in hells happened to her since we saw her last?†Her senses were swimming through a sea of murk and shadows, but she could feel a soft pressure against her shaved head. It was the Miqo’te’s hand. “The Twelve must hate you, Roen.â€
"They don't hate 'er.†There was sorrow in Crim’s voice. “We'll be judged fer this. What we're doin'... it ain't right. It ain't right at all. We know better than this... Who are we?"
"This was all her idea to keep Roen safe, Crim."
"I don't care 'bout the Sworn. Her hands 're dirtier than mine... an' that's sayin' a lot."
Roen took a deep breath in, light finally filtering in through the darkness that had held her consciousness hostage. Her body felt weighted, and she remembered the sour taste of the sedative that ran down her throat. But what drew her from her drug-induced slumber was that familiar warmth of aether, washing over her body. It brushed over her old and new wounds like a warm summer breeze, mending the ache on the back of her head, the last traces of her broken ribs, the scars on her scalp and ear, and bruises that were left there only a few suns ago. It took two more breaths before Roen realized the weight of the hand that was against her ribcage, the source of the healing energy.
Her memory came flooding back with clarity. Alarm made her twist and jerk away from the hand at her side. But that was when she realized her hands were bound behind her. She spun in the bed, her eyes wide on the large Roegadyn that sat at the bedside, his eyes closed. She pushed away from him, squirming away to the opposite side of the bed. She placed her back flat against the corner of the room she did not recognize, and as her bare scalp touched the wall behind her, she felt a subtle chill there in the stone. She was no longer in Thalanan.
“I wish you wouldn’t do that…†Crimson Mountain slowly opened his eyes, his brows furrowing in a somber expression. His tone was muted, his voice just barely above a whisper.
Her grey eyes darted from the rest of the room to Crimson Mountain. “Where am I? Why did you bring me here?â€
"I'm afraid I don't have many answers for you. I only just became a part of this moments before you walked up on me. I'm still... I don't know what..." He shook his head, his brows bent. He looked confused. "I made a mistake, but... If you will be calm then I may be able to fix it."
Roen recalled that he drew her to the Nanawa Mines with the promise of a deed that would gain favor with the Sultansworns. Then she was hit from behind and forced a sedative down her throat. “You and I shook hands, promising no blood between us,†she hissed, her anger rising quickly. She had been fooled yet again, had trusted his words and called him an ally many suns ago when they last spoke. “This is how you keep your promise?"
Crim’s expression still held on to a shadow of regret about him. "We did shake hands, and that's why I'm trying to work something out with you. I need you to listen because I'm not smart enough to figure this out on my own. They're going to kill him, Roen. I need you to focus. I know it may not seem so right now, but I am not your enemy."
"I believed you, and now I am here, bound, against my will. And you expect me to make the same mistake again?" Humiliation quickly gave way to bitterness and his sober tones only emboldened her. “Untie me. If you want me to listen, start with untying me.â€
In a flash, Roen saw his sullen look vanish, and his features grew hard, his shoulders rising. She could see the muscles of his neck growing taut. “You are not in control. If I let you go, I die. If you don't work with me, your brother dies. Now focus and help me or just sit here and rot."
That made her pause, even as fury waged a war with dread in her heart. She had instinctively leaned away from the Roegadyn, her back against the wall. “...What about my brother?â€
As quick as it came, the Roegadyn’s temper faded, and his expression fell to one of apology. "This whole plan is about saving you. But... to do it, Gharen must die. I... I can't allow that, but... I can't stop it. Not on my own."
Roen stared at him, eyes wide.
"I don't know all of the details.†He met her eyes, ignoring her look of disbelief. “You came up on me right as I was finding everything out. It... it has something to do with you being a Garlean. Someone important wants Gharen dead. Someone said that if Gharen is killed, you'd be pardoned. The plan is to kidnap you, drawing Gharen out. When he's vulnerable, looking for you, the Syndicate will kill him." He leveled his gaze back at her. "After that, you're free to live your happy life as an Ul'dahn citizen, I guess. The part about losing your brother doesn't really seem to be on anyone's mind as far as I can tell."
“Wh-what...?†She was still numb with disbelief.
“All I know is that I promised Delial that I would never hurt you or your brother. Knowing of this plan to kill him... Don't get me wrong. I don't like him and I don't trust him. I believe with all of my heart that he will try to kill her. But I made a promise, and I won't break my word. Sitting back and doing nothing... letting him die... It's the same as killing him with my own hands. I can't. I can't..." He shook his head, his voice growing soft. “I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do..."
"I am the bait?†Roen finally managed, even as she tried to absorb all of the things Crim has just said. “To draw him out? You... you took me. You are setting him up!" She pushed herself off the wall, grimacing as she pulled on ropes that bound her hands. "If you do not want to see him die... then let me go. Do not carry out this plan!"
"I didn't want to. I wanted to talk with Delial but... you came. You just came right to us. I couldn't just let you go. They would have found someone else, and then I'd be in the dark. They'd never trust me with another detail."
"Who? Why does the Syndicate, why would they want him dead..." Roen paused, furrowing her brows in thought.. "Is... is this because of the Mines?" Â
"I don't know. All I know is that one of the Sultansworn set this up. If I let you go then they'll know the plan failed from the inside. I'll be in danger, as will Askier. Gharen won't be any better off, they'll just go about it a different way."
Roen’s eyes instantly narrowed with disbelief. "One of the.. Sultansworns?"
Crimson shrugged, seemingly oblivious to her quickly rising distrust. "I don't know, I guess she doesn't like Gharen. I don't know everything."
There it was. Roen suddenly felt herself grow cold, her fear and urgency for her brother quickly giving way to suspicion and humiliation. She had been fooled too often. “Now I know you are lying.†She felt her insides twist, that she had believed this tale so readily. “You... you lie almost as well as Delial does."
"I am a murderer. I am a thief. I am a horrible, horrible man who has committed deeds for which there is likely no redemption. This world will truly be a better place when I die. But one thing I am not is a liar. My word is something I take very seriously. You would do very well to heed what I say." He sat still at the edge of the bed, his hands on his knees, his words stern. "Tell me this, Roen. What reason do I have to lie to you? All I have to do is keep you here and do nothing. Gharen will look for you and you know it. If I do nothing, he dies. What possible reason could I have for letting you know all of this?"
She shook her head, refusing to be drawn in by another lie. Her misplaced trust in Delial had brought so much suffering to others, she could not let that happen again. "I do not know," she said, her words measured. "All I know is Delial brought me a head of a man, and told me of the fate of my brother, just to tell me to keep quiet about it. To act as if nothing was amiss. Only suns later, she tells me her true intentions: for me to murder my allies." She turned her gaze back to the Roegadyn, her eyes alight with renewed anger. Some old wounds would never truly heal. "Why did she do that? Just to witness my torment! To see me struggle for suns while she continued to witness my brother’s torture!" She spat out at him, her words full of bile. "So do NOT ask me why people lie. Trying to convince me they are trying to help my brother. You are trying to turn me against a Sultansworn, using my own brother to do so."
The Roegadyn’s eyes slowly narrowed, and the sullen expression instantly vanished. A dark shadow of anger fell over him as he leaned towards her. "I can't speak for the actions of others, but know this. I... hate your brother. I hate him. If he ever takes Delial away from me then I will do anything and everything in my power to make him suffer, even if it means burning the entire world, do you understand me? The only reason that I defend him is because she made me promise not to harm him. I hate him. Do you still think I am lying, you sharp-tongued little bitch?â€
Roen stiffened at his sudden rancor and leaned back against the wall instinctively, to put what distance she could from her and Crimson Mountain’s angry visage. His teeth flashed as he snarled at her. “You're no Sultansworn. My brother, he was a Sultansworn. It meant something for him to don the uniform. You and your friends, you're nothing but pretenders. You march around like you have a purpose, but you have no honor. Is that enough honesty for you? But even though I believe this to the very core of my being, I promised her not to cause you harm. And so here I am, coming to a worm to ask for help, you who are but a shell of those who have walked before you. I detest the fact that I need your help. I loathe the fact that I don't have the strength to do this on my own... but I don't. Here I am, reaching out to you, even as you spit my word and my honor back in my face. Wake up, Roen, or he... will... die."
Silence fell between them as she stared at him, conflict swirling her mind. “You hate him. You loathe me. And yet you do it because a woman that once regretted not killing us both asked you to spare our lives.†She slowly hung her head, her shoulders going slack. “And you expect me to trust you.†Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You ask the impossible.â€
The Roegadyn settled back into his chair, his voice forcibly calmed again. "No, I don't expect you to trust me. I expect you not to trust me. I just don't know what else to do but reach out to you. But since you're so short sighted, I'll give you a piece of information that I wanted to save you from. Natalie is the one who sold you out. She's the one who put the hit out on your brother and plans to feed him to the Syndicate. Natalie is the one that arranged all this.â€
