[sub]((This post follows events from here and here.))[/sub]
I'll never see the end of this, Roen thought darkly. Or worse, they will truly be the end of me. She cursed the day she'd ever heard of the documents.
The papers contained the testimony of a confessed Garlean spy, The Rose, who had fingered Roen as his accomplice. He had admitted to using Roen's knowledge of the Resistance to find the stolen ceruleum core, as well as her association with the Sultansworns to set up a conflict that then served as a distraction for the ceruleum theft. He even knew the name and the details of her Garlean father, a high ranking military officer. That was in there too.
Roen knew that the evidence was damning. It was because it was so damning that it had forced Natalie’s hand to do what she did to secure it: having Roen kidnapped and out of the way, and to lure out and capture her brother by blood, Gharen Wolfsong, to turn over to the Syndicate.
And now Roen had entrusted this cursed evidence to Hornet, who was to turn it over to Ser Crofte, a Sultansworn who seemed determined to use the evidence that had caused so much suffering to try and right some of the wrongs it had caused. Ser Crofte had said that it could save more than just her. Did she also mean Natalie and Kage who were still trapped in their service to the Syndicate?
Roen had dared to hope, dared to believe in this new Sultansworn who had shown her nothing but her devotion to her Oath and also compassion to Roen’s plight. That perhaps, out of all this misery, something good could still be salvaged. For not just herself, but Kage and Natalie.
But when Hornet returned earlier today with her grim tidings, Roen was reminded yet again that she continued to make the same mistakes that had led to so much hardship: she had been too trusting. Hornet was convinced that the Sworn were just another cog in the corrupted system that was Ul’Dah. Even though they both held genuine hope for Crofte’s success, the fact that her commander told her to arrest the suspected spy did not sit well with Hornet, Roen, or Gharen.
But there was a part of Roen that did not want to surrender the small thread of hope that she had been given by the Sultansworn.
So as dark rainy clouds gathered above, Hornet, Gharen and Roen approached the Lighthouse south of Moraby Bay, to hear what Ser Crofte had to say. As they walked up the hill approaching the meeting place, Roen stole glances at Gharen’s shining armor, white and blue and glimmering even beneath the cloudy sky; it signified him as a Free Paladin. She hid her own pang of remorse at the sight of it, for she herself felt that she was unworthy of it; dismissed from the Sultana’s service as she had been, then branded deserter by the Brass Blades. Roen was a lost paladin without a purpose.
“Ser Deneith.†Ser Crofte greeted her, always with that title. It was meant as an honor, yet only brought shadows of regret; reminders of mistakes made. “Good to see you about once more," Crofte continued. She nodded in greeting to Hornet and Gharen.
"Aye, Ser Crofte, 'tis good to have a name te go with th' face," Gharen said. He stood between the Sultansworn and Roen, with Hornet in her dark armor and an enormous lance standing off to the side.
"I trust Madam Hornet has delivered my message. Unless she has brought you here for me to relay it myself."
"She has, but I'd nae mind hearin' it from yer lips." Gharen narrowed his eyes at the Sultansworn.
"Very well." Crofte nodded respectfully and cleared her throat. “I have taken the file given by you into mine own custody. It is safely locked away. Using its contents, I have assumed full responsibility for the continuation of the investigation. It is no longer the Brass Blade’s responsibility to track her down."
Both Gharen and Hornet shifted in their stance just slightly, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"In addition, I have been ordered by mine own superior to apprehend Ser Deneith and detain her." Crofte's even tone never wavered. “She would be detained, not in the common gaols, but with the Sultansworn.  A proper cell, better accommodations. And I will be her personal guard throughout. In the meantime, I will continue to conduct my investigation into these false charges with the ultimate goal of acquittal." She paused, her green eyes looking to each of them in turn. “I have been given a limited number of suns for a preliminary investigation before I am forced to attempt apprehension."
Obsidian Hornet crossed her arms and looked to Gharen and Roen, her scowl displayed prominently.
Crofte fixed her gaze to that of Gharen’s. "I had told Ser Deneith before, I would not proceed without her own blessing on the matter. It is that same reason I decided to relay these goings on first, before acting." Her gaze then shifted to Roen, expectant.
“And if I do not wish to go?" Roen could not hide the disappointment from her voice.
"I shall stall for as long as I am able, you have my word. If you should choose not to go, then hide. Stay hidden and pray I do not catch wind of your location." The woman crossed her arms, her expression intent. "Otherwise... when the Captain forces my hand, I shall have no choice. You do understand, Ser Deneith?"
Roen blinked. She understood Crofte fully. As raindrops began to fall, she bowed her head.
"Well I'm sorry," Gharen muttered. "Nae happen'n. I'll lay this out fer ye. First, th' sworn have no jurisdiction in La Noscea. So ye can tell yer superior te go pound sand. Second, ye have two outcomes if'n ye come after my sister. Neither end well fer ye."
"For me, no, it most likely shall not end well, Master Wolfsong.†Crofte seemed resigned. “However I will not be alone if it comes to it. Which is why I give the warning now... I am loath to shed blood, Ser. Any blood."
"All the more reason to ignore that order.†Hornet rumbled. “Lead them on a wild goose chase if you must."
Crofte gave Hornet a sidelong glance. "I said I would stall, Madam, and I shall. As long as you stay out of my reach, it will not be a lie." She shook her head slightly.
"You don't want to do this, so don't. It is not that difficult." Hornet responded dismissively.
"Perhaps for you." Crofte answered simply, then turned her gaze back to Roen.
Roen peered back up at Crofte, and understood. She too could not lie to her superiors. And looking upon the woman, a part of her was not surprised by this outcome. “The evidence says I am a spy. Of course Captain Jenlyns would want me brought in. It would be the same for anyone."
"I'm not the one determined to get people killed hunting an innocent woman..." Hornet growled.
"You think I am looking for this?" Crofte swiveled her head back to the Roegadyn. "I swore to save her, and I shall."
"I think you're an idiot who can't see past her own nose.†Hornet did not relent, her words unforgiving. “Whatever code you're following is leading to this, and look what it's got you."
“She is doing it for the safety for the Sultana,†Roen acknowledged, her voice lowered with a hint of resignation.
“The Sultana is not in danger.†Hornet snorted.
"You are both correct." Crofte replied cooly. "Madam Hornet, unlike some persons, I do not break my oaths so easily."
Roen stiffened.
"I do wonder what that woman is worth to be all this damned trouble." Hornet shrugged and frowned up at the dark skies that continued to spray a light drizzle on them.
"Miss Crofte, I am no 'sworn, I am a Free Paladin sworn te protect any in need,†Gharen interjected after a long pause, his voice calm and expression determined. “Ul'dah has shown my family no kindness, myself branded a terrorist by a 'sworn no less, and my sister taken captive by tha' same individual. So I will be protectin' my sister from Ul'dah."
"Aye, as you say.  But what does your sister want, Ser Wolfsong?" Crofte took a long exhale, the rain tossing the chocobo feather on her beret this way and that. Roen’s eyes fixed on it as the Sultansworn continued. “She gave me the evidence. She agreed for me to aid in this matter. I did not act on my own behalf."
"You don't owe them anything, Roen." Hornet uncrossed her arms, stepping closer to Roen. Her voice was soft but held a note of fear.
"If I did not care for what she wanted, I would not have come alone."
“I... I believed you." Roen frowned, raindrops starting to gather at the tip of her lashes. "I think... I think I still believe you." She almost did not believe her own words as she uttered them.
Crofte blinked. "Ser Deneith... I... I am not giving up. I have only started." She inhaled and folded her arms behind her. “I must locate this Flame who is mentioned, then track down the ... Rose. Even if you were detained, nothing would happen to you until my investigation was completed."
Roen stared at the woman, her own thoughts a storm of emotions and doubts.
"Again, there is time before my hand is forced... do not make this choice hastily." Her voice lowered. "I am already risking much by being here. If the Captain knew I was in your presence again and did not act..." she trailed off.
Roen nodded slowly. "I will think on your words, Ser Crofte.â€
"Thank you."
"I've been told yer trustworthy, but I don' really care if'n ye put her up with th' Sultana herself.†Gharen's eyes were narrowed. “People with good intentions have done enough damage as o' late. Pass this to yer superior. He sends ye after us, we disappear, an ye'll ne'er find us, or he'll have a larger incident te clean up."
“I will remember that,†Crofte said, shifting her gaze to Gharen.
"Understand this, Ser Crofte. I do not wish for any bloodshed." Roen stepped around her brother, approaching the Sultansworn.
"I feel that is something we all agree upon." Crofte nodded to her. She then glanced to Hornet and Gharen. "I have said my peace. If there is nothing further..." She nodded to each of them. "Should Ser Deneith choose to willingly surrender, you may send word directly to me. Otherwise, I shall stall as long as I am able, then send warning to Madam Hornet."
After giving a courteous bow to both Hornet and Gharen, Crofte turned to Roen with a crisp salute. There was a moment’s hesitation before Roen returned it. She felt compelled to, and her eyes lingered on Crofte for two breaths after.
"Then I bid ye best o' luck, an' a good day, Miss Crofte." Gharen nodded back to the Sultansworn and led Roen away from the Lighthouse.
When they were earshot away, Hornet turned to the siblings, her voice low. “Move the camp. And tell no one, not even me.â€
Roen furrowed her brows in alarm as she looked to Hornet. The Roegadyn woman only answered her with a slight smile.
"Don't worry about me." She placed a hand on Roen’s shoulder for a brief moment with a squeeze. "This just may be the first time that I'm really fighting on the right side of things."
Gharen and Hornet exchanged a look and a smile before they both turned, returning to the road leading away. Roen hesitated a moment, her eyes going back to the figure still standing by the Lighthouse and the darkening skies behind her, before she finally turned to join her brother and Hornet.
I'll never see the end of this, Roen thought darkly. Or worse, they will truly be the end of me. She cursed the day she'd ever heard of the documents.
The papers contained the testimony of a confessed Garlean spy, The Rose, who had fingered Roen as his accomplice. He had admitted to using Roen's knowledge of the Resistance to find the stolen ceruleum core, as well as her association with the Sultansworns to set up a conflict that then served as a distraction for the ceruleum theft. He even knew the name and the details of her Garlean father, a high ranking military officer. That was in there too.
Roen knew that the evidence was damning. It was because it was so damning that it had forced Natalie’s hand to do what she did to secure it: having Roen kidnapped and out of the way, and to lure out and capture her brother by blood, Gharen Wolfsong, to turn over to the Syndicate.
And now Roen had entrusted this cursed evidence to Hornet, who was to turn it over to Ser Crofte, a Sultansworn who seemed determined to use the evidence that had caused so much suffering to try and right some of the wrongs it had caused. Ser Crofte had said that it could save more than just her. Did she also mean Natalie and Kage who were still trapped in their service to the Syndicate?
Roen had dared to hope, dared to believe in this new Sultansworn who had shown her nothing but her devotion to her Oath and also compassion to Roen’s plight. That perhaps, out of all this misery, something good could still be salvaged. For not just herself, but Kage and Natalie.
But when Hornet returned earlier today with her grim tidings, Roen was reminded yet again that she continued to make the same mistakes that had led to so much hardship: she had been too trusting. Hornet was convinced that the Sworn were just another cog in the corrupted system that was Ul’Dah. Even though they both held genuine hope for Crofte’s success, the fact that her commander told her to arrest the suspected spy did not sit well with Hornet, Roen, or Gharen.
But there was a part of Roen that did not want to surrender the small thread of hope that she had been given by the Sultansworn.
So as dark rainy clouds gathered above, Hornet, Gharen and Roen approached the Lighthouse south of Moraby Bay, to hear what Ser Crofte had to say. As they walked up the hill approaching the meeting place, Roen stole glances at Gharen’s shining armor, white and blue and glimmering even beneath the cloudy sky; it signified him as a Free Paladin. She hid her own pang of remorse at the sight of it, for she herself felt that she was unworthy of it; dismissed from the Sultana’s service as she had been, then branded deserter by the Brass Blades. Roen was a lost paladin without a purpose.
“Ser Deneith.†Ser Crofte greeted her, always with that title. It was meant as an honor, yet only brought shadows of regret; reminders of mistakes made. “Good to see you about once more," Crofte continued. She nodded in greeting to Hornet and Gharen.
"Aye, Ser Crofte, 'tis good to have a name te go with th' face," Gharen said. He stood between the Sultansworn and Roen, with Hornet in her dark armor and an enormous lance standing off to the side.
"I trust Madam Hornet has delivered my message. Unless she has brought you here for me to relay it myself."
"She has, but I'd nae mind hearin' it from yer lips." Gharen narrowed his eyes at the Sultansworn.
"Very well." Crofte nodded respectfully and cleared her throat. “I have taken the file given by you into mine own custody. It is safely locked away. Using its contents, I have assumed full responsibility for the continuation of the investigation. It is no longer the Brass Blade’s responsibility to track her down."
Both Gharen and Hornet shifted in their stance just slightly, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"In addition, I have been ordered by mine own superior to apprehend Ser Deneith and detain her." Crofte's even tone never wavered. “She would be detained, not in the common gaols, but with the Sultansworn.  A proper cell, better accommodations. And I will be her personal guard throughout. In the meantime, I will continue to conduct my investigation into these false charges with the ultimate goal of acquittal." She paused, her green eyes looking to each of them in turn. “I have been given a limited number of suns for a preliminary investigation before I am forced to attempt apprehension."
Obsidian Hornet crossed her arms and looked to Gharen and Roen, her scowl displayed prominently.
Crofte fixed her gaze to that of Gharen’s. "I had told Ser Deneith before, I would not proceed without her own blessing on the matter. It is that same reason I decided to relay these goings on first, before acting." Her gaze then shifted to Roen, expectant.
“And if I do not wish to go?" Roen could not hide the disappointment from her voice.
"I shall stall for as long as I am able, you have my word. If you should choose not to go, then hide. Stay hidden and pray I do not catch wind of your location." The woman crossed her arms, her expression intent. "Otherwise... when the Captain forces my hand, I shall have no choice. You do understand, Ser Deneith?"
Roen blinked. She understood Crofte fully. As raindrops began to fall, she bowed her head.
"Well I'm sorry," Gharen muttered. "Nae happen'n. I'll lay this out fer ye. First, th' sworn have no jurisdiction in La Noscea. So ye can tell yer superior te go pound sand. Second, ye have two outcomes if'n ye come after my sister. Neither end well fer ye."
"For me, no, it most likely shall not end well, Master Wolfsong.†Crofte seemed resigned. “However I will not be alone if it comes to it. Which is why I give the warning now... I am loath to shed blood, Ser. Any blood."
"All the more reason to ignore that order.†Hornet rumbled. “Lead them on a wild goose chase if you must."
Crofte gave Hornet a sidelong glance. "I said I would stall, Madam, and I shall. As long as you stay out of my reach, it will not be a lie." She shook her head slightly.
"You don't want to do this, so don't. It is not that difficult." Hornet responded dismissively.
"Perhaps for you." Crofte answered simply, then turned her gaze back to Roen.
Roen peered back up at Crofte, and understood. She too could not lie to her superiors. And looking upon the woman, a part of her was not surprised by this outcome. “The evidence says I am a spy. Of course Captain Jenlyns would want me brought in. It would be the same for anyone."
"I'm not the one determined to get people killed hunting an innocent woman..." Hornet growled.
"You think I am looking for this?" Crofte swiveled her head back to the Roegadyn. "I swore to save her, and I shall."
"I think you're an idiot who can't see past her own nose.†Hornet did not relent, her words unforgiving. “Whatever code you're following is leading to this, and look what it's got you."
“She is doing it for the safety for the Sultana,†Roen acknowledged, her voice lowered with a hint of resignation.
“The Sultana is not in danger.†Hornet snorted.
"You are both correct." Crofte replied cooly. "Madam Hornet, unlike some persons, I do not break my oaths so easily."
Roen stiffened.
"I do wonder what that woman is worth to be all this damned trouble." Hornet shrugged and frowned up at the dark skies that continued to spray a light drizzle on them.
"Miss Crofte, I am no 'sworn, I am a Free Paladin sworn te protect any in need,†Gharen interjected after a long pause, his voice calm and expression determined. “Ul'dah has shown my family no kindness, myself branded a terrorist by a 'sworn no less, and my sister taken captive by tha' same individual. So I will be protectin' my sister from Ul'dah."
"Aye, as you say.  But what does your sister want, Ser Wolfsong?" Crofte took a long exhale, the rain tossing the chocobo feather on her beret this way and that. Roen’s eyes fixed on it as the Sultansworn continued. “She gave me the evidence. She agreed for me to aid in this matter. I did not act on my own behalf."
"You don't owe them anything, Roen." Hornet uncrossed her arms, stepping closer to Roen. Her voice was soft but held a note of fear.
"If I did not care for what she wanted, I would not have come alone."
“I... I believed you." Roen frowned, raindrops starting to gather at the tip of her lashes. "I think... I think I still believe you." She almost did not believe her own words as she uttered them.
Crofte blinked. "Ser Deneith... I... I am not giving up. I have only started." She inhaled and folded her arms behind her. “I must locate this Flame who is mentioned, then track down the ... Rose. Even if you were detained, nothing would happen to you until my investigation was completed."
Roen stared at the woman, her own thoughts a storm of emotions and doubts.
"Again, there is time before my hand is forced... do not make this choice hastily." Her voice lowered. "I am already risking much by being here. If the Captain knew I was in your presence again and did not act..." she trailed off.
Roen nodded slowly. "I will think on your words, Ser Crofte.â€
"Thank you."
"I've been told yer trustworthy, but I don' really care if'n ye put her up with th' Sultana herself.†Gharen's eyes were narrowed. “People with good intentions have done enough damage as o' late. Pass this to yer superior. He sends ye after us, we disappear, an ye'll ne'er find us, or he'll have a larger incident te clean up."
“I will remember that,†Crofte said, shifting her gaze to Gharen.
"Understand this, Ser Crofte. I do not wish for any bloodshed." Roen stepped around her brother, approaching the Sultansworn.
"I feel that is something we all agree upon." Crofte nodded to her. She then glanced to Hornet and Gharen. "I have said my peace. If there is nothing further..." She nodded to each of them. "Should Ser Deneith choose to willingly surrender, you may send word directly to me. Otherwise, I shall stall as long as I am able, then send warning to Madam Hornet."
After giving a courteous bow to both Hornet and Gharen, Crofte turned to Roen with a crisp salute. There was a moment’s hesitation before Roen returned it. She felt compelled to, and her eyes lingered on Crofte for two breaths after.
"Then I bid ye best o' luck, an' a good day, Miss Crofte." Gharen nodded back to the Sultansworn and led Roen away from the Lighthouse.
When they were earshot away, Hornet turned to the siblings, her voice low. “Move the camp. And tell no one, not even me.â€
Roen furrowed her brows in alarm as she looked to Hornet. The Roegadyn woman only answered her with a slight smile.
"Don't worry about me." She placed a hand on Roen’s shoulder for a brief moment with a squeeze. "This just may be the first time that I'm really fighting on the right side of things."
Gharen and Hornet exchanged a look and a smile before they both turned, returning to the road leading away. Roen hesitated a moment, her eyes going back to the figure still standing by the Lighthouse and the darkening skies behind her, before she finally turned to join her brother and Hornet.
