I’m weak. I started playing R’nyath Tia lol.
At the beach, Rinala’s wearing the 2017 summer top with the 2018 summer bottom, both dyed Dalamud red; R’nyath is wearing the 2018 top in Meadow green and bottom in Nophica green.
Chapter 18: Blushes and Blood Pearls
At first it was just one out-of-place woman in town, a blonde Miqo’te dressed in a beautiful white dress and looking about in wonderment. And then it was another, a brunette Hyur from Ul’dah, and another, a long-legged Elezen, and another, and another, and one by one they were all directed to the Rising Stones.
Rinala was in the café close by Tataru’s desk, studying a treatise on black magic while F’lhaminn took afternoon tea across from her, when the strange women entered, all within ten minutes of each other. Tataru greeted them, and Rinala’s ears pricked up as each gave her reason for being there. “Oh, I just came to see Thancred!” “I’m here to visit Thancred.” “Thancred wouldn’t happen to be around, would he?” Rinala glanced at them with increasing suspicion; they didn’t seem to notice her.
Tataru bid them wait in the café and went to call Thancred’s linkpearl; Rinala caught sight of an evil, gleeful grin on the sweet receptionist’s face. And then the women began to talk to each other.
Thancred entered and froze just as one of the women shrieked. “You! Harlot! How dare you!”
“How dare you!” raged the Hyur across from her. “He promised me-”
The other Scions, busy in the lower part of the common area, surreptitiously drew near the bar to observe. Yda had a massive grin on her face, rapidly dissolving into uncontrollable giggles. Papalymo had his arms folded disapprovingly.
“Ah, hello, ladies,” Thancred said, a shell-shocked smile fixed uncomfortably on his face. “What a pleasure to see you all here…?”
“Thancred!” They all pounced, each in their own way. The Lominsan Miqo’te hugged him about the waist and the Elezen grabbed an arm, while the Ul’dahn woman, the blonde Miqo’te, and the armoured woman reached out but refrained from grabbing – too refined to physically accost him, it looked like, however much they wished to. “Tell her– them-”
“Er, why don’t we all sit down and talk it out over tea…?”
They weren’t listening, not in the slightest. Yda was laughing flat out now, apparently completely unnoticed by the heatedly bickering woman. “Oh gods! Make it stop!”
“He said that I was his favourite muse!” cried the Elezen.
“Well, I’m the one who procured the rarest of ores!” cried the Ul’dahn.
“He’s a romantic! What need has he of ores when he has the poetry of my-”
“Shut your mouth! I’ve been far more useful to him than you! Even if he did send that girl to collect it!” Yda was now crying with laughter, unable to breathe.
“Aubrionne, Olava, if you’d just let me explain-!” Thancred was once more ignored.
Y’shtola walked past them all with a sigh. “Do we not have more pressing matters to attend to?”
F’lhaminn leaned forward to Rinala. “Such is the fate of he who would toy with women’s hearts. Let us see how Thancred’s silver tongue wags its way out of this one…”
Rinala huffed, her tail lashing slowly and her ears slowly swiveling backwards even as she tried to keep her head down over her book. Not that she was reading it now. “I’ve heard about his entanglements, the Echo showed me some of his entanglements, he deserves it.”
“Oh, yes, my dear. He’s been like this as long as I’ve known him – fifteen summers and more. ‘Tis one reason I always gently rebuffed him. As good as he’s been to my daughter, as fine a member of the Scions as he is, I have my doubts about his… well.” She gave Rinala a kindly look. “You must decide for yourself, though.”
“Miqo’te manstealer!” the armoured woman was shouting at the blonde. Rinala’s tail fluffed just a little bit more.
“You’d best watch your tongue,” sniffed the blonde, her ears lying back.
“Ladies, please, this is no way to- Oh, hello, Tam! I was just, er, entertaining some friends! Ahahaha. Oh gods…” Thancred laughed awkwardly, looking increasingly as if he’d like to disappear.
Tam had wandered into the middle of the group, looking wide-eyed and clueless. It was a poor look on him. “Huh? What? What’s going on?”
“Er, nothing, just an impromptu gathering of sorts. H’kunse, what-”
The Lominsan was petting his arm, trying to rub her bosom against him. “Why don’t we leave these others to their squabbling, hmm?”
“While I would enjoy that greatly, I fear to leave my friends at their mercy… Perhaps later we might- Adney! No weapons! I beg you!”
Rinala shut her book with more force than was strictly necessary and left quickly.
A couple days afterward, Rinala sneaked back into the Rising Stones with a small bundle from the market tucked inside her raincoat – it was a rather grey, mucky spring day outside, which was good only because it allowed her to smuggle it in without her friends noticing. She crept up to the storeroom on the highest floor of the tower, where the Scions rarely came, and laid out her acquisitions before her. They had been rather expensive, being luxury non-essentials in this frontier town, but she had a bit of personal spending money from being a hero, so she had been bold and bought them.
The girls who had come had worn make-up, a lot of them, and some of them, a lot of it. Maybe it was a stupid idea, but if she put on make-up too, would she be prettier? Would Thancred like it? Even hearing from Captain Jacke that he didn’t flirt with his co-workers couldn’t dampen her hopes completely. He might have cheated on all of those girls, but at least they’d had some attention from him-!
But what to do with all of these things? Some of it was for eyes, some of it was for lips, some of it was for skin, she knew that from just being around other women, but it wasn’t like they were labelled clearly; some of it had no labels, some of it was in Old Ishgardian, which she didn’t understand, and some of it just had unintelligible font. None of them had instructions. There were bright colours, and pale colours, and stark black, as powders and balms, and big brushes, and little brushes, and fluffy brushes, and narrow brushes.
Surely the palest, something labeled “La Belle Neigeuse”, whatever that meant, was for her pale skin, she got that much. And the bright colours were for eyes and lips. She didn’t know what to do with the black. She didn’t really need the black, on consideration. Black was too sombre.
She could have asked Achiyo for help. Achiyo used a bit of make-up, didn’t she? And she supported Rinala’s feelings… But she rather wanted, again, to do this on her own. She could do this!
Except when she had put on all the things she felt she could put on and looked in the mirror, it looked horrible. She’d put too much of everything, clearly! And it was all blotchy and ragged at the edges from her inexperienced, unsteady hand. She would have to take it all off and try again.
Her failure stung. She’d hoped to be beautiful on her first try, and go back downstairs and… and… what had she been thinking? She was such a little fool. There was no way wearing make-up would do anything for her. But she was so plain without it… and she was ugly with it! She sniffed as a big fat tear rolled down her cheek, streaking through the powder. Oh, and she’d neglected to bring so much as a cloth to wipe her face with! How would she be able to hide this until she could get it off? Her tail, perhaps? But she didn’t want to get her tail all dirty…
There was a step on the stairs, and she swept her tools away in a fright. Ah! She couldn’t even look to see who it was! She hoped it was Achiyo.
“Rinala?” It was not Achiyo. Her heart sank right down to her toes and she struggled not to cry more. It was Thancred, of course, the very last person she wanted to see right now. “What are you doing up here all by yourself?”
“D-don’t-” she squeaked, trying to hide her face. “It’s nothing, I just wanted to be by myself…”
“Are you all right? What’s the matter?” He was coming closer and she was going to die if he saw… “Oh dear.”
That set off her tears properly. “I’m s-sorry! I j-just wanted to t-try it…”
“Why are you sorry?” he said kindly. “Look, Minfilia knocked over a vase and sent me to get another. I’ll just bring it down to her and be right back, all right? We’ll get you fixed up.”
Well, her life couldn’t get any worse right now, so she nodded and tried to wipe her eyes, getting smeary powder all over her hands. She heard his quick feet going back downstairs and tried to figure out what she was going to do next. She had certainly ruined her chances forever, but she still had to go on. She still needed to stay and be a Warrior of Light. And Thancred was nice to her, he wouldn’t embarrass her to the others by telling them – and even if he did, they would also be nice, even though she really just wanted to die right now, or run away for a few months at least. Because she was a little girl, and you had to be nice to little girls when they messed up innocently and cried, and she kind of hated that she could rely on that – but she didn’t want them not to be kind to her… She was so confused…
Thancred was back, bearing a damp towel. “Now, you sit here, and I’ll sit here, and let’s get this mess off your face. I may have to scrub a bit; hold still.”
Even if he would never ever consider her romantically now, it was still nice to sit there before him, eyes closed, and feel his touch upon her face, tilting it about to let him get at all the bits until all the make-up was gone again, and her tears as well.
“Why’d you try it out, if I may ask? You’ve never showed any interest in it before.”
“I-I just thought it was a… a grown-up thing to do, and…” That made her sound so childish…
“Is it about what happened the other day?” he asked gently, and she nearly pulled away, because how could she have ever thought he wouldn’t see right through her? “I apologize. I didn’t mean to bring that part of my work home.” He sighed. “And it’s unfortunate, the Scions have lost several useful connections through my carelessness. If only one or two had come, I might have been able to preserve all my ties, but it was simply poor luck they all chose the same fine weather to travel in…”
“Do you not care about them?” she blurted out, then cringed. It wasn’t her business.
He shrugged, considering his words carefully. “I enjoyed my time with each of them, but ultimately it was for the Scions. Women are terribly knowledgeable, you know! More knowledgeable than many men, though many men would deny it.” He snorted, and dabbed at her right eyelid. “But you, you don’t need this stuff, my dear. You don’t need to look like them. If you really must know, I’ll tell you what it’s all for, but really, you don’t need it to be pretty.”
“O-okay.” She opened her eyes as he finished. W-wait. Had he just called her pretty?
“Well, there is perhaps one thing that you can do.” He picked up the black soot palette and a narrow brush, then put a finger under her chin again to lift her face. He was looking critically into her eyes and she tried – and failed – not to blush violently. She could barely control her nervous tail. “You have very pretty blue eyes, and if you just put a little outline around them, no one will ever fail to notice. Close your eyes again?”
His fingers were warm as he painted a thin line just above her eyelashes, callouses on his fingertips rough against her jaw. “Too much of this, and you’ll look like a lady of ill repute, though, so don’t overdo it.” She blushed hotter, ears flicking back in distaste, and he chuckled.
When he showed her the mirror, her mouth fell open. She’d never known her eyes were so blue, but the outline made them practically glow in her pale white-blue-pink face, slightly pinker than normal from the scrubbing. It had turned out black was a really useful colour after all!
He showed her what to do with all of the other things in her bundle, which brushes were good for which powders, and which powders were the wrong colour for her, and what they looked like when properly – lightly – applied on the back of his hand. Between staring at his handsome face and at his hand, she noticed that his face was smooth and flawless, with just a few creases at the corners of his dark amber eyes, but his hands were covered in many old faint scars.
But she didn’t ask about that. “How do you know all this?”
“First of all, from being a minstrel. One does want to look one’s best no matter if there’s a week-long festival going on, no? And secondly… as you’ve noticed, I do know a lot of women. Sometimes they share such secrets with me.” She blushed and looked away. “What?”
“Actually, I had a question…”
“Yes?”
Things felt more comfortable now, like they could just talk, and it was okay. “I’ve been wondering, if you originally came from Limsa Lominsa, why you don’t… um… speak like…”
“Like a pirate?” He leaned towards her with a sardonic, lip-curling leer. “Yarr-harr, me hearties? Or, perhaps more accurate from my youth, come dancin’ wi’ th’ devil’s daddles in th’ darkmans, t’ mill th’ culls as bit what ain’t theirs t’ cloy?” He said the last part so fast that Rinala, even for all her time spent with Captain Jacke by now, barely registered he was still mostly speaking in the common tongue.
She giggled at the teasing. “You sound very Sharlayan normally. I know you studied with Archon Louisoix, but…?”
“Aye, he caught me early, over twenty years now if I remember correctly. As soon as I figured out I was much better off learning from him than scraping barnacles and lifting purses, I embraced all of my studies – including elocution and vocal training. And it suits me now to have an accent that’s more adaptable to most social situations than Lominsan patois. Not to say that I can’t affect another voice if I had to. It’s an invaluable tool in the work I often do.”
“Of course,” she said. She wasn’t going to tell him that she loved particularly the way he said her name, drawing out the middle syllable and almost adding an R on the end for no apparent reason. He did the same thing with Y’shtola’s name and Minfilia’s, too, come to think of it. Any word that ended in A, really. “I really like it, though.”
“Many people do! Especially when I put it to use in the service of poetry or song. Now, shall we go downstairs and see if anyone notices your eyes?”
His glee, whether real or put on to make her feel better, thrilled her. “Ooh, okay. I’ll put this stuff away and be right down.”
They waded knee-deep in warm seawater as the sun set behind the hills. Tataru was up to her waist, bending over to get at the fat black clams that produced blood pearls, and nearly dipping her tiny nose in each time. While the clams weren’t terribly difficult to obtain, finding one that had pearls was time-consuming, and then finding one that had big pearls… Not to mention the very dangerous monsters that prowled this abandoned stretch of the coastline, far from the tamed idyll of Costa del Sol.
Which was what R’nyath and Rinala were there for. Between the two of them, they were a match for any buffalos, giant crabs, or sea serpents that happened to fancy a Lalafellin snack. So even though it was an impromptu decision on Tataru’s part, they didn’t call for back-up. Most of the others were out on an assignment, anyway. So the three of them had hastily bought swimsuits at Costa del Sol’s gift shop and headed out together.
And even if he’d been a little less absolutely certain, he wouldn’t have called for reinforcements anyway, unless the others insisted. This was nice – just him and pretty Rinala, and sweet Tataru nearby, on a white beach with tropical water and the setting sun. He’d do much to never see Tataru sad, and her disappointed sighs after failing the arcanist test tugged at his heartstrings, so it was with great pleasure that he saw her coax herself back to good cheer with these pearls. She worked so hard, and he only ever wanted that hard work to be rewarded by everything she wished for, so that she could keep smiling that radiant smile.
And if he wanted to see Tataru always happy, it went double for Rinala. She was so very emotional, and he kind of related to that; she had such wonderment at the world, such beautiful naive optimism, and to see her smile or laugh was to feel he’d gone to the Seventh Heaven. She was shy, strong and vulnerable, braver than she believed, but she lit up the whole world with her presence, and godsdamn the things she did were cute. Not to mention whatever she was doing with her eyes these days… wow!
And she was still madly in love with Thancred, and shone brightest when he was on her mind.
That was why he was silent, even though he cared for her so much. Any day now, he felt, Thancred would stop being blind, or playing dumb, or whatever he was doing, or Rinala would finally squeak out her feelings, and then they could go and be adorable together. And R’nyath would keep looking for his own snuggle buddy.
In the meantime, he really liked hanging out with her, and looking at her in her cute red swimsuit in the light of the setting sun. He’d changed too, into green trunks and an unbuttoned shirt; the beach was not a place to be wearing heavy boots and leather! For one thing, salt water was hell on leather. For another thing, if any of them got stuck in close combat with a monster, they had bigger problems to worry about than if they were dressed for playing in the water. And he liked that Rinala kept sneaking glances at his abs, and blushing afterwards. She wasn’t immune to Miqo’te sexiness! If she ever changed her mind spontaneously, he was right here…!
“So you think we should have invited Wedge?” he said to Rinala, sure that Tataru was out of earshot.
She giggled. “Yes! But I haven’t heard from any of the Ironworks engineers recently. The last I heard, Jessie was repairing Maggie so that Vivienne could ride her again…”
“Jessie’s a great engineer. Doesn’t get enough credit, really. Oh hey, that snakey thing looks hungry. Let’s see if I can kill it in one shot.”
“You go first, and if you don’t kill it, I’ll zap it with Thunder.”
His quiver harness was mildly uncomfortable with much less padding than usual, but it didn’t stop him from drawing and releasing, easy as breathing. The morgawr’s head snapped back with a gurgle as he struck it in the eye, and it fell limp into the water. It would be carried off at high tide, or picked apart by crabs after they had left the area.
“Nice shot!” Rinala clapped for him, and he bowed. “I get the next one!”
“Absolutely!” he said, waggling his ears cheerfully. “Ahh, this is relaxing.”
“I suppose it rather shouldn’t be,” Rinala said. “Remember when we first came here? Oh wait, you weren’t there.”
“When you were fighting Titan?”
“Mmhmm. We met Vivienne and Aentfryn then. And we – I, at least, really didn’t want to stray from the road, for fear of being attacked. And now, it’s fine.”
“One way to measure how much we’ve grown,” he agreed. “Unless you’re also saying we shouldn’t become complacent?”
“Yes, I think so. I think we’ve grown objectively stronger, at least, I have, but if we were taken by surprise, our reputation certainly wouldn’t save us.”
“No? My reputation emits an aura that repels weak monsters.” He pretended to think for a moment. “Or maybe attracts strong ones. I’m not really sure. One or the other.”
She giggled. “But you’re from Gridania. You’re used to hunting stealthily, right? I haven’t noticed you cast too much of an aura at all.”
“Ah, that’s my aura. But my reputation’s aura is different.” He tapped the side of his head, and she giggled again.
“Remind me, what organization were you in, in Gridania?”
“I was a God’s Quiver,” he said. “Three years, then I skipped out to do something more fun. I think at least one of my sisters is still there, though. But then, there’s R tribe members all over Eorzea – we’re one of the most numerous, and we get around!”
“Oh, like the Maelstrom commander lady?”
“R’ashaht Rhiki? Yeah, I think she’s like my third cousin twice removed – or maybe my second cousin three times removed? I don’t really keep track of labels outside of my siblings and parents.” He shrugged.
“How interesting it must be, to have siblings,” she said to herself. “I’m an only child.”
“Moon Keepers are so weird,” he said, teasing. “But it must be a lot less annoying.”
“Well… it would have been nice to have other kids around when I was growing up. It was a little lonely.”
“Aww!” He flung an arm around her shoulders. “But you have us now! No more being lonely.”
“Nope!” she agreed happily, though she flinched a little at the physical contact – right, maybe he shouldn’t do that when she was wearing a bikini? He tried to withdraw his arm without it being weird. 50/50 chance it worked. Good thing there was a distraction.
“Oh, hey, there’s a monster. Go get it!”
“I got it!” she said, flourishing her black mage staff. The Thunder didn’t slay the second morgawr instantly, but it immediately started convulsing instead of charging them with bared spiky teeth, which was an improvement from his point of view. He began filling it full of arrows, and then Rinala flung a fire spell at it and incinerated its head.
He sniffed. “Yuck. Oily. Terrible barbecue.” She laughed. “Although, I’ve been wondering…”
“What?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No, never mind. I’ll ask later, if it becomes relevant.” She fought differently than she had a couple moons ago, and he wondered if she knew that he noticed she carried a small concealed dagger these days. Rinala fighting with a blade… how hot was that? Rinala in a bikini with a blade… he zoned out for a minute.
Rinala splashed him. “Hey! Pay attention! There could be more monsters!”
He ducked, trying to cover his bowstring, laughing. “Oi, oi, easy, lady!” That was dangerous for his mental health. He couldn’t think about her while he was next to her, haha. “I think Tataru’s done, no?”
Tataru beamed at them, hefting a small bulging cloth sack. “Well fought, you two, well fought! I knew I was right to ask you to come. As for me, I have my prize: a bounty of blood pearls!” She pulled one out to show them, her small fingers sure and unlikely to drop them. “So named for their reddish hue, they were treasured as wards against dark magicks in ancient times. I thought I might make charms for everyone… so that no matter where they go, they will always come home.”
“Oh, what a lovely idea!” Rinala said. R’nyath had just assumed she was going to sell them, after all the stress the budget had been causing her. This was much more original. “They’re so pretty!”
“And we can use all the help we can get,” he said.
Tataru shrugged, putting the pearl back with the others, and they began walking back to Costa del Sol. “It’s sort of the power to defend myself and other people… in a way. Right, well, I mustn’t keep F’lhaminn waiting! There’s work to be done – and lots of it! We’re to secure provisions for the Scions in the Lominsan markets. She may have an eye for quality, but I have a nose for bargains!”
“Will you need us?” R’nyath asked. “Anything to be carried?”
Tataru shook her head. He really liked that straw hat on her. “I shouldn’t think so. Anything particularly large I’ll have delivered. Rather, pray convey my apologies to the Antecedent, and tell her that she needn’t worry about me.”
“Will do!” he said with a jaunty salute.
Tataru waved in return as they arrived at the resort’s gate and collected their clothes. “Farewell, R’nyath, Rinala, and thank you for everything!” She thought for a moment. “Hmmm, that sounded rather final, didn’t it? How about… until we meet again!”
“Until next time!” Rinala said.
“See you tomorrow!” R’nyath chose.
Tataru strode off towards the aetheryte… then turned to wave once more, a little smile on her face. They waved back. How glad he was that she’d had a good end to a poorly-begun day.
The scholar had taken them to Urth’s Fount, on his own initiative and off the schedule, and was now mumbling to himself and wandering about all over. Achiyo, Tam, and Kekeniro, watching for territorial boars and keds, paid little attention to his rambles, though Kekeniro kept an eye on where he wandered. So far nothing had occurred that was even slightly interesting, but Achiyo didn’t complain – the forest was cool and fragrant, and it was nice to do ‘nothing’ after the intensity of the last few sennights. Minfilia had apologized for sending them out on such a trivial assignment several times, but really, she did not need to be sorry for anything. To be sure, having a day or two to not put on the armour in the mornings would have been nice, but as long as she was still putting on armour, what easier assignment to take?
So she took the great empty time of standing watch, and turned what might have been boredom into meditation. She was… happy she’d come to Eorzea. It had been a change for the better in all aspects. She had friends, and they were all so different from each other and her past life, all so fascinating and kind and trustworthy; the land was as beautiful as the one she’d left; she was useful and respected in a way she never would have been in Othard. And, perhaps most importantly, and most subtlely, the hollow place in her heart was slowly beginning to heal.
There was a panicked cry from behind the greatest crystal formation. “Scions! Scions, come here! I-I need you!”
She took off running, Tam’s longer legs ahead of her, Kekeniro lagging behind. They came around the crystal and found – the scholar sitting on his backside in the water, with a blue-coated body at his feet, submersed completely in the water.
“Wilred!” she gasped in recognition – and then horror. “It can’t be!”
“It is,” Tam said grimly. “He’s been here a few days, too.”
Oh, the dreadful scene! The youth’s face was preserved under the cool running water, frozen in an expression of shock and pain, and his coat was soaked through with blood. His sword and shield lay beside him as if they had just fallen from lifeless hands. It was a wonder that he was untouched by wild animals… though they did tend to avoid places where aether concentrated, did they not? “Who did this?” she whispered, rage and grief comingling within her breast. He had gone missing a few days prior, Riol had told her, but… to be dead…!
There was a crashing and a splashing. “Fear not, my friends! Help has arrived!” Hoary Boulder called, rushing into the clearing.
Coultenet was behind him, and the other Warriors of Light who had been on patrol with them. “There you are! Hoary and I were worried when you and your charge failed to return at the appointed hour.”
“Yeah, why’re you late- ohhhh shite!” Chuchupa backpedaled. Vivienne and Aentfryn said nothing, but she could feel their shock and anger. Chuchupa had been surprised enough for all of them.
Hoary showed no real surprise at the corpse, only sadness as he bent to inspect it as Tam had done. He sighed as he rose again. “Gutted like a hog… but not by one.”
“No,” Tam said. “These wounds were made with a blade… and he didn’t put up much of a fight, either. Surprised, I think. Trusting the one who slew him.”
Coultenet was glancing around at the undergrowth, searching for anything that might help unravel the riddle. “I’ve heard nothing of any Crystal Brave operations in this area. What cause had Wilred to come here?”
“Wh-What should we do!?” stammered the scholar, as Achiyo helped him up and away from the body. He was hiding his eyes, and she didn’t blame him. “I’ve… I’ve never been this close to a… to a… Oh… oh gods…”
Achiyo caught Coultenet’s eyes. “Will you see to his protection?”
Coultenet came to take the scholar from her care. “Yes, at once. We’ll escort him back to Camp Tranquil.”
“We’ll take care of the body,” Aentfryn said. “We’ll return him to his people.”
“And I will return to the Rising Stones,” Achiyo said.
“Yes, the Antecedent will want to know what happened here,” said Hoary. He looked again at the body, a terrible look upon his face. “And so do I…”
Achiyo did not envy whomever would bear the brunt of Hoary’s fury. In fact, she pitied them, for it was matched by her own. She’d hoped to see Wilred mature into the hero he wished to be, the leader his people needed. Instead-! She clenched her fists, not trusting herself to speak anymore.
It was this conspiracy that she could feel like a net all about them. She’d been too slow – or those who kept secrets had been too slow, and Wilred had paid the price. She would find out who had done this, and then what they said to her would determine whether she dragged them before a court of law – not that she trusted those, much – or slew them on the spot. Their honour, her honour was stained with innocent blood and she would avenge it.
Tam was already teleporting, and she felt his aether whisk away towards Thanalan. She did not follow, nor did the other Warriors of Light. Hoary was right. Minfilia needed to be informed. Tam had probably gone to tell Alphinaud. Kekeniro was looking around, trying to find more clues in the aether. Aentfryn was helping Hoary lift the body, while Vivienne and Chuchupa stood by to escort.
“Gods, what a waste…” Coultenet muttered, leading the scholar back in the direction of Camp Tranquil.
She Teleported back to the Rising Stones and told Minfilia everything, then left to go find or call Tam and demand he share what he knew – but she didn’t have to. Riol awaited her outside the solar. “You don’t look best pleased, lass. Something on your mind?”
“Wilred’s dead,” she said bluntly. He had been the one to tell her the boy was missing, after all. “We found his murdered body at Urth’s Fount.”
Riol’s good eye widened, then narrowed in anger. “Godsdammit! They must know they’ve been rumbled…”
“Whatever you know, I want to hear it now!” she ordered. She had no authority over him, but she was not going another bell without learning what he knew.
Riol huffed a sigh. “Sod it, you’re right. ‘Tis past time we had this talk. After our last conversation, I got to thinkin’ about where certain funds were comin’ from. So I had a dig around – on the quiet, like – an’ sure enough, I found it. Seems a fair bit o’ coin’s made its way into the Braves’ coffers courtesy of a ‘Dodo Consortium’ – a daft name for a business if ever I heard one, which is what first gave me an inklin’ that somethin’ weren’t right. So I went through the ledgers again, an’ found another half-dozen donations from organizations with stupid bloody names. Didn’t take long to find the common thread: all were owned by the Mirage Trust.”
“Teledji Adeledji,” she breathed, her eyes blazing in mounting fury. She should have known. After that brief time in which he’d appeared more than kind and noble – suspiciously so, in hindsight – he’d not bothered to hide his greed even a little. But he’d overstepped himself this time.
Riol gritted his teeth. “Oh, I’ll give the bastard credit – he showed us up for the amateurs we are. Short o’ callin’ one o’ his businesses the bloody “Bribery Consortium,” I don’t know what more he could’ve done to mock our rules on financial contributions.”
“You were not supposed to be amateurs,” she said sharply. “You and Alphinaud said you did everything to ensure this wouldn’t happen. You said you followed every coin to its source!” She had absolutely no authority to censure him, and he was surely already feeling responsible for not discovering the connection sooner, but – but a man was dead because he had let it go!
Riol bowed his head in shame. “I’m sorry, Lady Achiyo. But naught can change the past now.” That was only too true, and she relinquished of some of her intensity. “The gods only know how many men o’ the 1st an’ 3rd are takin’ Teledji’s coin.”
“Even Ilberd,” she said in a whisper.
“Aye. An’ he may have done for Wilred himself, if my guess is right. The earnest young fool had taken to askin’ the wrong kind o’ questions. Bound to attract attention, he was… Should’ve seen it at the time – but I didn’t, gods damn me…” He sighed heavily, and she let out a little sigh of her own. “Still, I don’t see what Teledji hopes to accomplish. He hid his scheme with all the care of a drunk pissin’ into the wind… No, he’s cleverer than this – so we need to be clever too. That’s the only way we’ll ever repay this debt o’ blood. We’ll purge every one o’ them traitorous bastards from our ranks! On that you have me word.”
“Thank you,” she said. After all the Crystal Braves had done for Eorzea, it would be a waste to disband them now. And yet… with the corruption taken root so thoroughly… would anyone ever trust them again?
Alphinaud had raised a private army that now considered itself beholden to a power-hungry rich man. No worse outcome could she imagine… save perhaps that they allied themselves with the Empire. At least with Ilberd among their ranks, that was unlikely.
“An’ Achiyo… mind yerself when ye’re in Ul’dah, eh? We’re headin’ into a storm. I can smell it. The kind what’ll sweep a man overboard an’ drag him under ‘fore he knows it.”
“I will,” she said. “And I’ll watch out for the others, too. We must stand together or we will not stand at all.”
He nodded, then bowed to her. “Good day, Lady Achiyo.”