Traveler

They left the inn, walking down the path of the central shroud out of the small community called Bentbranch Meadows. Traveling south, they moved past the thickets of trees, bushes, and the occasional diremites to the giant mound that rested in the southwest. 

It took Azlyn a bit longer to walk, as she had to hike her dress up to get a longer gait. Ozwin had the easiest outfit to move—but that didn’t mean it was the most comfortable. Together after twenty minutes of walking, they walked down the stairs into the crypt. 

Paiyo Reiyo was nowhere in sight. 

“Strange.” Azlyn looked around the dark crypt, only seeing the two guards posted by the entrance to Tam-Tara. “Do you see him?” 

Ozwin shook his head. “He’s not here.” 

“That bodes ill.” She walked over to one of the guards, and smiled. “Good evening—have you seen a Lalafellin in a sky blue cloak? He would have green eyes—blonde hair under the hood?” 

The guard scratched his head, before snapping his fingers. “Oh! Yeah, a Lalafellin thaumaturge did come by. Just so happens a fellow like that went into the Deepcroft not a bell ago. There was a young lady with him, dressed head to toe in white.” 

Azlyn looked back to Ozwin, who returned her gaze with a steeled one. 

The guard stared to their attire. “You two look fancy for dungeon delving! Are we on a date?” 

“No.” They both quipped. 

“Ah... oh...” He cleared his throat. “Anyroad—yeah that lass was all giggles. Like a maiden on her wedding day... but your friend looked stiff as a board. Can’t say I blame him though. Crypts do strange things to the best of us.” 

“Anyone else go inside?” Ozwin asked the man. 

The guard at the gates shook his head. 

“Can we go inside as well?” Azlyn stepped forward, hoping to catch up to Paiyo Reiyo and Edda. “We’re in a bit of a hurry.” 

He nodded, reaching back to grab the latch of the door. The loud creaking of the metal as he pulled it back for them echoed in the underground crypt. “Take care you don’t wake the dead, eh?” He started to laugh at his own personal joke, while the two moved past him. 

When they heard the crash of the metal door close behind them, did Azlyn rub her arms with her hands. The slight chill in the air started to give her goosebumps. 

“Roll, Kida, Arenvald, and I cleared this area out a while back—there shouldn’t be any monsters or cultists.” Azlyn started to walk forward down the cavern. “It is abysmally cold.” 

“Want my jacket?” Ozwin easily matched her pace, as her dress kept snagging when she tried to extend her gait. 

“Nah—I’ll be fine. Thank you though.” 

When they cleared the cavern path, the two found themselves staring up into the large void—where buzzing large bugs and demonic-like entities walked the paths. A barrier had been set in place, preventing further access—and an orb that was powering a large greenish orb growing larger in the chasm above. 

Ozwin and Azlyn stared. 

“We cleared it, she says.” Ozwin turned to her, holding out his hand. “I didn’t bring a weapon set. You have any karambits or your sword and shield in your mysterious aether pocket?” 

She nodded, more in shock at the sight of the Deepcroft. She thought of the karambits that she had been given before, and handed them over to him. She then thought of a grimoire with the Nymian text for summoning Eos. She had a feeling they would need healing over damage. 

“Are you going to be able to fight in that dress?” Ozwin pointed to the A-Line dress that stopped shy of her ankles. “We can cut slits up the side to allow you easier movement.” 

“Yeah. Do it.” She moved to one side. He took his karambit and cut all the way from the hem to her mid-thigh. He then gestured for her to turn to the other side. He mirrored the same cut, tearing the fabric up to her thigh. 

“Better?” He asked her, as she started to stretch out her legs. 

“It’s definitely liberating.” She amended with a slight grin. 

“Alright, come on twinkletoes. We have some monsters to clear.” He looked to her book, and noticed the similar purple soul stone in the cover of the book. “Ah—you are gonna summon that fairy thing, right?” 

Azlyn nodded, “I was thinking of Eos.” 

Ozwin swung his knives, practicing. When he felt ready, he waved for Azlyn to stick close behind him. “Try to keep a few paces back—heal only when necessary. You don’t want to draw aggression and have no means to protect yourself.” 

The girl scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Right, like I don’t have any other weapons to call upon my digression.” 

The Hyur chuckled, before lunging out into the area—he sliced through several of the bugs—clipping their wings. Azlyn had to quickly summon Eos with a special patterned circle she briefly remembered Richiro casting. The bright pink and yellow fairy popped into existence next to her, and tapped her nose in delight. 

“Good to see you too Eos, could you keep an eye on Ozwin for me?” Azlyn asked her new pet familiar. Eos swirled in excitement before hovering over to the midlander Hyur, she casted a quickened embrace around him—and the small magical protection circled around him. 

He had swiftly taken care of the monsters and Azlyn ran over to the altar. She held out a hand, expending some of her energy to stop the flow of aether into whatever was growing in the distance. She could also see down the long pathways more of the same bugs and demonic growling creatures. 

“Azlyn, check this out.” 

When she stopped the altar’s dispersion of aether, she walked around to see Ozwin kneeling down to the ground. He was holding a piece of paper—and he handed it to her. 

Azlyn stopped reading to look up to Ozwin. “This is... this is like her journal.” 

Ozwin frowned. “Maybe we’ll find out more about what drove her into this.” He gestured to the whole creepy area with an arm wave. “Come on... let’s keep going.” 

Azlyn, Eos, and Ozwin could see that the barrier broke down as they approached, allowing them access to the next areas. As it turned out—the more they cleared out the pathways—and stopped the aether flow from the altars—they found more notes. Torn folios that spoke of Edda’s thoughts. 

Ozwin collected the folio from her hands, obviously she stopped reading it aloud as she opted to scan it after the first two sentences. He read the words that were left unsaid, and turned to Azlyn. 

“She sounds like she’s lost a bit of bolts in the noggin. You sure she was okay when she spoke to you?” 

Azlyn gave an exasperated shrug. “I don’t know—I was working on maybe four hours of sleep when I went to Ul’dah to collect our reward for Copperbell Mines. Then one thing led to another and I got swept up into the Scions before I could even blink. Edda was the last thing on my mind when Ifrit was summoned in eastern Thanalan.” 

Once more, they moved through the chasm—spiraling down the overridden paths of diremites and vile monsters that took over these areas. The unfortunate thing about their time in Tam-Tara Deepcroft had been they had yet to see Paiyo Reiyo. 

They cleared out another altar, where Azlyn stopped the flow of aether and released it back into the lifestream. Ozwin found another torn folio scattered on the ground. “Found another one.” 

“Let me see.” She walked over, looking over his side to read the note. 

Ozwin had turned his attention to the central platform, and slowly reached over to grab Azlyn’s head. He turned her gaze from the torn folio to the far platform in the center. The outer ring of the central ring had been littered with red candles—all lit. There also had been large written letters on the middle of the area.

“Avere... Avere... Avere...” Azlyn gave a disgruntled frown. “Is that... blood?” She could see varying sizes and spellings of Avere from where they stood. 

Her companion walked away, leaving it only to their imagination. 

Together they walked down the long arching pathways, where they came into a large room. An elezen woman stood in the center, their back to them. Azlyn stepped upon the platform, but Ozwin had reached out to pull her arm arm. Moments after being pulled, several arrows went to pierce the ground she had just trespassed. 

The woman turned to them—her face—cracked and flesh worn—they could see some maggots growing out of her cheek and lower jaw. One of her Elezen ears had been torn off from her face, where the side of her hair matted with thick clotted blood. 

Azlyn involuntarily took a step back. 

Ozwin charged forward—slicing and stabbing into the duskwright archer—his daggers pierced into the flesh—but nothing caused the archer to flinch. No amount of stabbing, slicing, tearing, or piercing caused her to bleed. 

She was a zombie. 

Azlyn started to cast broil and miasma together—trying to help just deteriorate the corpse that walked amongst the living. It took some time, and time to dodge the barrage of arrows that fell upon them. Tons of zombies and the dead started to crawl up from the outer ring of the platform. 

“By the Twelve.” Azlyn spoke in horror, casting broil to mulch the dead as they approached. 

“Don’t stop, keep attacking.” Ozwin grunted, charging into the duskwright Elezen. He aimed his karambits upward, before he decapitated the Elezen and let the head roll away. Azlyn watched as the head rolled, stopping just at her flats. 

She stared down at the face of the woman... of Liavianne’s eyes that bulged wide—her mouth gaping over and over the words... “I told them—I told them she was weird... but they wouldn’t listen...” 

She freaked out—kicking the head away as she involuntarily moved backward. 

Ozwin ran over to her, alarmed by her sudden freak out. “You okay?” 

“She—It—the head talked.” 

He led her from the hall, moving into the tight catacombs beyond the room. “Yeah—they moan and groan. Come on. Keep up with me. Remember to breath—I still need you to keep your wits.” 

Azlyn nodded shakily. 

“Did Richiro rub off on you? You can’t tell me you’re scared of these things?” He gestured to the coffins and the resting places in one of the rooms.

“It doesn’t change the fact that it’s creepy.” She muttered, shaking her head. She raised her hands to slap her cheeks, and Eos buried herself in her curly hair. It seemed like Eos didn’t like this place either. 

“It is creepy.” Ozwin gave her. “And did you notice the tuxedo’s on those corpses?” 

“Didn’t escape my notice.” She grumbled, and Eos tugged her hair to look downward. She brought her attention to another torn folio on the ground. “And look—another note.” 

Ozwin let her read the note as he stepped forward into the room. A demonic entity emerged from the coffin upon his arrival. Azlyn turned to see Ozwin frozen as the creature gasped in a horrid tone. She dropped the note, snapping her grimoire open to broil the entity. 

The trance ended, giving Ozwin time to slash several times into the beast—causing it to burst into aetheric matter. He turned to Azlyn, his face paler than before. 

“Okay—I can see why Richiro is afraid of these things.” 

“You alright?” 

His countenance soon matched her previous shaken appearance as he shook his head. “That sent me back to a memory I wish not to ever see again.” 

“Come on—let’s keep going.” 

They continued through the next three crypt rooms—clearing out the ghosts and rambling demonic entities that hid in the dark corners. They spooked Azlyn a few times, and Ozwin dispatched them as quickly as he could swing his daggers. 

Azlyn shakily pulled out a torn folio from the broken rubble. By this point, both their hair and clothing had been smeared by blood, gore, dirt and grim.

“I’m beginning to think Koroko was right about the necromancer statement she made.” Azlyn replied after reading the note. “I had—I had no idea.” 

Ozwin clapped her back. “I’m worried about this body she wants to find for his head. Has she been decapitating people to test out body types?” 

Azlyn shuddered, and she felt Eos shake in her hair. “I don’t dare think about it.” 

Once more the pair moved down the hall—where a headless suit of armor ambled toward them. It waved a large sword in the air, and sliced through the air. Ozwin and Azlyn worked together, dismantling the dark magicked entity. 

Eos embraced them for a quick heal, and darted back into her hair. 

“I’m sorry Eos, I know you hate it here.” Azlyn went to pet the fairy with her finger. “You’re doing great little one.” 

She heard the soft mumbling by her horn. 

“Found another note.” Ozwin pulled out the folio to hand to her. 

 Azlyn shivered, looking up to Ozwin. “I’m really worried for Paiyo Reiyo. We haven’t seen him once since we arrived.” 

The midlander Hyur nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.” 

Azlyn went to cleanse the defiled tombs, the same way she did in the other rooms before this one. The heavy tension of raging spirits seemed to die down after the cleansing. 

They moved out from the hall, walking into another platform with a large tomb. In the center stood Paiyo Reiyo—his body struggling against some unknown restraint. 

“Paiyo Reiyo!” Azlyn shouted, running over to him. “Are you alright?” 

The Lalafellin thaumaturge paled at the sight of them. “I—I can’t move my body... help me!” 

Around the edges of the ring, dark portals materialized. She recognized these portals—as she’d seen similar ones when she helped Koroko Koko seal them. She watched as dead bodies and corpses started to crawl out of them—moving to the center. It seemed that they were drawn to Paiyo Reiyo’s restrained form. Azlyn defensively stood by, while Ozwin ran around hacking and stabbing the corpses. He kicked them off the edge when possible. 

Azlyn looked to the Lalafellin. “I don’t want to leave you—but I’m going to have to close those portals. That’s going to stop the voidsent from attacking and claiming you.” She commanded Eos to stay by Paiyo’s side. “Stay with him—grant him succor if he requires it.” 

Eos nodded, hovering protectively over the Lalafellin. 

The Au Ra then ran to one of the portals, lifting a hand up thinking of the same cleansing energy she used to disperse the negative energy. A light emanated from her palm, effectively closing one of the portals. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, before running to the next one. 

It took her several minutes—while Ozwin dealt with the corpses—she closed the portals. Once the last one had been closed, she dropped to her knees—exhausted from all the aether she gathered. She felt a pang of pain run through her right arm. 

Paiyo Reiyo heavily heaved, also dropping to his knees. “I—I owe you one... I thought I was done for...” 

Ozwin checked on the lad. “You’re not hurt, right?” 

He shook his head. “No—no I’m not...” He looked on the verge of tears, looking back to the way their came. “I—I can’t stand being here any longer—I’ll see you two outside!” Before the pair could stop him from darting off, the Lalafellin had sprinted out the way they came. 

“Well if he can run that fast—I think he’ll be fine.” Ozwin straightened up, looking to the path they had yet to walk. “You still good Az?”

She paused, looking down to her feet. She felt a squishy substance in her flats. “I think I stepped in some puddle of...something.” 

“You’re worried about that when we’re covered in grime and who knows what?” 

Azlyn frowned, slipping her foot out to look at it. “By the Twelve—that was a puddle of blood. Eww!” 

Ozwin pulled out a handkerchief, handing it over to her. “Wrap your foot like a sock to make it feel less disgusting. Let’s keep moving before the undead I punted off come crawling up the sides.” 

She quickly wrapped her foot in the white cloth, and stuck her foot back into the soiled flat. She’d just have to get used to the grunginess until after they were finished with this. 

They moved through the long pathway, into another winding trail that led into more spirits, souls and voidsent roaming the corridors. They also found another note on the ground behind a pillar. 

 “You sure this is a sweet, young girl Az?” 

Azlyn shook her head, disbelieving what she had read their entire time in the Deepcroft. “I—I’m not so sure.” 

“Well I for one won’t be parting with my soul.” 

“Yeah, me neither.” 

Azlyn watched as they finished up the last remaining of the failed corpses that tried to overwhelm them. Ozwin worked quickly, slashing them before kicking them off the ledges. They fell deep down in the gorge below. It would take them a long time to crawl back up if they were inclined to do so. 

When the energy of what seemed to be the last altar ceased, a pathway rose from below, offering a path to the central platform with the red candles burning with the blood written message. 

Azlyn could see a woman in all white standing in the center. It was as the guard stated, she was dressed in white from head to toe. Ozwin didn’t cloak his arrival, stomping loudly into the space. 

“Are you Edda?” 

The woman didn’t pay any attention to his call, as she reached upward to the glowing purple and green orb that had been absorbing the aether from the previous altars. Azlyn watched as the orb descended to her, and Edda lovingly stared to it. 

The aether dispersed, and a floating—mutated—head thing emerged. Fleshy wings—glowing red eyes. The flesh had been blackened—rotten from decay. 

“Look Avere!” Edda called up to the head—approaching it with slow steps. “These two have come to make you a gift of their souls! Isn’t that kind of them? Even Azlyn is here! Now your dream of becoming like her can come true!” 

Azlyn gave a horrified glance, one between Edda’s back and Avere’s head. “Edda! What is the meaning of this?!” 

Ozwin lifted his karambits, protectively forming a stance in front of her. “I think she wants to use you as the body for Avere’s head.” 

Azlyn grimaced. 

Edda finally turned to them, her face—splotched from dirt and grime—had this look of pure bliss. As if this was the happiest day of her life. Meanwhile Avere’s voidsent head screeched loudly to them. 

The girl in white started to chuckle in delight. A swirling black mist of aether surrounded her. “Thank you ever so much for coming to our wedding! Your body means the world to Avere!” 

Azlyn snapped her grimoire open, as Avere’s head soared down to attack them. Ozwin parried the attack, pushing the head back before grabbing Azlyn’s arm to pull her closer. “You better stay close to me. Eos, protect Azlyn!” 

The fairy hopped out from her hair, casting a quick embrace on both of them and started to fire her own versions of broil to the head. Azlyn followed the fairies lead, casting her own miasma spells and aether drains. It all felt like a mix of coagulated dark matter that she suctioned—and it made her feel nauseous. 

Edda danced happily in the center, ignoring them as they started to fight for their lives. “Your wait is over, my love! All you have ever dreamed of is right here!”  

Azlyn blasted the side of the big head with a broil, and Ozwin used his daggers to try and pierce through the fleshy black skin. The gooey clumps that shed off from his attacks dropped in slushy remains, making Azlyn’s stomach start to somersault. 

They stuck together, almost hip to hip. She made sure not to step too far off in case Edda dragged her into some crazy ceremony to cut off her head. 

“To have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer.” Edda seemed content in her own delusions to worry about them. 

Portals emerged around the platform—as it did where Paiyo Reiyo was restrained. Bodies without heads started to come from the Void portals, slowly crawling to Edda. Azlyn looked between the crawling bodies and Ozwin keeping the huge head of Avere at bay. 

“Ozwin, I’m gonna have to close those portals. Deal with the bodies!” 

The man couldn’t argue with her, as she was already sprinting to the other side. She expended her aether as she had previously, closing one portal after the next. By the time she finished closing five, another five popped up in adjacent spots. She growled, running over to start closing them. 

Edda excitedly jumped for joy, calling to Avere. “Oh Avere, my love! We’ll be together forever! Just give me more time to prepare the stage—for your new body!” She chuckled in happiness.

Ozwin chucked his dagger, letting it sail and tear a hole into one of the wings that helped the head float. He waited for it to flutter down in pain, before jumping up himself and slamming his other dagger repeatedly into the skull. 

The crushing blows, the sound of squishy flesh as he stabbed, Azlyn closed one of the two remaining portals left to see Avere’s head burst into aether. Ozwin tumbled to the ground, his outfit soiled by the dried blood and bits of rotten flesh that exploded upward to him. 

Edda stopped her dancing, her expression had shifted into that of shock and terror. “No... no...” She looked to Azlyn, shaking her head. “What...what have you done? Aveeereee! NOOOOOO!” The girl went to grasp her head, her feet shuffled away from the center of the platform. Azlyn watched her start to walk backward toward the lit candles. 

And also straight back to the edge of the platform. Azlyn couldn’t tell how far the drop was from the edge—but if someone fell at that height, it would be fatal. She tried to run to the girl, trying to figure out the words to say—what she could do to help the poor girl. Ozwin intercepted her, catching her by the mid drift and let Edda continue her stumble backward. 

“Let me go Ozwin!” Azlyn struggled against his hold, as he shook his head. 

“Either watch, or close your eyes.” He steeled his voice coldly. 

“We can still help her!” Azlyn shouted. 

Edda trailed into the candles, as the bottom of her white dress ignited into flames. It appeared to her that Edda didn’t understand that her dress was on fire. Or that she was moving to the edge of the platform. “EDDA!” 

The girl in the white dress didn’t stop moving. Edda reached out a hand to Azlyn, who struggled against Ozwin holding her back. The look of sadness—the look of grief that came over her—soon changed to a strange expression. 

Azlyn watched her slip back, the conjurer fell backward and out of view. “EDDA!” 

Ozwin grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her away from the sight. “She’s gone! She was gone the moment she played necromancer and defiled the dead! There was no saving her!” 

The Au Ra dropped her head forward into his chest, closing her eyes as she felt the overwhelming remorse and guilt consume her. Was there nothing to be done? 

“Paiyo Reiyo is waiting for us, come on.” Ozwin motioned for them to leave, and as devoid of emotion as she was—she followed suit. She felt more helpless in that moment watching Edda fall to her doom than going through the Deepcroft itself. 

It felt like an eternity before the slamming of the metal door alerted her to their presence back to the central shroud’s crypt. The guard looked to them in a mixture of horror and shock as they silently pushed past his inquiring eyes. 

“What the devil happened to you two?” 

Ozwin looked over his shoulder. “First date gone badly—can we go?” 

The guard nodded, more in shock than anything else. 

Azlyn saw Paiyo Reiyo nervously pacing by the fire pit near the center. As soon as he heard the doors open, he had his eyes on them the entire time. Azlyn walked up to him with a deep sadness. “I’m sorry... we... we couldn’t save her.” 

Paiyo Reiyo gauged them both, seeing their ruined clothes and messed up hair. He shook his head. “No. It’s finally over. Would that it could have been different. But what choice did we have? She was already too far gone.” 

Ozwin pulled out all the slips of folios they found. “Yeah, these documents would attest to that.” 

Azlyn sighed in defeat. “But I’m thankful you’re okay Paiyo Reiyo.”

The Lalafellin thaumaturge nodded, before he decided to bid them goodbye. They watched him walk away from them, heading to the exit. Azlyn could feel the cold air rush over her, the strange goosebumps over her arms grew as she went to rub them once more. This time, without prompting, Ozwin pulled off his coat and laid it over her bare shoulders.

Ozwin called out to the mage. “What do you plan to do now?” 

“This... let this be my last act as an adventurer. I’ve done quite enough harm as it is. I mean to go home and live out my days in—in—” He stopped speaking, as his eyes started to train onto something behind them. 

Azlyn gave the Lalafellin a curious glance, and Ozwin looked over his shoulder. He couldn’t see anything there. 

His expression paled—even whiter than the usual paling—as he stared transfixed at whatever caught his attention. Azlyn could see the whites of his eyes as he shook in terror. A trail of wetness appeared on the front of his robes as he seemed to urinate in fright. 

Paiyo Reiyo started to step back in horror. “No—no—it—it can’t be...” 

“What is it?” Azlyn asked the lad, now worried for his sake. 

The Lalafellin’s jaw unhinged, before a loud wail escaped his lips. He screamed. The echo of his voice bounced in the quiet crypt before he sprinted out from the mausoleum in fright. 

“I’M SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!” 

Azlyn reached out a hand, but he was already gone. 

“What the devil was that about?” Ozwin looked behind him, staring at the corner that transfixed his gaze. 

She turned to see the same corner—and a blazing white flash caught her attention. Almost in a black and white frame—she could see it. The devilish grin of the conjurer Edda Pureheart. The apparition disappeared immediately, leaving Azlyn a bit more spooked than guilty. 

Azlyn reached out a shaky hand to Ozwin’s arm. “Let’s...Let’s go home.” 

Ozwin gave her a strange, befuddled look. “Are you okay?” 

She shook her head. “No. Not one bit.” 

The man grabbed her hand, and activated a teleport back home. She followed the aether trail he started and together they returned to the sanctuary of their home. He opened the door to see Kida munching on an apple in the kitchen. 

She beamed, only for her circular eyes to widen a margin wider. “How was the weddi—holy fuck—what the fuck happened to you two?” 

The pair looked between each other, shaking their heads. 

“For the record, that wasn’t a wedding.” Ozwin replied, ripping the top two buttons open without a care in the world.

Koroko Koko emerged from the bottom floor, her gaze looked with Azlyn’s before sighing in disapproval. “So my hunch was right. I apologize leader.” 

The girl shook her head. “Nah... no. It’s fine. Nothing a bath can’t fix.” 

Ozwin turned to Kida. “Hey Kida, while she takes a long bath—hose me down in the front.” He walked outside shortly after. Kida sprinted after him, but not before giving Azlyn a worried look. 

“You okay?” 

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. Go help Ozwin. I’ll go clean up downstairs.” 

Nothing like a corpse groom to ruin the sanctity of a wedding.