Traveler

She must have fallen asleep as soon as she laid down. When she awoke the next morning, she found herself with a pounding headache, but not as exhausted as she felt before. Slowly she started her morning, making a quick trip to wash her face of the dirt and sweat. She gathered her belongings, dressing in her outfit she’d bought in Moraby Drydocks. 

Since she had some time, she sat at the edge of her bed—writing in her journal of all the events that transpired from Copperbell Mines, her training with Leih and Kida in the Twelveswood, to the Scions invitation from Y’shtola, and her pending investigation in Camp Drybone. She ended her writing session after forty minutes, and ripped it out. She folded them into three even folds, and slid them into one of her envelopes. She dropped one of the gold allagan pieces into the letter, hoping her friend would get some enjoyment from the historic piece. She wrote G’raha’s name on the top, stamped it with her postage, and she sealed it with wax. 

Azlyn left the inn shortly after that, seeing if she could deliver her letter out before she forgot about it. The moogle had just come into the hamlet delivering the mail to the residences when she started looking. 

“Excuse me!” She ran over to the postmoogle. “I have a letter to be mailed please.” 

The moogle circled in delight. “Of course! I am ever ready to deliver the mail of our community! Where is it going to kupo?” 

Azlyn smiled, handing the letter over. “It’ll go to the Isle of Val, to G’raha Tia of the Students of Baldesion please.” 

“Understood Kupo! I see the postage has already been paid for!” The moogle circled up and down in the air, and then started to float up and off into the distance—probably to finish his courier services for the day. Azlyn nodded her head in approval, before finding Isembard deep in thought by the watering well. The morning seemed to have been a busy one, as several groups of travelers, merchants, and others entered into the camp for supplies. 

She walked over to the De Facto Leader with a slight wave. “Thank you for the spare room last night Isembard.” 

The man snapped out from his reverie, he visibly relaxed at the sight of her. “Ah, Azlyn—I’m glad you came by. Sometime after you went to sleep, Sister Ourcen had been brought down to the Camp. I am well glad I reserved the Inn room when I did, as she had received greater injuries from her attackers than she initially let on. She’s currently resting in the room, and is expected to make a full recovery.” He smiled to the Au Ra. “Thancred came by early this morning, He left word that he will be waiting at the Amalj’aa encampment to the southeast. I pray the two of you are able to uncover some evidence regarding these disappearances.”

He passed a small piece of paper over to her, a piece of eastern Thanalan’s map and a circled location of the encampment further southeast. She accepted the small note, and decided to make her way over. She had her bow out, taking her arrows to notch and practice as she walked. She hit several birds flying above her with ease, and along the way, she even took down one of the mountain goats with a single shot. Azlyn hoped with as little practice as she was able to do, it would help her during the competition. 

She frowned. Thinking of the competition tomorrow left her with a bit of a conundrum. While she did have plenty of time that day to do what she could—what if they ran into no leads again? It wasn’t as if she could pack up and leave—this was a potential primal threat. 

Other than her abysmally short time to practice, she found herself walking up a tall hill overlooking an encampment in Sandgate. She could see a lone figure standing, his arms crossed over his chest as he was looking below. Azlyn stopped beside him, looking down the ridge he was staring down at. 

“You could have woken me.” Azlyn had a bemused tone, and he regarded her with a positive attitude. 

“I was going to, but when I saw you sound asleep I thought it best to do some preliminary work. I figured you would get my message from Isembard when you saw him.” Thancred shrugged. “I heard about the good Sister Ourcen. Isembard said her wounds were serious. It would seem my suspicions about the poor rose were misplaced.” 

Azlyn crossed her arms, “Make sure you apologize to her.” She gave him a knowing smile. 

A slight chuckle on his lips, he smoothly replied. “Already have, with a nice bouquet of desert fauna in a vase at her bedside.” 

“Look at you, being a gentleman.” Azlyn attempted to sound surprised, which caused Thancred to ruffle her hair. She quickly dodged from his tousling, and pointed to the encampment. “What’d you find out about the Amalj’aa?” 

“Funny thing, last night whilst I followed you to the Golden Bazaar I noticed a band of Amalj’aa nearby. Deciding it best to trust my instinct, I tracked them as far as this encampment—but let’s just say that I would much prefer to keep my distance and remain here until you arrived. Now, we can have a look inside now that we have eyes and ears both here and in there.” Thancred nodded his head, “Now would you prefer to be the lookout or the one who will sneak inside. Either way is fine with me.” 

Azlyn smirked, pointing at him with an incredulous finger. “Wow, you’re letting me decide? What happened between last night and today? Isn’t this plan just as dangerous?” 

Thancred sighed, “I’ve thought over it from last night and decided you were right, I should let loose the reins and let you do what you think is best. After all, you are a seasoned adventurer.”

“Okay.” Azlyn smiled, pointing to herself with her thumb. “I guess since you’re trusting me, I’ll have to show you what I’m capable of. Anything I should look for while inside?” 

“Evidence—maybe they might have a paper trail. I would recommend you stay out of combative situations—as to not alert their whole tribe.” Thancred said calmly. “I’ll be here, give me a buzz if you find anything.” 

She nodded, and then ran down the hill around the mountain. She could already see the signs of the Amalj’aa encampment. Large metal barricades fences had been set up at different spots. As if to break up hordes of monsters or armies into smaller chunks. The craftsmanship of the iron fences were janky at best, but they did their purpose. She made alongside the side of the cliff, avoiding two of the lookouts on the south mountain. She ducked and weaved in the shadows of the trees, before she found herself in the thick of the camp. She avoided a scout walking back and forth by the entrance, having been brought into an outdoor like office. There were scattered papers and slips of parchments scattered on the tables. 

She opened her satchel, shoving all of the papers inside. Thancred can sort through the crumpled messes later. She could hear the thumps of one of the scouts feet coming nearby. She ducked under the table, pushing behind a rock to hide herself. She waited for several minutes, as she heard the scout speaking with another nearby. They talked about something drawing near, and the time would come when the world would tremble at their lord’s might. 

When the scout finally moved, she ran back into Sandgate to Thancred’s position on the top of the hill. He had the look of relief on his face as soon as he spotted her running up. “Well? Did anything tickle your fancy?” 

Azlyn pulled out her satchel, pulling out the wads of cluttered papers she snatched. She sat down on the earth, ignoring the hot ground under her as she started skimming the reports. Thancred hunched down next to her, checking the papers she’d laid out. 

Thancred held up a particular leaflet that caught his attention. “This leaflet. ‘See the wealth of Nald to the hands of your children.’ It looks to be some sort of assembly to provide the poor with work.” 

The Au Ra quirked her head. “Work? Why would that be in the Amalj’aa Camp?” 

Thancred frowned, “Indeed. The lettering is atrocious. And these bits about Nald’thal seem somewhat—less than studied. I find it hard to believe one among the Order penned this.” 

Azlyn had to agree. 

He handed the leaflet to her with her next instructions. “I shall meet you there before long, pray take this to the inn at Camp Drybone. Let us see what Sister Ourcen makes of it.” 

She nodded, thinking of the crystal back in camp. Before she whisked away, she managed to give Thancred a quick wave and found herself back at Camp. She turned, walking down a set of steps and straight into the Inn. Running down the hall, she found the middle room occupied with the Sister inside. She was smelling the flowers that Thancred had told her about earlier. She rapped on the pane of the door. 

“Good morning Sister Ourcen.” 

The sister turned to look at her. “My savior comes again. I have to apologize, I offered you a place to stay but was unable to fulfill that promise.” 

“It’s quite alright,” Azlyn walked in, finding a small wooden box to sit on. She picked it up and brought it over to Sister Ourcen’s bedside. “How are you feeling?” 

The sister smiled. “On the mends, and thankful to you for what you’ve done. If there is something I can do for you, I’d be glad to help.” 

“Well...” Azlyn pulled out the crumpled leaflet Thancred had given her. “Can you ascertain the validity of this leaflet for me?” She then handed it over to the sister to read. The woman accepted it with a ginger hand, and squeezed her eyes under the dim light. She had a difficult time reading some of the scrawled letters. Her expression said it all, however she still spoke the words that Azlyn feared was true. 

“What is this? Blasphemous. These are not our teachings at all! This was not made by any brother or sister of the Order—of that, I can assure you.” Sister Ourcen handed back the paper to her with a grimace. “Come to think of it, weeks ago, the church was plagued by missing garments. Could someone be posing as a priest of the Order to deceive the people?” 

Azlyn’s expression darkened. “I’ll look more into this. You look tired, please rest some more.” 

The woman gave her a worried expression. “Please do be careful. And pray, thank the gentleman waiting for you in the hall for the flowers. They are beautiful.” She gave a small smile, before turning back to the bed. She laid down, resting her injuries from further damage. 

Curious to see if Thancred had returned, she walked out to find him leaning against the wall. He had one leg propped against the wall and his eyes staring at the ground. “You could have come inside.” Azlyn replied, and Thancred shook his head. 

“Come, let us talk outside. We should let the injured and sick rest while they’re able.” 

Azlyn followed after the man, knowing that he also had the capability to teleport wherever he needed, given the aetheryte. He led them out from the inn, and to a shaded spot under an unoccupied area. He crossed his arms once more. “The plot is thickening Azlyn. Our culprit pretends to be a priest to lend credence to his deception. There is no doubt an irony in there somewhere.” 

“What can we do about it now?” Azlyn asked, tapping her chin in thought. 

“I suspect we have a worthy adversary on our hands. I shall consider how best to handle this. For now, tell Isembard what we have learned.” Thancred pointed to Isembard walking by one of the working stations. He was happily chatting with some of the day workers. She started walking over, but she remembered the leaflet in her hands. She turned around, hoping to return the new piece of evidence to Thancred, only to see him vanish. Azlyn let out a silent laugh.  

“That was a quick escape.” She noted with a bit of surprise, and shook her head. For the time being, she folded the parchment, and went over to Isembard. In order to get to the bottom of who was committing these kidnappings, she needed to be more direct in her approach. 

Isembard saw her coming, wishing the few workers to have a good day out in the fields. When he turned to her, he smiled. “Find anything?” 

Azlyn handed him the paper. “This leaflet would suggest as such. I think we have someone impersonating someone from the church in order to commit these crimes.” 

Isembard read through the script, his eyes narrowing at the writing. He folded the paper and had a slightly concerned look. “I’m afraid I have not seen any unusual activity. Nor have any at this camp given me cause to doubt them. But unless we can identify the culprit, and soon, more innocents will fall victim.” 

She crossed her arms, thinking of ways that would potentially help. That was until another figure popped up beside her. She jumped slightly as Thancred announced himself to their discussion. “Twelve preserve, how do you do that?” 

Thancred chuckled, raising his finger up. “Years of practice—Do not despair just yet. As I was walking around, an idea occurred to me. If our subject is posing as a priest, using leaflets bearing fake promises to lure the poor, we should use Azlyn’s previous plan to draw them forth.” 

Azlyn had been confused by that, and placed her hands on her hips. “Plan?”

Thancred merely replied, “Why your planted bait plan of course.” 

Isembard widened his eyes, “Wouldn’t that be dangerous Thancred?” 

“If she were by herself, yes, however.” The Scion shook his head, as if he had thought that through. He smiled to the smaller Au Ra beside him. “Let Azlyn and I both serve as the bait, and together we’ll work together. We’ll pose as impoverished souls in need of succor.”

The De Facto Leader of Camp Drybone frowned, but it looked like he had already conceded to the idea. “I dare to hope that this will yield us the answers we seek. It will be a dangerous undertaking, but you two seem more than capable of looking after yourselves. I’m pretty useless in battle, but I can supply the garments for the disguise.”

Azlyn looked to Thancred, trying to read his expression. His brown eyes were lit with something she couldn’t quite place, something about this seemed exciting to him. Maybe it was the prospect of the act itself. She stopped her staring as Thancred spoke once more. “Thank you Isembard, we shall await your return!” 

The leader walked off to the inn. As they were waiting, Azlyn shrugged. “Any reason why we’re going with a last ditch effort?” 

Thancred smirked to her. “It’s only a last ditch effort if we make it so. I believe this will be the most direct course of action, and then we shall see who is pulling the strings.” 

Azlyn nodded, she thought so as well but she couldn’t help but think he’d done something similar to this before. “You were against a plan like this before, any particular reason why?” 

“You’re the insightful one, aren’t you?” Thancred shook his head, “I have some dealings with subterfuge, and after some consideration, I had to remind myself you’re not a kid. You look like you’re younger than twenty, which prompted my initial denial when you suggested staying at the church by yourself.” 

“Huh?” She replied, a mirthful expression dawning. She then regarded herself with keen interest. “You thought I was just a kid? I’m like twenty-four.” She explained a slight chuckle to her tone. “Thank you, but you have no need to worry about such things. I just want to do what I can to help people.” 

Thancred sighed, “And as such I owe you an apology—suffice to say I should be treating you as an equal. It was my mistake, and it won’t happen again my fair lady.” 

“It’s alright, it’s not like you’re the first—nor the last—to suggest such things.” She gave a heavy sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. She let one of her feet kick a rock a bit aways. “I think because of how young I look, I feel like I have to prove something. I’m always thinking to myself that I don’t do enough to prevent things that are within my power as it is. I suppose it’s a weakness of mine.” 

Thancred quietly listened, before he reached out to her head, ruffling the white wisps of hair. “You’ve done quite a bit in your short time in Eorzea. Don’t sell yourself short, short stuff. And I’ll remember what you said, and treat you accordingly. No more babying from me.” 

Azlyn chuckled at her sudden nickname. When he pulled his hand back from her, she gave him a big grin. “I’ll do my best to meet your expectations Thancred.” She saw Isembard exiting the inn, walking over to them. 

He nodded. “Ah—the man of the hour returns with our new garbs.” 

Isembard approached with two bags. Both were filled with tunics, slops, and worn out boots from previous beggars. He placed both of the bags at their feet. “These old tunics and slops should serve your needs, so long as you don’t mind the smell and the stains.” 

Azlyn widened her eyes. “These weren’t washed were they?” 

Thancred laughed. “No backing out, we’re in this one together.” He leaned over to grab one of the bags, and gestured for her to pick up her own outfit. “These will serve very well. You have my thanks. Come along Azlyn, the smellier and poorer we look, the more like we are to convince our culprit.” 

Azlyn reached down, and she could already smell the sweat and wanton smells wafting from the bag. She scrunched her nose in distaste, and Isembard regarded her with a pitiful expression. “Sorry—I tried to find the better smelling ones.” 

She nodded, before accepting her fate. It wasn’t as if this was the worst thing she’d done—probably won’t be the best but that was dependent on the person’s perspective. She could see Thancred was already holding the Inn door open, waiting for her to follow him inside. 

Bidding goodbye to Isembard, she took the slops over to the Inn, and together she and Thancred went to the room she had been rented. Thancred waited outside of the room for her to change first, and when she came out in the sloppy attire, he had to suppress the laughter that bubbled in his throat. She shoved her hair under the hat, as she already could smell a myriad of strange odors coming off her. 

Thancred went to change next. In several moments he came out wearing similar colored garments as her. He had wrapped his hair up, and then he lifted a small box. He grabbed her chin, lifting it up as he started to apply some dark brown makeup to her face, smudging it on her nose, cheek, and under her eyes. 

“There—now you look dirty too.” 

Azlyn stuck her tongue at him, as he started to smudge his face with makeup. “You’ve definitely done this before.” 

He nodded, adding the finishing touches to his face. “Years of practice.”

“As what I wonder.” Azlyn called him out, only for him to close his box with a wry grin. 

“In order for this plan to work, we must needs start acting like beggars. Azlyn you will take to the west side of camp, I’ll take to the east. I want you to beg for work. Before long, the false priest should catch wind and approach us.” Thancred avoided answering her question, deciding to jump right into the heart of their operation. 

She didn’t miss his avoidance, but decided to let him have this round—for now. “Sooner or later I’ll hear about it. Alright, I’m off.” Azlyn called to him, and left the Inn. She took to the west side of the camp, looking for anyone who’d listen. She changed her voice slightly, to give herself a bit of a raspier voice, as she spoke with the first man. He was fully dressed in a brown priest’s cowl, his hood up to cover his face from the sun. His skin was darkened from years in the sun. 

“I preach the teaching of Azemya, the Warden. Hast thou come to partake of the honey of Her wisdom?”

“Ex-excuse me sir, I’ll do anythin’ listenin’ to ‘er—but please—some work—“

The man smiled, she could see his white beard under his robes. “Azemya is keeper of the sun and goddess of inquiry young one. All is laid bare beneath the light of Her divine countenance. Open thy heart to this light, needy child, and thou shalt want for naught till the end of days!” He joyously began talking frivolously about Azemya, and Azlyn had to pretend as if she didn’t know about this god. 

By the time of his services were done, she smiled happily. “Th-thank you kind sir.” 

Before he could bid her anymore religious lectures, she hobbled off to another area to the west of camp. She was determined to play this part well, even with a fake hobble. She found a middle-aged male telling a story to a younger girl. She hobbled up to them in the shade. 

"Excuse me sir. If you h-have any work?" 

He sighed. "And I was about to get to the good part." The man looked a bit annoyed at her presence, only to notice her attire. "If you're looking for work, you're out of luck. We don't have any openings. Now get out of here so I can finish telling my story." 

The girl with him seemed a bit relieved for a break in story, but when Azlyn started to hobble away, she could see the girl already wanting to roll her eyes. She must have worked with the man, seeing as she was trying her best not to upset him. 

She went to one of the soldiers posted nearby, asking the same question. The man didn't even need her to finish her statement as he dismissed her from his presence. "Another refugee, by the looks of you. The Immortal Flames have neither work nor coin for your like. Begone, and see to it you don't make a nuisance of yourself." He ushered her back, which she didn't blame him. Azlyn probably looked nothing like she did the other day. If she remembered correctly this was one of the guys yesterday who happily smiled to her. 

She shook her head, people only regarded people well if they looked moderately well off. If you were a part of the lower economical branch, the life one would lead would indeed be difficult. 

The next two individuals she talked to had the same response to her as the guard had. She was dismissed with a resolute no, but with some interesting information in stow. The last two residents she talked with mentioned a pond just north of Sandgate in Drybone. Which led her to an interesting conundrum as the encampment was located in the heart of Sandgate in eastern Thanalan. 

She was left to wander through the camp, now waiting for Thancred to join back up with her. Azlyn pulled her canteen from her bag, drinking some water so that she wouldn't get dehydrated in the scorching heat. She was resting by the back wall, away in the shade and out of view. 

"You have quite a knack for being a nuisance, Azlyn. The camp is abuzz with talk of newly arrived vagrants." 

Azlyn regarded him with a look. "I'm not the only one." She pointed to him in the same slops. He smirked. 

"You're absolutely right my lady—although we were unable to attract our wayward transgressor, we were able to learn something."

"The pond north of Sandgate?"

Thancred snapped his fingers. "The very same. The eyes of the authorities do not reach that place—rather ideal for spiriting away hapless souls. Let us go there and wait for the kindly priest to come and offer us aid and comfort. Needless to say, we'll need to be in disguise." 

Azlyn sighed, hoping to get out of these slops as soon as possible. "You better buy the night's usage for the bath house. I'm not changing back until I clean myself of this horrid smell." 

Her companion laughed at her, shaking his head. "As you wish my lady. Come, let us away." 

They walked out from camp, heading northeast. Thancred had a general idea of where it was located, as they walked down the dusty path. He pointed out various things like where several out camps used to be. Azlyn listened intently, learning about Thanalan's past before the Calamity. His stories lasted all the way to the pond, where he abruptly stopped. "And here we are. Let's start setting up camp and make a fine evening for catching some fake priests." 

Thancred went to pitch a tent, while Azlyn started the set up for the campfire. She gathered some wood from the drybrush. While she didn't need to start the fire now, she wondered if they were going to be there all night. "Hey Thancred, do you think we'll be here all night?"

He had barely begun setting up the foundation of the tent. He turned to her with a curious look. "Maybe—you have other pressing matters to attend to?" 

Azlyn shrugged to that question. "I mean—it's not that big of a deal if I can't make it. This has more precedence, although—" 

Thancred looked to her. "What's the problem?" 

She sighed, "Kida and I got in a bit of trouble in Gridania. I have an archery competition I need to compete in." 

"What would happen if you weren't present?" 

Azlyn answered matter-of-factly. "Kida would lose her position in the guilds." 

Thancred frowned, before a long sigh escaped him. "Why am I not surprised? Alright; Explain to me what happened, and give me all of the details from beginning to end. Do not leave out anything." 

He continued to set up camp as she explained, she talked about Silvairre's racism, her challenging him, the conditions of the match, what the competition entails, and that it was sometime tomorrow. "I'm not sure what time tomorrow though." 

"How confident are you in your skills?" Thancred asked, "I haven't seen you once use a bow." 

Azlyn smiled, "I have a practice set with me. Shall I demonstrate?" 

He shook his head. "If our priest is watching, he'll see you're armed. Which is something we want to avoid. No, but after we're done I believe I may be able to help you in this endeavor. However it's going to be a rigorous assignment." 

She shrugged, "I'll take any practice I can get." 

"Good," He replied going into a full lengthy detail of what she could do for practice. As he explained, he made sure to give certain advices for keeping focus while pinned to one location. Halfway through his explanation however, he stoped short. He smirked. "It seems we have a guest coming." 

Azlyn turned around at this, seeing a man dressed in priest's robes approach. His hood was up to cover his face as he walked up to Thancred's crouched form. Azlyn silently watched the exchange. 

"Oh you poor, unfortunate souls. This is no way for men and young ladies to live. No way at all." He bowed to them, Thancred stood up from the set up, and walked to stand by Azlyn. 

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Thancred changed the tone and presentation of his voice. His voice usually sounded fluid and a touch higher than a baritone. Now it sounded raspy, and cracked from what Azlyn assumed was from dehydration. She had to give him kudos for the quick change. 

Although something about this priest's voice struck her someway. She could have sworn she'd heard that voice somewhere before.

The stranger attempted to persuade them. "Be at ease. my children, for I mean you no harm. I am a priest of the Order of Nald'thal, and I come to offer you succor." He pulled a leaflet from his sleeve, passing it to Thancred. Azlyn spied the similar scrawling they found in the encampment of the Amalj'aa. "This leaflet bears the teachings of Nald. Trust to them, and they will surely set you free from the shackles of penury!" 

Thancred took a few moments to consider it, and then smiled to the priest. "Hmmmm. A tempting offer, but I'm afraid I must decline." Azlyn noted that he wasn't trying to hide his voice now, as he spoke normally. "On account of that atrocious performance. You would have made a gods-awful mummer Ungust." 

Azlyn widened her eyes, "It's that idiot monkey!?" 

The man who had been revealed as Ungust took a step back in surprise. "Wh-what? How did you know—?!" He turned to look at Azlyn standing behind Thancred, and his eyes widened. "You bastards tricked me!"

She side-stepped around Thancred, not stopping her approach as she reached up to rip his hood off. He gave her a frightened expression as he tried to explain. "P-please don't hurt me! I was only doing it to protect my people!"

"How is this protecting your people?!" Azlyn yelled at him, her eyes flared with anger. 

Ungust was alarmed by her question. "I'm a man of the Golden Bazaar—raised there, if not born. Some moons ago, the Amalj'aa raids began. They would appear sudden as a sandstorm, and plunder at will. Our defenders couldn't stand against them, few as they were. Everyone lived in fear." 

Azlyn simmered from her anger, stepping back as Thancred nodded to him. "Continue." 

"I wanted to save my people, but being a merchant was all I knew. And so I did the only thing a merchant could do—I approached the Amalj'aa in hopes of brokering a deal."

"And what kind fo deal was that?" Azlyn darkly replied, crossing her arms. She couldn't wait to hear. 

Ungust swallowed the lump in his throat. "In return for sparing the Golden Bazaar, they made demands—outrageous ones.  First of all they wanted the schedule for crystal shipments from the Nanawa-Mines. For this, I bribed one of the workers to leak me the information." 

Thancred narrowed his eyes, "Anything else?"

"They wanted me to bring them people... So I posed as a priest to lure in the vulnerable and give them over to the Amalj'aa—I—I didn't have a choice." He stuttered at the end when Azlyn glared daggers at him. 

Thancred stepped forward, as he postulated to Ungust. "Protecting ones home is a noble thing—bu at the cost of innocents? You could have sought the aid of the Immortal Flames, yet you did not. I suspect you are not telling me the full story. What made you sell out your own people? Speak!" 

Ungust lowered his head. He mumbled to the ground about something being good. Azlyn widened her eyes at what she thought she heard him say. 

"What did you say?" Thancred's voice went cold. 

The man snapped his head up, yelling to him. "I said the coin was good! I could sell mole meat for a score of lifetimes, and not see even a fraction of what the Amalj'aa pay me!" 

Azlyn went forward, and immediately decked him in the face. He crumpled to the ground as she shook her fist in pain. Angrily she stared down at him. Thancred stepped forward, holding her shoulder back as he expressed his anger to the merchant. 

"You sacrificed innocents so that you could line your own pockets? Words fail to express the contempt I feel for you. In fact, I would very much like to punch you as my young associate has.” 

Ungust cradled his cheek in pain. “Spare me your contempt if you want to blame someone for the mess the world’s in, then blame yourselves or the gods!” He tried to scurry backward, but Azlyn used her foot to catch the hem of his coat. She glared down at him as she could feel a burning sensation in her hand. 

Thancred let her shoulder go as she leaned down, grasping the front of his robes before bringing him up to his feet. She brought him to face Thancred, but not before wrapping one of his arms behind his back. Ungust cried in pain as she locked his arm behind him. She pushed him forward. 

Thancred pointed to him. “Were you the one leaking the Immortal Flames’ patrol routes to the enemy as well? Spit it on!” 

Ungust gave a heartfelt plea. “Nooo! I know nothing about that! I swear it....Owww that hurts!” He gestured to Azlyn locking his arm behind him. She merely twisted his arm in response. 

Thancred shook his head. “At this stage, I’m rather disinclined to believe aught that leaves your mouth. But no matter. There’ll be time enough to learn the truth.” He approached Ungust, as he pulled some rope from his robes. He went to tie them around Ungust’s wrist and Azlyn released him so that Thancred could tie the other. Thancred gave it a sturdy tug, letting Ungust drop to his knees in a sobbing fit. 

The Scion looked to Azlyn. “Azlyn, be a dear and take word to Minfillia of these developments. I’ll take care of the rest.” The look on his face made it hard to argue with him. Shaking her fist slowly, she nodded. 

“I shall prize everything I can out of this filth. The abductees are still out there. Our foremost priority is to rescue them.” Thancred regarded the sobbing man on the ground. “This should also give you a moment to clear your head prior to that.” 

“Thank you.” She exhaled, before thinking of the crystal in Camp Drybone. She wanted to change before heading to Horizon. Azlyn arrived shortly in town, walking into the inn where she grabbed her change of clothes. She washed her face of the smudges Thancred had placed on her, and then she looked down to her shaking fist. She’d been angry before, but not angry enough to punch someone as she did Ungust. Her disgust for him remained as she regarded her hand. “I shouldn’t have hit him.” She sighed. 

Looking in the mirror, she thought of all the innocents that were taken by Ungust’s greed. It wasn’t fair to them, if they were even alive. She gritted her teeth. She wouldn’t let this type of thing continue. While violence wasn’t ever an answer, Ungust’s disgusting behavior prompted the rash action. 

She could see a small bruise already forming on the knuckles of her fist. 

“I’ll apologize later.” She remedied, and looked up at herself in the mirror. “I will be a better person. I won’t let anger control my actions. I can’t let it.” She gripped the dresser in front of her, the mirror on top continued to reflect her form. “But I won’t regret what I did.” She resolved. 

She thought of the crystal in Horizon, thinking of the soft smell of the ocean air that flowed over the mountains. She thought of the cooler humidity as it tempered the dry heat within Thanalan. Her body floated up from the ground, and let the current take her away. The next time she opened her eyes, she was standing by the main crystal in the bustling town of Horizon in western Thanalan. She decided to take her time walking back to Vesper bay, keeping to the path. 

Her linkpearl buzzed. “Azlyn speaking.” She tapped on her ear. 

The boisterous and lively Kida entertained her ear. “Hello there sunshine! Where the heck are you? Roll and I must have scoured all over Ul’dah and couldn’t find you!” 

Azlyn blinked, had she even told them where she was? No, she hadn’t. “Oops. Sorry Kida, I just left Horizon to head to Vesper Bay. I had a few things come up.” 

Kida went silent, and then she popped back into the pearl. “No worries, I’ve been kind of busy myself. I had the pleasure of working with our mutual buddy. He reminded me to inform you of tomorrow’s activities. It’ll be sometime in the evening, just before the sun sets. I think about 4 or 5ish?” 

Azlyn gave a sigh of relief. “Oh good, I thought it would be early in the morning.” 

“Nah, we have a bit of a situation that Leih, him, and I have to take care of. When we’re done, we’ll head straight to the competition grounds. Roll went fishing, although she said it was cloud fishing.” Kida kept her company a portion of the way over to Vesper Bay. 

“Is everything alright? I thought you were dealing with poachers?” 

Kida sighed. “Yeah, it’s a bit of a long story but I’ll tell you all about it when you’re back in our neck of the woods.”

“Hold on—did you say cloud fishing?” Azlyn caught up on what her cousin was doing. “Where can she even cloud fish?” 

Kida laughed, “She said it’s somewhere in Coerthas, but who knows. I don’t go fishing with her when she goes on her adventures.” 

Azlyn chuckled. “I look forward to hearing about that expedition. You be safe out there.” 

Kida bid her farewell, as the linkpearl cut out when she ended the call. Azlyn heaved a sigh of relief, feeling better from the walk and her conversation with her friend. 

By the time Azlyn arrived to the settlement, she was able to sport a smile. She walked through the port, running down the steps toward the Waking Sands. 

When she entered Tataru was reading one of her books. “Good Afternoon Tataru.” Azlyn smiled to the small Lalafell administrator. Tataru looked up from her book, her eyes lit up. 

“It’s good to see you too Azlyn, what’s up?” 

Azlyn pointed down below. “Is Minfillia free? Thancred asked me to send in our report.” 

Tataru nodded, “Of course, feel free to head on into the Solar. She’s taking a break around this time.” 

She did as the Lalafell instructed, walking down the steps beyond her desk and chair. She entered, running straight down the hall to the Solar doors. She found Minfillia behind her desk, looking behind her at the plaque on the wall. As the doors closed behind her, Minfillia turned to look at her. 

“Welcome back Azlyn. I am pleased that you and Thancred have been getting along.”

Azlyn nodded. “We found out a merchant by the name of Ungust had brokered a deal with the Amalj’aa— he has been behind the abductees and release of information of the crystal shipments. Thancred is getting the rest of the truth from him, to see if we can find the abductees, but he wanted me to report back to you.” 

Minfillia frowned. “I see. You have done well to uncover the truth. My thanks for the report. As Thancred said, we must ascertain where the abductees were taken—and none but the Amalj’aa know the answer.” 

“Do you think they will speak freely?” Azlyn asked, wondering if those reptilian beast men would discuss with them. She’d remember the pair who she ran into when she was finding the dead bodies. They didn’t seem to keen to talk with her. 

The woman with blonde hair sighed. “Suffice it to say they will not willingly part with this information. I fear blood will be spilled before all is said and done.” She took a moment to consider. “Though we seek a peaceful solution to the primal problem, we must needs be ready to fight for our cause. That you might take to the field suitably prepared, I would have you meet with a goblin acquaintance of mine. His name is Mutanix Bubblypots, and he is a scholar of no small repute. Mutamix is renowned for having introduced a revolutionary method of enhancing equipment in Eorzea. The knowledge of this method was once a closely guarded secret by thanks to Mutamix and his students, it has now been disseminated to the great benefit of all the realm.” 

Minfillia pulled out an old, rusty knife from her sidearm. “It would serve you well to acquire an understanding of the process. For this purpose, I shall lend you a blade. Take it to Mutamix, and bid him use it to demonstrate his craft to you.” 

Azlyn accepted the knife. “Why do I have the feeling Thancred gave you a call?” 

Her question seemed to take Minfillia back, but she wore her smile as she usually had. At least from Azlyn’s perspective. “Is that intuition speaking or the blessing of the echo?”

Azlyn turned away, holding up the blade given to her. She waved it in a nonchalant way. “I promise not to punch anymore people and tell Thancred I’ll keep my emotions in check. Thanks for your concern.” 

Minfillia called after her. “Mutamix can be found in central Thanalan—a place called Bonfire. Look for the pillar of smoke. You can’t miss it.”