Traveler

Azlyn found herself walking the ports of Lower Limsa Lominsa. After they had left Halatali, Koroko Koko and Kida went back to Ul’dah to turn in her final assessment of Halatali while Roll and Azlyn travelled to Limsa Lominsa. Her cousin had gotten on her case about learning fishing etiquette, so together they went to the fisher’s guild. 

Roll was pleased to see that her cousin had been outfitted appropriately, before pointing to the docks by a lone building. “There’s some good fish that bite over there. I’ll get our registration in for ocean fishing later this evening.” She seemed—more energized—than usual. Typically her cousin was more low energy, or tended to be more on the quiet side. Whenever she was passionate about something though, that was when she saw her true colors. 

Azlyn held up the rod, before placing a tiny stool down to sit upon. Roll told her to fish up several fish at the lower docks before she could leave. So she set to work, sitting on her newly obtained stool casting a line out into the Lominsan sea. 

She was only catching small fish, and not the ones Roll specifically told her to catch. Sighing, Azlyn brought the line back up to look at her bait. The veritable lure was well used. 

“You’re not going to catch much with a lure like that.” A voice brought her attention up to a young Hyur male, and subtle muscles appeared. His dusty blonde hair was ragged, with bangs swept up in an awkward angle. She could see his bright green eyes alight with mirth as he pulled up a stool of his own to sit beside her. She could see from his profile that he had a few scratches upon his left side of his face, faint and old. The slight stubble of facial hair on his lower jaw gave her an idea that he might have been around his lower twenties. He brought his own fishing rod out, and gestured to his catch box next to him. He drew out a wriggling worm that was plump before he cast it into the sea. “I’d recommend a plump worm. Go ahead, take a couple.” He smirked. 

Azlyn nodded, reaching down to grab one of the worms from his catch box. “Thank you.” 

The Hyur laughed, his line was bobbing on the water front. “No problem.” 

When Azlyn finished changing her bait, she tossed her line a bit away from the male’s. Hoping that she wouldn’t affect his catching. It wasn’t long at all before she felt the tug of her rod. “Ah!!” She called, as the rod tried to yank itself into the water. 

“Pull!” He cheered, as he brought his own fishing line back to his side. She stood up from her seat, doing her best to pull the rod back without losing her catch. Seconds later, she found herself pulling a fairly large fish. 

The Hyur whistled. “Nice job!” 

Azlyn released it back into the sea feeling accomplished. “That was one of the fish my cousin wanted me to catch. I’m glad.” Azlyn grinned to her new companion. “I’m Azlyn, thank you for your help!” She beamed up to him.  

He chuckled. “I’m Oswin Cotter.” He reached out a hand to shake hers that she extended. “You look new to fishing.” 

“I am.” She replied, as she gave an embarrassed laugh. “My cousin was upset at our group for not knowing the difference between Sky Fishing and Cloud Fishing—so here I am learning proper fishing etiquette.” 

The one who introduced himself as Oswin laughed aloud. His boisterous laughter filled the quiet docks of lapping sea water and the grunting of sailors carrying crates off the local boats. “I can’t wait to meet this cousin of yours. They sound like a delight!”

Azlyn chuckled. She was surprised by his musical laughter. “We’re going ocean fishing this evening. Would you like to join us?” 

His green eyes lit up at the invitation. “An invitation for fishing? Yeah, that’d be great. What time were you two thinkin’?”

She shrugged, before she tapped her Linkpearl. “Roll?”

It took a moment before her cousin’s voice connected. “All done?” 

Azlyn laughed. “I need four more fish—I wanted to know what time you signed us up for ocean fishing?” 

Her cousin responded immediately. “I signed us up for the seven-o-clock hour slot. Why, you have something come up?” 

“No-no, I was just curious. Okay, I’m by the lower docks. Will you be coming by?” 

Roll spoke calmly. “Okay, I’ll head over now.” 

Azlyn chirped back. “Sounds good. See ya!”

She let the linkpearl connection drop, before she looked back to her new friend. He was smiling to her. “We’re going to try for 7!” 

Oswin chuckled. “Did you say your cousin’s name is Roll?” 

Azlyn blinked, “Oh, yeah that’s her name.” 

Oswin laughed, getting up from the stool. “That’s an interesting name.” He placed his fishing rod back in his pocket, before finding a spare bucket on the dock. When he placed the empty bucket next to her, he then piled a bunch of plump worms into it. He closed up his tackle box, with a wry grin. “I’ll see you two tonight at 7. Enjoy your fishing Azlyn.” 

She waved goodbye as he ran off the port, clearly wanting to finish what he needed to do that day before the evening was upon them. She cast her line back into the sea, letting the fish eat the plump worms, catching them, cataloguing them, and then releasing them back into the sea. Her cousin never said she had to keep the fish. There wasn’t much she could do with a stock of fish neither.

Roll appeared shortly after she finished catching the last of the fish Roll assigned her to find. Smiling, Azlyn lifted the rod. “You’re just in time! I caught this one!”

Her cousin nodded approvingly, before she watched Azlyn toss the fish back into the sea. “Nice—well, I guess that explains why you don’t have the five fish in your bucket.” She peered at the plump worms wriggling. “Oh, did you figure out the proper bait? Good job.”

Azlyn shook her head, “Actually, a guy fished with me for a tiny bit. He left me a bucket so that I could practice fishing. I invited him to join us for ocean fishing later tonight!”

“That’s why you were asking when we were fishing.” Roll smiled, “No problem, I enjoy fishing with others. If it’s one of the guys who fishes around here often, I might know him.” She looked down to the bait. She pulled out her own rod, sitting down next to Azlyn. They fished for a bit, before Azlyn stretched away from the docks.

“How do you not get sunburn from being in one spot?” Azlyn asked, rubbing the back of her exposed neck. Her neck felt warmer than it typically did. Roll leaned back to see her soreness, and smirked.

“You should get one of the fisher’s hat with the wide brims.” Roll explained, pointing to the few fishers on the other dock. They had straw hats that shaded their heads.

Azlyn shook her head, and then pointed to her horns. “Hats hurt my ears.”

“Oh. Heh…” Roll pulled her rod back from the sea, before she started to clean up the area they used. “I can make you a bonnet.”

Azlyn followed suit and watched as Roll picked up the plump worms. “Ugh—bonnets sound like a pain. I’ll just wear a high collar and sleeves next time.” There were only three worms left over. “What should we do with these left-over worms?”

Roll looked. “I can put it in my catch box—one second.” She leaned into her bag, pulling out the small tackle box she had. Inside she had an assorted array of non-living baits. As she put them away, she locked the tackle box with a smile. “I try not to have live bait unless I know I’m going to use it all. Otherwise it’s a waste of resources when it dies and rots. Then you have to get a new tackle box... It’s not fun.”

Listening to her cousin’s explanation about fishing, Azlyn nodded. “It sounds like something you’ve experienced before.”

They left the lower docks of Limsa Lominsa, heading to the upper decks where the Bismark was located. They decided to grab a bite to eat before deciding what they could do for the next four hours. The food they had ordered had been prepared well—and it settled comfortably between the two of them. Azlyn tapped the table with her finger, not out of anxiety but from boredom.

“What do you do in Limsa Lominsa for fun?” Roll asked her, paying for the bill with gold coins from her bag. “Did you want to check in with the Marauders about your black out moments? Or maybe about your arcanist stuff?”

The girl stopped her finger tapping to consider. It might be to her advantage to check in with both the Coral Tower and Mealvaan’s Gate. “Coral Tower is just over there, I can stop in and chat with the Axemaster.”

Roll smiled. “This is all paid for, whenever you’re ready to go.”

“Alright!” Azlyn led her cousin around the upper deck to the adjacent tower where it was bustling with activity. Inside the Yellowjackets were abuzz by Commodore Reyner who was currently overlooking notes from a field report. She led Roll down the stairs to the bottom landing where a large group of men and women cadets were doing pushups. The Axemaster started to bellow to them.

“If you’re not sweating, you’re not doing enough. Keep moving!”

The cadets bolstered a “Yes sir!” Before they started to continually do their work out regime. From the sweat stains on their uniforms, they must have been working out for quite some time. Azlyn walked up to the Axemaster with a spry smile.

“Good Afternoon Axemaster, working hard?” Azlyn gestured to the cadets blazing through a set of twenty in mere seconds.

He guffawed a laugh. “Hardly working, I’d say! Who’s your friend?” He gestured to her cousin behind her who watched the guild with keen interest.

“This is Roll, she’s my cousin. Roll, this is Axemaster Wyrnzoen.” Azlyn presented her cousin with a cheerful disposition.

Roll stepped forward, giving him a proper bow. “Thank you for taking care of my little cousin.”

The Axemaster bellowed over to his crew behind him. “That’s enough for today! Go cool-down downstairs!” The cadets looked thankful to the break, nodding their appreciation to the Auri before running down the steps and out of sight. When it was thankfully quiet, the Axemaster smirked. He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “We’ve been truly blessed by her work with the Marauders. It’s an honor to work alongside her. Now what can I do for you two ladies, I don’t suppose this is a house call?”

Roll smiled. “Actually, it’s something that we’ve briefly noticed while traveling together. Azlyn, would you like to explain?” Her cousin motioned for her to begin from the start.

“Have you ever had Marauders black out during combat? Like they slaughter everything, but they can’t seem to recall the fight itself?” Azlyn asked, furrowing her eyes. “Also, my eyes glow a crimson red whenever I get into this state.”

The Axemaster took a long even breath, before he undid his arms across the chest. He regarded her with a careful eye. “There was a tribe of Marauders—nah, they called themselves Warriors—who exhibited symptoms as the ones you’re describing.” The Guildmaster of the Marauders frowned, “However I do not know their whereabouts.”

This deflated the hopeful Azlyn, “O-oh. I see.”

Roll looked to her cousin. “Do you think it’s safe for her to continue fighting in that state, or should we wait until we find this tribe?”

Azlyn chewed her lip. “I don’t want to not remember what I’m doing in fights though—what if I lose my sense of rationality? What if I attack you or Kida? I’d rather wait.”

Axemaster Wyrnzoen also frowned. “I will see what I can do to find out more about the tribe of Warriors. Until then, as you’ve stated, it might be in your interest to wait.” He beckoned one of her guildmates over. “Go see if you can find out any information about the Tribe of Warriors in Vylbrand.”

The guildmate saluted, before running out from the tower. He waited until he was out from the tower before turning back to the Auri. Wrynzoen smiled. “We’ll be in contact when we know more. If you excuse me, I have cadets down below that need to finish their cool downs.”

They both nodded to the guild master, watching him head down the stairs within the tower. Roll waited until he was out of earshot. “Is he always training like that?”

Azlyn sighed. “Yeah—my first lesson with the axe was to smash boulders and rocks.”

Roll widened her eyes. “R-right. I think becoming a Marauder is not meant for me.” 

Chuckling, Azlyn gestured for them to head outside to the Aetheryte crystal. “Come on, we can head over to the Mealvaan’s Gate next. You’ll like the Interim Guildmaster.” The Au Ra led them outside to the sunny landscape of Limsa Lominsa where she thought of the small crystal in front of the arcanist’s guild. Feeling the flow of aether, she found herself not on the upper decks but within the shaded confounds of the lower decks. Roll appeared by her side moments after.

Walking inside the small guild hall, Azlyn found Interim Guildmaster Thubyrgeim standing by a bookshelf tending to one of the books. A look of worry could be seen from her profile.

“Good Afternoon Interim Guildmaster.” Azlyn greeted her with a wave as she approached. “Is everything alright? You look like you’re lost in thought?”

Snapping from her reverie, the Interim Guildmaster looked to her with a small smile. “Ah, I must have shown more of my expressions than I let on.” She sighed, placing a hand on her chin. “I worry for our foreseer K’ylhia. She walks about as if all the joy in life has been leeched from her soul. Oh, there she comes up now.” 

Roll looked over to the stairs where a pink haired Miqo’te just came up from, her shoulders were slumped down as she slowly walked out from the guild hall. All three of them watched the scene with shock.

Roll waited for the doors to close before looking to the Interim Guildmaster. “I see what you mean by all the joy being leeched from her soul.”

Thubyrgeim sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t believe we’ve been acquainted before. I’m Interim Guildmaster of Mealvaan’s Gate, Thubyrgeim.”

Azlyn introduced her cousin. “This is my cousin, Roll. I’ve giving her a tour of the guild’s I’m apart of while we’re in town.”

The older roegabyn female nodded in approval. “I see, well I wish your visit had garnered a more favorable welcome from our foreseer.”

Azlyn shook her head. “She’ll come back—is there something that we can do to help?”

Roll shrugged. “We have some time, so sure.”

Thubyrgeim thought to herself as she tapped her chin. “Hrmm, I believe the only one who can help her now is the same person who broke K’lyhia out of her shell in the first place: our absent guildmaster. And—though I am leery of the coincidence—the man himself has at long last been spotted.”

“Wonderful!” Azlyn perked up, feeling this must be the way to help. “Where is he?”

Thubyrgeim sighed loudly. Not because of her exuberance to find him, but more of the fact that their guildmaster was an elusive person. “Should you seek out his last known location, it is unlikely he will be there. And even should you catch him, he may not deign to speak with you. Nevertheless, this may be our only chance.”

Roll crossed her arms. “Why are the Guildmasters in Limsa Lominsa so weird?”

Both Azlyn and Thubyrgeim looked to her before chuckling. “Who knows.” The Interim Guildmaster answered back, with a slight shake of her head.

“Was Guildmaster E-Sumi-Yan this weird?” Azlyn asked about the Stillglade Fane Conjurer master.

Roll smirked. “Master’s older than he appears to be.”

“You’ve stated that.” Azlyn retorted back.

“Pray travel to Memeroon’s Trading Post in Upper La Noscea and speak with anyone who might have seen the guildmaster.” Thubyrgeim was laughing at their comical banter. “Oh, and one more thing: though he prefers us not to use it for some inexplicable reason, our leader’s name is K’rhid Tia.”

Roll crossed her arms. “Why am I not surprised?”

Azlyn reached back to her cousin, smiling to Thubyrgeim. She had given Roll a knowing smile, one that spoke volumes given their absent guildmaster’s flippancy for leading the guild. “Safe travels you two.”

“Bye!”

They walked out from the guild hall, before Roll opened her map of Vylbrand. “Upper La Noscea, right?” She found the portion of the map that they would need. “Have you been to Camp Bronze Lake?”

Azlyn scrunched her eyes in thought. She couldn’t recall going. “No, I don’t believe I have. I think the furthest I’ve gone is to Aleport.”

Roll thought about that and looked to see which would take the least amount of travel time. “Aleport is probably where we’ll need to teleport to then. We can head north from there, into Upper La Noscea. Since it’s on the western side of the Wanderer’s Palace, that will mean we won’t have to ferry across if we were on Camp Bronze Lake’s side.”

Roll teleported over first, and Azlyn shortly followed suit. With their limited time, they were in quite a bit of hurry if they wanted to make it back for ocean fishing. The town of Aleport welcomed her, as she appeared by her cousin’s side. The spacious open port and Yellowjackets on site made the area feel secure.

“This way.” Roll brought forth her unicorn mount, and Azlyn brought out her balloon palanquin. She followed up the path, past the entry way into Sastasha and further into the forest of Upper La Noscea. She could see the area was vastly different comparatively to the previous lands she’d been to on Vylbrand. What had been lush farm lands were now swamp-like and muggy with humidity from the overarching trees. “Welcome to Oakwood.” Roll informed her, pointing to some dilapidated bridges and muddy spots filled with monsters. “It’s like the backwoods of Vylbrand.”

It wasn’t a long trip into the wood, as they arrived at the post with little to no worries. Roll asked around one side of the camp, and Azlyn took to the other. After a short while did the two of them reconvene back together.

Roll pointed over to the fisher from her side. “That guy’s the one who informed the guild of his whereabouts. Apparently K’rhid Tia was looking for Talaos. The fisher said something about a scholar lived out there.” She pointed to a small house underneath the large ramps that led up the hill. Large overarching bones of a now extinct animal laid atop and around.

They kept to the path, avoiding any fights that would prolong their duration of the trip. When they reached the residence, Azlyn knocked on the door—waiting for a response. A minute went by—another went by—Roll stepped forward and opened the door after the fifth minute of waiting.

“We’re looking for someone—excuse us.”

The Auri walked into the small abode to see a Lalafellin slowly rouse from what they assumed was a nap. They smacked their cheeks to help awaken themselves. “Uh—hi. Who are you?”

Azlyn introduced herself. “I’m Azlyn!”

Roll bowed. “Roll. We apologize for barging in.”

The scholar shook his head, yawning. “Nah—I live in the middle of nowhere. It’s normal for people to burst in. Expected or no. My name is Tango Tonga.” He blinked the sleep away. “What can I do for you two?”

Azlyn explained. “I’m from Mealvaan’s Gate, and was wondering if our guildmaster had come through here recently?”

Roll smiled, nodding her head. Her cropped white hair bobbed with her movement.

Tanga Tonga recalled. “Why, yes, I do recall a visit from a guildmaster identifying himself as the arcanist’s guildmaster. An odd fellow, but obviously possessed of a well-rounded education.” He looked down at his desk where he had scrawled a note down. “Ah, it so happens, he bid me pass on a message to anyone who came searching for him. Here.” The scholar passed the messily written note over, where both Roll and Azlyn read it aloud:

The two looked between each other.

“Why is your guildmaster so weird?” Roll asked once more.

Azlyn exclaimed with wonder as well. “I don’t know! I wish he was here to answer that question for you!”

Tanga Tonga interrupted them, “The guildmaster reported that the slips of parchment are concealed among the bones of Thalaos. I suppose you are expected to search for them.”

“And he sends you on scavenger hunts too? Man, I really do want to meet him now.” Roll chuckled.

Azlyn bid the scholar of Thalaos a good day, deciding it best to look for the parchments when they still had light. Roll followed behind her, and together they scoured the archeological site for any of the clues. A sheet of parchment had been found at the beginning of the path, by a protruding bone of a tail coming up from the ground. A rock had been haphazardly placed upon it. The next piece of paper they found past the kobold encampments, underneath a large crate of bombs from the kobolds. Feeling that the kobolds were up to no good, the girls made quick work of them, hoping to clear out the area and then getting the hell out of dodge before the kobolds came back with enforcements. The final piece was found on the bottom side of the cliff, hidden under the exposed ribcage of Thalaos. With all three pieces together, the girls brought out the messily written note from Mealvaan’s Gate’s guildmaster.

“This language isn’t written in common.” Roll replied, shaking her head. “We’ll probably need to ask that scholar what it is.”

Azlyn, meanwhile, stared at the all too familiar scrawl of letters. “Actually, no we won’t. This is written in ancient Allagan.”

Roll blinked. Her tone was incredulous as if she doubted her. “You know ancient Allagan?”

“Err—well Raha was adamant about only reading the old books written in their language when we were kids—so I kind of forced myself to learn it. Along with some other numerous languages. You know I studied languages as my major in the Studiem, right? He’d actually be really ecstatic about th—”

Her cousin interrupted her. “What does it say?”

“Oh right.” Azlyn went to look at the sheets together.

Azlyn paused. “Is it jig or pig? It makes sense with jig—so weird.”

“Why does this sound like a game?” Roll brought out her map with a sigh. “Well if your translation is correct, Fool’s Falls is actually northwest of here. We need to head to the path over yonder, following the river.” They walked down the ramp from Thalaos’ digsite, and walked around the scholar’s home to the main path. They found it without much trouble and continued to follow the river due northwest.

They could see several Kobold campsites set up, but they avoided their line of sight by cautiously waiting for when the lookouts would turn around. It was a slow process, but it beat having to contend with an entire Kobold camp. The walk was a brisk and short one, finding themselves in the heart of Fool’s Falls. Roll looked around, while Azlyn wadded around in the waters to find anything that would resemble a wooden crate or box.

“I think—Is that it there?” Azlyn pointed over to the rocky area just south of a large waterfall. Roll squinted her golden eyes before shrugging.

“Maybe? Let’s go see.”

Azlyn’s lower body was soaked due to the river, so she didn’t mind wading through the river over to the destination. Her cousin took a scenic route, wanting to avoid her clothes getting too wet. When she arrived, she stared down at the box. “Okay? Let’s see if you are open.”

She attempted to open it, however it felt like the lid was firmly shut. Or locked.

Roll approached her then. “Found it?”

She nodded, “Yes, but it’s locked.”

Her cousin smirked, pointing to her. “It said to dance a jig. Maybe it was serious.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Azlyn griped and turned back to the box. “By the Twelve, why am I dancing in front of a box?” She started to dance a “jig”, whatever that meant to her. She improv’d a few steps and dance moves, some learned from Kida others from her estranged version of her dancing.

Roll noticed the box moving. “Keep dancing! It might actually be working!”

Azlyn continued to dance, waving her arms in the air and dancing with her feet. The water splashed up from her footwork before she decided to stop. “Alright, now we should be able to open it?”

She knelt to the lid, feeling the box have no resistance to her pulling it up—only for three poisonous slugs to pounce out at her. 

“Really?!” She scrambled back letting the water splash around her to completely soak her. When the slug was about to spit it’s mucous on her, she dodged to the side and thought of her arcanima book. She imagined the topaz stone in her pocket, and the arcane symbol that she’d produce when she summoned her carbuncles. A feisty golden hued carbuncle sprang forth as it defended her from further attack. “That’s it—I’m mad.” 

Roll edged backward, bringing out her astronometer. Only she didn’t need to as Azlyn had already begun the battle by running to the slug closest to her. She punted one of the slugs away with a good, strong kick. Roll watched with fascination as the slug sailed through the air and landed with a splash. It’s frantic movements on the surface soon quieted as it started to drown in the lake up north. Next the Topaz Carbuncle started to slam rock blasts into one of the slugs, until it was nothing more than slug paste. The last slug, tried to actively attack all of them with a burst of poisonous spray, however both her and her carbuncle deftly moved out of range. She casted her Ruin spell as quickly as she could and assaulted the creature until it too lay dead.

Seeing that the battle was in good hands, her cousin put away her astronometer. “So maybe it wasn’t a jig? Do you have a pig you can force to dance?” She called out to Azlyn who was heavily breathing. Slapping her book closed, Azlyn wiped her dripping bangs out from her face.

“Hang on, I think there’s something in the box.” Azlyn waddled her way through the water back over to the crate and reached inside. She pulled out the sheet with ease, reading:

Roll crossed her arms. “Is it asking you to dance again?”

Azlyn dejectedly sighed. “This time it wasn’t written in ancient Allagan. It mentions the owner, does it mean Memeroon?” She looked down at her sopping clothes. “Ugh. I want to change into dry clothes.”

Her cousin beckoned her to move along, they were losing daylight as it was. Slowly, they made their way back to Memeroon’s Trading Post, trying to see if they could find Memeroon. The Qiqirn from their earlier escapades for his firewater recognized them right away, and Azlyn waved. “Hey Memeroon, watch this!” And she just openly danced. She could see the strange looks she was receiving from the other people present, but she had a mission, and she was damned if her pride would get in the way of that.

Roll was laughing at her from the side.

When she was finished dancing Memeroon chuckled to her, and a strange resounding applause was heard from up above. Azlyn and Roll brought their attention up to the top of the overarching cave that was over Memeroon’s tent, where a white-haired Miqo’te wearing a red Arcanist’s robe was hunched on his legs. His white tail curled around his feet, moving up and down. He had a look of pure enjoyment as he applauded.

“Ah, now that was most entertaining, I must have something to amuse me during these little jaunts back to civilization, you understand.” He laughed openly, and then smiled. “I must say, I was a bit surprised that you knew ancient Allagan. That wasn’t in my calculations. However, based on my evaluation of your abilities, and your sister? No, cousins—you two should have arrived at this point somewhat earlier.” He quirked his head. “You balked at the dancing, didn’t you?”

Roll let out her laughter. “She did. Heh.”

Azlyn went red in the face. “I’m shy, okay!”

The Guildmaster, K’rhid Tia, chuckled. “I never expected the Bloody Princess of the Sea to be so shy.” He leapt down from the rock with grace, very similar to how she’d seen G’raha Tia jump off the highest cliffs and buildings back in Sharlayan. He landed a few feet away, on the path heading out of the Trading Post. He began to explain. “Heh heh, another variable to add to your list of characteristics. I keep extensive mental notes of all the guild members, you see.”

She went beet red once more, as he turned around to face them. He raised his hand up, postulating to her. “By your embarrassment, you must be hiding something more.”

Azlyn dropped her head, “Please—no. I beg of you.”

Roll came over to pat her on the back, as Azlyn seemed ready to turn redder.

Amused by her reaction, K’rhid Tia smirked. “As an arcanist, it was a simple matter to engineer events so that I might meet you face-to-face. After all, strategy is a tool used to manipulate one’s situation into the desired reality. And I do so enjoy seeing others dance in the palm of my hand, as it were.” He stepped forward toward them, reaching a hand out to her. “Your arm please.”

Azlyn automatically lifted her right one without meaning to. She watched as he mused to himself before dropping her arm back down. “Aetherial cracks from channeling arcanima improperly. You’d do best to avoid doing such tactics in the future. An Arcanist does not use desperation as part of their strategies—I do hope you learn this lesson well Azlyn Ahz’el.” His purple eyes hardened, and she froze under his gaze.

The surname was not one she’d told anyone in Eorzea. Given the fact her father had been half-blood he didn’t have a typical Auri name. Thus why he was only known as Nahz’el Tia in her paternal father’s clan in the outskirts of the far east. She didn’t want to confuse anyone with her name, so she’d just told people her first name only. She could feel the sharp warning he had given her, despite his aloofness from before. It seemed her actions were frowned upon. She bowed to him, accepting the fault. “Yes, I have heeded the lesson well, and continue to live through the consequences. I will not make the same mistake twice.” Thinking back to when she’d been stuck in that situation. She could have done something else—yet she jumped to the worst possible strategy. It was a rookie mistake. One she dare not attempt again.

She didn’t raise her head until she felt a heavy thud of the book on the back of her head. She could feel the pressure of the book laying on her as he spoke. “Your balance is quite impeccable. I think I could easily stack several apples on top of this book before they’d fall to the ground.” His tone was light and airy. “You may have this book. Think of it as payment for your—performance.” He paused to think of the right word.

Azlyn reached up to grab the book from off her head and lifted herself back up from the bow. She gave him a curt nod. They saw he begin to walk away, only for him to falter a few steps from them. He turned his face over his shoulder. “Though you might consider passing the tome on to K’lyhia. That is the reason you sought me out, was it not?”

The Au Ra stared down at the grimoire. She had already planned it in her mind to hand this book over to the foreseer. After all, she still had her precious tome from Sharlayan in her side holster. “I will.”

He raised a finger to the air, pointing it to the sky. “Before you give K’lyhia the grimoire, however, I must insist that you dance for her. I will know if you don’t. That’ll be your punishment for your previous engagement.” He broke out into a yawn suddenly, as he brought his hand down to his mouth. “All this banal interaction has simply exhausted me. It is time I returned to my studies. You two, on the other hand, should head forthwith to the Anchor Yard in Limsa Lominsa. You don’t want to miss your fishing trip neither. Be well, Azlyn. We shall meet again. I’m 100% certain about it.” He paused before looking to her cousin. “Oh, and yes—all the guildmasters in Limsa Lominsa are weird. Pleasure meeting you Roll.” He walked away from them without turning back.

Roll whistled, “Color me impressed.”

Azlyn nodded slowly, feeling the heavy weight of the book in her hands. “To be honest, it was kind of scary how much he knew. It’s a wonder he figured out my surname.”

Her cousin agreed. “Yeah, you and I have been pretty good about not telling people our surnames. Although I don’t really care whether they know it or not.”

“Let’s head back to Limsa Liminsa, I think we only have an hour left before our fishing venture.” Azlyn smiled, thinking of the crystal back in town. They both teleported from Memeroon’s Trading Post to the lively central plaza of Limsa Lominsa’s lower deck. The crowds were packed, heading in and out of Hawker’s Alley. Roll brought her attention to the large central Crystal in the center.

“Anchor Yard is on the Upper deck—the fastest way will probably be going through the Aftcastle and running along the bridges over there.” Her cousin pointed to the overall path. “We’ll need to run in through a tower and then keep heading straight until we get to the top of that stone ridge there.” Roll pointed to their destination.

Azlyn smiled, “Alright, I’ll follow your lead.” They both teleported to the Aftcastle and started to briskly run down the paths. They were keeping an eye on the time as the sun continued its descent into the western skies. The hues of purples, reds, and orange painted the skies.

They ran for five minutes straight until they made it to the stone ridge that opened into another area where the tall spire looked down upon the shipyard. They supposed that was why it garnished the name as the Anchor Yard.

Noticing the listless pink haired Miqo’te standing by the edge, Azlyn motioned for her cousin to stay a bit back. She approached K’lyhia’s side and tapped her on the shoulder. “—huh?”

And with as much cheery disposition as she could, Azlyn started to dance a jig that would be the jig of all jigs. Her cousin was laughing behind her, while her face was beet red. When she finished dancing, she brought out the grimoire, embarrassed.

K’lyhia blinked, “Were you always one for dancing? I don’t recall any such perf—Ah! You have met with our guildmaster, haven’t you?”

Azlyn again, nodded her head. Her cheeks were already tinged red. “Please, take the book. I’m already embarrassed as it is.”

The Foreseer gingerly took it from her hands, as she let her hand run down the spine. “That would explain your odd behavior. He does so enjoy seeing people perform unexpected acts of frivolity.” She chuckled slowly. “He gave you this grimoire to give to me? Uncanny—it is identical to the tome I received the first time I ever met our leader.” She smiled for the first time in a while, and then placed her hand over her heart. She bowed slightly to Azlyn. “You have my thanks Azlyn. The guildmaster is fond of games and mischief, and I understand the troublesome trials he likely put you through before deeming you worthy of his attention.”

“I probably deserved some of it—in light of certain events.” She scratched the side of her cheek.

K’lyhia looked to the beautiful array of colors in the horizon. “With this gift, however, his message to me is abundantly clear: I am to shape reality into the one I desire. And that means defeating Doesmaga!” Her purple eyes were alit with passion. She clapped her hands in front of her face as she squealed in delight. “Gosh, my mind is alive again with strategies! I must have time to think. I’m going to inform Mistress Thubyrgeim of my return to duty!”

The pink haired Miqo’te started to run off, only to stop by Roll’s side. “Oh, thank you for your help as well! It’s much appreciated!” She waved goodbye to them and ran down the path.

Azlyn smiled, crossing her arms over her chest. The feeling of accomplishment washed through her. “All’s well that ends well.”

Roll looked at the time. “It’s 6:55.”

Both looked at each other. “Shit!” They both yelled at each other before sprinting back to the closest Aetheryte crystal they could find.