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year 5, quarter 3
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wild is the world and lonely is the path to come to you
Dark. Ashe thought herself in somewhere familiar but altogether foreign. It was hard to breathe and she felt as though something was wriggling through her chest as she fought for air. She felt cold, damp, and as if the earth had somehow claimed her as she felt dirt crumple under her fingernails. She struggled and grunted as she broke of the vines that bound her to the ground. Snickers echoed in the dark room as she trudged forward feeling as though she stepped in deep mud with each step. Suddenly she felt a hand brush her and quiet words in her ear. "I would have no other." She blinked. In front of her blank eyes and an arrow through the throat. "R-
Ashe bolted up with a start and kick. "Hey watch it lady, you're lucky enough we's allowed you to even rest your head." It was sunny. The skies were clear, and the sound of laughter echoed from a few coaches ahead. She just huffed and nodded as an apology as she made sure the Treaty Blade still stayed in her possession. She trusted no one as friendly as they may appear. "Right then, bitch." the same person who seemed upset with her sleep said to her silence. Ashe thought of silencing him came and her hand clutched tightly on her blade, but it left just as suddenly as it came. She groaned as she rubbed her head.
It'd be a few days since she had left the now ruined temple. For what little they did learn, the only useful thing of note she had to turn to was a bit on the Crystalus Divider. There was a belief that the gate had been a departing points for the gods of eld. It was all she had to hold onto of the envisioned woman. If this was a goddess and not herself going mad, then she intended on knocking and intruding herself. Then again perhaps she was. Since her departure from the temple, she had had different terrors seeing the ways those she loved had died, and a quiet voice spoke to her of the ease of violence to solve her problems. A voice she wasn't sure wasn't her own.
"A'ight" someone else called snapping Ashe out of her contemplation. "Crystal Divider here we are." Ashe got out of the wagon as quickly as she could marching straight down the path to the place all of this had begun for her. Here in this place she had found herself the first time she awoke on this distant world. This distant shore far from Dalmasca. Down the path she wound passing by those in prayer until she was at the ethereal gate itself.
There were a few stragglers around pondering the gate as well, but she cared not. She marched up to the thing running her hands on the sealed stone. There was a definite indention that showed that once it must have opened, but there was no purchase. Try as she might to find some release or switch, her anger built. How dare this blonde goddess beg of help than deny any herself? Her anger mounted until she took Treaty Blade in hand and began striking the stone.
"Stop it! STOP. YOU MUST STOP" a priest began running at her until Ashe turned to stop the shouting. A glint of sickly green shone in her eye unbeknownst to her which stopped the priest in his tracks. Kill him. The thought was so quick and unprovoked, her arm shook as she noticed she had already raised the blade to strike him. "Tell me of the goddesses of this land," she demanded lowering her blade. Her voice softened a touch as she took a step towards the priest who took one back in turn. "I need know of their plotting and whims."
Balthier's about to get yelled at and he deserves it
I play the leading man, who else?
’Vaan and I had been taking care of the Strahl, but it was stolen! Actually, stolen might not be the right word. If her owner wants her back, there’s not much we can about it, is there?’
Balthier felt at the clasp of his pocket and the letter beneath it. The days had passed like any others. The travelers had come and gone on unknown pilgrimages. The priests had prayed at sunrise and tidied up at dusk. The ruins whispered their quiet secrets, and still Balthier stayed. He didn’t know why exactly. The temple had been nothing more than a pit stop between more exciting affairs yet for once, miraculously, he felt rooted in place. Perhaps it was a hunch. Perhaps he merely needed time to think.
The letter rang an eerie echo. ’Vaan and I had been taking care of the Strahl.’
”Are you here for the ritual?”
Balthier’s brows pricked as he glanced to the woman who’d approached him. She was young and dressed in plain robes, her hair pinned up in braids. A priestess, he supposed. Balthier looked back to the sky. ”I’m not much for ceremony, I’m afraid.”
”It’s a calling to the lost gods. For the solstice.”
”Perhaps I’ll take a look.”
”We’d be happy to have you.”
Balthier hummed. He had more on his mind than gods. In particular, he had a letter and the unassuming noble boy who had given it to him. ’If you still believe my claims to be absurd after reading that then it appears that you are more stubborn than I had anticipated.’
Was he too stubborn now? Tales of rebellion, of princesses, of emperors. Could he believe he’d taken any part in it? There was only one detail that still enraptured him. Nethicite. Larsa had brought it all back to nethicite. It seemed some pasts never quite knew how to die.
”Stop it! Stop! You must stop!”
A man was shouting. Balthier tilted his head and glanced towards the commotion. A woman had started slashing the ancient ruins with a broadsword -- something to which the priests did not take kindly. An elderly man rushed her, arms waving wildly before she turned to face him. There was murder in her eyes (a sight Balthier was most familiar with), and it wasn’t a bluff. She raised her blade in emphasis, and the man froze. She inquired as to the goddesses. Balthier closed his eyes and sighed.
”Always another quarrel.”
He pushed off from the pillar he’d been leaning against and rolled his shoulders back before unholstering his gun and taking to her at a leisurely pace. He stopped only four paces behind her and aimed his gun lazily with one hand.
”Not quite the bright hello.” Balthier tilted his head, chin half lifted. ”I've found questions not best answered at the edge of a sword.”
wild is the world and lonely is the path to come to you
Ashe stared the priest down who now seemed rooted to the spot in fear. She could her frustration mounting as the man continued his silence. How verbose he had been when it was he making demands, but now that he was asked a simple question he was mute. "Or at the least a goddess of flaxen hair." Ashe had no intentions of backing down. She would have her answers even if it mean she made every person in the vicinity answer her. That was until a voice came from behind her. "And some do not speak until put to it," she said cold before turning to see who had approached.
Ashe stopped. "Ba-Balthier?!" For a moment the princess was at a loss for words even with a gun pointed at her face. For so long she had looked for any of them, and now Balthier was here. Were any of the others? What news from Ivalice did he have? Who sent him here or was he in the same predicament as she. A thousand questions shot through her mind but she lowered her blade and crossed her arms looking at the gun before looking to Balthier. "And I think it'd wise to lower your gun as well."
She didn't understand the mix of emotions that brew in her bosom. It was true she found some relief knowing one of her comrades was safe even if it was here in this strange land, but she knew she would have been far more relieved had her first encounter been Basche or even Vann. Her lips pursed as she looked at the sky pirate before speaking, "I doubt you had intentions of finding me unless to demand your reward for deeds still left incomplete. So what brings you to this place?" Loyalty bought and bartered. She rubbed her finger where her wedding ring had been wondering if the man still had it. "Do you know of our comrades well being or that of Ivalice at large? Perhaps you've seen them during your pirating? I doubt you and Fran have given up your profession."
She stood frozen, eyes wide and locked on his. He felt his brow prick with something between surprise and irritation. A half dozen emotions passed her stoic defenses -- shock, relief, offense, and then caution. She lowered her sword. ”And I think it wise to lower your gun as well.”
Her arms were crossed comfortably if not amiably. Balthier looked her over in mild interest before he took her lead. Despite the woman’s suggestions, he kept his gun unholstered and held in both hands. The woman knew him. And he had made more than his share of enemies.
’Intentions of finding her? Rewards?’ He felt his thoughts turn like the cogs of some well-placed machine. It seemed this woman had a history with him -- and a rather intimate one at that. She owed him for some service left unpaid. And she knew both he and Fran equally.
Which meant she was most likely...
Balthier sighed, dropping his gun to one hand as he placed the other on his hip. ”It seems I’ve grown quite popular as of late.” His eyes flit to hers. ”Lady Ashe, I presume?” Once again, the boy’s words played like a premonition. ’Now that you have heard what I have told you, you will help me search for Ashe and the others?’ Balthier had spoken true. It seemed there was no greater ally than sheer dumb luck.
”If you expect an amiable greeting, you’ll not find it, I’m afraid. My recollections are sorely lacking should certain Archadian nobility be believed. He seemed insistent that I find you, that Larsa Ferrinas Solidor.” Looking her over, he supposed he felt some degree of familiarity -- or a facsimile of it at least. He didn’t recognize her face, but rather her hard eyes. They spoke equally of ambition and the ruthless drive to achieve it. A dangerous combination from his experience.
”Matters of Ivalice are as lost to me as they seem to you -- as are these mysterious ‘comrades.’ If you happen upon Fran, do send her my way. I find myself in sore need of a partner.”
With their uncertain pleasantries exchanged, Balthier finally slipped his gun onto his back, head tilted casually to the side. For some reason, he felt some degree of comfort around her -- at least now that they’d gotten to talking. A sign of his lost memories? More likely a trick of suggestion.
”Though what, might I ask, are these mysterious deeds? I’ll not turn down your reward.”
wild is the world and lonely is the path to come to you
Ashe watched as Balthier only lowered his gun instead of holstering it. What sort of power move did he think he was playing at? Her lips pursed into a thin line as she gave him a hardened look. She wanted to believe that through everything there was a hint of trust between them, but to completely and blindly do so would be foolish when dealing with a pirate. If anything, she believed he would not shoot simply because he was still due his reward. Ashe crossed her arms as well as she waited for the answers she demanded of him.
"Presume?!" she spat the word out her hardened gaze growing colder still. How dare he! Her hands clenched into fists and her nails bit into the palms of her hands as she stared in angered bafflement. Of all the games and lies to use. "How convenient that you should seem addled brained when not pressed or your hand forced. You may have no love for Dalmasca's sovereignty, but for its treasury your heart must surely fill over. Or have you simply chosen to forget now it is so far from sight and mind?" Ashe could feel herself getting warm as the anger bubbled quickly to the surface, and yet something cold seemed to shoot through her blood as she thought of cutting him down where he stood for his falsehoods.
She tensed again and moved towards him as he spoke of an Archadian here but calmed a bit at the name. "Larsa is here? Was he accompanied by anyone? Vayne? Where is he?" Although an ally in this strange land would be a boon, it also meant that unless Vayne was here as well, there was no check against the empire's greed, and she knew not how long Al-Cid could keep the Rozzarians from declaring war themselves. It seemed as though she had come across the wrong companion to be asking the information she so desperately needed.
"The depths of your ruse are growing tiresome, Balthier. You'd have me believe you can't remember Vaan who looked at you the way one would look upon an idol or the girl, Penelo?" She doubted that he had any feelings toward Basche and there were more important things to speak on. Ashe saw his hand begin to move and was ready to fight, but he simply put his gun in his holster finally which calmed her a touch.
"I've not come across Fran though with her stoic nature and cryptic tongue I'd find myself in much the same situation I suppose. As for the reward, it was for passage through the lands to wrench the deifacted nethicite from your father and the empire's clutches as means to liberate Dalmasca. Do you not still hold my wedding ring as down payment or have you tossed it aside at the chance for a satchel of gold? If you mean to part ways and play amnesia, I'd have back Rasler's ring," Ashe held out her hand waiting for a piece of her that was missing to be returned. Still, something stirred in her to ask, "Unless you decide to accompany me and see your job done."
Balthier had always thought that first impressions were worth their weight in gil. That was, after all, their best foot forward -- or so he presumed. Some proved their potential in a moment of wit and ingenuity. Others shone with equal parts kindness and naivety. Lady Ashe, on the other hand, had all the charm of cold steel. If impressions were worth their weight then Ashe was worth less than the sword she wielded.
Balthier’s eyebrows raised at her ever increasing hostility. ’How convenient?’ She wasn’t wrong that he had no particular interest in the politics of her desert kingdom so long as it proved a decent business place, but to think that he would simply choose to forget? He had said his piece, and if she chose to disbelieve him then that was that.
”A sore convenience with you standing on the better foot.” He shrugged, head tilted to the side. ”As for your Archadians, I haven’t any idea. I met this Larsa and that was the end of it. If he’d any correspondence with his brother then I’d say their relationship was distant at best.” He put a hand at his neck, cracking in sideways as he drifted past her, stopping with his back turned. It was best to keep his distance, he thought. Despite their apparent alliance, it seemed there’d been little fondness between them -- a wonder as to why.
”You'd have me believe you can't remember Vaan who looked at you the way one would look upon an idol or the girl, Penelo?"
Vaan. Balthier paused, touching at his pocket almost instinctively. It was the same name as in the letter. Was that their relationship? Balthier felt his eyes waver, his eyebrows furrowing. Who would ever look at him that way? Surely no one but a thief. A wide-eyed child with no real experience -- too caught up in the glamor of it all to be anything but awestruck. A boy with-
Blonde hair. A cocky smile. He’d wanted to be a sky pirate himself.
”Do you not still hold my wedding ring as down payment or have you tossed it aside at the chance for a satchel of gold? If you mean to part ways and play amnesia, I'd have back Rasler's ring.”
”Hm?” Balthier looked to where she stood, eyes hard and hand outstretched. ”You mean this?” Balthier opened his side pocket and fished inside until he felt hard metal between his fingers. The silver ring was worth a hefty price -- he’d known at a glance -- but there was something about it that had felt…
Wrong, he supposed. He’d examined its make, estimated its value, and then stopped. It hadn’t taken much space, he’d thought, and why not hold onto a little insurance for a rainy day? Still, the real reason had nagged at him like a persistent fly. It had felt wrong anywhere but his pocket. He hadn’t a clue as to why.
He held it up between his forefinger and thumb, eyeing the way it glinted in the sun. ”Your wedding ring, you say? Quite the down payment if I might say so myself.” He dropped it into his palm, closing his fist around it. ”A foul bit of company, it seems. From the sound of it, you’d have rather sent me on my way.”
He slid the ring back into his pocket, giving little time for thought before he had a hand at his hip. He shook his head, sighing. ”And you’re the only tie I have. I’ll take your company until our paths find reason to stray. Assuming your alliance proves useful, of course.”
He crossed his arms, hip tilted to one side. ”Well then. As our appointed leader, what might you see done? From what I’ve seen, you’ve no more direction than holding priests at the edge of a sword.”
wild is the world and lonely is the path to come to you
Ashe's breath caught as Balthier rummaged around and fished out her ring. She had all but given up hope that she would ever see the thing again, now here it was within arm's reach. It wasn't as though she needed it to remember Rasler, but it was the only thing left of his that she could still touch. Cut the theif's hand; take back what's yours. The thought came violently and quickly and Ashe hadn't realized her hand moving to her blade. She stopped, her brow furrowing, as she rubbed her ring finger instead of drawing the blade.
She folded her arms and met his gaze with a look of steel. Prove herself useful. Her teeth grit and her tongue felt ready to lash, but he was right. It seemed he was her only tether at the present moment. Who else would she rather have turned up Basche, perhaps? She wondered if Vaan or Penelo would have followed of their own volition wherever personal or because she was their princess, and she doubted Fran would work independently of the pirate before her. Begrudgingly, she had to admit that Balthier had a way of making things work out for himself although the words would never escape her lips.
"Our path forward is twofold," she said deciding to ignore his other words about the priests. "The first, to relocate Larsa. If he has any information on his brother's motives, or his whereabouts, and the movement's of Archaida then they must be known. I need know whether the snake of an empire still has its head." Her voice was harsh and her words were dripped in hatred. Vayne's head piked onto the Treaty Blade above the ramparts of Rabanastre.She blinked as the vision flashed in her mind's eye and she rubbed at her temple. She groaned as it slinked from the forefront of her mind.
"The second," her voice a bit shakier if not as strong though, "comprises the harder of the two. The gods of this realm mean to play games. I would know their schemes and what role they think they've cast me in." Ashe marched past Balthier looking out over the Divider. How many of these people knew their destiny. What was expected of them. "If I can not find answers given willingly, then I will force them." It was enough of an explanation as she was going to give to Balthier. Would he even understand. She alone had bore witness to the Occuria in Giruvegan, and of the demands the divine could make. They were not to be taken lightly. "Both paths will lead to answers so desperately needed."
A twofold path. A pain, he’d have said. Still, he supposed he had nothing better to do, and if the last of his memories relied on this lost princess then he had little choice in the matter. He would follow her so far as he saw fit. As far as Ivalice, that was.
”It’s the emperor you’re after?” Balthier’s eyebrows raised. ”If he should find himself relocated, he’ll have nothing without his armies. You can rest assured we’re not to wander into Archadia’s borders overnight.”
Balthier would have liked to have said that would be the end of it. He’d have liked to, but he knew it to be a lie. From the princess’ demeanor, he knew that she was after the emperor for reasons far beyond their own safety or the safety of foreign lands. It was revenge that drove her, and from her previous rage, it seemed she wouldn’t be satisfied without his blood on her sword. If she were ever satisfied at all.
”But I’ll keep my ear to the ground.” He closed his eyes, arms crossed and head half tilted to the side. ”For all the good it will do. I’d be far more interested in seeking out this Larsa for its own sake. I have questions of my own.”
Questions about that letter. Balthier glanced at the woman beside him. It had mentioned the princess taking the throne. Would she know anything of it? The letter more than anything proved the negative space between his time and Larsa’s.
”As for gods, that’s a tad above my pay grade.” Balthier uncrossed his arms and turned from her, instead approaching the arch. It towered over them with its ancient sigils and strange power. Balthier had never been one to put much faith in fairy tales. Ruins had never been much more than vaults for plunder, but this…
He’d come to this place for a reason, hadn’t he? If there was some clue as to his return...If there was some way to see Ivalice again…
He shrugged. ”If it’s an airship you need then it’s a work in progress -- one I’d do best to manage quickly.” He glanced to Ashe. ”I’ve made my connections. It wouldn’t be a terrible idea to check them for tell of Larsa, this emperor, or your legends. Cracking open a few old tombs wouldn’t be a terrible idea either. Troves for information, I’ve found. As well as gil, naturally.”
He angled his head thoughtfully. ”Help me commandeer an airship and I’ll ferry you wherever you please. You’d not make the best copilot, but it’ll do in a pinch. It just so happens that I have as much a stake in this as you. If you say you have a lead then we’d best follow it.”
