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year 5, quarter 3
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“Why wouldn’t they be proud of what gets them through life without regrets?” Caius responded quickly. “If they were good people, these atrocities would tear them apart to do, even if they had to. And you would be able to tell… Trust me, I know. These people do not feel that remorse, to them… This is an easy way to get through life… No drawbacks. That’s just how some people are. Even if it disgusts me.”
Yes, their client appeared to be the leader of this operation and the woman sneered at Caius’ dry sass. But it was Yuna’s words that brought out horrible, howling laughter from Darlene.
“Of course it was a trap! Is this what’s caused us so much trouble? A child?” She remarked towards Yuna mockingly. “Word of advice, as if you’ll need it… When there’s gil to be made, you get it. People are weak, sentimental… You can make your gil that way. People like you, people like him… They easily fall for every little sob story and rush to help! I’ve done this so many times before now, it’s almost too easy.”
The woman mock swooned and donned her desperate pleading mother voice.
“Oh, you have to hurry! I will pay any price! Any price you name, just please save Emily! Oh, my dear Emily! Save my dear sweet girl by making me a pretty gil selling you off!”
Her and her guard began to laugh at this, relishing the ease of all this. “You arrogant girl… Do you really think I would go to all this trouble just for you? Please. I’ve been running this racket for months. Everyone from do gooder adventurers to money hungry mercenaries, to goody goody town guards to just plain suckers like you two… They’ve all made me plenty of gil.
But who would have thought that my biggest score would fall right into my lap? The ones the boss wants. And you made it all too easy.”
Caius seemed almost bored by her speech. “So, the Original Sin, I assume. What’s with all this about me, aye? You torched a village and killed innocent people just to draw me out. Clearly you want me for something.”
Darlene laughs then, shaking her head. “Not me, dear… You just aren’t my type, sorry. No… The boss has decided you have been a problem in our activities for too long. From the day you first crossed us, you dirty little minx… All we asked you to do is escort our men to town, and then aid our forces in a bit of work. Even offered to pay extra for the bit of trouble. Then what do you do? You get them there, sure… Could have even made a fine member of our little band, by the tales I heard. But you ratted our force out to the guards, took your fee and left.
We hunted you down, just wanted our money back, ya know? And you and that blonde floozie have our force arrested again mere days after all the work we put in to arrange their escape. But you don’t stop there. That’s not enough for you, is it? No, you just had to keep interfering. Ruined our activities in Torensten with that floozie again, cost us many resources and men… And then you move to our most profitable business. You attack one of our settlements like a savage, and now not only do you have a beast doing your dirty work… You bring her.”
Darlene shoots Yuna a glare.
“Some kind of witch that can summon god-like beasts. The boss knew that she needed to be taken care of, she’s too dangerous to be kept alive… So a bounty was posted on her first.
But you… The boss decided you couldn’t be allowed to interfere anymore either. So they set fire to that village, sent a nice letter… And you come running right on cue like a sucker. I was told by them that apparently… You don’t kill people… They were supposed to take advantage, do what they like to bring your guard down, knowing you would do nothing. Should make you easy to capture, they told me... Yet they didn’t return. Go figure. But it doesn’t matter now.”
The idea that all these instances had been a case of him slowly pissing off the same bandit group was amusing to Caius. But at least now he had his answer. Now just to get out of here…
“The boss wants you alive. Both of you. Says that after all you’ve done, he wants to kill you himself to ensure it’s done, and to make it slow and painful. So here’s what’s going to happen…”
A sly grin slowly crosses her face.
“Tomorrow morning, you two go on the block. I’m sure someone capable of some heavy lifting and a good little serving girl could fetch a decent price. After you’ve been sold off… You go to the surface with them, out of sight… Then since obviously I’m not letting my big score get away… We’ll kill the suckers and ship you two off to the boss, for the biggest payday of our lives.
Why am I telling you this?” She asks rhetorically with a laugh. “Because you won’t say a word. You’re going to watch it happen. No words… No rebellion, no attempt to escape.”
She leans forward until her face is against the bars.
“Because if you try… I’ll kill your stupid beast. We wouldn’t want that, would we?”
The amusement left Caius’ face immediately as his expression shifted to a frown.
“If you cooperate… We’ll keep him alive. He’ll be made tame into a beast of burden. Serve a greater purpose, ya know?”
With that, she begins heading toward the door, her guards following. As they pass Vordun, the enraged fire drake responds by letting out an earsplitting roar in Darlene’s face. Darlene glares at the wyrm, looking to Caius before pulling out her dagger.
“WAIT, STOP!” Caius cried out desperately, eyes wide as he recklessly threw his entire body against the bars, but it was no use. Darlene slashed Vordun across the bottom of the chin, narrowly missing the center of the dragon’s throat but still doing a great deal of damage. The dragon let out a pained roar, as Darlene roughly kicked Vordun in the snout, sending him to the floor.
“Shut up, you stupid beast” She growled, turning to leave as she spoke back to Caius and Yuna.
“I’ll send a healer for him later… Maybe. Not like it matters if I don’t.”
A laugh followed as the doors fell behind them. Vordun had begun whimpering from the pain, and Caius collapsed back against the wall of the cell. His head turned downward, his hair fell and covered his face. Covered whatever was going on underneath. But tears began to run down his face, giving some measure of a glimpse into his psyche in that moment.
And then his dagger dropped to the floor.
The other half of Isp. Only one half had been dropped and disappeared earlier. Caius had hidden the other to keep it from disappearing, and much like Yuna, he had been slowly working on his escape all this time. As his binds fell, Caius immediately tore off the collar. As his weapons re-appeared then disappeared, Caius moved away his hair, and wiped his face. While his eyes were still red and puffy, his expression was unreadable. Stone cold. Frigid as the mountains above them on the surface.
He raised a hand, then. As he spoke one word, cold and firm.
“Fira.”
The door was blown open by the ensuing fire spell as Caius walked out and moved to Yuna’s cell. Instead of using a spell though, in a surprising display of the strength that the Power of Kings provided, he took the door and with some struggle, aggressively ripped it off his hinges and dropped the cell door with a long clang. He noted her binds, but neither his expression or voice changed.
“If you have it, hurry. If you do not, tell me. They will arrive soon. Focus on magic, this tunnel will give us the advantage that way.”
With that, he rushed to Vordun, quickly checking his wound before casting Cura and laying on his best potion on top of it. After then cutting his chains, Caius’ expression finally changed as he wrapped his arms around Vordun. “I’m so sorry, Vordun…” Caius whispered to the dragon as he choked back sobs, holding back his tears best he could. “I should have been there. I failed you, and I’m sorry.”
He brought his head to Vordun’s.
“... She won’t hurt you again. I promise.”
With that, as he turned toward the doors, his expression had shifted back to that stone-faced visage. All business. But with something else, something darker lurking behind those eyes…
A commotion could be heard behind the door as bandits had begun massing, likely realizing that their prey was attempting to escape. They didn’t have much time. If there were any preparations left for Yuna to make… Now was the time.
Caius had been surprised when Celes had suddenly seized him. His eyes widened as she wrapped her arms around him, nearly knocking him over in the process. What in the world was she doing? Was he wounded and hadn't noticed? Did something set Celes off? Physical contact was... Not what he was used to from Celes, to say the least, and he had no idea how to handle it.
The woman seemed to finally notice Celes' existence once Caius had been yanked from her, and rose her head to stare her in the eyes when she spoke up that the both of them would be happy to stay. The look that she fired back at Celes could be described as the definition of... If looks could kill, this woman could probably terrorize a village by looks alone. But the look was so quick that Caius hadn't had a chance to see it, as he was still trying to regain his footing after Celes had effectively yanked him back, and was too busy considering what Celes had said.
We should go, she said. Had she seen the ones in the window after all? He didn't believe she had, she seemed confused and didn't appear to recognize them when he pointed it out. Had she mistaken his intentions? Did she think that by window, she thought he meant escape? Honestly, after what he had just seen... Running was honestly the best way to go right now. Caius righted himself and followed her movements, seeming to understand that Celes was edging toward the door. Caius had already begun to think up an excuse and some word about needing to get their belongings from their cart had begun to form before the untimely intervention of the old man stopped them both in their tracks.
Caius cursed under his breath but managed to keep up the friendly face as they accepted the offer for tea. Caius had noticed Celes moving in front of him, though he had no idea why.
Before long the group were seated in what was actually a fairly nice sitting room. It was a little worn down, but with a group of chairs in front of a nice fire, it wasn't a bad place. Once they were seated, Sue moved her chair just a little, sitting beside Caius who had previously sat beside Celes. Caius seemed to note her movement and gave the woman a warm smile, one that seemed to only further exaggerate her expressions. Caius though, felt a little uneasy around her. Almost as if it were to him that a dagger could be brought out at anytime. From the corner of his eye, Caius could see the chefs conversing through the window into the kitchen, with the room being a little closer to the kitchen area than the entranceway had been. He definitely recognized them, though he didn't have a chance to look long before the old man spoke up.
"So!" He chirped as the tea was brought. "Sue brought up the question of your city. Where might you two be from?" He inquired. Caius glanced down at the three cups of tea, one for each of them excluding Celes, who had priorly declined a drink. After a moment to think on it, an idea struck Caius as he took the initiative.
"We're from a city called Torensten" He brought up warmly. "We're warriors, as I guess you've probably guessed by the garb. And Torensten is this huge hub of people, and places to find work. It's also a place where trouble can happen. Trouble can happen pretty much anywhere there... It's how we met!" He remarked with a laugh, as he then looked to Celes. "Do you remember how we met, Celes?" He asked, leaning over to bring his head onto her shoulder as he reached an arm around her back, seeming to be taking cues from Celes' measure earlier. She had feigned something or other to get a message to him without arousing suspicion, right? It seemed like a pretty credible strategy, one he was fine to follow suit on. While he didn't understand what it would be interpreted as by the others, and completely missed the increasingly steaming look on Sue's face, he reached a hand to the hair on the back of her head.
"You have a bit of dandruff there that is driving me absolutely nuts, Cel, let me get that" He spoke up as he ran a hand gently through her hair, pretending to be shaking off some kind of bothersome article. As his lips came to her ear though, he was granted his desired opportunity to whisper.
"Kitchen window. The chefs. Look closely."
He hoped opening with how they met before bringing it up would help Celes connect the dots. He noticed the chefs sparing the room glances here and there, though to most that might just be interpreted as tracking their hosts in case they needed anything. But for Caius... He knew those faces. He knew them very well.
"That sounds wonderful" The old man responded warmly following Celes' own response to Caius' question. By the time Caius had looked back to Sue, her expression had returned back to a more neutral smile - though he did notice that there seemed to be a minor twitch in her eye. "Tea? It should have cooled properly by now. Get it while it's good" He spoke up. Considering his suspicions of them, Caius wasn't sure if he was comfortable with drinking anything they had put in front of him. What if...
"Of course" Caius chirped with a smile as he reached forward for his tea. He hadn't thought it would be polite to decline until after Celes had already done so, and by then it was a bit too late to take it back. He had to be careful here, if the drink was poisoned... Sure, it was possible he was just being paranoid, but...
No, he had a solid lead now. He needed to exercise full caution.
But one thing that did not adhere to caution was Caius' weight slightly shifting and causing the chair to slam forward, knocking Caius off his feet and onto his knees. Sue had immediately lunged forward to grab his arm following her surprised yelp, but Caius had managed to catch himself on the table. He grasped the young woman's tea as he tried to get himself some degree of support, accidentally sending both cups heading toward the floor before Caius managed to catch them both. A bit of tea spilled from both, and Caius winced when they singed his wrists, letting out a slew of inaudible curses under his breath. But something also caught his eye. While one tea spill on his wrist looked normal, the other had the usual brown and then... Hints of green? That the other didn't? They looked the same on the surface, the tea did... But when they spilled...
Caius quickly placed the cups back on the table, ensuring the one that had spilled the suspicious green was on the left side of the table in front of Sue as he righted himself and cleaned the spilled tea off with a cloth.
"I-I am so, so very sorry!" Caius lamented toward their hosts, eyes wide in seeming horror at his mistake, bowing his head. "I'm used to camping out, I'm not used to chairs like these. I am so sorry."
"No, no, it was an accident, you don't have anything to be ashamed of" The man responded with a calm tone. "Are you okay? That burn looks pretty bad. Should I look for first aid?"
"Should I get more tea?" Sue would pipe up, and Caius shook his head. "No, it's okay, thank you."
To be honest, his wrists stung like hell. But he didn't want to inconvenience his "hosts", even if he wasn't sure if their intentions were good. He took a deep breath as he brought his hand down to heal one wrist with Cure, and then the next. It still smarted, and Celes would probably be able to do a much better job, but it alleviated the pain for now.
"Perhaps we should drink before the rest of it risks spilling" The older man suggested with a gentle chuckle, and Caius nodded his head in turn. "I can drink to that" He spoke as he righted his chair and sat back down, gingerly picking up his tea as the others did. They were definitely eager to drink... Honestly, he hoped that perhaps these two were just bystanders, unknowing of the two chefs in the kitchen and who Caius knew they were. He did appreciate their hospitality, and while their mannerisms were strange, they didn't appear to be malicious to him.
But he knew that people wore masks all the time. He knew that now. And he wouldn't risk theirs being a mask as well.
Caius couldn't help but laugh at that. He had tried to maintain a professional, stoic demeanour. But her responses made him laugh. But it was a jolly, amused laugh. He liked her! She was straight to the point and was eager to get to the action. He could attest to and even respect that. And Caius himself was eager to get out there and get out to the field post-haste. He was of the same mind that while the infestation didn't sound like it would get terribly worse for a bit... It always could. And while it remained, travellers and caravans remained in danger. Caius would rather deal with that before it became a serious problem.
"I can drink to that" Caius remarked as he raised his glass before taking another swig. But it would be a little longer he supposed before Vordun would be ready. While he didn't know for sure when Vordun would find the infestation and return, he had sent Vordun out far too recently to be able to say that he would be back immediately. But he didn't want to underestimate Vordun either. It wouldn't be hard for Vordun to find them, the way that he was travelling. That was what Caius was counting on. When they finished their drinks would be plenty of time, and if Vordun did take a bit... Well, there was always time to talk to his new companion, he supposed.
"He'll know. He's smart" Caius spoke up then, addressing Freya's remarks about whether his companion would know what they were looking for or not. "He's smarter than I've ever given him credit for, that's for sure. He may be as stubborn as a bull, but I'm sure at the very least, he can spot an anomaly in the area when he sees one."
A curious question had struck him, and seeing as they were still polishing their drinks, he thought to ask it.
"If I might... I've never seen anyone quite like you before" He pointed out with a curious eye. "I've met races with less human-like visages before, but this is the first I've met someone of your species. Where are you from?" He inquired. "Information on any racial traits or abilities if any would be useful too actually, on the subject. Anything that might prove useful to us out in the field that I wouldn't know offhand" He added, his expression indicating that the idea had just struck him.
That was just him though. Caius could try all he wanted to be social, but as soon as something that could prove useful on the field came up, well... He couldn't help but ask. He constantly found himself laser focused on the task at hand.
His suspicions were confirmed, then. The mercenary gingerly nodded his head in turn to confirm that he was here about the monsters as he then took a swig of his own drink. A show of good faith and figuring a good first impression would be practically beneficial to their working together, were the motivations to his method. Cut and dry. Once she had introduced herself, and had given her a moment to try her new drink in earnest, he gently placed his mug on the table and held out a hand to shake.
"Caius."
With introductions out of the way, it was time to get down to business. Freya wanted to reaffirm what they were up against, likely wanting to confirm her own information. He understood that, and he nodded his head once more.
"By my information, we are dealing with an infestation of creatures on the outskirts of town. So it shouldn't be all that hard to find" Caius remarked, taking another swig to wet his lips before continuing. "I have asked my companion to scout the area. It is my hope that he will recognize the large amount of creatures focused in one area around the outskirts of Torensten and can report back on their whereabouts. Once he has a bead on them, we can head out and take care of it."
He could tell by her expression that her guard was up. Good. She should be. Caius did make sure to accommodate for this though.
"I will be heading to the edge of town shortly, in order to wait for him and receive the report of our target's whereabouts. I have full confidence in his ability to find them and ease our time spent looking as much as possible. You may join me when I head to the meeting place if you like and we may leave immediately, or I can look for you afterwords. Your call."
While the job itself had come suddenly to Celes and Relm, it had not been so sudden for Caius. He had taken it a little while ago, and had been taking the time to do some research on where the attacks were happening. He had already gone out there once, and had found evidence of battle. He had scanned the area and found the ideal hiding places, and then had checked the area to see if this had been repeated anywhere else in the area. As of now, this was the only ambush point he had been able to find. So he had decided to try here first, and should they not have found them here, then he would have either waited a bit longer, or should that not have worked, then he would have requisitioned Celes' help in further tracking. At the least though, he had picked the ideal times that caravans tended to pull into this neck of the woods. It was generally during the later hours so that they could set up shop with what they had, review their goods and be ready to trade in the morning.
It wasn't a perfect plan by any means and ran risk of wasting Celes' and Relm's time. But Celes likely knew by now that taking chances like this was necessary, as it was impossible to accurately gauge where and when their target would be. But Caius had done what research possible to get the best odds he could. They weren’t perfect but no plan ever was. It was very possible that they would be too late to prevent the next ambush, but that was part of the gamble and it was either take it or never get anything done.
Their waiting for the bandits to make their move had also been a pre-decided plan by Caius. While it was easy for him to tell they were bandits, the merchants would have been in the dark and so would any guard patrols in the area. If they had ambushed the bandits too early, it would have only risked causing trouble. There needed to be no doubt of their intentions. Not to mention the tactical advantage of catching them when their focus was fully on the merchant caravan. Caius has planned as well as he possibly could have without a crystal ball.
"Keep your heads down, cry out if the brigands get too close to you!" Caius called to the merchant caravan as a final precaution. He had taken all precautions he could have thought of now. Or at least, so he had thought.
The one thing that Caius didn't account for... Was the bandits having magic. He'd faced many bandits, but he'd never encountered any so far that knew any actual magic. So when Celes called out for magic, Caius had just parried a blow and kicked the bandit back before looking to her. But Celes herself wasn't casting magic, and neither was...
"Wait, what."
Caius had realized too late that Celes was referring to one of the bandits. A large burst of electricity had launched toward Caius, who hadn't been able to react in time to do anything except bring his arms up to defend himself best he could when it was about to hit him.
But then the magic stopped.
Caius opened his eyes when he learned Relm call out and the pressure of the incoming spell had ended. Caius blinked a few times in confusion as he looked toward his attacker, realizing they had been transformed. Then he looked to Relm, seeing she had just casted a spell. Putting the puzzle pieces together, Caius gave Relm a nod in thanks before he charged forward full speed toward his attacker. Rather than use his sword though, Caius reared back his foot and punted the imp across the field, likely taking them out of the equation for the time being.
Another bandit would try to take advantage and hit Caius from behind, but Caius quickly turned and guarded himself when he heard their footsteps. Blade clashed with blade, but Caius wasn't prepared for what became the difference maker.
Caius felt his jacket shift as Vordun would pop his head out. As he pressed his sword forward to push his attacker back, Caius muttered "No, back in. Bad dragon" toward Vordun, who instead inhaled as Caius noticed the scales on the back of his neck begin to glow.
"Wha-"
The tiny dragon suddenly unleashed a torrent of flames toward the bandit, causing them to let out a scream and break the sword lock, prompting Caius to slash at their side and use magic. "Blizzard!" He called out, knocking them back while also putting out the fires. Caius then looked toward Vordun, still surprised at Vordun seeming to have some level of control over his abilities, and knowing that it was the time to use them.
"Good boy, Vordun!" Caius remarked with a laugh, very much proud of the tiny lizard.
While Caius didn't live here, he had a home out in the countryside after all, Torensten had become a home of sorts to him. It was where he was based for his endeavours and it was where the Dragonblades were currently holed up and trained. So when reports of there being an infestation of dangerous monsters nearby began to crop up and a job was placed on the board to deal with them, Caius did not hesitate. Caius was used to hunting monsters, so this wouldn't be too much of a problem for him and Vordun, he figured. Though he supposed he should have expected to find out when he took the job that later, another had taken it as well. He had been asked to meet with them by the one who had put the job out, and they were lucky that he hadn't left yet or he would have left on his own to deal with it.
Either way, the woman that he was meeting was described as having a non-humanoid face, and a tail. A tail, huh? It definitely wasn't Zidane in that case. While his old friend had a monkey tail, his face was as human as anyone else's. And he couldn't think of anyone else he knew that would fit that description. He had been told they would be heading to the docks to wait, so at the least, he was able to narrow down their location.
With the sea in front of an array of tables, it was a nice place to be. It didn't take long for Caius to see someone with a tail sitting at a table, with a hat covering most of their face. Though he could see a long nose protruding out, which likely meant that they were the one who fit the description. Caius did not make his presence known at first. Instead, he eyed the half-finished drink she was nursing and what kind it was. With that, Caius turned and walked away. When he returned, he held two ales in his hands. One for him, and one for a show of good faith.
Caius gingerly sat down on the chair opposing hers, before resting the two ale on the table. After a few seconds, he slid the second to her, figuring the least he could do if they were to work together was top her off since they would be taking some time to discuss strategy.
"You wouldn't happen to be the one handling the infestation job, would you?" He inquired then, in a calm tone as brown eyes scanned over her a moment. He knew it most likely was, but the least he could do was ask just in case.
Yeah, he supposed he should have seen that one coming. Caius honestly wasn't surprised at her reaction when he showed up, considering that the last time he had seen her, he had slugged her in the kisser as hard as he possibly could. So a small smirk crossed his face instead of bothering to take it personal.
"Nice to see you, too."
The Kingsglaive let out a yawn as he moved to lean against the wall near her cell, considering how to approach this. To be perfectly honest... He didn't think he was going to get this far. The horseturd story about a fractured romance had been something that he had lifted out of one of the books that he had been reading to try and understand the subject, but it was so far fetched that he didn't actually think the guards would fall for it. But then again... If it was going to work anywhere, it would be here. Place had seen far worse. Provo was currently a plague town because a daemon guy walked around a hospital turning people into daemons. This was nothing.
Only place he could think of that had better odds was Torensten.
After a few moments, he seemed to at least figure out where to go with this. Somewhat. It was still a work in progress.
"So, I was hoping to once again extend my offer" He spoke up, then. "I've bought us some time where I doubt the guards will bother us, at least. You wouldn't believe what I had to do to do that" He remarked with a small laugh. "So here's what I want to know. Either because of something I did, or something someone did, I don't know, you've got it out for me, and... My kind? I don't know. I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about, as I've never seen you before in my life."
He placed a hand to his chin. "Yet your magic feels familiar. I get the impression you're from my world... Possibly of the Kingsglaive. But I don't know if that matters. What I want to know is why you attacked me, and why you threatened what you did. If I've done something to wrong you, I would like to know so as to try and make it right. I can't do anything if I don't know. Once more, I ask of you... Please help me understand."
It wounded Caius' pride to surrender, and he knew they were taking a huge risk by allowing themselves to be at the mercy of the bandits, but there was nothing they could do for the time being. Vordun was clearly upset, and Caius was made to calm him down before they were bound and chained up, Vordun included. They were led downwards until they reached the base, and then were shoved until they came to an area that led underground.
Of course.
The bandits weren't stupid, though. They had placed collars on the necks of Caius and Yuna that disabled their magic, meaning Caius was unable to summon his weapons nor magic, and Yuna was unable to use her spells and most likely her summons. The two of them were led into a large underground complex of narrow and swirling passages, with a deep pit at the centre that the entire complex revolved around. Caius noticed a large wooden stage, where people were bound the same way that Caius and Yuna were. People that didn't look so much like bandits were seemingly... Bartering for them? Were they...?
Caius scoffed, and received a blow to the back of the head for it. But he couldn't contain his disgust. Trafficking people? He knew that Darlene had suspected it when they had kidnapped her daughter, but... To actually see it? To know that this was what they had been planning for the people that Caius and Yuna had saved in their first mission together? It made him sick to his stomach that they were taking and selling people as slaves. And it disgusted him even more that people were willing to buy.
Caius and Yuna were eventually led to a dark room filled with gloomy and dank cells. They were each shoved into a separate cell, and Vordun was bound further and chained to the wall nearby. The bandits snickered at them, before one spoke up.
"To think that the bosses bounty targets would come right to us. And together, all of things! You two just made us a lot of dough, so I'll think you for that... She'll be here to see you shortly. Don't go anywhere! Hah!"
The bandits laughed even harder, seeming to enjoy their little joke before they left. When the doors closed behind them, Caius took a deep breath before speaking up to Yuna.
"You asked about the meaning of the word Sin... It tends to relate to committing a great atrocity, typically related to the Astrals, in my world. Here, if I was to guess... It has the same meaning but with the equivalent gods they worship here. To put it simply... It is to commit an atrocity so great that the gods look down upon it" He clarified when Yuna seemed to remember that they weren't in her world anymore. "I suppose it isn't all that different from the Sin you know, in a way. But instead of a being called Sin... It is people embodying what made Sin, well... Sin.
It fits these people perfectly, if I'm to be honest. I became privy to the name when they torched a village to draw me out. These hunters appear to have decided that I am a threat to their operations, and if I was to guess, now see you the same way after you turned out to have an Astral in your back pocket.
That’s what happens in this world. Good deeds or bad… You will make enemies.”
Before long, the doors would open once more and the bandits returned. With them was a tall, muscular woman, dressed in the same garb as the rest of the bandits but between the smug grin on her face and the way the other bandits made way for her, it was clear that she was in charge of this operation. When Caius raised his head from his prior period of rest, to study her face…
The corner of his mouth formed into a smirk.
“Nice of you to come and help us find your daughter… Isn’t it, Darlene?”
“It’s not just that” Caius admitted in a low voice. Sure he was a little paranoid but even Caius needed something to go on. “I didn’t actually think of testing them at first. Sure we’re scary looking armed strangers who they probably wanted to go away fast, but by the impression I got, these people were the kid’s primary caretakers, closest thing to his parents, before he left for Provo. And yet, despite clear little correspondence lately… Not even a “How is he doing?” Or “Is he staying out of trouble?” When I spun that story about us being associates of his. Something just doesn’t feel right about it. I know I’m not the most experienced in how family members are supposed to care about each other… But I got the impression they didn’t care much at all. But that’s just me. It could be I’m jumping to conclusions but… I would feel better if we at least investigated a little. If you can bear with me.”
Caius knew his conscience wouldn’t let up if he let it go here. Sure they could go home now, and collect their pay. But he just couldn’t let this go when it seemed so sketchy to him. He just couldn't let this lie.
Celes took point as their inn ended up being an old house rented out to visitors. The price made him raise a brow, but his explanation that they were looking to renovate made sense, at least. And the place could use some repairs, he supposed. It was a nice place, not the largest, but it did have all the essentials. Including a little kitchen with two cooks that he could see from a little window, where the old man had disappeared into. When Celes asked if they should stay here or chance the forest, he could tell she was just as suspicious on the matter as he was.
"I don't know. The forest might not be too much of an issue for us, considering what we've been through before" Caius responded, but couldn't speak further as a woman would interrupt. It seemed they had been overheard, despite their attempts to keep quiet.
"Absolutely not" The young woman chirped, and Caius noticed her features reminded him of the old man. Of course, she herself looked no younger than himself and Celes. Her warm face, gentle tone and humble little freckles might have set him at ease if he wasn't already tightly wound. "The forest is teeming with dangerous monsters at night, darling. It would be reckless to camp out there."
Caius shook his head. "We can handle ourselves. It's never been a problem for us" He remarked. "You certainly look the part" The woman cooed slowly, shooting the blonde male a quirky, suave little smile. "But I insist" She stated as she moved forward and tugged at Caius' arm a bit. "I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I let you go out there and possibly get killed. Besides, you just got here! We'd love if you stayed a little while, we don't see many visitors and would love to hear the going ons outside of town, and get to know outsiders like you a little better. Especially if a visitor is..." She trailed off, staring directly at Caius with a peculiar little look in her eye, seeming to actually forget Celes was present. Something that Caius didn't seem to actually notice the context of, and even if he had, he had been distracted looking around the place when his attention had caught on something.
"If the price is the issue, I'll talk to the old man. It's no problem, he's just trying to be a frugal old fart. But I'm sure he can make an exception for you" The woman remarked, and Caius looked back to her, before looking to Celes. But what the woman couldn't see and what Celes -could- see, was that Caius' expression had turned cold as ice. While the woman's... Quirks, had completely gone over Caius' head, he had taken note of how insistent she was they stay. But something else had stopped him dead, and when Caius looked to Celes, he looked as though he had just seen a ghost.
"Window" Caius mouthed to Celes, making little hand motions that he tried to make sure that the woman couldn't see, to direct her toward the window into the kitchen. If Celes took the hint and looked, then she might see what Caius had taken notice of. The faces of the two cooks.
They had reminded him of something, somewhere... It felt like it was such a long time ago now, but when Caius looked at those faces... He could hear that voice from that day, clear as anything. A day that he would never forget for as long as he lived.
And with that, his expression turned warm and cordial once more as he turned back to the woman, though moved a bit out of her grip and subtly moving more toward Celes.
"You know what? You're right. It's too risky chancing the forest. Don't worry about the price, we're happy to help if your old man needs it" Caius chirped warmly, giving the brightest smile he could. "It's the least we can do for your hospitality."
He looked around then for the old man. Was the tea and the room ready?
"I don't think you are either a scoundrel or dishonest. But I also know that I could be wrong, even if I hope I'm not. History of judging character has not been kind to me" He responded quickly, understanding that he had offended Faris and tried to clarify. Perhaps metaphor wasn't the way to go. But he knew that most likely, Faris wouldn't listen to a word he had to say now. It was a shame, he had honestly grown to respect and even like the man. But it really didn't take much to set him off either, he noted. He supposed this was what he got for not trusting his instincts. He had initially not wanted to speak his mind to Faris, in case something like this had happened. But when Faris had spoke up, his stupid heart had burst out and spoken instead of his logic. He had thought maybe... Maybe Faris was deep down everything that Caius had thought he was, and just...
"Personally, I think you underestimate yourself. I think you might be one of the more compassionate people I've met... Even if I don't understand everything you do. I want to hope I'm right in this anyway... Even if I seem to be constantly proven wrong."
He couldn't help it. He knew that speaking his mind further was only going to make it worse, but he couldn't stop himself. Even if he knew that he could be wrong on what he thought Faris was, he wanted to believe that Faris was a good man, perhaps just misguided. He wanted to believe that Faris was the respectable, compassionate and emphatic person that Caius had grown to find him to be. But he also knew that Faris had made the decision himself to loot and to pillage. Even if it had possibly been forced on him early in life... The decision was his now and today, not many would be strong enough to make him be one now if he didn't want to be.
And Caius had already been wrong so many times about the character of others, that he now had even begun to question his own judgement. He just... Didn't know.
Either way, it didn't look like Faris was going to listen to a word of it, and he wasn't surprised. Caius could admit he was upset about that outcome, but... What could he do?
Helpless to stop it. That was the constant in his life. And he hated it.
