Lost Messenger

I had just reached Fallgourd Float in the North Shroud.

Rumors had it that my messenger boy, a young Ishgardian elezen named Levent Preste had been kidnapped by a local group of bandits while on his way to Ishgard.

I served in the Maelstrom on the Ala Mhigan front line against the Empire. I was a field chirurgeon and Levent was a messenger for me.

I had sent him with a reply to a friend of mine in Ishgard who had requested news.

Rumors were just that, but nobody seemed willing to investigate, so I had left Ala Mhigo in secret and without leave.

I would get reprimanded when I went back, but I was confident I was too valuable to punish too harshly. I had saved many lives already and would save many more. Healers like me aren’t common enough.

I stopped by an inn I thought Levent might well have stayed on his way to Ishgard.

I described Levent to the owner; “A young elezen, age 20, black hair, wearing a green tunic with silver buttons and brown trousers.”

It seemed likely to me that his signature tunic would be most easily remembered.

“Yes, he stayed here 3 days ago. In the evening of the day he left, I was told a young traveler had been abducted by the Bronze Bandits right out of Fallgourd Float and the description of the victim matched.

You can ask Leowald here, he witnessed the scene.” he said pointing to a middle-aged hyur drinking alone at a table.

“Though if you ask me,” he added, “there’s something suspect about that story.”

“How so?” I asked.

“The Bronze Bandits are a small ragtag band of robbers, not kidnappers, if this story is true, it is a first time for them.”

“I see.” I gave the man a generous tip for the information and silently thanked Thaliak for what seemed like a plausible lead.

I walked to Leowald and smiling I asked, “I heard you witnessed the abduction of a young elezen traveller 3 days ago, would you care to tell me more.”

“Pay me a beer and I’ll gladly tell you more,” he whispered. I sat down, ordered a beer for each of us and listened.

“I was selling my wares by the western gate when this young man left and he had walked only a few yalms out that these bandits came out of the wood and straight up swarmed him, tied him up and carried him away.”

By the Twelve I hoped he was mostly alright.

“I’ll tell you what,” continued the middle-aged man, “you give me a modest present and I’ll help you real good, I swear.

Just between you and me, I used to be a Bronze Bandit myself. They kicked me out and now I have to work for a living.”

A former bandit selling out his former fellow bandits. I could use that. I discreetly showed the man some money and the man smiled.

“It’s yours,” I said. Levent was worth more than that to me.

The man leaned forward, pretty close to me; “they have a secret hideout, you take the road to the west and at the first fork in the road, you cut leave the road and cut straight South.

You’ll find yourself at the bottom of a small cliff. Their hideout is hidden there, though you probably won’t want to enter there. Call them out, they’ll surely accept a ransom.”

I was pretty pleased with myself for having prepared for this eventuality.

Even though it was getting late, I decided not to waste any time and go right away.

With my magic, I could probably fight the bandits, but that would be a last resort. I would rather pay them in exchange for the boy and everyone would be happy.

I followed the direction but on the way, the sun set and I had to use a spell to make the tip of my staff produce light.

I could see my way, but I was sure to be spotted from afar. This suited me, I didn’t want to startle anyone.

I made it to the cliff with the secret hideout. I could not see anyone around and could not see any secret hideout either but it wouldn’t be secret if anyone could spot it at a glance.

——————————————————-

A while ago, I was serving in the Maelstrom as a field chirurgeon on the Ala Mhigan front line. I had a messenger boy, a young Ishgardian elezen named Levent Preste.

I had sent him to carry news that a friend of mine in Ishgard had requested, but there were rumors he had been kidnapped around Fallgourd Float.

No one in the Grand Company was willing to investigate so I was pretty upset, left without leave and took it upon myself to find him. I’d be reprimanded later. So be it.

Asking around Fallgourd Float for a few days, I found out he had been kidnapped by the Bronze Bandits and was held in a secret hideout. I even found someone to tell me where that was.

I made my way there, alone.

I found the spot at the foot of a cliff. I couldn’t see any entrance to any hideout, but this was the area I had been told about.

It was late evening and had the tip of my staff as my only source of light. A useful spell that was.

I was here to negotiate, not fight.

I would pay a ransom, Levent would be released and everything would be fine. I could not suffer anything to happen to him.

But I didn’t hear anyone and didn’t see anyone or anything noteworthy.

“Hello, is anyone home?” I yelled. No answer. Nothing.

I called out three more times to no avail.

Maybe the middle-aged hyur who gave me the location lied to me. Still, I was there, no sense going back without looking some more.

I paid close attention to places covered with vegetation and sure enough I found a hidden entrance to what looked like a natural cavern.

I listened quietly for any sign of life.

Nothing.

Even if there was no one present, maybe I’d find some clues to the whereabouts of my messenger.

The entrance was both very narrow and somewhat low, at least for me, I had to turn and walk sideways and lean forward for a handful of yalms.

A little further, the entrance gave into a pretty spacious natural room. Holding my staff in front of me, I looked around. The light didn’t go far enough to properly see the back end of the room.

There were two wooden stools, one by each side of the entrance inside. To the left and about midway, there was a table with a single chair and a bunch of parchments on it.

And in the corner to the right and in the back, the light of my staff was reflected by small metallic objects.

Silver buttons. The only luxury Levent enjoyed was his signature green tunic with silver buttons.

There he was, tied up, hooded with a cloth sack and sitting on his heels but otherwise unharmed. I thanked the Twelve.

I walked to the table.

I looked through the parchments. Mundane letters from relatives… The Bronze Bandits, or maybe their leader, appeared to be rather literate….

“Is this what you are looking for?” loudly asked a voice coming from the entrance and at the same time a metallic noise could be heard.

I almost jumped. I pointed my staff toward the voice.

A miqo’te woman carrying a big sword in her back and wearing simple black clothes, was standing in the entrance.

She had dropped a backpack on the ground right next to her and she held an unrolled sheet of parchment that had a red wax seal broken.

“Is this what you are looking for?” she repeated.

She was smiling the radiant smile of someone about to enjoy the situation.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Ah, come on, chirurgeon, you don’t recognize me?”

I did. “Nihveh, is that you?”

“Yes it is. And what are you doing so far away from your post?”

It was the first time I saw her out of her foreboding armor. She was pretty intimidating in that armor, yet I found her smile right there and now even more fearsome.

She was a dark knight, and like me, she served in the Maelstrom. She once came back from a battle with unbelievably inhuman wounds. She would certainly have not made it if it wasn’t for my magic.

“I was looking for my messenger, rumors said he had been abducted and they turned out right.” I said, pointing with my chin toward Levent

She took a moment, giving thoughts to what I had just said. She laughed.

“Nah, I don’t believe you. I believe you are a spy for Ishgard and you are here because you were pretty worried that incriminating evidence might fall into the wrong hands.”

“What? No, I’m not a spy. Are you crazy?”

She took a look at the letter she was holding. “Not a spy, you say. What’s this then?”

I wanted to walk up to her, snatch the letter from her hands and give her a good slap behind the head to knock some sense into that noggin’.

I did no such thing though as that was probably not the way it would play out. I would more likely end up with that huge sword through my guts or my heap chopped off.

So I answered her question.

“Public information that I’m relaying to some acquaintance of mine. I’m not privy to any secret nor do I go unearthing them. Come on, we’re on the same side and I saved your life once.”

“Ah, I remember that. Do you remember how, while you were working your magic and were asking me a whole lot of questions about the battle, I told you Achaut Deaunaut had broken ranks and fled the battle?”

“Yes, his superiors in Ishgard demoted him soon after.”

“Which is pretty weird since that was a made up story I told no one but you.”

Oh no.

Oh no, that’s not good.

Not good at all.

“Public knowledge you say? You won’t mind if I show this to General Raubahn?” she sneered.

I would much rather she did not.

“Alright, alright, I’m an informant, not a spy. There’s nothing secret in there or anything that would hurt the Resistance or the Grand Companies. We are on the same side, please.” I pleaded.

“Then I need your services. No, that’s incorrect. I want your services.”

“I’m listening.”

“Not so fast.”

The dark knight took off  her bandolier sheath and leaned it against the wall. Then walked to the table, pulled the chair, brought it near the entrance and faced it toward me.

She sat down, leaned back and crossed her legs.

“Come over here,” she demanded, “sit down on your heels and put your hands behind your head.”

I was upset. “You mean to treat me like a captured enemy soldier?”, I protested. “We are on the same side.”

“I don’t know. Seems to me like I caught a sneaky rat hiding in the shadows, are we really on the same side?” she asked.

She did not give me any time to answer that. “If you don’t cooperate, I got a nice gift of jewelry for you.”

One does not normally give a nice gift, much less jewelry to someone uncooperative.

She opened the bag she had dropped earlier and pulled… a length of chain?

With shackles and a collar.

“I’m not really fond of jewelry, as a matter of fact.” I answered.

“I have half a mind to slap those on you and walk you all the way to Ala Mhigo. So, which way is it gonna be?”

I’m pretty sure most dark knights are much more into carrying out their threats than they are into idle bluffing.

I didn’t want to take this chance so I did as she asked, leaving my staff leaning on the table.

The things I do for Eorzea, I tell you.

I could no longer meet her gaze and lowered my head. Levent was not seeing this, but he most definitely was hearing it.

She took a roll of parchment out of the bag, “I got a letter here, written by you, for whoever it is you send them. All that’s missing is your signature and your seal.”

She handed me the letter. “I trust you got everything else?”

“May I read it?” I asked, still holding my hands behind my head.

“I think you should know what you wrote, yes. Take it and stay on your knees.”

I took the letter and read.

It described a battle against the Empire that had most definitely not happened where badly outnumbered Eorzean forces had barely won through good strategy and steadfast fighting.

When Ishgardian leaders would hear of this, they would certainly consider sending reinforcements. Even if they didn’t send any, it could tilt future decisions.

I complained, “You could have convinced me to do this just by asking, you know?”

“And spared me this indignity” I thought silently.

“I’m not so good at convincing people without pressing a blade to their throat. Metaphorically or not.”

I took out a quill, a bottle of ink and a red candle from my bandolier bag.

I signed the letter then rolled it, lit the candle with a spell, and sealed the letter with some wax which I stamped with the signet ring on my right hand.

I put out my right hand to give her the letter.

‘Your ring. Give it to me.” she demanded.

I wasn’t too happy with this but I gave her my signet ring.

“What else you got in your bag? Empty it in front of you.”

I didn’t have much more in my bag. Two rolls of bandages, one brand new and another that was halfway through, a few potions and an all important echo drop. And a stack of letters.

“What’s that?” she asked as she leaned forward and grabbed the letters. “Letters of credit? Let’s see…”

She began looking at them, “Five thousand gils.”

“Twenty five thousand gils.”

“Two hundred and fifty thousand gils? Are they all going to be in increasing order of value? Because you got a few more there…”

“A million gils?” There were a few more.

“Five million gils.”

“Twenty five million gils and there’s still one more?”

“FIFTY MILLION gils? You’re carrying over seventy five millions gils worth of letters of credit? Being a spy sure pays.”

“I’m an informant,” I protested, “and it really doesn’t. This is money earned from grateful people whose life I saved. My healing magic pays.”

“Please say you’re not going to rob me on top of everything else.”, I added.

“Nah, I’m always broke and I’m fine with that, no point in saving money when I could die tomorrow.”

“Still,” she continued, “I really wish I could buy myself a cute dress, I’ll take the million gils. Pocket change to you apparently.”

A million gils was not an insignificant loss, but I’ll manage somehow. But more importantly, she has a weakness.

“Go ahead, treat yourself.” I said.

“Aren’t you the sweetest,” she happily replied though with a hint of sarcasm, as she pocketed that one letter of credit. “Alright, put your stuff back in your bag, we’re almost done here.”

I was starting to put my stuff back in my bag, starting with the bigger roll of bandage.

“Stop right there,” she suddenly yelled. “I was wondering which of these you would be most eager to put out of my sight first. Give me that.”

Why?

WHY?

Why could I not show a bit more patience? Why are the Twelve persecuting me like this?

I handed her the roll of bandage. I swore to Thaliak that if she didn’t find what was hidden in it, I would go back to Sharlayan and spend two whole years studying and researching.

“There’s something hidden in there.” she said. “Let’s see… a stamp? Oh, a signet stamp, and the stamp is different from your ring.” she joyfully exclaimed.

What did I do to deserve this?

“Your ring is the ‘I’ve-been-compromised-do-not-trust-this-message’ seal while this one is the real thing, right?”

I did not answer that.

“Your silence speaks volume. You belong to me now, from now on you’ll do as I say.”

“Just because you got these two doesn’t make me your slave. I can walk away from it all and resume my simple life as a wandering healer.”

“No, no, no,” she protested, “I would do no such thing. You will go back to Ala Mhigo on your own and free and you will keep doing whatever good deeds you do for Eorzea just as I do.”

She leaned forward, put her index finger under my chin and gently forced my head up until I was forced to meet her gaze.

She whispered, “you will be my most adorable pawn. You’ll visit me whenever you want to send a message to Ishgard and we’ll write those together. Now, how about you free your friend over there?”

She stood up and pointed toward Levent. I was most eager to get out of there. I put my stuff back in my bag, stood up, walked to Levent and pulled the hood off his head.

I saw the man was gagged and most definitely not my messenger boy.

“Who is this?”

“Oh right, that’s the leader of the Bronze Bandits.”

“Where’s my messenger?” I asked. I knew full well what the answer would be but I didn’t want to believe this last humiliation.

“I don’t know, probably in Ishgard or on the way back by now.”