Final Fantasy XVI - Thunder's Torrents

Ch. 24 - The Outlaw

The door swung open with a squeak. Erie took a step into the room before she finally froze in her tracks, the handle still in her hand, her eyes wide like a startled deer. She was annoyed at her nervousness, doing her best not to let it show. The scene before her was all too familiar. Cid, sitting at a desk, quill in his hand, writing something down. Next to him a bronze goblet that could only be filled with wine.

He looked up from the papers, a smile stealing onto his lips instantly. "There you are."

The sound of his voice made Erie hold her breath. A voice so familiar to her, yet she hadn't heard it in years - apart from the cryptic message of his stolas. It was the thought of the owl finally breaking her out of her stupor. She looked around the room to spot the white animal sitting on a stand in the corner, dozing.

"Who have we here?" she asked, closing the door behind her before walking towards the owl, bending down to her. "You've found your way back." The bird sleepily opened one of its blue eyes and let out a soft hoot as if answering.

"She always does," Erie heard Cid say as she gave the owl a pet. "When she came back, I knew you couldn't be very far either."

"Our encounter wasn't exactly pleasant. She downright attacked me so she could give me her message."

Erie turned to Cid, who had remained seated at his desk, watching her. "She's been away for a while, too. Must have missed her cozy home."

Her home. Erie looked around this home Cid had created. The room she stood in seemingly was Cid's personal quarters in this hideaway. It was about the same size as the Lord Commander's chambers in Stonhyrr, but of course not as posh. Everything was improvised, crafted in every step, from the felling of the tree to the homemade furniture. Erie saw a sofa, a gallery that was shielded from view by a room divider, a bed and a turning that seemed to lead to another corner.

She frowned as she realized things were lying around everywhere. Tidiness didn't seem to be a priority here. Now she also noticed the heavy air. The room had no windows or any kind of ventilation. She could imagine it was difficult to ensure sufficient air circulation in this vault in the middle of the deadland. After her gaze had traveled around the room, it stopped on Cid yet again.

"I don't know where to start," she admitted.

How were they supposed to catch up on the last two years? Erie had always known - or at least had thought - what Cid's day was like, after all, she had spent many of them with him. Now she no longer knew. Two years she had spent her life in Stonyhrr, trapped in a hopeless mission to persuade Benni to leave Waloed with her. Years in which she had lived alongside Sleipnir Harbard and his king, witnessed their fanaticism, learnt of their political intrigues and alliances, all the while a little voice had whispered to her every day they wanted to bring about the end of the world.

And yet neither the king's information nor Ramuh's knowledge had ever told her how all this was to happen. How this vessel, this Mythos, was supposed to help this god take the will of the people and "renew" the world. She hadn't thought about it for a long time, had been too focussed on her destination. Now that she stood before Cid, she remembered he had left Ash with his own mission.

"How about we both start at the beginning? A glass of wine, m'lady?"

Cid pointed to a bottle sitting on his desk, ready to grab. Erie nodded, turned away from the owl to lean against the edge of the desk. Cid reached for the bottle and another goblet, which he brought up to his face briefly before pouring the red liquid. He handed her the cup.

Erie looked at him, irritated. "Did you smell it before you tried to give it to me?"

"It's still perfectly fine, I promise."