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Imperial attacks had been more and more frequent as of late, leaving all three main cities in constant alert. Gridania was no different, and despite its unlikeliness to accept help from outsiders, they still relied heavily in the adventurers that came along to fight against Ixals, monsters, and even the eventual imperial troops that came marching from Ala Mhigo. It was not easy in their front, East Shroud a constant stage for battles, and when the new troops arrived to try and claim another piece of land under Solus' name, the main guard force of Gridania was tired and weak, and the Elder Seedseer could not do much else than to turn to the adventurer guild for help.
"Coultenet! Coultenet!"
He looked up from his book just in time to see his friend approaching him, huge smile on his square face, his eyes flaring up with excitement. Standing up from his spot under a tree, the elezen brushed off the grass and dirt from his robes and stuffed his book back inside his bag.
"Yes, Hoary?"
"Didn't you hear the news?! Finally we are going to see a real battle!" he roared, calling the attention of some citizens around them, something Coultenet had grown used to in the past two months – Hoary did not know how to be quiet or show less enthusiasm, it was just his way.
"You mean due to Kan-E-Senna's request for adventurers to aid in the battle on the East front?" he asked, unable to contain his smirk at his friend's expression of surprise. "Of course I know, Hoary, I am from Gridania, news come quick to me."
"Then why didn't you tell me?! I had to wait and hear it from Miounne herself, together with all the others!" he whined, crossing his arms and pouting in a very childish way towards Coultenet. Again, he smiled at his friend's distress.
"Did you not say you wished to be an adventurer, with no more or less aid? I just did what you requested, my friend" he explained, and Hoary nodded in understanding while uncrossing his arms. "So, did you accept?"
"Well, I would have if I had known you knew! I didn't, not yet, I wanted to make sure you were willing!" Hoary explained, smiling at Coultenet, gently tapping his shoulder. The elezen stared at him, confused.
"Why would I not be?"
"Maybe you just wouldn't want to, I don't know" he shrugged. "Wanted to make sure my partner would have my back in the battle to come!"
"And if I did not wish to partake in the fight?" Coultenet asked, a weird cold feeling in his tummy, one that quickly turned into warmth at Hoary's response.
"Then I would have said no, of course."
"Why not?" he asked, and the roegadyn stared at him as if he was asking the most absurd of questions.
"We are partners, are we not? I don't get to do all the decisions alone!"
"But you could just go without me, we would meet again after you had returned" the elezen replied, receiving a shake of head as response.
"We are together in this now, Coultenet. More than adventurers and partners, I also consider you my friend. If you did not deem yourself or even I ready, I would not go. There is plenty of time to fight the empire, and plenty of battles ahead of us! Besides, I would not dare go into a fight without you to watch my back!"
Coultenet stared at Hoary, his easy-going grin and the thumbs up he gave just after, and indeed the warmth in his stomach seemed to turn into butterflies, something he surely had never felt before. He coughed, looking away as he felt his cheeks burn, covering his face up with his hat.
"Alright, sign us in. I will got to the market and get some supplies, we will meet in the blue badger gate."
"No problem! See you later!" Hoary exclaimed, excitedly, running away back to the guild and leaving Coultenet alone with his thoughts.
Two months... and he was already considering them an actual partnership... he bit his lip, wondering why he enjoyed the sound of that so much.
Shaking his head, Coultenet left to the markets, making the list of provisions in his mind.
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The skies were gray, covering the top of the trees with a layer of darkness uncharacteristic of the Shroud in early afternoons. The first drops of rain fell down slowly, and it was as if the star itself knew the battle that was about to begin. Several adventurers, together with Gridania's guardsmen, all ready for the fight as they waited for the troops to arrive through the wall separating the Black Shroud from Ala Mhigo – more and more often, soldiers were seen leaving the location, and they all knew the empire was now stronger than ever before, it was a matter of time until they attempted to conquer the rest of Eorzea for themselves.
Hoary and Coultenet were both at the south side, waiting impatiently for their chance to strike. The droplets of rain became larger, heavier, and they all awaited for the captain's warning to attack, a warning that would only come when the imperials began their assault. They were all awaiting anxiously, and it seemed that the troops on the other side were taking their time.
"I do not like this wait" Coultenet muttered, standing next to Hoary while watching the walls in front of them, unchanged, unmoving. "It almost feels like a trap."
"A trap?" Hoary asked, looking over as well, uneasy. "You think the Garleans would be coming from somewhere else? For all I know, this is the only place that connects Ala Mhigo to Eorzea."
"The only place for those who walk, do not forget that Garleans have airships, and they could easily go over the mountains if they so wished" the elezen replied, looking over to the south, unsure. "If they did come from behind, we would have no chance of defending ourselves. However, I would not know where they would come from... the other parts of the Shroud would warn the captain were plans to change..."
"We could perhaps take a look for ourselves... I'm sure they would not miss one or two fighters" Hoary offered, frowning at his friends unsure expression. "Come with me, and watch my back will ya?"
"... Alright" Coultenet agreed, both of them breaking formation and heading away from the battle front. Hoary guided them through the forest in silence, the darkness of the sky covering them both well. They headed over to the small pier that would take them to the south shroud, but stopped before it and looked over to the east, determined.
"In this weather, their airships would be much more difficult to see. They could make their way over the Abalatia's spine but... they couldn't have counted with the weather. There must be... a secret passage way somewhere..." Hoary mumbled, making his way to the edge of the forest towards the mountains, Coultenet following right behind. Suddenly, they heard the whine of Garlean machinery and quickly hid behind a few bushes, watching as indeed a few magitek armors made their way through the forest. So they were right, the Garleans were planning on attacking them from behind... Coultenet and Hoary stared at each other for a moment. "Is your linkpearl working?"
"Yes, I believe it is" Coultenet whispered, tapping it gently. "It is. I will warn the captain."
"Good. Tell him to leave a few soldiers behind, the Garleans are known for attacking in two fronts" Hoary said, getting himself ready, not seeing Coultenet's wide eyes. "While he sends them over I will distract this new foes we have in our hands."
"Hoary, are you insane?! They are garleans, they have magitek armors, you are no match for them! There are at least a small contingency out there!" Coultenet whispered as loud as he could without calling attention, pulling the Roegadyn back down harshly. "You are not going out there!"
"Someone has to hold them back, or they will just march over to the camp! Besides, I have you to watch over me, don't I?" Hoary grinned, so calm, and gently pulled Coultenet's hand away from his shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't do anything you wouldn't do."
"You are suggesting something I-Hoary!" Coultenet gasped as his friend rushed towards the garleans, a cold feeling sinking in his stomach – dread. Hoary rushed towards the garleans with a loud warrior cry, calling their attention, the magitek weapons readying themselves to fire. With a quick move, he dodged the first shots, and then rose his shield to meet the second round, grunting at the force of the bullets. They did not break through and he started his attack, aiming for the soldiers on foot first, attacking the thaumaturge first to nullify their magick attacks. A slice, two, three, and he heard another weapon charging, turning around and blocking it with his shield, being sent flying off with the power of the beam of energy sent in his direction. Hoary grunted, pushing himself up and activating his shielding abilities, before rushing to the enemy and making quick work of their gladiators. He felt the cold air of a spell over him and groaned when spikes of ice plunged into his armor, some getting to the most unprotected parts, one going right through his arm. It started to melt, for which he was thankful, just as the drops of rain began to fall more intensely, covering the battle ground with a dense layer of falling water.
He directed himself towards the thaumaturge again, slicing their chest and watching as they fell to the ground, turning around just in time to see a marauder charging towards him with their axe up over their head, ready for the blow. Before they could reach him, they froze in place and groaned, Hoary's eyes shifting to find Coultenet with his staff aimed towards the enemy, eyes angry but determined. Hoary grinned, now knowing he was not alone, and charged to the magitek armors, slicing his sword through the plaques of armor, trying to reach a weak point – he had never fought those before. He felt the healing magicks of his friend making him energized and continued his streak of movements, slicing, puncturing and blocking attacks as he went, always attentive to the other armors nearby.
It was only when Hoary heard the first steps of the guard coming close that he lost his focus for a split second, but enough time to find himself unable to block a charge of one of the magiteck armors, its laser blast sending him flying into a tree, hitting his head and passing out on the spot.
"HOARY!" Coultenet yelled as he saw his friend being tossed away into a tree like a gods damned doll, throw away by a child. He growled, turning to the group of enemies that were now charging him, his ears ringing and making him unable to even listen to the others coming closer. He shut his eyes, gathering all the focus and aether he could muster, remembering the spell that his master had taught him, one that he was sure he was not quite ready to use just yet, one reserved to white mages only. Still, he remembered the words, and whispering them with a twirl on the air he raised his staff, watching as the ball of light moved up just above it and then exploded in a massive ball of light.
He fell on the ground, panting, his energy all but drained, and looked up to see the enemies stunned, unable to move or attack. Gathering all he could, he pushed himself up and ran towards Hoary, ignoring the sound of the troops coming closer, adventurers and guards running past him with weapons in hand. He fell down next to the Roegadyn, for the first time in his life not caring about being drenched and dirty with mud, mind focused on his friend's wellbeing. He checked for Hoary's breath and heartbeat, a wave of relief coming over him when he found both, and then closed his eyes to see if he could muster at least a single cure, but the magick barely leaving his fingers.
Not a second later, someone approached him, and Coultenet looked up to see an adventurer looking down at them, raising their staff and covering them both up in a good feeling, Coultenet's muscles relaxing. He nodded at them and the adventurer smiled back, rushing off towards battle while the elezen looked back down at his friend, watching as his eyes slowly opened.
"Did... we win...?" Hoary mumbled, clearly fighting to keep his eyes open, probably because of the rain and his wounds.
"No, you fool, we did not. But it's time to retreat" Coultenet replied, smiling at the groan he received.
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They had to wait until the situation was a little more controlled to leave the battle grounds and return to Gridania, and by the time they did, the sun had settled and the bright light of the moon and the stars shone in the sky. Not that either of them was enjoying much of the night sky, with Hoary in bed resting and Coultenet taking a well deserved bath in the next room.
"You have to admit, it was fun" the roegadyn said, once more trying to convince the elezen that what he did had not been completely reckless and stupid. Coultenet rolled his eyes, brushing the soapy water over his shoulders and sighing at the sensation, sinking further down in the bathtub.
"It was not fun, and if this is your definition of fun, remind me to never have it with you" he replied, glad the door was open so he did not have to be too loud. In another situation the door would be closed tight, but he had suffered enough that day that his mind was not focused on shame or embarrassment. He heard Hoary snort and huffed through his nose. "I'm serious, we could have died, both of us."
"You would never let me die, I trust you with my life."
Coultenet opened his eyes then, that same fluttering sensation coming inside his belly, and turned around, belly under the water, to face Hoary on the bed. The roegadyn was sitting up, finishing his soup, a few bandages here and there showing under his night clothes. He looked so casual, so relaxed.
"You have known me for two months. How can you trust me so much?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows, and their eyes met at a distance, suddenly making Coultenet very aware of his undressed state.
"Well, my mother always said I was a great discerner of character, I guess it is just a blessing" Hoary shrugged, giving the elezen a sincere, gentle smile. "In any case, you have still to prove me wrong."
"I won't" he mumbled, more to himself, but Hoary heard it and gave him a grin in response, before going back to his soup and digging in. Coultenet watched him for a moment longer before his cheeks burned and he sunk deeper into the water, pushing his forehead against the edge of the tub.
If this feeling he was having was what he thought... things were going to become harder further along the line.
He could not say he was ready for the obligatory bad turn of events.