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“One more time, where is the girl?”
His voice had never sounded so cold, at least not as far as Fray could recall. They supposed he cut an intimidating figure, a tall broad frame clad in blackened plate, outlined by moonlight. Then, in the dark pitch of the alley way, the limbal rings made it seem as if his eyes had an unnatural teal glow to them, his face framed by the shock of unkempt white hair and dark black horns.
"Please Ser, I know only what I was told. I was told to bring the manacles that we use for heretics, I didn't know she was a child!" The man's pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears as Sidurgu lost his patience, it was clear the Knight knew nothing of consequence. He brought his sword down in a shining arc, the dark metal of his blade glinting in the faint moonlight, the sickening sound of rending flesh and bone.
Fray uncrossed their arms, huffing. Wasted time. Stepping over to put their hand on Sidurgu's forearm. "We should move on now," he said.'' If we're to find the girl, we'll need to hurry before someone finds this mess, and before they catch her" they reached up, a flicker of aether as they wiped away a scrape from his face. They knew the sight of the terrified child being chased by Temple Knights should have been enough to anger anyone, but he could tell Sidurgu felt it like the ache of an old wound.
Sidurgu nodded stiffly, letting his sword settle back into place on his back, starting back down the alley back into the main street. Thick snowflakes started to drift down from the heavens, highlighted in the midwinter moonlight. Fray turned their head and nodded “This way,” they started at a run, trusting their back to Sidurgu. Following the scream had them running past the ornate Starlight displays as they made their way into the Pillars, cheerful colors front he displays reflecting onto armor and skin. Risky for men like them, but the terrified scream drove them forward.
There was only time to react when they saw the Temple Knights, a dozen of them to corner one little, terrified, girl. Then a dazzling explosion of red and black energy casts a glow one the walls of the houses of the high born. The pair of Dark Knights move in unison before the Temple Knights can get their bearings, plunging forwards with great swords drawn. A perfectly matched pair. Sidurgu maneuvered quickly to act as a wall between the girl and the fight, while Fray raised their left hand focusing that flickering energy of the abyss, fed by the welling of righteous anger and slammed it into the ground, the area pulsing with dark magic.
The Temple Knights may as well have been glass between a hammer and anvil. Once the last was put down, Fray shoved his sword into the earth of some highborns garden, kneeling in front of the girl, gold eyes peering out from behind their helm. She was covered in filth, her long fair hair was clearly matted, and she was hardly dressed for indoor weather let alone the bitter cold of an Ishgardian winter night.
“Will you come with us? We will keep you safe.” She looked up at Sidurgu with wide eyes, her body quaking, then her gaze drifted back to Fray. Then she threw herself at them, arms thrown around their neck. Fray scooped an arm under her legs and stood, yanking their sword out and settling it on their back, relief flooding over him. “I am Fray, and this is Sidurgu,” The girl tried to speak but after her screams of terror she could not, only a soft wounded sound escaped her.
Fray would accuse Sidurgu of being soft, but he was sure it was the other way around. Never mind he had been the one to gently tease out as many knots as he could, letting them keep a decent length of her hair. Or that he had been the one to seek out correct clothes and shoes for her. The coat he had come back with was finer then any clothing either of them had. Sidurgu supplied Fray with no explanation other then "the kindness of the hunted,"
They had gone to ground some days ago and learned a few things since rescuing the girl. The girl’s name was Rielle, she was wickedly clever, extremely terrified of most things,the Temple Knights seemed very sure she was an abomination, and she was not too far from the age he had been when his family had been slaughtered by the Temple Knights. So he laid on his back, three of them wedged onto one bed that wasn’t even large enough for just him. But it kept her warm, wedged between his ribs and Fray, the hyur dead asleep. Both of their expressions were relaxed, and Sidrugu dared to let warmth enter his chest. Safe, or at least as Safe as people like them could be.
Safe, of course, was relative; so Fray took to teaching Rielle conjoury. Partly because it was practical, partly because she seemed fascinated, and it drew her out of her shell for more conversation.
In the following weeks, they had their fair share of run-ins with Temple Knights. It was with increasing frequency, so one evening, with Rielle bundled tightly in his cloak so she’d be warm enough to sleep, Sidurugu sat down across from Fray. “We need to leave, at least for a while,” he said. He of course could see the scowl starting to form. “I’m not saying forever, or even a long time. But even you spent some time in the Silent Fane when you were learning conjoury.” Sidurgu said quickly, rolling into the rest of his explanation “It couldn’t hurt for you to get a refresher, and let her see the fane for herself. Maybe they can give us some insight on what the in the Hells the Temple Knights are on about.” He could see Fray pulling the plan apart in his head, if they couldn’t find a better answer. “That’s logical enough to me. I’ll go out for supplies for the journey in the morning”
Sidurgu hadn’t known it would be their last time seeing each other alive. They woke up predawn, and Sidurgu made something for them to eat while Fray and Rielle practiced their conjoury. After they ate, Fray picked up their helmet sliding it on and both slid their swords into place in their armor. The morning was cold but a rare sunny day in Ishgard since the calamity, something that made Sidurgu nervous. Cold clear skys made him think of men and women kneeling before the Temple Knights, awaiting the sword in reward for their kindness. He shook his head to clear it, there was work to be done. Fray would resupply, Sidurgu and Rielle would make inquiries about the Brume about exiting the city without attention.
Inquiries that were less fruitful than he would have liked, so he and Rielle waited in Saint Reinette's Forum settled under the cover created by the Skysteel Manufactory, Rielle perched on the low stone wall, Sidurgu leaned next to her. Her gaze was fixed on the path leading down from the Pillars and Jeweled Crosier.
There is where things went to shit.
Fray emerged from the tunnel, Sidurgu let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, Rielle hopping down from the wall. She started to run forwards to greet them, when Sidurgu saw a flash of Blue and steel that had him snagging the back of her coat and picking her up, wrapping her in his cloak as he felt his stomach twist. His eyes met Fray's and bile rose in the back of his throat as he watched a score of Temple Knights surround the man, he stepped back into the shadows as a tall, elegant Elezen moved among them, clad in the robes of an inquisitor, a heavy warm luxurious cloak pinned at his shoulders, its vivid blue a mockery of the clear sky above.
"Fray Myste?" He asked, looking down his nose, Sidurgu could tell even from this distance. A score of knight would present a challenge on its own for the two of them, though doable. The presence of an inquisitor told Sidurgu there were like that many and again waiting some where in the wings.
"You have been accused of heresy, though I know like all good Children of Ishgard you fear the Fury." The man's voice was nasally, in what could have been a charming way if he hadn't been so insufferably smug . "Tell us where the child and the Dravanian are, and we can speak of atonement."
Fray considered the inquisitor, their arms crossing over their chest. "I don't know any Dravanians. Don't know of any Heresy. I do know what you do in your free time in the Brume, Inquisitor."
Sidurgu felt his heart thundering, nearly every fiber of his being screaming at him to carve a blood path thru the knights to Fray. He was aware, so acutely aware, of how the girl trembled in his arms. He was locked in place, praying fervently to the Fury, to a goddess he was sure hated him that this was a nightmare she would wake from. That he would not be forced to make this cruel choice.
Instead one of the knights turned and spotted him. "Ther-" mid word, where the knights head had been there was now a splintering I'd back and red energy that caught several of the surrounding knights, draining them of life.
That's when Chaos erupted.
Fray had his sword, swinging in a wide arc around him, catching several of the knights and the inquisitor. A chance to run, or an opening. Sidurgu could save Fray or save Rielle. Their eyes met one last time and Sidurgu could tell even behind the helm they had a wry smile before they pivoted, bringing their blade to bear directly into the inquisitors chest, a ripple of dark energy leaping from the Great Sword to be sure the man would meet his goddess sooner than he expected.
So as Fray was overwhelmed and clapped into chains, Sidurgu fled. He heard but didn't hear Rielle screaming Frays name as they passed the aetheryte, down into the Brume where Sidurgu knew the streets and how to lose any knights trying to follow them. He only slowed once they reached the small hole in the wall they had been calling home. He stepped in closing the door behind him.
He didn’t know Rielle’s favorite stories, or how to soothe a sobbing child. He didn’t know where they could go, or what he would do. Perhaps they would be granted trial by combat, perhaps that would be kind to them. For now he sat on the bed rubbing Rielle's back rocking her gently though he was unsure if it was more for her benefit or his. Unable to speak, ignoring the tears that ran down his own face, ones Sidurgu didn't know he had left, he swore silently to himself. He could keep her safe. He would keep her safe. He was pulled from the spiral of his mind when he realized Rielle was speaking.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she repeated the phrase over and over choked out between sobs. It was like looking in a mirror, a small boy bent over the bodies of his family.
"I'm sorry!" the boy sobbed.
"You've naught to apologize for." he assured her, surprised at how steady his own voice was as he rubbed her back. What was one more wound to join the others on his heart?