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Dehya wasn’t proud about how much of a mess the Eremites tended to be. Even the name was enough to illicit a negative response in anyone’s mind, so belonging to said organization was generally not the greatest. She loved being a mercenary, all things considered, but the associated reputation was a…setback, among other things.
So, when they attacked Sumeru City, Dehya wasn’t surprised.
Whisperings of the attack had circulated mercenary ranks for months, Dehya would have to be deaf to not hear them. But things like that cropped up every once in a while. Nothing had ever come of them before. So, yeah. Surprise wasn’t quite the word she was looking for. Maybe disbelief? Disbelief that someone had actually decided to go through with it.
Now, let’s get one thing abundantly clear. Though Dehya was technically affiliated with the Eremites, she did not stand with them on their attack on the city. She didn’t even know of the plans or specifics of the attack, so there.
Dehya’s mind was full of exasperation as she tore through Treasures Street. Infighting among mercenary groups was exceedingly common, so she had no qualms about attacking her “brethren”. They were practically dead to her now anyway, what did it matter?
Though these streets weren’t her own, they belonged to many people she was fortunate enough to call friends. She had to protect the city, for their sake. Especially for Lord Kusanali’s sake. She owed a lot to the Archon, as well as the people who helped to rescue her. Dehya knew that the Dendro Archon was the priority. So, she’d focus her efforts on the people that slipped through the cracks, the people that still deserved to be saved. She’d spent the last half hour rescuing scholars, students, just general Sumeru City residents, slipping in and out of the shadows to hopefully avoid the watchful eyes of the Eremites. Now, she raced toward the Grand Bazaar, where a Spantamad student told her they’d escaped from. Anywhere that still harbored hostile forces would be cleared out by her hand. That was her vow.
She heard the sounds of the fight before she pushed open the massive double doors, shouts of effort mixed with the clash of metal on metal. Dehya sprinted in to find Zubayr Theater’s star dancer, Nilou, fending off a hoard of enemies all on her own. She didn’t look like she was in immediate danger of being overwhelmed, but what, was Dehya just going to sit back and watch?
“Nilou!” she shouted, brandishing her claymore.
“Dehya!” the dancer smiled in return. A wordless agreement passed between the two, and they began to fight in tandem, vaporize reactions decimating their adversaries with a precision Dehya was rather proud of. It didn’t take long for unconscious bodies to cover the floor of the Grand Bazaar, leaving Nilou to beam with such positive energy, Dehya was distinctly reminded of Dunyarzad. It’s no wonder the two were friends.
“You alright?” Dehya asked.
“I’m fine! You’re not injured, are you?”
“Me? Injured? I can’t believe you’d doubt me like that!”
“What? No, I didn’t mean it like that! I was just—“
Dehya barked a laugh. “I’m just teasing, don’t worry about it. So, how’d you get wrapped up in all of this?”
Nilou sighed dejectedly, tucking one leg behind the other. “We were attacked unprovoked. Since I’m the only one with a Vision, I sent everyone else to get out of the city while I fended off the Eremites… They said something about taking over Lord Kusanali’s Sanctuary and infiltrating Irminsul, is that true?”
“That’s the first I’ve heard of anything like that. I figured they’d be after the Archon, but how in the world would they get into Irminsul?”
“I don’t know…” Nilou fell into silent thought, but Dehya wasn’t about thinking though her problems like that. She preferred to go in, guns blazing, and deal with the consequences later.
“Well, standing here isn’t going to do us any good. Have any plans? Wanna team up?”
Nilou visibly perked up. Her whole body straightened, and she smiled with such earnest optimism that Dehya found it a little contagious. “Sure! Should we go to the Sanctuary of Surasthana?”
“I figured most of the rescue squad would head there first, so I’ve been picking up the slack in the lower levels,” Dehya hummed. When Nilou deflated at the rejection, the mercenary quickly amended her response, “But I’ve mostly finished. We can head up there if you want to.”
“Okay! Let’s go!”
.
The most surprising part about Dehya and Nilou’s trip up to the Sanctuary: it was completely devoid of people. Not a single Eremite, student, scholar, not even a curious kid that snuck away from their parents. Dehya glanced uneasily at her counterpart but Nilou seemed unfazed, sauntering up the ramps with more grace than Dehya could ever hope to have. They reached their destination unobstructed, unharmed, and ready to face whatever challenge was ahead.
Nilou pushed open the doors and amber light flooded the green-tinted room. Dehya had never been inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana before, but Archons, it was green. Didn’t Lord Kusanali hate it in here? Stuck in a place with so much of one color that only a few minutes caused Dehya’s eyeballs to hurt? Though, she was being a bit of a hypocrite, since the desert was basically all the same shade of brown.
Two figures stood at the end of the walkway. Dehya recognized one of them from the Interdarshan Championship… Hat Guy, was it? Dehya was sure that wasn’t his actual name, but that’s all she had to go on. Hat Guy looked up as they entered, speaking a singular word to Lord Kusanali when she didn’t notice their arrival. Finally, the Dendro Archon looked up from whatever he was doing and practically melted in relief.
“Dehya! Nilou! Thank goodness you’re alright!” she beamed, giving the pair an excited two-handed wave. Nilou bounded down the walkway to meet their Archon, leaving Dehya in the dust. She had to awkwardly jog her next few steps to keep up with the dancer. Hat Guy gave them both a curt nod when they stopped to stand next to what Dehya assumed to be the main control panel of the Sanctuary. He was covered in cuts and cracks, and unless Dehya was seeing things, the inside of those cuts were the color of a purple sunset in the desert, not the distinct red of blood. She elected to ignore it.
Lord Kusanali didn’t look much better, she had a long, glowing green gash that ran from her shoulder to the inside of her elbow, not to mention the fact that she looked completely and utterly exhausted. Nevertheless, she gave both Allogenes a bright smile, pressing her hands together in front of her chest.
“Lord Kusanali, what happened? That injury…” Nilou fretted.
“I’ll be okay,” assured the Archon, “You both look unharmed. That’s a relief.”
“We didn’t run into any mercs on the way here,” Dehya commented.
“Really? That’s strange.” Lord Kusanali fell into brief thought, but then shook her head after only a minute or two. She turned to Nilou. “Have you seen any of the others? I have control over Irminsul again, but it’s taking a while to fully break free from its imprisonment and I don’t know where they are…”
“I haven’t seen anyone… Have you, Dehya?”
She shook her head. “Nope, not since I left the desert, actually.”
“In that case, would you be willing to do me a favor?”
Nilou nodded vehemently. “Of course! What can we help with?”
“I need you to find as many Allogenes as you can. The disruption of Irminsul could have had adverse effects on their cognition, especially those with Dendro Visions.”
Nilou nodded again, but Dehya was a little more apprehensive. If Allogenes had been subjected to wacky brain syndrome, why hadn’t she or Nilou been affected? Surely, the Dendro Archon wouldn’t make something up just because she needed to excuse her worry…
“Sure thing, no problem!” agreed the Hydro user.
“Please be careful. Though I have regained control, there are still hostile forces in the city. Do not put your lives in danger.”
“Yes ma’am,” Dehya replied on instinct. Lord Kusanali giggled but otherwise did not comment. Was it weird to call an Archon “ma’am”?
Dehya turned to face Nilou. “There’s no time to lose. We should get going.”
“Okay! Bye Lord Kusanali! Bye Hat Guy!”
The Dendro Archon chuckled and slid a bemused glance in Hat Guy’s direction. “Looks like it stuck,” she said.
Hat Guy rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
.
So far, Operation: Rescue the Allogenes was a smashing success. The dynamic duo was unstoppable, pulling Vision holders out of every hiding place in the whole city. Layla and Faruzan had been ushered outside of the city along with their fellow Akademiya members, safe and unaffected by Irminsul’s little hiccup. Tighnari and Collei were at the Bimarstan. They were running rampant under the stress of tending to the wounded, though Collei was just standing guard. She and Nilou chatted for a bit, but Dehya soon dragged the dancer away, leaving Collei to pace around the front of the hospital. Of all the known Allogenes currently in the city, that left Cyno, Alhaitham, and Kaveh.
They bumped into Cyno on their way back through the Grand Bazaar. He was covered in blood, though Dehya wasn’t sure if it was his own or someone else’s. Knowing Cyno, it was impossible to guess. He incoherently mumbled something about the old sages and catching Azar again, swaying dangerously on his feet. They sent him to the Bimarstan.
Nobody knew what happened to Alhaitham and Kaveh. Nilou and Dehya searched the entire city twice over before they had found a group of Eremites to eavesdrop on. Somehow, they’d managed to avoid being detained, even with all of the newly healed Matra patrolling every inch.
Thanks to those chatty Eremites, they learned that Kaveh and Alhaitham were currently locked up in Sumeru’s prison ward. To thank them for the information, Dehya melted out of the shadows and kindly sent the mercenaries to a world of darkness all their own. Nilou didn’t watch. She was thankful for that much, at the very least.
Finding and getting into the prison was the least of their worries. Nobody was guarding the doors, so they walked right in. All Dehya had to do was melt the lock and the door swung open. However, as they raced down the dank hallways, Eremites kept jumping out of the shadows and blind corners to attack them. It happened so often, in fact, Dehya began to wonder if someone was following them. It was either a phantom fear made up by their brain, or, they had a stalker. She couldn’t decide which one was the right answer.
Finally, they came upon a door with no lock, no handle, and seemly no way to open it at all. Nilou tried to slide it open, but it was definitely a swinging type of door. The hinges weren’t hidden. Dehya started pounding on the door. If anyone was inside, maybe they’d get fed up with all of the noise, and kindly open the door for them.
Dehya got impatient quickly.
The mercenary lowered her fist and spoke to Nilou. “You think the ceiling will collapse if I kick the door down?”
“Mmm, I don’t know…” Nilou said uneasily.
“Well, worth a shot, right? Stand back.”
Nilou did as she was told. Dehya took a few steps back herself, shook out her legs, then launched herself at the door.
With both feet striking the door at the same time, Dehya had definitely hoped for the door to splinter into a bunch of little pieces. Unfortunately, the wood was really solid, so it just bulged outward at the place of impact. Dehya huffed and got up to try again. She had to try a few more times, but eventually the wood gave out, and the door fractured and broke. Thankfully, the ceiling did not collapse.
All of that effort was worth it, though, because at the back of the room, there was a cell with two familiar faces staring at Nilou and Dehya in disbelief. Even Alhaitham looked a little surprised. Dehya took that as a win.
“What’s up, boys?” she said, placing her hands on her hips, “Ready to get out of here?”