Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIV [FFXIV] or any part of the franchise. It is the property of Square Enix and its associate affiliates and are not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought.
This is fiction and is a derivative work based on the world of FFXIV. No profit was made from this work.
Unless of course you include the joy I derive from writing and storytelling.
Business Associate, Entry #8
Enkhtuyaa studied the Roegadyn before him and considered his choice of words before speaking. He felt the only one left out the joke. He made up his mind though that his quest would not end until he tired of these games. Certainly after a while he'd see the truth of it all.
How did it come to pass that the Elder Seedseer allowed Mistress Athulla to practice conjury? Beyond obviously being an outsider, surely her...oddities made it that much more difficult. Along that line of thinking, he wondered how he was to communicate and learn himself. It seemed the most obvious hindrance to him, yet everyone got along despite it.
Enkhtuyaa thought to himself that perhaps it would be the same way he was to take up the practice. By the hands of someone patient and understanding. Someone inclusive and not at all turned by one's appearance or handicaps.
How possibly the White Mage would fare to his charge yet remained to be seen.
He sighed into his hands, propping himself against the port bow. This was becoming an adventure where one best enjoy the journey rather than the destination. For it would be quite some time before he could call himself a healer. And an even longer time before he accepted the means of it.
"Bear, has your sister no tongue to speak?" He would have denied it if the Warrior noticed how he held his breath.
"Yer concern be valid lad, though I'm not sure what affirming the evident accomplishes," Bear looked over his shoulder at the Au'Ra with a mix of pity and amusement.
"My apologies, I only aimed to understand the terms of my apprenticeship."
"No tart feelings," the Warrior turned to look out at the strait. He seemed lost in his own head, but recovered before the Black Mage could press the matter. "I never once heard her voice in the entirety of our lives. Quite the model babe me mum often said."
"Pray, refrain from taking offense at my words. I am unsure how I can best take advantage of my tutelage if-"
Bear made a noncommittal noise. "If yer luck find ye quickly, she might take ye on a primal run. Damn beast tribes never quit at it. Though I can't make complaints about a steady source of income. Best I were ye, concentrate on yer studies lad. The rest will come. Now, prepare yerself. I won't make ye heal, but best be damned fry something by me side."
"Yes, sir," Enkhtuyaa took the hint and tucked his thoughts away another time. Surely it would come to a head once his real training began. Bear was right, he was lucky to have found a mentor, lucky to have some sort of employment, lucky to be right where he was. No use in poking questions at the lot of it. Though a 'primal run' stoked the curiosity burning in him.
The Black Mage and the Warrior emerged from the skiff and thanked the sailor with a bit of coin in hand.
"Esmii'll shock the sense outta me if we do something dumb. Stick close and let me take all the aggression from these mobs. Don't get too outta hand with ye fireballs, they'll take notice and set to skin ye alive."
They sauntered up the shore as gracefully as one could in boots on shifting sands. The Warrior tossed his axe in an arc and caught it on the rebound. One Preying Mantis twitched its head in their direction and let out a cry. Immediately it skittered towards them with six others in tow.
The Warrior continued to toss his axe around until he had gathered about ten or so of the creatures.
"This should be enough for ye Black Mage, gimme one last show of yer handiwork before you abandon it," The Warrior encouraged.
The Black Mage gave a smirk before fire poured from his rod and quickly surrounded the mobs. Within two short casts they were all scorched and wisps of black smoke were reaching towards the sky.
"Hmm, perhaps we should rethink our strategy, lest we drag home charcoal delights. Phoishant hates the way it tastes. Honestly, there isn't much to put with a dish like that save some beer. Beer goes with everything!" Bear laughed pointing to another destination with a gathering of Mantises.
Enkhtuyaa also gave a short chuckle and side stepped as he turned on his heel to follow.
He tripped over a smooth, waist-height rock and groaned. More from embarrassment than from pain.
The Roegadyn rushed over to him pulled him back.
"Ayyy lad what did I just say about ye?! I pick at the mobs! Now you've gone and aggravated this thing. It looks like a Rank B Mark. It probably has a bill on its head back in town. It don't like ye one bit, ye make it vibrate with fury."
Bear made to pull Enkhtuyaa behind him, but the Black Mage would not budge.
"Lad, have ye no understanding of me words? This Rank B ain't no joke. Just the two of us? Nay, just meself and ye as a green healer could not survive this. Mayhaps we could within an inch of yer life, but it's not worth the dice roll."
Bear had absolutely no doubt in his mind he could kill this creature without harm.
Had it been just himself.
However with the Black Mage almost assuming all the threat from the Mantises, Bear could not guarantee the Dark Helmet would not follow suit and attack the young Au'Ra. A couple of hits at best he could survive before he found himself unconscious. And well, Bear was not his sister. Nor did he wish to answer to her upon returning.
Before either of the adventurers could make their moves, the Dark Helmet used its pincers to thrust at the Black Mage.
Enkhtuyaa quickly parried the attack with his rod, stepped back, and began casting once more. He looked to the Warrior before he released the Thunder.
"I've never had crab before," he said with a smile behind his words.
I thrive well with constructive criticisms, so please review :)
These are planned to be small (less than a 1,000 words) excerpts so that I do not run into the issue where I cling to a passage for dear life because it had not reached my desired length. As such, these will be updated more frequently.
I am also looking for a Beta to help edit and PC my fiction. The world is so big (and no one pays attention to EVERY story quest we're forced to play ;] )
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
