Title: Torn Innocence Chapter 2
Genre: Final Fantasy XI
Disclaimer: I do not own the game, locations or races in this fic. I do however own some characters backgrounds and names and am operating with the permission of the owner of Cyrinus and his background. All other relatives in this fic do not represent characters in the game and any likeness to created characters is completely unintentional.
Author's Note: I hope you have as much fun reading this as I did writing it.
Rating: R for violence.
Dedication: For my husband. The creative genius who I would be lost without.
Cyrinus stumbled through the barren wasteland that was Fumaroles. He could see the stagnant pools of water but did not dare to venture to near to them. There seemed to be at least twenty rather large river crabs scuttling back and forth around the sparkling water. He would have risked having to face one to get to the water but they were not his only challenge. A large vulture circled the pools swiftly and it's large black eyes scanned the area for it's next meal. Cyrinus knew he was no match for either creature.
Though Cyrinus had taken a small amount of supplies with him he wanted to use them sparingly. He had no way of knowing how long it would take him to reach Windurst. Cyrinus pushed himself to go on. He was determined not to rest until nightfall. He had what he hoped was enough water and food to last until the nearest populated area where he could spend some of the money he had taken from the large cabinet in his parent's bedroom.
Cyrinus had been walking for what seemed like days. It had only been a few hours since he left his home. His body was tired and his legs felt as if they would stop working if he went on any longer. He searched desperately for a place to rest where he would be safe from the vicious creatures that were scattered about the area.
Behind a large rock formation would have been an ideal place for Cyrinus to rest. Unfortunately there were a few more vultures flying in from the west and circling the nearest ones. Cyrinus would just have to keep walking. His legs shook with every step and he found it difficult to keep his balance.
Cyrinus groaned and looked up at the cloudless sky. He did not know what he could do to find the person who had murdered his parents. He didn't see much of the stranger and his voice had been muffled through by the thick bedroom door so his voice was unrecognizable. Cyrinus was counting on Leanna's knowledge of his father's past to help him figure out who the white mage's enemies were. He hoped that it would narrow down the list of suspects or at least point him in the right direction.
A large rock formation threw a long shadow across the dry dirt in front of Cyrinus. He had finally found a place not surrounded by vultures and river crabs. He sat down in the shade and opened the bundle containing his supplies. He tried to plan out his next few days. There was still a long way to travel and already he felt as if he would give up. The image of his dead mother crept to the front of his mind causing him to quickly put his food away. He had lost his appetite however, the image brought back the rage he had felt the night before. It gave him the strength he needed to stand and continue his journey.
In the distance Cyrinus could see what looked like people. There appeared to be three of them. One was staggering and falling against the one on his right and another was laughing as he watched his companions. Cyrinus thought of hiding. Unfortunately the one in the middle had seen him and pointed while speaking quietly to the other two. All three men were heading straight for Cyrinus. There was nowhere that he could run to and nothing for him to hide behind. He was trapped.
The three men stopped in front of Cyrinus. The man on the left took a step forward and grabbed Cyrinus' arm. Cyrinus struggled to break free of the man's grasp but he was held too tightly to free himself. He twisted and swung his other arm only to have it caught by the man who had been standing in the middle. They roughly dragged Cyrinus forward.
"Well what do we have here?" The raspy voice of the one who appeared to be their leader was almost too low for Cyrinus to hear. He tried to kick the man in front of him but his legs were not long enough. He only succeeded in kicking dirt into the air. "He's a feisty one, isn't he boys?" Cyrinus felt something cold against his right cheek. It took him only a few seconds to figure out that it was a small dagger that was being held by the leader.
Cyrinus panicked. Instinct caused him to pull his head back, putting as much distance as possible between it and the icy blade. There was a sudden searing pain under Cyrinus' right eye. He whimpered softly. His heart was racing and he could feel blood trickle down his cheek. There was nothing he could do. They were going to kill him.
"Hey, he's got something here." One of the men reached down and took the bundle of supplies Cyrinus had dropped. The man searched through Cyrinus' supplies, occasionally pulling out anything of interest to him. "Hey boss, look at this." Cyrinus watched as the thief threw a bag full of coins to the leader. "That could be useful. But what do we do with him?" He pointed to Cyrinus.
"Kill him." The leader was quickly counting the contents of the bag. Cyrinus cried out for help as the two men holding him dragged him backwards and threw him roughly against a rock. He closed his eyes and waited for the agony that was to come. However, there was nothing, only silence. The hurried shuffling of three sets of feet led Cyrinus to believe that the men had gone and he was alone. But what had scared them away? He wondered.
Cyrinus opened his eyes slowly. He could see a pair of boots standing beside him. He hesitated to look any further up. The stranger had managed to scare away three men on his own. Cyrinus had to wonder how one man was able to do that. He knew that the man must have been quite strong to do so.
The stranger knelt beside Cyrinus. Cyrinus forced himself to look up, eyes scanning the stranger's doublet and stopping on her face. Cyrinus was confused. A female had saved him? She looked elvaan and her blond hair fell across her face as she looked down at Cyrinus. "Are you alright?" She asked, her voice was musical and comforting.
"Y-yes." Cyrinus sat up slowly and winced. The fall had hurt his back and blood was still dripping from his cheek. The elvaan woman looked him over and sighed. She helped Cyrinus to his feet and took a step back.
"I can try to fix you up but I'm not sure how well I'll do." She offered. Cyrinus nodded. Even a slight decrease in the pain would help. "Alright then." The stranger cured Cyrinus as much as she could. He placed a hand on his cheek and felt the scar that remained. A scar was better than a gaping hole any day.
"Thank you." Cyrinus smiled. "I'm Cyrinus." He held out his hand. The Elvaan woman repeated the action.
"Call me Aris." She grinned and sat down. "Tell me, what brings you all the way out here, Cyrinus?" Cyrinus sat beside her and took a deep breath. He did not know if he could trust her with the whole story.
"I'm on my way to find an old friend of my father's." Cyrinus blinked back the tears that the memory of his father brought on. Aris nodded understandingly. She did not push for details. "I have to get to Windurst." Cyrinus shrugged. "That's where she lives."
Aris smiled. "If you would like I can take you as far as Selbina." She offered. Cyrinus thought for a moment. Aris had saved his life. Surely that proved that he could trust her. Granted it was not all the way but at least if he had company that far he would not have to worry about any other encounters.
"That would be great." Cyrinus nodded. "They took all my supplies though, is there a place there that I will be able to go in order to get what I will need to continue my trip?" He asked.
"Yes." Aris nodded. "And there is someone I could introduce you to if you need a job until you can afford more supplies." Cyrinus looked down at his torn bag of supplies and nodded. The thieves had taken all his money when they left. He would definately need a job. Unfortunately it would take him a long time to earn enough money to get what he needed to go on.
"As soon as your ready we can get going." Aris stretched.
"I'm ready, let's go." Cyrinus jumped up and grinned broadly. And so they started their journey to Selbina.