A Lesson on Attention
A Final Fantasy XI fanfic by Renfro Calhoun

Disclaimer: Still applies. Property of Squeenix. You know the deal.

Notes: Elvaan Monk, Mithra Warrior go a-treasure huntin', with violent results when one forgets where the key is.


"Hiiiii-YAH!"

She bellowed mightily as her fist smashed across the beak of the Yagudo, assuredly breaking something vital in the beastman's head and knocking it senselessly to the floor. The raven-haired Elvaan's knuckles throbbed, stinging from repeated contact with bone and less forgiving materials, but she shrugged it off and turned to the next opponent - a Yagudo Persecutor, who looked none too pleased about his now deceased comrade.

Behind her, a distinctly feline growl preceded a weighty, sickening smash as her red-headed ally brutally chopped into a Piper with an axe. The Mithra nearly cleaved the beastman in two, and actually had to pry the weapon loose from its messy corpse. She then turned her attention to a pair of Votaries coming her way, cawing in alarm.

"Smoothskins!" hollered one of them, who quickly began chanting and preparing a spell as his partner closed in on the Mithra.

The Elvaan monk landed a solid one-two punch under her target's guard, and ducked back as the Persecutor angrily retaliated with an overhead slash. The blade missed her face by a few inches, but she kept her composure and lunged back into arm's reach; the Yagudo preempted her maneuver with a swipe of its claws, raking the nails painfully across her left arm and batting her fist out of the way. It attempted to follow up with a thrust, but she saw it coming and sidestepped the attack. In retaliation, she came around with her good arm and landed a hard blow on the creature's neck, sounding a disgusting crunch and throwing its head on a very unnatural angle.

As the Persecutor slumped to the floor, a bolt of fire hit the Mithra head-on, blinding her for a moment but doing little lasting harm. Gritting her teeth, she shrugged off the blow and steadied herself. Keeping both Yagudo just outside of striking range, she arched her tail up high and leaned back, gently bending her knees. The one to her left rushed in, lashing at her; in one fluid move, she snaked right, dodging the attack, and deftly spun in a complete circle, using the momentum to bring her axe around in a wide sweeping attack. The axe chopped at the right-hand Yagudo's bony legs, knocking them out from under him. Before the other Votary could react, she followed up with a devastating downward swing, cleanly separating the monster's head from its shoulders.

The remaining Yagudo was about to close in on the Mithra, who had her back to him, when a pair of powerful hands grabbed his shoulders. Growling, the Elvaan brutally pushed the Yagudo into the nearest wall; she took firm hold of the back of his feathered head and repeatedly bashed his skull against it, splattering dark blood over the rock, and then threw him to the ground. The beastman spasmed violently and then lay still, a soft hiss escaping its mouth.

The Mithra panted, trying to catch her breath as she scanned the hallway. ('Just a treasure hunting deal,' she says. Sure, whatever.) She scowled, the offensive scent of the beastmen's bodies poking rudely at her nose. "Okay, Lin," she said between breaths, "I'll ask once again. Are you SURE one of these guys has the key?"

Gingerly rubbing her swollen fists, Linmayu gave her companion a hurt look. "The door's right over there," she nodded her head towards a cast-iron door, which was the only natural feature of the otherwise blank, poorly-lit hallway. "I know the key can be found around here somewhere."

"Well, it'd have to be on one of these... birds," Sivara seemed to spit out the word. She slung her axe over her shoulders and turned to face the monk directly. "We've been here for at least an hour, though. How many are we up to, now?"

Linmayu shrugged. "I dunno, I lost count after thirty." With a grimace, she cast her eyes over the growing mass of dead Yagudo, which were strewn haphazardly up and down the hallway for several feet.

"I'm up to at least fifteen," Sivara said, somewhat wearily. She then furrowed her brow, her tail twitching in a flash of insight. Mumbling to herself, she counted off her kills on her fingers. "Wait, hold on. Which one was the one through the window?"

Pulling a map out of her satchel, the monk squinted at the nigh-illegible chicken scratches that supposedly told of the treasure the Yagudo were guarding. "Hmm... oh, wait," she snapped her fingers, "that was a Mendicant. He jumped through and you threw him back out."

"Did we check him?"

"Yeah, he only had some gil."

"Damn." The warrior resumed counting, her mind a veritable bloopers reel of the birdlike beastmen in action. She stopped again and looked up at the Elvaan. "What about the the one on the chandelier?"

"Ripped his leg off and beat him to death with the thigh bone."

"Ohh, right. We checked him too?"

"Yeah." Linmayu snickered quietly to herself. "Heh... bone."

Sivara stifled a chuckle, still going through the list of victims. "Wait, wait," she suddenly said, "what about the one by the stairs?"

The monk folded up and pocketed the map, rejoining the warrior. "That one fell over the railing, at least ten stories." She cringed. "Forget that, I'm not running down all those stairs for that."

"Didn't that one have a name?"

"How should I know?"

"Well, you were the one fighting him."

Linmayu scratched her chin, brow creased in intense concentration. "Come to think of it," she said after a pause, "I think it was... uh... something like, "Qui'ro, the Keyholder", or something along those lines."

Without looking up, Sivara squeezed her eyes shut and facepalmed, her tail drooping in dismay. "Qui'ro... the KEYholder," she flatly parroted.

Realization slowly crossed the Elvaan's features; she looked away and fidgeted awkwardly. "Well... I mean, I thought that was just a name. I didn't... y'know..."

The Mithra clenched and relaxed her fists, counting silently to ten. She inhaled slowly, and carefully released her breath. "I think," she tersely began, "you should go back and check the body."

"Okay, okay," Linmayu said in mild annoyance, turning away and starting up the hallway, carefully picking past the numerous fallen Yagudo. "Sheesh..."

Sivara took another deep breath, gradually calming down. She managed a weak chuckle and shook her head. (I swear, sometimes I don't know about that woman.) Casting another gaze around the bloody, corpse-filled hallway, she mentally added, (Of course, I can't complain TOO much... nothing quite like letting off some steam on these filthy Yagudo. I have to stay in shape somehow, after all.) She smiled briefly, amused by her momentary pretense of vanity.

The smile vanished when she heard several clacking footsteps headed her way. She whirled around and her eyes bugged out as she spotted no less than a dozen Yagudo, all armed and looking just a little bit upset at the carnage before them.

"Smoothskin intruder!" squawked the lead beastman. "Youse not gettin' outta here alive!"

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Sivara grumbled, hefting her axe once more.

- EXACTLY FIVE MINUTES AND SEVENTEEN SECONDS LATER -

The Elvaan monk smiled as she strode up the hallway, pleased with her aquisition; the Yagudo's key, clutched firmly in her hand. "I got it!" she called cheerfully, rounding a corner. "Let's see what these birds have been protectiiiiyaaaaagh!"

Her voice caught in her throat, turning into a strangled yelp as her eyes fell upon the massacre. Not far from the door, Sivara stood defiantly on top of a pile of dead and battered Yagudo at least four feet high and eight feet across. The Mithra had a white-knuckle grip on her axe and murder in her eyes; her tail stood straight out and up, the hairs bristling angrily.

From where she stood, Linmayu could almost hear the warrior's teeth grinding. "Is that the key?" she half-growled, her brow twitching.

"Uh... yes," the monk quietly replied.

Sivara gestured stiffly to the door. "Open. Treasure. NOW."