The Ixel was the same height as Charles, and looked like a bird had begun changing into a man and gotten stuck halfway. It had spindly arms and legs, with a tiny flap of skin joining the elbows and shoulders that grew a few feathers. The head was bird-like, but the beak was full of sharp teeth. Its body was wrapped in cloth, with a leather breastplate, and it carried a spear.

Charles dodged the first spear thrust and conjured stone. Rocks lifted from the forest floor and pelted the Ixel guard. It screeched and shielded its face. Then it sprang at Charles again, swinging its spear. "Interloper! Intruder!" it shrieked.

Charles conjured a blast of wind and knocked the birdman backwards. The spear slashed his left arm, cutting through the sleeve of his robe and opening the flesh beneath. It hurt, rather.

Then Bayan's chocobo, Yin, attacked the Ixel, pecking and kicking with fury. Charles had a moment to catch his breath and look for the warrior. Bayan had killed one of the guards and was fighting three more, swinging his greatsword like the blade of a windmill. He didn't look hurt, but it was hard to tell. Charles cast a mending spell on him. Then he hurriedly cast another on his arm, holding the flesh together as the magic closed the wound. It would ache for a few hours, but at least the bleeding was staunched.

Yin finished off the Ixel guard, then sprang back to assist his master. Charles watched as the bird circled to attack from behind, keeping a safe distance from that flashing sword. It was either very intelligent, or well-trained, or both.

Bayan cut down his attackers and frisked them for keys. He found a keyring and tossed it to Charles. "Get the gate for me." Then he carefully wiped the blood off his blade on the nearest Ixel corpse.

Charles fumbled with the keys until he found the one that opened the gate. Then Bayan led the way inside, followed by his chocobo, then Charles.

The gate opened into a tunnel leading into Direroot hill. It had been hollowed out to make a fortress for the birdmen. Charles was secretly relieved to see no females or young, only warrior males. Even as they were surrounded and attacked, he was glad he didn't have to help kill women and children.

After that, he concentrated on keeping them alive and didn't have time for analysis. He blocked off flanking attackers with stone walls, healed Bayan, healed Yin. The local magic he drew upon had a rancid flavor, as if the Ixel had somehow polluted it. Yuck. He used it, but he wanted a bath later.

They fought their way through the tunnels to a spacious central room with a fire pit in the center. A large wooden cage stood against the far wall. Inside it were the kidnapped farmers and their families. The women huddled at the back with the children, while the men stood in front, gripping the bars, watching the fighting hopefully. There were about twenty of them. Charles spared a friendly wave in between casting spells.

Their way was suddenly barred by the chief Ixel, a birdman as tall as Bayan, covered in rattling trinkets and bones, wearing a feathered headdress. "You will not rescue them!" he screeched. "They are sacrifices to the great Garuda!"

"You'll have to feed Garuda something else," said Bayan, holding his sword at low guard. His helmet hid his face, but he sounded calm enough. "Give us the prisoners and I'll let you live."

"Never!" shrieked the chief. He raised a staff and began to chant. A great swell of aether began to gather around the staff, glowing poisonous green. It felt like some sort of curse, probably a flesh-eating one.

Charles had never actually worked a counter spell, but he'd studied the method. He cast his own spell straight into the middle of the chief's, a dispersion spell. The aether scattered like stardust. The chief staggered and cursed, afflicted with aether-shock.

"Good one," said Bayan, and waded in, swinging.

Charles heard more shrieks and footsteps as more Ixali warriors ran to assist their chief. He summoned stone slabs from the floor and blocked off the two entrances into the central room. The warriors hit them and screamed in rage. They began flinging themselves against the barricades. They'd have them down in a few minutes.

As Bayan and Yin kept the chief busy, Charles hurried to the cage with the keys. He found the correct key on the second attempt and opened the door. "Come on, hurry!" he said. "Anybody need healing?"

Several people did, so Charles was busy for a few minutes. When he spared a glance at the fight, he saw Bayan doubled over, his sword drooping, while the chief battled the chocobo one on one.

Charles conjured a reckless amount of magic and shaped it into a cure spell. He funneled it into Bayan like the blast of a waterfall. Green and gold particles settled all over the Au Ra, sinking through his armor to mend the flesh beneath. Bayan lifted his head and looked at Charles. He nodded once. Then he leaped to his feet, whirled the greatsword over his head, and cleaved the Ixali chief in half.

The farmers cheered. The Ixali warriors shrieked in rage and panic. The passages filled with the noise of scampering feet as the birdmen fled.

Bayan slowly straightened and surveyed the room and prisoners. He nodded once. "All accounted for?"

"Yes, this is everyone," said a farmer. "Are there soldiers waiting outside?"

"Just me and him," said Bayan, gesturing at Charles. "We'll make sure you get home safe."

Charles used magic to remove one of the stone barricades, and he and Bayan escorted the farmers out of Direroot hill. Charles was tired and hungry, but wildly energized by the amount of aether he had been using. He hadn't used that much magic since conjurer training. Rancid aether or not, it had left his nerves singing and his blood humming in his veins.

Once outside, he whistled for Goldie. After a few minutes, the chocobo trotted up, making cheerful chirps of welcome. Charles loaded the smallest children on her back. Bayan spoke to his own chocobo, who grudgingly permitted two women to climb into his saddle.

Bayan pulled off his helmet, and the farmers gasped a little to see the demonic-looking Au Ra underneath. But they rallied and thanked him again. Several men told him to come by their farms on the morrow, when they would have payment prepared. Bayan agreed to this.

The warrior and healer took the farmers and their families back to Bentbranch. There they handed them over to the local Serpent Guard, who were overjoyed at the successful rescue and were happy to see the farmers safely home.

By this time, the sun was rapidly sinking in the west, painting the sky behind the trees red and gold. Bayan gazed at the sky in silence for a while. Then he turned to Charles, who had been feeding Goldie handfuls of corn.

"Supper at the Weathered Bough," Bayan said. "I'm buying."

"Oh, thank you," Charles said. "Is this your payment?"

"No," said Bayan, his blue eyes glowing brighter in the dusk. "I'll pay you tomorrow, when the farmers pay me. But tonight, food. And talk." He turned away and walked down the village street toward the inn a few blocks away. Charles followed, stroking his bird as he went.

"He's a strange one," Charles murmured to Goldie. "Not sure I want to talk to him. But I'm famished after all that magic, and a plate of something savory sounds downright heavenly right now."

He left Goldie with a stable hand, and went inside the inn to order supper and wash up. Feeling slightly cleaner, he joined Bayan at a back table with a single lamp in a sconce beside it.

The inn common room had a few regulars at the tables, eating or playing cards. Charles knew them all, and greeted them as he passed by. Bayan watched him narrowly, arms crossed.

Once Charles was seated, Bayan leaned an elbow on the table. "You're no White Mage."

"Yes I am," said Charles, taken aback. "Did my healing spells not take?"

"Your healing was fine," said Bayan, glaring with those animal blue eyes. "I mean that counter spell you worked on the Ixali chieftain. That's Black Mage stuff."

Charles rubbed the back of his neck. "Well … yes."

"Yes?" said Bayan, his voice dropping to an undertone. "You're a townie White Mage, but you know black magic? Who are you, anyway?"

"It's not what you think," Charles said, shifting uncomfortably on the hard bench. "I practice spell casting with my friends every weekend. We trade spells around and teach each other. Black, white, red, and astrologian. I'd never used a counter spell before."

"Never?" Bayan sat back, incredulous.

"No, and why does it matter?" Charles said, glaring up at the towering Au Ra. "I thought you were off after tomorrow. This was a one-time job."

At this point, they were interrupted as a serving girl arrived with vast plates of sizzling steak, potatoes, roast vegetables, and beer. They set to at once, and it was several minutes before either of them spoke.

Bayan took a long drink of beer. He set his pint down and said, "I want to keep working together."

"Why?" said Charles through a mouthful of potatoes and onion.

Bayan glared at a slice of beef on his fork. "Because your healing is compatible."

"What's that mean?" Charles replied.

"Look," said Bayan, fixing his wild gaze on him. "Every healer is different. They use aether differently. I've had healers who used aether like lukewarm water dripping from a faucet. I've had healing spells that seared me like lightning, or cut me like ice. Today, your healing spells felt right. They mended my wounds and I barely felt it. That's why I had you cast a spell on me at the first, so I'd know what I was getting into. Your magic feels great." He slammed a fist on the table, making the dishes jump. "And I want you as my full-time healer. I'll pay whatever rate you want."

Charles was caught off-guard by this. The warrior's manner had been so hostile, he had been sure that Bayan was going to take him outside and thrash him after dinner. But he wanted to hire him?

Charles grinned. "That's a funny way to make a job offer. I thought you were going to punch me."

Bayan relaxed a little, sinking back in his seat. "Sorry," he muttered. "I'm not … good with social things." He looked up hopefully. "But will you accept?"

"It depends," said Charles. "Are you a wandering sellsword? An adventurer? I don't know anything about you. I would enjoy a bit of travel, but I wouldn't appreciate being branded an outlaw."

"Fair enough." Bayan took a few more bites. "I'm Xaela, as you probably noticed. We believe that our men were created by Azim, the sun god. Women were created by Nhaama, the moon goddess. Every sun must find his moon."

Charles blinked. "You mean you're searching for a wife?"

Bayan pointed at him with his knife. "Exactly."

Charles gestured at the dark gray armor. "Why all the battles and such? Why not go to a city and ask around for available Auri girls?"

"I have," said Bayan, gazing at his plate. Despite the animal eyes, fearsome scales, and horns, he looked despondent. "I will know my moon when I look into her eyes and see her there. On my nameday, when I turned twelve, I had a dream of the woman the gods intended for me. They said that I will know her by the beauty in her eyes, even if her outer appearance is deceiving. She is an Au Ra of the Raen tribe. She is somewhere in Eorzea. Beyond that, I know not. I spent my life savings to travel to Eorzea from the Azim Steppes, far to the northeast of here. First, I visited the cities. Gridania, Ul'Dah, Limsa Lominsa. There I found few Raen women and fewer still who were unmarried. My moon is not among them. I took up my sword and began using it to earn a living. Always, I look to help or rescue people in need. One day, perhaps I will rescue my bride. She will look upon me and see a warrior husband, her sun, her shield and protector. And she will be my moon, strength of my heart."

Charles frowned, puzzled. "You did not strike me as the romantic type."

"It is not romantic," said Bayan, looking up with a heavier frown. "It is the truth. To find my bride, I must seek her up and down the breadth of Eorzea. And I need a healer. I have tried many healers, as I said, and you are the first one whose magic I can stand."

"All right, then," said Charles, his frown vanishing into his usual easy-going smile. "If you're looking for a bride, then let's look for one for me, too. I wouldn't mind finding a girl of my own."

Bayan grinned for the first time since Charles had known him. He had long canines that gave him a wolfish look. "Yes, even the Hyur needs his moon! Tell me, how do you find your women? Do the Gods give you visions?"

"Well, uh, no," said Charles. The food seemed to stick in his throat all of a sudden, and he had to take a drink. "We tend to … I don't know … choose a likely-looking girl and marry her."

"You go by looks?" said Bayan, his feral eyes widening. "But how do you know if her soul is a match for your soul?"

Charles busied himself cutting another slice of steak.

Bayan leaned back and his grin returned. "Ah, I see. If you knew how to find your mate, you would already have her."

Charles crammed his mouth full so he wouldn't have to answer. He nodded, instead.

"Well then." Bayan returned his attention to his meal. "We will seek our brides together. Perhaps I will save mine from a monster. Perhaps you will heal yours an inch from death. Who knows what the gods have in store? Do not worry, I will pay you well. You must be able to support her once you find her."

"You, too," said Charles. "You may not want to run about, slaying monsters, when your bride awaits you at home."

"True," said Bayan. "Before I took up my sword, I was a culinarian. I have a gift for food, I think."

Charles squinted at the savage-looking Au Ra in front of him, and tried to imagine him stirring a pot on a stove, dressed in an apron. The mental image was highly amusing. "You'll have to cook for us while we travel," Charles said, successfully containing his laughter.

"It will be good practice," said Bayan. He smiled again, as if some barrier had been broken, and he now considered Charles a friend. "Rest well tonight, healer. Tomorrow we will peruse the Serpent Guard bounty boards. I noticed them putting up new bounties as we came to the inn."

Charles knew the kinds of things the guards put on the bounty board: marauding monsters they were too scared or understaffed to deal with. He had often read the notices, looking longingly at the vast amount of gil offered as a reward. Tomorrow, he would be one of the cocky chumps who usually sallied forth to deal with the monsters. Some of them even came back.

"You'd better be good with that blade," said Charles. "They'll send us after things only slightly weaker than primals."

"I do not fear primals," said Bayan, to Charles's surprise. "I have worked with the Warrior of Light to slay one. They are strong, but mortal. All you need is a good healer, and that is more than a primal has."

"You've worked with the Warrior of Light?" Charles asked, keenly interested. "What's he like?"

Bayan shrugged. "For being a legendary hero, he is a decent, unassuming Hyur, like yourself. I helped him fight Titan, primal of the kobolds. We fought side by side, me with my sword, he with an axe. It was a glorious battle. But our healers-bah! His healer was good, but mine used healing spells that stung like whips. I never want to experience that again."

"Maybe I'll work with him someday," said Charles thoughtfully.

"Perhaps," said Bayan. "Perhaps we will be hailed as Warriors of Light, ourselves. In my case, the only adulation I desire is that which comes from the lips of my beloved. All else is meaningless."

They finished their meal in silence. Charles had a lot to think about, now. As they parted ways for the night, they agreed to meet back at the inn the next morning to select a bounty, then to collect their promised payment from the farmers. Bayan went upstairs to his inn room. Charles found his chocobo in the stables and rode her back to the house he shared with the other healers.

"Goldie," he said to the bird, "I think my life is about to change. For the better, I hope."

"Kweh!" Goldie replied cheerfully.

Bayan Avagnar was piercingly lonely. He had been searching for a wife for five years, now. Five lonely years of traveling, fighting monsters, saving people, and gazing longingly into the eyes of the few Raen girls he happened across. None of them were his match, his perfect mate created for him by the gods.

He had been an archer from his boyhood, trained in the art of the longbow. But as he traveled south toward Eorzea, he fell in with a band of knights who taught him to use a greatsword, and to tap the inner abyss during battle. Dark Knights, they called themselves. "Use your rage, your hate, your pain," they taught him.

Bayan accepted this, but he drew from his loneliness instead. He did not have to seek his inner darkness to find it, since he was hollowed out with it, already. Perhaps he was not as strong as some dark knights, but he had not lost a battle yet. Besides, he had observed how constantly channeling rage had turned some of the knights into sullen, angry men. What woman would want to marry a man such as that? So Bayan tried to maintain a healthier outlook, balancing loneliness with hope.

The inn in Bentbranch village was decent enough, with good food and clean rooms. Bayan ordered a bath and soaked himself before breakfast, as was his custom when lucky enough to stay at an inn. His tribe's custom had been to bathe every morning in a local hot spring, believing it to cleanse and strengthen the body. Bayan liked being clean, and was always conscious that this might be the day he found his beloved. It would not do to meet her with greasy hair and body odor strong enough to kill a coerl.

He combed his hair and polished his horns with a cloth. Once they gleamed like black obsidian, he slid the iron caps onto their tips that allowed him to use them in combat. Tough as Au Ra horns appeared, they were quite delicate, full of hollows that enhanced his hearing.

As he groomed himself, Bayan thought about Charles Whitmore, the Hyur White Mage he'd hired. Perhaps the gods were showing him mercy at last, bringing him a healer whose magic he could stand. The man himself seemed pleasant, too, cheerful and always looking for a reason to laugh. Not a bad companion for travel. The last healer Bayan had employed had been a Lalafel who almost never spoke and stayed hidden behind a book. Her healing had burned like acid. He had dreaded each time she cast a spell, and paid her off as quickly as he could.

He ate breakfast in the inn common room, empty at this hour. The food was good, and he studied it as he ate, trying to identify the spices they had used. Mostly garlic. Then he went to fetch his chocobo and cart from the stables.

Chocobo carts came equipped with a hot air balloon to lighten the cart and make it easier for the bird to pull. Bayan thought this a very good idea. He had ridden horses back on the Azim Steppes, and when he first encountered chocobos, had been doubtful of their potential strength. He had acquired Yin as a chick, stolen from the nest of a wild bird, and raised him by hand. Bayan had not expected to fall in love with the arrogant, dangerous chocobo, or to have it love him equally as much.

When he went to the stables, Yin called to him as soon as he entered: a descending whistle meant just for Bayan. The Au Ra grinned and found the chocobo at once. The glossy black bird had stretched his head over the stall door, peering down the aisle for his master.

"Thank goodness you're taking this one off my hands," said the stable boy. "He almost tore my arm off this morning."

"Yin is trained in combat," Bayan replied. "Apologies." He handed the boy a couple of extra gil for his troubles. Then he opened the stall and entered, stroking the bird's feathers as he went. He examined the wings and legs, looking for injuries from the previous day's battle. There were several healed cuts on the big feet. The healer had used his magic on Yin, too? Very few healers in Bayan's employ had thought to do that.

"What do you think of this healer, boy?" Bayan murmured, reaching beneath the feathers to feel the bird's breastbone. "Did his magic feel good to you?"

Yin stood quiet, eyelids half-closed, enjoying the handling.

"Well, you are certainly sound and hale this morning," Bayan said, after investigating the bird's eyes and huge beak. He rubbed its ears under the feathers, enjoying the way the bird pressed its head against his hand and closed its eyes. "Are you ready to pull the cart today?"

Yin crooned deep in his throat.

"I'll make sure the balloon is properly filled," Bayan assured him. "You won't feel an ounze."

He sought out the stableboy and set about the process of readying the cart. The oil heater must be filled and lit to begin filling the balloon, and the cart hitched to the reluctant chocobo. Yin was broken to the cart, but he still fussed whenever Bayan hitched him between the traces. Possibly, by now it was only habit.

Bayan drove out of the inn just as the town clock chimed eight o'clock. He guided the prancing chocobo down the main road and out toward where the healers had their little house. He was lucky that Charles had been the one who answered his summons. Azim only knew what the other healers' magic felt like.

The house of the healers was a small thatched cottage, surrounded by tidy garden plots filled with herbs. Most of them were in flower: blue, white, and yellow, and late-summer butterflies flitted among them. Bayan examined the herbs with a practiced eye. Although he used herbs for cooking, not healing, he still recognized basil, thyme, and lavender.

As the cart halted outside the front gate, the door opened and Charles emerged, carrying a bag of belongings under each arm. Today he wore a white tunic with a small red flower embroidered on it, the symbol of a White Mage. He'd exchanged his robe for tough pants and boots. Bayan approved.

Charles bade his fellow healers goodbye, then descended the garden steps to the gate. As he opened it, he grinned cheerfully and nodded his greeting to Bayan.

Bayan found himself smiling back. The man's perpetual good mood was infectious.

"Toss your bags in the back," said Bayan. "Ride where you want."

"Great!" Charles carefully loaded his bags into the cart, as if they contained delicate items. Then he dashed around the house and returned, riding his chocobo female. He took up position beside the cart. Bayan whistled to his own bird, and off they went.

"The village skywatcher says to expect rain by this evening," said Charles, gesturing at a sky streaked with wispy clouds. "Where are we planning to stay?"

"Depends on the hunt," said Bayan. "I brought the two most valuable bounties. One takes us closer to Gridania. The other takes us out into the Sylphlands."

"What monster is near Gridania?" Charles raised his eyebrows.

"This bounty says that a very large reptile with two legs has been threatening travelers near the road there," said Bayan. "I cannot pronounce it. Lind-worm?"

"Lindwyrm," said Charles. "Close enough. Yes, there's little ones up in the hills, but the big ones don't usually come near people. I wonder if there's something wrong with it. They eat insects, usually."

"We are to slay it," said Bayan. "Unless you have other ideas?"

"Let me examine the creature, first," said Charles. "If it's ill or injured, a little healing might send it away. If not, your sword may be the only answer."

Bayan frowned at Charles. "You will not make a good hunting companion."

"Why?" Charles laughed. "Because I try not to kill without need?"

"You are compassionate," said Bayan. "Even to animals. If we are to hunt creatures for their heads and hide, will you protest?"

"Depends on if we need the heads and hide worse than the animals do," Charles replied.

Bayan grudgingly respected this answer. Still, he hoped he hadn't found an ideal healer, only to find him an obnoxious pacifist.

"It doesn't matter for now," Bayan said. "I am picking up payment from the farmers we rescued. They intend to pay in food supplies, so we shall be well-stocked for travel and trade."

"Let's stay the night in the city, then," said Charles. "We can sell anything we don't use and have a little extra coin for emergencies."

Bayan agreed to this.