It took most of the day to travel out to the various farms and collect their payment. They took in two sacks of flour, a crate of apples, two live chickens, a bucket of fresh milk, a dozen eggs, and a whole cured ham. By the time they finished collecting payment, the cart was loaded, and the chocobo struggled to pull it, even with the balloon's assistance. But Bayan was smugly satisfied.

Late that afternoon, they wound their way up the road to the south gates of Gridania. Charles fetched the bounty sheet from the cart, studied it, then frowned at the trees around them. "Stay on the road," he said. "I'll see if I can find this lindwyrm. We're in the right area."

Bayan nodded, and Charles trotted off into the trees on his chocobo. Bayan waited nervously for him to come back, and watched the road in the meantime. There was a lot of traffic on the road this time of day, mostly market carts leaving the city, and travelers on their way in. It was dusty and noisy, and Bayan and his chocobo were both tired.

Traffic slowed as they neared the gates, and everyone squeezed together to make it through. Bayan was waiting, increasingly uneasy, when Charles returned, running his chocobo at a full gallop. "Bayan!" he shouted as he came. "Bayan! Your sword!"

Behind him, the trees swayed, and a huge, white snake-like thing wove between the trunks, hunting the man and his bird.

The people stuck on the road screamed and scrambled for weapons, or to hide, or to protect children. Bayan grabbed his sword out of the cart, threw his bird's reins to whoever was nearest, and vaulted to the ground.

The lindwyrm stood ten feet high at the hip, and more than triple that in length. It had powerful hind legs, and vestigial wings where forearms ought to have been. The rest of it was neck and tail, the jaws open. It snapped at the tail feathers of Charles's chocobo, missed, then slowed to a halt, hissing. It had spotted the chaos of the busy road, and it was uneasy.

Bayan charged at it with a battle cry, sword gripped in both hands. He expected the creature to run. Instead, it lowered its head and snaked toward him along the grass, the eyes glittering with hate. He slashed at the head, but it dodged and bit his leg. His steel cuisse protected him, but the creature dragged him off his feet and shook him like a dog with a rat. Bayan laughed, breathlessly. He kicked the creature's snout with his free foot, and it dropped him. He rolled to his feet and snatched up his sword on the way, blessing the knights who had given him this good armor. The thrill of the fight burned in his veins. He slashed overhand at the creature's snaky neck, opening a red wound that poured blood in a torrent. The creature trampled about in agony and kicked him with a hind leg. The blow crushed his breastplate against his sternum and knocked him into a tree. Pity he hadn't been wearing his helmet. Stars swam before his eyes. He drew a breath and climbed to his feet, cursing in his own tongue. "Now I'll get you, you worthless eel!"

The lindwyrm spun in circles, trying to bite the wound in its own neck. It had to bite something, so it went for Bayan again. Bayan was ready for it. As the creature's head flashed toward him, he swung his sword in a high arc. The heavy blade sliced the head off the neck like a bough from a tree. The lindwyrm's body fell in writhing ruin.

Bayan straightened and wiped a spatter of blood off his face. As he stooped and wiped his sword on a tuft of grass, Charles ran up. He held up his staff, which looked like a tree branch with a flower bud at the end, and began working a healing spell.

"I'm not hurt much," Bayan began, then grunted. The spell that hit him wasn't healing-it was to purge disease or curses. Even from Charles, it dragged the vitality from his muscles and sent him to the ground. Bayan sat down, hard.

"Sorry," Charles said. "The creature had brain fever. It's transmitted through saliva, and it can infect anything. You'll need to bathe and wash your armor in hot water."

"Brain fever?" said Bayan. "The water fear?"

Charles nodded.

Bayan shuddered and looked at the blood on his armor. It had bitten him at least twice. He'd seen the water fear sweep the Steppes one hot summer. Wild animals lost their fear and attacked anything in their path. Infected sheep had to be put down. Infected Au Ra were chained to trees, where they went mad and died. It remained one of his most horrifying memories and sometimes visited his nightmares.

Charles was still talking. "Who knows how many other animals are infected. I must notify the Conjurer's guild at once so they can slow the disease. Oh, and the Serpent Guard, too. They'll need to burn this corpse."

Healing magic cascaded through Bayan's body, healing his bruised chest and the back of his head. A ringing in his ears seemed to diminish and fade. Slowly he climbed to his feet, then he bowed, Eastern-style, to his companion. "Thank you for your help. I would not want to catch the water fear."

Charles grinned. "Even if you did, I can purge it. It's tough, but possible. Come on, let's find the cart."

Their cart had been moved to the side of the road by the random person Bayan had flung the reins to. This turned out to be a young Miqo'te woman, modestly dressed in a peasant robe with a shawl over her head. She held Yin's reins and spoke softly to the bird, keeping him calm, even though his head bobbed nervously.

"Here you are, sir," she said, holding out the reins to Bayan.

Bayan took the reins, slowly, giving himself time to peer deeply into her eyes. She had pretty green eyes with vertical pupils, typical of the cat-like race. But she was not his Nhaama.

"Thank you, miss," he said courteously. He pulled out a five-gil coin and pressed it into her hand.

She smiled prettily. "I'm used to battle chocobos. One must be firm with them."

As Bayan climbed back onto the driving seat of the cart, Charles walked up, leading his own chocobo and talking to a Serpent Guard in a yellow uniform. The miqo'te girl's gaze turned to Charles and remained fixed on him for a long moment. Then she smiled and walked away toward another cart down the road. Charles never even noticed her, but Bayan saw everything.

The women notice him, Bayan thought. I wonder how he feels about miqo'te.

Charles finished talking to the guard and mounted his chocobo. "Let's go," he said to Bayan. "I'll travel about and notify people. You go to the inn and get that tainted blood off you."

As they passed through the south gate and entered the city, Bayan asked, "Did you ever consider a miqo'te wife?"

"What?" Charles looked up, his mind clearly elsewhere.

"The girl who watched the cart for me," said Bayan. "She was Miqo'te, and she was interested in you."

Charles twisted around in his saddle, peering back down the road. "Where? What's her name?"

"She was traveling the other direction, sorry," said Bayan. "I didn't ask her name. Would you wed a girl of her race?"

Charles grinned at him. "I'd take a girl of any race. What would you do if I wound up with an Auri girl?"

Bayan laughed out loud. "I would call you a lucky man."

They moved on, slowly, against the evening tide of people and carts leaving the city for the night. After a while the traffic lessened, and they moved a little faster. Charles took the lead, now, following a cobblestone road that wound through clumps of huge old trees. Many of them had houses built among the branches, their lights already glowing orange. Plenty of houses and shops occupied the ground, too, all low, white-painted buildings and thatched roofs. Flowers grew everywhere. Lamplighters moved about, brightening the dusk with their magic. Overhead, a heavy gray sky promised rain in the night.

The Carline Canopy Inn was a huge place built on the edge of a cliff. It also doubled as the Gridania airship landing, which was built into the cliff face below the inn proper. It was always busy, with people coming and going at all hours. A delicious smell of cooking wafted out as they approached.

A stable hand noticed them and approached. "May I take your birds, sirs?"

"Not mine, yet," said Charles. "I have errands to run. I'll be back later, Bayan." He galloped away into the dusk.

Bayan accompanied the stablehand around back to the stables, where he made sure his cart was secured under a tarp with the goods inside. He saw that his chocobo was settled and fed, then paid the stable hand. His funds were already looking a little lower than he'd like, but selling those goods ought to fill his moneybag again. Tomorrow, he'd turn in the bounty, too.

He returned to the inn common room and inquired about rooms. He secured two, then ordered a huge dinner. He wasn't going to bother with cleaning his armor until he'd filled the massive void in his middle. Fighting always made him hungry.

As he ate his solitary dinner, Bayan's gaze roamed the common room. Plenty of merchants in fine clothes, come to Gridania from far-off towns to hawk their wares at market tomorrow. A couple of Elezen, tall and noble-looking, argued with a Hyur about politics in Ul'Dah. A whole group of Miqo'te girl's sat around a table, eating cake and giggling. Their ears and tails gave them a playful air. They were small, as well, barely reaching to Bayan's chest. One of them noticed Bayan watching them and pointed him out to her friends. Then one of the cat girls got up and approached his table.

"Hello, mighty Auri warrior," she said, smiling and clasping her hands. "Would you by any chance be the man who killed the lindwyrm outside the gates an hour ago?"

"I am," said Bayan.

"Would you mind company?" she exclaimed. "We want to hear the story! Regale us with your battle prowess!"

Bayan wasn't sure how it happened, but the entire flock of cat girls dragged their chairs to his table, bringing their dishes and cake with them. It was a beautiful cake, frosted with sugar and candied cherries.

Bayan didn't know what to do with so many women around him. He grew hot and flustered. "Well, I-I had taken a bounty on a lindwyrm, but I did not expect it to be so large."

"Oh, that one was huge!" one girl exclaimed. "It's been terrorizing the roads for days now."

"My White Mage companion said it had brain fever," said Bayan. "He has gone to notify the authorities so that action may be taken to stamp out any plague."

The girls gasped. "Brain fever! That's bad! You fought a rabid lindwyrm?"

He found himself recounting each step of the battle, with a crowd of admiring girls staring up at him with bright eyes. Quite a few other people in the inn drifted up to shamelessly eavesdrop, including the Elezen, several Hyur of various ages, and a Highlander Hyur nearly as tall as Bayan, himself. All of them listened and murmured as he described being bitten and kicked. He stood up to demonstrate the various thrusts and cuts he had made with his greatsword, which drew even more exclamations and delighted cries from his audience.

As he finished the story, standing with his greatsword on his shoulder, Charles returned. The White Mage was soaked, hair plastered to his head, rainwater dripping from his tunic. He looked around the common room, spotted the crowd around Bayan, and stood with his mouth open for a second.

"There's my White Mage friend, now," said Bayan. "Let's give him a seat."

There was a general shuffle as the Miqo'te girls moved chairs around to make room for Charles. They surrounded him in a chattering cloud, dragged him to the table, and made him sit down.

"I didn't realize you were holding a party," said Charles, looking at the half-eaten cake with bemusement.

"They wished to hear the tale of my battle with the lindwyrm," Bayan told him.

"And what a tale it is!" squealed one of the cat girls.

"I know, I was there," said Charles. "I had gone looking for the beast back in the woods. When I found it, I could tell it was sick. I cast a heal spell on it, when I should have used Purge Disease. The lindwyrm didn't like the magic. It jumped up and charged me. I was still on my chocobo, so we ran for it. I didn't expect the blasted lindwyrm to follow me."

"Why didn't you fight?" asked one of the Elezen.

Charles gestured to his sopping tunic. "Does this look like armor to you? The lindwyrm would have torn me to pieces, and my chocobo, too. Besides, when you're traveling with a professional monster slayer, you let him slay the monsters."

"Quite right," said Bayan.

Charles made as if to get up, but found himself surrounded by cat girls. "Excuse me? I need to order dinner."

"Stay there and I'll get it," said the nearest girl. She raced off to the kitchen, leaving Charles looking a little frustrated.

"This whole gathering is a little awkward," said Bayan to the crowd. "You see, I am searching for a wife."

Every pair of ears in the common room flicked to attention.

Bayan told them the story of his vision, how his future mate was somewhere in Eorzea. The cat girls sighed in rapturous longing.

"It's so romantic," said one.

"How do you know when you've found her?" another asked.

"I must gaze deeply into her eyes," said Bayan. "Only then will the connection be made between our souls. I have already met several Raen girls, but none were my moon, my Nhaama."

Bayan was so enmeshed in the passion of his quest that he had stopped noticing his audience. He gazed over their heads, out the far window, where rain fell glittering past a street lamp. His beloved was out there, somewhere, if only he could find her. So when one of the girls spoke, it yanked him back to the present with a jolt.

"Will you look into my eyes, Mr. Au Ra?"

"Me too! Me too!" the others clamored.

"My mate is Raen, not Miqo'te," Bayan protested. But he gazed into each of their eyes in turn. "You are all beautiful," he told them with a smile. "But you are not for me. Some other lucky man, perhaps, will find you."

The cat girls sighed. Then one gestured to Charles. "What about you? Are you single?"

"Yes, actually," said Charles. "And available. But I'm only a Hyur, not an Au Ra. No mystical soul bond here."

"Hyur and Miqo'te get along fine," said one of the girls, patting his shoulder. "Look here, girls. Who wants to date a healer?"

The group wasn't quite as enthusiastic about Charles. It seemed that a seven foot tall Au Ra with blood spattered armor and a greatsword was more desirable than an average-looking man who smelled of wet chocobo. Charles paid no attention to them, because a girl had returned with his dinner, and he attacked it with a healthy appetite.

Still, Bayan watched the girls inspect Charles and casually discard him. After a while, they moved back to their own table, leaving slices of cake as parting gifts. Bayan and Charles were alone again. Bayan wondered if Charles had noticed the lack of interest and the way he'd been quietly snubbed. Charles made no sign and seemed cheerful as ever. Still, Bayan wanted to make it up to him, somehow.

"I booked rooms for us," said Bayan, handing Charles his room key. "Yours is 206."

"Thank you," said Charles between bites. "I picked up the bounty on the lindwyrm while I was at the Serpent headquarters." He pulled out a bag that jingled as he passed it over. "They're going to dispose of the lindwyrm tomorrow, and put down any other rabid beasts in the area. The Conjurer's Guild was very concerned. They're going to cooperate with the archers and lancers to stamp out the brain fever plague before it spreads any further."

"You were busy," Bayan said with an approving nod.

Charles grinned. "So were you, attracting all those girls."

Bayan shrugged. "I was an amusement to them. But this cake is delicious."

"So it wasn't a total bust," said Charles.

Bayan watched his companion as they finished eating. Charles had claimed the bounty and handed it over without a word of payment. Perhaps he had already extracted a percentage. Bayan would have to count it to make sure. As a test, he said, "Would you like to divide the bounty?"

"Why?" Charles said, looking up. "You did the work."

"You found the beast and brought it to me."

Charles waved a hand in dismissal. "You hired me as a healer. Pay me for the healing I did afterward. That was the agreement."

Bayan opened the moneybag and carefully counted out a hundred gil. He slid it to Charles, whose eyes popped a bit, before he swept it all into his jacket pocket. "You're too generous."

"You saved me from contracting brain fever," said Bayan. "I'd say that's worth the money."

Charles's gratified grin was infectious. Bayan found himself grinning in return. Later, when he counted the money, he found that Charles had not touched a single coin, beyond what Bayan had extracted to pay him. He felt bad about mistrusting him. Still, he'd only known Charles two days, and it was difficult to take a measure of a man's character in so short of a time.

The inn rooms were small, but comfortable. Bayan ordered a hot bath and soaked himself, thinking uneasily of brain fever, then scrubbed his armor. This took some time, and he went to bed quite late.

The next morning, Bayan awakened to light streaming through the curtains. He had slept hours past dawn, and the murmur of traffic outside told him that the city had awakened long before he did.

He dressed in a simple tunic and pants, leaving the armor for later. He planned to sell his goods at the market that day, and the armor would be uncomfortable and unnecessary.

He found Charles in the inn common room, surrounded by the remains of breakfast, and reading a newspaper. He raised a hand in greeting as Bayan approached. Charles looked warm and dry, his dark brown hair a fluffy cloud that hung in his eyes. He must have bathed last night, as well.

"How do you feel?" Charles asked, a little anxiously. "No fever? No dizziness?"

"Nothing," Bayan said. "I feel fine." He sat down and flagged down a passing serving girl to order breakfast.

He turned back to Charles to see the young man studying him seriously, his dark eyes concerned. "Do you mind if I work another Purge Disease spell? Just in case."

"All right," said Bayan. He leaned his elbows on the table, bracing himself for the weakness that accompanied that particular spell. Charles pulled his rod out from under the table. The gem on the end began to glow. To Bayan's interest, Charles's eyes glowed a little, too, as he tapped the surrounding aether and channeled it through himself, shaping it into the spell. The purge spell struck Bayan like a shiver of cold water running through him. At first, he thought the weakness would not come this time. Then his body sagged. He winced and his head drooped toward the tabletop, his horns suddenly feeling too heavy for his head.

"Sorry," Charles murmured. Another spell followed, this one a cure spell that restored the lost energy, flowing over him like a warm bath. Bayan inhaled and lifted his head.

"Purge only does that when it's actually curing something," Charles said, stashing his rod back under the table. "May I touch your arm for a moment? I want to examine your aether."

Bayan held out his arm. "You're saying I had contracted the fever?"

"I think you had something else," said Charles. He pressed his fingertips to various spots on Bayan's arm, like a doctor inspecting a broken bone. He closed his eyes and tilted his head, as if listening to Bayan's aether. Bayan sat perfectly still, watching him, wondering what affliction his body had been hiding.

At last Charles released him and shook his head. "I'm not sure what it was, but it felt like you had picked up a parasite. It's gone, now. Purge shouldn't affect you so badly."

"Thank you," said Bayan. "I never would have known, otherwise."

Charles studied him, rubbing his clean-shaven chin. "I wonder if that's why you reacted badly to all those other healers. You must have been carrying that around for years."

Bayan shrugged. "Perhaps so. I thank you for curing it, my friend."

There went Charles's grin again, every bit as warm as his magic had been. "You're welcome, my friend."