It opened slowly, and a figure emerged into the daylight. In the doorway there appeared a tired and defeated-looking man, dressed in pale desert clothing, with a slightly dishevelled appearance.
Keira felt the desert heat leave her, and her heart stopped. She, Tess and Sig all recognised him at once. He was prematurely aged, his shoulders hunched, his hair greying and his face marked with lines of regret, but there was no doubt that he was the same man from the picture.
Keira's throat constricted, seized hard by the overwhelming, inconceivable realisation that she had actually been right, and it brought her to an utterly silent standstill. It was strange. She had wanted so hard to believe it, it had all made sense in her head, but now that the proof was staring her plainly in the face, for some reason it just didn't seem real. It couldn't be real.
But it was.
Nobody spoke. The man in the door looked momentarily puzzled at his strange visitors as they just stood there and stared, but then he looked at Sig and made a slight start of recognition. "My king!" he said at once, and he quickly bowed his head. "This… this is rather unexpected. What brings you to my doorstep?"
Sig spoke carefully. "Sorry to bother you, but this is quite important. What's your name?"
"Trystan, sire," the man answered, bowing his head again. "At your service." But he seemed slightly afraid and reticent, half-hiding behind the door as if he feared contact with the outside world.
Keira still did not move, transfixed. She knew his name now. He wasn't just a face anymore.
Sig extended an arm sideways. "This is Keira, and this is Tess."
The inhabitant of the house inquisitively looked at the girls, who could still find nothing to say. He nodded politely at them in greeting, though it was plain he did not have a clue who they were. His gaze lingered the longest on Tess with some curiosity, and Tess nodded back feebly, but Keira remained quite still.
"We've been looking for you," Sig went on, and at that, the man's look of uncertainty elevated slightly to one of fear, and he took a step backwards.
"Looking for me?" he asked, swallowing. "I don't understand, sire. Have I… I haven't done anything wrong, have I? I've tried to live by the laws here, and —"
"Relax," said Sig quickly. "It's nothing like that. You're not in any trouble."
The man did relax, visibly sagging his shoulders.
"We were just hoping to ask you some questions," Sig further explained. "May we come inside for a word?"
The man in the door seemed quite flustered, shaken off-guard. "Well, of… of course. I'm honoured to act as host to the king. I'm not entirely prepared for receiving company, but… of course, sire."
He stepped back to invite them in. Keira found it hard to move, but she looked at Sig, who tilted his head towards the door in a non-verbal nudge that she should enter. Keira knew she had no other choice. She could not turn back after coming this far. She took a deep breath to steady herself, and then took a trembling step over the door frame.
Inside the house it smelled of salt and woodsmoke, and they entered into a simple but slightly cluttered sitting room that was filled with rickety items of furniture and fishing equipment. There were baskets stacked in the corners, and nets hanging out to dry from hooks in the ceiling. There were odd collections of items scattered around too, such as trays of shells, dried out sea urchins and fish bones, smoothed pieces of glass and lumps of driftwood, all evidently scavenged from the beach or stray catches in one of the fishing nets. The plaster was peeling away on patches of the walls, revealing the rough stone beneath. There was a hearth with a cooking pot, and a breeze drifted in through a half-shuttered window that looked over the sea and the small rocky islets in the bay.
Keira took it all in, looking around as if she were lost, and unsure of how to speak or act. This place seemed so quiet and sheltered, but in her drumming heart there was a heavy, suspenseful weight, and she shared an uneasy look with Tess up on her shoulder. They had found Azyma's father, against all odds, but now they faced an even harder task. Each knew and silently agreed that they could not leave here without telling him about his daughter, but would they be able to? Now they were here, it seemed like the most insurmountable challenge. And how much did he already know?
He shuffled past them and moved around the room like an old dog, tidying some things into corners and brushing the dust off his spare chairs. "I am sorry that my home is not in such a well-kept state, sire," he said, "But I seldom receive or invite visitors. If I knew you were coming, of course, I would have appropriately prepared the place for your arrival..."
He seemed a little disorganised and edgy, but he was polite and well-spoken, clearly harmless, and it seemed he was trying to make a genuine effort to be friendly and accommodating. That made Keira pity him all the more.
"It's fine," said Sig, taking the seat that was offered him. It creaked under his weight.
Keira and Tess stood where they were still, and Keira found it difficult to look at the man. Instead, she gazed out of the window, from the lapping waves on the white sand to the distant horizon beyond the bay. It reminded her a little of the view of the sea from her old bedroom back in Sandover, so many years ago.
"It's nice, huh?" said Trystan with a weak smile when he saw what they were looking at, and Keira quickly faced him. "That's one of the perks of living on this side of the city. Nice sea view. But I'm sure it doesn't compare with the view from the palace," he added, looking at Sig. "Not that I've ever been up there, of course."
Sig just tilted his head indifferently. However, the view and the comment reminded him of something, that time when Azyma had asked him about Spargus's beaches back in the forest, and he thought sadly to himself that she probably would have really enjoyed living here.
As Trystan tidied up a few last things, Tess pointed Keira to the only remaining seat, which was a low stool fashioned out of what seemed to be driftwood. Keira took it. It was not very comfortable, and it wobbled, but she made the best of it. Tess slid down onto her lap and tried to get comfy.
"Can I bring any refreshments for you or your company, sire?" asked Trystan, now standing in the middle of the room.
"No, it's fine," answered Sig, and Keira and Tess both shook their heads, even though their mouths were both quite dry.
Trystan took a last quick look around, as if making sure the place looked alright, and as he did so, Tess and Keira both caught eyes with Sig, giving him a look that asked, 'what should we do?'. Finally, Trystan took his own seat. Tess could see by the worn state of the chair that it was one that he sat in quite often; all comfort had long seeped out from its flat cushions, whatever colour it once had was faded, and both arms were tattered and hard. She also noticed for the first time, as he sat down, that there was a scar on his neck, a long, faint white line that poked out above his collar.
There were a few moments of awkward silence, nobody knowing what to say. Trystan's eyes moved all around the room, landing on everything except his visitors, but when it looked like his gaze was drawing closer to her, Keira looked down at her own feet sheepishly.
"So… to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he finally asked, a little unsure of what to expect. "What was it you wanted to ask me? I will do whatever I can to help."
Tess quickly shared another glance with Sig, as if to ask which of them should start. And how would they start? In their momentary silent interaction, Sig accepted the responsibility, but he knew he would have to approach the subject gently, and make sure that they really did have the right guy. He leaned forwards and his chair squeaked, and he asked the first carefully-chosen but vital question.
"Is it correct that you used to live in Haven City?"
Trystan's nervous but welcoming smile immediately turned pensive, and his eyes darkened. "H-Haven City? Ooh… that's a name I've not heard in a long time…"
He paused, seemingly lost in private, painful memories that had just been stirred up from somewhere deep. He looked like he was debating with himself whether to answer, and he scratched at the long scar on his neck. Then he sighed and cast his eyes to the floor.
"Yes," he said grimly after some moments. "I… I was born there, and my family and I… we all once lived there. So long ago now it feels. Like a different life..."
Keira listened with bated breath to his every word, still struggling to comprehend how this could all be true. But his family… who exactly were they? Where were they now? She was aching to know, and she quickly glanced around the room again, but saw no signs, heard no noises, nothing to suggest that anyone apart from himself lived here. Alone.
He looked up again, inquisitive but a little uncomfortable. "What is this about? Why do you want to know about my past?"
Sig and Tess met eyes again, and then with Keira, who involuntarily made a tiny shudder. It still felt much too soon to answer that question. Instead, Sig continued evasively, figuring that it might be better to let Trystan tell his own story first, see how he reacted, and then wait for a suitable moment to step in.
"I'll explain everything, but first, would you care to tell us how you came to be living out here?"
Trystan's face remained slightly creased in confusion, but he swallowed, twisted his fingers together, and spoke on. "Of course. If the king desires it, then I shall have to oblige." He took another moment, then continued. "My family and I, we thought we were safe within the walls of the city. Safe from the Metal Heads. We weren't rich, you understand. We had only a small hovel in the slum districts, but it was enough for us, and we were happy there for a while. But like all who lived in the city in those days, from the lowly slum-dwellers like us to the upper tiers of society, we all lived under the harsh tyranny of… Baron Praxis."
He scowled when he said that name, and his knuckles whitened.
"When he came to power, everything changed. There were new rules, and if they weren't followed to the letter, people would… well, disappear. We always tried to toe the line and keep out of the suspicions of his Krimzon soldiers, as every wise citizen did. But it wasn't enough, and one day… they came for us, and arrested us for… 'subversive behaviour', they called it. Of course, we were never guilty of any such thing, but that did not matter to the Baron. He needed no excuses, but he did need prisoners so he could assert his power over the city… make examples of people… or so I understood… and it turned out that we were to be among his next victims. He must have picked us at random… people who didn't matter. We never did anything!"
His voice suddenly rose a little, he clenched his teeth and he thumped a fist on the ragged arm of his chair, making Keira and Tess jump. Trystan noticed and became contrite. "I'm sorry. As you can see, even after all these years, thinking about it still makes me emotional. That's why I prefer not to do so…"
But Keira desperately wanted him to go on. This all fit so far with what they knew, but they were all waiting for those tantalising, confirmatory details. Names, dates, reasons.
"Anyway… the three of us were split up. My wife and I were taken straight to the fortress prison, and kept in separate cells without daylight. They took everything we had. They starved us, beat us, made us confess to crimes we had never committed. It was hell in there..."
He shuddered at the traumatic memories, and now raised his trembling fist to his lips, but he did not stop.
"I don't know how long they kept us in there. But the time finally came when we were led out of that hell-hole in chains… only to find ourselves thrown into another: the desert. We were cast out and left to die, with nothing but the rags they'd clothed us with in prison. We feared for our lives, exposed, lost and unprotected. But then, call it fortune or fate, the Wastelanders found us, and brought us here…"
Keira gave a slight jolt of both amazement and shock, and she and Sig both looked at each other again, knowing that this was exactly as she had envisioned. Never before had she felt so prescient.
Trystan still continued, but with increasing difficulty. "They gave us a second chance, an opportunity to start a new life, free from the evil clutches of the Baron. We thought ourselves blessed… but we soon realised that we were in no better position after all, because in order to be allowed to stay, we first had to fight our way to citizenship in that… barbaric arena."
He fell silent again for a long moment, his eyes clouding over. Keira's mouth fell open, for this was a part of the story she had not anticipated, and in her lap Tess stirred.
"What happened?" Tess asked, speaking to Trystan for the first time.
Trystan looked up briefly at the new voice, then drew in a shuddering breath. "Well, what else could we do? We did our best to defend ourselves. It wasn't pretty... and I'm not proud of what I had to do in there, but I was able to fight my way out of there and escape the trials alive. That won me my citizenship here. But my wife... she didn't make it..."
His head fell, and Keira's breath hitched from all the way down in the deepest pit of her stomach, feeling a whole new loss. Tess made a sad little noise as well, and held close. Sig felt something in his throat, and he swallowed it down.
"She was… she was still alive when they threw her back out into the desert, wounded and dying, left at the mercy of the sand and the wind and the sun. Alone. I pleaded with King Damas to reconsider and let her stay, I even tried to offer my own life in exchange for hers, but he would hear none of it. His own banishment had made him bitter and unforgiving, and he refused. He said that the laws of this town were absolute, and there was no place here for the weak. I never saw her again..."
Another silence fell, more terrible than before. All who were present could not help but be moved by his tragic story. The sorrow in his voice seemed to fill the whole room, and only the distant sound of the waves outside could be heard breaking through. Keira was still completely speechless.
"I'm sorry," said Sig gravely.
Trystan swallowed, now looking resentful. "I never forgave him for that. King Damas. I swore allegiance to him, of course. I had to. But I didn't want to see or speak to him ever again. I've lived a lonely life ever since. Just existing here."
Keira and Tess took the greatest pity on him. How on earth could they tell him what they had to say next after such an appalling story? But again, it was Sig who took the difficult responsibility, now sensing the opportunity to move in closer to the mark, and return to something that had not been expatiated.
"You said there were three of you in Haven," he said, pressing on gently. "Who was the third?"
Keira's ears twitched with full attention, and she held her breath. Tess touched her by the hand.
Trystan pursed his lips and sniffed. "My daughter," he said emptily, and Keira and Tess both felt their hearts leap as one. "The guards took her from us the moment they made the arrest… and I never found out what happened to her… what they did to her. It tore me up inside, not knowing. It still does. But it hurt my wife more, more than any of the physical torture they inflicted on us in that prison. She was a broken woman by the time they threw us into the Wasteland… losing her child like that. Our child. Sometimes I… wonder if she let herself lose those arena trials on purpose, just so she wouldn't suffer anymore. And sometimes… to be honest… I ask myself if I should have done the same… because now I've lost them both..."
He seemed to deflate in his chair, a figure of utter wretchedness. This was unbearable. Keira wanted to speak up so badly, to tell him that Azyma had lived, but still her voice was a thrall to her emotions. Tess was feeling it too, and it was so painful. They both looked at Sig, who understood that the time had come to finally reveal the picture. They couldn't keep poor Trystan in the dark any longer.
Sig drew it out for the final time. "Is this them?"
Trystan looked up, and his face went white. "Yes..." he breathed, reaching out. "Yes! That's her... Let me…"
Sig let him take the picture, and he looked at it long and deep, tears starting to form in his stinging eyes. "That's her… Mira… And my daughter..."
Keira's throat completely dried up. This confirmed it all.
"Azyma," murmured Sig.
Trystan looked up again, his damp eyes wide. "You know her name?"
"Yes, and she's the reason we've come looking for you."
Trystan fell from his chair onto his knees, and clutched at Sig's greaves, trembling. "Tell me please... what happened to her? Is she safe?"
This was too much to take. Even Sig struggled to speak now. But it was Tess who broke the terrible suspense. "Please, let me explain."
All eyes now turned to her. Sig gave her an endorsing and thankful look as she climbed down from Keira's lap onto the floor, and approached the kneeling father of Azyma.
"She survived. Azyma survived. After you were taken by the Baron, she came to the Underground to help fight against him. I met her there, and we became best friends. She told me all about you. She wanted to fight the Baron so she could find you, and be with you again. But… we never knew what happened to you…"
Trystan gasped. "She survived?"
Tess nodded. Behind her, Keira's head became stuffy with emotions.
Hope glimmered in Trystan's eyes. "So, she's still alive? Where is she?"
There was another baleful, suspenseful silence. Keira couldn't hold it in anymore, and she audibly sobbed, and as soon as she did, Trystan realised with a crushing blow that it boded ill.
"We… we're not sure…" Tess said, her voice faltering. "Oh, I'm so sorry, but… a few nights ago she went missing."
"Missing?" said Azyma's father, and his body shook. "What… what do you mean?"
"We think she was taken by someone," explained Sig, his voice low.
"Taken? I don't… I don't understand. How? When did this…?"
It was a dreadful few minutes as Tess recounted all that she could, all that was currently known about the excruciating mystery. Azyma's father never said a word, absorbing everything, but by the end he felt his emotions completely overwhelming him, and he slowly shrank into a slumped posture at Sig's feet. How could fate deal him such a cruel blow after all the misery he had already endured? For a single, fleeting moment, he thought he might finally have his daughter back, only to learn that she was still lost.
"This… this can't be," he sobbed. "How can this be? Why?"
Tess came closer to offer him what comfort she could. "I know it's hard, but please don't despair. We haven't given up. We're still looking for her and there's a chance she could still be found."
"We've got people working on it," said Sig from his chair. "We're still trying to piece everything together, but we'll let you know as soon as anything happens. We promise."
"But… whatever happens," said Tess, "You should be proud of her. She grew into a beautiful and independent woman."
Trystan wiped his eyes on his dirty sleeve. "Well... she always was beautiful... just like her mother..." He looked longingly into the image in his hands. "I never thought I'd see this picture again. Azyma must have kept it all this time... She never forgot us... She remained strong. Oh, I just wish I could see her again. Tell her how much I love her…"
With his finger, he stroked the image of Azyma in the old picture, her innocent, smiling face.
"I hope you will," said Tess. "Keep it. You deserve it more than us."
"Thank you," said Trystan, and he held the picture close to his chest.
They all remained in that house for more than an hour, united in their shared loss. Through his tears, Trystan begged Tess for everything she could tell him about her time spent with his daughter, desperate to learn of every moment of her life since his separation from her. Tess spoke at length, filling in all the gaps she knew, and when she could, Keira also shared some words, even though she had known Azyma only for a short time. She told the part of how she had rescued her from the fire at The Naughty Ottsel, and Trystan blanched to hear of his daughter subjected to such violence, but he clasped Keira by the hand and actually kissed her fingers, blessing her with his eternal love and gratitude for her heroic actions. Keira couldn't think what to say after such a gesture, which no one had ever made to her before. But it made her feel quite horrible inside, like she didn't entirely deserve it, for it hadn't stopped Azyma from being taken in the end.
Finally, Sig announced that it was time for them to depart. None of them wanted to go and leave poor Trystan alone again, but they had to, for their transport would be returning soon. Nevertheless, he was able to manage his grief long enough to make a final, heartfelt thanks to each of them in turn.
"Thank you for coming..." he uttered, his voice still fragile from emotions. "Thank you for bringing me this news of my daughter. I may not have her back yet, but I am glad to finally learn what happened to her, to know that she stayed loyal and strong, and that someone was always there for her. I just hope she's OK... wherever she may be now..."
When Trystan came to Keira for the last time, he extended his hand for her to shake. "Thank you again, Keira," he said. "I don't think I can ever repay you for what you did for her."
Keira could hardly find any parting words that she thought would be worthy, but instead of shaking his hand, she spontaneously hugged him, the only gesture of comfort and support she could think to make. With some surprise, he returned it and squeezed her tightly.
When all was said and done, he escorted them to his front door.
"You could go back, you know," Sig suggested to him in the doorway. "Back to Haven City with us."
Trystan looked uncertain and a little afraid. "Really? But… no, I… I couldn't, surely. I was banished…"
"But things are different now," said Tess. "The Baron isn't in charge anymore. Things are better."
Trystan scratched at his scar again. "Well… even so… I don't know if I could…"
Sig rested one of his large hands upon Trystan's shoulder. "Well, if you ever decide to, just come see me, alright? We'll work something out."
Trystan nodded. "Sure. But right now I just need time to think, take this all in. Thank you all once again. Be safe, and journey well!"
Finally they parted ways, and as they left the house and they heard the door close behind them, Keira slowed to look back one last time. But none of them spoke to each other until they reached the middle of the seafront row of houses.
"Oh, that poor man," said Tess with pity, riding on Keira's shoulder. "I can't believe what happened to Azyma's mother."
"I know," said Sig with a heavy breath. "It ain't right. Don't worry, I'll be keeping an eye on him though. You OK, Keira?"
Keira nodded stiffly, but she wasn't entirely OK. Her feelings were a disorganised smear right now, unsure what to make of this dramatic day of discovery. She'd come away with much more than she had anticipated. She was still floored that she had been so right about this, and felt spiritually closer to Azyma now after having met with her father, even though she was still lost. But there was a pain also, a tragic bittersweetness.
"Why?" she mumbled. "Why didn't someone do something?"
"What do you mean, honey?" Tess asked.
"I mean why didn't we think of looking here sooner? Azyma could be with her father again. She could still be here, have a family again."
Tess rested a hand on Keira's head. "Don't blame yourself for this, Keira. You couldn't have known. None of us could. Even if we'd worked out they were banished from the city, we knew we'd never find them. We didn't know about Spargus then."
Keira still did not feel satisfied though. It all felt so obvious now, and there was still something left inside her that needed to be expressed, but she couldn't pinpoint what it even was. She had wanted to come out here to see Azyma's parents, but in the end, she had hardly even spoken a word. "It's not fair," was all she could find to say.
"We won't give up," said Tess. "We'll find Azyma, Keira, and then we'll be able to tell her she isn't alone in her family anymore."
Keira listened, and found a little more hope and motivation. Tess was right. As tragic as this was, now was the time to continue the search for Azyma in earnest, for now they had another, even greater reason to find her.
They spoke little as they made their way back through the baked city streets, passing by the other Wastelanders and sticking to the shade when they could. But as they walked, Keira couldn't help but wonder, now that Azyma's father had been found here, how many other separated families could be reunited. How many had the Baron torn apart and banished? Trystan couldn't have been the only one to end up here.
Before she knew it, she was back in the Spargus garage again, and the great doors shunted open in front of her onto the blazing desert sands. But there was the cruiser that had brought them here, parked mercifully closer to the doors this time, waiting for them. The group approached, stepping out into the sun, and the front window rolled down, revealing Vis once again in the cockpit.
"Hey, nice to see you still in one piece," he said. "Did you find what you were looking for, Keira?"
"Yeah," Keira answered, shielding her face from the sun with one hand. "Sort of." But as she said that, she somehow managed a small smile. She hadn't come away empty-handed, after all, she realised.
"Well, in any case, your father would like to hear of the news you've collected," Vis said. "Are you ready to head back home now?"
"Let's go," said Keira. "Let's get out of this desert. The heat's killing me."
The back hatch of the vehicle hissed open again and she and Tess moved around to the back and half-climbed inside the vehicle, but Keira stopped when she looked behind her and noticed that Sig was not following. He just stood there between the vehicle and the great gate.
"Sig, aren't you coming?" she asked.
"Not this time, cherries," said Sig, shaking his head but smiling. "While I'm here, there's some things I should attend to. You go ahead and tell your father the news. I'll be back by tomorrow."
Keira didn't know what made her do it — maybe it was the heat of the desert or her emotions or something else or even some combination of all — but she suddenly jumped down from the back of the vehicle and flung herself around Sig in a warm hug, pressing herself into his battered but surprisingly comfortable armour. Her hands didn't even meet around his back. Sig was a little surprised but he could not help but return the gesture, and enclosed his free arm around Keira's shoulders. She needed it, after all.
"Thank you so much for all your help," Keira half-whispered. "I don't know what we'd have done without you, Sig."
"Hey now," said Sig softly, "I promised Jak I'd help protect the city and his friends, and that's what I'm doing."
These words meant everything to Keira, and she was reluctant to relinquish her grip around Sig's back. She had to though, because she was beginning to burn up again. Finally, they both separated and Keira hurried back into the shade of the vehicle, looking back at Sig one more time from the open hatch. She raised one hand and Sig gave a farewell gesture of his own just before the doors closed. Then the vehicle hovered upwards in a cloud of sand and dust, melting away into the endless, blue desert sky.