"They're the thieves who stole into the palace."
"Is that what the commotion last night was about?"
"They think me some common thief," Amalia whispers bitterly, hands bound before her in thick metal cuffs. Balthier backs up, ducking his head a bit lower.
"Better than a common assassin."
"Aren't the punishments about the same these days?" I counter raising an eyebrow.
Before either can reply, a soldier pushes Amalia forward. Bold as ever, she turns to face the gathering crowds of the streets of Rabanstre's Lowtown.
"These people have done nothing. Release them," she demands.
"What are you doing?" Vaan hisses.
"Don't interrupt me," she snaps. "I'm thinking."
The guard pushes her forward, separating us from her. Oh well. It was a good run, I suppose. I look around at the crowds and the people who've been dragged into this with me. What a mess. It was an in-and-out mission, a simply thievery all ruined by a commoner and a pair of sky pirates. Dern would be split between laughter and disappointment. That is, if Vayne wasn't right there, arms crossed tightly as he watches his prisoners, proud. He merely eyes Vaan one more time before walking away, head held high.
"Wait!"
"Where do you think you're going?" a guard demands. I turn to see him restraining a girl with blonde pigtails, her face clearly showing desperation as she fights to get past.
"He didn't know what he was doing! You have to let him go! You have to!"
"Penelo!" Vaan calls. He raises a half smile, lifting his bindings higher. "Sorry. That dinner'll have to wait."
"I told you!" she snaps, hurt. I raise an eyebrow, catching Balthier's eye.
"That's enough!" a soldier by us snaps, knocking a metal brace against the boy's head sharply.
"Hey!" I glower at the man, doing my best to pull the thief to his feet. These Archadians and their ingrained power complexes... Gods above I hate them. All of them.
"Leave him alone!" Penelo cries, pushing the guards off her and running toward Vaan. Quickly, Balthier steps into her path, offering a gentle smile and a handkerchief.
"Hold onto this, would you?" he asks smoothly. "Just until I bring Vaan back." I roll my eyes. This man and his self-identifying heroics.
"You, over here!" a soldier demands, glowering at Balthier. The sky pirate sighs, taking his time.
"Edgy, aren't we," he mutters. The soldier raises his arm to strike at Balthier this time, but I block the blow with my enormous cuffs, eyes narrowed and a sneer pulled across my lips.
"Down, boy."
"Yeah, if you're so tough, pick on someone who can fight back," Vaan retorts.
"Dalmascan scum," he hisses, beating my wrists away and striking my head with the butt of his sword. I stifle a laugh as I stumble back into Vaan, vision fading and a trickle of blood dripping down the side of my face. Someone's getting punished later. The last thing I feel is Vaan pushing my upright roughly.
The sun is hot through the window high above me, sand trickling from higher up every so often. Nothing stirs otherwise. The cell is stuffy, silent, too warm. Balthier sits across the way from me, twisting his rings on his fingers or studying the room with dim green eyes. The smell is horrendous. Rotting corpses, if I had to guess. That, and the prisoners using every corner of this place as a toilet for years. However, it's not all that unfamiliar. A tale for another time, I suppose.
I throw my aching head back against the stone wall, staring up at the ceiling impatiently. Balthier raises an eyebrow and opens his mouth to say something. It's never said, though, as Vaan groans, lifting his head off the bed of dirty sand he rests on. The sky pirate sighs.
"You're awake," he points out, his voice light but his tone bored and unimpressed. Vaan pushes himself onto his elbows, squinting through the light to look at the two of us.
"Where are we?" he asks, straightening to sit up. Balthier frowns, motioning toward the contents of our cell.
"Prison, where else?" I raise an eyebrow and he continues. "More a dungeon, but it's really all the same."
"The Nalbina Dungeon, to be precise," I mutter, folding my hands behind my head and shutting my eyes.
"Have some experience down here?" Balthier inquires. I shrug. Clutching his head with a wince, the boy stands.
"I suppose so. Certainly more than once." Smiling, I peel my eyes open and watch the blonde in the center of the cell look around uncomfortably. "In fact, I'm genuinely surprised they keep throwing me down in the same place every time."
Vaan jumps when a woman outside screams, gasping and begging for help before her voice is stifled and heard no more. He shouts in surprise upon stepping on the limp body of a bangaa directly behind him. Staring at it with wide eyes, he shudders.
"Relax, it's just a corpse," Balthier huffs, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his thighs. "Jump at every little thing down here and you'll wear yourself out."
"And there are plenty of little things down here, I assure you," I add, grinning. Balthier yawns, waving at a fly that buzzes around his face.
"It's not even a proper dungeon. They just sealed off the bottom level of the fortress." Nonchalant, he nods toward the open door of the room we've settled into. "Take a look around. You heard Shae; we're not the first they've thrown down here."
"Where's Fran?" Vaan asks, frowning as he turns to leave. Balthier stretches his arms over his head. As much as I dislike his "leading man" ideals and his disinterested attitude, I want to laugh at the response his actions are eliciting from Vaan. What a stock contrast: a bundle of nerves and a man ready for a nap.
"She's off trying to find us a way out," he replies. I sigh, pushing myself to my feet.
"Unfortunately, they upped the guard count after my last escapade. Though, it's more likely due to the presence of the Resistance so close by."
There's another strangled cry from outside and Vaan looks back and forth between us and the rest of the dungeon. Balthier shakes his head, meandering toward the boy.
"Remember what curiosity killed. Just a friendly word of advice." He reaches toward his belt, lifting a damp, brown bag. "This is all the water we've got. I'd save your strength if I were you." Vaan shakes his head, leaving the room. Balthier scoffs, putting the water back and glancing toward me lazily. "Do we follow or wait until he finds trouble?"
"You do what you like," I shrug, walking toward the doorway and stretching my arms high over my head. "I've got old friends to visit, leads to find. I'm sure you know the drill."
"Ah, yes. I'll let you be on your way, then."
"Not like you would ever stop me," I grumble, heading across the sandy floor with my head held high. These filthy murderers, abandoned soldiers, common thieves... They've all been thrown into one enormous melting pot. It's difficult to distinguish one from the other. The best way to avoid being preyed on is to keep your head level and your confidence projected. Even if there is none.
After wandering the dim, broad room for several minutes, I find not a single recognizable face in the entire area. Unfortunate. Either they were released or they were killed. The latter seems most prominent down here in the pits of Hell. Finally, I catch sight of Vaan heading toward the next narrow passageway and sigh, shaking my head. I suppose fetching Balthier would do no good now.
The foolish thief is well ahead of me by the time I make it to the arena, peering in at the commotion with my back pressed to the wall of the entryway. Bangaa and seeq alike grunt and cry out, fighting uncomfortably close to Vaan. A group of seeq rush toward a fallen bangaa beating him harshly with makeshift clubs. Blood sprays from his broken skin, flying with every draw-back of a club.
"No, don't!" Vaan cries, just before a dirty, purple seeq slams his weapon down over the bangaa's skull, ending his life then and there. I cringe, concealing myself and listening in carefully. "He was defenseless!" he protests.
Snorts and growls and grumbles draw closer as the killers approach the boy. There's a loud thump and a round of rough laughter before I can hear the disgusting creatures dragging him away. Gritting my teeth, I turn to one or more... despised options. But only for Vaan and that girl. Penelo was it? It may be ridiculous, but I see a reflection of Dern and myself in the two of them, and that's not something you let die easily.
I run through the tunnels, dodging confused people and hissing bangaa and skidding to a stop before the room Balthier sits in, still mindlessly staring at the sand. I'm breathing too hard to speak, but he already knows.
"It seems our sewer rat has found trouble," he sighs, pushing himself to his feet and following me back toward the arena.
Loud cheers and shouts plan to suffocate me as I resume my previous position, nodding toward the seeq dragging Vaan through the center of the sandy ring. The thief kicks himself free, covered head to toe in dark bruises and shallow cuts. The gates to enter the ring drop shut and three drooling seeq, the same three than killed the bangaa, jump in, waving their clubs. Balthier and I waste no more time in walking toward the edge of the ring, the sky pirate putting on a cocky face and resting a hand on his hip.
"Something stinks in here, all right." He glances over at me, smirking. "I've changed my mind. This is no dungeon, it's a sty." The largest seeq gurgles out some gibberish spitting and drooling constantly. I cross my arms, rolling my eyes with a hip thrown out to the side lazily.
"He said you're the one who stinks, hamshanks," I retort, Balthier cracking his knuckles. Without further hesitation, he leaps into the ring and I'm left with no choice but to follow. Unless, of course, I want the crowds to tear me apart.
"You alright, Vaan?" Balthier asks, eyes locked on our blathering targets.
The blonde doesn't reply, glaring at the seeq that growl at us. Replacing his smug smile, Balthier raises a hand, waving for them to try to take us on. Daring them. Rolling my shoulders, I raise my fists with a grin.
"Here piggy, piggy, piggy!" I call, provoking the only orange-skinned seeq. It snarls, taking the bait.
Ducking under its first swing, I dive around behind him and strike at his knees. He falls forward, whipping his club at me from behind. The blow catches my elbow but I ignore it, twisting the weapon away and bringing it down over my opponent's head. Something cracks beneath the club and the bandit goes still. I look up and nearly laugh at the bare minimum damage Balthier is dealing with his fists, careful not to dent his jewelry.
"Balthier!" I call, tossing the club to him. He accepts it without a word. Hardly half a minute later, all three seeq are down. Slowly, more bangaa and humes emerge from the shadows, creeping forward with pure expressions of shock. We killed the three terrors of the Nabina Dungeons.
My adrenaline-charged heartbeat begins to slow, my eyes meeting Balthier's in the dead silence. I despise authority, being told what to do makes me spiteful, and I've always been the first to lead in a difficult situation. However, in this moment, I recognize that Balthier knows something I don't. I take hold of that advantage firmly when the grumbling prisoners scatter, a loud clang echoing through the room behind us.
The clink of metal fills my ears and I can't help but feel nauseous at the dreadful sound of the heavy armor. Frowning, I join Balthier and Vaan in the shadows, ducking against the rough stone wall beneath our intruders and praying it conceals well. Balthier peers out from around our hiding place, huffing when he sees four bangaas heading down the stairs toward the soldiers and a man who appears to be a commander of sorts.
"Great," he grumbles. "They just don't give up, do they?"
"Bounty hunters?" I whisper and he nods.
"The most persistent lot I've ever come across."
The first bangaa snarls, face covered in piercings and inked designs. He shoves a soldier out of the way, scanning over the empty room irritably.
"Now is looking like a good time to leave," the sky pirate to my left murmurs. The gate beside us creaks ever so slightly and I turn to see Fran waiting on the other side. "You have impeccable timing." He watches the hunters cautiously as he inches closer. I duck my head a bit lower than necessary, just in case a misplaced hair or two catches the attention of the bangaas.
"Through the oubliette, there's a way out," the viera says in a low voice. "Only—"
"Only you sense the Mist," Balthier finishes quietly. Fran nods and her partner doesn't hesitate to drop to the ground, sliding underneath the gap in the gate. "Then we'll need weapons."
I follow, crawling through the dust and standing slowly to dust my once-white shirt off. I nearly jump out of my skin when a voice shouts, breaking the silence. Vaan winces, fearing I'll make noise to raise the alarm.
"What did you call me? Say that again!"
"What, you couldn't hear?" the piercing-decorated bangaa snarls, waving a finger in the guard's face. "I merely said the lot of you are incompetent fools! If you've the sky pirate in your hands, where is he?"
"You'd have done better, Ba'Gamnan?" the soldier demands in a high-pitched voice that makes me wish I could slice my ears off on Fran's deadly sharp heels. "By your own words, it was the Imperial Army who caught this sky pirate of yours. We've done your job for you!" His head cocks to the side. "We don't require the assistance of filthy headhunters. The Empire will restore order here." The bangaa—Ba'Gamnan—swivels around to face the armored guard.
"Eh? What's that you say now?" He paces toward the source of his annoyance. "Maybe I'll whet my blade on you... Before I kill Balthier." The soldiers reach for their swords, stopped only by a stern, echoing voice.
"That's enough, Ba'Gamnan." A large, heavily armored man steps into the room and goosebumps visibly raise across my skin.
"A Judge," Fran breathes, watching the man carefully. Vaan looks nervous, watching with an intense curiosity.
"Judge?"
"The self-proclaimed guardians of law and order in Archadia," Balthier explains lowly, his voice taking on a slight edge. "They're the elite guard of House Solidor." Even the name nearly gags me, especially coming from the sky pirate's lips.
"That effectively makes them the commanders of the Imperial Army," I add under my breath. He nods, glancing back at me. "Most of them, if not all of them, fail to keep that law and order anywhere near justly."
"If you ask me, they're more executioners than judges." You got that right.
"Keeping peace through spilling blood," I huff, shaking my head.
"Not a friendly lot, at any rate. What are they doing here?"
The Judge begins to speak once more, his horned steel helmet gleaming in the dim light fo the dungeon.
"The Emperor is willing to overlook race for his more talented servants." You mean anyone Vayne approves of overlooking. "However, those that do not show respect will receive none in kind,"
"Your honor—" Ba'Gamnan starts.
"You travel freely through our lands because the Emperor wills it. Am I correct?" Unable to argue, the bangaa scoffs, turning to look back over the room. Sighing, the Judge paces down the stairs across from our hiding spot and I hold my breath. "Where is the Captain?"
"We have him in solitary, Your Honor. We're ready to begin our interrogation."
"This does not concern you, bounty hunter," the Judge says sharply when Ba'Gamnan starts to interject. Snarling, the bangaa turns to his accomplices.
"He's in here somewhere! Find him!"
"Bwagi, that way!"
"I was going this way!"
"Time for the hare to follow the fox," Balthier muses, watching the soldiers leave as the bounty hunters continue to fight.
"Huh?" Vaan frowns.
"The magicks binding the door to the oubliette are quite strong," Fran replies. "Too strong even for my talents." Confident, aren't we?
"That's why we'll get them to open it for us," Balthier finishes, hitting Vaan's shoulder as he walks past him, brushing past me easily.
"How's going deeper into this place—" Vaan starts, only to be cut off when the sky pirate swivels around, irritated.
"What's wrong?" he demands. "You don't trust her? Viera's noses are sharp. If she says there's a way out, there's a way out."
"I understand it to be difficult to trust people you've just met, especially people of this kind," I shake my head, crossing my arms and nodding toward the pair of pirates. "But Balthier's right; viera have piqued senses for this sort of thing. We haven't got many choices, Vaan."
"To be clear, you're of this kind," Balthier returns, raising an eyebrow. I shrug.
"Of course I am, but I'm not the one with bounty hunters ready to kill all four of us if we're spotted. At least I've been careful enough to acquire sane enemies."
"I can hardly help who picks up my bounty."
"But you can help who chases you into hiding and who winds up dead," I counter, quirking an eyebrow with a light smile. Fran sighs, her ear twitching, and Balthier rolls his eyes, turning to lead the way out.
We start running down the next passageway, hurrying to catch up with the soldiers, only for Fran to skid to a stop. Balthier is quick to notice, turning back.
"Look," the viera calls. Her partner smiles.
"Ah! The prison repository of wrested relics and raiments."
"So, our things are in here?" Vaan asks, turning to look at the sky pirate.
"That's what I said," Balthier counters, on the edge of exasperation with this young thief we've picked up. You might be better off not speaking in riddles to the poor boy.
"Gods above, there you are," I breathe, pulling my spear from the pile of the weapons, armor, and bits and bobs around that sort.
The slender pole fits in my hand in the best places, worn from good use both from me and another. The dirt smudged on the vermillion sash at the top makes me frown, but I suppose that means it matches the one tied across my legs now. I swipe the dust off the gleaming red gems in the polearm's spearhead before looking it over, satisfied. The others finish collecting their thing just as I pick up my mythril dagger and slip it into my tall boot.
"Shall we head out, then?" I ask, leaning against my weapon gently. Balthier eyes it like he did the first time I drew it in the sewers. Suddenly defensive, I raise an eyebrow. "I can assure you it's only red quartz. Nothing worth snagging."
"I wouldn't try to sell that dirty old thing for more than fifty gil. Most definitely not worth it," Balthier replies smoothly, if not a bit coldly, before leaving the room with Fran and Vaan on his trail. I roll my eyes, following after a few moments of suppressing irrational anger. He just doesn't see the value in anything that isn't either glittering with rainbows or half-naked.
Running as fast as I can possibly (silently) run, I barely manage to slip through the unbelievably narrow gap. Balthier moves to keep running, breathing out a short, surprised sound before stopping himself and stumbling back behind a wall. I nearly skid into Vaan, scraping the armor of my left arm against the stone wall when he knocks into me. Vaan tries pushing open the next door while Balthier peers around the corner of the wall. Me and Fran wait somewhat impatiently, our nerves on high alert.
"There are more turnkeys than cutpurses down here," Balthier grumbles. "I've had my fill of chains. Let's... tread lightly, shall we?"
"You think I'll go stomping around to get thrown into that dungeon for the umpteenth time?" I counter, catching his annoyed green eyes. Rolling my eyes, I mutter an irritated addition to my words. "Well damn, you keep looking at me like that, I might just have to..."
"Guys, c'mon," Vaan hisses, elbowing me. I elbow him back, ignoring Fran's sharp stare.
"I'll lead the way," Balthier mutters, turning back toward the open room. "Follow at your own risk, but don't blow my cover if you're caught, got it?"
"Afraid, are we?" I tease, though I must admit, I understand his situation. I've been in far too many compromising dilemmas. "Pay attention, Vaan. If a guard turns while Balthier's going, don't follow him. Right?"
"Got it," the boy nods.
Balthier and Fran sprint across the momentary burst of light in the midst of the room, taking cover in a deeply shadowed area of a key-station. Checking for guards, I'm quick to follow, ducking low and nearly slamming into the brick wall when a soldier turns halfway through my risky turn. Vaan waits obediently, running only when the guard's turned away. I beam, knocking his shoulder with a broad smile proudly.
The next time the first two move, it's a bold dash up the short set of stairs across from us and into the shadows once more. I urge Vaan to go first, watching him bound from shadow to shadow, hot on his little heels. Fran pulls Balthier back at the last second, nodding toward an incoming patrol. I press my back to a column as he walks past, the others hiding just in his blind spot. But he'll come back around, won't he?
I lean out of my hiding place to see he's the only guard nearby. I hold up a hand, signaling for the others wait, and then stealthily, completely silently, creep up behind the guard. Just as he moves to turn back, I reach up on either side of his head, twisting and snapping his neck sharply in one smooth, practiced motion. Nearby, there's an alcove to hide his limp body in.
Upon seeing me return, Balthier gives me an expression of disapproval.
"What?" I hiss. "You weren't moving and he would've seen you on his walk back." I huff, keeping an eye out for soldiers. "And here I was trying to keep an ungrateful pirate out of prison."
He makes no reply, moving on quickly to the next shadowy passageway. Quickly, we slip past the next round of guards and rush down the next empty hallway as a scattered group, pausing at each break to see, much to our relief, there are no soldiers down this way.
The familiar clink of armor ahead reveals the presence of the Judge and his guards up ahead. I take a deep breath, pressing my back to the wall and staring up at the stone ceiling. Of all the escape efforts I've made in my life, this may just be the most dangerous.