It was nowhere near as difficult to escape MoonStone Mountain as they had dreaded it would be. After the scare in the spiked-ceiling chamber they ran as swiftly as their legs could carry them down a dark, musty hallway, and in no time at all had stolen aboard an unmanned skiff and set a course for the nearby Ixa'takan village of Horteka, which Centime said would be all too easy to find. Only Lawrence seemed to find anything suspicious about the simplicity of their escape, but, ever the brooding mercenary, he kept his doubts silently to himself.
Horteka village was a derelict. The majority of the male population had been shipped to MoonStone Mountain to labor about in the mines at De Loco's command, save for the very young or incredibly sick, leaving only those few men who had avoided capture and the women of the village. Centime, who seemed to be some sort of hero to the Westerners, was welcomed back heartily, and Lawrence, Ilchymis, and Domingo were treated as equals, though they suspected that was Centime's doing. Any elation they felt at again daunting death was dashed instantly, though, when Centime took them to see his family.
He embraced his haggard wife Karen tightly, thankful to see her safe, but she cried and cried into his chest as though her heart would break and told them all that their two Ixa'takan twin children had been slaughtered in the siege. Centime swooned on the spot and placed a horrified hand to his mouth; Ilchymis placed a strong hand upon his shoulder to steady him, for it seemed the man would faint. She then sobbed that their eldest son, Hans, had been kidnapped by the Valuans, leaving only their ten-year-old daughter Lydia, who seemed stricken in the absence of her siblings. Karen then turned to the other three and offered up their home for them to rest, and although they obliged they felt as though they should not stay, but allow the family to grieve in peace.
Dawn came the next day like a crimson finger stretching across the Ixa'takan sky, and Lawrence snuck out of the little cabin early, leaving Domingo and Ilchymis to rest as he sought Centime. He found the older engineer standing at the bow of the wrecked vessel Ironclad, despair etched into every feature, the helplessness of a failed parent weighing upon his conscience.
And it was then that Lawrence became the hero that Domingo had deemed him to be. "Good morning, Centime. I assume you didn't sleep?"
"No." The man's eyes were heavy, and his face was unnaturally pale. "I doubt I will sleep again. Two of my children dead... and Hans..." He passed a hand across his eyes, which were overbright. "I know what they were plotting in taking him... they'll transport him back to Valua, and attempt to force him to do the job I refused to do..."
"It doesn't have to end this way." Centime looked over his shoulder at Lawrence; the sellsword was not watching him, but following the steady sunrise with his keen, dark eyes. Standing there in the early morning light he looked somehow otherworldly, like some untouchable martyr, and for a moment Centime could see what Domingo saw. "Ilchymis... he won't quit until he's made sure that Valua can't get their hands on the Moon Crystals, because he made a promise to some Silvite on her deathbed. Domingo just wanted to see the world, but he believes that Ilchymis is doing everything right, and he'll follow him 'til the end. And I've got my reasons for going toe-to-toe with the Empire--" Centime raised an eyebrow, but said nothing "--So I think you were meant to go with us. Don't let it end this way, Centime. Move heaven and earth to find your son. We'll help you in any way we can."
Centime stared, mouth slightly agape. He didn't know quite what to say, and settled for a lame-sounding "Thank you, Lawrence."
And then the mercenary's stern expression was back in place. "Don't mention it. Now listen - the four of us together might be able to get this rustbucket ship of yours up and moving. If we do, what do you say we go looking for that Green Moon Crystal, and then head to Valua to find your son?"
So they re-started repairs to the Ironclad with renewed fervor, and on the fourth day the ship was fully functional. Hopes restored, the four departed for Rixis, the City of Mists.
Meowzychan: Bah, get over it! Alfonso's not getting a boyfriend!