City of Final Pleasures
This world can't be saved.
Anyone who doesn't realize that is a saint or a fool. Or one of the citizens of this spoony city.
Once, this place fought bravely against the Sin Eaters, now only laughter echoed from its halls towards the coming cataclysm.
An endless parade to escape reality.
Or...was there perhaps more at play?
Tension began to melt away under the hot rain from the showerhead above and steam wrapped itself around her like a comforting blanket on a cold night. A little sigh escaped her as she tilted her head backwards and let it patter down onto her cheeks, washing away specks of dirt that had gathered there, before leaning against the wall of the extravagant shower stall.
Gods this felt good!
It was such a simple thing, but even something as mundane as a shower was a luxury in a world fighting for survival, with the only other place offering similar amenities being the Crystarium.
If possible, she would like to do nothing more than to take her sweet time, but they were here on a mission. After she had arrived in Kholusia, S'eni had quickly managed to locate Alphinaud and, after a heartfelt greeting, decided to help in his endeavour to get into Eulmore, the only other large city still remaining in Norvrandt. But as it turned out, getting into the city wasn't easy, as the requirements were...unorthodox to say the least.
And now, having managed to gain access, it was time to have a look around this place so many people were clamouring to get in.
Taking the provided soap, she began to thoroughly wash herself, making sure to not leave a single spot out. Once done, she turned the water off and reached behind the curtain to take the towel, dry herself and wrap it around her body before stepping out. She looked around the richly decorated room for a moment. Apparently, modesty wasn't something the people in Eulmore were greatly concerned about considering how open the room was and there wasn't any separation between genders.
With a shrug, she walked over to where she had stored her clothes and got dressed again, thankful for the fact that they were still rather clean despite all the things that happened.
Might be some sort of Crystal Tower secret, she thought, snorting at how silly that idea sounded. The great Allagan Empire, provider of long-lasting freshness in clothes. After she was dressed again, S'eni took the small bottle of perfume the lady at the registration had given her and sprayed herself with it, letting out a little cough when she did so a bit too liberally.
In any case, she should be presentable enough now.
As she stepped out into the hallway, she found Alphinaud still standing where she had left him, lost in thought and a look of sheer indecisiveness on his face.
"Hey," she called out, startling him out of his thoughts.
"Oh, you have showered already?" he asked, receiving a nod in return. His eyes shifted away from her towards the doorway leading to the showers and he became visibly flustered. "It's—uhm—quite exposed isn't it?"
S'eni gave him a look, placing a hand on the back of her hip. "You know, Alisaie would've been drying her hair by now."
"...she would, wouldn't she?" Alphinaud sighed. "Very well, I shall try to emulate some of her boldness."
"Just ask yourself what Estinien would say," she said as he began to walk into the shower room.
"Good gods, don't you mention a single word about this to him!"
While he was getting cleaned up, S'eni was having a look around, watching as workers and soldiers moved about. So far there was nothing overly strange. But she knew that wasn't the truth, had seen with her own eyes what happened when someone earned the ire of the elite.
"Be careful what you say or do," Tristol, the man they had saved told them just before leaving. "I wouldn't want you to save my life only to lose yours instead."
"...welcome to paradise, eh?"
Alphinaud soon rejoined her, looking much cleaner and likewise smelling of perfume, as well as having a healthy flush on his cheek.
"Well that was quite daring!" he said.
"You make it sound like you just ran through halls as naked as on your nameday." S'eni chuckled when his cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. As much as he was able to navigate the social and political landscape, he was still very much a boy.
"A-Anyway, I believe we are sufficiently clean now, so shall we introduce ourselves to our patrons?"
After learning the general layout of the city from the guard in front of the stairs leading into the city proper, the two of them headed towards the top floor called the Canopy, where the elite, or rather, 'free' citizens lived.
They then headed towards the Grand Dame's Parlor, following the directions they've been given while looking for the Mystel couple that would be their employers during their stay here, Lord Chai-Nuzz and his wife Lady Dulia-Chai. In the end, they were quite easy to spot.
...if only for the sheer size of the Lady Chai that made S'eni's jaw drop for a second in shock. Back home it was practically unheard of for a Miqo'te to grow so big unless she was blessed with multiple children at once, which clearly wasn't the case here. Her husband, in comparison, looked almost like a twig next to her.
It was also her that first noticed them.
"Ooh, and who do we have here?" Lady Chai asked almost as soon as she spotted them.
"Lord and Lady Chai, please forgive our intrusion," Alphinaud said with a respectful bow. "I'm an artist and was told you were looking for one."
"Aah, you must be the new—" Lord Chai said, only to be immediately interrupted by his wife.
"Oh, goodness me. What a handsome boy! Hair like silk, pearly cheeks.. " she sniffed the air, eyes widening in delight. "...and you even smell wonderful. I approve of this one, dearest, he shall paint us!"
"I, um, y-yes," he replied, taken aback for a second before regaining his composure once more. "Ahem. He certainly makes a more conscientious impression than the last one. What a talentless and rude wretch that was."
Alphinaud and her shared a look.
"Wonderful, wonderful! Welcome to Eulmore...er."
"Alphinaud, my lady. And this is my diligent assistant, S'eni."
"My lord, my lady," S'eni said, bowing as well.
"Oh my, what a pretty thing you are!" Lady Chai brought her ring-covered hands together. "For a moment I thought you were one of the dancers from the Beehive. And such an interesting name."
Somehow she felt oddly flustered at those words.
"I've heard of folk wanting to bring family members along, but an assistant?" Chai-Nuzz asked.
"We are family in all but name, my lord. In times of great hardships, she has always stood firmly at my side and supported me," Alphinaud replied and a small smile danced across S'eni's lips at his words. "No one else understands how I work and it is through her presence that my art will be able to fully capture the beauty of your beloved."
His gaze moved between the couple.
"Of course, once I start painting, I work alone. So I wondered if it would be permissible for S'eni to explore the city for a bit? Out of gratitude for her priceless contributions to my art, I thought it would only be fair to make this humble request on her behalf."
"Oooh, such devotion warms my heart!" Dulia-Chai said. "Of course she can have a look around. She shall be free to explore to her heart's content. Isn't that right, darling?"
"Uh...oh, yes. Yes, of course, dearest. Q-Quite right."
Quite the henpecked one, aren't you? She thought to herself as she once again bowed, saying, "You are too kind. If you would excuse me then…"
Glancing over to Alphinaud, she shared a subtle nod with him, turned around, and walked away.
Time to see what this city was really about.
The more she learned about Eulmore, the more she could tell that something ominous was going on within its walls. At first, the things she had heard from that lady whose attendant she had saved from falling off one of the walkways seemed a bit strange, but not overly so given the state the world was in she supposed. Upon becoming a citizen, the free would relinquish all their property to the city and in turn, could live a life of endless luxury. The bonded served the free but in turn, received access to the same lavish lifestyle in a sort of weird harmonious way.
From there, she had continued her investigation and uncovered that the leader of the city, Lord Vauthry, seemed to be able to influence the Sin Eaters to a degree. Nobody knew how he did it, but they also didn't seem to care for the fact so long as it offered the city a lasting peace.
Then she found out about the ascension.
"As we all know, Sin Eaters exist to devour the sinful, but they also serve to gather the souls of the innocent and shepherd them unto celestial paradise," the gentleman had told her. "It is through Lord Vauthry that we learned of this truth and through his grace, the people of Eulmore are destined to embrace salvation."
The way he and the young songstress in his employ, who had lost her voice, seemed to be utterly convinced of that fact was more than just a little disturbing.
Leaning against the railing of one of the walkways, S'eni closed her eyes. Salvation...
Almost immediately, her mind was attacked by images.
A large Sin Eater, angel-like in appearance looming over young Halric...
Tesleen as she ran up to defend him...
The Sin Eater's blade as it buried itself deep into her...
...and the horrific way her body twisted and turned, liquid light pouring out of her eyes, when she was transformed into a Sin Eater as well.
How could these creatures offer anyone salvation?
Opening her eyes again, she looked around, watching the people of Eulmore, free and bonded alike, go about their business; living a life of blissful ignorance. Such a far cry from the suffering she had seen in Amh Araeng. Even the people living in the shadow of this city in a shantytown made of flotsam were, at the very least, safe from the dangers of the Sin Eaters.
If Alisaie was here, she would be downright furious, and truth be told, S'eni couldn't help but feel a little disgusted as well despite all she had uncovered so far, which she was sure was probably only the tip of the iceberg.
She pushed herself away from the railing and slowly began to head back to where Alphinaud and the Chais were waiting. Entering the lavish interior of the Canopy, she took a long moment to truly take it all in. Laughter, a never-ending stream of drinks, the greatest delicacies that still remained on this godsforsaken continent, and many more things that people elsewhere could only dream of.
A free for all sinfest, hiding something dark and sinister.
No, she was very sure there was no salvation to be found here.
She found Alphinaud in front of a canvas, holding a perfect replication of the talking couple, right down to the beauty mark above Lady Chai's chin.
"Ah, there you are. You were gone for so long, I was beginning to get worried," he said in a low voice. "So what did you uncover?"
Telling him what she found out, she watched as a deep frown began to form on his face.
"So Lord Vauthry boasts some manner of influence over the Sin Eaters. That would explain why citizens revere him as much as they do. But this ascension business...if what that man says is true and so many people have entered the city, then where did they—"
"Hmpf. I take my eyes off you for a moment only to find you chatting away with your assistant. I take it the outline is done then?" Chai-Nuzz interrupted him, rising to his feet and walking over them. He took a look at the canvas. "Wh-what in the blazes...!? It's so...so unflattering. Where is your artistic interpretation? Explain yourself, Alphinaud!"
"Lord Chai," Alphinaud began in his most diplomatic voice. "You stated that this portrait was to commemorate your anniversary. It being a joyous union I thought a realistic portrayal—"
"Realistic!?" the older man fumed. "I don't want realism, I want perfection! A spectacle that slackens the jaws of everyone looking at it and makes them cry out in amazement! Now, fetch a blank canvas and—"
A loud scream echoed through the air.
What the—!?
"Hm, did that come from above?" Chai-Nuzz wondered.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your attention pleeease." They all turned to see the two harlequin women standing at the entrance of the Canopy, dressed in red and blue, a jolly smile on their faces. "A villain most foul wishing to bring harm to our city was on the loose..."
"...But our lord has got him now. And his fate won't be pretty!" the other one finished. "The hammer of justice is poised to come cccrrraaaashing down and any who'd wish to see it fall are heartily invited to join his lordship in the Offer."
Whispers began to fill the hall, as people gathered around, some following the two women while others chose to rather not be involved and went back to more pleasant things.
"I take it this man will face sentencing?" Alphinaud asked Lord Chai after a moment.
"That's right. If you're curious, it might be worth going along for the experience," he replied, returning to his wife's side to calm her down.
"S'eni..." Alphinaud looked at her.
"Yeah. Let's go!"
As they followed the crowd, S'eni didn't notice the man dressed in a dark, fancy-looking coat, across the room, his pale eyes watching her every move. Slowly, a pair of lips curled upwards into a little smirk.
"Hmm. Interesting," he said, observing for a moment longer before following after them at a leisurely pace.
There's actually a lot to be said about Eulmore, but I feel that should be at a later chapter, so I'll just cut it down to the most important part: Dulia-Chai is a treasure.
Have a nice weekend!