Freedom's Toll

Desperation is the gateway to many tragedies. It makes us susceptible to sweet promises whose price we don't even realize and begets cruelty upon cruelty until we are just one look in the mirror away from those that made us go to such lengths in the first place.

To the people of Ala Mhigo, seeing their homeland restored was everything. And some of them would stop at nothing to see this dream realized.

For them, there was only Liberty or Death...

There were many things that came to mind when one thought of Southern Thanalan, and most of them rather unflattering. These scorched plains, serving as the gateway between the Sagoli Desert to the south and the Grand Wake to the east, were home to a variety of dangerous creatures that made even the most experienced adventurer tread with care.

If it wasn't for the ancient ruins scattered all across the area, she doubted Ul'dah would even have any interest in it at all.

But even in this inhospitable area, people have thrived, be it the local Miqo'te hunting on the dunes, the Amalj'aa that viewed the area as hallowed ground, and, above all, the denizens of Little Ala Mhigo.

And it was the latter that had brought them here today.

After their investigation into the rumors of Titan's summoning, which had sadly turned out to be true, they had received news that shipments of crystals had been delivered to the refugee settlement and from there into the hands of the Ala Mhigan Resistance.

Further inquiries in Little Ala Mhigo had revealed that a new group simply called the Masks had surfaced some time ago and had quickly become a leading faction inside the Resistance under their charismatic leader, the Griffin. They were the ones that received the recent shipment of crystal, but to what end, no one knew.

But what they did know was that the Griffin would soon be giving a speech at the Sunken Temple of Qarn.

And as luck would have it, S'eni knew her way around the area well enough to guide Alphinaud and herself there without any serious trouble from the local fauna.

"An impressive sight," Alphinaud said as they came to a stop in front of it, letting his gaze come to rest on the walls and pillars of this once great temple. "It's a shame Alisaie isn't here."

S'eni hummed, lightly kicking away a few rocks from a fallen golem. Alisaie had decided to stay behind and wait for Thancred, who had yet to join them. Though she had to wonder if that was the only reason, as the girl had been acting strange earlier ever since they had talked to Urianger.

Had something happened between the two of them?

But she supposed that had to wait for now.

"You were here before?" he asked.

"Yeah, the Immortal Flames were recruiting people to explore the temple at the time," she replied. "We managed to clear the place of monsters and traps."

Which, she supposed, was what made it possible for the Griffin to hold his speech here in the first place.

Heading inside, their steps echoed down the long tunnel leading into the temple, soon joined by voices coming from further up ahead.

"Has it already begun?" Alphinaud wondered out loud.

A sizable crowd greeted them as they stepped into the temple proper, eagerly listening to a man standing on a broken wall, covered from head to toe in armor and his face obscured by a mask.

The Griffin.

"Brothers and Sisters," the man called out to the crowd. "Twenty years have passed since our home, Ala Mhigo, was occupied by the Garlean Empire. We were easy prey, weakened by battle and our city thrown into chaos after Theodoric's death. The tyrant's reign had barely ended when a new evil took its place; subjugation by the Garleans."

A murmur passed through the crowd.

"Not a day has passed since escaping, that I don't think of my lost homeland or the people that I left behind. I'm sure many of you feel the same."

Another murmur, and this time S'eni could spot some of them clenching their fists or starting to shake with anger.

It became quickly apparent that the man was charismatic and knew exactly how he had to appeal to his fellow Ala Mhigans, who were listening to every word of his speech.

"Those who are willing to fight by my side, raise your voice!" the Griffin shouted, raising his fist high into the hair. "The power to lead us to victory is ours, I have seen to that. Soon, the Ala Mhigan standard shall be raised over the mountains of Gyr Abania once more!"

As the crowd started to cheer, S'eni and Alphinaud shared a look, and a frown formed on the young man's face. "Power to lead us to victory...Sounds quite ominous, doesn't it?"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked right back.

"I'm afraid so..." the frown gave way to surprise. "Wait, isn't that-?"

Following his gaze, she turned her head to a sight that made her eyebrows and ears shoot up. Standing in a corner were a Hyuran woman and a Lalafel man, watching the crowd with interest.

Noticing that someone had spotted them, the two turned around and a surprised gasp escaped the woman. "What are you two doing here!?"

"Yda! Papalymo! Thank the Twelve you're alright!" Alphinaud called while walking towards them and S'eni felt a smile form on her lips at the sight of her friends.

"This is quite the surprise," Papalymo said as they came to a stop. "I certainly did not expect to find you here."

The Lalafel glanced over his shoulder at the crowd, still listening to what the Griffin was telling them, before continuing in a hushed voice. "The time and place could not be any more inconvenient though. Might I suggest we go somewhere else to talk?"

"Good idea," S'eni said and together they left the same way they had entered. They barely had stepped outside, when she found herself suddenly engulfed in a tight hug by Yda, being almost lifted off her feet from the sheer ferocity of it, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Whoa, easy there. I missed you too!"

"Of all the places to meet," Yda said. "This has to be fate!"

"Or just our own brand of coincidence," she replied with a chuckle and returned the hug.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to see you both alive and well," Alphinaud said after Yda and her stopped hugging.

"The Crystal Braves never had any real chance of capturing the Scions, not with how divided they were and distrusted by the better part of Eorzea," Papalymo replied.

The young Elezen frowned. It was obvious that he still felt conflicted over what had happened with his Crystal Braves, but he had come to accept it. "What have you two been doing all this time?"

"Repaying a favor. We had no choice but to flee from Ul'dah, and we would not have been able to without the aid of some old friends from the Resistance."

Yda nodded. "That's right. They smuggled us out of the city and sheltered us in Little Ala Mhigo. Obviously, we couldn't just let that go unacknowledged, so we offered to help them out with their operations."

"When we learned that the Scions' names had been cleared and that General Raubahn had been reinstated, we were trying to make contact with you. But having discarded our linkpearls. It did not help that we were embroiled in a rather delicate operation at the time, so I had no choice but to entrust my letter to a courier," the Lalafel explained, his brows furrowing as he looked between Alphinaud and her. "And from the look on your faces, I take it you never received it."

"No," S'eni replied "Up until now we had no clue where you two were."

"We thought that might happen. While the Masks are happy to spread the word amongst the Ala Mhigans, they're pretty strict about communicating with outsiders." Yda raised a hand, index finger extended. "Also rumor has it that the Griffin doesn't want us meddling in his affairs."

"The Griffin distrusts the Scions?" Alphinaud asked, rubbing his chin. "Interesting. It's well-known that we're no friends of Garlemald. One would think the man we saw call for people to join his cause would welcome our help."

"Ah, the man you saw inside was not the Griffin," Papalymo then said

"What do you mean?" S'eni blinked.

"He's an impersonator, and a talented instigator at that. I would not be surprised if he was the one responsible for the majority of public appearances," he explained. "The Griffin is an extremely cautious and distrusting man. Even when we participated in a raid under his command, we were not to approach him."

"It's hard to know what to make of it," Yda commented. "The secrecy, the impersonators, the masks..."

They all looked at her, eyebrows rising almost simultaneously.

"What!? It's not as if I'm making all of you wear one, and mine only covers half my face." The other woman waved her hand to dismiss the issue. "Anyway. When we heard that the Griffin was giving a speech, we decided to use the opportunity to get a better sense of him."

"For all the good it did," Papalymo said. "But tell me, what brought you two here?"

"It's a long story, but shipments of crystals have been smuggled out of Ishgard into Little Ala Mhigo and from there to the Resistance," S'eni told him. "And with what we've heard inside...we believe they're planning a summoning."

Yda took a step back in shock while Papalymo narrowed his eyes.

"The Resistance would never even entertain such a ridiculous plan, but the Griffin...I can't say with confidence what he would do." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "But the speech today was not the first time to reference a 'power' capable of defeating the Empire, that much I can say."

"Whatever it is, we'll find out together. And if anyone tries to stop us, they'll get a few kicks!" Yda proclaimed, punching the palm of her hand with her fist.

"Indeed," the Lalafel said, then paused for a brief moment. "...If you'll have us."

"Like you have to ask." A grin formed on S'eni's lips. "Just like old times, eh?"

The first time she had been in Ala Mhigo, its inhabitants had been distrustful and frankly quite rude. The Ala Mhigans were proud people, and the loss of their homeland was weighing hard on them. It was little wonder that they had treated her just like the outsider that she was. But little by little, she had managed to not only earn their respect but also their trust.

"You want to buy what!?"

Though she supposed that didn't make a strange request any less strange.

"Two pairs of clothes for both of us. And rub some dirt on them while you're at it," S'eni repeated to the man sitting on a crate in front of her, a man by the name of Talebot that peddled his wares around these parts. Amongst his goods: cheap clothes.

Before parting with Papalymo and Yda, they had hatched a plan to get into contact with the Griffin's double. A plan for which Alphinaud and her would disguise themselves as a pair of adventurers that were down on their luck and looking for a cause to fight for.

Talebot looked between the two of them with critical eyes before shaking his head. "I don't know what you're up to, but I don't want any part in it!"

"Too bad," S'eni said lightly, pulling out the sack of Gil she had been given, throwing it up into the air a few times. "You came greatly recommended by Papalymo."

After saying the last part, she tossed the sack toward the man, who caught it with both of his hands. To his credit, he still looked a little conflicted.

"Well, you're the ones with the Gil, and seein' as you're friends with Papalymo..." he put the sack into his pocket and got off the crate to open it, pulling out what they were looking for.

"There you go, tunics and slops for both of you, tailored and, uh—" He dropped the clothes on the ground and used his foot to drag them through the dirt before handing them over. "—treated to your liking. Now off with you, before someone sees us together."

"Well, they do say clothes maketh the man..." Alphinaud said as they walked away from the merchant, eyeing the tunic in his hand. "Anyway, I will go ahead and change. I say we meet at the spot that Papalymo marked on our maps."

"Sounds good to me," she replied. After watching as the young Elezen left, she started to look for a quiet spot where she could change as well.

Which was easier said than done. Little Ala Mhigo was a tight-knit community and not just because of the similar backgrounds of its residents, but also because of the general lack of space inside the caves.

She was just about to simply head outside and change there when she finally found a little corner that was suitable enough for her needs. Pulling off her jacket, S'eni placed it on a nearby rock, soon followed by her pants and boots, leaving her only in her underwear.

As she bent down to pick up the first piece of her disguise, a ringing sound echoed from one of her pockets, making her reach inside and pull out a small pearl with golden edging around it. Putting it inside her ear, she pressed her index finger against it to answer.

"Yes?"

"Eni, It's me."

"Shtola?" she asked in surprise. Her tail curled happily at the sound of her friend's voice and she had to give it a gentle slap to make it stop, silently berating herself. Stepping further into the corner, she lowered her voice. "Is something the matter?"

"I just wanted to hear how things are progressing on your end. It's been a while since Thancred informed me about the Ishgardian crystal shipments," Y'shtola said.

"And since he's still going to be a while you thought to satisfy your burning curiosity by asking me," S'eni pointed out, a chuckle escaping her. "What if I was in the middle of a fight to the death?"

"I'm sure you would have managed," came her friend's dry reply. "But since you clearly aren't, I take it you made some progress."

"Tsk. And here I was hoping you just missed my voice," she said, her tail doing a playful little flick while bending down to pick up the tunic once more. Her fingers had just curled around the fabric when she froze mid-motion, eyes widening. Did she just...?

A laugh came from the other end. "Well, it's good to hear that you're alright."

Releasing an inward sigh of relief at her friend's nonchalant reply, S'eni straightened up and cleared her throat. "Anyway, we managed to locate the people the crystals were bound for, a Resistance group called the Masks."

"The Masks..."

"The name fits, they all wear them—hold on." Taking her finger off the linkpearl, she quickly pulled the tunic over her head.

"What are you doing?" Y'shtola asked.

"Putting on my disguise. Alphinaud and I are pretending to be new recruits to find out more."

"Hmm, a good plan."

She couldn't help the grin forming on her lips. "Wait until you hear who came up with it."

"Oh?"

"Papalymo. Turns out Yda and he have been with the resistance the entire time." Silence came from the other end "Shtola?"

"Yda and Papalymo, you said?" the other Miqo'te replied after a few seconds.

"Yeah."

Silence again.

"You're mad, aren't you?" S'eni asked, picking up the pants and starting to put them on as well.

"I'm debating some choice words that I will have with them once this is over."

"Don't be too hard on them. They actually tried to reach out." She grabbed one of her boots and turned them over a few times. It looked worn enough to not stand out too much from her disguise.

Y'shtola huffed. "Fine. At the very least I'm glad to hear they are alright."

Now it was her turn to laugh. "I'll let them know," S'eni said, putting on her boots again. "Listen, I need to go. Alphinaud is most likely already waiting for me at the meeting point. I'll contact you again later."

"Very well. Krile and I are returning to the Rising Stones for the time being." A slight pause. "...Be careful."

"Aren't I always?" she asked with a smile even if Y'shtola couldn't see.

"That's precisely why I'm saying it."

After exchanging goodbyes with her friend, S'eni pulled the linkpearl out from her ear and put it in the pocket of her new pants. She gathered up her usual clothes and left the corner.

As she made her way to the main entrance of Little Ala Mhigo, she ran across Gundobald and asked if he could perhaps spare a burlap sack for her. He gave her a strange look at first, but quickly complied with her request when he realized what this was about and she placed her belongings inside before continuing on her way.

Arriving at the settlement's Aetheryte, S'eni found Alisaie sitting on a nearby rock, arms crossed and still waiting for Thancred.

"...he hired a Chocobo porter, didn't he?" the Elezen girl asked after noticing her, followed by a sigh. "Was the Aetheryte not to his liking?"

"It's a little more complicated than that, but that will have to wait until later," S'eni said and held the sack out towards Alisaie. "Can you keep an eye on this?"

"Of course. Hatching a plan?"

"Executing it," she replied. "Thanks."

Making to leave, she stopped herself upon realizing that she missed something and reached out towards her ears. An adventurer down on her luck wouldn't be wearing pretty earrings after all.

After handing them to Alisaie, she said a quick goodbye to her and headed out to join Alphinaud.

As S'eni walked through the sun-scorched plains of Southern Thanalan, she didn't notice a figure standing atop a cliff overlooking the entire valley. A man, dressed in long, dark robes and half of his face obscured by a veil. His calm, silver eyes followed her every step until she vanished into the distance like a desert mirage scattered in the wind.

Sighing through his nose, he turned his head to look into the direction of Zahar'ak, where he knew that a certain group of otherworldly travellers were currently setting the stage for their battle with the Warrior of Light.

"I beg not for thy forgiveness, only for thy understanding..." he murmured, before too walking away and vanishing with a gust of wind.