I waited. A gentle breeze brought the acrid, sulfuric air from the kobold's mines, attacking my senses with the same ferocity of the earthen primal's thralls. The glint of the waning afternoon sun reflected off the decorative flourishes of my drachen mail armor.

From my perch atop the natural northern wall of Camp Overlook, I waited, not just for the inevitable rumbling quakes that would signal Titan's renewed vigor, but for those I lost, who I knew would return. Five years, I waited, that we might adventure together again.

"It's been four hours," said a nearby guard.

"Too long… He said he just wanted to see the monkeys," a softer voice replied.

"Can we spare any of ours for a search?"

"Hmm… no. He’s a big guy, anyway, he’ll be fine."

The Storm’s ranks had been depleted by the same Titanic threat that kept me here. But that’s what adventurers were for, right? I stood in as cool and calm a manner as any could and clumsily jumped towards the cliffs to the north, an area favored by the local ringtail opo-opo. Yes, I am very cool.

"Hey did you see that dragoon?" I heard one of the guards say, who I knew was impressed by my exit.

"Yeah, there was a crowned giant, blue blob on his head…"

Had I heard them say “That looks extremely silly,” I might have corrected them. If I’d heard them laugh, I might have asked what they thought was funny. But I didn’t, so I carried on my way, dodging the attention of the varied wildlife too agitated to avoid the paths of man.

I arrived at the cliffs to hear a voice moaning, an impossibly familiar, deep voice. No… it couldn't be…

A bow lay loosely upon the ground, a yalm from its unpracticed owner's hand. A sea wolf Roegadyn lay prone, arms outstretched as though welcoming the heavens. "Leon…?" I asked as I removed my helm.

Then I noticed the stench.



"Noooo…! No more…" the Roegadyn moaned. Then, "O-poop-o… yeah… that's what they should call them…"

I had no doubts left. Though there were more scars upon his face than before, it was him.

"Leon! It's you!" I removed a small tuft of Phoenix down from my pack and applied it to his chest. The wispy feathers dissolved into light as energy flowed through the massive archer's body.

"Hah, I found you!" he shouted, squinting in the sunlight as he brushed brown “dirt” from his shirt. "They said the outer cliffs of La Noscea, and I knew you'd be hanging out with monkeys."

"Uhh, sure."

"We're putting a crew together, Ali, and I want you to help us lead it. Rein's already working on the war chest."

"That smelly hyur is back, too?!" As cool as I certainly was, I could hardly contain my excitement. But… "You can't even fend off the might of a few monkeys, why would people join us?"

"Charisma, my friend. Charisma and bribery."

"A war chest, huh?" I grinned.

And thus a free company was born.


[Bluebird Earring]