#<-- being brave and putting it in the tag auugh

[transshion]

writing something sillay

[serene-gale]

Northern Heights Part 6: Coerthan Calm

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Bitter winds and the blinding sun washed over the northern reaches of the Western Highlands as morning hit Coerthas. The Convictory was abuzz with morning preparations, the brave, foolhardy and kill frenzied men and women all rushing about, making sure their equipment was in proper working order, ready for the hunt to begin.

Amidst the bustle, lay two figures, both with bandages that could probably do with being removed and replaced. Serene was the first to wake, taking a moment to remember where she was. It had been a few days since her and Baidur’s fight with the Dravanians on the Black Iron Bridge, and most of that time spent was hazy, her injuries were few but severe, her head injury in particular causing a rather nasty concussion that left the Roegadyn out of it for the interim.

She got up slowly, feeling much better but still wary of moving too quickly. She had all but recovered by now, though the chirurgeon on site still insisted she take it easy for at least another day, something she intended to do, at least partially. As she sat up, Serene looked towards the Au’ra laying next to her, he was still out, not having woken up, despite being physically fine.

Serene didn’t fully get it, she had taken Baidur’s measure when she first met him, and it wasn’t impressive, the man was built well, but was about as strong as any typical merchant physically. The fact he took out not one, but four extremely dangerous and vicious opponents on his own was something that preplexed the Monk, though she didn’t dwell much on the how, moreso the result, actually wanting the unconscious Au’ra to wake up so he could talk.

“Auugh....fuckin’ ‘ells, where am I?”, Baidur stirred, his first words since his collapse being swearing, a good sign, as far as Serene was concerned.

“Baidur? Oh damn. Hey, over here! He’s woken!”, Serene called out the the chirurgeon, who proceeded to rush over and tend to the hurting Au’ra.

After apprasing him as ‘somehow fully and miraculously recovered’, the chirurgeon left Serene and Baidur to their own devices, not feeling the need to really keep much of an eye on them anymore.

“Hey, thanks for busting me out of that tough spot there, Would’ve been kinda unfortunate to have fallen there eh?”, Serene said, trying her best though her light headache to be chipper, only to be scoffed at by the Au’ra.

“Tough spot lass? Yer almost cracked your damn brain on the pavemen’ and that’s all ye gotta say!?”, Baidur sighed, defeated, “I mean, I getcha’, we prob’ly wouldn’t have gotten far if we ran, but fightin’ all six!?”, he argued, causing Serene to laugh.

“I mean...sure, that’s fair, but we beat them didn’t we?”, Serene countered, causing Baidur to laugh.

“Damn right I did, took out more than ye’ too! So much for being the musclehead brute of a guard you supposedly were eh?”, he jested, which provoked further laughter from Serene.

“You got me, and they did, really well. Though that being said, how did you do that, I could break you like a toothpick, and even I wasn’t as purely strong as those guys.”, Serene said, her honestly biting into Baidur harshly.

“You don’t mince words do ya?”, he muttered, before pulling out the empty vial from his pack and rolling it towards Serene, “That mostly, and some other concoctions, most of which aren’t mine and most of which have put me on the shit list of a lot of people in the syndicate.”, Baidur’s accent faded slightly as he grumbled about the syndicate, though Serene either didn’t notice or care to notice.

“I see, it made you stronger or was it some kinda explosive chemical?”, Serene probed her question, only to get an immediate answer.

“What you’re holdin’ ‘was’ one of the most powerful and potent healing potions you could come across n’ Eorzea lass.”, Baidur explained, “Seals wounds, increases blood flow and metabolism to speed up recovery, can actually patch up broken bones pretty damn well...”, Baidur paused to feel his previously broken back, now healed with no indication it had been broken prior, “And it makes your body generate a frankly deadly amount of adrenaline so ye don’t feel pain for a while, though, as you saw, it knocks your arse out after a while.”, he finished, exhaling as he relaxed his shoulders and slumped back a little.

“Damn...could use a couple of those, ya got any?”, Serene asked, half joking, half with deathly seriousness.

“Hah! You fuckin’ wish woman!”, Baidur laughed as hard as he could, “That was a diluted batch and it cost 600,000 gil, and that was with ‘me’ hecklin’ it, that crap normally goes for a minimum of a million.”, he stated, the figured causing Serene’s head to spin a little, “Not only that, but that weren’t mine, belonged to a vengeful little shite in the Syndicate, and he’s gonna want my ass for giving it the ultimate taste test, and for killin’ his goon.”, Baidur looked at the wreckage of the chocobo cart, a blanket with the body of the now deceased Lalafell under it.

“Poor bastard...I mean, he was a right fuckin’ bastard, but a death like that...not for him, he ain’t the top dog here, just a bleedin’ pawn.”, Baidur said gruffly. Serene, looking over to the body too, gazed at it mournfully for a moment before standing up and making her way toward it.

The Roegadyn found herself towering over the now deceased Lalafell, kneeling down with her hands placed squarely on her thighs, praying and paying her respects to the soul departed. Baidur simply watched on, surprised but unflinching as he watched the Monk do her thing.

After a few moments of silence, Serene made her way back to the resting Au‘ra, who had straightened up a little as she approached.

“So...considering that the chirurgeon seemed convinced that both of us was fit enough to at least walk, you planning on heading out?”, Serene asked, to an almost immediate affirmation.

“Of course ye dipshit. I’m wanted by some right nasty piece o’ work, plus I hate sittin’ around and I need to stretch me legs, not like me to stay in one place for long, as you are too no doubt.”, Baidur said, to which Serene chuckled in defeat.

“Ah well, ya got me there, I’m headin’ up to Dravania if you wanna tag along?”, Serene asked, only to receive a firm shaking head.

“Nah lass, your head may be as thick as plate metal and your nose may be made of bricks, but I’m not runnin’ afoul o’ any more dragon men in my future, plus, I’d rather to indict ye to what is basically my crime.”, he explained, folding his arms in thought.

“Probably t’sea of clouds, hard to get to, no runting gillionnaire will want to search there, even if they know I’m hidin’ out up there, so I’m gonna grab a flyin’ chocobo as soon as and head out.”, Baidur stood up, wobbling a little before ultimately regaining his balance.

“Awww really? Was beginning to like yeh, always nice having a bud that can take out a small group of literal dragon people.”, Serene said, smiling, only for Baidur to laugh.

“Haha, aye, likewise lass, surprised you could throw that one so far with half yer brain out. Feelin’s mutual on the mate part too, would be happy to establish a workin’ relationship one o’ these days. Just a matter of if we run into each other eh?”,

“Hah, well, Eorzea is only so big, I’m sure that time will come.”, Serene nodded to herself before extending her hand out to the Au’ra, who without hesitation shook it.

“We’ll meet again Baidur.”

“We sure will, Serene Gale.”

As the winds finally died down for the first time in the day, the two wayward outcasts set off on their own paths. Serene wondered if she’d see Baidur again, if he’d even be alive by then if what he said was to be believed. Then again, the Roegadyn thought, the man was a accomplished lier and scoundrel, she said in her head, figuring that such a conniving bastard was merely talking shit about him being in any real danger.

She chuckled to herself as she wrapped up and set off towards the ever closing treeline of what she could only assume to be the Chocobo Forest, Dravania.

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