The Free Company: Fated, took a momentary break from duty—deciding it would be best to take a few days to relax and rest. Their fight with the Elder Primal had left them—for the most part—drained. So they did what any overworked group did: They played hooky.

Ozwin led them to a remote woodland area away from prying eyes. From there it was just a matter of leisure. 

From fishing, to napping in the trees, to mock fighting and playing around—the eight of them did what was best to recuperate from all that transpired less than a week ago. 

And when the vacation ended, they all were slammed back to the harshest of realities—with a crammed mailbox full of requests. 

“Clear Pharos Sirius. A dark shadow resides in the Lost City of Amdapor. Requests for Haukke Manor, The Temple of Qarn, Cutter’s Cry—what the fuck, even the House of Durendaire is asking us to clear Dzemael Darkhold and Aurum Vale.” Kida threw the missives up in the air to rain down on the table. “Did the world go crazy in the last week—why are there so many problems!”

Azlyn sat at the edge of the table, shuffling through all of the letters requesting for the Warriors of Light. There was a black envelope that caught her attention, still unopened. “Huh? I wonder what this one is?” She flipped it over to read who it was addressed. 

“It’s for you.” Ozwin pointed out over her shoulder, noting the beautiful red calligraphy with her name. It looked a bit bizarre on the black—almost jarring in a way. 

“Yeah.” She reached for the letter opener Roll offered her. What she expected and what she got were two completely different things. Inside was a small invitation to a wedding. “Weird. I got invited to a wedding?” 

Mjnt quirked her head, noting the black paper. “It’s black?” 

Azlyn shrugged, deciding to read the invitation aloud. Everyone was intrigued by the strange and unique color scheme. “Azlyn, it would be my greatest honor if you could join me and my fiancé on this wonderful night. I look forward to seeing you. Best wishes, Edda.” 

“Who is Edda?” N’thuzu Tia asked. 

Roll tapped her chin, deep in thought. “Oh.” She remembered. “Isn’t it that one healer girl who had the head of her dead fiancé?” 

“The what?!” N’thuzu Tia spat out his drink. 

Azlyn remembered that grisly moment. “Ah... right—Edda was apart of an adventurers group. Her fiancé, Avere, died. I believe she took his head to be buried back in her hometown.” 

Koroko Koko shook her head. “Oh gracious, I almost thought we had a necromancer on our hands.” 

The Au Ra shook her head. “Nah, she’s super sweet. She spoke with me in Ul’dah about retraining as a conjurer. I’m proud of her, she moved on and is getting married.” She looked at the motif of the card, before shrugging. “I’ll go, why not.” 

Ozwin hunched over her to read the card himself. “When does it say it will happen?” 

Azlyn hummed unsure. “I don’t know... oh, there’s the date. It’s tomorrow night.” 

Kida giggled into her hands. “Ooooo, girl we need to get you all dressed up! Who are you taking for your plus one? Are you takin’ lover boy?” 

Roll grinned at her cousins’ flushed face.

“What! No—he’s way too busy—and he’s not my lover!” 

Ozwin tapped her on the head. “I’ll go. It’ll kill time and we can silently signal to one another if the bridesmaids dresses are ugly.” 

Azlyn made sure to squarely deck him with her elbow in the ribs. He winced, but didn’t move. 

“Or not.” He grumbled. 

“Roll, do you think you could weave them matching colored outfits?” Kida proposed, looking between them. “Black and white never fails for these types of things.” 

The Au Ra astrologian nodded, pulling out a small notebook where she designed some outfits. “I have a few blueprints and patterns—which one do you like?” 

Azlyn peered through the styles, before choosing a contemporary dress that was high collared and sleeveless. “This one seems fine.” 

Ozwin gestured to himself. “Can you make me a tux with a bow tie?” 

Roll laughed. “Yeah, easy peasy. I guess I’ll work on those now.” She went to the workshop in the back room to start weaving. 

Kida gestured to the rest of the requests. “So what, you two get to have fun at a wedding, while we have to pick up...” The Au Ra started counting through the requests. “Twenty...no twenty two requests of dungeon clearing and infestation clean ups?”

Mjnt chuckled to her. “It won’t be so bad—it’ll take what—an hour or two in each location? Is there a determined time that it has to be completed by?” 

Richiro Wichiro pulled a few from the stack. “Nah—no predetermined dates—but preferably soon—some say.” 

Koroko Koko nodded. “We will have to make up for our days of playing hooky. Come, we’ll split four to four and tackle as many as we can today.” 

N’thuzu Tia placed his cup down. “Well it sounds like Roll will be busy today—why don’t we take care of what we can do ourselves while Azlyn, Ozwin and Roll prepare for the wedding?   Then after tomorrow whatever requests remain, we can split them up and go two teams of four.” 

Azlyn agreed. “Okay, that sounds fine with me. Why don’t you guys grab all the ones for the City-State of Limsa Lominsa? It’ll take a bit to travel around the continent anyways.” 

“Okay—and then after tomorrow we’ll split up Ul’dah and Gridania accordingly. The last few from Coerthas we’ll save for the following day.” 

With the requests planned out and divided by locations and proximity, the five left to finish the three to four from the Maelstrom’s requests. Ozwin kicked back on the couch, throwing a small tennis ball in the air. 

Azlyn started to stack the letters neatly, placing them in separate files—before going to check on Roll. It only took a peek through the door to see she was lost in her work already, sewing and weaving a storm. 

Slowly she closed the door, turning to Ozwin. “So—what do you want to do?” 

The male turned his head to her, catching the tennis ball in his hand once again. “Wanna train?” 

She shrugged, it would pass the time at the very least.

A few hours of practice in the front yard, they somehow gained a crowd of their neighbors as watchers. A few children ran up to their lawn, sitting at the front to watch them. They cheered from the side when the two started to show off. Almost like a talent show of their strength and mobility, the pair decided to shift their focus to entertainment rather than pure training. 

Ozwin backflipped a few times, arching his back and landing perfectly on his feet. Azlyn went to mimic his action, but opted for a more delicate and simpler way to land. 

The children applauded at their antics, while their parents watched from behind them. With the new era beginning after the fall of the Black Wolf, everyone in Eorzea started to relax—more visibly comfortable with their neighbors and uniting together as their leaders suggested. 

One child called out from the group. “Can you do a front flip?” 

“No, a handstand!” Another young Ul’dahn Lalafellin perked excitedly. 

Azlyn chuckled. “Which would you like to see more? The front flip or the handstand?” 

Ozwin didn’t bother to wait for their answer, as he flipped forward twice, and then he stopped mid-way into his third front flip onto his hands. 

The children clapped excitedly as Azlyn smirked. “I guess that fulfilled both questions.” 

Roll emerged from the house, a few outfits layered in her arms. She looked to the two of them, and to the growing crowd of children and parents in the front. “I see you’ve been busy.” 

Ozwin jumped out from his handstand. He bowed to the crowd of kids. “Alright—you guys be good and listen to your folks. If you’re lucky, we might have something for good kids on Hatching-Tide. Is that the next major holiday?” 

Azlyn nodded. “In the next few months yes.” 

The children brightened up, before bouncing up from their spots to run to their parents. They waved goodbye, returning to their homes for the rest of the evening. 

Roll gazed at the fence surrounding their home’s property, and wondered to herself. “Hmm... maybe we should start preparing a future egg-hunt for the children in the neighborhood. It would be good to have it all prepared in advance.” 

Ozwin laughed, before his attention returned to the raiments in the Auri’s hand. “Are those our wedding attires?” 

She nodded, holding out the garments to them. “Oh yes—here. One bow tie and tux. A sleeveless dress for Azlyn.” 

Azlyn plucked the embroidered black and white high collared sleeveless dress. The A-Line cut on the dress would easily fit with her small tiny form. “I guess I’ll try it on.” 

Roll smiled. “I think I’m going to work on some more outfits—I had some ideas from our time below the surface. I thought I would see if I could design a few inspiring pieces from the Elder Primal.” 

“I thought we weren’t supposed to talk about it?” Ozwin threw the pieces of his attire over his shoulder. He didn’t seem to care if it would get any wrinkles or not. 

“It’s a fashion statement.” Roll explained, “And you probably won’t complain if I make one specifically designed for skulking.” 

“Now that is something I’d like to see.” He perked up at the thought. 

Azlyn walked into the house, choosing to go downstairs to one of the spare bedrooms. She changed, checking the fit and mobility of the dress. With the tightness around her legs down to her ankles, she knew it wouldn’t make for a great fighting outfit—but she was attending a wedding. Not a battle. 

She liked how Roll made the dress, how it snapped on the sides rather than in the back of the fabric. It made it easy to get in and out of. 

She could easily wear this with a pair of flats and still be within a wedding’s dress code. 

Given their outfits, all they had to do was wait until the next day—where the others would come back from their work in Vylbrand and enjoy their break while the duo went out to the wedding. 

Azlyn and Ozwin stood by the door, as Kida held up a comb to smoothen the rambunctious curls of the Au Ra’s white and black curly hair. “You guys be safe going to the wedding—where is it going to be located?” 

“Somewhere near Bentbranch Meadows I believe.” Azlyn pulled out the invitation from her small purse that had a small fashionable chain around her shoulder. “All I have are some coordinates. Not a specific location.” 

Ozwin looked over the invitation over her shoulder, and then shrugged. “Traveling the woods in these outfits will garner some attention. However, if others are going to the wedding, we should see more people dressed up when we arrive.” 

Mjnt crossed her legs, as she lifted a cup of tea to her lips. She drank the liquid before placing the cup back on the saucer. “Be sure to enjoy yourselves. We will be having a day of rest ourselves.” 

Richiro Wichiro stretched out on the couch, one leg propped up on the arm of the couch. He was zonked out from the looks of it. 

“How was the requests in Vylbrand?” Azlyn asked curiously, seeing the young Lalafellin healer had been exhausted enough to sleep into that day. 

Koroko Koko smiled. “We ran into plenty of pirates, and we explored some haunted places.” 

Kida bounced around Azlyn, fixing the ends of her hair on the backside. “We finally dealt with the Siren on Umbras Isle! And we saw some rotting Pirates that were moaning and groaning about Leviathan!”

“Sounds lovely.” Ozwin loosened his bow tie from his neck, only for Kida to readjust it when she came back around. “Am I not allowed to breathe?” 

“Not comfortably!” Kida piqued happily, before giving the pair a thumbs up. 

“I guess that explains why Richiro is exhausted.”

Roll came out from her workshop, her clothes had been littered in stray threads and swatches of fabric. “Shouldn’t you two be going?” 

The dressed up duo nodded, “Alright, Bentbranch Meadows first?” Ozwin looked to Azlyn who bobbed her head in agreement. 

“See you there!” Azlyn activated her teleport, letting the aether carry her from their home in the Goblet to the woodlands of the Black Shroud. A gentle breeze and the smell of the tall ash trees came to her senses.

She heard the pop of a teleport right beside her, as Ozwin appeared. He adjusted his posture, reaching up to the tie and loosened it. Azlyn laughed at him. 

“What? Kida’s not here to nag me. Unless you’re going to?” 

She shook her head, “I just find it funny you asked for a bow tie, and you can’t even stand it.”

“It looked nice on a guy I met a while ago—he made it seem comfortable.” He stretched his head a bit to relieve the tension on his neck. “See anyone dressed to the nines?” 

Azlyn looked around the small community, the wood wailers who were stationed nearby had stopped what they were doing to stare questionably to them. 

“I don’t think so.” 

“Let’s check out the small tavern inn. Come on.” Ozwin walked ahead, and Azlyn followed right behind him. They approached the small building were the smell of musty ale and herbal tonics pierced the sense of smell. It felt woodsy. 

Ozwin found a table in the corner, where he pulled out the chair for Azlyn to sit. She took the offered seat while he went to mingle with the locals. She leaned her head down upon her hand, looking to the crowds in the room. She spotted a few people playing darts on the other side, Ozwin chatting up the barkeep—he leaned on the counter casually. She then noticed a cloaked Lalafellin who kept darting their eyes over to her. 

In the moment their eyes met hers, they immediately looked away—nervous. 

She stood up from her chair, and walked over to the Lalafellin—wanting to know what the problem was. She knew that look—it was the look of someone in distress. She smiled warmly to them as she reached their table.  “Is everything alright?” 

When the cloaked Lalafellin snapped his head up to hers, she could have sworn she’d seen him somewhere before. “Have we met before?” 

He nodded several times, shaking in his seat. “Yes—Yes, we have! I’m—I’m surprised you—that you remembered me.” He stood up from the seat to bow to her, it was quite the jerky movement. “Thank—thank the gods for bringing you here!” 

Azlyn quirked her head, wondering what was making the poor lad upset. “What seems to be the problem?” She pulled out a chair for herself to sit down, the Lalafellin immediately went to sit back down in his original seat before scrambling into his bag. 

A familiar black invitation—a wedding invitation had been placed on the table. 

“My name—my name is Paiyo Reiyo—one of the many faceless adventurers struggling to make their way in Eorzea. You—you may recall that we crossed paths in Sastasha. Hard to believe we moved in similar circles back then.” 

She cupped her hands together, as she did recall a group of adventurers. She clearly could see two of them in her minds eye—Edda and Avere—the other two—were a female Elezen and a male Lalafellin...

“Ah.” 

Paiyo Reiyo nodded at her recollection. “Speaking of which—do you perchance remember having met a conjurer named Edda around that time? We used to adventure together, she and I and two others.” He shook his head, lost in his own memory of the group dynamic. “Our little group didn’t last very long, though. Things fell to pieces when Avere, our leader and Edda’s fiancé, met his end in the Tam-Tara Deepcroft.”

Azlyn grimaced, remembering their break up—as she had been present with Mother Miounne when they all parted ways. “My group had been talking with Mother Miounne when we overheard.” 

“Harsh words were exchanged—I’m sorry you were present for that—and we did go our separate ways. Since then, I’ve been getting by on my own.” He brought his hands up to the table, his hands shook as he fiddled with his fingers. 

She could tell he was scared of something, but he hadn’t said why he was said. 

“Truth be told, I hadn’t planned on seeing any of my former comrades again, but then this letter arrived from Edda, containing the invitation to her wedding.” 

“Aren’t you happy that she’s found some happiness after such a tragic ending?” Azlyn curiously asked, wondering what the poor Lalafellin was worried about. 

He sighed. “I know—I should be happy for her... and I was... until I noticed the name of her groom-to-be in her written letter attached to the invitation.”

Azlyn pulled out her purse, to pull out an identical one. “I had no letter with mine?” 

Paiyo Reiyo’s eyes bulged when he saw that she pulled out the same black invitation. “Is—is—is that why—you-you’re dressed up as such? You—you do know—this—this isn’t a wedding right?” 

This made the girl blink several times. “What?” 

Paiyo Reiyo pulled out another letter, same black paper with the bright red cursive. “Her groom-to-be is none other than Avere! What’s more, the venue for this wedding? The ceremony is to be the Tam-Tara Deepcroft—the very place the poor fellow died! Something isn’t right, I tell you!” 

Her face went pale at this new set of information. “Uh... hang on. Let me grab my friend.” She stood up, giving the poor fellow a moment to calm down. She approached Ozwin feeling more worried than before. 

Ozwin had a tankard of ale, laughing with the barkeep about some crazy adventure. “So there we were pinned up against the wall, several large dudes with muscles three times by head were coming straight for us—well, hello there lovely. Care for a drink?” 

Azlyn rolled her eyes, she brought out her coinpurse where she dropped a few gold on the counter. “Forgive me, but I’ll have to take my companion. We have some business to take care of.” 

The barkeep laughed. “The wedding! Right, I didn’t hear anything about it—but I hope you two have fun!” 

She weakly smiled. “I’m sure we shall. Thanks.” Azlyn hooked her arm into Ozwin’s and tugged him over to the table where Paiyo Reiyo waited for them. He jittered nervously when Ozwin was forced to sit down in Azlyn’s last seat. She pulled out another chair to sit down beside him. 

“Okay—you were saying this wedding is to be in Tam-Tara Deepcroft. Continue please.” 

Ozwin lowered his tankard, “Wait... isn’t that a crypt?” 

“Yes.” Azlyn answered nonchalantly. 

“Now that isn’t the worst of it! Edda wrote to me, saying that Liavinne—that was the fourth member of our group—had already agreed to attend. They chanced to meet each other recently—but that’s another problem! Liavinne is dead! Last I heard, she had joined the Scions of the Seventh Dawn but during the imperial raid on Starlight, she perished. I learned that she had been buried in the lichyard of the Church of Saint Adama Landama. So to confirm this chilling turn of events, I went to her grave yesterday—and found the gravesite defiled and the body gone!” 

Ozwin looked to Azlyn, his jaw slightly open in shock. “Let’s go to wedding—it’ll be fun—we can make fun of the bridemaid’s ugly dresses. Holy fuck. What was I even thinking?” 

She gave him an exasperated shrug, not quite sure how to take this all in. “Okay—so obviously this isn’t a traditional wedding.” 

“The more I think about it—the more it makes—gods, I can’t believe I’m going to say sense. Gods.” Paiyo Reiyo dropped his head into his hands.

“Why would it make sense?” Azlyn asked. 

Paiyo Reiyo sighed, before he straightened up. He shook. “I will try to explain as best as I can. To the rest of us, our little party of four was but a means to riches and glory—such things as adventurers seek. But to Edda, it was her life—She blamed herself for Avere’s death, and to our shame, we agreed with her—though we knew full well we were all to blame. And then we left where she stood with her fiancé’s head for company.” 

“Yeah...” Ozwin reached up to his neck, getting rid of the necktie entirely. “That is fucked up. Not gonna lie.” 

Azlyn frowned. “I didn’t even sense this in her when she approached me later in Ul’dah. She said that she would go back home to retrain—to become a better conjurer. This doesn’t match anything of the girl I parted ways with before.” 

Paiyo Reiyo groveled into the table, his hands over his head. “How could we have been so heartless! Small wonder the poor girl has been driven from her wits!” He sighed in depression. “But what’s done is done. All we can do is admit our mistakes and make amends as best we can. Avere is gone... Liavinne is too... But Edda refuses to accept it. She won’t let go of the past.” 

“Or is unable to?” Azlyn offered, wondering if something or someone caught her on the way back home. Maybe—maybe this was another Ascian case. “It might not be too late to save her—if we act soon.” 

Ozwin reached for one of the invitations on the table. He read the bright red scribbles before sighing. “Should have known. Azlyn, do you know what type of ink this is?” 

The girl paused. “A specialty ink?” 

He shook his head. “I should have noticed it from the get-go, but I wasn’t thinking too deep about it. The ink is blood based.” 

She immediately paled. “Gods.”

Paiyo Reiyo also paled. “I know not what she means to do in Tam-Tara, but it can lead to no good. I hope it is as Azlyn has stated—and that she can be saved. It would be a reassurance to me if you did accompany me. As Avere once did, so too does Edda look up to you. She may not listen to me, but she may yet heed the words of someone she admires. I will—I will attend this—this wedding—and try to restore her to her senses.” 

“And if she doesn’t listen to reason?” Ozwin deadpanned, tossing the invitation on the table. 

The Lalafellin grimaced. “If it fails—then... then...” 

“We kill her.” 

Azlyn snapped her head to Ozwin who grimly spoke. 

“We can’t risk the Twelveswood or the realm of Eorzea. If she is beyond redemption or help, we will be forced to kill her.” 

She knew his words held a bell of truth. But it hurt to think about. She could still see Edda smiling in her minds eye. The kind conjurer who was a bit clumsy and just wanted to be of help. Azlyn felt like she was seeing a part of herself in her—and it hurt. 

Paiyo Reiyo shook his head, and decidedly slammed the palms of his hands to the table. It brought the pair over to his attention. “No—no—It doesn’t bear thinking about. If we hurry, it need not come to that. I shall head to Tam-Tara Deepcroft first. Make what preparations you two need, and meet me there. Let’s put an end to whatever madness Edda is planning.” 

Before Azlyn could stop the Lalafellin, he charged out of the inn and into the forest of the central shroud. She worriedly sighed, tapping her chin in thought. “Think we should call some of the others?” She asked. 

Ozwin shook his head. “Nah—they worked yesterday. We can handle it ourselves if it’s only one girl. Come on—let’s hope it’s not past the point of no return.”