I woke when water was thrown in my face. I gasped and inhaled some of it. It burned inside my nose, and I coughed but I couldn’t raise my arms at all to wipe my face. My eyes fluttered open and I heard voices. Some were familiar, others not.
I was bent forward. Water dripped from my hair and splattered on my leather pants as I looked down and saw I was seated in a chair. As I lifted my head, I realized I was tied to the chair with wide, leather straps at my chest, my upper arms, my wrists and I could feel the tightness at my ankles. The left one felt loose.
I muttered several very nasty words in my native tongue as I realized my worst nightmare concerning the Echo had come true. I’d been found, caught by the enemy while unable to move or react. The Echo, though considered a blessing by the Scions, to me, was a weakness I’d feared would work against me one day. And it had. I could only assume they’d found me in that little room, possibly staring at nothing, unmoving, and non-responsive.
At least, that’s how Y’shtola had explained an outsider’s view of an Echo to me. She called it frightening.
There were several voices, bodies, and movements around me, but I couldn’t see them clearly. I felt…drowsy. Weak. Nauseated. My stomach folded in on itself. And the left side of my neck stung. I struggled with the straps. And again, my left ankle felt like it wasn't as tight.
Then my ears were grabbed, and I made a grunting sound as my head was yanked back. Our ears are sensitive to touch. To grab them at the base and pull was excruciating. An all too familiar face came into my blurry view. It was Shaidine Vaijand, a female Elezen Black Mage I’d recruited to the Crystal Braves. She grabbed my chin and moved my head around.
“The water took off most of the blood. Just don’t hit him so hard. Ilberd didn't want him visually harmed--we can't afford any compassion felt for our guest.” She let go of my face and moved the high collar of my shirt on the left side. She touched the tender area on my neck. I hissed and tried to pull away from the pain.
That’s…when I noticed something. The initial pain of her touch vanished. Quickly. And in that moment, I felt weak, and then strong. It was subtle…but it was there. A strange lowering, and then rising of…strength? Power?
Maybe?
My jaw ached. I ran my tongue over my lip…it was split in the lower left. I tasted blood. Taking stock of my body, the dull pain in my chest and sides, I could only assume they’d beaten me while I was trapped in the Echo—
“...no good to me dead…”
Was…was someone dead? Was it…Lorelei?
“Move the left sleeve up.”
The one behind me and the chair, the one that had pulled my ears, reached around my left shoulder and pulled the sleeve away from my elbow.
To my left was a table a few inches taller than the armrest where my wrist was strapped.
“Let's get this done,” Shaidine said as she moved away. I followed her with my gaze and watched as she set a rolled leather pouch on that table. She unlaced a string and unfolded it, revealing eight tubes with needles attached. I looked at her, and she looked at me. “Daiffel has a few questions for you. I suggest you answer them honestly and don’t hold back, Asche.”
“What…” I looked at the needles. Each of the vials was filled with a faint, green and blue liquid that had a slight iridescence to it.
“A little something I whipped up, just for you.” She pulled one of them from the leather wrap, slipped her fingers into two loops and some of the liquid shot out of the needle. “The only problem is…what will the Warrior of Light tolerate before the potion takes effect?”
Potion? Potion for what? To my horror, she moved the end of the needle to the bend of my left elbow. I fought the straps as I attempted to move away from it, but whoever was behind me grabbed my forearm and forced it still.
The bite of the needle was sharp, just like the pain I’d felt during the Echo. Ice moved from my arm to the rest of my body, traveling from left to right, seizing control of my muscles. A tightness started in my chest, as if Hoary had me in one of his infamous bear hugs–only I couldn’t ask him to turn me loose. The muscles in my throat closed.
I became weak, feeble as I struggled against whatever it was she’d just pumped inside of me. And then…I wasn’t. Again I felt the dip and rise of strength. The tightened muscles in my throat loosened and I gasped and coughed. “What…what in the ‘effing hells did you just stick in me?!” My voice was rough, hoarse, but viable.
Shaidine sighed before she tossed the empty needle to the side and picked up a second. “Hold him again.”
Again, she pierced the bend of my elbow with a needle and again I felt the same cold wave. And again I felt an overwhelming weakness as I sat there trying desperately to breathe. Whoever had hold of me from behind let go and I pitched forward, held in place by the strap across my chest.
Weakness…and then strength. It felt like a jolt of healing, like one of Alphinaud’s spells. Once I could inhale again, I began panting, as if my body was afraid it would never breathe again and fought to get as much as it could. I glared at the Elezen I’d once considered an ally. Ally. But it was all a lie…all of it. And those who trusted me had been killed. Like Wildred.
“What…” I snarled. “What are you trying to do to me?!” My voice had lowered. I was angry. I didn’t like getting angry.
Just beyond a disappointed looking Shaidine, Midgardsormr appeared. His voice, reverberating in my head, was heard by no one but me. <Do not fight! Stay silent!>
Stay silent? Was he nuts? Being silent was something I had no intention of doing. So I ignored him, refocusing on Shaidaine.
But it was one of the Brass Blades who got in my face. He struck me hard on my right side…I wasn’t sure a rib didn’t crack. I was unable to dodge, or move. I tasted blood as I coughed and felt myself grow weak again, losing strength, fighting to take in air, fearing he’d collapsed a lung…and then it was better. What…what was happening? Was it the potion she was sticking inside of me?
Shaidine had a third of the needles in her hand. This time she didn’t use care when inserting the needle into the bend of my elbow…she jabbed it in and quickly released the iridescent liquid. It stung that time, worse than the first two.
“What did the little Princess talk about? Hmm?” The one who hit me said as he moved his face close to mine. His nose was nearly against my own…he was Hyur, and a scar on the left side of his face identified him as someone I’d met within the Crystal Braves, but I could not remember his name. “She wanted your help, oh Hero of Eorzea? Did she cry? Did she tell you how the Monetarists were terrible people?”
Cold, more intense than before. I shivered. Again, I felt the tightening of my throat, but this time, there was an increased pain in my chest, as if my muscles were on fire. And again I was weak, and then felt better, though the pain in my chest didn’t lesson. I gasped once I could breathe and this time, with the bastard’s face in front of me, I reared back as far as I could and brought my forehead against his. My aim was a little off, so I struck his nose. I heard the crack of his bones and he screamed as he staggered back.
I saw a few stars, but one thing I’d learned in my twenty eight turns–I had a thick skull. Lorelei often…told me…that.
Lorelei.
“...no good to me dead…”
I was struck again, this time in the face. Shaidine yelled at them and shoved them back. I spat blood, and felt the cut on my lip had widened. I felt the lowering of health, and the return of it. What was happening?
I looked at Shaidine. My voice was harsher, my accent thicker. “The fire in Gridania…the tavern…did the Brass Blades start it? Did you take prisoners? Did you kill innocent people?”
The look on her face was surprising. She looked shocked. “You…How would you know about that? Did someone tell him?” She looked at the crowd of uniforms in the small room.
“Who the bleed’n hell cares?” said one of them. “He’s not gonna tell anyone what we did.”
I worked my left ankle free and kicked at her, at them, anyone who came near me. I pulled as hard as I could with my right arm--if I could just get my right wrist free. But the one behind me grabbed my ears a second before I felt the stinging agony in the thigh of my left leg. I screamed out as he released my ears and my head fell forward. I stared at the hilt of a knife sticking out of my leg. Blood pooled around it and made rivulets over the leather of my pants to the chair beneath me.
Shaidine shoved another needle into me at that moment and my elbow went numb. I couldn’t feel my left hand, or my arm. The weakness was back, dipping dangerously low. I hung my head as my throat closed up…and my chest burned worse than before. All of this wove together with the pain in my leg to create a wall of throbbing agony around me. "Stop...please..." I managed to say in a hoarse whisper.
I heard a knock, and then a door opened. Ilberd spoke. “What’s the delay? I need him ready!”
“The shite’s not working,” someone said.
“It’s not?” Ilberd said. He put his large hand under my chin and lifted my head. I could see him through my wall. I’d half expected Teledji to be there.
My throat opened, barely, and again I managed to say, "Stop..."
“We were warned it might not work,” she said. “He’s had a full vial of sleep potion injected in his neck–but that didn’t last long. I’ve injected him with four of these syringes–-I didn't believe the Alchemist, but he was right. The Warrior of Light isn't normal. He's too strong.”
Ilberd motioned for her to be quiet and leaned in close to my face. “Still think you can win, hero? Let’s see how much of that fight I can take out of you.”
