Grandavier

The Leshima hurtled over troops and through Salazaar air defences in a juddering, breath-taking, probably life-threatening pelt across Grandavier airspace at extraordinary speeds. The hundred mile an hour, streak of yellow in the sky had two sounds coming from it. Ben screaming and its engines sucking on the last reserves of fuel. The little moogle held his chest as it rose and fell quickly. He seemed to be checking if his heart was still there and beating. A small burst of gas meant that the parachute had deployed. It caught the air as the Leshima drifted downwards to the streets below.

"Ne..ver...a..gain..." Ben said, reduced to a syllable at a time.

Rindo crawled out of the ship once it landed, holding his head. He had no idea what just happened. All he could remember was that he was staring down at the streets of Delma, when all of a sudden he was sent flying back to the back of the ship. Had his head shifted a certain way, he would have died of whiplash. Now he was dizzily trying to recollect himself from the minute long ride that seemed to last an eternity. He could hear Ben mumble to himself. "Ne..ver...a..gain..." Truly. That ship may have been fast, but that thing was an accident just waiting to happen.

"Wh-where are we...?" He said, slowly getting his sight back. Of course he wished he hadn't. There were soldiers closing in on them. Fast.

"Enemies of the Emperor! Get them!" Heh, Rindo thought. Looks like things are getting interesting. He didn't even wait for Ben to recuperate, he just grabbed the moogle's arm and ran in the other direction.

"You said you were ready to travel with me moogle?" Rindo smirked as he ran toward the alleyways. "Hope you don't regret that decision later!"

Ben's legs leave the ground as he gets dragged backwards. He just manages to turn around with a little help from his wings and begin running. Rindo still hadn't let go so he had to work double time to keep up. He also couldn't answer the question quite yet...Not until his breathing was given a break.

Rindo ran past people and weaved through the buildings until he was sure that they had lost the soldiers pursuing them. He had taken the moogle and hidden in an alleyway between a house and a bar. Rindo panted slightly. Well, I did say this morning that I was looking for adventure... He finally caught his breath. I didn't think I'd be at the heart of the greatest tyrant's country in a matter of minutes... He turned to Ben. "So. What now?"

"You...You could give me your name?" Ben said. If he was going to travel with this man, he'd have to know that little thing, right? "I'm Ben but everyone calls be Fetch usually."

It had hit Rindo. Though they eagerly departed the hangar with each other, they didn't know the first thing about the other. "Rindo. Just Rindo." He got up and dusted himself off. "So Ben." He said, "where should we go now?" He looked around the town square. "Because by the looks of things, we're not getting out of here anytime soon. We might be able to stop off at an inn tonight though. Get some rest and plan out what we'll do for tomorrow." He looked at the moogle. "You uh...got any gil? I spent the last of mine buying that ship off your former boss." He then grimaced slightly. "Which we'll probably never see again..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, kupopo! 7658 Gil, just for a time like this, kupo." He'd packed it away in the bulge on his back. He kept a reserve of cash for his next leg of his journey, scraped from his salary for whatever job he had done. "OK, so which way, kupo?" Ben asked.

Rindo nodded to his new companion. "Alright." He peered out into the streets. It seems they had lost the guards. "There's an inn right there. We can stay there for a bit. Hide out and plan our escape." He led the moogle to the inn. "I'm already starting to get a bit bored." They entered the inn and Rindo went up to the man at the desk. "We'd like to take a room for the night."

The attendant eyed him a bit suspiciously, but decided to let him have a key to the room. "That will be 200 gil, sir." Geez, 200 gil for one night?...Grandavier definitely ain't a cheap place... Rindo turned to his partner.

Ben pulled off the rucksack, rustling around until he found the money. He handed it to Rindo.

Rindo payed for the rooms and went up the stairs. They were given key number 3. He crossed the hallway until he stopped in front of the door with the number three engraved into the wood. He entered quickly and shut the door after Ben entered. "We should stay low for now. Looks like there are gonna be guards all over the city now, because of our spectacular landing in the middle of town." He turned to his moogle partner. "So." He said. "What now? You wanna just wait here? Help me think of something. There should be a way to escape from here, right?"

"Ummm...." To stay in this room? To just think? He didn't like being cooped up particularly long...The wide open places of the world beckoned.
"Sure, kupo." And they would wait. Guards where after him. A moogle in a little yellow rain outfit would stand out a mile here. He was in a lot of danger for coming here. Even with his small size, he'd find it hard to elude capture. He could fight but only for so long against humes. It's tiring covering so much ground.
"I wonder if I have a map for Grandavier, kupo." Cogs whirred as he ran through his map library. It had served him well so far. Getting maps was imperative. "No, kupo."

Rindo sat there, thinking. "If we don't have a map then it'll be troublesome. I'll go out for some reconnaissance then." He got up and walked towards the door. "At the very least I can get a better feel for this town and see if we can get anywhere." He opened the door, then paused. He turned back to the moogle. "Stay here. A moogle like you is too inconspicuous right now. I'll be back by tonight." And then he left, shutting the door firmly behind him. I wonder if he'll be all right... He shook his head. Nothing could possibly happen. He headed down the stairs, past the receptionist, and out into the Grandavier streets.

Looking around, this place didn't seem that much different from any other town he's been in. There were people running about doing their business, selling things, working, constructing...but the air was definitely much more tense. There were soldiers coming and going every which way, keeping the 'order' of the land intact. He had soon reached the border of the town, and there was a large wall, separating him from the outside. At the top of the wall were turrets, designed to shoot down any flying objects that came their way. (Well, most of them anyway...) And security around the wall was heavier than in the streets, with guards walking and patrolling in groups. Rindo headed back, to avoid conflict.

He decided to try and visit the castle. But he couldn't even get close. He could see the castle from anywhere in the town, but when he tried to get close, he found that security here was even tighter than at the wall, with larger, more intimidating guards patrolling all exits, entries, pathways, and even saw snipers from the windows. Rindo had quickly moved away from this area.

He decided to walk the streets, see if there were shops with useful items. Though he couldn't buy anything, he simply browsed through the merchandise, being wary of the constant watchful eyes of the guards.

"OK..." So Ben had to stay in here? Inside? He feared looking out the window...Now he felt a little trapped actually...He wanted to explore but, his yellow outfit made him stand out. He'd take it off but he only had these boots to wear...He started to bounce on the bed as he ignored the window. The sounds of the people below, tweeting, talking. All without him. There could be a market! Or a really nice restaurant. Or maybe...

He should explore the hotel...A through exploration. That'll calm him down. So he slipped off the bed, across the carpet, then out the door into the similar hallway. Right. He;d start from the bottom and work his way up to the top. That would settle him. He started walking.

Rindo had basically taken note of every nook and cranny he had access to in this town. The sun was already beginning to set. It was getting late. Time to head back, I guess... He jaunted away from the market place and across the center of town. He heard movement. A lot of movement, about ten or twenty people moving at the same time. Sensing trouble, he hid in an alleyway and peered out. It was their airship. The guards had assembled and are now transporting it on a large cart towards the castle. Rindo sighed. There goes our ticket out...

He looked around. It seemed none of the guards were looking for them right now. But their presence here was definitely known now. Once the guards had left, Rindo started heading towards the inn, trying to look as casual as possible. Though that itself was somewhat difficult, as most of the streets were basically deserted. "Maybe there's a curfew..." He surmised. No surprise either. With a town under such heavy rule, it was only expected. He hurried his pace towards the inn, towards Ben.

He reached the old inn in a matter of minutes. Rindo rushed up the stairs, and opened the door. He looked inside, and saw that it was empty. He made sure he had the right room. Sure enough, he had opened room 3. And Ben was nowhere to be found. Rindo sighed. "Just what in the world are you doing..." Rindo shut the door and hurried down the stairs, and out the inn, not realizing Ben was actually still in there. He tried hiding in whatever shadow he could find, as it was already night time. Rindo needed to find Ben soon, or who knows what they'd do to him. After all, Rindo felt partially responsible for bringing here in the first place. At least, this was what Rindo's thought process was at the time.