Rune Factory: Frontiers of Norad
Another chapter by that guy who doesn't own the rights to anything. Aka Phoenix Fervor. (Who isn't mentally disturbed, I just have dark plot twist ideas!)
Author's notes for the previous chapter:
I'm sorry, no matter how many times I tried to fix it, the site always insisted on butchering my file. Even if I edited it ON the site, it would slaughter itself between saving it and loading it. Just to clarify; Merryck remembers reading the note and THEN replies to how he found the other half. The least flawed upload had scrambled it up. You can tell from Italics vs. Non-Italics, but it's still sloppy and I want to apologize but it's not my fault. At least it didn't chop half Ilashnicov's lines and stick them in during Merry's breakdown again, that was horrible. Thank you to everyone who suffered through that. I may try re-uploading it as two smaller chapters since the chapter is over 7k words, and maybe the constant italics on that many words is a bit too much memory for the site to handle for a single file, who knows.
Author's notes for THIS chapter:
Sorry this took so long to upload. It was too long and I ended up dividing it into THREE chapters! Anyways, for those of you who may not have been thrilled at the Merryck/Lara focus on the previous chapter, the severe emphasis on them is only temporary. In the next chapter, things are back to the chapter 1 style of most characters getting a little time, though Merryck will eventually take up more of a role again, later.
Anyways, yet another somewhat divided chapter, though this is the last one. All characters getting near-equal time in the next two chapters, and continuing on for awhile after that!
Lastly, I'm trying to not need to edit this on the site, meaning no proper page breaks. The site tends to remove any sort of "divider" I put up, be it a line of hyphens or a diamond chain (triangular brackets) so I'm trying something with brackets and stars this time. Hope it works!
(*****)
Chapter Three: Inferno
The human heart is a blazing fire
The flames are fuelled by man's desire….
Dawn's first light had broken over Lake Poli, and the runeys began to dance in welcome. One particularly spunky grass runey lost track of its altitude, and fell into the hole Cinnamon had cut in the lake for ice fishing. As it flew back out of the hole, much to the entertainmnet of the others, they noticed a lone figure standing on the pier, staring out at the frozen lake.
"It's been years since I've had a conundrum like this…" Stella sighed, clutching the torn note Merryck had recovered, "As Captain, Merryck reported this to me in confidence, and I agreed not to tell anyone, lest they panic. But, as the spiritual leader here, I also feel they have a right to know what could still come…."
Stella absent-mindedly batted away a tree runey that was hovering towards her face, distracted by a harsh bone-chilling gale, that subsided within seconds. "He rationalized that due to how scruffy that man was, the note could have been years old, and he had refused to abandon his mission. He rationalized that perhaps he was mistaken about it being an Imperial Agent of Sechs, but…."Stella hung her head, unable to refrain from reaching a conclusion that made her stomach lurch. Invasion.
"It's the 7th of Winter… it's the Quiz Contest! Today's a festival! We'd be at out most vulnerable… but if I interrupted today's events, it would cause a panic…" Stella sighed, and began to pace back and forth. "Merryck may be skilled but he can't hold back an army…"No matter how hard she thought about it, she didn't see how starting a panic now would help.
"Merryck…" Stella said out loud, between shivers, "I have no choice but to trust in you right now. You don't tell me how to do my job, and I agreed to trust your judgment on this…." Between chattering teeth, she then cursed "But never ask this of me again! I'm serious!"
As the morning's hours began to tick away, Stella's anxiety had peaked. She kept walking by the village entrance, expecting Merryck to come running in screaming for everyone to get to safety.
When no sign of him came by the time the Quiz Contest began, she decided to swing by the town square to watch. "Allow me to introduce you to the four most bored people in this town!" Kanno's voice rang out. "Every man wishes to eat her cooking every day, and the other girls can't help but be jealous! The Sunshine Inn's very own Eunice!" Stella managed to unwind a bit, laughing out loud after Erik was called the "last and least" and the "Fifth most sexy man in Trampoli."
Erik had taken an early lead with three points after just four questions, and Eunice had just answered a question about herself incorrectly. "Oh, sorry, I heard the question wrong!" Eunice laughed nervously, blushing, "I thought the question was "What DOESN'T Eunice like? What? I… you don't REALLY think I like torturing monsters, do you? That's mean…."
(*****)
"So, what's the plan when we get to Kardia?" Selphy asked Lara, "Are we going to eat first or are we going to split up right away?" Lara took a moment to outline the plan to her: Merryck knew the town's layout, for reasons unknown to him, so he would be Selphy's guide to the library, where Cecilia lived (and thus meant they Merry and Selphy had the same destination) while Lara went to visit her father. Afterwards, they could all meet up for supper before calling it a night.
"We'll be too tired to walk back tonight, and I refuse to let you push yourself with those 30 energy drinks you packed!" Lara scolded. Merryck rolled his eyes. She knew that the drinks weren't for him, but rather, that she had promised, like Stella, not to tell anyone about the threat they faced.
(*****)
Earlier that morning, before leaving, Merryck called Lara aside to the infirmary before leaving together with Selphy, under the pretence of buying some energy drinks for the road..
"Lara, I'm counting on you." Merryck told her, before they left that morning, "If Kardia gets attacked while we're there, It'll be up to you to guide everyone back to Trampoli. I'll leave the energy drinks with you, and whatever you do, don't stop moving! 30 should be enough for everyone to have a few!"
"Merryck!" Lara yelled, "What are you saying! Where in God's name will you be! Don't you dare say 'Holding them off' or so help me, I'll confine you to bed rest for a month while I try to determine if your skull has been cracked!" Merryck didn't laugh or smile. Lara could see him shiver for a moment, and she knew it wasn't due to the cold. She could tell he felt a raw, unadulterated fear, as he dwelled on the potential battle ahead.
Merryck tried to look her in the eye, expecting to look away in shame. Somehow, when their eyes met, he felt better and he managed a smile, however weak. "Lara, I suppose this means I need to promise to make it back alive so you can actually confine me to my bed… and I ALWAYS keep my promises! I promised to protect you, and a dead guard can't do much protecting, am I right? I'll come back alive, I promise…."
Sobbing, Lara pounded on his chest with her fist. "I really hate you sometimes, you know that? When I said that I didn't want any secrets between us, I had no idea that would include waiting for your return as you knowingly walk towards a seemingly certain death! Merryck, there are some things a friend would rather not know! Why didn't you send me away, while reporting to Stella! And I'm not allowed to tell anyone else… I…." Lara realized what she was saying, and immediately began to dry her tears on a freshly changed bed sheet. "I-I'm sorry, Merry… I'm sorry for being so selfish. For a minute I forgot you're carrying the same burden… even more so, since you're the one whose life is on the line. I…"
"Lara." Merryck cut her off without warning. With a stern look, he told her, "You don't need to continue. You said no secrets, and I was happy to have someone to share my burdens with. I'm the selfish one. Don't apologize. I won't accept an apology when nothing was done that needs to be apologized for, okay?" "How do our talks always manage to turn around on me like this...?" She asked him, as she helped him load the excess drinks into a padded section of a second backpack he planned on strapping to his first one. He took a moment of silence to tighten the straps on the leather pack, knowing just how important it was that these drinks make it to Kardia in one piece.
"Does it matter? We always feel better after we speak our minds. Now let's hurry, Selphy's going to suspect something if we're not there soon. Apparently there's already a rumor that we're secretly dating!"
"Really? You'd think they had nothing better to do than gossip about us! Where do you think they got that idea? You don't suppose they know about what happened when I was attacked, do you? It was supposed to stay between us and Stella, and I only told Melody since she's my oldest friend..." "Uzuki, Rosetta, and Danny have seen my scars." He shrugged, "When one of them ripped open during training and I removed my jerkin to clean the wound and let it heal, I didn't see that they were watching until after I was already applying that salve you made for me. It's no secret the church was attacked and that I was wounded trying to defend it. Maybe they think I was trying to play the hero to get the girl?" Merryck laughed, knowing that wasn't too far off, "But I do give you my word, I haven't told anyone. I even kept my lips sealed around Melody until you told me yourself that she knew what happened." "Yes, she was impressed how tightly you guarded the secret." Lara smiled, "Not that she wasn't annoyed, mind you, since she had a theory that- wait a minute! Merry, you don't think Melody started the rumor, do you?"
"So you tell your oldest friend about an attempted rape, and then suspect her of spreading a rumor about you? Lara, I think you're just tired since it's still so early. Besides, what's this about a theory Melody had?" "Well, basically what you already said." Lara confessed, "She thought you were playing the hero to impress me, and she was hoping to interrogate you to find out the truth. I told her she was being silly, and besides, we've already talked about the why, am I right? Now, before Selphy gets it in her head to believe those rumors too, let's go!"
Merryck felt guilty hiding the truth from her, but he didn't want to come on too strong too soon. He had taken to writing in a journal at night, to vent his emotions so they wouldn't rule his dreams, but he had no way of bringing it with him tonight. He just hoped that no one would think of the fact that his door was new and thus lacked a lock...
(*****)
"Everyone but Cinnamon is correct!" Kanno exclaimed, and Candy, who was competing for the first time, had taken a one-point lead over Erik and Eunice. They were on question 9, and poor Cinnamon had no chance of winning. "I… uh… how am I supposed to have Super Gramps time without my assistant?" Kanno asked out loud, seemingly to no one in particular.
"Grandpa, that's only question ten!" Candy groaned, "We're still at question 9!"
"I can have Super Gramps time whenever I please, thank you very much!" Kanno replied, "Because I AM a Super Gramps! Now! Question 9! If anyone gets this wrong, Cinnamon and Candy each get ten points…."
"Again?" Erik asked, "It's the same thing every year! Just once I'd like it to be a straight up quiz... Especially this year since a certain champion slept in and missed registration!" Small amounts of laughter burst out from the audience, as Mist said something that sounded suspiciously like "Oh, we were awake, all right..."
(*****)
"Do you smell that?" Lara asked, as they approached Kardia. "Emmett's curry. I ate too much once when I was a kid, and I haven't had the stomach for much ever since, but I still love the smell!" Stretching her arms out and taking a deep breath, it became apparent she truly felt she was home for the first time in years. "I forgot how far it can carry… it's making me hungry already!"
With a bright smile, she saw the Church come into view, "Allow me to be the first to welcome each of you to Kardia! This is the eastern exit, which was built around the time several of us moved to Trampoli, so we wouldn't need to pass through the Sechs Border to get elsewhere in Norad! The church is right by the entrance, and I'll be there with my father whenever you're both done your business in the library!" Lara waved goodbye to her friends, and disappeared behind the heavy oak doors.
"You know…" Selphy told Merryck, after the doors closed behind the young nurse, "I think that's the happiest I've seen her in the entire time I've known her…." With a smile, she sighed, "Makes me jealous, I wish I had a happy relationship with my father… what about you, Mer? Do you remember your parents?" He slowed his pace, to grapple with his memories, as he led the way to the library.
Merryck had become quite accustomed to pouring his heart out to Lara, but to hear Selphy asking about his parents kind of surprised him. To him, the fact that someone was curious enough to ask about his parents was a step in the right direction, as few people had tried to get to know him before. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to try being as honest as possible with her. "Too much, in fact." Merryck sighed, "My parents were abusive jerks. My mother would beat me, and my father would comfort me, telling me it would be okay. I caught him suggesting my beatings to her, so he could go behind her back and manipulate me into thinking he was the good guy. My sister was always the favorite, but… it's strange. I don't remember if she pitied me or laughed at me. I… I tend to get a headache when I try to think about it, I'm sure it'll get better with time… until last week I couldn't remember my mother's name…."
"Whoa, Merryck!" Selphy gasped, "You have a past like that? Really? Since you're always laughing, I kind of figured… wait… unless… Merryck, you don't actually mean…." They both paused for a minute, realizing what they already knew about each other. Merryck understood why he felt able to open up to her.
"Are we really so different?" Merryck asked with a smile, "We laugh, regardless of how we feel inside. We try to laugh off the "small" things, when we really feel like we're going to die. I hear you collapsed in town after a week without food, and you laughed about it. I've gone that long, myself. It's not fun, is it?"
"Not fun is an understatement!" Selphy groaned, as she rubbed her stomach, hungry from the smell of the curry, "I could feel myself wasting away, and my stomach had stopped growling, I guess it gave up on getting anything! But rather than tell Lara the truth about how long it had really been, closer to two weeks, of course, so she could have done more to help me, I lied and said it was only one week. What about you?"
"Three and a half weeks." Merryck laughed, "And trust me, I'd have resorted to eating tree bark and soil if I wasn't stranded and injured in a remote mountain range! I tried swallowing rocks but that just made it worse. A group of miners came by, scouting for veins of precious metals, and stumbled across me, and I managed to persuade them to let me work in exchange for food. Those were the best mushrooms I ever ate, and normally they make me sick to my stomach!"
The walk to the library wasn't very far, but as they passed a bench near the inn, Selphy gestured to it. They sat down, feet sore from roughly eight hours of walking. "So..." Selphy began, planning her strategy, "What really happened that night? Last week, I mean. You and Lara have been inseperable since then... did something happen?"
"I've already told everyone what happened a hundred times. This man came and attacked the church. Guess he hates organized religion. Anyways, I was passing by and noticed that the door had been broken in. I told him to leave, and he attacked me. I was badly hurt, and Lara came in right after I'd dealt the finishing blow."
"If that's the case..." Selphy paused, "Then why did I see Stella hanging one of Lara's old habits to dry? I say "old" since it was really badly ripped and frayed, and Lara doesn't put her clothes through that kind of punishment! Face it, Merry, it looks really suspicious!"
Before he could stop himself, Merryck cursed. "Stella, I told you not to-" he faltered, and realizing his present company, he stopped himself. Selphy sighed, troubled.
"I was just bluffing, but I had a theory. I hoped I was wrong, but... Merry, I understand why you were trying to cover it up, but I want to know, for my own peace of mind... how did it go? Did you arrive in time? Merryck, please tell me the whole story. If you do, I promise to keep this a secret, for Lara's sake."
"If I tell you..." Merryck sighed, "I'll have to threaten you at knifepoint into swearing to keep this between us, and I'll have to tell Lara you know. If you're okay with this, then I'll tell you, in detail, exactly what happened. And before you get any ideas, no, her and I aren't dating or anything, and I have no idea who started those rumors!"
Selphy agreed to his terms, and within minutes, Merryck had finished. "I'm so relieved that she wasn't actually... but wow, that's... in Trampoli? Really? I always thought it was safe..." Merryck could tell that Selphy's idea of what Trampoli was, much like his own, had been forever changed.
Merryck decided she could probably handle the sight of his injuries. "Look." Despite the chill, he pulled off his jerkin and the underlying cotton shirt, and Selphy gasped rather audibly, as she saw more cuts on a single body than she had ever seen in her life. One scar, about two inches thick, crossed right over Merryck's left pectoral. "This wound was how I ended the fight. I had to let him stab me in order to land the hit I needed." He then indicated one very long gash, from above his right pectoral down to below his left, "and here, he made a slash at Lara, and I threw myself in the way." He spent the next few minutes explaining the various cuts, some of which would obviously never properly heal. "I made damn sure nothing happened to her, and these wounds prove it."
"In my books," Selphy smiled, "The hero never gets scars! Honestly, I think it's pretty lame how they never get hurt! It's not very realistic! But now that I've seen yours, I think I feel a little more comfortable knowing you can take that kind of punishment and still get the job done!"
"Thanks." Merryck told her, with a smile, "Honestly, I realize that my vigilance is nothing compared to how secure people feel. I feel a lot better knowing that at least someone feels safer with me around. Well, someone besides Lara, Stella, and Melody."
"Melody knows too?" Selphy asked, "Well it makes sense, her and Lara were really close friends long before they moved to Trampoili. Hmm..." Selphy mumbled something to herself, before turning back to Merryck. "Okay, so you and Lara aren't dating. But what do you feel for her? You almost died for her, there has to be something there, right?"
"It's a long story." Merryck sighed, "But basically, I'd have done that for anyone in Trampoli. It's true that Lara's the best friend I have in town, but..." Merryck sighed again, shaking his head, "Why does everyone keep asking me this, anyways? I've barely been around for two weeks. I mean, Melody flat out accused me of being madly in love with Lara..."
Pausing for a minute, Selphy smiled, "And I'm pretty sure it was Melody who told me that rumor, too... you know, that you and Lara are..."
Merryck started laughing, "No way, you can't be serious!" He had to hold on to the side of the bench to keep from falling off, "And to think, Lara suspected her and I didn't!" His grip slipped, and he landed on his back. His laughter ceased almost immediately when the snow touched his still exposed skin. "COLD! So cold! Aaah, not fun, why did I have to go and do that!"
To save time, Selphy helped him up, and helped him adjust the straps on his jerkin, and they set off for the Library again. Merryck turned to ask his companion something, but she wasn't as close behind him as he thought. She was standing a good five feet away, pointing at the library and waving at him. "Hey, the library is here! Merry, were you keeping your eyes closed? You'll see better with them open! It's elementary, my dear Watson!"
"In my defense..." Merryck groaned, "The sun is right in my face, you're standing behind me." He paused, hesitant to ask his second question. "Secondly... who the heck is Watson!" Selphy didn't respond, but Merryck thought he saw her mouth something along the lines of "Nah, we're not so similar after all..."
(*****)
"I'd like to dedicate my win to my girlfriend, the goddess of victory!" Erik smiled, as everyone started to laugh. Bianca made a sarcastic comment about having never gone out with Erik in her life, which only made everyone laugh more.
"I sure hope Erik has a real girlfriend to dedicate next year's victory to!" Candy laughed, as a debate started up about whether Raguna would "sleep in" again ("I can certainly see what I can do about that!" Mist joked,) and if Candy and Eunice might stand a solid chance at winning next year, having both scored 7 points..
However, one face was missing from the festivities. As Melody opened Merryck's dresser, she ruffled around his underwear drawer for a minute until her hand hit a hard corner. "Hehehe, jackpot!" she smiled, as she hoisted out a small, leather bound book. "I bet this is Merryck's journal! Let's see what he's been writing!" Her laughter subsided almost instantly when she read, in detail, about what really happened on Lara's birthday, his injuries, and just how close he was to being too late to save her.
"I never did believe in fate and destiny. I believed that spending time together leads to feelings of attachment, which then matures into love. When I started to realize just what that sensation in my chest was, I thought for sure that I had totally lost my mind. But, I can't bring myself to say it's anything else. Funny how it works sometimes... here I am, in love with someone I've only just met, and... and I'm happy. Just seeing her smile makes me happy, and I want to do everything I can to keep her smiling. It breaks my heart to not be able to listen to her when she tells me to stop pushing myself, since it upsets her, but I'm doing what I have to... it's pretty confusing sometimes. Merryck the guard and Merryck the man... can I be both without totally failing at everything?"
As she continued reading, getting into Merryck's decision to keep his feelings a secret, Melody began to feel wracked with guilt over her intrusion. "This is depressing." Melody sighed, "I came in here expecting to find out whether or not he really likes Lara, but I had no idea he was this complicated! As interesting as he is, reading his diary feels wrong. But..." She noted one passage in particular that caught her eye.
"According to Melody, predators like Ilashnicov are sadly common in small towns without proper fortifications or guards. I'll need to be especially vigilant. Melody says I'm already too late to save some people from that kind of assault, which is depressing, but at the very least, I can stop that kind of thing from happening again, if I keep a watchful eye out."
Melody sighed, "I'll need to talk to him about writing too much, because you never know who'll read it. The way he writes it kind of makes it sound like I was personally assaulted! Well... that would involve admitting I broke into his house... and I highly doubt Lara said anything... I guess it's just a coincidence? I mean, it was years ago, there's no way he knows..."
With a smile, Melody pulled a sheet of paper out of her pocket, and wrote "Lara, look what I found! It's Merryck's and you may want to read it before you give it back to him!" and planted the diary in Lara's room.
"My job is done!" Melody laughed, as she headed back to the baths for a nice, hot soak. "I hope Lara doesn't hate me for this! It's just that... you guys saved each other's lives, and it'd be sweet if things worked out for you like a fairy tale!" Melody sighed, "If anyone deserves a fairy tale ending, it's you, Lara... and Matchmaker Melody is going to make it happen!"
(*****)
Merryck had been trying to speak with Russell, Kardia's librarian, for over ten minutes, but every time he opened his mouth, Selphy let out another exclamation of shock. Russell kept talking to Selphy and answering all her questions, and before long, Merryck had given up on speaking to the purple haired man, and instead tried to ask the Library assistant for assistance.
Merryck was shocked to learn how timid this girl was. She introduced herself as Tori, and she insisted on addressing him as "Mr. Merryck." She kept shooting awkward glances over at Selphy, and Merryck understood at once. "I don't care for the noise myself, either. I have a few questions, would you mind if we talk outside? Besides, I have a feeling we'll just get bowled over soon, the way Selphy's running around..."
Once more, Selphy's voice rang out in disbelief. "WOW! You actually have a copy of 'Dragon God Legend?' This one is really really rare! And it's the only one book that has legends on all four great dragons! My resources only mention Terrable and Fiersome, and I was looking for tales on Aquaticus and Ventuswill! I HAVE to read this one!"
"Yes, it was really difficult to obtain!" Russell smiled, "It cost 80,000 gold and it's one of the prides of the Kardia Library! It's always nice to meet someone else into fine literature such as this!" Within a few more minutes, Selphy has grabbed Russell by the sleeve of his robe and was dragging him all over the library, having him help her write a list of the books she wanted to read.
Meanwhile, Tori was leading Merryck to the town square. "Ceci is... probably playing with Nicholas over here... I should... get back to the library... I'm skipping work right now. Bye, Mr. Merryck!"
"Err, Tori, wait!" Merryck called to her, "I just have one quick question, it's probably about books. Earlier, Selphy told me something was elementary, and called me Watson. Any idea what that was about...?"
And with that, she was gone. "She reminds me of before I came to this area..." he thought, and began to walk towards two kids playing. Right away, one of them, a boy with blue hair, noticed him and ran between Merryck and the other, a young girl.
Throwing his arms out to either side, the boy demanded, "Are you with the bandits who took Felicity! I won't let you take Ceci!" Merryck suddenly felt very self conscious of the weapons he carried, and realizing how most bandits would be wearing jerkins not unlike his own, he cursed his choice to come straight here before dropping his possessions off at the inn. But, before he could speak, the part about someone being taken struck home.
"Someone was kidnapped?" Merryck panicked, kneeling down to look the child in the eye, "When was this? Are they okay? Do you know-"
"She's fine." The girl stepped forward and tried to calm her friend down, "The mayor had to pay them a lot of money to get her back, but they didn't hurt her. I think they called it a random... no, rancid... Nick, what was the word they used?"
"Ransack?" Nicholas suggested, hopeful it was the right word. Calming down, Merryck smiled. He had forgotten how cute kids could be when trying to remember the right word, and was happy to see they maintained a degree of innocence in these troubled times.
"Ransom?" Merryck told them, "That's what it's called when someone or something is taken and only given back when money is paid." Deciding to correct them on the rest of their vocabulary too, he continued, "Random is something unexpected or unrelated, rancid means a very bad smell or taste, and ransack means to break in and steal, while making a huge mess."
"Oh, so we were all right!" Cecilia smiled, "They smelled bad, were unexpected, and made a big mess!" Merryck laughed with her, and within a few minutes, convinced the children he wasn't a bad man. Apparently, due to family and friends between Kardia and Trampoli, everyone already knew about him "saving the church." As the official story went. Knowing he would beat up any bad guys who came, Nicholas was asking Merry to play, having forgotten all about his first reaction.
"I'll play with you after, I promise! I just have one favour to ask, and then I'll go speak with the mayor. Then I'll come back and play, I promise! Is that okay?" When the kids nodded, he continued. "Cecilia, my friends in Trampoli tell me you love collecting rocks and jewels."
"Yes, I do!" Cecilia smiled brightly, "I love smooth rocks with fun colors, or shiny stones!"
"I do too!" Merryck smiled, "And I was hoping to make a gift for someone out of some gems I found, but I don't have the one I need! So, I was hoping maybe you might want to trade with me? I brought a big sack full of stones all the way from Trampoli, and if you want to trade me the one stone I need, you can keep all of them!"
"All of them? It doesn't seem fair to you, Merry!" Cecilia told him, looking sad, "I'm not taking your whole collection, am I?" Merryck had wanted to make sure that Cecilia would trade, so he brought a lot to bargain with. This reaction startled him, and, and he cursed himself for forgetting that innocence that he admired about children.
"No, of course not!" Merryck told her, "But most of it. But you see, Ceci, I want to make a present for someone who saved my life. I want to say thank you, and I need something I haven't had any luck in finding. This means a lot to me, and I would trade five backpacks full of stones and gems if I had that many. I won't be sad to trade with you. Yes, I worked hard to get all these, but this only means I'll have worked hard on that present, right?"
"I like him." Nicholas told Cecilia, "He can work and still have fun hobbies, like us! If he wants to trade with us, why not hear what he's offering before saying it doesn't sound fair?" Cecilia agreed, and Merryck told them they were free to sort through his pack while he went to visit Mayor Godwin.
(*****)
Raguna had taken the harvester and was passing through Trampoli redistributing runeys. It had become routine, for him, and he did it without even thinking about it. It took him a few minutes to realize to realize what Kross was doing; he stood near the town gate, with a spear.
"Merryck asked me to watch the gate while he was away." Kross explained, "I don't know how, but he was very persuasive." Raguna found the sight of Kross, often slouched, standing rigidly with a weapon, to be highly comedic, and stayed with him for a few minutes, keeping him company.
Meanwhile, as the sun began to set, the two Irises had awoken. Blanche hurried downstairs to go to work, but Noire took a few minutes with her Tarot cards. She was finding that they were becoming more and more accurate as time passed, and gotten into the habit of doing readings for people, just for her own peace of mind. She had also started doing readings for the patrons in Snowstyle Tavern, for some money on the side. Pulling out a list of some of the villagers in town, Iris let the cards decide whose she'd read by drawing a few at random. Three of swords, so that's the 3rd group, five of wands... one, two, three, four... Selphy."
Laying out the spread, Iris flipped over the death card almost immediately. "Death often means a new beginning." Iris convinced herself, "No one's dying anytime soon." As she flipped more cards, she began to piece Selphy's future together: A new beginning, after a bastion fell. A fateful encounter with a fair-skinned man would change her life of ill health and lead to happiness. "A fair-skinned man?" Iris wondered, "And a fateful encounter? I have no idea what this is talking about..." putting her cards away, Noire left her room, and walked down the stairs "Well, I can't be right all the time!
(*****)
"What a crazy day!" Merryck laughed, as he sat down for supper with Lara, her father, Wesley, and Selphy, "When I heard about Felicity's ransom, a few weeks ago, I decided to go see Mayor Godwin to make sure everything was okay, and somehow ended up curing Felicity's illness!" Merryck explained, mostly for Lara's sake, that it was actually a cursed rock that Cecilia had given her. Neither of them knew it was cursed, however, and since Dr Edward had disposed of it, no lasting harm was done.
"So did you get what you came for?" Selphy asked him, and Merryck reached into his pocket, feeling the warmth of the Lapis Lazuli he had come for, and nodded. "I saw you playing with the kids, who'd have known you were a big softie, and a kid at heart?" Lara started asking just how big a kid at heart, since kids have a bad habit of playing too hard.
"Well, it was nothing too strenuous, just some hide and seek! I ducked inside the hospital for a few minutes, they didn't think of looking for me there!" He laughed, and Selphy joined in, commenting about how kids hate needles. Lara, however, was not amused.
"Merry..." she warned, "If your wounds opened again, you know what'll happen..." Merryck nodded, and, chewing the potato he already had in his mouth, raised a finger to indicate she wait a second. Lara glared impatiently, as she herself tried a mouthful of the creamy potatoes.
"I know, I know, I'm condemned to bed rest for a week when we get back. I'll save you the trouble. Yes, I was having Dr Edward re-stitch my shoulder, and yes, it happened while I was playing with the kids. I'm sorry for making you worry, but..."
"Let me see." Lara told him, getting up from her seat, across from him, and moving to his side. Merryck began to protest, but Lara stopped him. "Yes, I mean right here, as your nurse I'm declaring you a high risk patient and I have the responsibility of checking up on you when I have reason. She helped him remove his chestpiece, and gasped. "Merry! Didn't Dr. Edward clean up the blood!" She asked, seeing how soaked his shirt beneath his jerkin was.
"I... uh... kinda had about four more start bleeding on me since then." He admitted, "But I'll be fine, honest. This is nothing compared to- HEY!" Lara had pulled his shirt off right at the dinner table and reached into her pocket for her silk thread.
"You know you're a source of concern when I have to carry my medical supplies in my pocket when you're around..." she sighed, and got to work restitching some of his open wounds. Merryck didn't protest, but no matter how many times he got stitches, he never got used to the sensation of having a needle go inside him, around a wound. He winced as she began to work on the longest gash, that cut across his chest, "And this one! How on earth did this one even happen, again?"
Everyone in the room already knew what happened, so Merryck answered honestly. "That's where I got hit while shielding you, that one time. I must say, it's a pretty big cut, I'm surprised he managed that with his knife!"
"You- oh, right, I forgot about that part." Lara sighed, "I'm sorry, I must be coming across as ungrateful, but seriously, Merry, why won't you simply let these wounds heal? You were up and about the next day, stumbling and slurring your speech, weak from the blood loss! I really wish you'd stop pushing yourself!"
"Yeah, Merry!" Selphy chimed in, "How do you think Lara would feel if one of her patients died? Especially with the rumors flying around about the two of you!" Lara groaned. She had hoped to simply introduce Merryck as a friend, but now that Selphy had mentioned the rumors, she feared her father might believe them as well.
"Selphy, I keep telling everyone, it's not like that!" Lara told her, as she absentmindedly pulled a little harder at her needle than she meant to, and Merryck groaned in pain. Lara quickly apologized, and continued mending a few of the smaller cuts Merryck hadn't even noticed. "Are these opening on their own with no stimulus?" Lara wondered aloud, as she began to rub a damp medicinal herb over one of the smaller cuts to help restore his skin's nutrients to help it mend naturally. Merryck took in a quick breath from the stinging, and Lara decided to tease him about it. "What, you can beat an armed bandit without complaining, but you can't take some light stinging?" Selphy burst out laughing, and even Father Wesley began to chuckle a little.
With a sigh, Merryck reached over to Lara's plate and slid it closer. With his free arm, as Lara was working on a series of small scratches along his left bicep, he took hold of her fork, and managed to get some more mashed potatoes on it, at arm's length. "Here." He told her, as he brought the fork closer to her, "It'll go cold at this rate, and this is my fault, so I won't let you eat a cold meal!"
"Aww, how cute! Now he's feeding her!" Selphy giggled, and Lara reached over to smack her, before accepting the barely warm food. Lara noticed Selphy and her father were already done eating, but since she had been keeping Merryck from moving too much, he had eaten even less than her. "So, are you two lovebirds going to finish eating that all or what?" Selphy asked. Lara and Merryck both reached over to smack her simultaneously, as Wesley chuckled.
Reaching into his pocket, Merryck pulled out his change purse. "Selphy, rather than your sarcastic commentary, can you please go pay for our rooms at the inn before they close? We forgot to do that earlier while at the library, and we need a place to spend the night!"
"Who said my comments were sarcastic?" Selphy teased, with a big smile. Smack! "No, seriously, it is cute that you're feeding her!" Smack! "And now you're even smacking in unison!" Smack! "Hey, Father, help me out here!" Selphy laughed, as she tried to block another smack.
"I think I'll go to the inn and pay for your rooms for you." Wesley told her, "Since if I stay here, I might want to smack you too, just so I don't feel left out!" This made Merryck and Lara begin laughing, and the sudden motion opened yet another of Merryck's smaller cuts. Lara was near the end of her rope, and began growling at Merryck.
"Merryck, sit still!" She scolded him, "They keep opening again! I can't-
"Ooh, so now you're growling at him?" Selphy smiled, "Hey Merryck, you know that's often a sign an animal is in heat, right? She wants you to get savage-Ow ow ow ow OUCH! You guys, I'm just trying to have a little fun, here!" Selphy laughed, "Everything's been boring since I had a few drinks with Russell earlier!"
"That... explains... everything!" Merryck groaned, "Selphy, don't tell me you're drunk?" Lara rolled her eyes, mumbling about this being the reason she chose not to drink.
Without warning, the door burst open. "Everyone!" Wesley gasped, It looks like the forest outside town is on fire! Come help put it out! I've already alerted the mayor!" Merryck caught Lara's eye, and shook his head.
"No, it's too late." Merryck told him, standing up, "Don't ask me how I know, but... well... it's not just a fire..." Turning to Selphy and Wesley, he gave them an order.
"Prepare to evacuate!"