A/N: Quick reminder that reviews are love reviews are life. Feedback and knowing people are enjoying this are what keeps me going through this rather ambitious project. Even just a simple favorite helps a ton!
That night was, as one might expect, a near sleepless one for the twins. The constant pounding on the door and the walls made it difficult for one to get comfortable. Keeper, of course, did not sleep, as seemed to be his norm. And Mercer apparently was too exhausted to have any difficulty passing out in a matter of seconds.
The most Ret found himself doing was dozing on and off as the sounds of the chaos outside filtered in through the boarded door. He glanced over to Spaz every so often, usually finding Spaz staring right back at him with a dull, bored look in his eye. Ret couldn't blame him-he already knew that Spaz probably wished he were strong enough to be out there fighting, and honestly, Ret wanted to as well. But after what had happened earlier, he was wondering whether avoiding as many fights as possible might be the better idea, especially while the Crimson was nearby. He didn't want any force like that taking hold over his reason.
It felt like ages before the noises of the monsters outside began to fade. Ret shifted in his seat, waking himself from another fitful doze to glance at the torch on the wall. It seemed that all light, whether touched by the moon or not, ended up tinted to red, and he remembered the torch being the same. But the torch was back to normal, birds began singing outside, and he could hear undead feet shuffling through the grass outside, away from the house.
Ret stretched his stiff limbs as Keeper stood and went to unblock the door. Spaz rolled over from the position he'd taken facedown on the floor in some bizarre attempt to get more comfortable. As the wood was knocked off the front of the door, early-morning light began filtering onto the floor of the house; still dim, but enough to keep the night creatures away.
Mercer appeared to notice everyone's movements and sat up from where he'd been lying using his cape as a blanket. Given everything that had happened yesterday, he seemed remarkably pleasant, flashing a weak smile. "Morning, then. I, ah, hope you all slept well?"
Ret said nothing, pushing himself out of his chair and turning to give Spaz a look. Spaz nodded, and slowly got his feet under him.
"We'll be right back," Spaz grumbled, and followed Ret out the door.
There was quite a number of bunnies hopping around outside the house. Birds were in the air, and the sunlight once more covered the land in some mask of elysium, as if the carnage the previous night had never occurred. All the blood from the downed clowns had faded away, and the grass was as pristine as if the twins were the first two to set foot on it.
Spaz attempted to shoo a bunny away from his ankles as the two walked a ways out from the house so as to not be heard. "Okay, is this about the whole town thing, because I was thinking."
Ret raised a brow, "Since when did you do that?"
"Ha, I know, right?" Spaz crossed his arms, "Not sleeping leaves you too much time to think, not enough doing. I tell ya, I'm bored as all hell. Except hell's probably more interestin'."
"So what were you thinking?"
"Right, okay. So! We don't have nice armor. These things are steamrolling us. I don't like getting steamr-would you get out of here?!" Spaz kicked the bunny that was sniffing his shoes. Said bunny gave an offended sniff before hopping away. "And the nice weapons take a while to get. So-"
"You're thinking that if we go to Rifdale, we could get better supplies," finished Ret, knowing that Spaz would go on and on for minutes without any sort of point if he didn't step in.
Spaz nodded, "Yeah, basically that. I was wondering, do you trust this Mercer guy?"
"Not at all."
"Good. For a second there I thought you'd gone insane."
"At least one of us has to have a head on their shoulders. I will take on this heavy burden."
Spaz huffed, shoving Ret lightly away with a hand. Ret smirked briefly, before his lips pressed into a thin line. "No...The only ones we can trust are each other right now. Rifdale does not have to be permanent. We can go, gather supplies, and figure things out from there."
"I'm all for anything that means I can stick a sword in a few of those blood spiders. Count me in." Spaz looked uncertain for a moment, "...What about Keeper? You still want to wreck him?"
"N-no..." Ret shook his head, "I...am not sure what came over me. We're still following him for now."
Spaz fell silent. When he eventually spoke, his voice was unusually quiet. "...I feel it too, y'know. I don't think as much, but..."
"I don't know what it is and I don't like it."
"What do you th-"
A new voice interrupted their discussion. "Well? Are you coming or not?"
The two turned to see an irritated Keeper sticking his head out of the doorway, another practically disintegrated fish in one hand.
The twins spared one final look of confirmation before Ret began to stride back towards the house. "Yes, we will be taking up Mr. Mercer's offer. Spaz, help me pack up everything important from the chest."
-:-:-
"You think we should take the wood from the house, too?"
"...Leave it. It is a sign of where we began."
Both twins were standing outside the house with full inventories. They'd decided to mainly take the tools and more valuable ores they'd gotten from the caves, as well as anything they might be able to sell for a decent profit. Keeper claimed to have what few supplies he'd obtained from the land on his person, and Mercer, of course, was a merchant, so needed no preparations before leaving.
"Where do we go?" Keeper said gruffly.
"East, straight off east," said Mercer, pointing in that direction. "Though I warn you there's some troubled parts we'll need to cut through, and the walk could take most of the day."
"Then we had better get going," Keeper replied, and without another word, began shuffling off in that direction.
Mercer blinked, staring off after Keeper before glancing back at the twins. "Is he...always like that?"
"Yes," Ret said, "and I don't imagine he's going to stop being like that. Let's go before he leaves us behind."
Spaz snorted, but began walking when the rest of the group did. "How far can he get, huh? He walks all funny."
"I can hear you."
"I said nothing."
Mercer tapped his hands together anxiously, moving to walk just behind Keeper as if he weren't the one who actually knew where they were going. "So, ah, who is he?" he asked eventually, pointing to Keeper's back.
"A creep," Spaz said.
"We don't know," Ret quickly added, "He says he's our guide, but he isn't by role."
Keeper let out a long-suffering sigh. "I can still hear you." He looked back at them, one eye on them and the other pointing much further out in the direction he was walking than was normal. "I am taking on the role of a guide for...reasons. And not reasons of my own, I might add."
Mercer nodded, clearly confused. "I see. Did I catch your name?"
"I am just the Keeper."
Ret frowned, "That reminds me. We never got a proper name. Would you-"
"No."
It was clear from Keeper's tone that the conversation was over. Ret looked over to see Spaz was clenching his teeth, and tendons showed in his neck from straining. He was angrily muttering to himself.
Ret decided to start a new topic before Spaz did something they'd all regret. "Mercer. What's this town like?"
"Oh, Rifdale?" Mercer's dark blue eyes lit up, "Wonderful little town. Like I said, it was settled about twenty years ago by some refugees. The Crimson took over their base, and they couldn't defend themselves from it anymore. My wife was one of those refugees, actually-left when she was very young, doesn't like talking about it. Oh, I probably shouldn't say things like that." A nervous chuckle, "It started out as a few little buildings and, well, it took off! Some of the original founders have moved on to other places-I know the original Nurse left to help wherever needed, and the Dryad keeps coming and going from what I hear. Some of them...ah, well, twenty years is a long time for some. But it grew, and grew, and grew! And now it's a thriving community still led by its founder, an old wizard who got everybody out and onto this continent in the first place."
"Are there a lot of people?" Keeper asked. Ret was surprised he even cared.
"A good amount, yes. And everyone's very friendly!"
Keeper did not look happy with this, and Ret smirked. Maybe someone would push him down a peg once they got there. It'd be a win-win.
Try and be so high and mighty then...
As Mercer had predicted, the walk was a long one. The group had to fight off the occasional slime, and Spaz kept picking on squirrels, but overall, it was a rather uneventful trip...until the sky suddenly clouded over, and it began to snow.
Mercer raised a hand for them to stop, despite the fact that Keeper was still in the lead. "Careful, there's a tundra patch. It isn't all that dangerous, but there's Corruption spreading in here. Like the Crimson, but...very dark, and very purple. Look out for big holes in the ground, if you fall down one of those, chances are no one's seeing you again."
Luckily, the twins' armor helped a bit against the sudden temperature change. Mercer wrapped his cloak tighter around himself for warmth, clearly having been prepared for this, while Keeper simply looked uncomfortable, but said nothing.
Ret couldn't recall anything specific about the Corruption. He suspected he'd never encountered it in his past, as he must have the Crimson. All he knew was that it had something to do with shadows, and it was a rather unpleasant place to spend any length of time. As purple ice began to show ahead, along with spindly trees and evil weeds like the Crimson, he clenched his teeth-he wasn't about to let whatever had taken over his mind in the Crimson do so again.
Keeper fell back as they entered the Corruption, allowing Mercer to lead the way. The traveling merchant seemed to know what he was doing, picking out a path around the chasms in the ground. Strange flying beings were beginning to gather around and follow them, and Mercer urged them to move faster-something about "Corruptors spit at people" and "not fun getting hit, let me tell you."
Ret tried his best to recognize something in this place, looking around. Purple slimes, purple-tinted trees, purple...everything, and deep violet light pulsing from within the chasms that stretched below. He slowed his step to get a bit further away from Keeper before he dared speak.
"Spaz, do you recall anything about-"
Spaz wasn't standing next to him.
Ret blinked, then stopped completely and turned around. Spaz stood several yards behind him, at the edge of a chasm they'd snuck past.
Oh no.
"Spaz!"
"Huh?" Spaz jumped a bit and looked back. Ret quickly closed the gap between them, forgetting the other two men for now. Spaz glanced back at the chasm, before turning around completely, running a hand through his absurdly messy hair. "Oh, heh, sorry. Just...wondering what was down there. There's something big here..."
"Those are massive drops. You'd die."
"I'd be careful...I just wanna see!"
Spaz knelt down, peering over the edge of the dropoff. Ret sighed and knelt, grabbing Spaz's shoulder roughly.
"We need to go."
"Didn't you wanna beat up things in the Crimson? To get more powerful? Look!" Spaz pointed down into the chasm, where some sort of creature was meandering about, spitting green flames. Spaz was grinning. "Isn't that neat? Wonder if I could get something like that if I killed i-"
"Don't. Don't you dare go down there."
"...c'mon, just a bit...maybe I can nail one of them with your bow...?"
"They're too powerful."
"I can take them! All I want is the cool green fire stuff! I need some kind of magic..."
The two were staring each other down, now. Ret's gaze was steely, while Spaz was pleading. Ret knew exactly what Spaz might be feeling right now, and he did not like it. He was one thing. His little brother was entirely another.
"Do you want it to control you?" Ret warned.
Spaz seemed to struggle for an answer, before his shoulders slumped. "Okay...fi-" Spaz's eye suddenly focused on something behind Ret, and he yelled. "Look out!"
Spaz attempted to tackle Ret out of harm's way, knocking him into the corrupted stone, but it was too late. Something that felt vaguely wet had already smacked into his back.
For a second, Ret felt nothing but the weight of his brother and the uncomfortable sensation of rock poking into his back.
And then, it started burning.
Ret was screaming before he knew what was happening, and Spaz leaped to his feet to kill the thing that had spat at Ret. The creature exploded to pieces, but all Ret could focus on was the pain where the Vile Spit had connected, and a weakness spreading slowly through his limbs from the point of contact. Fists clenched and unclenched, but grew weaker by the second, and he hissed through his teeth, screwing his eyes shut.
He could hear footsteps coming towards him, and his face began to burn, though it had nothing to do with the acid. He couldn't let anyone see him down, he couldn't look weak, not to anyone-
"Corruptor got you?"
He wanted to kill Keeper right then, but he didn't have the strength. He made a displeased noise that should be answer enough.
He could hear Mercer let out a little 'oh'. "...That isn't good. You're-you're going to be very weak for a while, we should get moving. We're about halfway through, but you won't be able to take any kind of hit very well, and don't even think about attacking. We recently got a new Nurse in Rifdale, but, ah, she might be busy...perhaps our dryad can do something for you! She's good with curses. Removing them, I mean, of course."
Ret dared to squint open his eye, only to see the other three standing over him, Mercer offering a hand to help him to his feet. Ret didn't trust it-no, Mercer wanted to shove him into the chasm, didn't he? Ret glared at the merchant, setting his hands behind him and attempting to push himself up on his own weight. But his arms felt like they were made of slime, and he quickly sank back down.
Much to his humiliation, Keeper was the one who took the initiative to get him to his feet. Rough hands grabbed him and shoved him upright, where Ret swayed, about to tip over. Keeper practically threw him over to Spaz. "I'm not carrying him."
Ret was relieved when his brother caught him, glad to be in the custody of someone he actually trusted, but that didn't stop the burning embarrassment. Why hadn't he heard that? Why did he have to look so incompetent in front of everyone, including the brother he was supposed to protect...
"More are coming," Mercer broke in urgently, "We should go."
The group did as was asked, with Spaz helping Ret stay on his weakened feet. Ret found himself barely able to put one foot in front of the other without huffing and puffing like a steam engine, and cursed himself internally every step of the way.
"For once I'm not the one in trouble," Spaz said, obviously trying to lighten up the situation.
Despite a weak body, Ret's gaze was so hostile it caused Spaz to physically flinch.
"We never speak of this again."
-:-:-
The sun was beginning to set. They'd been walking along pure, relatively flat land for some time-a relief for everyone, but especially Ret, who still hadn't quite recovered from the Corruptor's blow. He'd told everyone he was fine an hour ago, despite the fact that he couldn't quite walk without a hint of a stumble. And Mercer had been keeping up a string of endless, irritatingly perky chatter that no one in the group had responded to in the past thirty minutes.
"...I couldn't get him to walk no matter what I did, I kept trying and trying and oh, we were afraid he was going to be a late bloomer, but no! No, she...she makes a big show about him being a main event and makes all these funny noises and-he walks! Little Tommy walks right to her, I don't understand how she does it. She got him to read by using chocolate and party poppers, he loves both of those things, I guess he just got more of his mother's-oh!"
Mercer abruptly stopped, pointing straight ahead, up a small hill. The others halted as well and followed his gaze. Up on top of the hill, a few buildings could be seen, surrounded by fencing, with a gate out in front.
"Rifdale! Just up here. The Dryad will get you fixed up, Ret, don't you worry, and we can all rest for the night and I can-they probably worried, I bet they worried, I hope at least, not that I want them to worry, but it feels nice to be worried about, if you understand me."
"Shut up."
That was Keeper, who'd been looking more and more uneasy the entire walk. But honestly, if he hadn't said it, Ret would have-the situation was bad enough without Mercer babbling like a fool. Meanwhile, Ret was about to arrive in town looking like he could barely walk.
Mercer opened his mouth as if to protest, before closing it, making a "zipping lip" gesture, and leading them onto a path that wound up the hill to the front gates. He kept starting to say things, before apparently remembering that he was supposed to be quiet and stopping himself. The starts and stops were irritating, but Ret much preferred this to the earlier banter-which usually involved Mercer asking if he was all right about five times a minute, and constantly apologizing, despite Ret's insistence that he not bring it up.
Mercer arrived at the gate and opened it easily. Upon the confused looks he was given, he beamed with pride. "It's set up so that zombies can't figure out how to get the gate open! We still get the eyes in here, can't do anything about that without blocking out light we need for crops. But you'll find narrow streets help keep them out. Look out, there's a trench around, helps cut us off in case things go sour and leads to a mineshaft. There's a bridge right here-Ret, are you-"
"I am fine."
"All right, good!" Mercer led the way across said wooden platform bridge, still smiling. "This town was made to be able to sustain itself if the evil got too close. It's brilliant, really brilliant."
Off the bridge, into a field of grass and flowers, and onto cobbled roads. Ret glanced up from where he'd been staring angrily at his feet to take in their new home.
The place was relatively modest. Most of the buildings were wood or stone, but with intricate paint jobs or decorations hung up to make them unique, and planter boxes of varying colors attached to the outside walls. Mercer lead them into the town square, where there was a pool of water that looked as if it couldn't decide whether it was a fountain or a small lake. The streets were thin, as Mercer had stated, and so it looked like there were even more people rushing around than there actually were. Many of them stared at the newcomers, or waved a greeting to their returning traveling merchant-and an infuriating amount asked if Ret was hurt.
Keeper, meanwhile, had gone from vaguely uncomfortable to something along the lines of mortified, walking very slowly and very stiffly, staring around warily at all the people as if they were disgusting and planning to infect him with some deadly disease. His ruddy complexion had gone almost white, and his lips were a thin line barely visible under his nose.
That uncomfortable look was the only gratifying part of this for Ret, as he glared at the people who pitied him.
"Mercer, where is this dryad?" he asked, voice harsh.
Mercer winced, "She's staying at the inn-well, not quite an inn, some of the rooms are rented like apartments, it's quite nice! That's the tall building up ahead. We should spot her nearby, she loves being outside."
"Don't like people?" Spaz asked, obviously noticing Keeper had flinched.
Keeper scowled dangerously in Spaz's direction. "When I came here, no one told me I'd be interacting with a large amount of...people."
It sounded almost as if he'd been about to say something else, but stopped himself. Ret filed that away for later, for now more focused on looking as strong and angry as possible while in his weakened state.
Mercer parted the small crowds ahead of them easily, and the tall building he spoke of came into view. It was easily the largest thing in the town, mostly crafted of wood, but much fancier than the rest of the houses. Tall and wide both, with glass windows on every side of every floor that allowed the setting sun's light to filter into dark rooms, or little homes lit only by a torch or chandelier.
The merchant stopped near the front door of the building, before glancing around, gesturing for the trio to wait, and running around to the side of the building.
"Alalia! Layli, are you there, I found some people who are going to need to stay for a bit, and one of them got hit by a Corruptor on the way here, terrible luck, really. You can help, yes?"
Shuffling, and then the sounds of of bare feet slapping against stone from behind the building.
"Hold on, I was tending to the planter boxes."
A woman with bright green hair practically down to her waist, and even brighter green eyes appeared around the corner, holding an herb bag in one hand and a Staff of Regrowth in the other. Her skin was tanned from the sun, and there was a lot of it-apparently, dryads didn't care to wear a lot of clothes, as the tall woman was mostly clad in a dress of leaves.
"Where is the hurt one? I can get some purification powder to help with the sting, and there's the nurse that just finished training..."
Mercer clapped his hands together happily, "Oh, yes! It would be the man in the eye p-well, they are both men with eye patches, the tall one, you can tell which one, he looks terrible at the moment-my apologies, Ret..."
But Mercer trailed off. And it felt like the world froze for all of them. For the calm look on the dryad's face had abruptly faded to something surprised-no, stunned. She stared directly at Ret for a moment, then at Spaz, and left her gaze longest on Keeper.
She gasped, shuffled back a few steps, and screamed.
