Chapter 11: A Brief Furlough
"Hey did ya hear?" Bertha said sticking her head into the lobby of the girl's dorm "A lot of us are going to get a furlough." The news excited everyone; some rest and relaxation would be greatly appreciated from the war weary soldiers. Placing her book down Judy thought long and hard about what she was going to do. Everyone else had families and loved ones to go home to. She could stay at the empty dorm but that didn't really appeal to her.
The question plagues her throughout the day as her fellow mages chatted on about the trips they would take and how much they missed their mom's cooking. Apparently this furlough extended to quite a few branches of the military as well. Donnel rushed up to her in the hallway his face aglow.
"Did ya hear"? he jabbered "They're gonna let us go home for a spell! I'm gonna get to see my ma."
"And show her the medal you won." Judy reminded him. They had all received small medals of valor for their efforts at stopping the Plegians at the Palmira Plains. Some of the more heroic among them got much shinier, more illustrious hardware but that didn't bother Donnel one bit. He cradled his in his arms during the ceremony like it was his first born. Unbeknownst to him Judy had pawned hers off for three gold coins, not an insignificant sum of money.
"Aw shucks, she's gonna start bawlin when I show it to her" Donnel said "She was worried sick 'bout my decision to join up too."
"I think she'll be happier to see you than the medal." Judy said wryly "Anyway I'm going to head into town. Want to tag along?" He accepted and they ducked around the soldiers already beginning to celebrate their furlough with some light drinking in the barracks. The marketplace was just as chaotic as ever with merchants screaming about their wares to the crowd and insulting their competition in witty limericks.
As usual a few fights broke out between the vendors thanks to the storm of insults but Judy and Donnel stepped around them quickly leaving the city guard to break them up. Her first stop was an ivory store that sold lavish objects crafted by artisan who claimed that at least ten generations of his family had also been ivory carvers. She bought an ornately sculpted comb for two of her gold coins. It was much more expensive than a normal comb made out of lacquered oak wood but Judy's thick, black, wire-like locks could not be tamed by anything weaker than ivory.
Securing it inside her robes she and Donnel strolled around the marketplace. Word on the street was that Prince Chrom was going to get crowned as soon as he underwent the sacred rituals. Emmeryn's death hadn't hit the population very hard, in fact aside from the black bunting tied around every door as well as the public funeral procession through main street there hadn't been any spontaneous show of grieving. No candle light vigils in remembrance of her, no day of mourning, no plans for a hospital or temple to be built in her name. Judy hadn't been particularly invested in Emmeryn's character when she was playing the game but this unabashed indifference made her very uncomfortable.
"What did you think of the Exalt?" she piped up as they strolled through the garment district.
"Huh, well I guess she wasn't a bad sort." Donnel said scratching his pot "She just had the darndest bad luck what with her pa bein such a bastard. I was only a lil tike then but I can still remember the fear everyone in ma village felt. They were all walkin on eggshells all the time what with the commissar around."
"Commissar?"
"Yeah, this real ornery sort of fella from the church." Donnel explained "He came 'round the village 'bout the fifth year of the war. That's really when my memories start but my ma and pa remembered him real well. He'd bitch all the time 'bout what a backwater shithole the Exalt sent him to and 'bout the smell that "per-me-ated" the place" Donnel struggled to articulate the word. "Everyone hated him but ya couldn't say nothing. If ya rubbed him the wrong way he'd light up like a bull and send someone to the war. And more often than not, they ain't never come back." His accent began to become more prominent as he remembered more and more of the commissar.
"I 'member this one time. One of ma pals Cooter done let a mess of cows outta the barn, by mistake mind you. Well they done go and get into the commissar's house cause the bastard left the door open like an ijiot. Well bing, bang, boom he done grabbed Cooter and take him to the village square and tanned him till his ass was drippin with blood. Right in front of everyone mind you, he whipped Cooter right in front of everyone, parents included. His pa had to stand there and watch his boy get switched like hell and he couldn't even say nothin cause the commissar would have had his ass on the front lines like greased lightning." His face was red and he looked mad enough to disembowel someone.
"That sounds awful." Judy said hesitantly placing an arm on his shoulder.
"Yeah, it was." Donnel admitted taking a few deep breaths to calm down. People had begun to look at him funny. "Anyway, what was it like fer ya?"
"Huh?" Judy said.
"Well, ya said yer family wandered around Ylisse cause ya didn't like tha snow." Donnel pointed out "Did the Exalt's commissars bother yer family?"
"Oh, uh…" Judy said trailing off 'Crap, crap, crap, backstory.'
"Well, during the bad years we went back to Regna Ferox," she said lying by the seat of her pants "
My parents hated it and so did I after building snowmen got old but that sounds leagues better than the commissars."
Donnel nodded understandingly and Judy gave herself a pat on the back for her creativity but before they could continue a scream rang out from among the stalls. Knocking down everyone and everything in their way a small group of cloaked men raced towards one end of the market. For a split second both of them simply assumed that it was a band of thieves but then a priest teleported in front of them.
"Please evacuate the area!" He ordered waving them away. After they took a few steps back he erected a barrier between them. Priests and war monks began to warp in by the dozen until they saturated an entire stretch of the market street. Cramming up against the barrier the people strained to see what was going on. Unfortunately their curiosity pressed Donnel and Judy up against the barrier. She tried to elbow her way out but inevitably she ended up smashed against the magical obstruction. The wall thrummed with magical power, the energy was so powerful it traveled up Judy's arm and lightly curled her hair.
"Get off of me!" She shouted trying to press off the barrier against the group sandwiching her in. Donnel tried his best to shield her from the crush but he was pretty penned in too. A massive blast of thunder struck the barrier but aside from a chorus of gasps no one reflexively moved back. The barrier shimmered and bent but managed to keep both the crowd and the priest alive. Everyone's attention focused on one of the black robed men who had tore their way through the marketplace. The Arcthunder tome in his hand could have slaughtered a handful of people with each blast and the man was certainly masterful with his casting.
With a precise motor mouth he sang the words with a feathery baritone.
I,
who stand in the full light of the heavens
command thee,
who opens the gates of hell,
come forth divine lightning!
The massive spiderweb of light surged out of the tome frying several of the priests and sending many more ducking for cover under the stalls of the merchants. He seemed unstoppable, a god of lightning who bathed the battlefield in death. A particularly nasty strike smashed the barrier making it keen loudly as it struggled to keep itself together. The priest molding it gave out a cry; his knees began to buckle as the spell on his lips began to die. Everyone screamed and began to run away but where could they go? A small hole opened spilling out lightning through striking an old woman and a young man; they were dead before they hit the ground. The pressure on her back faded allowing Judy to take several steps away from the barrier. Her hand ducked into her cape to grab her Fire tome but her hands groped fabric, she wasn't armed. Donnel was already racing towards her hand outstretched. They locked hands and pivoted in order to escape but with a ripping sound the barrier shredded itself into the ether and the priest screamed as the lightning surged through his body.
Diving onto the ground Judy threw her cape over her body in one last, futile attempt to save herself. She waited for the blow that would turn her into deep fried meat but it never came. Instead of death there was a large hum causing Judy to slide her cape down past her eyes. Another barrier had been erected between the wild mage and the townspeople saving them from a cruel death. The barrier didn't buckle at all as strike after strike slammed against it. The mage in black growled as the incantation was forced to come to a complete stop. He rifled through his tome to find a new spell but before he could even flip five pages a well aimed tomahawk beheaded him.
Pushing herself up from the ground Judy observed their savior; he was much older than she would have guessed. The man was dressed in robes of the purest white with cerulean trim on his hem and sleeves. In one hand he held the barrier staff that had protected her from harm, in the other was a second tomahawk which he hefted with ease.
"Oh my stars," Donnel gasped as he walked forward "Is that Father Zalmour?"
The bald man turned to the awestruck townsfolk "Are you alright?" he asked them in a booming voice.
"Oh, Father," one of the older women moaned bowing low onto the ground "Bless you, you have saved us." The rest of them followed her example including Donnel. When he saw that Judy was not bowing he jumped up and forced her down into a bowing position against her wishes.
"Donnel," she hissed as she pried his hand from her head. "What are you doing, you know I'm not a believ-"
He stuffed a hand on her mouth shushing at her. "That's high priest Zalmour, head of the heretic hunters. Let's not bring up you're an atheist."
With a regal look he swept his eyes over the crowd. "Please leave at once." His voice was loud and resounding "Several of Grima's agents tried to launch a terrorist attack today at the gates of the castle. We shall deal with them but I ask you to evacuate for your own safety."
No one hesitated for a second, jumping up they all ran for their lives. Once they were far enough away Judy turned to Donnel "Would it really have been that dangerous to admit I was an atheist?"
Donnel nodded emphatically "Hoowee, mind ya the fact ya ain't a believer doesn't bug me a horse lick but there some who wouldn't take too kindly to ya not acceptin' the glorious truth of our Lady Naga. Lord Zalmour is known for his persecution of unbelievers, atheist or otherwise. I doubt he try and burn ya right on the spot but I ain't one to try and tempt fate."
"Thank you," Judy said "I'll keep that in mind. I just hope they manage to capture the terrorists before they can cause any more chaos."
Word of the attempted assault on the castle was all everyone was talking about back on the dorms. This actually turned into a small blessing because no one was bugging her about what she was going to do for furlough. Judy herself was pretty frustrated about that. She really, really didn't want to just hang around the dorm. That was a pretty big step for her emotionally. She was finally comfortable enough with this new world that she felt restless staying inside.
Unfortunately there was very little she could go, it wasn't like she could grab a bus and shack up in a hotel in a different city. Still the rainy season was almost over and the spring flowers were in bloom. It seemed like such a shame to be cooped in the city. As she lying in bed that evening an interesting little thought occurred to her, why not visit Hank? They were being given a sizable amount of vacation time so even it took her awhile to get there she would be able to stay for two weeks and a few days. The big question was, would he let her stay? He had been pretty big dick when he abandoned her in Ylisse but he was her only option if she wanted out of here. Who wouldn't say he'd just slam the door in her face?
She wrestled with the question all that night and into the morning before caving in. She couldn't write the language so she had one of her comrades write the letter. Despite sounding like English Ylissean was made up of symbols like Mandarin rather than a phonetic alphabet. She figured her odds of not getting tossed out on her ass would improve if Hank would have some kind of advanced notice before she arrived on his doorstep. She used the last of her coins to pay for the delivery of the letter.
The dorm was alive with the hustle and bustle of mages happy to be getting out of here. Ducking under a wooden trunk being hoisted by four mages struggling to get it outside she entered her room. Walking over to her side table she picked up her ivory comb and placed it in her pocket. All packed. Stepping outside she danced around several hemp sacks filled with clothes and knick knacks for family members back home and made her way into the military district. Wagon were lined up for those lucky enough to be on furlough and were waiting to transport soldiers and their luggage all over the country. To her great surprise her drivers were two very familiar faces.
"Well howdy do," Lester said greeting her with a wave "Say Chester, look who were driving!"
Chester didn't look up; he was busy staring at the only cow they hadn't been able to sell. "Is it Ms. Daisy?" he drawled sarcastically.
"No ya idiot, peel yer eyes of dat damn cow fer a horse lickin' second!" his brother snorted tossing his hat at the back of his brother's head.
Picking it up off the ground Chester turned around, his fist ready to smash into his brother's face, when he noticed their guest. "Well I'll be" he exclaimed, his face lighting up. "If it ain't tha Grima's Tears gal. ne'er expected to see yew again. Ya joined the army?"
She nodded "Yes, I was at the Victrion Stronghold and Palmira Plains."
At this they immediately straightened up and saluted her "We thank you very kindly miss fer yer duty." Lester said. Judy squirmed slightly, the fact they saluted her was weird and wrong.
"Ahh, I didn't really do much," she said rubbing the back of her head "You should have seen Commandant Durant, he smashed through everything that got in his way."
"He ain't our national hero fer nothing." Chester replied "Gawrsh, what I wouldn't have given to see him trample those Plegian bastards underfoot."
"What are you guys still doing here" Judy asked as she clambered onto the wagon next to Lester "I would have thought you guys would have sold off all your cattle weeks ago."
"Well we had a hell of a time selling at first cause of the market" Lester grouched "It seems like all the livestock of Ylisse had calves out the wazzoo cause every Rancher from Southtown to the Selenge was swimming in cattle. We had to cut our prices by a third before anyone gave our bovines a glance and a half."
"We weren't even able to give ole Darla here away" Chester moaned keeping his eye on the unsellable cow. "She's only got three teats."
"Freak of nature that Darla" Lester agreed "But if that weren't enough cow manure on the shit pile the war started and we weren't able to go back home till the fighting stopped."
"Our poor ma and pa had ta start the plowing all on their lonesome" Chester said "We gotta get home and right quick before the plantin. Figger we might as well grab some passengers before we head off."
Several other mages piled onto the wagon and soon they were wheeling their way through the districts of Ylisse. As they passed the main square Judy noticed the still charred corpses tied to the stakes on the execution platform. The terrorists from the other day had been rounded up and burned under the supervision of Lord Zalmour. Once they got out of the city they learned from travelers that the attack on the castle coupled with Plegia's recent invasion had touched off a spate of Grimleal burnings. The previous peace and tolerance that had come with shame of the Blood Crusade was beginning to wear off. Each town they stopped off in had a shoddily constructed wooden platform ready and waiting for the Grimeal unfortunate enough to be caught.
Hank's house was deep in the woods so Judy stopped off in the middle of the path, just a few yards from where she had met the cow herders actually. Each of the brothers gave her a hug and warned her to stay off the Grima's tears. The day was a nice sunny one with a lovely breeze ruffling the trees. Small flowers were creeping their way out of the dark brown earth ready to start blooming. Spring scented the air around her and for the first time in a while Judy gave a relaxed smile. Hank's house was a bit tricky to find. Several times along the way Judy had to retrace her steps whenever she stepped out of the woods into an empty field.
Eventually she found the small cow path that lead to Hank's house. It was a bit…nostalgic, maybe? She was certainly assaulted with memories of her first day here but they weren't rose tinted. The small shack stood there solemnly refusing to reveal whether its only occupant was in or not. Judy strolled up to the door and raised her hand. It would really suck if he turned her away and slammed the door in her face. Sighing she knocked and wrapped her arms around her waist. The seconds crawled by but no one answered the door.
'I guess he's not home,' Judy thought as she pressed her ear to the door, no movement. Not content to stand there like an idiot Judy moved around out back to the makeshift barn where Hank kept the livestock. Aside from the two oxen and a small herd of goats the only other thing sheltered in the barn was the wagon which looked like it hadn't been taken out since he drove her to Ylisse. Grabbing a nearby pail she topped off the water for the animals and checked to make sure the hay they were eating wasn't wet. Hank would have milked them early that morning so they were good for now. To her surprise the animals seemed to recognize her, they hadn't seen her for months but they weren't skittish around her like they had been when she first arrived.
Grabbing the spare key from underneath the ox cart she opened the front door. Propping it open with a large stone she entered the house proper. It was the exact same as it had been when she came here. Clean as a whistle too, Hank's military instilled tidiness shown through every nook and cranny. Stepping inside Judy dealt with the scant few chores left. She started the fire in preparation for tonight's dinner, she emptied Hank's chamber pot, washed it, and then set it and the spare one outside in the outhouse. Once she put a pot full of water on the fire to boil she retreated to the back room. Plopping down on the cot she took off her shoes and settled down for a quick nap. It was strange looking up on the thatched roof across which sunlight danced. If she closed her eyes and imagined really, really hard, she could almost hear the waves of the beach in the night. She didn't cry though.
She must have dozed off after a while because the next thing she remembered was hearing the door to the cottage slam shut. Deciding that it was better to face the music than hide back here Judy pushed herself up and tiptoed forward. She opened the door a crack and peeked out the door. Hank was sitting at the table looking back at her.
"Did you get my letter?" she asked.
"Yep," he said "Feel free to unpack."
"Thank you," she said with a small smile as she exited out the backroom. It was like she had never left. They followed the exact same routine as they had when she first arrived sans the magic lessons. In its place they conversed about this in that. Judy did most of the talking about what she had done since they left since Hank's days consisted of hunting and taking care of the livestock. He listened with great interest to the battles she had fought.
"Did it surprise you?" he asked her "Some of your predecessors died because they thought it would be one on one fighting instead of working in a group. I can teach you how to swordfight or cast spells but team work is something you learn from experience."
"Not really" Judy admitted "Actually I'm grateful. I'm not nearly talented enough to fight solo. I'm no Miriel."
"That's the kind of talk that'll get you killed" he admonished her "If you let yourself get comfortable within your own limits you won't have the skills necessary to deal with the sudden swerves of the battlefield."
"I thought you just said not to run off by myself on the battlefield."
"Yeah, but you ain't always going to have someone looking after your ass." he reprimanded her "I can't tell you how many good soldiers lost their lives because shit didn't go their way."
"So then what do you want me to do?" Judy asked.
"Then shut the hell up about all this "I'm not talented enough" bullshit!" Hank snapped "Yeah, you've got your limits but if you ain''t constantly pushing them you'll get complacent and complacency leads to getting killed."
"So, where are you going with this?" Judy said.
Hank sighed and rubbed the back of his head "I got a feeling about you kid. You just might be the first one to complete story mode. Don't know why, just a gut feeling. He rubbed his stomach "So don't go getting killed by a Myrmidon or some other bastard. Get the hell out of here."
On her last night there Hank really went all out. They had an amazing veal feast seasoned with a number of fresh herbs. "This is way better than the stuff they serve at the mess hall." Judy said finishing up the last pieces of it on her plate. "Thanks for letting me stay here for the past few weeks."
"Ain't that big a deal," he said with a shrug "Wasn't like I was gonna slam the door in your face."
"I couldn't be sure of that." Judy admitted, frowning "I'm still sore at you for leaving me high and dry."
"That shit still stands kid," Hank warned her "You have to do this by yourself, ain't no one going to help you."
"I know." Judy said bitterly.
There was a small pause before Hank added "But you can always spend the night here, you know, if you're ever in the neighborhood."
Judy smiled "I will thank you."
The next morning came bright and early. Hank hitched up the oxen and they made their way to Ylissetol. This trip was much more relaxing then the last one. Hank was much more gregarious for one. They were able to maintain a steady stream of conversation which was a nice contrast to the sullen silence he had stewed in during the last trip. The country side was alive with fields of reds, yellows, whites, pinks, and purples. All sorts of flowers bobbed gently in the wind under a beautiful blue sky. It was a rare treat for a city girl like Judy, back home in Philadelphia if you wanted to see flowers like these you either had to grow them or head to a conservatory.
"It's weird" Judy murmured as she looked at the scenery "I came here during the summer and here comes the summer."
Hank nodded and asked her something "What kind of family did you leave behind?"
"My mom, dad, and little sister," she replied evenly.
"You don't sound too choked up about them."
"And whose fault is that?" she snapped at him, hurt that he would say something so cold. "You gave me a choice, live or die, and I made it. I cried like crazy for days and then I had to focus on getting out of here. I miss them like hell every single day so don't you give me any damn lip about how I'm not choking up whenever I talk about my family."
"I'm sorry," Hank said "You're right, that was a stupid question and I'm an ass for asking it."
"What about you" Judy asked "Who'd you leave behind?"
Hank was silent for a bit but then he answered her in a slightly vulnerable voice "My wife and two kids."
"I'm sorry" Judy said.
"Not half as sorry as I am." Hank growled "I was stupid, soft. I could feel my skills dulling but I didn't do a damn thing to stop them from deteriorating. I thought it just came with getting older and being demoted to a desk jockey. I was struggling enough as it was not being a soldier anymore. Now I was supposed to be at home with the family, a normal 9-5 suburban guy. It was so stupid, so stupid." He was agonizing over it. From the cold, calculated anger in his voice it was clear to Judy he had analyzed this day over and over again.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she said gently touching his muscled shoulder "I didn't want to reopen wounds. What's done is done."
He grunted his thanks before continuing "It was at night. I guess the only thing that stops this from being anymore emasculating is that they didn't jump me during the day. They wouldn't tell me why they chose me. The soldier part of my brain tells me they had me under surveillance for days in order to ambush me but from according to the other numbers their MO is a lot more chaotic and civilian. They don't stake out victims but they do check to make sure they've played Fire Emblem: Awakening."
"Did you play FE?" Judy asked "No offense but I don't see you vegetating in a chair playing on a 3DS."
"No, I'm the exception to all of this, not the rule." Hank reminded her "They took me so that their victims had a better chance of surviving the game. I was one of their early attempts so it was a more slip shod operation than usual."
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say they didn't jump you from behind and smash a rag soaked in chloroform up against your nose?"
"No, they drugged me at a bar." Hank replied "I had begun to frequent one down the street when things got too-"he struggled with the appropriate words "difficult at home." He was silent for a bit, the burden of being a former soldier lying heavy on his back. "They must have noticed my frequent trips so that was where they chose to strike."
"How did they know you were a soldier?" Judy asked "Did they look you up on the computer?"
"To be honest they didn't need to." Hank said "It wasn't like I was trying to assimilate into being a civilian with all my heart. You said it when you arrived. I had the look, right?"
"Stupid question" Judy admitted.
"No shit," Hank replied "Anyway they tried to get all buddy-buddy with me. Thanked me for my service and al l that. I wasn't in the mood to be social but they were a persistent bunch of chucklefucks. Anyway they started buying me beers and I mellowed out after that. I'm a soldier for crying out loud and we never pass up free booze. Anyway, and this was my first of many mistakes, they managed to slip some date rape drug into one of the beers. I should have seen have seen that one coming, I should have. But no, I was too busy trying to forget the latest spate with my wife in front of the kids so I chugged it all down without a clue."
"Well bingobango, the world starts to swim and they are falling all over themselves to help me out of the bar. I was already out the door when I finally got a fucking clue about why I was feeling dead on my feet. I start swinging at them and yelling for help but what's the first thing you think when you see a guy screaming bloody murder in front of a bar?"
"Drunk as hell?" Judy replied matter of factly.
"Drunk as hell," Hank agreed "And so uncoordinated those two nerds managed to corral me into the back parking lot. That's when I managed to nail one of them in the nose with my elbow. Pretty sure I broke it. I'm guessing they weren't expecting me to put up as much of a fight as I did because they kept trying to tackle me. My second mistake was not running for it, if I had gotten into a crowded place I might have been safe. But I was drunk and I was mad so I stood their swinging at their blurry forms. My third mistake was letting one of the little shits get behind me. He grabbed onto my back and tried to pin my arms. He distracted me enough for his buddy to run back to their car and grab the 3DS. My fourth and last mistake was not keeping my center of gravity low but like I said I was drunk, drugged, and mad as hell. One swift kick to my knee to get me to stagger forward just enough for my finger to hit the screen and it was over. I got sucked in and the rest is history."
Judy didn't really know what to say "I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"You didn't have anything to do with it." Hank said stiffly "You're in the same boat as I am. We've both been robbed."
Judy nodded "But we're not going to stand for it."
"Wrong, you're not going to stand for it" he shouted "I can't do anything unless you or one of your predecessors succeeds. So do both of us a favor and get the hell out of here." He stopped the cart and looked at her, eyes blazing "Promise me something" his voice was low and war zone dangerous "If you get free and can't find a way to get me out of here then I want you to smash the cartridge."
"Will that work?" she asked.
"I don't know and I don't care a fuck," he growled. "What I do know is that I'd rather be dead than stay in here because those two bastards got lucky. Promise me!"
"I promise," she replied with a nod. She could feel her own resolve steeling.
"Good," Hank said turning back around "Don't go dying on me now."
"They'll always be number 39." Judy replied quietly.
"Fuck 39, I want it to be 38," he said "Hell, fuck 38. I want it to be you, Judy. I want you to get the fuck out of here. I know you can do it."
"Really," Judy asked cynically "How do you know that?"
"Faith, dammit!" Hank shouted "You aren't the most talented person I've worked with but you know what, all of the talented ones died. It ain't about talent!"
"Then what is it about?" Judy asked.
"Fuck if I know," Hank said "But I believe you've got whatever the hell it takes to get out of this shithole, ok? Don't let me down kid."
"I can't make any promises," Judy said solemnly.
"Fine then, promise me you won't die ok? I like you, kid." Hank said slapping her on the shoulder.
"I can't make any promises."