"Roy… Roy!" Roy's head jerked up as someone called his name. He saw Ebony still kneeling in front of him, her green eyes full of concern. Roy suddenly realized his arms were empty and he looked down at them.
His injured arm hung uselessly at his side, still throbbing painfully. He lifted his uninjured hand to see that both his coat sleeve and hand was still stained crimson. His gaze drifted around the ritual site, finally settling on Momo's body which lay a few feet away; her gray cloak draped over her. Roy allowed his gaze to return to his bloodied hand and he clenched it so tightly his knuckles popped.
Tears slowly dripped down his cheek, blurring his vision and making him all too aware how cold it was outside as they froze on his face.
"She died for me…" he choked, his throat burning from the effort, "Umber was going to kill me and she… she… Why!?" His uninjured hand gripped his head tightly, "I…I didn't want her to!"
Roy sobbed openly and Ebony gently pulled him into an embrace, trying her best to console him. Roy gripped his teammate like a lifeline, feeling as though if he let go, he'd never resurface from the morass of sadness threatening to engulf him.
"I should've died instead," He whispered bitterly.
He felt Ebony's grip tighten on the back of his jacket and she pulled him tighter to her. "Are you hurt?" she asked softly.
Roy nodded into her shoulder, "I think my shoulder is dislocated."
Ebony gently held him at arm's length and inspected his arm, removing her gloves to gently poke and prod the injured area. She touched a particularly painful spot and Roy let out a gasp of pain. "You're right," Ebony said, "It's badly dislocated, I won't be able to get it back in by myself."
Roy nodded and offered her his good arm, "Help me up."
Ebony gave him a questioning look, "Are you sure?" she asked, "You look like you're about to faint."
Roy nodded once more, "I'm sure, Please."
Ebony looked torn, but after a moment she gripped the offered arm and hoisted him to his feet. He swayed unsteadily for a few seconds before he recovered what remained of his balance and allowed Ebony to help him walk toward were Hunter was sitting. As they neared the taller boy, Roy noticed that Dahlia was still curled up in his lap under his coat. The smaller girl appeared to be in shock; simply staring at the snow, her eyes sad and glistening with tears.
Hunter looked up as they approached, "How is he?" he asked Ebony.
Roy felt a surge of annoyance; he was standing right there, why hadn't Hunter addressed him? I probably wouldn't have answered anyway. he thought sadly as Ebony spoke, "His arm is dislocated and I need your help me get it back in."
Hunter nodded and murmured something to Dahlia. She wordlessly slid off of his lap and he got up, draping his heavy wool coat over the tiny girls shoulders so that she was basically swimming in it.
Ebony gently sat Roy next to Dahlia and gently placed the injured arm at the proper angle. "Roy, this is going to hurt a lot, grit your teeth and we'll do it on three."
Roy nodded dully, not really listening to her. Ebony nodded to Hunter, who placed his hand against Roy's back, bracing him as Ebony prepared to set the limp back in its proper place.
"One," Ebony counted, "Two!" She gave a sharp shove and a sharp burning pain caused Roy to cry out as his arm popped back into place. "Thank you Hunter," Ebony said softly, double checking to make sure everything was where it should be.
Hunter gave her a quizzical look, "I thought you said we'd go on three," he said, bemused.
"If we'd gone on three, he would have tensed up and it would have hurt more," Ebony explained, gently rotating Roy's arm.
Hunter nodded and sat back down behind Dahlia, gently pulling her back onto his lap. Roy stood on shaky legs and, after taking a moment to gather himself, slowly walked over to where Momo's body lay. Sinking to his knees in the snow next to her still form, he gently pulled the cloak from her face.
Her skin was pale and there was blood staining her lips and chin, but her expression was strangely serene. One of her pale hands peeked out from under the coat and Roy reached for it, his fingers gently wrapping around hers. The intense cold of her hand pushed Roy's barely restrained emotions back over the edge and tears slid down his cheek again as sobs wracked his frame.
He hadn't known the barmaid very long, but the way she'd gone out of her way to be friendly had quickly endeared her to him and watching her die had shattered his heart into many tiny pieces.
Someone approached from behind and knelt behind him. They draped a coat over his shoulders and pulled him into a backwards embrace. Roy could tell from the feel of the embrace and the gentle smell of lavender that it was Ebony.
"T-this is wrong," he stammered, the lump in his throat making it hard to speak, "I should be dead. Why couldn't she just let me die?"
Ebony gripped him tighter, "Shut up!" she whispered fiercely.
Roy half turned toward her "Ebony?..."
She let out a shuddering sigh and Roy realized he could feel the hot tears on the back of his neck where Ebony had pressed her face. "I-I'm sorry," she said, "I just can't stand to hear you talk like that. Momo made a choice; she chose to save you. I can never repay her for that and…"
Her voice broke and she took a shaky breath, "And that hurts. You keep asking why and I think she knew that whatever Umber had planned, we could only face it together. She did what she thought was best for us...and the town."
Roy gently placed the cloak back over Momo's face, "She shouldn't have had to make that choice," he whispered.
Dahlia and Hunter joined them and knelt on the other side of the barmaid's body. Dahlia's sadness had morphed into rage and her hands noticeably shook as she looked down at Momo.
"Who did this?" she hissed, "They'll pay for this if it's the last thing I ever do."
Roy turned his head to scan around the ritual site until he found Umber's body lying in a heap beside the circular pit.
"He's right there," he said softly, nodding toward the corpse. "The grimm killed him already."
The tension drained from Dahlia's shoulders, "Good," she sighed the rage leaving her voice. There was a period where no one saying anything. The silence of the surrounding wood was the same as ever, as if the events of the past hour hadn't even taken place. Dahlia finally spoke, asking the question that was on everyone's mind,
"What are we going to do now?"
Roy shook his head, "I don't know." His team stayed silent, looking at him pleadingly. "I said I don't know! Stop looking at me like I have all the answers!"
His sorrow had turned to red hot fury and, looking for someone to take his frustration out on; he stalked over to Umber's body. With a brisk movement, he shoved the reverend's body into the pit with his foot, watching it bounce off of the sides until it finally vanished into the shadows of the pit. Roy's keen hearing caught the sickening crunch as the corpse hit the bottom, thirty or so feet below.
As he leaned to look down into the pit, his foot bumped something hitherto hidden by the reverend's body. Kneeling down, he picked the object up and brushed the snow away. It was a small, red leather-bound pocket journal, tied shut by a soft black ribbon.
Roy walked back to his team, holding the journal and was met by Ebony.
"Was that," she gestured to the pit, "Really necessary?"
She was scowling and her tail was lashing from side to side, clearly peeved at Roy's actions. Roy's brow darkened and he replied with a brisk "Yes."
Dahlia chimed in with a "Definitely." of her own.
Ebony raised her hands in defeat as Roy undid the black ribbon and cracked the journal open. Lines upon lines of looping script greeted him, each page holding a numbered and dated entry. The contents of each ranging from events and happenings in Olmsted, religious ramblings and details of the ritual that Roy had been forced into. Flipping through the pages to the date of their third day in Ulmsted, Roy began to read the entries aloud.
Entry 79. 6/15
I, Father Micah Umber of the faith of our lord, have seen things that should never be seen, heard things that should never be heard and intoned things that should never be intoned. In these pages I will recount the history of our town. Ulmstead was founded many years ago at the close of the great war. For several years, peace and prosperity reigned here. Then he came, like a force of god's wrath and laid waste to the town. Our people rebuilt and the monster came once more. Over and over it happened until one day when a traveling huntsman sought to face this beast, this calamity. The calamity made short work of this fool and for five years after, neither hide nor hair was seen of the calamity. Then it returned. As fate would have it, another huntsmen came and sacrificed himself to the beast. Five more peaceful years passed. Since then it has been our way, to lure a huntsman here every five years and sacrifice them to the creature. The time has come around once more. Everyone knows what must be done, everyone is willing. Peace will come.
Everything is proceeding exactly as planned. The children from Beacon have slain the guardian of the loch. It breaks my heart to see such a beautiful creature fall, but for the Calamity to arrive there must be no rivals…
"Wait, wait," Ebony interrupted, "Guardian of the loch? Does he mean the feilong?" Roy nodded, "It has to be," he said softly, "We didn't kill anything else on the loch." He turned back to the book and continued reading.
Why I didn't think of bringing younger huntsmen before is beyond me. Such trusting foolish creatures, ever ready to prove themselves. Rainere is much less flexible and needs to be dealt with. Soon enough, soon enough. His blood will do nicely for the placating of our savior.
Roy's hand shook with anger at the Reverend's unfeeling words and the way he seemed to dismiss the idea of killing a man like it was nothing. He quickly took several calming breaths before continuing.
Entry 80. 6/17
Recently, an epiphany struck me. One of my predecessors made mention of the fact that the calamity seemed very fond of slaughtering faunus. If we were to strike a deal with this grimm to wipe out all faunus in Ulmstead, there's no telling how much time we could buy. Their lives would be a small price to pay in comparison. Unfortunately, the number of faunus in our town has dwindled over the years due to a number of reasons. I've decided to take a census of all the faunus that live in the town and surrounding farms.
A list of about twenty names followed, Churi Harabel's name was crossed out in red. He and Ebony's names had been added at the bottom of the list in the same crimson ink. Roy's eyes swept over the list and then on to the next paragraph.
I have thought many times about the task the Calamity will carry out once he is here. As always, my thoughts are with this beautiful world, burdened as it is under the blight of those abominations, those depraved imposters. Insisting so strongly that they, like us are beings to be considered equal. The very idea.
"Who does he mean?" Hunter asked.
Roy scowled, his anger finally getting the better of him as he shoved the journal at Ebony. "He means us." he said, gesturing between Ebony and himself.
"Faunus," she clarified before picking up were Roy left off.
I only pray to the lord of darkness that this calamity would completely wipe their putrid filth from Remnant.
Dahlia growled, a low guttural sound of disgust, "What an awful thing to say."
Roy shot a glance at the pit, as if expecting the Reverend to crawl out any second. "His plan would never have worked," he said, "The Calamity is no 'cleansing force.' It's a grimm, pure and simple. It only knows how to destroy and kill, it doesn't pick and choose."
Hunter eyed the two corpses of Umber's followers and gave a brisk nod, "Guess they found out the hard way." Ebony turned the page to find a hastily drawn illustration of the Calamity along with a scribbled entry.
Entry 81. 4/19
I have seen it! Our saving grace, our calamity. It was magnificent, the way he disposed of Rainere with such ease was reminiscent of a symphony, practically shrugging off any attack he threw at it. Alas, no sooner had he dealt with the huntsman, he was gone like a dream. I have read the stories of my predecessors and they have revealed that the Calamity may be re-summoned before the five year period has ended. All that's needed is the blood of a faunus. In hindsight, using Churi Harabel's blood would have been the simpler solution. But I had a different purpose for her. No, I believe a fresher offering would be superior.
Roy clenched his fists; his anger fueling the cogs in a brain as a plan quickly took form. Taking the journal from Ebony, he closed it with a sharp snap. "I know what we're going to do now."
Ebony blinked, "You do? That was quick."
Roy tucked the journal into his coat pocket and turned to face his teammates, "We're going back to Ulmsted, We're destroying the jammer, and we're going to call for backup. We'll save this town, whether they want to be saved or not."
Roy felt a flame spring to life in his heart as he made the declaration. It was not the hot flame of rage, rather a warm surging fire of determination. Looking around at the face of his teammates, he could see the same fire mirrored in their eyes.
Turning, Roy bent down and gently picked Momo up , treating her body as though she were as fragile as glass. Despite being covered in her heavy winter cloak, the barmaid weighed very little and her tail brushed against his legs as he walked away from the ritual site.
Ebony, Hunter and Dahlia followed after, Ebony pausing to grab Black Orchid and the wavy edged dagger from where they lay.
"Why are you bringing that?" Dahlia said, motioning at the dagger, still wet with Momo's blood.
"Proof," Ebony replied shortly, "We'll need to convince the townspeople that we're on their side and it'll be hard enough as it is."
Dahlia nodded and fell silent as Team SHDE walked into the trees, finally leaving the ritual site behind. As he walked, Roy squeezed Momo's body tighter to his own.
Thank you for my life, he silently thanked the barmaid, I'll do whatever I have to do to save your home, I swear.
There was no boat at the edge of the loch when they finally stepped out onto the beach. The myriad of messy footprints and the shallow furrow in the sand told Roy that there had been a boat earlier, but the final two members of Umber's group had taken it in their desperate bid to flee from the monster they'd summoned.
Looking out over the loch, Roy could see a thick column of smoke rising from the center of Ulmsted, appearing quite black against midnight blue of the sky. Roy set his teeth and hefted Momo's body to get a better grip. He ignored the burning in his arms and started to walk along the edge of the loch, beginning the long trek toward the town.
"Do… Do you want me to carry her?" Roy heard Hunter ask.
He shook his head, gripping Momo's body tighter, "No, I'll do it."
The walk around the loch was strangely uneventful. It was as if all grimm had vanished from the area with the creature's appearance, leaving them to walk along unhindered. They finally reached the edge of the town and walked down the street toward the Naked Nevermore. The streets were empty, which wasn't surprising as it was almost 1:00 in the morning. From where they were, the team could see the church towering over the surrounding buildings. A part of the roof had fallen in and smoke was billowing from the newly created opening.
The tavern finally came into view and Roy could see that it was packed, people standing or sitting wherever they could fit. His ears swiveled toward the door and he picked up the sound of angry and fearful voices coming from inside.
Roy shot a quick glance at his team before stepping through the door which had been propped open. As he entered the view of everyone inside, the voices fell silent and countless eyes followed him as he pushed his way through the throng. He gently set Momo's body on the table near the center of the room.
"Why is there a grimm in our church!?" a voice yelled from the back corner.
"Did you unleash it on us!?" another yelled from somewhere near the fireplace.
"Where's Father Umber? He'll know what to do!"
A chorus of agreement echoed around the room. Roy tensed, the last declaration regarding Umber having pushed his rage once more to the forefront of his mind.
He gripped the cloak and threw it off of Momo's body, revealing it to the entire room. Everyone went dead silent, then an angry wave of sound traveled around the room. People gagging at the sight, people swearing in surprise and backing away from the table. Finally, one cry echoed over the general hubbub;
"Murderer!"
The throng turned toward him, hatred and malice in their expressions. Roy felt Ebony press the dagger into his hand and he swung it up, gleaming in the firelight. The crowd froze as he brought it down, point first into the table next to Momo's body.
"I didn't kill her!" he shouted to be heard by those sitting in the back of the room, "and I did not bring the grimm here. Umber did!"
"Liar!" several people yelled out.
"I'm not lying!" Roy defiantly shouted back, "I was there, I saw Umber slaughter her to summon the grimm in your church!" His ears drooped, "I was supposed to die, but she took my place. I can never repay her for that…" His ears sprang back to attention, "But I will do what I can to save your town."
A grumble of dissent rumbled through the room and a voice cried, "We don't want you here!"
Roy scanned the crowd, his hands clenched at his sides, "Maybe not, but you're stuck with me. Oh, and Umber won't be back. The grimm killed him."
He withdrew Umber's journal from his coat and held it up, "This!" he shouted over the commotion caused by the announcement of Umber's death, "Is Father Umber's journal. It contains proof of a plot to summon the grimm and let it loose in Ulmstead. I need a volunteer to come up and read the entries from the past few weeks."
A hand went up at the back of the room and an elderly man stepped forward. "I'll do it," he said, his deep voice cutting through the surrounding hubbub and Roy recognized him as one of the council members from Corvatts's trial.
Hesitantly, he handed the journal to the man, who slipped on a pair of brass spectacles and cracked the journal open. "That's Umber's handwriting, no mistake," He said before clearing his throat and beginning to read the entries aloud. The crowd fell silent as the passages were read. When the man reached the point where Umber revealed the true reason the Harabels had died, a loud outcry bubbled forth and several people walked out; unable to listen anymore. The councilman continued to read until he finished the final entry. Everyone was quiet, not having made a sound since the initial outcry. The councilman handed the journal back to Roy and slipped back into the crowd.
Roy held the book up, gazing around the room, "You have heard the truth from Umber himself. What you do with the knowledge is up to you. Whether you agree with Umber or not, the fact still remains. This grimm will not stop until it has eradicate everyone in Ulmsted; Faunus and humans. But I promise that me and my team will stop at nothing to beat this thing."
Something suddenly collided with the side of Roy's head, causing him to stagger sideways as something dripped down his face. He tasted the tangy flavor of vinaigrette and realized someone had thrown a wooden bowl of salad dressing at him.
"Do you want us to be grateful?!" someone else shouted and this time, Roy caught sight of the person. It was the vocally anti-faunus youth from when they'd first arrived.
Roy swept his soggy bangs out of his face and fixed the room with an icy glare, "I don't want your gratitude," he spat, "If you want someone to be grateful to, then be grateful to her." He gestured to Momo's still form, "She gave her life to save your best chance of survival."
He leaned over and gently replaced the sheet over Momo's face. "You don't have to like me or respect me," he said, "But you do have to tolerate me." With that, he gestured for his team to follow him and turned toward the stairs.
The crowd parted before them as his team fell in step behind him and together they ascended the steps to the second floor.
"I think we should all stay in me and Ebony's room tonight," he said as they climbed, "Safer that way."
A quiet murmur from his team relayed their agreement and he continued onwards. They all made their way to Roy and Ebony's room, pausing at Hunter and Dahlia's room so they could grab their belongings.
As Roy opened the door to his room there came a frantic pounding of feet. Sadie thudded into him, wrapping her small arms around him and squeezing him tightly. She buried her face in his coat, which Roy suddenly realized had dried blood on it. He gently held her at arm's length and gently pushed her bangs out of her face, allowing her vibrant blue eyes to shine out brightly, "Hey Sadie, did you miss us?"
The girl nodded and clutched him tighter. Lifting her up, Roy sat Sadie on his bed after shedding his blood stained gloves and coat. Ebony passed Roy a moist towel and sat next to Sadie, gently rubbing her back,
"What's our next move Roy?" she asked.
Roy wiped off as much of the salad dressing and blood as he could, pacing as he thought. "The grimm is in the church, which definitely complicates things. I'm more than 95% certain that the communications jammer is in the bell tower. So one of us will have to get up there and destroy it."
Hunter raised his hand, "I'm a hard hitter, not a fast climber," he said.
Dahlia nodded in agreement, "I'm afraid of heights, plus I'd rather just stay with Hunter if that's okay."
Roy shrugged, "I have no problems with that."
Turning to Ebony, he found her holding her hand out in front of her. "Rock, Paper, Scissors for the climbing," she said pointedly.
Roy blinked, "You really don't want to, do you?"
Ebony shook her head, allowing a small smile to play across her features. "We're both cat faunus, we both are equally adept at climbing. We might as well leave it to chance."
Roy offered a sad smile back and held his hand out, "Okay, 1. 2. 3. Go!"
Roy played rock, Ebony played scissors.
"Looks like I'll be climbing then," he said.
Ebony looked crestfallen, "I thought I had you! You almost always go paper."
Roy patted her arm, "Almost always Eb, not this time."
Ebony made a show of pouting as she gently toyed with one of Sadie's hands. Her brow furrowed as she inspected one of her tiny fingers. "Roy, come and look at this," she said, beckoning him over.
Roy leaned over to see what was troubling his teammate. Sadie's fingernails, rather than the dainty pink of a child, were a dark grey.
"What's wrong with her fingernails?" Ebony asked, concern written all over her face. Roy gently took Sadie's hand and held it up to inspect it. He gently pressed the pad of Sadie's pointer finger and watched as her nail lengthen ever so slightly then retract as he released. A smile slowly stretched itself across his face.
"What is it?" Ebony asked, "Roy?" The smile deepened as Roy inspected Sadie's other fingers and Ebony smacked his arm, "Stop grinning like an idiot and tell me!"
Roy, still grinning, leaned over and whispered something into Ebony's ear. Her tail, which had been lying still up until then, started to wave slowly from side to side as her eyes widened and her face split into a grin.
"No! Really?" she gasped, holding up Sadie's hand to better scrutinize it.
Dahlia marched over, "What? What did he say?" she asked.
Ebony gently showed her teammate the tiny girl's hands and quietly whispered, "This kitten's got claws."
Dahlia's jaw dropped, "What? Sadie's a faunus?"
Roy nodded, "Yep, she'll have a handsome set of claws by the time she turns ten."
Roy's joy at the revelation quickly turned to sadness. He couldn't stand the thought of leaving her in this hateful town, to be loathed, despised and resented for the rest of her life. Roy knew what came from that; a resentment of humans. He wouldn't let that happen. "When we leave Ulmsted, we're taking her with us and finding her a home away from here."
Hunter gave Roy a questioning look, "Can we do that?"
Ebony nodded, "In special cases, huntsmen and huntresses can take charge of orphaned children," she explained, "Mainly to keep them out of harm's way until the next of kin can be found."
Dahlia tickled Sadie under the chin, causing the girl to squirm and smile, revealing tiny pointed fangs. "Oh she's even cuter now!" the petite huntress exclaimed.
Hunter cleared his throat, "Sorry to interrupt, but what are we going to do about the jammer?"
Roy stroked Sadie's hair distractedly, "I say we get some shut eye and then go to the church at first light."
Hunter chewed his lip thoughtfully, "Do we have time for that?"
Roy shrugged, "Honestly I don't know. But if we're exhausted tomorrow, we'll stand even less chance against that thing. Dahlia, what time is it?"
The smaller girl clicked her scroll on, "3:30."
Roy grimaced and sighed, "Okay, you three try to get some sleep. I'll wake you-"
A cool hand touched his arm and he looked over to see Ebony shaking her head, "No," she said simply, "You need to sleep if you can, you've been through hell tonight."
Roy's ears drooped slightly and he laid his hand on Ebony's, smiling sadly. "I've found that when you go through hell, the demons tend to find you when you dream," he said softly.
"That's a little dramatic," Hunter said, but Dahlia laid her hand on his arm, "He means night terrors hun."
Roy smiled thankfully at Dahlia, she understood, so did Ebony. They had each suffered from night terrors over the course of their lives. Roy, from when he lost his eye. Dahlia, from when she'd lost her father, and Ebony, from when she'd killed Ronin. He knew that after the events of this night it would be a long time before he would sleep soundly again.
He'd been trying to keep his mind busy since they'd returned to Ulmsted because he knew the moment he relaxed, it would all come flooding back; the sights, the sounds, the blood…
"Roy."
He looked over at Ebony, she was looking at him with a slightly pained expression.
"You're squeezing too tightly," she murmured to him, nodding at their hands.
Roy's fingers had inadvertently clasped around hers and were currently gripping them furiously in a white knuckled grip. "Oh!" he exclaimed, quickly releasing her, "I'm sorry."
Ebony patted his arm, "It's okay, we'll get some sleep."
Roy nodded, "Thank you."
A few minutes later, the three of Roy's teammates were passed out. Ebony and Sadie were sleeping in Roy's bed; the latter curled up with Ebony's tail grasped lightly in her hands.
Hunter and Dahlia were ensconced in Ebony's bed; the two of them snuggled together like bears in winter.
Roy sat in a chair in front of the long window, gazing out at the street below. Black Orchid lay across his knees and an oil rag was clutched in one of his hands. He'd been polishing the blade to keep his mind occupied and now the metal gleamed in the light of the single candle perched on the windowsill.
Since they'd arrived back in the town, clouds had rolled in from the north. These clouds, unlike the fluffy snow clouds from earlier, were the foreboding, shadowy gray of a northern rainstorm which promised cold rain and thunder. Sure enough, a quiet rumble reached Roy's keen ears and he flicked them in annoyance. The morning promised to be a wet and gloomy one.
Suddenly a shrieking cry split the air and Roy curled forward, gripping his head as blood dripped from his eyes. Sadie cried out, her frightened voice sending a pain through his heart. Ebony came awake gripping Sadie to herself and trying her best to dash the blood from the small girl's eyes while blinking it out of her own.
Roy staggered to his feet and raced for the door, throwing it open as he reached it. Several people had exited their rooms and stood along the hall murmuring to each other. Roy shot a glance back into the room to make sure his team was almost ready then hurried down the hall toward the stairs. He took the stairs in a leap and dashed through the dining room, flying through the door into the street.
He looked toward the church just in time to see the twisted form of the calamity disappearing through the broken hole in the roof.
Looks like Team SHDE is going to have a fight on their hands. I hope you're all ready to rumble.
This was a very hard chapter to write. I had to figure out how each of the team members
would deal with grief.
Roy is always very emotional, not afraid to show his feelings.
Ebony is the comforter, ready to be there for him.
Dahlia lets her rage get the better of her sometimes and Hunter is there to calm her down.
I always say when writing something like this, always read into your character's mental states. It will help their characters have depth.
Anyway, writing lesson over. I hope you're enjoying the story!
Until next we meet,
-Ar3mRising.