Chapter 6) Victims of War
Somehow, we made it through Serafew. Now, we're not just wading through trouble now. We've jumped right into it and hope the waves and currents don't drown us. Every day is a new lesson in how idiotic this whole expedition was, and how reckless it was for Ephraim to come down here in the first place.
Everything has gone mad. Absolutely and completely mad. Yet perhaps the maddest of all is us, for pushing through anyway.
"Emma, I have a query for you." Somehow, it didn't surprise me that Lute wanted to ask me something. In fact, I'd suspected as such when she first asked me to carry her while we hiked through the woods. "What is this 'Jehannan Luck' specifically?" she asked, resting her chin on my shoulder. It was remarkable how light she was; I could see why Ross had no problems carrying her when she normally needed a break. "Garcia spoke of it after the abnormal circumstances in Serafew, and Seth appeared to know of it as well."
"Seth has heard it applied to him," I 'explained', focused a little more on just where I put my feet. Though we had to sometimes veer towards villages for supplies, we did our best to stay off the main roads and paths, a lot of roots and rocks I could trip on. It's why Lute had to be carried a lot, actually. She wasn't used to such exercise and often ended up with aching feet with blisters the size of eggs and bruises that were even larger. "I also maintain there's some sort of confirmatory bias associated with it."
"So, it is an observable phenomenon." Lute hummed a little in thought. "I should add it to my monk-watching journal." Her… nope, not even going to ask. "But what is it precisely?"
"It's…" I struggled to think of just how to continue, and bought myself some time via checking on the others. Colm and Joshua were scouting and, thus, not in sight. Artur, Moulder, and Natasha were discussing something quietly, and my guess was something religious based off the few words I caught from them. Gilliam and Garcia were chatting about training, and I dreaded my next few lessons just from that alone. Based on their expressions, Ross and Franz felt the same, though they tried to hide it with their own conversation. Seth and Eirika were at the front, discussing something, though I could see her limping slightly and knew the conversation would soon turn to her riding instead of walking. That only left Neimi and Vanessa, but I knew they were somewhere behind me, serving as the 'rear guard' for this part of the hike.
"Yes?" Of course, checking on everyone only bought so much time, particularly with a Lute eager enough for knowledge that she was actually talking to someone instead of being lost in her books.
"It's a saying associated with people who have the stereotypical coloring of a Jehannan, which is why it is applied to Seth and me, despite both of us being born and raised in Renais." I supposed I'd just ramble off an answer and hoped it satisfied her. "It's based off the Jehannan belief that those born with red hair and eyes have a very… strange sort of luck. Specifically, it's the luck that gets you into trouble, and out."
"Unlucky enough to get into the trouble, yet lucky enough to survive?"
"Yeah, that's a good summary. Unluckily lucky." I shifted her a little higher on my back to lessen the chances of dropping her. "Garcia mentioned it because he traveled with Jehannans in the past, and witnessed that sort of luck firsthand. Renais has its own saying for the coloring."
"Oh?"
"Renais, Frelia, Grado, and Rausten don't see 'luck' with the coloring, but blood." And Joshua appeared from the woods with barely any sound, scaring the living hell out of both Lute and me. Lute actually flailed and whacked me in the head. "Whoops, I thought I made enough noise," he apologized, smiling slightly. A quick look ahead showed that Colm had returned as well, and was delivering a report to Seth and Eirika. "Anyway, to them, the coloring is 'hair and eyes of blood' and their sayings fit accordingly."
"Why would there be sayings at all?" Lute asked, recovering. Glad she had because my head still stung from the hit. "What makes the coloring so special?"
"There's all sorts of sayings, scholar. Like those with hair of gold have a heart to match, or those born with blue eyes are more innocent than a baby. I've learned many things in my years as a mercenary, and one of them is that people like their generalizations." Joshua shrugged and fell in step with me, making a point to ruffle my hair. "The coloring that petal, silver, and me share is rare outside of Jehanna, so it stands out. Things that stand out get talked about more. You don't pay attention to what you believe is 'normal', no matter how important it truly is."
"Like the peaceful life we had?"
"Yeah, like that, though I was thinking something a little more lighthearted, like… oh, breathing."
"I see." Lute settled her chin on my shoulder again, and I glanced back to check on her. She had a little frown, but her eyes sparkled. "So, as one who has experienced this 'Jehannan Luck', what do you think of it?"
"Me? Well, I think there's some truth to it." Joshua waved off my skeptical frown. "Given what all I've survived, petal, I'm afraid I have to at least believe some of the sayings. With that said, there's a bit of probability and percentages in play as well. Jehannans are the ones associated most with the coloring and most Jehannans are mercenaries. Mercenaries are hired for the jobs where strange things are bound to happen. Therefore, Jehannans have a higher chance of ending up in such a situation in the first place. When you add in the distinctive coloring…"
"You get the confirmation bias that I think it is," I summarized, feeling a little smug. Not even sure why, since being 'right' wasn't all that big of an accomplishment. "You simply notice it more." And I wanted a subject change, so I tried to find something to distract us with and found one surprisingly easily. "Frankincense?" He smelled like frankincense.
"Wow, you recognized that quick," Joshua commented. From anyone else, I'd call the words sarcastic and patronizing, but he seemed genuinely surprised and maybe even impressed. "It's my preferred perfume, though I keep others on hand in case I can't find some."
"Of course you do. You're Jehannan." I had to grin, though. "Mom always insisted on keeping at least twelve different scents. It apparently drove Dad nuts, mostly because he kept sneezing at all the different scents." Of course, after she'd died, Monica and I hadn't kept nearly as many. We only really kept the susinum…
"Okay, I don't have that many. Just five, and one is just… around to remind me of home." For a brief second, Joshua looked sad and guilty. Just for a second. Then he was back to his grin, like he'd been cheerful the entire time. "So, really, only four."
"Jehannans are associated with perfume?" Lute asked, jumping back into the conversation. This time, she sounded confused instead of simply curious. "I hadn't heard that."
"It's not as common as the other associations, but perfume is Jehanna's major export, alongside mercenaries," Joshua answered, sliding his hands into his pockets. For a second. Then he removed them to fix and neaten Lute's pigtails. "It's also part of our culture. Walking out without it is like walking outside without your clothes."
"Do Jehannans think the people of other countries stink, then?"
"Nah, that's not one I've heard. Aside from Rausten, Jehanna's stereotypes of the other countries are more based on what kind of employer to expect. Carcino merchants will wriggle their way out of any contract; Frelians will never talk straight about a mission. Things like that."
"I see." Lute hummed again in thought; she had a pretty voice. "What about Rausten?"
"There's bad blood between the countries and I'm not going to try and parse out who started what because it's all a bunch of pride and self-righteousness." Joshua rolled his eyes, scoffing even. "Jehannans think of Rausten as a place of hypocrites, who use their light to burn away anything and everything that's different. Rausten's saying of those with our coloring is that we're the children of demons, bringers of calamity and misfortune. Now, that belief actually predates the war with the Demon King, and started dying out in the decades after the battles ended, but it resurged when Jehanna accepted a contract to assassinate the reigning Pontifex and his heir." Wait, really? I'd never heard that. "As I said, it's born from a mess and it'll take a long while and a lot of work to try and mend that relationship."
"Hmm…" That was all Lute said, but a glance back at her hinted she… ah… well, her eyes looked a little glazed over, so I didn't think this sort of talk interested her much. Politics rarely interested anyone, mind. "So, back to the perfume…"
The talk of perfume sadly had to wait, for one big reason. There was suddenly shouting up and when we looked, we saw that… uh… somehow Moulder's pack was on fire. How? No clue, actually, save that it involved Colm. Or I assumed it involved Colm, because of his sheepishness and desperate attempts to assist Moulder in putting it out. Which involved burns and blisters and even more yelling, to the point that when everything settled, we had to move deeper into the woods to lessen the chances of us attracting attention.
Later, I tried to figure out what occurred, but no one would answer me because no one seemed to know. Neither Moulder nor Colm explained, which was impressive given how Moulder sat Colm down and gave him a three hour lecture about it. I supposed it would simply remain one of life's many mysteries.
Listening to Natasha and Moulder talk medicines, I decided right then and there that every healer and doctor was absolutely insane. The sheer number of things they apparently knew by heart was staggering, and no matter how much I tried to pay attention, I always got lost. Particularly when they started talking anatomy and all the different bones and muscles.
"Ah, it is truly nice to chat anatomy with someone so knowledgeable," Moulder praised at some point. Natasha simply smiled, and leaned a little more on me. I'd offered to carry her, but she'd refused despite her aching feet. So, I was her crutch instead. "Is it normal in Grado for someone of your age to know so much?"
"It's not uncommon," Natasha answered softly. A little bit of rustling in the bushes made her tense up, but she relaxed when a squirrel darted out to scrabble up a nearby tree. It wasn't the first time she'd twitched like this; it had to be hell going right back to the place she'd escaped from. Of course, the fog had most of us tense anyway because of how damn hard it was to see. I could barely see Seth and Garcia up front and, really, I only saw the red blotch of Seth's hair near where Eirika and Ross were chatting just behind them. Franz and Vanessa were on the flanks, watching everything, with Joshua and Colm as the rearguard. Artur and Lute walked with Neimi in the middle, all three silent. "In Grado, healers also perform autopsies on behalf of the guard for suspicious deaths."
"Really now?" Moulder looked intrigued by that. "In Frelia, there's an entire order devoted to that. It's out of a belief that life and death must be kept separate and, on a more practical level, few want corpses among the living."
"Well, we have a separate section in the temples for such things, and you would never do both jobs in a single day. Barring an emergency, at least." Natasha made a face. "They used to not do that, of course. They'd have a healer dissect a dead body, and then go right to delivering a baby, sometimes without even washing up first. Deaths in childbirth decreased significantly once they stopped doing that."
"It is most interesting to look at the history of our art. Things that are common knowledge today weren't back then." Moulder chuckled. "I remember reading, once, how the root of an eytelia was a key ingredient in stomach medicines."
"But isn't that corrosive in large amounts?" Natasha frowned. "That had to lead to bleeding stomachs."
"Bleeding stomachs, perforated ulcers… it also led to people not reporting stomach issues to healers, which increased complications and illnesses." That sounded… bad. Very eloquent, I know. "Not to mention people trying, instead, other medicines and accidentally poisoning themselves."
"How awful…" Natasha winced and mouthed a quick prayer, probably to all those who suffered and died that way. "I wonder what things we do now that will seem archaic in the future?"
"It's hard to say. Knowledge is ever-changing, just like life. Isn't that right, Emma?" Moulder smiled at me, and it took me a few good seconds to connect the dots on why. "So, when did we lose you?"
"A while ago," I admitted, shrugging. It wasn't a bad thing and, really, I was more here to be Natasha's crutch. "Though, that eytelia thing is interesting. Aren't the petals edible? Or am I thinking of a different one?"
"No, you are correct," Moulder reassured. His smile warmed like he was proud, and I ducked my head because… it really wasn't that big of a deal. "The leaves are also a component of vulneraries and elixirs."
"But the roots are poison." Plants were weird. "Okay, so… wait, how did people even discover-"
A flash of light in front of us, a brightness that clashed with the suffocating fog. It was disorienting and, honestly, a little nauseating. My eyes watered and I had to rub them harshly to clear them up and, even then, it took a couple of blinks to claim I had any visual clarity. When I did, I just… well, I had to stare because there was a person suddenly in front of us. And perhaps it was rude, but I felt justified in it. For one thing, people appearing from nowhere certainly warranted staring. For another, this person just… looked so much like a stereotypical villain in a play that I had to wonder if it was on purpose. They even had their eyes hidden in the shadows of their hood!
"So, did the fog make him appear like he came from nowhere?" I asked softly, moving in front of Natasha and Moulder to be some sort of shield. Something was better than nothing, after all. In theory. "Or did I miss something while chatting and being blinded?"
"No, I believe our uninvited guest used a warping talisman," Moulder murmured, his eyes narrowing very slightly. It was the only hint I had that he wasn't as calm as he looked. "Though, such things require a great deal of preparation and expense."
"I gather that's why they're not common?"
"That, they're one-use only, and you can only warp to places you know fairly well or are within sight." Well that was… wait, if that was the case, then… "Grado is the country of magic, but do they truly have so many laying about?"
"Yes, and no," Natasha answered, frowning. She drew her cloak more tightly around her, and stepped back a little. "It's not uncommon for students of the dark arts to make some as practice, since it requires utmost precision and control of their magic, and there has always been an excess stored in the temple. With that said, they are not freely given. At least, they weren't."
"Given everything, I highly doubt we can rely on what was done in the past," I whispered. I noticed almost everyone had prepared a weapon by now, ready for whatever was to happen, but I didn't focus as much as I should've. After all, something like this required a lot of planning and I couldn't help but poke that thought like wiggling a loose tooth. Had we been followed or something? "Anything else interesting?"
"Only that I know he is one of General Riev's men." He was… Uh… who? Huh? "He was brought in from outside the army with him and… you're frowning, Emma."
"...Grado only has three generals?" That was just how it was set up. Three Generals, each gifted with a prized stone or gem upon receiving their title, who oversaw the three branches of Grado's military. "Did someone…?" Though, now that I thought about it, I remembered Valter mentioning he was a general. Then again, it could've been vainglorious nonsense or… something. Or me misremembering. That whole escapade was blurry in my head, actually.
"There's six now. You didn't know?" Natasha winced, and immediately looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I should've said something sooner. They had just been appointed when I escaped."
"That's a conversation we shall continue later," Moulder gently, but firmly, interrupted. He nodded to our unwelcome visitor, who… was apparently talking to Eirika, with Seth at her side. When did that happen? "Let's see if he'll be as stereotypically villainous as he looks." Glad I wasn't the only one who thought that.
"Well, Novala, I thank you for your ever-so polite greeting," Eirika was saying. Her expression was a mask of regal elegance and her slight smile was the exact amount of politeness. That told me she was irritated and confused. "But I must ask why you chose to do so out here?"
"Well, I wanted to be certain I could reach you," 'Novala' answered. He probably thought he sounded polite, but it was easy to hear the poison in the tone. "We should get down to business, however. Might you give me that bracelet you wear?"
"My bracelet?" Eirika instinctively covered both protectively, taking a half-step back. Frowning, I pushed forward to stand at her side. Because that request was… "I'm rather fond of both of them, and one is not even mine to give. So, I must refuse." That request was strange, and I knew she'd need the extra support.
"Are you so certain? Obedience will save us all some time and pain, you know." He smiled 'reassuringly', but it just looked like a smug smirk. I glanced at Seth, wondering what we should do, and I noticed… I noticed he had stiffened. It was the only hint that something about this wasn't just weird, but wrong. "Why, I might even take you to Prince Ephraim if you give it."
"I highly doubt someone like you has even seen my brother, let alone knows where he is." Eirika frowned. "You still breathe, after all."
"Your brother was defeated at Renvall and wastes away in a cell, awaiting execution." Well, that was likely a lie. Sure, we'd been keeping away from villages, but not to the point where we wouldn't have heard rumors and that wasn't something they'd hide. Especially given the slander they were already spreading. "General Valter had a grand time of it, from what I understand."
"I don't know who that is, I'm afraid." Eirika kept calm and continued to speak politely. I, however, had to keep from flinching. I didn't like the possibility that he'd been near more people I knew, considering what happened at Rosewatch. "Your tale is interesting, yet no more than an newly-trained bard's. It's certainly not worth anything I have, much less what you ask for."
"So, you won't acquiesce?" He sighed heavily, clicking his tongue like an exasperated and disappointed parent. "Fine, then we'll do this the hard way." He sent a small ball of black flame up through the fog and, at that obvious signal, we… well, I at least expected a rain of arrows or something. I even stepped closer to Eirika to pull her down and shield her. But, instead, there was another flash of light and a crying little girl suddenly was there next to him, the remnants of something made of wood, cloth, and string crumbling to dust against her neck. Had that… been the talisman or…? "How about this, then?" He snagged the girl before she could escape and brought more magic up to her neck in a very clear warning. "Is a bracelet worth her life? I speak of the jeweled one, not the quaint amatuer one you wear."
"You…!" Eirika glared at him briefly before she sighed and slowly began taking off the bracelet she received from King Fado. All she had left, and… and no, something was wrong. All of this was… "Very well. You're right. It's not worth a-" All of this was wrong.
"Princess Eirika, wait," I hissed, taking her hand before she could hold out the bracelet. She frowned at me. "You're right. It's not worth a life. It shouldn't be worth a life. So, why is he acting as if it is?" Novala opened his mouth to say something, and I glared at him to hopefully shut him up. To my surprise, it did. "There's too many unanswered questions, too many things that make no sense." Seth stiffening, setting all this up, taking hostages… hell, I could even take into account Seth's reaction when Colm stole it and it only led to a greater 'sum' of one thing and one thing alone. There was more to the bracelet she wore than simply a family trinket. Something worth more than anything else here. After all, why not ask for Eirika herself? Having her captured and executed would seem like a more pragmatic move. So, why?
"You're taking so long to decide…" Novala complained, scowling. I could almost roll my eyes and how petulant he sound suddenly. "I would've hoped the years of peace would dull your wits, but I suppose that's not the case. Pity, really. I suppose I have no use for the girl, then."
He'd barely said the words before suddenly curling his fingers into the girl's hair. Before anyone could react, he jerked her head back and twisted the black flames across her neck… no, through her neck. Blood splattered everything from his robes to the grass to the headless body that crumpled to the ground. Her head remained in Novala's hands, dangling by her blood-soaked hair. I could just make out the tears still on her terror-frozen face.
"I suppose the other villagers will be just as useless," Novala continued, as if he'd done nothing more than squash a bug. Meanwhile, I had to steady Eirika, mostly so that my own knees didn't buckle. I had seen so much death, and we had seen many children's corpses. I had re-killed the ones turned into revenants. Yet I… "Well, the spiders in the mountains should enjoy the easy meal. They've been so ravenous ever since they meandered down from the Darkling Woods with the other monsters."
"How could you…?" Eirika gasped out, covering her mouth to keep from being ill. Tears gathered in her eyes, though they didn't fall yet. It was like they were frozen in shock too. "She was just…"
"You're a fool." He threw the head at Eirika. It hit her right in the chest and more blood splattered both her face and mine. Even more dribbled over her arms when she caught it. "This is war. There are no rules. You can do whatever you want without consequences!" He laughed… no, he cackled. If he hadn't just mercilessly killed a child, it might've been funny. "With this, I'll become a general and rule over those idiots! You lost, Renais! You and your idiotic ramblings of peace and diplomacy are nothing!" Especially since he was now raving like a lunatic, the sounds bouncing eerily off the fog to make them louder. "You-!"
"Silence." Yet still, Eirika's single, cold command cut through it all like a knife. "Hold your tongue," she continued, her tone frozen yet scathing. The tears she'd held back flowed free, yet they somehow enhanced her dignified poise and quiet fury. "You call me nothing? My country, nothing? This little girl…" Her voice cracked briefly, and more tears fell but she kept talking. "You call her nothing? Her death, nothing? If you are going to speak such lies, then be silent lest you wish for them to be your final words."
"You…!" Novala bristled. "How dare-?!"
"That is my question. How dare you?" She held the child's head a little more firmly against her. "We of Renais have long honored our alliance with Grado, and my brother and I have long viewed the country as a second home. It is, after all, the home of our dearest friend, Lyon. We love it almost as much as he does, and we treasure our friendship and the bonds between our countries. Yet, Grado spat on those bonds and invaded without warning." Eirika spoke very deliberately, each of her words bearing a heavy, cold weight despite their softness. "You killed my father. You ravaged my lands. You slaughtered my people. But I reminded myself to not hate. I told myself that things could still be fixed. If I gave in to despair, surrendered to rage, then the bond between our lands would be well and truly broken."
"Such naive idiocy, you-!"
"I told you to be silent." Eirika narrowed her eyes slightly, and despite the tears that kept flowing, her eyes sparked with that quiet fury, like lightning through a storm. Novala actually took a step back. "I reminded myself not to hate. I refused to give in to such an easy, vile emotion. My strength is meager, so I had to at least do that." She looked down briefly and Grandpapa James's bracelet before returning her focus to Novala. "You, however… if this is Grado's true face… if you truly mean to extinguish Renais without remorse or pity, then there is no room in my heart for forgiveness. I wish only to walk a path of peace, but if you force me to war and war alone, then so be it. I will strike you down with all the force of the flames and storms that birthed our Sacred Twins."
"Tch…!" Black fire pooled in his palm. A spell, no doubt to hurt Eirika. "I will erase you!" With that realization, everything in the world sharpened into focus, and I drew my fan from my belt to lunge and stab him. It wasn't a very good hit, but it was enough to disrupt his concentration, and the spell. "Gah!"
"Even your threats are as cliche as the rest of you," I snarked, unfurling the fan before trying for a slice. Sadly, I only grazed his arm as he jumped back. No, even that was too… something. I just got his sleeve. But that didn't matter much when Seth was around. He didn't even have to lunge. He threw his spear over my shoulder, close enough that I heard it 'whish' past my ear, and it thudded into Novala's chest. "What's the saying in Grado? 'Red eyes, take warning for they are beloved by the Goddess of the Dead'? You can say 'hello' to her for us." Novala didn't answer. He just died with a gurgle, spitting up blood and crumpling to the ground. "I hope he'll be polite, at least." And now I was nauseous from everything, so I fanned myself with my fan and turned to frown at Seth. "You couldn't have done that sooner?"
"I needed a distraction," Seth explained, shrugging. He almost looked relaxed, but I saw his hands shake at his side. He quickly hid the motion by checking Tyr's gear. "I'm a very obvious threat. He kept his eyes on me the entire time."
"You could see his eyes? It was all shadows to me." ...Wait. "I'm sorry, but did you use me as bait?"
"I took advantage, which is not the same thing."
"Orson will have a fit." I turned my attention to Eirika, who was blinking slowly with the tears still running down her cheeks. "Hey…" Not sure what to do or say, I simply went to her side and fanned her face. "So, what's the plan?"
"I…" she began. The one word, syllable really, cracked and croaked, so she coughed to clear her throat. "He said there were others and he must have allies hiding in the fog." She coughed again and looked down at the little girl's head still in her arms. "I'm… I'm so sorry, everyone, but it seems…"
"Please tell me you're not apologizing for the walking cliche who killed a defenseless child in front of us, dove," Joshua dryly interjected. He appeared casual as he sauntered up, but there was something hard to his eyes when he took the head from Eirika's arms. "Her spirit must be very confused, so we should bury her quickly." Carefully, he knelt down to pick up the headless body. I flinched when he put her head on her chest, but it wasn't like… what else could he do to carry it? "Renaisi and Gradoan funeral rites have prayers, right? I think Jehanna and Carcino are the only ones that don't."
"I'll pray for her," Natasha volunteered, stepping up. She pulled her cloak more firmly around her, to ward off the chill. "Moulder has more experience in setting up a field infirmary, so he's going to do that. Artur is better suited to preparing for battle. There was a tree not far back with some beautiful flowers…"
"Good marker, and she deserves something pretty to remind her of the good in life." Joshua smiled wryly and looked at Eirika. "Regardless, dove, the man made his own choices. Don't apologize for him and don't apologize for wanting to survive, for wanting to protect people. Use the breath to reach your goals all the sooner."
"He's right," Gilliam agreed, stepping up. I noticed Garcia hanging back with Ross, rubbing his back to try and calm him. "What we have now are civilians who must be saved. You travel with knights and I do believe we had this discussion before."
"...Ha… you're right…" Eirika breathed, managing a watery laugh. She rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palm and smiled at all of us. "Thank you, everyone. Let's work on saving the civilians."
Joshua and Natasha left to bury the girl, and the rest of us checked our armor and weapons, knowing that we'd have to be even more prepared than usual. With this fog, it was hard to see. We had no idea of the enemies' numbers or weapons. We had no idea how far away the mountains were, much less where in said mountains the civilians were. As for the spiders… well, Lute would probably rattle off knowledge about them, but we didn't know how far away from the civilians they were. We basically knew nothing, and not just about this, but also...
"Hey, Emma?" Colm slid to my side and leaned in to keep quiet. "What's the deal with the bracelet?" he asked softly. "What the hell did I steal before?"
"Before all this, I would've said it was just a bracelet she got from her father," I answered, keeping just as quiet. I glanced briefly at Seth and decided against mentioning his odd reactions. I wanted to confront him first. "But Grado, at least, seems to think otherwise." And now we had to fight in the fog while people were being eaten by monsters somewhere. "For now, we should focus on the battle."
"Right. Was just hoping for a quick answer." Sadly, I had none. "I'll take point. My eyes are pretty good, so I can scout until we manage to figure out what we can use for torches."
"Better relay that to Seth, not me. I'm just…" I had no idea what I was actually. I knew what the others assumed I was, but I'd run like a coward. So, I… "Regardless, let's hope they don't use Moulder's pack?"
Colm's protesting squawk almost chased away how uneasy I felt. Almost.
Flying was strange. It was like riding a horse, but not. The wind hit your differently, and there was the brush of feathers every time Vanessa's pegasus shifted them to change directions. They didn't flap or anything; somehow, they were able to gallop through the air. I had no idea how that worked for them and I wasn't even going to try and figure it out. For one thing, I doubted I'd understand it all beyond 'magic'. For another, there were more important things to worry about.
"Any luck yet?" Vanessa called back, her voice louder than usual to account for the wind. It may be on the gentler side, but it still blasted past us.
"No, but at least we're at the mountains," I answered, keeping my attention below. It was harder than it sounded, because of the damn fog. Hell, we only 'found' the mountains because we almost flew right into the side of one! "Can we fly a little closer to the ground?"
"On it."
Thankfully, someone in our group actually thought to pack a map. Or buy a map. Whichever. Regardless, thanks to that, we were able to estimate our approximate location and, thus, which direction the mountains were: due east. At that point, it was decided that Vanessa go scouting, the benefit of a pegasus's flight and speed outweighing the worry of flying direction into an archer's range. Of course, given that this would be a rescue operation, she couldn't go alone, so I volunteered to come along. In retrospect, Neimi probably would've been a much better choice. Her eyes were much keener. But we had to deal with it, especially since the others were more or less playing bait for Novala's forces to give us less to worry about.
"This might be a joke in poor taste, but I don't suppose your luck can give us a hand?" Vanessa blurted, probably unnerved by the silence. And, she was right, it was a poor joke, but I still snorted at it. "Sorry, that's come up a lot, hasn't it?"
"Unfortunately, it's something both Seth and I grew up hearing, and now we're just in a bunch of weird situations. And we have Joshua now." I smiled bitterly, even though I knew she couldn't see it. "If that supposed luck kicks in, then we're going to find them right in the middle of a spider-" And that was when we started hearing faint screams in the distance. "...Okay, I call bullshit on the Grado's saying of being beloved by a god."
"Hang on!" I wasn't sure what exactly Vanessa did to tell her Titania to go faster. Probably something with her knees, since I didn't hear her make a noise. Regardless, Titania flew at her top speed in the directions of the screams and I found out quickly why Vanessa yelled to hang on, because I was nearly blasted straight out of the saddle. No wonder Vanessa made sure to strap herself in.
The screams grew louder and louder as we flew, a sign that we were heading in the right direction. Even with that, though, we almost flew past them. Only the fact that we suddenly heard the screams behind us saved us from completely missing them. Titania's sharp turn sent me half out of the saddle, though, and I… well, when we flew low enough to finally freaking see, I saw that there was a single gi-fucking-normous spider attempting to attack a small group of civilians. The civilians had, smartly, wedged themselves behind a rock to protect themselves, but the spider was quickly learning that while its huge bulk couldn't reach to bite, it could slice at them with its sharp legs. Which meant they were bleeding and in danger and I… well, I (stupidly) decided to go with the momentum of my fall to drop. Drop with my spear down to use the momentum and drive it straight into the spider's back.
This led to a very… ungraceful… landing, of course. I focused more on my spear than anything else, so when I impacted, I landed hard on my side. Tore the skin of my palms when the shaft jolted and I lost my grip. Bruised my other shoulder from the shaft banging against it. Not to mention how the spider reared back to screech at the pain and I was definitely not braced for that. I only managed to not slide off because I managed to snatch my lance just in time, and with the battle-fever pulsing through me, I was somehow able to swing around and get my feet under me by the time it settled on the ground. As soon as it did, I jerked the spear out, ignored the black blood that spurted onto me, and whipped it around to stab it in the head/neck area. It screeched again and tried to throw me off, but it only succeeded in helping me remove the spear. Blood spewed everywhere, hinting I'd hit something major, and to my surprised relief, it actually crumpled. Twitched a few times. Died. Yay for recklessness paying off.
"I can't believe you did that, and I have no words for how I feel about it working," Vanessa muttered as she flew past me to land. I tried to shrug, but winced as my everything protested. "I am telling Moulder how, exactly, you got these injuries."
"I'm in big trouble," I deadpanned. Not because I didn't believe the words, but because sarcasm was really the only response. "Think I'll get to eat my dinner before the lecture?"
"If he's feeling charitable." Titania landed then, with a grace even a cat would envy, and Vanessa unbuckled herself to dismount and approach the staring civilians. "Please pardon my comrade's dramatic entrance. My name is Vanessa, and I'm a knight of Frelia. I'm here to ferry you out of here." Meanwhile, I cautiously climbed down from the spider, noting the sheer size. Seriously, it was huge. The fang sticking out from its mouth was easily the size of my hand, and its eyes were the size of chicken eggs. The legs had to be at least as long as my legs, and its height was… not quick twice mine, but it looked close. In terms of bulk, three warhorses would probably take up less space. "Who should I take first?" I definitely only killed it by taking it by surprise. Definitely. "Don't worry about other spiders. As you saw, my comrade can handle them." Vanessa, don't lie like that!
Sadly, the civilians apparently believed the lie enough to listen and slowly creep their way out from behind the rock. Even better, despite being citizens of Grado, they were so relieved at help arriving that they asked no questions. They shoved some of the youngest at her, despite others heavily bleeding. But we had some basic first aid, courtesy of Natasha insisting, so I used that to help buy time while Vanessa flew off with her first couple of passengers. When she returned, faster than I expected, I helped a couple more mount up.
"They've made it to the base of the mountain and set up a small camp," Vanessa explained to me as I helped. I noticed she didn't strap herself in, probably to make things quicker. Or maybe she'd do it when her passengers were secured. "Colm and Joshua are making their way through to come help, so…" Right then, there was some strange sort of crunching-rustling sound. The screams from the civilians told me what I'd find even before I turned to confirm the second spider appearing. The sound had been it crushing a bush. "...Try to hold on. Remember what Lute said?"
"Something, something, venom, something, something, sharp, something, something," I snarked, mostly to hide my terror. I so wasn't up for this. I was nowhere skilled enough. They deserved better. But I was who they had, so I… "Go."
"Don't die. I plan on listening to Moulder scold you."
"Fly quick, then. And tell Joshua and Colm to hurry up." I didn't wait for a reply. With lance in hand, I gathered up all my courage and confronted the spider to keep it as far as possible from the others.
I focused a lot on dodging. I had to. The one time I didn't, I learned just what Lute had meant by 'sharp'. It had been 'sharp talons' because that's what its legs were. Razor-sharp talons. It was a little ridiculous, actually. It was already huge; why did it have to have something like that? It just felt like someone decided to mock everyone who was afraid of spiders. The Demon King was an ass, making something like this. And yes, such thoughts were a distraction while you were trying to fend it off, but it kept me from freezing. Because I was scared. I was so scared. Not quite as scared as when I confronted Valter, but close. But I had to keep fighting it. I had to keep distracting it. I had to. Because while I did, while I kept its attention on me, Vanessa was ferrying out the civilians. Two or even three at a time, as fast and as safe as she could. So, no matter how much I hurt, no matter how much I bled, I had to keep going. Even though each breath felt like stones and fire, even though I was drenched in sweat and blood, even though I was coated in mud… I had to keep going until the last one was saved.
At some point, though, my exhaustion became too great of a weight and I slipped while trying to dodge. While I managed to avoid the talons, its teeth grazed my side, which hurt far more than it should've. I think I actually screamed because of how much it hurt. And the throbbing pain that spread like fire… that told me what Lute had meant by 'venom'. Venomous bites, because why wouldn't it have that too?
The pain made me fall to my knees, and I struggled to get back up. Until I looked back and saw… no one. Nothing. While I'd been fighting, Vanessa had saved the last of the civilians. With that knowledge, with the reassurance that I'd done what I had to… all the fight left me. I sagged, breathing heavily, and I stared up at the spider looming over me. Looming over me with sharp, venomous fangs and sharper talons. It was going to kill me. I knew that. It would have an easy time of it. I knew that too. Yet it felt distant, like it wasn't happening to me at all. Like it was just the dread of reading a book when you knew something horrible was about to happen, but to something not real. Just another sentence in a book that you could put down and walk away from. That's what it felt like, even though I knew this was real. I just… didn't…
A snap behind me. A whimper. I glanced back and saw that I'd been wrong. There was one more civilian, a child who had somehow hidden in the undergrowth. A child who had somehow been missed in the rescuing rush. A child who was in danger. A child who could still be saved.
I tightened my grip on my lance and swung wildly, catching the spider on its abdomen. It screeched and skittered back from the pain, and I slowly pushed myself up. It hurt. Fire and pain had replaced my blood and throbbed with every pulse of my heart. Each breath felt like fire and stones. Every single bit of me shrieked in pain. But I managed to get my footing. I managed to bring my lance up. Because I wasn't done. Not yet. I still had a job to do. I still… well, I suppose it didn't matter much. All the resolve in the world couldn't stop reality. I got a couple of hits in when the spider returned, but numbness crept down my arm and I lost my grip on my lance. So, all I had while facing down a spider was… well, I had my fan, but it would be no 'instant get out of trouble' this time. Not when I could barely stand. Not when I could barely breathe. But I could still go out fighting. I could still buy as much time for that child as I could. Who knows? Maybe it would be distracted by eating my corpse and stay away from them all together. So, I…
"Emma!" One blink. Two blinks. Three. In the first, I saw Vanessa running for me. On the second, I saw her interpose herself between the spider and me. On the third, I saw her try to deflect the spider's talon and fail.
Then she fell. She fell, blood pouring out of her side. After all, the talon had gouged it.
"Vanessa!" Immediately, I tried to put pressure on the injury, but I quickly realized how stupid that was. Her side was gone, basically, or so it looked to my frazzled mind. I could be wrong and it was just a bad gash, but there was so much blood. So much blood. So, I undid my armor and stripped off my shirt to try and keep her blood in her. Yes, it was filthy, but we could worry about infection when she wasn't dead of blood loss. If she wasn't already. Gods, was she? Why did she…?
The whimper behind me. The 'click-click' of fangs in front. They reminded me of the bad situation I was in. Vanessa was dying (or dead). I had a child behind me. I had a spider in front of me. I was poisoned. I was exhausted. And, of course, I'd just took off my armor, which was some of the only protection I had. And I had no idea where my lance was. But I grit my teeth and tried to stand, because gods, I had to somehow…
I didn't. I didn't because of two things. One, sweet and protective Titania, Vanessa's pegasus, flew in to tackle the spider away from us. The second was something Vanessa had mentioned before the rescue began in earnest. 'Joshua and Colm are on the way' and they'd finally made it.
"Was wondering why Vanessa suddenly dove when she was leading us the rest of the way, but I think that just became obvious." Joshua slid under the spider with a quip and a slice, cutting a large gash that smelled horrible and bleed even more. "Huh, so the guts are there and they're close to the surface. Good to know," he commented, rolling to his feet like he didn't just get spider blood and guts on him. Without looking, he sheathed his sword and rummaged through his pack for something. Behind him, Colm finished off the spider with a couple of well-placed blows to the eyes. "Here, petal." He knelt and smeared something on my side, where I'd been bitten. Grazed. Whatever. "That should be enough of a deterrent. What the hell happened to Vanessa?"
"Talons are sharp," I croaked, sagging to the ground. I couldn't stay upright any longer. I was just so… "Child. There's a..."
"Yeah, Vanessa told us on the way. Must've gotten scared and hid, and then got missed until they did a count at camp." Joshua pulled out more medicinal supplies and pressed every bit of bandaging he had to Vanessa's side. Titania hovered worriedly, but mostly stayed out of the way to let Joshua work. Why hadn't Vanessa been flying? Had it been because she didn't think Titania would fit or something? I didn't know… would I learn? Would I be able to ask her? "Colm, give me what bandages you have. Vanessa's barely breathing."
"Damn this fog that kept getting us turned around," Colm promptly growled. I didn't see him, but I did see his pack when he threw it to Joshua. "Help you or…?"
"Warn the others. Then come back, if you would?"
"Got it." Colm disappeared then. I barely heard him leave.
Joshua, meanwhile, continued putting as much bandaging as he deemed necessary (or could) on Vanessa's side. Since I could do nothing to help, I made myself crawl over to the child and, after a moment, I smiled and held out my hand to them. Shakily, they took it and let me pull them into a weak hug while they cried. For now, this was all I could do. So, I'd do it. Simple, really.
I bit back a hiss as Joshua applied medicine to my side. It hurt to be poked and prodded, but I knew this was important. After all, the medicine was an 'all-purpose' antidote, which should either cure me of the venom, or treat it enough for me to sit without a healer for a few more hours. Either way, it was needed, especially since Vanessa…
I didn't remember much of anything of the trip back. I remembered holding the child's hand and using Titania as a crutch to walk. I remembered Joshua carrying Vanessa. I remembered Colm returning with even more bandages. I remembered making it to the others and Franz getting me up on his horse. And I remembered that was about when I finally passed out. Now I was awake again, filling in the gaps while Joshua hummed a Prayer Song and gave me some basic treatment, so that Natasha and Moulder could focus on saving Vanessa's life.
"So, Seth escorted the villagers home with Garcia?" I asked, doing my best to keep my tone even. It was hard; I freaking hurt. Sitting on the ground with nothing to support my back didn't help with that either. "And they'll be back shortly?" Had no idea what they thought about us saving them, given what Grado had spread, but hey, maybe they didn't know anything besides Vanessa being a Frelian knight.
"Ideally, yes," Eirika confirmed, wincing in sympathy as Joshua continued treating me. She'd refused to leave my side ever since I woke up, and now made little worried noises over my injuries and bruises. "We made sure to move further away just in case Novala's people were still around. Natasha and Moulder started Vanessa's treatment on the way, and now Artur and Lute are sharing their magic to assist."
"The others are…?"
"Franz and Ross are setting up camp, while Neimi is hunting and Colm is foraging." That made sense. "Gilliam is keeping watch for now. Something about how he'll need to badger Moulder into sleeping later, so he's doing what he can now. I think he's setting up some traps too, but that could be just him planning." Eirika turned to Joshua, gauging whether or not he was too busy to bother. She eventually decided that he wasn't. "Joshua, what's the song you're humming? It's pretty."
"It's a Prayer Song, dove," Joshua answered, keeping to his task. Once he finished smearing medicine on my wounds, he worked to bandage them up. No stitching, yet. Healers really needed to check me over before anything like that. "Surprised petal here isn't singing one."
"The last time I sang one, it was for my sister," I mumbled, looking away. He was right, though. Out of everyone here, I really should be singing one for Vanessa. She was near death because of me, after all. Yet I… "She died."
"Ah, so the gods went with that option instead. Always does make someone a little hesitant to try again." Joshua nodded in completely understanding and I had to admit it made me feel better. "What's wrong, dove? Have you not heard one before?"
"Emma hummed and sang all the time, but I've never heard one specifically dubbed a 'Prayer Song'," Eirika explained, leaning forward slightly. Her eyes sparkled, and I thought of the hours she used to spend in the library, reading up on other countries. "I vaguely remember Monica mentioning one, but I never heard what it meant."
"Well, considering the relative peace of Renais, I suppose that makes sense," Joshua mused. He finished with my bandaging, and then pulled out small ceramic jar from his pack. As soon as he popped it open, I knew it was bruise balm. The smell of efyole, a sharp scent that smelled like the rain, told me that. "Ah, I saw the recognition, petal. I've tried many different kinds, but I always find myself coming back to this one. Not sure if it works better, but it smells like home and the comfort that brings makes it the best."
"Oh, this is the bruise balm Orson always put on Ephraim. He never let the healers use their balm. Something about it smelling terrible and it being half as effective at best." That certainly sounded like Orson, especially since I knew he'd make to balm himself. Mom taught him. "Wait, I got distracted. Prayer songs?"
"Hmm? Ah, yes." Joshua carefully applied the balm to my bruises, and I tried to not wince. Touching bruises hurt, obviously, but if his balm was like Mom's (and it should because it was a typical mercenary recipe), then it would help a lot. "Prayer Songs are only sung, or hummed, when someone is at the boundary of life and death. They are a plea to the gods to spare the suffering more pain, either by letting them heal in full or taking them into death."
"...You pray for death?" Eirika frowned. "That seems a little harsh to me. Also, what do you mean by 'heal in full'?"
"Jehanna has many flaws, and one of the biggest is that it is not a country where the disabled live long." Joshua relayed the words softly, a little bit of pain threading through them. "The blind and the deaf… amputees and those just born with some deformity… those with breathing problems or weak health… if you have any sort of physical problem, anything at all that could reduce your ability to work and to fight, then Jehanna will devour you to leave more for the rest."
"That's…!"
"That's one of the many reasons why Mom didn't move back to Jehanna after Dad died," I added, thinking on that. Mom never hid it, though she was quick to point out that no place was perfect. Renais was simply better suited for our little family. "Monica, my sister, was always frail. Thankfully, she never needed medicines for it…" At least, that was what we had always thought. I couldn't help but wonder now if… "Medicine in Renais tends to be expensive."
"That's an understatement," Joshua grumbled, eyes narrowed. He muttered a couple of curses under his breath, but despite the irritation, he continued treating my bruises with care. "I've bought susinum perfume that was cheaper."
"Oh, you like susinum too?"
"I told you that I keep one perfume to remind me of home. That's it." Joshua's irritation softened for a strange nostalgia. Nostalgia weighed down by guilt and pain. "It's my mother's favorite." Huh. That was a fun coincidence. "Anyway, dove, since you look confused, Renais has a tendency to horde medicines and spike the prices. Leads to a lot of villages being ravaged by illnesses."
"...I never knew that was common…" Eirika whispered. She glanced at me guiltily, no doubt remembering the yellow fever that killed so many in Rosewatch, before standing. "I'm keeping you from treating Emma, aren't I? I'm sorry. I'll check on Gilliam."
"We can revisit that discussion later, dove," Joshua offered, easily seeing through her excuse. Eirika really wasn't great at things like this. "It's just one person's perspective, of course, but a mercenary looks at the world differently from a royal, and the world treats them differently too."
"Thank you." She smiled, a tired smile that had become her new 'normal' one, and left without another word.
"Probably should've been a little more tactful." Joshua smiled wryly, finishing up with my bruises. "Then again, you brought up the prices."
"I promised Eirika that I would never lie to her," I defended, though I knew it was a weak one. After all, I didn't have to run my mouth. "Tell her some good points as well?"
"Of course, petal," Joshua agreed. I smiled slightly, relieved. "So, back to the original discussion. I take it you aren't singing a Prayer Song out of hesitation?"
"That's certainly part of it…" And despite what Eirika had said, I had hummed Prayer Songs around her before. When yellow fever first hit Rosewatch, I had hummed many. Yet so many died. So many… "Though, I really should be singing one, huh? It's my-"
"Vanessa made her choices. Don't take that from her, petal." Joshua tapped my nose, and I made a face. "Easier said than done, of course. But try to remember that, even if it confuses you." ...He could tell? "Funny how we can know that we are loved, but not truly understand until something happens."
"...You sound like you're speaking from experience."
"I am. I ran away from home to become a mercenary, thinking my mother would be fine." He barked out a laugh at my immediate frown. "Things were… complicated. A lot going on, and I wasn't all that old. Thirteen-year-olds are dumber than rocks." Each word was more bitter than the last, until there was nothing but that bitterness. "But I told myself I had a reason, and I'm going to see it through, if only so that I can look my mother in the eye when I finally go home."
"You should at least write her or something." I frowned even more, and got irritated when he just shook his head. "Seriously, how long have you been away?"
"Ten years, give or take."
"...You haven't talked to your mother in ten years?!" I really shouldn't yell. The stress on my lungs hurt, and the tension in my shoulders and back and neck made them ache. But…! "She has to be worried sick!"
"It's not easy getting a letter to someone in Jehanna, unless you're a noble. Almost all couriers are employed by the Guild." I… well, that did make sense. Still, though… "I do hope to see her soon. We'll see. Right now, I'm traveling with you all and I intend on sticking it out."
"I suppose… the current war would make it even harder to send letters…" I didn't like it, and I kept frowning at him. But I did make myself relax. "Family… good family, rather… is important."
"Yeah." That was all he said, and part of me wanted to press him more. But I could see the guilt and I figured it would just be mean to keep pushing. Hell, it was probably mean and nosy to say as much as I did. Of course, now I didn't know what to say or…
"Oh, good, people just out here…" Artur stumbled out of the tent Moulder and Natasha had declared the 'infirmary tent', and he was so drawn and pale that I immediately shot to my feet to support him. My own injuries throbbed, however, so I stumbled. Joshua leapt up to steady me before supporting Artur in my place. "I am pleased to announce that Vanessa should be fine," he explained, smiling warmly. It almost hid how his complexion resembled curdled milk. "Lute is asleep while Moulder and Natasha are re-checking their work. But they're confident enough that they bade me to tell you all."
"Well, looks like the gods were listening to the song after all," Joshua noted. He waved off Artur's confused look. "I'll tell you more when you don't look almost as dead as the mostly-dead pegasus knight we carried in. How soon can we move?"
"It… might be a bit." Artur grimaced then and coughed almost violently. I limped over to pat his back. "Sorry, my throat is a little dry. Sharing your magic is… ah, rambling…" He also looked half-asleep. No wonder Lute was apparently out. "Vanessa will need rest and stability at least for a couple of days. So, I fear…"
"What you should be fearing right now is a lecture about pushing yourself." Joshua deftly got Artur on his back and began carrying him off. "To tent and bed, my tired friend. We can hash out the details later." Joshua glanced at me over his shoulder, and I nodded, catching the unsaid request. Then I turned and headed in the direction Eirika had gone to let her know.
Camping out in the middle of nowhere while in enemy territory. Dumber things have happened, I supposed.
When Garcia and Seth returned and learned about Vanessa's survival and the healers 'strong recommendation' of staying put, they requested that we move the camp just once more in case they were being followed. Moulder and Natasha reluctantly agreed, since healing Vanessa would mean nothing if we got ambushed while she was recovering. We set up that next camp a little differently, since it would be 'home' for the next few days at least. Or so I was told. I didn't see much of a difference, except Gilliam did go around and set traps. How many and what kind? No clue. I only knew there were traps at all because Gilliam said there were.
"Ugh…" I whimpered, pushing myself up. By now, it was night and almost everyone was asleep. Or should be asleep. We had a light dinner, and did our best to stay cheerful through the rest of the day. After all, most of the villagers survived and Vanessa would heal. But a weight settled on my heart as the day stretched on, and now… now, I had a new nightmare to content with.
Amidst the various nightmares of battle and the children who kept clawing at me to demand why they had to die twice, I saw that little girl again. I saw her staring right at me as red bloomed on her skin and her head slowly slipped off her neck. Her eyes held a different demand than the other children: 'Why did you tell her not to give the bracelet? Why did you kill me? Why did I have to die? Why did you sacrifice me?' Then she was swallowed up by a spider that had Vanessa's lifeless corpse stuck to one of its talons… and I woke up.
"I'm… sorry…" I whispered to nothing. I hoped it was nothing. Her ghost shouldn't be here. I hoped she'd at least passed on. No, the words were empty and meaningless. I killed her. I killed her because I advised Eirika to not give up the bracelet. The bracelet…
I glanced over at Eirika and adjusted the blankets over her. She had kicked them off again, tossing and turning from her own nightmares. Did she hate me, for telling her? I wouldn't blame her for it. Hell, it was a miracle she didn't hate me for abandoning her. So, I really wouldn't blame her. But… no, she probably didn't. She made sure to not hate Grado for all this chaos. That was just her way. It would almost be easier if she did hate me. Then I could try to atone. But if you already had forgiveness, then how did you…?
Shaking my head, I slipped out from my blankets and limped out of the tent. Natasha and Moulder had been too tired after saving Vanessa to give me a full examination and heal. The most they could do was confirm I wouldn't drop dead from the poison. Everything else would have to wait, so I ached and hurt. But I could still move and I slowly made my way to the 'infirmary tent' and peeked inside. Lute was still there, curled up in the corner like a little cat, though someone had draped a blanket over her. She hadn't stirred at all since passing out, not even for food. Same with Artur, truth be told. Both had completely exhausted themselves, helping our healers.
Speaking of healers, one was awake: Moulder. He swayed where he stood, blinking rapidly to keep exhaustion from sealing his eyes, and carefully tended to the unconscious Vanessa. Checking her wounds, her blankets… those sorts of things. Ready to act if something suddenly went wrong. That was what a healer did, I supposed. Even when it took all their focus, like now. After all, he didn't notice I was standing there, and I didn't want him too. I just wanted to see for myself that Vanessa was breathing, see her chest rise and fall in the stillness of the infirmary. Once I did, I left. I didn't want to risk bothering Moulder. He had enough to worry about.
Instead, I limped around the camp, trying to think of something to do. Anything at all, to give me an excuse to not go back to sleep. To not go back to my nightmares. But I couldn't seem to find anything and, instead, my thoughts clawed at my heart to tear out my worries about that girl. About her family. Did they know she had died? Who told them? Had she been moved and buried in a place where her family could visit? Or was the little girl still resting where Natasha and Joshua had buried her, where no one would visit? Where no one knew? Just like Grandpapa James…
At some point, I made it to the edge of the camp, and I saw Seth standing guard. Must be his watch, then. And, of course, with my mind obsessing over that little girl… I remembered his reaction. He knew. He knew about the bracelet. I was sure of it, and I… I had to know. Just what did I sacrifice a little girl for? Just what did I kill her for? So, I walked over to him, and he glanced over to see if I would need help. He knew I was there, of course. It wasn't like I was quiet without a limp.
"Seth," I 'greeted' once I was at his side. And that was all I said. I simply looked up at him and waited. He already knew what I wanted to ask. Now, it was only a matter of whether he'd tell me or not. Or, rather, how much I'd have to bother him into telling me. Thankfully, I didn't have to work hard at all.
"King Fado always debating telling you. He felt he asked too much of your family," he murmured. He then slowly sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "He didn't want to add more weight to your burden."
"My choices have always been my own." Of course, his reaction made sense. Even years after it all, King Fado felt guilty not just over Dad's death, but Felix's as well. "You think I wouldn't tell King Fado to his face if I didn't want to do something?"
"Orson always reminded him of that. It was a privilege you never had qualms taking advantage of, being so honest." Seth's lips quirked in a sad smile, probably remembering one of those conversations. It was easy to imagine. "The bracelet… bracelets, rather… are the seals of the Renaisi Sacred Stone."
"Seals?" I frowned, wondering if he was trying to make some sort of joke. "Seth, the Sacred Stone of Renais is displayed prominently in the Thunderer's Sanctuary." There were always pilgrims coming in and out of Ivroria's largest temple specifically to see it and pay their respects. Though they could never get too close. Part of the knights' duties was to stand guard and keep people away.
"It's fake. It's nothing but a well made jewel to keep up appearances, while the real one was safely hidden away. Of course, not even the priests in the Sanctuary were aware of that." Seth looked up at the stars, searching them for something. Answers, perhaps? Forgiveness? Hard to tell, really. "The true Sacred Stone is hidden beneath the palace, in a room only accessible through the throne room."
"That so?" I frowned more, thinking of the obvious. "What keeps people from finding the door to said room? Grado is well-known for its mages. What keeps them from accessing it via blowing up the floors in between?"
"It's not the door that keeps it safe, nor is it the hidden room. It's the wards set in place." Seth grimaced. "I won't pretend to understand, as magic has never been my speciality. But the entire area is magically protected. Even if the entire castle fell and you dug a hole into the room beneath the ground, you wouldn't be able to approach. Not even the rubble would reach."
"...Okay…?" I was severely skeptical, but it wasn't like I knew much about magic either. "And the bracelet that Princess Eirika wears is a key?"
"In order to strengthen and stabilize the two sets of wards, each one was bound to a gem. The gems were then set into bracelets and passed down the royal line ever since." Thus, Eirika and Ephraim became the unsuspecting guardians of Sacred Stone. "This certainly adds weight to Natasha's story. There would be no reason to go after the bracelets otherwise."
"Yeah…" But now there were other questions… "Seth, who all knows?"
"Before all this, I would say only three. Myself, Orson, and King Fado. Garcia possibly knows, as he was King Fado's personal knight before retiring, but I cannot confirm that. After all, neither Forde nor Kyle had been informed yet."
"Given that King Fado and Emperor Vigarde are… were… childhood friends, it's possible he told him?" My mind immediately flashed to the conversation I'd overheard between Seth and Syrene, of King Fado being tortured. Was this why? Had King Fado…? No, I didn't think so. While I couldn't begin to imagine what torture would do to a person, it was even harder to imagine King Fado doing or saying anything that might put his children at risk. "Everything is so strange…" I looked at Seth again, frowning as I noticed how drawn his expression was. Drawn and worried, with one hand digging into his arm. I had to grab the other one before he aggravated his wound, again. "Seth, there's more to this, isn't there?"
"I…" He actually looked away, which both confirmed it and told me he was considering lying about it. I used my free hand to poke his side, a 'little reminder' that I wouldn't be happy if he tried. "...The castle fell too quickly."
"Huh?"
"The castle fell too quickly. There should've been more time for evacuations, but there wasn't. Grado's soldiers bypassed most of our defenses. They were already within the castle when I escaped with Princess Eirika." That… wait, that would imply…? "Worse still was that Valter had been waiting for us, and I used a secret passage to escape not only from the castle, but the city as well."
"Again, there is the old friendship…" But would Emperor Vigarde have known and memorized all of that? Remembered? And have it all remain applicable? That just seemed too far-fetched. So, the only other answers were 'luck' and… "You think there was a traitor."
"I suspected, and the suspicion only grows." Seth ground his teeth in quiet frustration. "But the bracelets elude me. How would they have known? As I said, only…"
"Might be good just to work with the assumption that King Fado told his dearest friends for that one. Surely we can find some way to ask King Hayden if he knows." That was the only thing that made sense. Neither Seth nor Orson would betray, and I simply couldn't imagine King Fado endangering Eirika or Ephraim no matter what. "What have you told Princess Eirika? I know you spoke with her privately while I was cooking dinner with Neimi."
"I told her about the bracelets." But not the potential traitor. She'd probably figure it out, of course, given the secrecy of the bracelets, but… "I suppose answers will have to wait until we've returned to Frelia."
"Good point." I looked up at the stars too, briefly, before sighing. "Wow, and I already couldn't sleep before all this."
"Did you think I would bore you to sleep?"
"Did you just make a joke? On your own?"
I teased Seth a little, just to try and lift my spirits. But sadly, it didn't work and my spirits only sank lower when I returned to my tent and found Eirika tossing and turning in another nightmare, babbling and whimpering apologies to the little girl. All I could do, really, was sit beside her and stroke her hair in the hopes it would comfort her.
The whole world was had gone mad, or maybe it was already mad and I'd just been blind. At this point, I could believe anything.
Ross
The only son of the warrior Garcia, as he is quick to remind just about everyone. His pride in his father is only outshone by his desire to become just as strong, if not stronger. It's an oath he made to his mother's grave, so that she wouldn't worry about him in the afterlife, and he always takes his oaths seriously.
Because of his youth, and his father's desires to ensure he had skills other than fighting, Ross's inexperience is clearly on display compare to most of the others who had some form of training. Still, he is determined to catch up so that he can pull his own weight, though in his enthusiasm, his skill and speed can be left wanting. Luckily, he's always eager to learn new techniques and takes well to both criticism and praise.
Perhaps because of his close relationship with his father, he has a very strong sense of family and is quick to accept people as both friends and family. In particular, he feels a great amount of kinship with Franz and Emma, as they are the children of his dad's friends, and while he knows he has to be respectful, he thinks of Princess Eirika as family as well for similar reasons. Even if he gets nervous talking to her. He doesn't really know what to do when people are sad.
Author's Notes: So, this chapter differs from the main game. Namely, Novala doesn't get the bracelet and the little girl dies. It's my little attempt at making sense of why Novala doesn't just warp away and, instead, stays to battle. Also, warp talismans aren't mentioned in the game, but it's my justification for why the enemies can warp/rewarp all over the place. Colm burning Moulder's pack comes from their support conversations; Similarly, Garcia and Gilliam talk about training in theirs (...I think?)