Chapter 4
A false start
The sun began to set as the two newly found companions made their way back to the fort. The commotion that was taking place right in front of the gate disappeared and only a few Magisters were left guarding it. The elf's plan consisted of sneaking past them as soon as the night set in. It was, in fact, a decision made by an old habit rather than logic. The skeleton didn't object to the idea either, he wished to remain unseen as much as possible by those primitive creatures.
While they sat in the bushes, hidden from the road that led to this ruined fortress, Elane found herself in a dire need of answers. The 'Eternal' people he mentioned. It all sounded too familiar - way too familiar - to her. She began to wonder, was she one of them? After all, death was an alien concept to her too. To be honest, the story barely held itself in her head, yet the idea gave her hope of finally belonging somewhere.
Fane was sitting across their makeshift camp in the bushes, using the last rays of sunlight to scribble something down in his notebook. Elane moved, a little unsure of her own voice. How should she start?
"I-uh," she muttered in an attempt to begin the conversation, " I was wondering-"
"Is it not enough that you travel with me? Must you speak too?" the skull replied in a berating tone.
Elane straightened herself at the remark that left her more provoked than discouraged.
"Believe me, I do, and I have some questions," she insisted, her voice leaving no doubt 'no' was not a satisfactory answer.
Fane sighed as he put down his notebook.
"Go on then, bark away. Let's see if we can find any method in it."
"I am rather curious about your people, what were they like?" she pulled her knees close to chest, hugging them, much like a child would when listening to fairy tales and stories.
"Ah, so I was right with the hint of intelligence in you. After all, one should always try to learn from one's betters," a note of content if not condescension could be heard in his speech.
The elf was more than ready to express her own opinion of his intelligence but she bit her tongue, hoping for answers.
"You see, my people are a race far beyond anything that exists in the world today. We seek to master the secrets of the universe." Content quickly gave way to pride in the spawn of one sentence as he continued. "We craft wonders to last through the ages long after your crude tools have rusted to nothing."
Elane resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Undeniably, but what they looked like?"
The skeleton paused for a second, bringing his finger to his chin beneath the cowl hiding his skull, seemingly lost in thought. After a few seconds he spoke. "There is a great variety among our people. Some are tall and lithe, others short and come in a variety of eye-catching colours, others you can barely see at all." He paused again, Elane felt a judging look upon her figure. "This is what makes you such an abomination, you see. You almost look exactly like every other elf out there, just like every human looks like every other human."
She lifted her head, trying to disagree or scowl him, but he continued on.
"Walking through this world is as repulsively bland as staring at a wall for a century. After a while, the very sight of you disgusts me. No offence, of course," He finished as if he had just shared a mildly differing opinion.
Elane's brow furrowed and, as the sun finally gave way to the moon, her eyes lit with a bluish glow, so similar to the star that had just risen. She opened her mouth, a spiteful remark on her tongue, when the skeleton grabbed her by her chin examining the phenomenon closely.
"Strange, I have never noticed elven eyes could do that."
Elane brushed him off, slapping his skeletal fingers away, irritated.
"This means it's getting dark. Time to move," she stood up and rushed to the entrance before the scholar could say anything.
Eventually they found a ladder leading straight up the walls instead of slipping past the guarded entrance. As she cautiously climbed up and peeked over the edge, Elane was rather surprised to see Vermil sitting at a table nearby. Shabby furniture was scattered across the area. Apparently the walls were turned into a leisure area instead of a guarding post. How lovely.
She quickly made her way to the top giving a signal for Fane down the ladder to follow.
"You've made it!" a familiar voice greeted her from the table.
"I...did," she answered as she took in the surroundings.
A few more people were sitting by the table, she recognised a red-headed woman from the ship but the remaining three of their comrades were completely strange to her. What's more, they looked a little… off. They were playing cards, with Vermil holding a few in his own hand, but their eyes were dark and their posture slumped. Their bodies bobbed unnaturally on the benches they were sitting on.
'I think we're done for today, pals. See you all later," Vermil announced suddenly, laying down his cards.
The trio moved as if it was an order and began to gawkily stride away. The man gestured to the free seats, the woman chuckled. Fane made it up this very moment only to notice a troubled look on the elf's face.
"What the hell was that?" Elane asked in a tone that failed to hide her startlement.
"Oh," he waved his hand, "Don't mind that. We had met some imperious thugs who wanted to skin us alive for not having any gold and I simply showed them violence was not the answer."
"Most interesting, and did they listen? I'm rather intrigued in the ways of conveying common sense to such brutes," Fane cut in abruptly but with authentic interest in his voice.
The black haired man laughed and once again gestured towards the seats," Why don't you two sit with us so I can explain?" He turned to Elane, switching his eyes between her and the unfamiliar stranger and asked, "Who's the new guy?"
"Another miraculous survivor from our lovely sea voyage," the elf answered, not making any eye contact as she sat down, her eyes still glowing.
The man nodded in understanding.
"I haven't thanked you yet," the redhead said, "for pulling us out of that bloody hold. So, um, thanks! I'm Lohse." She jolted up from her seat extending her hand over for Elane to shake.
The elf did so, of course, but was left baffled by the woman's energetic disposition.
Fane acknowledged her with a nod, keeping his hands to himself.
When the 'niceties' were over Elane once again inquired about the strange behavior of the thugs.
"That was but a simple hypnosis, I did that for a living, you see."
"Hypnosis? You were a charlatan for a living?" Elane raised one eyebrow up, holding back a rebuke.
"Well, I was a scholar before but that hardly kept me fed. I graduated from the University of Arx and that alone left me with more debt than earnings."
"So you're a scholar?" Elane pried,"Never thought necromancy was being taught in Universities."
The so-called Arx scholar chuckled nervously. "They do teach arcane arts well enough to be able to broaden your horizons on your own. Never thought an elf with her head adorned like a queen's would know much about the dark arts either."
Elane just shrugged at this observation. The sound of a pen scribbling on paper reached the elf's pointy ears. Fane seemed rather enthralled in the man's story. Lohse was just listening with her elbows resting on the table and supporting her chin.
"Many things are different from what they seem. So..." she asked unconcernedly, " what quackery got you hauled off to Fort Joy?"
The question visibly bothered him as he dropped his sassy composure immediately. He locked his fingers on the table, fidgeting nervously.
"I, uh... I was organizing séances every now and then. Rich people paid good money to see the spirits of their beloved."
"I imagine Source was involved?" the elf pried again.
"You bet, but the Divine Order doesn't come knocking on rich people's doors that easily. It was all 'underground' if you catch my drift. I got to conjure all kinds of spirits and sprites for amuse-"
Lohse froze and went pale in a span of a heartbeat. Sickly blackish veins appeared on her body as her eyes turned midnight black. Elane thought it was just another one of his tricks, but Vermil looked rather concerned, gently placing his hand on Lohse's shoulder.
"What's going-" the elf whispered when Lohse's head mechanically snapped at the sound of her voice. She did not finish that sentence, just stared in shock. A moonlit eyes against a void deprived of all light.
The trance faded as unexpectedly as it appeared and the redhead was back to her old self.
"A-a-a-nyway..." her voice trembled as if she was shivering in the freezing cold.
She looked at the faces (and a dark spot beneath a hood) of the people around her. Elane's eyes were wide with shock while Vermil was torn between worry and understanding. She could not tell Fane's expression but she did note that he froze with his pen hovering above the notebook. ""Aw, is the story over already?" she sighed in disappointment.
"What the hell was that!?" Elane snapped, feeling strangely on edge.
"Is it a normal human behavior?" Fane wondered aloud.
"It's nothing really, it's just..I'm just a bit...well, a bit hospitable?" she intended to calm everybody down but she wasn't sure how to delicately explain what just happened.
''A bit...what now?" a look of pure confusion on Elane's face left Lohse no choice but to elaborate.
"What I mean is...look you've never been a.. a host, right? That's cause you're like… a clump of leaves on the side of a road and I'm like a roadside inn. Red door, flowers out front, friendly lady at the door beckoning you in for half price. A godsdamn gold star inn for the disembodied," she huffed as the explanation was done, clearly she wasn't exactly happy with the state of things.
Elane nodded slowly, trying to comprehend all that she had heard. Lohse used this moment to steer the conversation somewhere less bothersome to explain.
"So how are you enjoying the Joy?"
Elane sneered at the question. "Lovely, really, but I doubt I'll be staying here for long."
Vermil leaned in close, a grin on his face and a spark in his eyes.
"Oh, having a plan, are we?"
Fane repeated mockingly,"We? I hardly remember inviting you to come along."
Elane sighed, as she leaned back, crossing her arms on her chest.
"Sadly I don't have any, at least not yet, but staying here is not an option. And it'll be wise-" she turned her head to Fane, "-to stay together for now. We need to learn as much about this place as possible, secure our own survival outside and then escape."
"Very well," the veiled skeleton admitted in defeat "I can tolerate a few more mortals for the sake of leaving this damned place."
"Mortals, huh?" Vermil leaned closer to the hooded creature,"I wonder, what does this make you?"
Elane was quick to interfere, "An elf?" she asked, staring right into Vermil's eyes.
"Ah, now it makes sense. I saw Elane here talking with another pointy eared fellow back on the ship and-" he smirked, "- it looked like that particular discussion was quite heated. Glad you made it out."
The raven haired elf flicked at the remark, her ears twitching up and her pale face now flushed, though it was barely visible in the faint candlelight.
"Excuse m-" she began to hiss just for Fane to continue his habit of cutting in someone's speech.
"Fairly observant, aren't we? If only that skill was enough to earn you a livelihood. Unfortunately, you humans are rather ignorant to the knowledge beyond finding a nearest inn to drown your sorrows in," the undead was mocking Vermil and seemingly he was taking some pleasure in it as well.
"Tell me, friend," the other retorted, curling his lips into a mischievous smile. "you keep that hood on to protect your fragile ego or is it because you took a punch to the face more times than necessary?"
"Vermil, enough," Elane called, determined to not let this escalate any further. " A Voidwoken got him in the face and the wounds are far from healed. Let it go."
Fane turned his head to her and she could swear she heard a bone creak but Vermil just nodded.
"We've had a tough day, no wonder we're on edge. We should get to the kitchen to grab a drink before having some rest, what do you say?"
"Could use some, both drink and sleep," Lohse said, letting out a loud yawn.
Elane just nodded in silent agreement. She was tired, hungry and ,well, even more tired.
As she turned to leave after the rest she glanced at Fane, who did not move from his spot, scribbling in his notebook again.
"I'll be back in soon," she announced in a more soft and tender manner than she intended to but the skeleton dismissed her with a wave of pencil.
Elane found Fort's noisy kitchens even more tiring than a whole night of slaying Voidwoken and excused herself as soon as her hunger was quelled. She was climbing up the wooden stairs, clinging to a mug full of something that only vaguely reminded of wine. Her feet reached the last step as she finally peeled her eyes off the turbid liquid. Fane was still there and to elf's confusion he was reading a book in complete darkness. Elane relaxed at this sight. She sat down on the floor behind him, resting her back against the wall.
A few minutes had passed as she stared blankly at the sky above, sipping her drink.
"Do you trust them?" the skeleton asked all of a sudden.
"Trust is...a big word. I believe we can help each other but I would still keep my eyes open for backstabs," she turned her head to look at him only to be greeted by his back. The night was silent except for the distant hum of the sea.
"I wonder..." her voice but a whisper, "what got you imprisoned?"
He turned on the bench he was sitting on. Now she could see his cowl sideways.
"Fear," he said "I fell victim to the enemy of all great minds."
He finally turned to face her, his skull was hidden in shadows. Elane noticed a shift in his voice - his tone gave away pain and anger.
"Fear of the unknown. Fear of change… I was on the cusp of a glorious breakthrough, you see, but my King's fear held me back."
"What was this breakthrough?"
"I had discovered a Veil hanging across the universe: a barrier of pure Source.."
Something stirred inside Elane at this revelation, making her feel as if her soul had turned into a liquid. Was she shocked or intrigued? Curious maybe? The sudden, alien feeling must have been curiosity but it didn't exactly feel like it was belonging to...herself.
As she continued listening to Fane's story she felt more like a spectator of her own self. Questions she was asking, gestures and movements her body made were not her intention. Instead she was trapped in the depths of her soul that circulated around the thought of the "Veil". No other thought could break through, only thing that changed in this persisting flood were her emotions.
Every time she glanced at his face during the conversation a new feeling would surface.
The feeling gradually faded, the waters calmed and the last thing that had emerged from the Veil-stirred waves was fear and her mind was clear again.
She shook her head, pinching the brick of her nose as if she was in pain, groaning quietly. She would blame it all on the wine later on.
"I believe that I had shared enough knowledge to have some of my own questions answered."
The statement took the elf by surprise. She turned her sight back to him and mumbled, "A-ask away…"
Answering in one content nod the skeleton grabbed his notebook again and scribbled something down. "These eyes of yours, why are they this way?"
The elf shrugged,half-hearted. "I do not know", she sighed," but what I know is that they glow according to the phases of the moon. Comes in handy to track the time."
"And have they always been like this?"
"As far as I can remember, why, something familiar?" she raised her brow, hopefully.
"Unusual, most unusual," the skeleton replied as he was hastily making some notes, "In fact, further study will be required…" When he looked up from his notebook the elf was already fast asleep. In an act of unusual benignity Fane dragged a godforsaken piece of cloth over the elf's body to act as a blanket before returning to his books and awaiting the dawn.