Chapter 4:
"I... You..." I couldn't believe my eyes.
Ariel stood before me, but... different.
"I believe now is the right time to reintroduce myself." A quiet chuckle. "I'm Eir, not Ariel. You misheard my name, all those years ago and, try as I might, I couldn't get through to you that it wasn't correct." Louder laughter now, as my face heated. "After a time, I gave up."
"I'm sorry." I was mortified.
A hand settled gently atop my head. "I'm not angry. Very amused, but not angry. I could never be angry with you. You've always done your best, regardless of the task given. It's one of the many reasons I love you."
I looked up at her, her words bringing a smile to my face. "Eir. I like the sound of it."
"Rhalic may think you his champion-" Her tone turned serious. "but you are mine." She made it sound as if she were- "I am the goddess Eir, of the Norse pantheon. I am a healer. You showed an aptitude for it when you were younger, so I lent you my power. I still do."
"When I pray... it's to you?" I hadn't thought about who I prayed to. I just... did it. And someone answered with what I needed.
"It is." She ruffled my hair. "Even when I wasn't presently with you, I was always a shout away. I am always a shout away."
"Thank you." My eyes watered, tears threatening to spill over. "Ab initio. From the beginning- you've been with me from the beginning. Without you, I couldn't have helped all the people I have. I'm so grateful."
"Your intentions have always been so pure. Your heart, always so pure. How could I deny you when you ask for help for others? Although..." She shook her head, her smile growing. "you could stand to ask for things for yourself every once in a while."
"I will keep that in mind."
Her expression became indulgent. "Incapable of telling a lie. It's another reason I love you. I'm glad. When the day comes, do not hesitate to call on me. I will do what I can."
"Thank you."
"I suppose I have taken up enough of your time." A chastised expression settled on her face. "I fear your friends may be worried about you. You are taking far longer than they, after all."
"Eir, why did Rhalic choose me, if he has Ifan and Lohse?" I frowned. "And why did he tell me to leave her behind?"
"She is possessed by a demon." Her hand withdrew as I gasped in surprise. "And he is hedging his bets, hoping that the more he chooses, the stronger his chances are for raising a Godwoken to Divine."
"I don't want to be his champion." I sighed, focusing on that first.
I would think about Lohse's predicament another time.
"Then don't." She put a hand to her chest. "Be mine, instead. As you have always unknowingly been."
My smile was back, stretching wide across my face. "I would like that."
"Good. Now, you should get going."
I turned to see another cloud of smoke, this one green. A comforting color to me. With a nod to her, I stepped into it.
And found myself standing before the statue once again.
"There she is!" Lohse cried out, the sound of feet running toward me closely following her words.
I looked toward the sound of her voice, just as her body slammed into mine, her arms going around me tightly.
"What took you so long?" She demanded.
"I met with Rhalic." I blinked at her. "And my own goddess."
"Your own... goddess?" She pulled back, confused.
Everyone had gathered around us now, all wearing various degrees of confused expressions.
"Yes. My own goddess. The one I pray to." My eyes roamed the group. "She alluded that you all had met your own, as well." I frowned.
"You said you met yours and Rhalic?"
I nodded, my face scrunching up. "But I don't like him. He's rude and made it sound as if everything I've ever done has been in his name- when I only ever uttered it while I was learning about him." Realization dawned on me, and I covered my mouth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It was unkind."
"You're not wrong." The mage grumbled. "He certainly is pompous."
"And an ass." Ifan added under his breath.
I couldn't help but chuckle at their words.
None of the others spoke of their meetings with their gods, keeping the encounters close to their hearts.
Two days later, we found ourselves in an underground tunnel, which opened up to a vast cavern. A skeletal man appeared in front of us- in front of me- and made some sexual comments. I was so taken aback, I couldn't get out any words.
A hand grabbed my arm- Lohse- pulling me behind her as she glared at the man. Ifan stepped up, getting between us and him, eyes narrowed in anger.
Which seemed to make the situation all the more amusing for the man, who introduced himself as Trompdoy before vanishing from sight with a warning for us to leave.
Which didn't stop my companions.
The first hurdle was a vast expanse of empty space between us and the opposite solid ground. The others conversed among themselves, trying to figure out a way across, while I moved toward the edge. Curious about how anyone managed it before us- because surely there had to have been at least one other to pass through here. It wasn't exactly well-hidden. My foot slipped on a spot where water dripped from the ceiling, and I fell forward. Toward the drop.
Eyes wide, a little squeak escaping me, I thought I was done for. But, instead of a free fall tumble, I was stopped by a shimmery blue square, my hands braced against it.
"Are you- What?" Lohse blinked, not believing her eyes. "It's an invisible path."
Invisible? But...
"I can see it. Now that I'm on it, I can see it."
She cautiously took a step forward, onto the panel I was on, and frowned. "I don't see it."
That surprised me almost as much as the fall had.
"Can you see the whole path?" She asked, tilting her head.
I closed my eyes briefly, murmuring a quiet prayer to reveal the path before me. Upon opening them, I could indeed see the entire stretch.
"I can. It's two people wide, and it goes all the way across."
Everyone filed behind me as I led the way down the center, releasing a collective breath of relief once we were on the other side.
"Man. Is there anything you can't do?" She joked.
"There's a lot I can't do." I frowned. "Like fight, for one."
She rolled her eyes. "I was kidding. You don't have to take things so seriously."
I lowered my gaze to the ground, nodding. That wasn't the first time I'd been told that. My honesty often annoyed people, along with my need to explain myself.
We continued along the path, until we were stopped by Trompdoy again, reanimated corpses appearing behind him. The sight made me shudder. He scowled at us, reminding us he'd told us to leave, before disappearing again.
The lot of the skeletons launched an attack on us, and I watched with as closely as I could, my eyes flitting about. When I could, when it would help, I summoned a rock wall here and there, creating space between my companions and their attackers. Giving them a chance to breathe before jumping back into the fray. The fight didn't last long, thanks to how skilled the others are, and I healed their little nicks and scrapes.
A large room awaited us after that, with a few paintings and a statue standing tall in the center. Several doors dotted the walls.
The statue spoke of meeting Trompdoy, of how he did Braccus' bidding. The Source King that had died long ago. What kind of magic- and how strong- must it be, for it to still be in effect, after all this time?
Everyone made some remark about him being a nuisance or how it had been a displeasure to meet him.
"I didn't mind him." I spoke up, and I had the sense the statue's attention had shifted to me. "His words left a lot to be desired, but he didn't seem bad. Just awkward."
"You are kinder to him than fate has been." A short pause. "Do you wish to move forward?"
"Yes." I nodded.
"Listen closely and make your attempt: BRACCUS is a bloody, rotten, thieving, very, very awful fellow. Some even call him a cur! A CUR is...?"
The way he said it sounded as if Braccus were capitalized, how he emphasized the word. Along with cur.
"A waste of our time." The Red Prince grumbled, walking away.
Seven letters in Braccus. Blood, rotten, thieving, very, very... Very, very, where it would be two c's?
"Very awful, rotten." I answered with confidence.
Another pause. "Either you're very good at guessing or the slightest bit clever. Let's find out for certain..." I blinked at his backhanded compliment, curious about the next riddle. "Listen closely and make your attempt: SOURCE is a scourge, a devil, a misery, a blight, a hex, a curse. And yet, the CURE is..."
Six letters. Cure. A hex, a misery, a blight, a curse.
I repeated the words out loud.
"Perhaps you're not totally incapable after all. Or maybe Trompdoy told you the answers, is that it? Is he hoping you'll..." The statue trailed off, before catching itself, a loud click sounding throughout the room, the doors at the opposite end of the room swinging open. "It doesn't matter in any case. The path is opened. Go freely."
"Ah. If you wouldn't mind." I stepped closer to it, curious. "Why is Trompdoy still here?"
"Braccus Rex has charged him, tried him, convicted and punished him. I know not the crime, but he has been sentenced to remain in this vault for all time, and to prevent others from entering. Trompdoy was and is a creative man; he knew petty magic back in his day, and this he has used to carve this place out from a simple vault. Myself included."
A sense of emptiness washed over me, coming from the statue. Whatever had spoken to me through it, it was gone.
"How did you know what to say?" Lohse asked, marveling at how I'd gotten them both right.
"Oh. Braccus has seven letters, and there were seven descriptors that followed after, so I thought that the letters corresponded with the words. The same with Source and Cure."
"You're so clever!" She reached out, pinching my cheek as if I were a child.
I stepped back from her, rubbing my cheek. "Thank you?"
The area beyond had almost-floating platforms, with more invisible panels for crossing the distances between them, and more undead appeared. One of them was Trompdoy, which surprised me. Again, I kept my eyes peeled, looking for anyone being pushed too close to the edges, creating walls of rock as flooring to catch my companions so they wouldn't drop off into a seemingly bottomless pit. Again, it ended quickly, and I saw to their injuries, as minor as they were.
A bit further, we entered a room filled with piles of gold coins and chests that overflowed with them. Around the room were jars that emitted blue light from the tops of them.
Everyone stopped to fill their coin purses, while I moved around the room, my eyes landing on Gratiana's urn. Carefully, I picked it up and stowed it in my pack, which I'd gotten from her camp before we'd left. As if drawn to the last one, I made my way toward it.
Trompdoy appeared again, barely a foot from me. "You... you made it all this way..."
"This is yours." I murmured, my fingers brushing against the jar, looking at him with sadness. "Your soul is in this. Trapped."
"Get away from her." Lohse shouted, advancing toward us.
I held out a hand, gesturing her to stop. From her expression, it was clear she didn't like it but she didn't make another move forward. She didn't relax, but she was letting me do this- they all were.
"I'm- I'm sorry." His voice was soft, and it sounded as if he were fighting a sob. "I'm bound to protect his vault... I can't leave here without it," An air of longing came from him as he focused on the jar. "but I'm prevented from touching it. As long as the jar stays unbroken, I can never truly die."
I looked at it, making my decision before I'd even realized I held it in my hands. Raising it high, I slammed it against the cobbled floor. It shattered into a thousand pieces, a blue-green smoke floating up into the air.
He sucked in a sharp breath, managing to get out a weak "thank you", before his body collapsed in a heap of bones. He was free, now.
A hand on my shoulder made me turn to look over it. Ifan stood, holding a very full coin purse out to me. I quickly fished out my empty one and exchanged them.
"Thank you." I smiled up at him, before stowing away the one he'd given me.
"Tried to kill us- multiple times- but he gets rewarded." The mage sighed, shaking her head, looking very put out.
Sebille seemed to agree. "You're too soft-hearted."
I shrugged, turning my smile on them. "It's how I've always been, and I've made it this far. It can't be all that bad, if you think about it that way. Sometimes, what someone really needs is understanding and acceptance. Kindness and mercy."
"I will say this: there is some merit in the phrase 'you catch more flies with honey than vinegar'." The Red Prince was the one coming to my defense this time.
I knew he liked me- not just tolerated my presence- because of the times I'd helped him with something while in the fort since he joined us. As abrasive as he is, he rarely brushed me off or said something hurtful simply to hurt me. After being around him so long, I'd come to see his personality beyond the front he put up and how he thought he should present himself, as a prince. As the one meant to bring dragons back to Rivellon. All eyes were on him, whether he was aware of them or not. It was safe to always assume someone, somewhere, was watching, for him. It must be exhausting.
I gave Gratiana her urn, and she wept, clutching it to her. Thanking me over and over. With that done, and the fact that the sun had set well before we'd returned, I made my way back to our allotted space to get some rest.
"I'm glad to see the Joy hasn't changed you." Ifan spoke as I sat on my bedroll, his opposite mine.
"I'm lucky." I admitted, eyes on my hands as I fidgeted with my fingers. "I was able to prove useful, so no one bothered me. I wasn't forced to change. Others... weren't so lucky. And now... I've left them behind. To suffer."
He heaved a sigh. "We can't save them all, Eira."
"I know." It came out a broken whisper.
I knew we couldn't, but that didn't change the fact that I felt there was more I could be doing. That I was abandoning people in need. People I could be helping. I didn't know how or in what way, but I could be doing something for them. Instead, I was following others around like a lost puppy as they looked for a way off the island.
"I'm going to sleep." I laid down, pulling the blanket over my head.
A soft "goodnight" reached me, but I didn't respond, faking being asleep. One by one, the others all turned in for the night, leaving just the people on watch duty awake.
I clasped my hands, praying for a way to make it through unseen. Before my eyes, my hands became translucent. I could see through myself. Slowly, I got to my feet and approached the cliff we'd gained entry from originally. The man there gave no indication that he knew I was standing near him, and that was all the push I needed. I climbed down the rock wall, not wanting to alert him by tossing down the vine ladder, and took off toward the fort proper.
I snuck in through the mansion, utilizing the invisibility as best I could while I had it. It didn't occur to me that I made it through without coming across a single magister.
The sight of what lay beyond the doors stopped me short. Bodies, everywhere. The magisters had purged the fort of everyone, leaving their corpses littering the ground like trash.
I fell to my knees, tears pouring down my cheeks, unable to think. It was... This was too much. I couldn't wrap my head around such senseless murder. A lot of these people had been defenseless, without their Source. Like kittens against panthers.