Unholy Order
By: Magenta Fox (Yup, tis still me)
Chapter 5: Dissipate
A/N: I'm trying to get chapter 5 out faster. I'm so sorry about the wait for 4. I recently got into Tekken, and the yaoi from that is easier to find . But I have not left you! That, and my chapters seem to be decently long, or so I hope.
-- -- -- --
Ortena brought the handle of her whip up to rest under Kharg's chin. "Tell me where she is, now."
"What's going on?" Darc asked, his tone demanding.
The girl turned her attention to the Deimos hybrid, pointing her weapon at him accusingly. "If you don't tell me where she is, so help me, I will-"
And then she heard it, a subtle click against the hall's low roof. Despite Kharg's attempts to restrain her by grabbing her arm, Ortena agilely leapt atop the stage before sending her whip flying upward with a flick of her wrist. It hit with surprising force, breaking through the ceiling to wrap around the leg of a hooded figure that she quickly pulled through the debris and hurtled toward the ground.
Keyana gave a loud and agonizing wail and her wounded back collided with the hard tile, her body unable to move afterward. Within moments she felt her much taller sister straddling her hips, bringing her long, thin fingers to wrap around the Deimos's neck.
All Keyana could do to defend herself was slash blindly with her claws, bringing her left hand across Ortena's right hip until the girl released her choke hold and recoiled back in pain. The Morkeeth woman laid there, gasping for air as her attacker clutched at the wound on her side, covering the scarlet markings she was so accustomed to hiding.
The moment Keyana made a move to rise, Darc was right behind her, standing her up and locking her arms behind her in a hold that, even at full strength, she wouldn't have had any chance of breaking free of. Kharg followed suit, having a much harder time restraining the much stronger and angrier blonde sister.
"Let me go," Ortena shouted, struggling despite the wound bleeding on her side. "She'll pay for what she's done to me!"
"What did you do?" Darc asked, looking down and the desperately weak woman he was barely using an ounce of strength to restrain.
"I did nothing," Keyana shot back in a biting tone. "She's the wretch that murdered my father."
Ortena was appalled that her sister would even dare act as if she were the victim in all this. "That bastard killed everyone important to me! My grandparents, my mother; he took my father away from me the very night I was born!"
"You're father and grandparents were nothing but lowly humans, do you think I could care any less about their pathetic little existence? Oh, and your dear mother," she spat, locking her blood-red eyes with the deep green of the other's, "was nothing but a filthy, disgraceful whore."
"How dare you?!" Ortena shrieked, thrashing violently against Kharg's hold. "You're just like your father: a sadistic, heartless little fiend."
"At least my father wasn't some filthy human."
"It does matter, at least our mother lo-"
"Don't you dare call her 'our' mother. That woman is not my mother and I will never accept that you are my sister!"
"You demonic scum," the blonde breathed out vehemently.
"Spawn of dishonor."
"Inbred bitch!"
"Half-bred bastard child!"
Kharg's eyes darted up to catch Darc's, but his brother wouldn't face him. The room fell into an uneasy silence for a moment before Ortena shattered it with unexpected laughter.
"What's so damn funny?" the Deimos woman snapped, quieting her sister's hysterics.
The girl just smiled a haughty little smile before replying smugly, "Do you know who's holding on to you?"
Darc glared daggers at her. This girl was quickly getting on his nerves.
"His name is Darc, what's your point?"
"Keep your mouth shut," he ordered. It wasn't that girl's place to share his business.
"He's my brother," Kharg spoke up suddenly, disgusted at everyone behavior. "Now each and every one of us is going to stop this senseless bickering. Take it from us; it wouldn't make you feel any better if you killed each other."
Darc sneered, knowing his brother was more right than he'd like to admit. He irritably flipped Keyana's hood back over her head and opted to leave. "We can finish this in the morning. Right now all I care about if finding an inn before all the rooms are taken."
"You'd sleep near that thing?" Ortena questioned, her voice dripping with scorn and hatred. "Better keep one eye open, never know she might stab you in the back."
"I didn't betray you, Ortena," her sister growled defensively.
"Oh can it, I am in no mood to listen to your lies."
"You're beginning to make me wish I had."
"Enough already," Kharg interrupted, authoritatively tightening his grip on Ortena's arms.
Unable to ignore the humor in the situation, Darc let a smirk play on to his features. "Stealing Lillia's job?"
Kharg shot him a glare much akin to Ortena's before replying, "This isn't funny. Now, Ortena, why don't you hear Keyana out?"
"Because she's too much of a diluted fool to listen," Keyana replied, her voice quiet and bitter from under her hood. "And get your filthy hands off me you… you… freak!" If anything, that comment compelled Darc to hold on to her tighter.
"And you're too much of a backstabbing liar to be trusted."
"Bite me!"
"Bite yourself!"
"Bastards first."
"That's it," Darc declared, picking Keyana up in the same fashion as when he had gotten her onto the Pyron, "Now, I'm sick of listening to you two bicker."
"You have no right to order me around." He ignored her and proceeded toward the door. "Let me go. She will pay for my father's death! Oh, if I weren't injured you would be in a world of pain right now. Are you listening to me?!" And then the door slammed shut.
"Can I trust you enough not to have to resort to that?" Kharg asked after a moment of silence. Feeling rather defeated, Ortena weakly nodded her head, bringing her blonde strands to fall around her face as he released her. "So what are you going to do now?"
"I just need to be alone," she stated, shoving him aside as she limped toward the door, clutching the gash on her side.
"Ortena, don't-"
"I won't go near her," she assured before he could finish. "At least not tonight."
-- -- --
Luckily, it only took three inns before Kharg found where Darc and Keyana were staying, praising the congenial innkeepers who had trusted him enough to tell him. He was surprised to find both his companions were in bed, blood hood and silver armor on the floor between the two beds that occupied their small, austere room. In no mood to sleep on the floor, Kharg discarded his armored belt and sat on the edge of his brother's bed to remove his boots.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Do you expect me to sleep with Keyana?" He hoped that if he acted nonchalant, then Darc wouldn't act as if it was a big deal. Much to his surprise, he felt weight shift to the other side of the bed.
"Just don't touch me."
Turning to face, his brother's bare back, he subconsciously bit his bottom lip in an attempt to quell the emerging feelings he'd be so blissfully ignorant of all due to his distractions all day. They always came back whenever his brother pushed him away like that. Maybe, he mused to himself as he removed the other boot, his upbringing was to blame. Though his mother abolished the Nidellian monarchy, people still treated him like a prince, humoring him constantly and protecting him for any and every little thing. He hated it with a passion. Darc, on the other hand, lead his own life, free of overbearing pampers that thought he was stupid and needed to be protected.
For the time being, that notion was good enough an answer to Kharg's indecipherable feelings. Yes, they were probably just unaccustomed respect, maybe even admiration for the brother who had fought beside him in order to save the world from ultimate destruction. Even if Darc could be a rude, uncaring jerk at times, it was only natural that Kharg feel a deep connection to his own twin.
'He's my brother.'
He had never said it so defiantly before, not since their fight against the Lord of the Black Abyss. He almost felt bad after seeing Keyana's sudden and harsh change in mood.
'He was always called a Deimos wannabe,' he remembered Lilia telling him.
"Darc…" he spoke quietly, wondering if he'd fallen asleep yet before remembering his brother's troubled sleeping habits.
"What?" his brother snapped back harshly."
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what Keyana said to you."
A bitter laugh rang out in response. "I do not need nor do I want your pity, Kharg."
A sudden feeling crept up on him just then; a little pinch at the base of his spine he felt whenever Darc said his name. Pushing it aside, he adamantly replied, "I don't pity you, so quit being so defensive."
"Don't order me around."
"Then grow up a little and give me a reason not to."
In retaliation, Darc kicked his twin hard in the back from underneath the bed's thin, white sheet. Kharg quickly grabbed the ankle of the foot that assaulted him and flung the Deimos hybrid onto the floor before climbing into the bed and situating himself comfortably. "Why can't you ever just be civil?" he asked. "I'm nice to you." It was amazing how he could switched from thinking about how deeply he revered and respected his brother, to how much he desperately wanted to punch him in the face.
Climbing back in (and keeping a good distance between them), Darc gave nothing but an annoyed growl in response. Kharg quickly fell into a deep sleep, his body exhausted from the overwhelming day. His breathing slowed and created even breaks in the eerie silence of the night, bringing about an odd sense of serenity within the only one left awake. He disliked the foreign feeling, mainly because of who caused it. These days, his inability to hate his brother only led him to hate himself.
-- -- -- --
'I didn't betray you, Ortena.'
She looked into the full-length mirror, her reflection lit by the few cream-colored candles scattered about he room. With a sharp wince, she removed her crimson-stained hand to inspect the gash on her hip, limping slightly as she searched for the needed materials to tend to her self.
'I didn't betray you.'
"Get out of my head…"
'You make me wish I had.'
"Liar!" she screamed to no one, her voice tremulous in an outward display of her internal conflict. Why would Keyana lie about something like that? What could she possibly hope to gain?
"She's just playing with my head," Ortena reasoned. "She's sick."
After quite expertly bandaging her wound (for though she was an graceful fighter, day-to-day activities had a knack for ending in disaster for her), she fell onto her bed; her body overcome with a feeling of unbearable heaviness, curiosity plaguing her thoughts as she drifted off into a restless sleep.
-- -- -- --
When Kharg awoke the next morning, he found he was taking up the whole bed, one leg kicked out and entangled in the sheet, one arm slung over the other pillow. He gave a light yawn and rubbed his eyes before scanning the room. Keyana remained asleep, her small body curled up and cocooned in the thick blanket Darc must have gotten for her. 'We should let her sleep until she wakes up on her own,' he thought, sitting up. 'I just wish we could take her to a doctor or something.'
"Lain…" she muttered absently in her sleep. "Don't. What if… your brother finds out?" Her voice, though faint, sounded flustered and confused.
"She's been calling out for her all night," Darc spoke up from the shadowed corner opposite Kharg. "It's the name of the other Deimos we found her with. She's going to be out for a while. In the mean time, I suggest you go speak with Ortena."
Through the bluish haze that filled the room in anticipation of dawn, Kharg stared as his brother uncrossed his arms and stood up straight, allowing the faint bit of light to bring him into view. True, he had seen his brother without armor before, but it was always in the midst of rushing and important tasks. Never had he been granted the opportunity to realize the collection of scars that he was now trying unsuccessfully to ignore, only succeeding in making it more evident that he was.
"I already told you I don't want your pity," he spoke callously, reaching for his armor.
"And I already told you to stop being so defensive. I'm not you enemy anymore, Darc. Are you ever going to accept that?"
Before either could get another word in they were interrupted by a faint knock on their hollow, wooden door. "I come bearing an offer," Ortena's muffled voice called from the other side.
Pulling the twisted sheet the rest of the way off of him, Kharg approached the door and opened it slightly. Before him stood a very different Ortena than the memorizing performer or vengeful sister he met the night before. This young woman looked desperately tired, her usually bright blonde hair now limp and dull, tangled from tossing and turning all night. She swallowed hard, forcing a smile despite the fact that she could practically read his thoughts in his eyes.
"Let me buy you lunch?" she offered. "You're brother can come, too. That is, if he can stand me for an hour or two."
Behind the door, Darc flinched somewhat. He disliked other people referring to them as siblings.
"Can I keep my shirt on this time?" he asked jokingly, attempting to ease the growing tension in the air.
"Oh please do," she insisted. "We're going out in public and I have a reputation to uphold, you know."
"Then I'll accept." Though he knew Darc would most likely refuse the invitation, it had been extended to him as well. "What about you, Darc?"
Both outwardly human half-breeds turned to the slightly ajar door, watching as Darc emerged with his armor on and his sword once again at his side. He shrugged indifferent, replying with an apathetic "Why not?"
-- -- -- --
The meal was essentially consumed in silence, attesting for both the quality of the meal and the tense atmosphere. When the plates were finally cleared away and the three were left with just their water glasses to play with, Ortena made the first move to speak.
"Where are you headed after you leave Midsia?" she finally asked, staring intensely at the melting ice cubes in her half-drunken water.
"I don't know," Kharg answered honestly. "I guess we'll escort Keyana home. Even if you do hate her, she's too injured to go anywhere by herself. I can't bring myself to just abandon her."
With a roll of his eyes, Darc sighed. "It's not your job to rescue everyone."
"You're right," he agreed, "but I'm not treating it like a job. It's just what I want to do. Despite popular Deimos belief, helping other people doesn't kill you."
"You're going to need me," Ortena spoke up quickly before she lost the courage to.
"Huh?" the other two replied.
"Morkeeth territory is southwest of here. You won't be able to make it there without me."
Blinking hard, Kharg was so taken aback that he couldn't help but stutter. "E-are you offering to… join us?"
Jade green eyes slid closed as the girl gave a deep, defeated sigh, her shoulders sinking heavily. Her voice was soft as she mumbled her response, but both boys still heard her. "I… I believe her…"
Darc leaned back in his chair, and small and seemingly triumphant smile playing across his features. "Good. If you didn't, then I'd really think you were dumb."
"Uh, thank you?"
Kharg rolled his eyes and Ortena took notice of how much it looked like Darc no more than a few minutes before. "You'll have to excuse him, but that's the closest he can get to a compliment."
"It's alright," she replied, grateful that they hadn't shot down her suggestion immediately. "But if she is telling the truth, then I want some answers, not only about my- our mother's death, but why she's here and what happened to her wings."
Though he could have very well explained everything to her right then and there, Darc decided to keep his mouth shut and continue to listen.
"We'd love to have you join us," Kharg assured, "but Keyana may not be so thrilled about the idea."
"I want to talk to her, alone. She can't get to Cain without me and I intend on making her see that."
"And how do we know you're not just trying to get her unguarded?" Darc wondered aloud, more experienced in this type of situation than he would have liked. "A few hours ago you were ready to throttle her, and now you seriously want us to believe you want to work as a team alongside the half-sister you've always hated? Excuse me if I'm in no rush to trust you."
"You really don't have a choice," she told them outright. "There's a mountain range with constant blizzard that completely splits Soluna into Northeast and Southwest. There is only one pass that gives you any hope of getting through and it's heavily guarded. If I'm not with you, trust me, you will be killed, do you understand me?"
The two brothers turned to face each other, nodding in wordless agreement to relent.
-- -- -- --
She could see her so clearly, just standing there, waiting. She always kept her waiting. Now, she'd lost the chance to catch up to her.
She tried to walk toward the waiting angel before her, but each step seemed to bring them further and further apart as the pain growing in Keyana's heart threatened to cripple her worse than Serifin fire could ever hope to.
But maybe, just maybe, she could call out to her. "Lain? Lain, please don't leave me again." No response. "Say something, damn it! This is… all your fault in the first place. You changed me into what I am, and now I can't go back!"
Lain turned her back to the demon and began to walk away.
"I'm sorry!" Keyana shouted in one last vain attempt to reach her. "I'm sorry that I let this happen to us. Please, just don't leave me alone. Not now!"
And then a voice rang in through the darkness that surrounded her.
"Who is she?" It seemed like it was coming from all directions.
"I don't know what to call her."
"Where is she now?"
"They… they took her from me," she whispered sharply, pressing her palms against her thighs (a gesture Morkeeth used to physically express anger due to their inability to make fists).
"Who did?"
Keyana spun around, trying to find the source of the voice. "Stop prying into my business and show yourself!"
"Just wake up," the voice commanded before she felt a slight pressure on her shoulder and immediately jolted to full consciousness.
Ortena took back her hand and situated herself at the other end of the bed, expecting her sister to lash out the moment she realized what was going on.
"Are you aware that most people prefer their victims asleep?" Keyana asked, dumbfounded by the blonde's apparent stupidity. "It makes them much easier to kill."
"Yes, and had I been here to kill you, that'd be lovely advice."
"What are you up to?" the Morkeeth asked, sitting up and backing against the wooden headboard.
"Did you lie to me?" Ortena asked, her tone quick and sharp.
"Don't answer my questions with questions."
"Did you lie to me?" the half-breed repeated as if she hadn't heard a thing.
"Did I lie to you about what?"
"About betraying me," she clarified, leaning predatorily toward her wounded sister. "Look me straight in the eye and tell me you didn't tell your father about me. She reached forward swiftly and clasped black-clad shoulders in an almost bruising grip. "And don't you dare lie to me. If you do… I will not hesitate to rip your very heart out where you sit, do you hear me?"
Silent contemplation took over Keyana's features before her eyes shifted downward, avoiding the interrogative stare of her furious half-sister.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Ortena ordered, her voice cracking with the promise of tears as she shook the young woman in her grasp. "Now answer me, damn it!"
Keyana took a deep, shuttered breath, turned her features into a sneer and replied in a steady, even voice, "I told him. I told him everything and I'd gladly tell him again if it meant I could watch their blood spill before your very eyes once again."
Outside the room, Darc and Kharg listened to the silence that fell after that statement. It was broken suddenly by the sickening sound of a hard slap followed by a loud thud. Kharg made a move toward the doorknob, but his hand was quickly swatted away by a scaled claw.
Keyana winced from the unbearable pain coursing rapidly through her weary body, curling reflexively into the fetal position as her body was wracked by a dry coughing fit that sent dust flying into the glare of the sunlight seeping through the slits in the wooden blinds covering the room's windows. Her tightly shut eyes opened again as the shadow of her sister came to loom over her.
"I told you not to lie to me," the furious blonde reminded her. "Now I'll ask you one last time, sister, did you betray me?"
"What's it matter to you?" Keyana asked, trying to push herself up onto her hands and knees. "Just kill me already. It's not like I have anything left to live for anyway."
"Fine, then I won't grant you the satisfaction of death," Ortena vowed, kneeling down to take hold of the front of her sister's black dress. "Tell me the truth. Tell me what happened that day!"
"I just did."
"Liar!" she denied with a hard shake.
"What's the point in the truth? You wouldn't believe a word of it anyway."
"Try me."
When another silence fell over the room, the anxious brothers wondered if they should interrupt, but the anticipation of Keyana's answer kept them frozen in place.
"You're an idiot if you can't figure it out on your own," the Morkeeth insulted.
Ortena let go and sat across from Keyana, glaring at her as if to warn her against moving. "Really? Well I apologize for my stupidity. Please do explain to me the dire error I have made," she spoke sarcastically.
"You know my father watched every move I made. I was his only child and I was training to become ready to follow in his footsteps. Seeing you was near impossible, but for dear Mother's sake I did it whenever I could. His wife, he couldn't care less about, but he never did like me being away from him for too long.
He came to me one day and asked me to come with him to the dungeon to punish some humans that had been caught traipsing around in our territory. Before I knew it I was chained up myself, beaten for associating with you." Her palms pressed brutally against her thighs and she looked down at the floor as if defeated. "It seems I'm spending my life being punished for everyone's sins, left to suffer through life while they receive the liberation of death. If you had any ounce of compassion in you, you'd take my life now. Or maybe you hate me enough for wishing that it were my fault you lost everything. Either way, life is nothing but constant reminders of my own failure, misery and resentment. I want nothing more than to see it end."
"You escaped to warn us, didn't you?" Ortena breathed, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Don't say that. Don't you ever say that again," she ordered, cringing at the thought and the truth behind it.
"We'll be leaving tomorrow."
"Excuse me?"
"You're returning to Cain, am I right?" Ortena asked, not waiting for a response. "You and I are headed in the same direction, and that's straight for Mount Fice. Even if you had your precious wings, they have special artillery for just that purpose. Kharg might be able to get past their checkpoint, but you and Darc will get shot on site. The bandits there don't distinguish; they're out to destroy all Deimos."
"And what do you get out of it?" Keyana inquired, accusation laced in her words. "Besides a prime opportunity to stab me in the back when I least expect it."
"If what you told me was the truth, then my quest for revenge against you ends here and now."
"You don't expect us to be friends, do you?" the older sister wondered with disbelief.
"By no means. The likes of you still murdered everyone important to me in cold blood, and you still hold that sadistic monster on some sick pedestal. No, I want teammates. The voyage is far from safe, and thought I don't know why, it seems the only two half-breeds I could ever hope to meet in the world are allied with you, of all people. Even if it means putting up with you, I would like to travel with them. It's nice to know I'm not alone."
"I wish you were," Keyana spat back rebelliously. "The mere existence of your soiled blood makes me sick. I admired my father because he was a strong man who honored the statutes and traditions of our people. That's more than I could ever say about that woman I called my mother."
"You're impossible," Ortena recognized with a deep sigh. "We leave tomorrow whether you like it or not."
The Deimos woman finally pulled herself up, painfully and shakily standing on her feet once again. "I will go," she agreed with jagged breaths, "But once you get to wherever it is you're going, I want you out of my life for good, you hear me?"
The taller sibling stepped toward her, bringing their nearly full foot height different to their attention. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
-- -- -- -- --
Throughout the trip, Keyana proved to be quite useless in battle. Though sharp, her claws did little damage to the monsters they encountered along the way (which, surprisingly, didn't differ much from those that Darc and Kharg had often encountered before), and she was often used as a healer. Ortena, however, proved time and time again that she was a formidable ally, her strength and defense much better than expected.
Most of the journey was through forest, and nights were spent sleeping by a fire, the two sisters using the two brothers as a shield between them as they slept. Each night seemed to blur into the same routine: Keyana would collapse weakly on one side on the clearing; Ortena would settle herself on the other. Kharg and Darc subconsciously separated themselves in the same fashion.
Keyana had been improving slightly, but she was still a major burden on the party. Darc often forced her to let herself be carried, which would leave to her complaining initially before giving in until she felt she could keep up again. It was really the only time anyone spoke, except for the occasional casual chatter between Kharg and Ortena, who didn't find the silence as soothing as their less human counterparts.
When they reached the base of the colossal, snow-covered mass of rock known as Mount Fice, Keyana donned her black hood once more. A crafty bandit stationed at the bottom was selling overpriced snow gear, but after seeing the blonde singer (who told her companions to stay out of sight while she took care of things), he promptly handed over three of his best hoods and a few highly potent healing items made from herbs found under the tall snows of this particular mountain.
Because the trip had to be made in one day, the party had left their previous campsite earlier than usual and had until sunset to reach the checkpoint. If left outside when night fell, any human or Deimos would unquestionably freeze to death within an hour at the most. With that fact in mind, Darc and Kharg switched off who would carry Keyana as the snow got deeper and deeper and the slope became higher and higher.
It wasn't until the setting sun painted an orange hue over the pristine, white snow that they finally spotted two large, wooden doors surrounded by parallel cliffs. It seemed unguarded, however, and Ortena only sped up when it came into view.
And then they heard it, the familiar sound of guns cocking, ready to fire.
"Those who wish to pass this checkpoint must show they they're faces are not those of filthy Deimos," a deep, male voice called from above them. Looking up to the top of the doors, the group found a young man standing confidently before them. He was very tall, clad in a thick, full-length, dark blue coat trimmed in black with his short, light brown hair spiked up. Turning to the side, they became aware of a large scar trailing from his right ear to his chin as his face played into a knowing smirk. "Remove your hoods and you may be on your way."
Darc and Kharg looked to their guide for instruction and were met with a gesture that told them not to move. Though hesitant, they had no other choice but to do as they said, even with what sounded like at least fifty guns pointed right at them. Keyana could sense something was up, and she didn't like it.
"No," Ortena answered indignantly. The sound of guns shifting once again filled the air.
"This it your idea of getting us through here?" Keyana whispered sharply from under her hood.
Kharg himself felt the need to show his face just to prove (in a way) that one of them was human, at least.
"Then you shall die here in the name of exterminating all the Deimos scum from these lands," he told them, his grey-blue eyes narrowing predatorily as he raised his arm to give the signal to fire.
"And I love you, too, Jedrick," the blonde spoke up once more. The young bandit leader's hand dropped immediately.
"Ortena?! Hold your fire, men. And get me a ladder or something, damn it."
A playful giggle came from under Ortena's hood as she sighed softly to herself and mused, "You always did like looking imposing on those doors, but it takes you forever to get the heck down."
Wearing a look of disgust and disbelief, Keyana watched as this bumbling idiot finally touched upon the snowy ground only to bolt straight for her half-sister and sweep the girl up off her feet before locking her lips in a passionate kiss. Had the gunmen not been surrounding her, she would have gladly made a move to rip his throat out for touching some of her blood, mixed or not.
"I missed you so much," Jedrick professed, spinning Ortena around once more before letting her feet touch the ground without breaking their embrace.
"I missed you, too, Sweetie," she answered, laying it on real thick just because she knew how angry it was making Keyana. "But I need a favor from you."
"Ho ho, back after so long and already acting like you own the place," he asked, his tone playful.
"Well, I own you, and you own the place, so technically it is mine."
The bandit leader laughed. "True. I'll give you that. So whatever can I do for you, Milady?"
Ortena's pale hand came out from under her black cloak and motioned to her three companions. "I need you to let us stay with you for a while and refill our Charge Gauges."
"No problem. Jeez, why'd you even ask?"
"They're… ah… They're Deimos. Well, two of them, anyway."
"WHAT?!"
Kharg's eyes darted back and forth, half expecting an avalanche after an outburst like that echoed through the mountains.
"They helped me, Sweetheart," she explained, trying her best to sound convincing. "I mean, one of them's a wingless Morkeeth and the other's half human and half an other-worldly race. They're not like other Deimos, I swear."
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jedrick sighed heavily before asking, "How do you expect me to explain it to everyone?"
"I'll take care of it," she suggested. "Just let us through and I'll handle everything."
Wordlessly, black-gloved hands gave the signals for the doors to be opened, and the four travelers stepped where those with Deimos blood were never supposed to tread.
Alright folks. Now that I think I have established Ortena and Keyana, the focus will shift back to Darc and Kharg.
In the next chapter
-Meet the Mount Fice Bandits!
-Learn how Ortena and Jedrick met!
-Watch as Kharg asks Darc a serious question… and gets a serious answer!
-And firbles. Lots and lots of firbles.