Forgiveness
In spite of the progress Lorian thought he had made, Lothric remained like a ghost, constantly slipping through his grasp. He could not force Lothric to speak with him and could find even less time to be alone with him so that they could speak earnestly. So instead Lorian focused on what he could control.
He had made progress on deciphering the notched wood he had collected from Eadric. If he was correct, it defined a time and place, presumably where a meeting would occur. Or perhaps more accurately, had occurred. It was likely held shortly after Eadric was given the token, and Lorian doubted they would repeat patterns of times and locations.
Never one for subterfuge, Lorian had devised a more direct approach, particularly now that they could not trust the hunters, or any others close to them - not until they discovered who had betrayed them. Lorian had fabricated a threat, one severe enough that would excuse a patrol consisting of himself, Eadric, and Wynfrith. The choice to bring Wynfrith was a reluctant one, but if he could persuade Eadric into confessing his involvement, and determine whether Wynfrith was aware, he could secure at least two knights' loyalty.
They were approaching the swamp outside Farron's Keep and it was already more intolerable than he had imagined. Behind him, Eadric and Wynfrith chattered away, unaware of the true reason they were here.
"They say the world is shifting, you know," Eadric said solemnly. "Never used to have swamps this close to the castle."
"It's been shifting for centuries, each time the fire is about to fade. You would have known that if you ever bothered reading the books in the barracks," Wynfrith replied, punching his arm.
"You think it will reach the castle?"
"Doubt we'll be alive to see it one way or another."
Above them, the sound of wings flapping overhead could be heard and the three paused to look upwards to see a pair of the wyverns flying, screeching as they passed. The last time Lorian had seen such a sight, they had descended and turned the landscape into a burning nightmare.
"What are they doing all the way out here?" Wynfrith asked.
"Stopping what arrives with the shifting world from reaching our borders," Lorian replied, not bothering to turn back to look at them as he continued forward. With the return of wyverns in the Lothric arsenal, Wulfred had unearthed records of old tactics from when the worlds converged in the past - greeting the arrival of their neighbors with scorched earth.
They watched as the wyverns eventually disappeared into the horizon.
"Set up camp here," Lorian ordered before walking off further into the swamp. While Eadric and Wynfrith worked to set up the camp, Lorian dispatched any threats nearby. There weren't many - a few basilisks, some ghru, and some poisonous mushrooms. Lorian found himself wishing for the ward sorcery that Lothric had cast when they had been on the hunt, but he dragged himself out from such thoughts as he kicked the last ghru off the end of his blade and made his way back to the camp.
Already there was a fire going and they had set up the bedrolls as well. Eadric and Wynfrith were bickering over who would keep watch as whatever they had caught cooked over the fire.
"Eadric," Lorian called out, and as soon as the man turned to him, Lorian tossed the notched piece of wood at him. He caught it in his hand, examining it for a moment, before realization hit him and he scrambled to his feet.
"Where did you get this?" Eadric asked, panicked. When Lorian didn't reply, he finally put the pieces together. "When we sparred - you were the one who took it? Which means you saw..." he trailed off.
Wynfrith was still seated, stone faced. Lorian couldn't tell if she knew what this was about or not.
"Tell me everything about your involvement."
Eadric collapsed back onto the stump, burying his head into his hands. "I've only met with them twice. The first was to see who they were, to report back to you, but then… then what they were talking about didn't sound wrong. They talked about ending the cycle, about ending the undead curse. They said they could make us all stronger - would make us all stronger, like they had already done to some of the others."
"You told me you weren't involved." Wynfrith hissed.
"I wasn't," Eadric protested, "I'm not! Not yet. They've only courted my interest so far. I haven't even met any of the leaders of the group."
"Then you will keep going until you meet them," Lorian said.A look of shock passed over Eadric's face. "You want me to spy for you?"
Lorian chose his next words carefully, "I want you to gain their trust, and to inform me if the safety of Prince Lothric or the kingdom is in danger.""You don't want to know who they are?" Skepticism colored Eadric's voice as he looked up at Lorian.
"Not unless there is good cause for me to know."
"And why am I here?" Wynfrith asked.
Lorian watched her a moment before replying, "To guarantee I know where your loyalty lies." He turned back to Eadric. "Will you do as I ask?"
The threat did not need to be vocalized. Lorian watched as Eadric stared down at his hands for several moments, before looking at Wynfrith, and finally back to Lorian. "I'll do it."
Lorian nodded. "Any information can be passed through Wynfrith."
"So it will be less suspicious," Wynfrith filled in, "and so if you act on any of the information he passes along, I can be the scapegoat."
Eadric looked horrified. "Wyn, no."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "It would be too suspicious for you to suddenly begin meeting with Prince Lorian at the same time you start meeting with them, and you know it."
Defeated, Eadric sagged where he sat and stared into the fire.
Lorian looked between the two of them for a moment longer before turning away. "Get some rest, we return at first light."
He moved to the edge of camp to keep watch, able to hear the hushed voices of Eadric and Wynfrith speaking. He could possibly make out their words if he tried, but he had no interest in whatever it was they were saying. Instead, he forced himself to focus on the miserable swamp in front of him, keeping an eye on the group of ghru off in the distance, slinking their way across the thick mud of the swamp. It was likely they had seen the campfire, but they had also probably seen the corpses of the other ghru in the area that Lorian disposed of earlier. If they had sense, they would not attack.
A pair of footsteps was followed by Wynfrith taking a seat nearby in his peripheral. She gazed out into the swamp as she spoke, "I want you to know, you can trust me. Always."
He regarded her silently for a moment, noting how she frowned, how her brow furrowed, and how she deliberately did not look in his direction. "Even when it places you at odds with Eadric?"
"Please forgive him. His heart is in the right place, but he has always been easily swayed by his idealism. If I had known he was involved-"
Lorian held up his hand to stop her. "It does not matter now."
They returned to watching the swamp. In the distance a pair of poisonous mushrooms tottered through the swamp, moving away from them and closer to Farron's Keep.
"May I ask you something?" Her voice was quiet, hesitant.
He nodded once.
"I know there's no actual threat for us out here, that if Eadric hadn't agreed…" she trailed off for a moment, both knowing what would have happened. "But what about me? If I had been complicit?"
"You would have been given a choice - loyalty has proven to be a rare commodity recently." He stopped before elaborating further.
"If I ever find myself at odds between my loyalty to you and the kingdom, and my relationship with Eadric, then you have my word we will disappear, back to the village we came from. I would rather fight with a plow than face you in earnest on the battlefield." She gave him a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.
He didn't reply, he knew he didn't need to. They sat keeping guard until the light from the fire began dying down behind them and Wynfrith excused herself to rekindle it and retire for the evening, leaving Lorian alone once more.
The prickling numbness that ran down his legs was only the latest of unpleasant sensations, accompanied by the now ever-present fogginess and weariness. Everything ached. It was one of the side effects of straying so far from the castle. From Lothric.
x
It seemed these days, the only way Lorian and Lothric spoke was when they ambushed one another in their respective rooms, and even that was only when they had personal matters to discuss that they did not want overheard. Which is how Lorian found himself in Lothric's room, standing at the window and gazing down at the castle below.
He was interrupted from watching one of the figures walking through the streets by the sound of the door opening behind him. Lorian turned and saw Lothric, closing the door behind himself before leaning heavily against it. He gazed at Lorian from under half-lidded eyes and called out guardedly, "Here with good news, I hope?"Lorian closed the curtains on the window before calling out, "Bad day?""It had the possibility to be better, had the assassin succeeded."
It was like a jolt to his nervous system, and Lorian found himself flexing his hand for his sword instinctively. "For you?
"Father, actually." Lothric said with a shrug. "It appears our newest neighbors did not take kindly to the wyverns. Gotthard made quick work of them, but I suspect now more than ever our shadows will be remaining close by."
"Then we should hope whatever hunters are assigned, are not those acting against us." Lorian said darkly. The thought still bothered him, that whoever was undermining them might be the same charged with protecting them.
"And what news do you bring to brighten my evening?" Lothric asked, moving away from the door to settle on his bed, leaning wearily against the headboard.
Lorian did not move from his spot by the window. "Eadric has managed to embed himself within the group of Gertrude's active supporters. He has agreed to pass along any information that is actionable."
"He agreed willingly?" Lothric asked with a laugh. "Is that why you suddenly had to depart all the way out to Farron's Keep?"
"I can only hope the others are not as perceptive as you," Lorian said with a small smile.
"Doubtful," Lothric assured him, "they are too focused on their own schemes."
There was an easy silence that lingered between them before Lothric's expression turned serious and he held his hand outstretched. Lorian stepped forward obediently, placing his hand in Lothric's, immediately relieved as all the aches and other negative side effects that had been plaguing him seemed to lessen.
"I would beg of you," Lothric started quietly, as though each word pained him, "do not stray so far in the future."
"There are times where it will be necessary.""Send another in your place."
Lorian began to pull his hand away, only to be stopped by Lothric gripping it harder, holding him in place. "How long will you keep me at arm's length?"
"Forever, if I must," Lothric replied, not looking at Lorian, instead focusing entirely on their hands clasped together.
"I will not go on in this manner," Lorian said, pulling his hand back to his side. "You said I did not choose this path freely. But I have. Why can you not accept that?"
Lothric turned his head to the curtained window, not replying immediately. "You were only a child. As I was. But only I was doomed to carry this fate which you have known since I was born. So why then did you befriend me when you knew how my story would end?"
"We have discussed this before," Lorian rebutted. "You are my brother."
"Tell me again. As far back as you can recall."
Lorian searched Lothric's face for any sign of what he wanted to hear, but all he could see was turmoil, just beneath the surface. "I was nothing, and after you were born I became less than nothing. Discarded, forgotten, and hidden away from the world. A disappointment. They forbade me from even seeing you."
"A cruelty at the time, I had thought, but now an understandable measure. Yet you would sneak into my room against Emma's wishes."
He smiled, thinking of the times he had been caught and ushered out. "A few stolen moments to spare us both from the isolation. You were so small. And weak. As soon as I was old enough to truly understand what they intended you to do, I swore I would become strong enough to protect you if I could not take your place."
"A foolish dream of childish grandeur. You could never have known at the time what being bound as a sacrifice to the First Flame would entail. No more than you could have ever known what allowing me to heal that cut during your training would have done."
"If there is a chance it allows you to live, it is something I accept willingly, as a child or now, it makes no difference."
He watched Lothric's expression change as he contemplated Lorian's words. It was clear he wasn't happy with the situation, even now, and still blamed himself for healing Lorian's wounds. But he needed to give himself.
At last, Lothric said quietly, "I am sorry - for shutting you out."
"If we cannot trust and be honest with each other, then what is left?"
Lothric didn't respond to his comment, but Lorian didn't expect him to; what more could possibly be said? Only time would tell if he had truly managed to get through to him, tearing down the final barriers between them. There were too many unknowns, too many enemies lurking in the shadows, for them to be at odds with each other. They needed to be a united force.
"I need to rest," sighed Lothric. "I have another dawn meeting with Kriemhild."
"News on who is communicating with Gertrude?"
"Among other things, she has assured me."