Fair bit of switching between characters this chapter. You have been warned.
Me: I could maybe do this all through Weiss' perspective.
Also me: But you could do something else too?
Me: Good point, me!
I'm a pushover. Also potentially insane? Eh, par for the course in 2019!
"So…" Yang pressed her fingers into a steeple and collapsed back onto her bed. It cracked, aged fame giving away and she winced before flashing a forced grin. "Who wants to start?"
Weiss was reluctant to begin these conversations again. Yang would say how awful the Church was, Blake and Ruby would argue Raven had convinced them, and she herself would be the lone voice of reason. Except unlike before she had no excuse of Raven somehow manipulating them, not when magic like that required proximity.
Her companions were just that delusional.
Blake stepped forward, looking at Weiss askance before frowning. "I will, and I'll start off by being honest with you all. I don't care." The Meera folded her arms and scowled. "If the Church is manipulating everyone? Fine, I never liked them to begin with. If Raven is lying? It doesn't matter, we likely won't have to deal with her again any time soon."
If they were lucky, they wouldn't, though the woman did seem interested in their business. In her, Weiss reminded herself glumly. The woman never had explained what it was that Weiss could offer which made her so intrigued. Was it her runes? Sure, a rune Magi were rare, especially compared to your typical elemental-flinging spell casters, but there were others in Remnant, perhaps some more inclined to Raven's way of thinking.
Why her specifically then? All the convoluted steps to ensure Weiss would arrive at Fort Morris, all the planning it must have taken.
What did Raven know that she didn't?
"Weiss, you asked why I changed sides before," Blake went on. "I didn't. I fought for myself before and I fight for myself now. I want to learn what happened to my parents, and why they - peaceful leaders of a peaceful movement, were struck down. I'm here because I want answers and I figured this was my best bet at getting some. That…" She glanced at Ruby and smiled. "And I owe you for keeping me from the gallows. And now that I'm here I can't exactly leave, can I?"
"Revenge is what motivates you, then?" Weiss asked, particularly nonplussed.
Then again was Blake truly as single-minded as she claimed? Revenge seemed like such a base motivator, too simple. She'd spoken of helping her friends in the White Fang, and they had fought side-by-side now, laughed together, and very nearly died together. Maybe Weiss was reaching but she felt there might be more to the Meera's claims than she cared to admit.
"I don't think anything is wrong with that," Ruby voiced carefully. "Back in Vale, before I left, I talked to my dad about Summer - my mom," she clarified for Blake. "Qrow too. Maybe it's not revenge exactly, but I do want to know what happened to her. And… I don't know what'll happen when I found out, but I want to know the truth, too."
"That makes two of us, sis." Yang rolled her shoulders and sighed, scratching at the scales on her neck. "Hunters die, we all get that, but mom was… She seemed like she'd live forever, ya know? Super mom. Strong, smart, and the best baker of cookies on Remnant. The fact that we've been told nothing, and that I could hardly find anything, is really weird."
Perhaps there was nothing to hide. Perhaps Summer Rose had simply died fighting against Grimm. Mistakes happened, and all the training in the world would amount for naught with a single misstep. No one was immune to mistakes. Not Summer Rose, not any of them, nor even someone like Ozpin.
Ruby settled against Yang on the bed and closed her eyes, face drawn tight as she leaned into her sister's embrace. From what Weiss knew Summer had vanished years ago, even before Yang went missing. Evidently, pain from losing family lasted much longer than she gave it credit for.
Weiss ought to understand that better than anyone.
The brunette took a deep breath, rubbed at her face, and stared ahead blankly. "I don't know if Raven's telling the truth, and honestly? I really, really hope she isn't. But things really do look that way."
"So, you believe that the Church truly is deceiving us?" Weiss asked, almost mockingly so. Ruby shook her head and shied away, withering under her gaze. "What, then? What are you suggesting, Ruby?"
"Maybe the Church doesn't know? It seems like a stretch, but…" Ruby shrugged.
"Or maybe they do know but they accept it anyways. Consider it for a second, think about why Magi and Hunters are so effective at combating Grimm. Without our magic we're a little better than the common soldier." Blake glanced at her hand and frowned. "It's only because of our spells that Magi can kill Grimm so easily. And, even if we do cause more to appear in the process, clearly Hunters have had no problem slaying them too."
"Maybe Raven is right. Maybe magic does cause Grimm to appear. That doesn't mean we have to agree with her on everything, or even pick her side." Yang hugged Ruby before snorting. "Hell, if she runs her tribe anything like her family then she'll leave that before long, too. No sense in joining up with them now."
Not that anyone intended to do that. Weiss certainly hadn't. Barring the obvious implications of becoming rogue, becoming a criminal, and becoming subservient to a bandit of all things she hardly wanted such a rough lifestyle. She might be a bastardized Schnee, but she was still a Schnee at heart: a Schnee did not live in squalor. That was maybe the one real trait she inherited from them.
"I don't think siding with Raven would work anyways. We really can't trust her."
"Tell us something we don't know," Yang grumbled.
"Why not?" Ruby asked, shrugging off Yang's embrace and leaning forward.
"The other night, when Ilia appeared, Raven caught us speaking. I told you all that." Blake frowned and pulled at her scarf, ears flattening. "Maybe it slipped my mind until now but there was something, she said to us. She told us that Vale doesn't belong to the White Fang, and I imagine she doesn't believe it belongs to the Church either." She eyed them warily. "She said that Vale belonged to her, not any of them. And it could have been idle threats, but she doesn't seem the type to make those. I think it was genuine."
"Raven wants Vale?" Yang laughed sharply. "Sorry, Blakey, but I'm calling bullshit there. Even if she did somehow take down Vale's Church there's the other three kingdoms, their royal families, their own branches of the Church, and the military. No one can fight all that."
Maybe Raven didn't intend to, at least not in the traditional sense. What would happen if Raven were to somehow proliferate the news that magic, and by extension Hunters and Magi, were the reason Grimm were so prevalent. Whether Weiss thought the claims legitimate or not didn't keep her from considering the potential fallout from that.
People would panic. Some would deny it like she had, but the common man would likely have a knee jerk reaction, especially those already against the Church.
Cities and towns afforded a ward wouldn't care, they were protected. All the other settlements though? If even a portion of the population in Vale rose up in protest, and the same hysteria spread to other kingdoms? Raven wouldn't need to wage war against Ozpin, she'd have thousands, if not tens of thousands disillusioned citizens to do that for her.
"Until we can verify Raven's claims or not I think there's one thing we can all agree on: she is not to be trusted."
"Never did to begin with," Yang said dryly.
"I figured she was more like mom, since she saved me and those people…" Ruby sounded dejected by the revelation, or maybe because she could no longer ignore the obvious truth before her. "We can't have people panicking like that. So many would die…"
"And who knows what would happen after that. The Church would likely need to take measures to prevent another upheaval. And who's to say people in the warded settlements don't take up arms seeing Hunters used to slaughter friends and kin?"
"I just want to make it back to Vale with you three. I want us all to be able to just… Be happy." Ruby smiled wistfully, hugging Yang before looking between Weiss and Blake. "All of us."
Weiss swallowed and cleared her throat. "Regardless of what we may or may not believe, I share your sentiment." She blinked, wiping at her eye before smiling. "We can worry about grand conspiracies once this matter is settled. And I mean it. I'll research what I can once we return to the city and try to find merit to these claims."
"You've seen plenty already though! Back in the cave, and even outside Holbrook. Hells," Yang waved her arm. "When Blake and the Fang attacked your spells made Grimm appear."
"The cave is difficult to explain, but not the incidents at Holbrook, or on the road. People were panicked, uncertain, and for good reason. There was ample negativity to spawn Grimm." Weiss held up her hand before Yang could argue. "I'm not saying your claims are impossible, am I? I'm merely pointing out that there are other explanations, and until we rule every other possibility out I cannot believe it."
Ruby nodded along, offering an apologetic smile to her sister. Blake shrugged, ambivalent as ever.
Outside the moon vanished behind clouds, blanketed and robbing Ambrose of its light. Not that there wasn't more to spare, not with numerous torches and a pyre burning brightly outside, and a simple oil lantern in the room. It gave the room a warm if eerie glow, casting long shadows against the walls that danced with flickering flame. Rubbing her arm and glancing out through the dirty windows Weiss sighed.
"That was much more… Civil than our last discussion. I think it's good enough for now." She eyed the far bed before smiling, eyelids heavier with each passing second. "We can continue it in the morning, but for now let's get some rest. It might be our last chance for a while to enjoy a good bed."
"Of which we only have two," Blake pointed out.
"We could share? Yang and I used to share a bed all the time!"
"Ruby, we were little kids. I don't even know if we'd fit now."
"Uh… I can scoot over!"
Weiss laughed under her breath, covering her mouth. "Perhaps you two can take this room? There might be another."
"Doubt it, you saw the rest of them. Most are stripped bare, and the few that weren't are filled already." Weiss glanced pointedly at Blake until the Meera let out a sigh. "Sure, you two take this room. We'll find somewhere else."
"What? You guys can stay, too! Yang and I will share!" Ruby protested.
"And what, Blake and I will share as well?" Weiss raised an eyebrow while Ruby shrugged. "I've come to not loathe her, but I don't want to share a bed with her regardless."
"Why not? I'd share a bed with her," Yang laughed.
"Yang!" Ruby and Weiss yelled in unison. The Dimuran howled louder and Blake rolled her eyes, pulling up her scarf to cover her mouth and her cheeks.
"What? Cats like heat and I'm warm! I bet she'd like it too!"
"Not a cat, and you're too loud when you sleep. You snore."
"Do not!"
"Do too," Weiss muttered, shaking her head. "I'd thought Grimm were descending upon us on the first night. Maybe they should have, then we'd have slept easier."
Yang gawked, then frowned. "Guys, I do not snore. Tell them, Ruby!" Her little sister squirmed on the spot, pressing her fingers together and refusing to make eye contact. "Ruby?!"
"W-Well… I guess you are a little loud…?" She squeaked, kicking her legs and reaching for Blake or Weiss as Yang held her close. "Guys, I changed my mind, I'll go somewhere else! Don't leave me with her, I'll never sleep!"
"Oh hush! You slept fine before!"
Not that Weiss was considering taking Ruby up on her offer, but seeing the girls wrestle, giggling and smiling, she hadn't the heart to separate them now. They hadn't had much time together by themselves since reuniting, far be it from her to separate them any longer. Gathering her bag and joining Blake at the door she poked her head back inside just in time to watch Ruby grab the pillow, fending off Yang as she threatened to tickle her.
"Have a good night, you two!" Both girls offered a quick goodbye before resuming their antics. Happier for her decision even if it meant going without a bed Weiss closed the door, rolling her eyes as giggles erupted from inside the room. "I doubt we'd sleep with them anyway, the way they are."
"And now you see my reason for sleeping away from you three." Blake wiggled her ears to illustrate her point further, then turned and started back towards the stairs. "Have a good night, Weiss. See you in the morning."
"Wait, you're not helping me find a room? Where do you plan to sleep?"
"Outside. I'm used to it, and besides, I'm still hungry." The Meera smirked. "I'll grab a snack and maybe see if they need help with patrols or anything. You'll see me in the morning, don't worry."
She wasn't worried, and what a refreshing change of pace. Worried about plenty of other things but not Blake running off on them in the middle of the night. After bidding her goodnight she moved through the hall, finding a small room that might well be a storage closet than a bedroom. It was empty, and more to the point, available. With the ground floor still bustling and the sisters enjoying some much-deserved alone time it was as good a spot as any.
Weiss propped her bag against the far wall, sitting on the floor and shifting with a grimace. Floorboards, unsurprisingly, were uncomfortable. At least the ground gave way somewhat and grass and leaves helped.
Just barely long enough for her to fit with the door closed she removed her cloak, fumbling in the pitch dark with her clasp until it came loose. Giving it a shake, she laid her head on her bag, draping the cloak over herself and staring up at the invisible ceiling.
Even with the nearby sounds of giggling and tussling, and with the knowledge of the macabre events happening just below, sleep caught up with her quickly.
/+/+/+/+/+/
Weiss slept as poorly as one might expect. Between kicking the door when she stretched, aches being agitated and new ones forming, sleep had been a fleeting thing. And that was all before the bells began to toll.
Ringing bells were hardly a rare thing. The Church used bells as signals, both to its Hunters and for the masses. Services were commenced and ended with the chime of a bell and certain tones were used to convey unspoken orders to Hunters across the city. Only once had Weiss known the latter to be used but the services were an everyday occurrence. That was normal.
The frantic chiming that shook Ambrose awake was not.
By the time Weiss stumbled out of her 'room' Ruby and Yang were already waiting for her, or rather, looking around frantically for any sign of her. Ruby rushed over and skid to a halt, examining Weiss' disheveled, fatigued state before whining. "Weiss… You should have stayed! We only needed the one bed!"
"Jeez, Weissy, you look like crap," Yang said, looking far more rested and better for it.
Weiss invoked Ruby and stuck out her tongue, rubbing at her face in agitation. Gods, why was that bell ringing? Why so early? What time was it anyways? "Never mind that, what's the commotion for?"
"We don't know! We just woke up too." Ruby glanced around again before frowning. "Hey, where's Blake?"
"Not here, obviously," Weiss grumbled. Her joints popped as she moved and she winced, rubbing a particularly sore patch on her back. "Come on, let's find where our intrepid friend has gone. And why this town seems to hate us."
It might hate them but not its own residents. Rooms beside their own remained quiet, people sleeping through the tolling bell. Not a fire then, which had been Weiss' first assumption, and perhaps not a Grimm attack either. In the dining room people ate their breakfast and kept to themselves, although a handful did congregate at the windows. Exchanging perplexed looks with the sisters Weiss made a beeline for the door, throwing it open and bracing at the chilly morning air.
Much of the town had woken from the bell and gathered in the square. From the front of the inn to the tower in the middle of Ambrose people stood, packed tightly and shouting up to the figures above. The bell ceased tolling and Coco strode to the edge of the lookout, trying and failing to shout over the masses. She raised her arms to try and settle everyone down. A rock narrowly missing her head was her answer.
"The hell's going on?!" Yang shouted.
As if Weiss or Ruby would have an answer. Coco and Fox were stuck atop the watchtower with a handful of guards, and a few more stood at the base, pressed flush against the supports as the crowd pressed in.
Where was Blake? Weiss tried to pick her friend out in the crowd but failed to spot her; having to get on her toes just to see over Ruby didn't help. They had to settle this. Didn't these people worry about negativity drawing Grimm? As far as they knew it would.
Maybe they just didn't care.
Coco tried again and failed to get her voice across. From the base of the tower maybe she was audible but from afar she may as well be whispering for all the good it did. How did they settle a panicked crowd down?
"Cover your ears, girls!"
Weiss just saw the crackling flame in Yang's hand before clasping her hands over her ears, and even then, it was startlingly loud. People closest to them jumped away in fright, one man even diving over the railing to get away. Close as she was a faint ringing persisted when Weiss lowered her hands, glaring at Yang and stomping her foot. "Some warning would be appreciated!"
"I warned you," Yang responded with a lopsided smirk. "'Sides, it worked, didn't it?"
Oh, so it had.
People had quieted down at last which was nice. Having most of the town staring at them? Not so much. Ruby shuffled and hid behind her older sister while Weiss tried not to let dozens of sets of eyes unnerved her. She was used to plenty of people staring. Less so when every face looked ready to tear into her.
Coco clapped her hands twice and thankfully took the crowd's attention back. Now that people had calmed the guards below eased them back from the tower, a few citizens taken off the backs of carts or barrels.
"Thanks for that! If you're all done trying to bring Grimm to our gates maybe now, I can say what I wanted to say!" Grumbles of discontent but no shouting. Satisfied, Coco dropped her hands. "I know you're all angry, but please, we're doing the best we can! We need you to calm down and -"
"Calm down?! We're dying! People are getting sicker by the day!"
"You haven't done anything since arriving!"
"How long are we supposed to wait?!"
"There's going to be no one left!"
Coco waved her arms and miraculously people quieted down, although Yang having her own arm raised might have had something to do with that.
"Look, you're angry, I get it. We're just as angry with ourselves. We didn't come here expecting any of this but we're doing the best we can…"
"My husband is dead because of you! Because you can't figure out how to fix this! Your best isn't good enough!"
Weiss jaw ached as she grit her teeth. Who were these people to yell at Coco? They had no right! All of this was Merlot's doing, not theirs. They were protecting the villagers! Finding the inconsolable woman in the crowd she stepped forward to give her a piece of her mind but stopped short. Ruby clutched onto her arm, shaking her head with a worried look.
"If you're angry at us I don't blame you. If you hate us, I don't blame you. But please, you need to calm down. Any undue panic will bring Grimm, and I don't have to tell anyone here what that means."
A town already at its end, in the clutches of hysteria with a mysterious illness ravaging its people. It'd be the end of Ambros, even with Weiss and company there to help.
"Continue as you were! We've taken measures to make sure no one else falls ill. As we speak, one of our best healers is working to develop a cure, but in the meantime, we need you all to remain calm." Not a few worried glances went to Yang who still had her arm raised. "Until we develop a cure you need to remain strong," Coco urged, slumping and running a hand over her face. "I know 'hope' isn't much, but that's all we can give you for now."
Weiss appreciated optimism as much as the next person, but it wasn't much assurances here. No one knew why people became ill or how it passed between people, if at all. All they had were signs, and the cure, if it could be called that, was death at the hands of a Hunter.
Hope might as well be a paper dam against a raging river for all the good it served them.
Yet people seemed to accept that. Through either quiet resignation or dejection, the crowd slowly but surely began to disperse. Not without a handful of hurled insults and one or two stones, but that too was quickly settled.
Guards stationed at the base of the tower relaxed visibly, embracing one another and retreating for the barracks the moment they could. Weiss watched the tower as a man inside spoke with Coco, and Fox remained by the ladder, feet dangling while sitting on the edge. Bold for a blind man. Coco's conversation turned heated briefly and Fox turned to speak, then both parties shared a look before the man descended as well, leaving the young Hunters alone.
"That was exciting…"
Weiss nearly jumped out of her skin, spinning around and grabbing for the rapier she didn't have on hand. Blake smiled innocently, raising an eyebrow at Ruby sat in Yang's arms, silver eyes wide in fright.
"Gods, don't do that!" Weiss snapped.
"What? I waited, didn't I?"
"I almost had a heart attack," whined Ruby, looking at Yang before squirming and standing again. "How long were you there?"
"Oh… Most of the rousing speech." The Meera glanced briefly at the tower. "They're completely at their wits end. I don't think this town is going to keep it together much longer."
"Because they're holding it together so well now," Yang quipped.
"Blake, where did you go last night? I know you said you were hungry, but after that? We never saw you."
Not that Weiss would have had company in her cramped quarters, but the sisters hadn't seen Blake either from the looks of it.
"I poked around a bit, eavesdropped on a few conversations." Yang gawked and the ravenette snorted softly. "What? My shadows make sneaking around easy, it's kind of my specialty." She paused before frowning at Yang. "Speaking of which, what happened to not using any? Ignoring my obvious hypocrisy for the moment…" she added bashfully.
"It's not all magic that does it." Yang checked around to make sure they were alone, and then waved them along. From the front patio of the inn they moved around to the side, tucking themselves into the adjacent alleyway. It absolutely reeked of unmentionable things.
"Here, of all places?" Blake griped, nose and mouth covered.
"Go on, Yang," Weiss insisted, mirroring Blake. "What were you saying?"
"Not all magic makes Grimm appear, or at least, not small amounts of it. You can still do little stuff and be fine. It's like…" Yang scratched her cheek, tilting her head as she pursed her lips. "Put down a tiny bit of seed and a few birds show up. Put out a trough of it and a whole flock appears."
"So, it depends on the quantity of magic expended as well?"
"Pretty much. But even then, doing something for too long runs the same risk. Every spell is kinda like a beacon, and the longer it burns the likelier you are to attract somethin'."
"Is it bird seed or a beacon?"
"Both! My point is that it attracts Grimm, but only a point. Which is something Raven didn't exactly tell you guys."
"Nor did you," Weiss said curtly. "When did you intend to fill us in on that tidbit?"
The Dimuran grinned. "Well, soon as possible, but someone didn't wanna talk about it. That means we're good to use magic, in little bits here and there. And yeah, I'm okay with it too. Won't agitate anything if you use a small spell or two."
Lovely to know, but not helpful for their current situation.
"More to the point, you said you had been looking around last night. Did you find anything of value, Blake?" Weiss asked.
"At first? Not much really. Some people think its a plague brought on by the gods, others think the Church itself is causing this. Which I guess has some merit, except this has happened only in this region according to what I heard. It's mostly towns further south in the kingdom."
"Closer to Plockton," Ruby said.
"Right. Which further supports our idea that Merlot is somehow behind this. It doesn't explain why only some towns were affected though. If the miasma we've seen is his doing then Yang found that in Holbrook, which brings me to my next point. People here, or at least the residents, seem to think the refugees are the cause," Blake recalled, frowning and shaking her head. "Which also doesn't make sense. If what we've been told is right, then the illness comes on suddenly and doesn't take long to drive someone mad. For people to be able to travel while sick, well, it just wouldn't work."
Which ruled out refugees. Not much but it was a start. People couldn't be carriers if the sickness was quick to onset, at least none of the refugees. There was a chance that one of the residents had been patient zero, but a cursory glance towards the smoldering pyre was a ghastly reminder that checking them for clues was likely out of the question.
"Well, back at Holbrook a bunch of the trees died, right? And some of the crops too," Yang said, tapping her chin. "So… Maybe we should start by checking crops? Maybe Merlot did something to those."
"Hey, yeah! And if we find out those are bad then we'll just burn those!" Ruby exclaimed, clearly delighted by their breakthrough. "How do we test though?"
"Merlot uses runes for all his magic, and the miasma isn't an exception. And… We just so happen to have a little rune Magi of our own, don't we?" Yang snickered as she slung an arm around a protesting Weiss' shoulders. "What do you think, princess? Can you test for runes?"
"N-Naturally! I should be able to reveal anything left behind with a simple uncoding spell. But that does me little good if I can't figure out the counter-runes to undo the spell." Weiss shrugged Yang's arm off and sighed. "Runic magic is complicated. Where fire and ice - in theory, cancel each other out, rune magic requires specific characters for our spells to take effect. And the only way to counter a spell is to understand the characters' opposite mark."
"How hard can that be! You're super smart, Weiss!" Ruby encouraged. "If anyone can do it, it's you!"
"There are approximately 3,524 runes. I know perhaps a thousand and utilize a quarter of that at best."
"Oh."
"That being said… Perhaps we can find some kind of resource here in town. A book or maybe someone familiar with the system itself. This is all assuming that I'll need help." Which there was a very likely chance she would. Weiss nonetheless smiled, feeling confident. "I'm certain I can recognize the runes used, and through trial and error I should be able to figure out the counter spell for it."
Which was to say nothing of curing the residents themselves. Curing some vegetables and healing a living person were two entirely different beasts. Weiss didn't have to worry about dispelling magic killing a piece of produce; it was anyone's guess what curing a person might do.
"At any rate, I believe we have our first step. Let's get out into the fields and examine the crops. If it's a similar case to Holbrook as we expect then I can expose, and hopefully remove, the miasma."
"You can do it, Weiss!" Ruby saddled up beside her, bumping shoulder to shoulder with a bright smile. "And we'll be there to help you figure it out! Our team has got this!"
"Oho, we're a team now, are we?" Yang mused. "Does that mean we need a name?"
"We really don't…" Blake breathed.
Ruby was having none of it, mumbling to herself as she gave her best efforts to devising a team name. Yang led her sister by the shoulder out of the dank alleyway and Weiss followed alongside Blake, the Meera taking a gratuitous gasp of fresher air once free.
"Jeez, holding your breath, Blakey?"
"You try standing beside rotting garbage with my sense of smell…"
"Blake, no passing out! We need you here to come up with a name!"
Weiss reached out past Yang and gently chopped Ruby's head, smiling amused while her partner stuck out her tongue.
"Saving Ambrose first, team names later."
"Weiss," Blake whined. "Don't encourage her…"
"I think it would be fun!" Yang bellowed, laughing as she hugged Ruby with one arm, dragging Weiss in with the other. "Come on Blake, team hug!"
"Pass."
/+/+/+/+/+/
"Sir, if you could only answer our questions…"
"And I told you we don't want your sorcery!"
Ruby pressed herself against the door. "We just need a few answers, that's all! We're here to help!"
"You Hunters have helped enough already!"
"Sir, you're being unreasonable!" Weiss snapped.
The door creaked, opening and closing, tossing and turning as a restless sleeper in bed. Ruby yelped and tumbled back as the door was torn from her hands, landing with an 'oof!' Weiss stumbled back, gritting her teeth before stomping her foot.
"You lot are insufferable; do you hear me?! We. Are. Here. To. Help!" No answer and the door remained firmly closed. Scoffing, she threw her hands up in defeat. "Incredible! Don't they realize we're their only chance at survival?" She helped Ruby to her feet. "And yet they're blaming us, the Church, for all of this!"
"We could tell them what's really going on…"
They could but it wouldn't amount to much. The fact remained Coco and company had arrived, failed to cure anything, and subsequently began killing the sick. To no one's surprise that had barely built a good rapport with the townsfolk.
Weiss glared at the sealed home before stomping away, chewing on one knuckle. No resident had been forthcoming with them yet and every visit had been the same. A cursory glance up and she watched a family hurry out of their path, the father glaring at them until they disappeared.
Ambrose was gripped in terror and rightfully or not they blamed Hunters for their misfortune. Even if we explained our theory that Merlot caused this, I doubt it would do any good. They seem completely reluctant to listen to reason. Or incapable.
Which meant that they were on their own with this.
"I hope Blake and Yang are having better luck…" Ruby muttered. "Weiss, maybe we should go try to find them? They're bound to have found something by now!"
Given the option of checking in on their friends or continuing this fruitless endeavor? Weiss cut left at the town well and made way for the town's gates, sealed as always. One of the towers had been opened for ease of entry but the gates remained closed in case of Grimm. A fair trade, Weiss supposed, if an inconvenient one.
"Let's hope so…"
/+/+/+/+/+/+/
Yang huffed, lifting the pumpkin and setting it on the rickety table. "That's the last of it! One of everything from the gardens." The Dimuran whistled, patting the orange fruit. Cabbages, cauliflower, pumpkin, and potatoes adorned the table. A small wicker basket of apples teetered on the edge, plucked from various trees in the orchard. "Ready to start checking, Blakey?"
The Meera stared at the table, caught somewhere between reluctance and… Fear? Blake stumbled when Yang shook her shoulder. "Oi, Remnant to Blake, you okay? You're spacing out on me there, partner."
"What…? Yeah, y-yeah, I'm fine, sorry. Just didn't sleep much last night."
Uh huh, and she was blue with pink scales. Yang took one of Yang's daggers, tested its edge on the pumpkin, then began to carve away. After slicing a hole large enough to peer through she peered inside, huffing, then using a small flame to illuminate the interior. "Looks like a plain old pumpkin to me… No signs of miasma or anything here."
Leaves cracked loudly as Blake tore into the cabbage head, tossing leaves aside. Shaking droplets from her hands the Meera shook her head. "Nothing in the cabbage either. No rot, no signs of tampering, nothing."
"Welp, keep looking! Trees mighta been clean but the crops could be bad."
"Wouldn't we have noticed…?"
Yang snorted. "Don'tcha remember what Weiss said?" She stood rigid and held up a finger, clearing her throat loudly. "Miasma does not transfer between organic beings the same way traditional illness might. If multiple plants, or people, show signs of miasma poisoning then the spell was wide cast," she recounted, pitching her voice higher and sounding the slightest bit pretentious. "In other words, miasma can't cross-contaminate. Or… Something like that," Yang laughed. "I kinda half listened if I'm honest."
"Weiss would be angry," Blake muttered, slicing a potato in half.
"Probably, but Weiss ain't here and you're not going to rat me out, right, kitty cat?" The Meera sniffed and remained silent. Yang pouted. "You won't rat me out, right…?"
"Depends, are you going to keep referring to me with nicknames?" she asked raspily.
"Um… No?"
Maybe. Totally. But come on, where was the loyalty? What happened to having her back? Yang huffed, her smile returning despite her attempted sulking.
The pumpkin was a no-go, as were the cabbages, potatoes, and cauliflower. The tomato was, well, a tomato: juicy, ripe, and completely devoid of contamination. Yang popped another slice in her mouth and hummed, using Blake's dagger to cut thin slices. A girl couldn't work on an empty stomach! Besides, just throwing the food away seemed like an awful waste, and gods know it was hard enough convincing the villagers to let them take any to begin with.
'Course, it's hard for them to say no when we're sneaking by them. Yang grinned, flicking the leftover tomato aside and glancing at Blake. That shadow stuff sure comes in handy.
Having cleared the table and thrown their mutilated goods into a bin Yang grabbed the basket of apples, dumping them and hastily working to keep them from rolling off. Yellow, red, and green skinned fruits gleamed temptingly, torchlight making the colors pop in the dim shed. "So, do we peel or…?"
Blake cleaved an apple in two, examined both halves, then sighs and tossed them away. Good answer! Yang grinned and followed suit, cleaving apples in quick succession. The table grew damp with spilled juice and she paused now and again to sample the fruits. Tart, sweet, bitter - ew, and sweet again. Who knew Ambrose had such an awesome orchard? It'd explain the ciders their inn sold, or the apple pies, or pork with apple pieces.
They sure do use apples for a lot… Yang cracked another red one, examined it, then flicked it casually over her shoulder. It struck the door with a faint splat and rolled into a corner behind them. How come they don't grow strawberries? Apples are so… Blah.
Hearing a bird call outside Yang lowered her knife and glared at the lone window, half expecting a nosy raven to be peering inside. Then a robin flew into the window, bouncing off it and tumbling away before taking off. Snorting loudly, she began to laugh. "The fuck? There's a window there, birdbrain! Oh wait!" The Dimuran grinned broadly. "He must be feeling some pane after that one!"
"Yang."
"No wait, I can do better!"
"Yang, shut up and look!" Blake hissed.
"Aw, come on Blake! I was on a roll!" The Meera glared and held her hands out. Two halves of a yellow apple, whites facing up. Yang raised an eyebrow and lit her palm for extra light, eyes widening. "Oh."
The flesh of the apple was normal, and the skin was healthy - which felt weird to say considering it was bright yellow. Apple cores weren't usually black though, were they? Or… Was that twitching?! Pulling a face Yang took the clearly abnormal half and examined it closer, giving it a sniff and frowning. No scent to it, not unless Merlot managed to make a horrible sickness smell like sweet apples.
"Well… Hey, at least we've found something…?" Blake stared in silence, growing paler by the second. Yang turn the half over and shook it, grimacing as the core plopped into her outstretched hand. Warm to the touch, oddly slick, and definitely writhing. It almost felt alive. "The fuck is this stuff…? This isn't miasma…"
The shed doors opened, and Blake rushed out. Yang took one more glance at the apple 'core' and chased after her partner, following her right back to the orchards. By the time she arrived Blake was cutting into the bark of an apple tree, one of the few growing the yellow variants. Pale white and decorated in lichen, the bark peeled away with ease, flakes landing at Blake's feet.
Yang had been about to ask what Blake was after until the bark peeled away and revealed a thin membrane of black beneath. Running like veins through the tree it looked to run the entire length of the plant. It pulsed and gave off the peculiar black smoke that miasma often did when exposed to air.
Only it wasn't miasma. Miasma didn't look like it was alive, it didn't move, pulse, twitch and quiver in her hand. Yang watched as Blake dropped her dagger and stumbled away from the tree, scrunching up her face when the Meera doubled over and began to gag. "H-Hey, what's wrong?! Blake?"
Her partner coughed, shuddering and clamping a hand over her mouth. Her shoulders scrunched and she squeezed her eyes shut. After a moment of coughing she opened them again and slowly lowered her hands, sweating and pale. Letting out a whining sound more fitting for a child Blake turned her head away, holding out her hands away from herself.
Yang grabbed one of her wrists and turned Blake's hand over, staring at the black goo that coated her palm.
"Oh…"
Well shit. Yang glanced down at the rotten core again, dropped it and crushed it underfoot. Plucking another apple off the tree she twisted it in her hands and found a similar blackened pit, then another. Even checking another yellow-bearing tree she found more and more like it.
Tucked away in the center of the orchard it was inconspicuous. Unless you were on Ambrose's walls the line of sight was completely blocked off from the outside. No one would have noticed somebody coming in here and tampering with the trees. Yang growled, glaring at the warm core in her hand and crushing it beneath her fingers.
"Come on, Blake." Yang all but carried the Meera out of the orchard, one arm over her shoulders and the other around Blake's waist. They had only just emerged from the orchard when she spotted Weiss and Ruby heading their way. Blake cursed beside her, a trembling hand lifting her scarf to conceal her face.
"Don't… Tell them…"
"Blake, you know I can't do that. They gotta know."
The Meera grumbled incoherently and went silent.
Ruby skidded to a halt before them, wearing a nervous smile as she looked between the two of them. "Well? Did you guys find anything…?" Her silver eyes drifted to Blake and her smile fell, reaching out slowly. "Blake…?"
Yang bat her sister's hand away and eyed her warningly, shaking her head. "Don't, trust me."
Weiss caught up, face flushed and panting. She didn't reprimand Ruby though, even if she did glare daggers at Yang's little sister. The moment she saw Blake's unusually pale complexion her brow furrowed with concern.
"What happened? Are you okay?"
Yang raised an eyebrow incredulously as if to ask 'really?'. "We found something, but uh… Blake might've gotten sorta sick somehow…?"
Both girls stared at the Meera who hung her head, panting hoarsely. "Blake…?" Ruby asked in a small voice.
"Gods… How? We've only been here a short while! How could she become ill so quickly?"
Thumbing over her shoulder towards the orchard both Ruby and Weiss stared in horror.
A sickly-sweet scent blew on the wind and Blake groaned, clutching her head and leaning against Yang. A pair of guards none the wiser walked by atop the wall, pausing to look down. Yang quickly stood Blake up and nudged her partner's ribs while whispering to play it cool. She grinned and waved at the pair, keeping her smile until they moved along.
"We have to tell the others!" Ruby insisted immediately.
"We can't take Blake back into town like this though," Weiss lamented. "Not unless we want to risk the townsfolk turning on her."
Right, hysteria and all that fun stuff. Blake leaned back into Yang and waved her trembling hand at Weiss and Ruby. "G-Go tell Peach and Coco, we'll… Stay out here. Let them know wh-what we found…"
"You'll be okay? How do you feel right now?!" Weiss cringed. "Er, right… Stupid question."
"I think I've got time until… Until I go crazy." Blake coughed behind her scarf and yanked it down to spit black phlegm away. "Pretty sure I do…"
Real encouraging there, kitty cat…
Weiss nodded, grabbing Ruby's hand and pulling her back from Blake. Or trying to. Ruby pulled back, frowning as she looked at Blake. "We shouldn't leave, Weiss! Maybe we can do something to help Blake now? We should stay!"
"And do what, Ruby? We don't know how to cure this yet and Coco and the others need to know."
"W-Well, maybe we could, I don't know, try helping Blake now? Maybe you have a spell -"
"Ruby, I'm not a healer," Weiss sighed, patient as she extended a hand to her partner. "Now come along, we have work to do. Blake will be fine."
None of them knew that, and Ruby certainly didn't buy it. Yang smiled and clasped her sister's shoulder. "Hey… I can watch after her, alright? 'Sides, I can't get sick from miasma, or… Whatever this stuff is, right? It makes the most sense for me to be with her."
"Wait, what do you mean 'whatever this stuff is'?" Weiss questioned. "Are you saying it isn't miasma?"
"We'll show ya when you get back. Right now, though you gotta tell them that apples are bad, the yellow ones," Yang clarified. "And, you know, do it without telling the fine folks of Ambrose too. I doubt they'd take the news calmly."
"You don't need to tell me to use discretion, I know that." Weiss rolled her eyes. "We'll come back as soon as we're finished." She took Ruby's hand again and tugged.
"Ruby, I'll be fine…" Even as she spoke Blake sounded poorly, her voice gravelly. "Go on, we'll be out here when you get back."
Ruby lingered a moment longer before nodding, stumbling after Weiss. "Just hang in there, Blake! We'll figure this out!"
With some luck they would. Yang wasn't exactly the type to bank on luck though. Especially not when their whole theory just got thrown out the window.
Taking one of Blake's arms again she eased her back into the orchard, pushing aside branches as they went. Miasma wasn't the cause, which was… Good? Good in the sense that they didn't have to cure a nigh incurable disease. Bad because they had absolutely no idea what they were dealing with.
"Being totally honest, how're you feeling, Blake…?"
"Aside from feeling panicked? Not bad, all things considered…" The Meera snorted, then cleared her throat. "I feel cold, yet warm at the same time. It's like I'm coming down with a fever…"
"Well, we could have Peach come out and take a look at ya? Or, you know what they say…" Yang paused and plucked a red apple from the tree, presenting it proudly. "An apple a day keeps the weird sickness at bay…?" She went cross eyed as Blake bounced the apple off her forehead, pouting. "Hey! I was just trying to lighten the mood."
Blake wasn't having it. "Maybe you would be if your jokes were any good."
"Ack! I'm letting that one go because you're sick."
"Just… Get me back to the shed, please?"
Yang grinned, glancing at the yellow, tainted trees as they passed. A handful of them were nearly plucked bare, and the few apples they took were only a fraction of what was likely used. Just how many were inside the town? How many had been eaten?
How long did they have until all hell broke loose?
/+/+/+/+/+/
Weiss wasn't sure what frustrated her more: knowing their working theory was now defunct or that she had so little to actually share with Peach.
Miasma couldn't be responsible in this case. Miasma killed, obviously, but not in the way this disease was. It didn't cause wild aggression nor mark those suffering from its effects. The plants of Ambrose weren't withering or sickly in the same way those around Mount Glenn's settlements had been either. Really it should have been obvious from the first, but with no other ideas to work off how could they have guessed otherwise?
Just as she had been before the woman bound to the table remained unconscious, put under a deep sleep by medicine and magic both. Black markings continued to cover her body, encroaching on her face as they spread even in her dormant state.
Yet it wasn't miasma causing it. Merlot hadn't implanted a Grimm into every sick person either, that much was obvious. Blake had fallen ill after they arrived in Ambrose and with no interaction with the wretched doctor. The patient Peach and Yatsuhashi had been working with sported no seals even after Weiss' attempts to reveal any. While the signs suggested something similar to Yang's case it couldn't be, not with so much missing, and so much not adding up.
While Peach and Yatsuhashi spoke in hushed voices Weiss continued to wrack her brain for answers, tapping her foot on the floor as she furrowed her brow and stared straight ahead.
Yang mentioned apples, but how are those related? Is it some kind of poison? That didn't make sense for the same reason miasma didn't: poison wouldn't explain the markings. Clearly magic of some kind was involved. What causes this besides being made a host to Grimm? Confound it all!
Nothing in their training spoke of anything like this. Judging by Peach's lack of knowledge clearly that extended to the Church's medicinal branches as well.
"With luck Coco and Fox will return shortly with apples. Maybe then we can try and solve this mystery." Peach turned to the bound woman, leaning against the table and peering down at her. "Or maybe we're chasing ghosts, and this is beyond any of us."
Hearing one of Vale's premiere healers say that was nerve wracking. What if this was beyond their ability? What if Merlot truly had found something none of them could counteract? Weiss slapped her own cheeks, earning a confused look from Ruby beside her.
Every magic had a counter, especially runic magic. If Merlot relied on the same system she did then she could undo his work. They only needed to find the source of the illness.
Hurried footsteps came down the stairs, the sound of chainmail rustling loudly with it. Not Coco, but instead the elder guard who she and Fox had spoken with earlier in the day. The man's face was pale, and blood soaked his leather mitts.
"Miss Thumbelina! Your help is required at once!"
"Jorah? What is it, has someone else fallen ill?" Peach asked. The guard shook his head quickly.
"No! It's miss Adel, she's been injured!"
Yatshuashi was out of the room in an instant, pushing past the guard only to stop at the base of the steps. More footfalls, and an injured Fox clutching one shoulder stumbled down, blood seeping through his fingers. Behind him another pair of guards came, and between them they carried Coco, face bloodied and clearly unconscious.
"Gods… Okay, make space for her!" Yatsuhashi and the older man gathered crates and pushed them together for a makeshift table. "Gently now, gentlemen, gently. Get something to support her head!" Peach rushed over and immediately began to remove Coco's vest and jerkin, and after finding no wounds inspected her head. "What happened? How is it you two were injured?"
Fox slumped against a pillar and sighed. "We were jumped. We went to check the storehouse for the apples, and someone must have been waiting inside for us. They caught us by surprise." He scowled, pressing against his shoulder and shaking his head when Yatsuhashi moved to inspect the wound. "I'm fine, make sure she's okay."
"Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Alistair. Let Yatsuhashi tend to your wounds." The gentle giant nodded stubbornly. Peach peeled back Coco's hair and frowned, gingerly pressing against a gash just above her right ear. "Likely concussion. Poor girl was likely out almost instantly."
Weiss gasped. How had two Hunters been taken down so easily? They were trained, they had magic, and all of that besides Coco and Fox seemed highly capable.
The answer was simple really. For all their magical abilities they were still only people at the end of the day. A Magi could be felled by an arrow just like anyone else, or succumb to a cold just as easily as the common man. Hunters were no exception to that.
"Fox, did you see the people who did this?"
Fox scowled, then shook his head slowly. Yatsuhashi bound a cloth around his shoulder and he grit his teeth as it was pulled taut. "No, they covered their face. It was one person though. About Yatsu's size. Bastard stuck me with a dagger when I tried to stop him."
"And you're lucky removing it didn't make you bleed out," his large companion chided, earning a look that screamed 'Not now.' Yatsuhashi used a rag to wipe away lingering blood before looking at the guards crossly. "And none of you saw anything?"
"Sorry, b-but no! The warehouse has multiple doors, and we hardly guard it all day. They could have easily slipped out unannounced."
"They didn't escape through the front though, we know that much," the other guard explained. "We were stationed outside while they searched. We'd have known if someone came and went."
"Fat lot of good you did then," Peach mumbled. "Yatsuhashi, we'll need some fresh bandages, and some of my salves as well. And give Fox a vial of antidote while you're at it." She looked to the blind boy with an uneasy smile. "Better safe than sorry, dear."
Weiss shuffled her feet uncertainly, yearning to help yet having no place. She couldn't heal, nor could she even apply first aid, not nearly as well as a trained healer and her assistant could. Ruby was just as restless beside her, endlessly twisting her cloak and chewing on her lip.
They couldn't be of use here, but perhaps elsewhere their talents might be of some help. Weiss stepped forward. "Let us go check the warehouse. Maybe there will be some signs of what happened? Some kind of clue as to where the culprit went." She halfheartedly smiled. "We'll at least be of more help there than we are here."
Peach seemed to agree, nodding before directing her attention back to Coco's wounds. "Take these two men with you, let them help and make up for their blunder."
If the dynamic duo had a complaint it was silenced the moment their superior seconded the orders. "Dee, Dudley, get your asses back up top and help these girls investigate! And make damn sure no one else slips by you this time!"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"You can take more of my men if you think you'll need it," Jorah said. "Just pull them from their posts. Preferably not from the walls though."
Weiss wouldn't dream of it, although she hadn't planned to ask for more help either. Too many guards would make it obvious something was amiss. As if a pair of bloodied Hunters, one being carried, wasn't telling enough. Still she nodded graciously, returning to the makeshift cell to retrieve her rapier, just in case. Ruby fetched her scythe and carefully balanced it over her shoulder, earning nervous stares from the guards.
"If you find anything at all girls, I leave it to your discretion as to how to handle it," Peach dictated. "I'll have my hands full down here, so as your senior I'm giving you jurisdiction. Be safe out there."
Sure, because that wasn't a sudden, immense sense of pressure put on them. What if they made the wrong choice? What if again they had a theory only for it to explode in their faces?
Ruby bumped her hip against Weiss' and smiled. "Ready, partner?"
No, she wasn't. Blake had fallen ill, the town didn't trust them, and now Coco and Fox were both injured. Ambrose was a veritable timebomb and they had no idea where the fuse was or how to extinguish it. 'Ready' wasn't even remotely close to how Weiss felt.
But it hardly mattered whether she was ready or not; Ambrose might fall if they failed, but it would definitely succumb if they stopped trying. Weiss' smile waned almost instantly, and she gave a curt nod, taking two steps at a time as she rushed up them.
They needed answers, and with some luck the warehouse would provide them.
Don't you love finding twitching, gooey cores inside your apples? It's like a worm, only worse!
As for the magic thing, here's a bit of an analogy, in case I put it across poorly. A single grain of sugar won't likely stir an ant hill, but pour a cup of sugar on the floor and it definitely will. Magic and Grimm work the same way. Leave a bit of sugar out for long enough and you won't need much, either. Basically magic is safe to a finite point, and naturally no one knows what that point is.
I'm sure the girls will be fine though!