BruH I was just coming to update this and I found all these reviews that FF never told me I had? Thank you fanfiction very cool

Review replies:

Cat Nari: Unfortunately the copy-pastes are a bit scrunched now :( But I appreciate them nonetheless. And thank you for the gunpowder :) Olivia is 23 I think? I reread this story a while ago because its been too long since I worked on it, and Hero is 25ish.

Sweatpeame: Fear not, this story will be finished eventually.

"No, thank you." Notch passed over a small bag of coins, accepting the pot of medicine in return. "There is nothing to fear. Though he may have seemed rather terrifying, he had no malicious intent. I will take care of both of them."

"If you say so." The woman twisted the hem of her apron nervously with one hand as she tucked away the pouch with the other. "I had thought for a moment Brine had returned."

"I can assure you that is not the case." Notch lied through a gentle smile. "Thank you for your assistance."

"Of course, my lord." He heard over his shoulder as he departed, but was too preoccupied to dispute it. A few of the townspeople offered him greetings as he passed by, and he returned them absently as he hurried past on his way to his temple. Despite his words intended to comfort the young lady he had just spoken with, he was a bit worried to leave the young Hero-Brine alone.

If nothing else, Notch mused to himself, the events of the past few hours had certainly impressed upon him the urgency of the situation. Of course he had taken the pair seriously when he had spoken to them just this morning, already having been aware of Orion and his antics, but the reality of it had only hit him when Hero had staggered out of an abandoned crypt, dragging a bleeding Olivia with him and terrifying the cityfolk. This truly was an immediate problem… and there was little time to spare for preparation.

"Sir! Excuse me." An unfamiliar voice called out, and he stopped in his tracks to search for the source. A grey-haired woman was hurrying towards him, dressed in a faded frock and apron streaked with dust and dirt. There was no recognition on her face - she didn't appear to recognize him, but that wasn't that out of the ordinary. He had often noticed that his presence drew to him people that needed help.

"Hello." He greeted her, shifting to place his supplies into his satchel that hung from one arm. "Do you need something?"

"Ah, please." The woman stopped a couple feet away, twisting her hands nervously before her. "Can you help me find a place to stay? I'm afraid I'm… I've, ah, found myself here with no money to rent an inn."

"I can offer you refuge in the temple." Notch gestured to the off-white building sitting just on the next street, then immediately reconsidered. Hero had just sent half the city into a panic, he could be the very thing this woman feared. Would it really be wise of him to invite her into his presence?

To be fair, though, it wasn't Hero's fault. All he wanted to do was get his friend to safety, and, through the blessing and curse of being possessed by the equivalent of a demigod, he had succeeded. Besides, the woman was already babbling her thanks.

"Oh, thank you- I'm so sorry to bother you, I didn't know where to go, I haven't even introduced myself- I'm Ylana." Her hands were bunched tightly in her apron, and Notch gave her a smile in an attempt to put her at ease.

"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Notch." He offered her his arm, and she took it, releasing her apron and falling into step beside him as he returned to the temple. To his surprise, she didn't react to his name, either, merely nodding and keeping up her chatter.

"I've never been in this area before - I wouldn't be at all, if not for this- repulsive man, or a creature, even, who attacked my city not long ago." That got his attention.

"There have been a series of attacks on the nearby cities, I've noticed. When was this?"

"Almost… maybe a month ago. He took prisoners, myself included, and has dragged us halfway across the country, but just this morning the undead keeping watch over us just left. So we ran." Notch pursed his lips. Likely Orion had fled after Hero's display of power, taking his guard with him.

"That sounds terrible, I'm sorry you had to endure it." He offered. Her face fell a bit.

"It was awful… but even so, I wish my children were with me. One of them may have been killed in the initial attack, and the other disappeared not long after." The mourning on her face was clear, and Notch's empathy for her grew. He understood how it felt to lose a loved one all too well.

"I'm sorry." He said softly. "Maybe after all this is over, I can help you find them." She did not look hopeful, but gave him a small nod.

At this point, they had reached the temple's foyer, and the woman released his arm as they entered the main room where Hero and Olivia waited. She lagged behind as he approached the pair, setting his satchel down and retrieving the medicine from inside. As he began to carefully remove the bandages over Olivia's back, Hero, who was sat next to her, gave Ylana a suspicious glance.

"Who is that?" He mumbled.

"A woman who approached me asking for help. I offered her shelter here." Was Notch's quiet response. Hero's jaw clenched, but he didn't protest as Ylana settled down against one of the nearby pillars, casting a sad glance at her worn and dirty shoes.

The temple was quiet for a long while as Notch changed Olivia's soiled bandages, replacing them with ones dipped in the salve he had purchased. The girl stayed asleep the entire time, face buried in her crossed arms that she used as a makeshift pillow. Hero, he noticed, kept his face turned away from the new arrival. Hiding his eyes, no doubt.

"There." He rumbled softly as he tugged the blanket back over Olivia's sleeping form. "Ylana, have you eaten? There are provisions I can give you."

"Please." The woman responded in a sigh. She did not seem all that underfed, so at least Orion was a decent captor in that regard. Retrieving his satchel once more, Notch passed her some dried fruit wrapped up in a piece of leather, which she took with a murmur of thanks. At this moment, however, Olivia shifted, turning her face the other way, and Ylana froze in her tracks.

"Olivia?" The word came out in a shocked whisper, and Notch turned to find her face had paled considerably.

"You know her?" He asked, but had a feeling he already knew the answer.

"I- yes, I- this is my daughter!"

A loud exclamation disturbed Olivia's sleep, and she scrunched up her face in distaste as the ache of her wounded back made itself known. The second piece of stimulus was a voice, a very familiar one.

"What happened to her? Where had she been all this time?"

"With me." Hero's voice. "I rescued her from Orion just after he attacked, and we've been looking for a way to defeat him - mostly to rescue you. I guess we don't need to now, though."

"Oh. I- th-thank you." Mom…? "Wh- what happened to her? And Isaac, is he-?"

"She was targeted by Orion, the man who attacked your city." Notch responds. "He believed she was the incarnation of an ancient enemy of his, Brine. She… is not."

"Oh Nether. Oh lord, she…" Her mother lapsed into silence, and Olivia took a breath.

"Mom?"

"Olivia!" She heard the sound of cloth on stone bricks, and a cool hand was laid on her forehead. "Oh my sweet girl, I'm so happy you're alright…"

"Yeah…" 'Alright' was a word for it. Her back stung terribly, but the hand on her forehead did serve to help alleviate her headache. "Wh're you doin' here?"

"That man, that- thing that attacked you, Orion, brought me here along with his other prisoners… and when his guards left, I ran. I found your friend Notch, he brought me here."

"Oh." The turmoil in Olivia's heart eased considerably at the realization that her mother was safe.

But Isaac…

"Your brother, is he here?" Her mother spoke aloud her thoughts. Olivia grunted, shook her head.

"Nope… Orion told me he has 'im. Don't know what he means to do with him now, since he knows 'm not Brine…" A chill ran through her.

"Oh…" The pair lapsed into silence, allowing Olivia to focus on her body again. There was a blanket between her and the cold stones below her, and another blanket laid over her. She was still cold. Hopefully that wasn't indicative of a fever.

"I'm going out." Hero spoke.

"What?" Olivia scrunched up her face in a frown. "Why? Is that a good idea?"

"I'll wear the blindfold." He brushed her off. "I just need some air." It was at that moment that her mother apparently noticed his eyes, as she exclaimed,

"Nether!"

"See you later." Hero's curt footsteps retreated quickly, and soon had disappeared. Olivia's mother, on the other hand, whispered in mild horror.

"His eyes. Who was that?"

"That is Hero." Notch cut in. "He saved your daughter's life not two hours ago. He's the reason she's only wounded, and not dead. And yes, he's the current incarnation of Brine."

"Oh… I… I knew he couldn't be all bad." Olivia frowned at the comment. She had seemed pretty suspicious of him just a minute ago.

Despite having just woken up, she could feel the exhaustion from her ordeal already threatening to pull her under again. So, she settled her head against her mom's hand, and let herself pass out once more.

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