10. News
Zael found himself hurrying on the way back to Ariela's tavern. He knew he needed to restock on items and get some rest as is before heading back to go find the Lazulis half of the Outsider, but he also remembered that he promised to help with dishwashing. Hopefully he wasn't late, at this point.
As he entered the tavern, he noticed all the humans present in the tavern, chattering in low voices. There were a few Gurak present, but they ignored Zael, speaking in low voices to each other instead. Ariela looked up from wiping a table, her eyes widening.
"Elza! Are you okay!?"
"Ariela?" Zael swallowed lightly as she rushed over to him. "I-I'm okay. Is there something wrong?"
"Haven't you heard? The entire island just…trembled, suddenly. A blue light hit the sky above us for a moment, too!" She managed, shaking her head. "No one knows why, but apparently there are rumors that the savior of Lazulis…is back."
He frowned. "Savior of Lazulis?" Do they mean…me?
"I never really told you, but…" She paused, scratching the back of her head before continuing, "But our past ancestors…after Zangurak took over Lazulis, some of them started believing that maybe the one meant to save us would come back and truly save us all this time around. That he'd never leave us to be done for the way we are, right now. The blue light is apparently similar to what his power looked like!"
"Really?" His eyes widened at that. When I activated the power, he realized, I gave the people of Lazulis a sign that I'm back? Of course, he doubted that any of them realized that he himself was the savior of Lazulis, but still. He wasn't sure whether it was good or bad. Good, perhaps, giving people hope for a better tomorrow. But bad, because that meant the Gurak would likely be on guard.
"Yes." She nodded. For once, Zael thought he saw hope in her eyes. "We might have a chance. Lazulis might be saved!"
Zael wished he could tell her that all of this happened because of him. However, he knew he couldn't. What if he failed? What if she got hurt because she knew him as the savior of Lazulis? It was too risky.
"Maybe." He echoed, and he offered her a smile back.
"This can't end well." It was Arganan who spoke up, frowning. Zael finished his shift of washing dishes, having a small meal before retreating to his room. Arganan hadn't said a word until now. "The Gurak will likely search the town for you if they really believe those rumors."
"But they don't even know what I look like." Zael managed, shaking his head. "It won't be easy for them."
"It will be. They may not know your face, but they will know what your Outsider's mark looks like." The older man half-snapped back. "You have to be more careful, Zael."
"That's easy for you to say," Zael found himself snapping back, "Especially since you're already dead!"
"This isn't just about you." Arganan's lower lip quivered, and he shook his head, averting his gaze from him. "Lazulis depends on you. I have to depend on you. Calista, and Asthar, and everyone else that's died before you and for you. If we could all be alive and work together, it would be lovely, but obviously that's not a situation we can have, is it?"
Silence fell between both men, and Zael let a slow, long sigh leave his lungs. "Look, we're exhausted. At least, I am. We'll figure this out in the morning, okay?"
The older man hesitated, swallowing lightly as he leaned against the wall behind him,
"Okay," He managed. He closed his good eye, then opened it again, making eye contact with him. "We'll regroup in the morning. Goodnight."
"Night."
Zael buried himself in his bed and did his best to sleep.
Morning came. Zael and Arganan treated each other with silent acknowledgement that they still existed. As Zael went downstairs for breakfast, after getting refreshed and changed, slightly sore from the previous day's events, Zael noticed Ariela pacing the tavern, a worried expression on her face.
"Morning," He called, and she looked towards him, wide-eyed. "Are you okay?"
"It's…" She faltered, then crossed the room to face him properly. She took a deep breath, before managing, "There's a girl that plays by the well behind the tavern, but she's gone missing since yesterday. We've been trying to find her, for her mother's sake, but…it's not looking good."
"By the well?" Zael vaguely recalled a time when he went down a well, only to encounter beasts of all sorts in an underground network of tunnels. "Do you think she…fell in?"
"I don't know. But her mother did mention that she heard strange noises coming from the well recently, so she tried to keep her daughter away from there. But…" Ariela trailed off, shaking her head. "We think she might've run off. Or got kidnapped. But if she fell in..I don't know if she's even alive by now."
"I can go down there and find her." Zael offered. He vaguely remembered his mother, calling out to him, begging him to flee and stay alive.
That was the last time he'd ever seen his mother. And now another mother and child were about to lose each other if he didn't do something about it.
Ariela frowned. "I'm not sure if she's still alive, Zael. It's been a whole night."
"I have to try." He blurted out, shaking his head. "Just..lead me where she last seen? Please?"
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Arganan frowned lightly after Zael entered the well. There was an inner ladder to climb down it, just in case it got plugged up or needed repairs in general or something fell in and someone had to retrieve it, but Zael was sure he'd be fine. It hadn't rained, recently, and this well seemed pretty dry except fort he very bottom.
"I'm sure." Zael paused, then looked the older man in the eye. Despite being dead, Arganan looked like he hadn't slept, given how worn he seemed. "You okay?"
"Not really." Arganan admitted, but didn't elaborate. Zael noticed a tunnel to his left, and he swam over there, seeing a bit of shore. The waters down here were surprisingly shall, and despite this being the interior of a well, it was rather wide at the bottom. And there were tunnels…
"I think I've been here before." Or at least in the sewers. He vaguely remembered navigating them. The others complained about the smell, but Zael knew he lacked a sense of smell, so it wasn't too bad for him.
A child's scream rang through the tunnel as he got to shore. Zael didn't bother shaking the water off himself as he ran ahead, hoping to follow the source.
As he turned the corner at the entrance of the tunnel, he saw three reptilian creatures. They weren't Gurak, but they were certainly not human, and they immediately launched themselves at Zael.
Zael easily cut all three down in a few strikes with his sword, drawn immediately upon seeing them seconds earlier. As he took a deep breath, looking around, he heard Arganan groan.
"Great. Reptids. Looks like the little infestation still exists down here, despite it being a hundred years."
"Reptids?" Zael repeated, looking towards him.
Arganan nodded once. "I originally hired you and your group of mercenaries to exterminate the Reptids underground Lazulis. They could've been an issue if we didn't deal with them sooner. I guess the Gurak regularly try getting rid of the Reptids, too…but more always pop up."
Before Zael could speak again, he heard a voice ring through the tunnel, not his own, or Asthar's, or Arganan's own, and definitely not the voice of a child.
"I see that you finally came, Zael."
