Return
The boat docked at Oakfield after little less than a day. Blade let the wind die down, gently, leaving the sea tranquil and calm. They left them on the dock to sail for Westcliff, where most of them lived. Garth waved them off. Blade just stared at the town around her.
When the sailors were out of sight the Will-user came to her side, "I thought I would never see land again."
"Me neither." She looked around her. Everything was so... bright. So... colourful. She turned to him, sharply, "Can you hear that?" he just raised an eyebrow, and she turned back, "That's... that's water. Running water. Like a... waterfall. And - look!" she ran a few meters away from him, falling to her knees, "Grass! Real, green grass! I've got grass under my hands, look - grass!" she got up again, an amazed, awed expression on her face, "Avo, I can smell everything. What is that smell? So sweet!"
Garth started to laugh. She turned back to him, for a moment surprised, and then shook her head, a smile moving onto her face, "It's nature! I love it, I always loved nature! Honeysuckle!" she said, suddenly, another smile sliding into place, "It's honeysuckle! That's the smell of honeysuckle! And what's that? Like... like..."
"Mm. Dog."
She glanced at him, frowning slightly but still smiling, "It doesn't smell like dog."
He laughed again, "No, look."
He pointed. She turned, glancing in the direction. Then her heart leaped.
"BOY!"
Boy bounded up and jumped her, forcing her to the floor and lapping her face, messily, his paws planted firmly on her chest, keeping her down.
Garth raised an eyebrow, "A friend of yours?"
She laughed, shaking her head, "Boy! Come here you gorgeous thing! Oh Avo, I missed you, Boy! How you been, eh? Whose been looking after you while I've been gone? Hey?"
"Hannah."
Blade looked up, slowly, hearing the familiarity of the voice.
The woman smiled, "And me, unfortunately."
"Unfortunately?" she repeated, slowly.
She smiled again, this time much more genuine, "He's a messy creature. And loud."
"Yeah? Bet he chews on the Guild's carpets, too." Her sentence fell into a laugh and she sprung to her feet, completely delighted, moving over to her, "Theresa! How are you, how have you been?"
Theresa smiled, shaking her head, "Coping. Your furry friend has been coming here every day for a week. He knew that you would return, victorious, even before I did."
Blade turned her attention back to Boy, kneeling back down beside him, pulling him into a rough, fur-covered hug, "Aw, you good boy, you good boy! Who's a clever dog, hey?"
Boy barked his appreciation, worming against her to get out of her grip and then chase his tail for a moment before leaping on her again, attacking her neck with his tongue.
The woman put a hand on her shoulder, "Ten years... Welcome back, my friend. You have done the impossible." She turned slightly, her blind eyes on the floor, "And Garth... I welcome you too."
Garth raised an eyebrow, "Welcome me? You're in my way. So, please, step aside."
Blade forced down a laugh and then shook her head, clearing her throat, a tint of amusement still colouring her voice: "Garth, this... this is Theresa."
"And now I'm back I'm going to be very busy." He replied, his voice just as firm, "I've got a lot of work to do."
"Oh, come on, Garth. Just trust me, okay? Come on. Hear her out." He looked at her for a second, and she shook her head, "It was Theresa's idea to rescue you, Garth. Without her help neither of us would be here."
"You know much about the Old Kingdom." Theresa said, quietly, "Enough to know you cannot destroy the Spire alone. We share a common aim. All I ask is that you listen to what we can offer you."
Garth paused, and then looked back at Blade. He hesitated for a moment, and then the look on her face broke through his resolve and he shook his head, sighing, "Alright, I'll listen. But I promise nothing."
"That's all we ask." Blade replied, soothingly.
Theresa gave a small smile. Then she glanced at her, "I will go with Garth. Hannah is in the inn in Rookridge. Knowing her, she'll be there for the foreseeable future. You should see her before we talk again - she'll be overjoyed to know you're back."
"I'll be overjoyed to see her." She replied, a grin sliding back onto her face, "It's been a long time." She glanced at Garth, putting a hand on his shoulder, "And you - I'll see you at the Guild, yeah? You'll wait to say goodbye?"
He looked at her for a second, and then shook his head, "I'll try my best, Hero."
Theresa smiled, "It is very good to see you again, Jaina."
Blade frowned, "Jaina?"
The woman looked at her for a second, her smile fading, "Ah. The memory loss. Jaina is your name, that is what you were called before Blade."
"My real name?"
"Yes."
"Fantastic. Always wondered."
The smile reached her features again, "You'll regain everything they took before long. Being back here... it will heal you."
She nodded, slowly, "Good."
"Yes. Now. Take my hand, Garth. We have a great deal to discuss."
He raised an eyebrow, still reluctant, "Do I have any choice?" then he shook his head, and took her hand.
They disappeared in a flash of white light, leaving Blade alone. Then she looked down at Boy, smiling. Well. Not completely alone. She put a hand on his head, getting back to her feet, and then looked around her, realising with a small, exasperated smile that she had absolutely no idea where she was.
"Can I help you, Miss?"
Blade shook her head, slowly, "Uh... I don't know. I'm... I'm looking for Rookridge, and I... well, I've been away for a while, and I'm not quite sure..." she trailed off, looking at him, "Are you... are you okay?"
The monk was staring at her. He didn't reply. She frowned slightly, "Uh... hello?" no answer. "Are you... alright? Sir?"
He shook his head, slowly. He was shaking. "Jaina." He managed, finally.
Her eyes widened, "What?"
"Jaina! It's... it's really you... You don't recognise me, do you."
She shook her head, hesitantly, "I..."
"It's Lightjoy, Miss, Timothy Lightjoy!"
"Oh! The young monk! Of course, how could I forget?" she looked him over, "Not so young any more, though. How old are you now?"
"Twenty-seven, Miss."
"Wow. God, that's..." she trailed off. Well. That was... weird. He was always the little kid, a little bit vague, a little bit absentminded, but a sweet, good-natured kid. What did they used to call him? The men at the Temple, the Temple of Light, what did they used to call him? Lightjoy... Clouded... something. What was it...
She thought for a moment, and then shook her head, quickly, "So how are things doing? How's the Temple?"
"Oh... blossoming. It is very..." he looked at her, and then shook his head, "Where have you been? You haven't been here... for... for years!"
"I..." she paused, thinking furiously fast, "I had a little run in with... some slavers. You know, civilian displacement, work camps... all that."
"Slavers?" the boy looked horrified at the very idea, "How terrible! Are you okay, Miss?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. But, uh..." she looked around her, her eyes moving over the familiar landscape behind the completely unfamiliar buildings, "It took some time, apparently..."
"That is truly awful. Where did they get you?"
"Westcliff."
"Westcliff?" he said, frowning, "But Westcliff's..." then he shook his head, "Oh, but that must have been a few years back, right?"
"Yes, quite a few, actually, why?"
"Well, a lot's changed, Miss. You might want to go see for yourself, but... there was this guy called Barnum -"
"Barnum?" she repeated, incredulously, "You don't mean the Barnum? Entrepreneur? Thesaurus Barnum? With that weird little photobox thing?"
Lightjoy gave a small smile, "Is there any other? His exploits are well known, but this time... this time he really hit it off. Westcliff is completely transformed. It's a tourist place now. He said he got some sort of investment from that Hero, Blade, d'you know her?"
Jaina gave a small smile, "Well, I know of her, of course, who doesn't? Is she still around after all this time?"
"Well..." his voice darkened slightly, and he shook his head, sadly, "No. Not really, Miss."
"What? What happened?"
"She went to the Spire." He replied, slowly, "She went ten years back, Miss. No-one's seen or heard from her since."
"Oh." She paused, and then shook her head, slowly, "Maybe she's been delayed. Don't lose hope. She went there to stop Lucien, didn't she."
"That's what the rumour is. Mad as a tree, that girl. Spent all that time talking about Fairfax's evil. And then walks straight up to his door. She doesn't have a lick of sense."
"Maybe she thought she had to." She replied, softly, "Maybe... maybe she thought that he had something more important than her safety. More important that her own life."
He shook his head, "What's more important than a human life?"
She gave a small, sad smile, "Lots of human lives."
He nodded, slowly, "I'll give you that, I suppose." He paused for a moment, and then sighed, "Poor girl. Poor lost girl."
"She'll come back."
"How d'you know?"
She smiled, "I can feel it." She put a hand over her heart, "In here. She'll come back."
"Good old Blade."
"Exactly. Good old Blade."
Lightjoy gave a small, soft smile. Then he shook his head, "But never mind that. Back to you, Miss. You were looking for Rookridge, weren't you? Has this place changed that much?"
"I just got off the boat," she replied, shaking her head, "Literally, I just got home, I'm a bit... disorientated."
"Well, can't help that, can you, Miss. Tell you what, come with me, we'll get you a map."
"Thank you, that's really good of you."
"And while we're at it, you look like you could use a rest."
She shook her head, turning and following him down the road, "No, I'm... I'm fine. I'll take a bed at Rookridge, they've still got that inn, right?"
"The not-so-Lucky Heather? Yeah, they sure do, Miss."
"Not-so-Lucky?"
He chuckled, "You've heard the stuff that's been going on down there? Bandits, highwaymen, Hobbes - that inn's had it all!"
She paused, and then smiled, "Yeah. I guess it has. But it's still going strong?"
"Yep. Guess maybe it is lucky, after all."
"Maybe so."
They reached a small brick house with a wooden door, and Lightjoy knocked, twice.
The door swung open, and an old man with a weather-beaten face looked out, "Abbot! How can I help you today, Father?"
"Abbot?" Blade interrupted, turning to him, incredulously, "You never said!"
He frowned, surprised, "It was quite some time ago, I didn't think."
"You're a little young, aren't you?"
He glanced away, embarrassedly, "Youngest ever. Only twenty-one when I started. It was a trial thing, mainly; no-one thought it would last longer than a few months."
"But you managed to stay on for six years!" she shook her head, smiling, "I'm pleased for you. Really, I am."
He smiled, "Thanks." Then he seemed to realise whose door they were standing at, "Oh, Matthew, this is Jaina, do you remember her?"
The brow wrinkled, "Jaina?" then realisation passed over him, "Oh, Jaina! The young lass who helped out with the Temple! Of course I remember you!" he looked her over, quickly, "Blimey, y'all haven't aged a day."
She shook her head, fidgeting consciously with the hem of her shirt, "Now, that isn't true. I look a wreck."
"No, Miss, never." Then his eyes moved over, slightly uneasily, "But... what's with..." he nodded at her.
She glanced down, and then nodded, slowly. She'd taken off the thick black jacket and slipped the blade under the shirt to make the whole ensemble look a little bit less obvious, but it was what it was. It was the uniform of a guard, a Spire guard. The Abbot hadn't noticed. But, really, she wasn't that surprised. As good a kid as Lightjoy was, she very much doubted that he'd taken more than a step out of Oakfield his entire life.
This Matthew seemed a bit more astute, and he'd obviously recognised her clothing. She just looked at him, struggling for words.
Thankfully, the Abbot inadvertently came to her rescue: "Jaina was taken by slavers up in Westcliff."
"Slavers?" the man's eyes flickered one more time over her uniform and then back up to her eyes, "Terrible times, lass, terrible times."
"Life is what we make of it." She managed, looking at him, "And I intend to do something with mine. I've been away from this place for far too long."
Matthew nodded, slowly, "Sounds good to me, Miss. Any way I can help."
"Jaina's after a map, Matt, have you still got one to Rookridge, to the Heather?"
"I'll have a look-see. I think I've probably got one somewhere."
"Thanks."
"Thank you." Jaina echoed, nodding. He caught her eyes again before retreating back into the house.
She glanced up at Lightjoy, quickly, wondering if he had sensed anything wrong, seen anything in the man's behaviour. But, typically, the boy's face was blank, looking around at his surroundings with a vague, thoughtful look. Head-in-the-clouds, of course, that was what they called him. Head-in-the-clouds Lightjoy.
Matt appeared back at the door, holding out a folded piece of paper, "Here y'are. Should do the trick."
She took it, shooting him a smile, and then opened it up, glancing at it. Her eyes skimmed down to the dock, and, considering where she was now in comparison, she rotated it slightly to angle where she was facing, "So Rookridge is... here?"
"Yup."
"So... just follow this path north for about... twenty miles... then take the left fork."
"An' keep walking, yup, that's right. Take a few hours, maybe, but y'all end up at the Heather."
Blade looked at it for a second, making sure there wasn't anything she couldn't understand. Then she nodded, slowly, and looked up, "Thank you. This is very helpful, thank you very much."
"No problem, Miss."
"Will you be off tonight?" the expression on the Abbot's face was nothing but concerned curiosity. The openness after a lifetime in the Spire was refreshing.
"I'll be off right this second, Father. No use wasting time."
"Ah, of course. But you'll come back some day? Pay the village a visit?"
She smiled, "Of course. I'll be back very soon."
"Good. It's been good seeing you again, Miss. But now I must return to the Temple."
"Of course. Good luck."
He smiled, "You too, Miss. Bye. See you this evening, Matt."
"Yup."
"Goodbye Abbot. Thanks for your help, sir."
"Yup. See y'round."
Blade shot him a small smile and turned, consulting the map quickly before following the path. She hadn't gone far when she heard footsteps on the gravel behind her.
"Jaina! Wait!"
She turned, frowning. Matthew was behind her on the path, having followed her. He drew level with her and passed her a brown cloth bag. She opened it, frowning, curiously. It contained a change of clothes - a skirt and a blouse - along with a belt with a holster, a sword holster, a sheath.
She glanced up at him, and he nodded at her, grimly, "Get yourself rid of that uniform, girl. Right this second."
She paused, looking at him, and then nodded, slowly, "How did you know."
"Lightjoy's a good enough kid, but he's still barely outta nappies. I've seen the world, girl. I know how it works. Get rid of that uniform."
"Yes, sir. Thank you."
"And, Jaina?"
She turned back, "Yes, sir?"
Matthew looked at her for a moment, "I used to be a blacksmith, back a few years. A good one. But that blade on your back... never seen anything like it. Only thing that could be is Old Kingdom relics. Legend stuff."
Jaina locked eyes with him. Her heart was pounding. "And?" she asked, quietly. She found herself almost wanting him to make the connection. A Legendary sword, a spell in the Spire, hunting down a very particular Lord? Come on, say it, say her name.
But he didn't say anything. He just looked at her. Then he shook his head, slowly, "Stay safe, Jaina. These are dark times."
She paused, and then nodded, "You too, sir."
"I'm a farmer. I don't need to. You just keep yourself safe."
She hesitated, and then nodded again, silently.
"Good. Now go."
When Jaina walked through the door to The Lucky Heather, the familiar heavy smell of beer and sweat took her back slightly. She paused, battling vague memories from the Spire, images of cramped rooms, cages and officers. She shook her head, firmly, ridding herself of the memories. Then she turned back to the inn.
It was crowded - surprising considering the many fights she'd got herself into just trying to get to the damned place - and she wound her way round tables and patrons to get to the bar.
The bartender glanced up at her, smiling, "Alright, m'love? What you after?"
She glanced at him, quickly, suppressing the powerful urge inside her to call him 'sir', "Uh... no, sorry, I was just... I was just waiting for my friend."
He frowned, but not unkindly, "Oh, alright then. Who you after?"
"Uh... just... just a friend." She looked around her, "I can't seem... I can't see her."
Jaina paused for a moment, thinking, and then shook her head, "Maybe I missed her. I'm a bit late."
"How long?"
She gave a small, wry smile, "Oh, about... ten years?"
The bartender laughed, and the sound echoed inside her, making some of the tension in her shoulders disappear. She'd forgotten how... easy everything was outside the Spire. There were no collars to detect her lies, no guards to punish her. No rules to prevent interaction. Here everyone was just... free.
She smiled again and then backed away slightly, "I'll try elsewhere. Thank you. Thanks for your help."
"Didn't help much, really, did I?"
She shook her head, "Nope. Not really. But thank you anyway."
He laughed, shaking his head and turning back to the bar he had been cleaning, "Alright, m'love, stay safe."
"Thank you."
She turned, making her way back towards the door. She had her hand on the door when an irresistibly familiar voice stopped her in her tracks: "If I didn't know better!"
