Chapter 15
"Hey, buddy. Come on, don't be like this."
Marta winced as she felt dirt grind into her wounds when something dark and leathery shifted on her.
"Don't make me - ugh!" a man said in frustration.
Opening her eyes she lifted her head slightly and could vaguely see a pair of boots beyond what looked like the edge of a large wing. She lowered her head to the gritty sand again.
"Man. This is what I get for giving you a break, isn't it? I shoulda known better," the man complained. "What will it take to get you to get up? A rabbit? A cookie? A punch in the nose?"
The creature shading her with its wing snorted in distaste and shuffled closer against her back.
"Come on! You can't be tired still! We've been here for an hour. I'm going to miss my drop off if you don't get your scaly butt up and let me put the saddle back on you! I can't believe you even wandered off like that! You know how long it took me to find you?"
Trying to focus her gaze again, Marta made out more of the scenery beyond the man's boots; dry rocks and scrubby brush baking in bright sunlight. She licked her dry, cracked lips and feebly pushed at the monster's wing. The wing lifted and a head with a beak-like snout appeared, looking at her upside down. Marta would have laughed if she'd had the ability, but instead coughed. The man knelt down, his brown hair shining in the sunlight as he peered under the monster's wing.
"What in Maxwell's name do you have? Where did you get this?" he demanded of his mount. "Now I'm going to have to put it back, aren't I?"
The creature tucked its wing down over her again with a grumpy wuff as the man stood again.
"What? You think you can keep this? That's a human. Not a nestling."
She felt the monster shift its weight.
"Ouch! No - no! Stop! That's silk! Stop!" She heard a further scuffle. "Fine! You can keep it! Oh gross!"
The monster made an unexpected purring noise and lifted its wing again, peeking at Marta.
Kneeling again, the man sighed, his hair slicked up on one side of his head. "Let me have a look, would you?" he told his mount as he squinted at her. "Hi." The older man gave a handsome smile. "My wyvern didn't hurt you did he?"
"No..." Marta whispered. "I think... he was protecting me."
The man's brown eyed gaze shifted to look at the wyvern when it bobbed its head. "Right." Clearing his throat, the man offered his hand. "Well, I'm Alvin. My wyvern won't let me leave without doing something about you, so let's get this over with."
Pushing to her hands and knees, Marta crawled forward, pain in her leg making her gasp and collapse again. "I... I think my leg is broken," she said, whole body trembling.
Alvin gently pushed the wyvern's wing aside and moved closer, hesitating before he touched her trailing left leg. "I couldn't say," he admitted. "I'm no doctor though. I don't know that I could fix it with a gel and that's all I've got at the moment."
She saw a brief look of distaste cross his handsome face before he smiled at her again. "If you give me a gel I can probably heal myself, I just hurt too much to concentrate right now."
"Well, all right." He reached back into the pouch on his belt and pulled something out, offering it to her.
Marta carefully shifted to take the gel and stuck it in her mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly. "Thank you," she choked when the gel refused to go down easily due to her dry mouth. She felt the tingling of healing begin to take effect and began to breathe easier. Whispering her incantation softly, she pressed her palm to the dusty ground and cast a Healing arte on herself before slowly sitting up, leaning her back against the wyvern's side.
The man was smirking slightly, his gaze lingering somewhere below her neck.
Tipping her head, Marta looked down and flushed, using her arms to cover her chest where her dress had been shredded and her body had apparently developed overnight.
"Might I ask what you're even doing out here?" Alvin asked, making no move to offer her anything to cover with, not his coat, not even the ridiculous orange and red scarf tied around his neck.
"I was fighting with a strange man who was out to kill the Summon Spirit Ratatosk," Marta said. "I need to find Emil and Aster. Have you seen them?"
"Can't say that I've seen anyone other than you in the last six hours," Alvin said with a shrug.
Using the wyvern's side as a balance to get to her feet, she leaned against the beast. 'I'm glad I've got my boobs back but this was the most inconvenient moment.' She blushed again and turned her shoulder to keep Alvin from staring at her quite so luridly. "Would you quit that and give me something to cover with? It's not like I'm deliberately dressed like this!"
Alvin stood and scratched the back of his head with a soft laugh. "Honey, I don't know what you were thinking when you put that dress on in the first place, but if you didn't want men to stare, I'd suggest-"
"I'll suggest my foot in your butt!" Marta snarled.
He burst out laughing, lifting both hands. "All right, all right," he turned away and shuffled in a bag that sat on the ground next to a saddle she assumed went on the wyvern. He came back with a white button down shirt and offered it to her. Pulling it on, she found that it was apparently one of his and it engulfed her torso fully, sleeves hanging well past her hands. Pushing them up, she glared at him, cheeks still red. She wanted to punch him for being so rude, but just putting on his shirt had made her dizzy again.
"Well. I need to get moving so..." Alvin said as he picked up the saddle and moved past her to drop it on the wyvern's back. Buckling it in place, he slapped the beast's side to make it exhale and tightened the straps again. He attached his saddle bags and climbed aboard.
Marta turned to look up at him. "So you're leaving me here? In the middle of nowhere?" she asked.
The wyvern swiveled its head around to stare at the man.
Alvin sighed, letting his head fall to the side. "I guess not." He offered his hand down to her.
Irritated even more, Marta reluctantly took his hand and allowed him to pull her into the saddle in front of him. Only after she was seated cradled in his arms did she realize how intimate this might have looked to an outsider. Then the wyvern stood and launched into the sky with a gut wrenching jerk. They fell a moment and the wyvern pumped its wings again.
The gel she had eaten threatened to come back and she clamped a hand over her mouth and gripped Alvin's scarf with the other.
"Oh please - don't hurl on my scarf! You'll ruin it!"
...
Emil tried his best to keep close to Ivar as the man strode through the crowd towards the port he called a seahaven. The white-haired man simply pushed and shoved his way through in a straight line, leaving irritated people in his wake. Emil attempted to slide and side step these people. He didn't want to touch them as some were carrying things that sucked at Ivar's mana in little drifts he apparently didn't even notice. Mildly terrified of these people, he stammered apologies partly under his breath in a constant unconscious stream as Ivar managed to get further and further ahead of him.
"S-ssorry!" He bumped into a man and hurried to back away as he felt a burning sting against his arm where he had brushed something the man was wearing.
Ivar's hand suddenly landed on his shoulder and pulled. "Would you quit playing around?" he demanded and dragged Emil by the scarf through the crowd. Suddenly the press of bodies eased and they were on a dock.
Releasing his scarf, Ivar continued striding forward as if he owned the place. He lifted an open leather book up for the man guarding the gangplank to the ship. "He's my new assistant," Ivar said.
The man inspected the leather book then looked at Ivar and Emil before nodding and stepping out of the way. Emil got the impression that the man didn't like having to acquiesce to Ivar's demands but had little choice in the matter.
"Sorry," Emil mumbled as he hurried past. Even he was starting to get irritated at his fall-back on old habits, but it was all he could do to keep his chin up and not watch his own feet when he was walking.
Ivar stopped once he was on the ship's deck and spun to face Emil, fists going to his hips. "How do you like that?" he asked, grinning. "I'm pretty important, huh?"
"Rude you mean," Emil said shakily and looked down at his arm where he had brushed the man in the crowd but found no outward sign of wounding.
"What? But- I'm King Gaius's official!" He folded his arms on his chest and turned his face away. "Hmph. I'm not really looking for adoration from you anyway. You'll help me when I need it and that's all that matters." Ivar turned and stalked away.
"W...wait..." Emil reached out but Ivar had already rounded a corner. Fingers curling in the air, he swallowed and tried to find his courage. He could still feel the stream of Ivar's mana, so there was that, and they were on a boat, so it wasn't like Ivar was just going to leave him behind. Sighing softly, he moved towards the railing and looked over the side to see a few other people boarding the boat before they began making preparations to depart. Or, he assumed that was what was going on. He didn't know much about ships or boats.
"So, what part of Rieze Maxia are you from?" a man asked.
Emil nearly leapt out of his skin as he spun around to find a man with light brown hair, glasses, and a young face. Backing against the railing, Emil tried to slide away slightly without looking rude. Something pink and luminescent nuzzled his right shoulder and Emil looked down to find a creature that looked something like a glowing cat standing on the railing next to him, fiery tail swaying in a breeze only it felt.
"Sorry to sneak up on you like that. Kita here doesn't normally wander off on her own, I just had to see what she was so interested in. I'm Balan." He held out his hand.
Looking from the creature to the man and back again, he squinted slightly as he discerned the link between the two and looked back at the cat in shock. "This isn't a spirit," he said.
"No, Kita is a Spyrite," Balan said and smiled. "So how would you know what a spirit looks like?"
Kita rubbed on his arm again, just like a real cat, but it felt like clouds brushing his shoulder.
"Uhm. That's a little hard to explain," Emil said. "I'm just really familiar with them." He looked down at the Spyrite again. It almost looked like one of the Centurions. Lifting his hand, he touched the creature's head.
Lord of the Mana Flow, this world is dying, please help us.
Withdrawing his fingers, he stared at the Spyrite as it mewled adorably, bushy fire-tail swaying like a burning question mark.
"In fact," Balan said, "She's never shown an interest in another person before. Let alone allowed them to touch her. So, what part of Rieze Maxia are you from?"
"Uhm... I'm Emil Laker... I'm Ivar's assistant," he said finally and looked at Balan.
"I see." Balan eased back slightly, resting his chin in his palm with a slight smile. "I thought I'd seen him a moment ago. How are you liking that job?"
"Uhm. It could be worse," Emil admitted, deciding to go with the truth.
"So how did you end up unfortunate enough to get assigned to him? Surely King Gaius had other uses for someone like you?"
Emil sighed with a wince. "I kind of owe him my life."
"Oh," Balan groaned. "You have my utmost sympathy then. I hope you can work off that debt quickly."
Embarrassed, Emil nodded. "Thank you." He gently picked Kita up and offered her out. "Uhm. Your... cat."
Balan laughed softly and reached out to take the cloudy feline and let it bound up his arm to his shoulder where it perched. "I suppose I'll let you be then. Was good meeting you." He waved as he turned to walk away. Kita swiveled her head to continue staring at him even as her person opened a door and stepped out of view.
Sighing, Emil moved towards the front of the ship, hoping some fresh air would make his head quit hurting. He rubbed his arm where he had bumped that man earlier and finally rolled his sleeve down to look, finding a purpling bruise. "I didn't even hit him that hard..." Emil shook his head.
The ship pulled away from the dock. Emil leaned against the banister and watched the water splash against the hull. Folding his arms, he rested his head on them and sighed. The food that night and morning had tasted odd and Ivar had said that was because it was manufactured rather than grown. He hadn't slept well due to strange noises and he swore he could hear screaming at the edge of his senses.
'This world is awful,' Emil found himself thinking and closed his eyes. 'No... I shouldn't think like that. I'm sure it was a lovely place at one time. I'd love to help them but I need to help my own world first.'
Straightening, he turned to look around again, finding a pile of boxes nearby. Heading over to them, he looked the crates over and determined they were tied securely. Climbing atop one, he tucked his back in a corner between two and settled in as comfortably as he could. He didn't know how long this trip would take, Ivar hadn't mentioned.
Soft cloudy fur brushed against his fingers. Emil opened his eyes and found Kita crawling into his lap. She stomped in a circle, then curled up, fiery tail drifting down to cover her nose.
He shook his head and left her there, letting his eyes fall closed again.
"Kita keeps wandering off," Emil heard Balan say.
"That's not my problem," Ivar retorted. "You should keep better watch on your abominations."
Balan sighed. "Spyrites are going to solve the problems we're having if you'd just give them a chance."
"Even though you're still using Rieze Maxians to make them. Exploiting us one way or another, that's all you Elympions do!"
Emil cracked an eye open. Ivar and Balan were near where he had been standing at the banister, their backs towards him. He suspected they hadn't noticed him.
"Everyone that is helping is a volunteer and they're being paid," Balan said. "What more do you want?"
Ivar swung his arm in a chop. "For you people to leave us alone! You're the reason both worlds are dying now."
Balan turned to face Ivar and Emil got full view of the hurt on the man's face. "You think I don't know that? I'm doing my best, Ivar. Spyrites are the best option we have available. Unless something can be done to repair the mana flow in general, there's nothing we can do."
"Stop using Spyrix." Ivar folded his arms and refused to look at Balan. "Maybe I should use my new secret weapon to take you out first."
"Secret weapon?" Balan sighed.
Ivar thumped his thumb against his chest proudly. "I captured a Summon Spirit!"
Emil's fingers tightened on his knees. Balan's gaze slipped past Ivar and met his. "His name wouldn't happen to be..."
"Ratatosk," Ivar said with a firm nod. "Something about Lord of Monsters."
Sighing, Emil rested his head against the box beside him in despair. 'He's going to get me killed...'
"Then kill him first," Ratatosk drowsily muttered.
"He's keeping you alive."
"I don't even know what's going on and I don't like him," Ratatosk muttered. "I don't feel any mana on the wind. This place is dead."
"Can you sense Marta? Or Tenebrae?" Emil asked hopefully.
"I can barely feel you right now, Emil."
He sighed again. "Go back to sleep then. I'll do what I must to keep us alive."
"I suppose that's all I can ask for." Ratatosk's consciousness faded again, he was at the end of his strength.
Emil gently drew his fingers along the cloudy substance of the Spyrite cat in his lap and could distinctly feel its pleasure at his attention.
"Seems Kita likes you more than I thought," Balan said. Apparently Ivar had made his exit while Emil was distracted.
Looking down at the pink feline, Emil shrugged. "Cats kind of do what they want?"
Balan laughed. "I'd believe that if she were actually a cat... But she's a reborn spirit." He leaned against the box near Emil. "So... Lord of Monsters, was it?"
Emil sighed and looked away. "He's going to get himself killed."
"Ivar? Unfortunately, others have tried and it didn't stick. He's tenacious as a cockroach." Balan laughed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I'm assuming you're something like Milla Maxwell then?"
"That's the second time I've heard that name," Emil said and shook his head.
"She was the avatar of Maxwell, Lord of Spirits, sent to this world as a lure and as a means of understanding the world and people within it," Balan said.
Tipping his head to the side, Emil considered for a moment before asking, "Was?"
"Lord Maxwell was defeated in order to disperse the Schism that separated Rieze Maxia from Elympios." Balan gestured the way they were going then back the direction they had come. "Milla Maxwell took his place as Lord of Spirits. The two worlds are now one again, but the peoples... not so much. Mostly because how most Elympians choose to live."
"This... Spyrix thing, right?" Emil asked.
Balan nodded. "Indeed. We're trying to phase them out and offer alternatives that don't kill spirits, but Spyrites aren't easy to make and if you don't have the right materials or enough willpower to make the bond it can be dangerous."
Kita stretched her front feet out and yawned, fluffy fire-tail swaying up to brush against Emil's chin.
He sneezed and wiped her tail down out of his face. "Still a cat," he said. "Even if you can put your hand through her."
"Is there any way I can assist you?" Balan asked. "If... that is... you are..."
Emil sighed and started to shake his head. "No... I..." closing his mouth, he stared down at Kita. "I'd like to help this world. But I have to get back to my own... I don't even know how I got here, though." His eyes widened. "Wait... Spyrix, they drain mana and kill spirits, right?" He looked at Balan. "That must be what that man had attached to his sword that made him able to absorb artes!"
The other man looked curious for a moment, then paled. "There's been a lot of political fuss about reworking the Otherword Reactor plan, but no mention of where they would get the mana to run it... So there must be more than one world. Well, it would be easy to assume that since Lord Maxwell created Rieze Maxia, why wouldn't there be more than one world?"
"And I destroyed the Gate of Nifelheim in order to keep that man from taking it," Emil said, "and woke up here. So there must be a connection." His shoulders slumped. "Which means that I probably put both worlds in a lot of danger."
"If there were a way to stabilize the mana flow across all the worlds..." Balan said.
"The mana flow is the least of your worries." Emil shook his head. "That Gate held back demons. Although Asalia's mana flow was disrupted and depleted too... Due to over use of magitech and the destruction of the Giant Kharlan Tree."
Balan shifted his weight and adjusted his shoulder slightly against the box.
"Though I suppose if anyone could help you fix your world it would be Ratatosk. Unfortunately... he's been wounded and is asleep. It's just me keeping us alive right now. Ivar was the first source of mana I found... now I'm stuck with him."
Wincing, Balan nodded. "I can see how that would be irritating."
Emil looked up from petting Kita. "Ratatosk doesn't have much patience," he said. "He's going to get himself killed."