"This Queens is a town of merchant traders. Some items we handle are really rare and expensive. Such expensive items need special care in handling." – Rando
In a phantom cathedral, in the heart of a sunken ship at the bottom of Queens' harbor, Ruby stomped on the shards of the Life Sphere. To think that such a disgusting thing had been fouling her city for the past hundred years – ugh. But the descent into the core of this dungeon had been uneventful, and those two destructive, undead brats were finally dead, so she really ought to calm down and relish the victory.
It was just… ugh.
"So," Toan said, absently kicking the Moon Orb in a little game of catch with Xiao, as he leaned against one of the marble pillars, "What's the best way to travel west from here?"
"I can get you a ship," Ruby replied, kicking the shards one last time, "There have been rumors going around that the dusk fog has lifted, so just hitch a ride on one of those tradeships heading out and you should be set."
"Dusk fog?"
"The dark blanket over the west. It's some incredible disruption in the balance of dark and light, and it's been there for about ten years now. Though, with everything that's been happening recently, I think it really is gone."
"What if it's still there?"
"Then just turn around and I'll get you an airship, instead. There's no way we could avoid your name getting tied to mine if that happened, though, so hope it doesn't come to that."
Especially after this little outing. Ruby had known, from the moment she remembered defeating La Saia, that if she was going to fix this again, she'd have to face some ugly repercussions.
But that was the nature of remembering downward across timelines. It was a given part of life that consequences changed with context. In one time, she'd had the benefit of a city that knew the threat of the Dark Genie and an Atlamillia wielder that they all recognized as a hero. Here, she had neither of those and no one was going to know why Rando had to die.
She probably could have suggested they do this in the middle of the night, but Ruby simply wasn't one to skulk around. She could deal with the fallout from this incident – the top priority right now was to get Toan out of town before it hit.
Speaking of, the boy gave her a concerned look. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Ruby smiled at Toan's naivete. He probably didn't even realize what this was going to look like to the sheriff. "Just thinking about everyone I need to reconnect with. King kept me bottled up for quite a while – oh, do you think I should burn down his house or his car?"
"King? Is that really necessary? Without your lamp, isn't he kind of a non-issue?"
"Try to imagine being stuck in a lamp, Toan."
"… Fair enough. His car, I guess."
"Wrong! The correct answer was 'both'."
Toan gave her a flat look. He hated it when she did that. It was adorable.
And speaking of adorable, Xiao sniffed. Ruby knelt to scratch the feline behind the ears, picking up the Moon Orb with the same motion, "I'll get this to Ungaga. You probably won't be able to leave until morning – do you have somewhere to stay?"
Toan pulled out the travel map.
"Ah, right. Nifty thing, that." Ruby got back to her feet, "Alright, let's get out of this wreck."
Flagg flipped through a thick stack of papers – records of ships currently docked at Queens, their manifests and travel history, but most importantly, their current passenger lists.
"I'm not sure what you're looking for," he muttered, "But surely there's a better way to find it."
The Dark Genie whispered back, there is an uneasiness in the back of your mind. Something that has the ghost of a sensation of touch. It is almost like metal, lying in the grass of an early spring morning.
That was… true. Flagg first noticed it this morning but hadn't given it much thought. Between the voice in his head, the slickness like oil in his veins, and knowing that control of his body could be taken from him at any moment, this didn't seem worth his time to think about.
That feeling means a child of the crystals is near. This one, you've met. He controlled the giant machine that caused your downfall.
Flagg set down the papers, "And he's coming for me again?"
He will, sooner or later. But among your enemies, he may well be the most difficult to eliminate. He has a map that allows him to flit across Blue Terra, moment to moment. To deal with him, it will not help to know where he is – we must know where he will be.
"And he'll be on one of these ships."
It is likely. Do not concern yourself with this, however – merely read these, and I will deal with the matter later. For now, you must focus on another problem – four more of your enemies approach.
Arc flipped a coin between his fingers as a dozen young children watched, enraptured by the simple trick. He dropped it down his sleeve and simultaneously flipped up his other hand to catch it. It was amateurish, really, but the children still gasped when he opened both fists with a small burst of fire.
"And it's gone!" he said, feigning shock. He focused his attention on one little girl. "Why do I keep losing it, do you think?"
She grinned but buried her face in her friend's dress instead of answering.
"It's because you're magic!" one of the other kids announced proudly, like he was the smartest one there for thinking of it.
"Magic?" Arc asked, acting skeptical. "What makes you think that?"
"I heard things," the kid whispered. "Magic persons, they make things disappear, my mum said."
Arc made a show of thinking hard. "You might be right. I should ask a local sorcerer, shouldn't I? Do you know where I might find one?"
"Miss Ruby!" one kid said, gesturing widely, "She knows all about things like that!"
"And where can I find this 'Ruby?'"
The kids fell silent again, looking at each other uncomfortably. "Try asking the King," one of them said, perking up.
He slipped the coin in his sleeve back into his palm, standing. So this place had a king. That could either complicate things or make them much easier. "Thanks, guys."
"Yes, sir!"
It was a really interesting place, Arc thought as he wove through the milling crowd. They tried to find a map without having to pay, thanks to the currency here being different, but so far nothing showed up. Even the magic show hadn't won anything from the children other than a lead for Arc to pursue. Which, while something he wanted to pursue when he found the time, it wouldn't exactly help them in their current goal.
A woman exclaimed in frustration as he pushed past and Arc shot an apology behind him before bumping into another body. He quickly ducked back out of sight as a burly warrior turned a disgruntled gaze to look for the offender. Arc kept moving, slipping through the more crowded sects.
He passed signs asking for workers, labor, patrons, wanted posters depicting a purple-haired woman with a mischievous smirk, and other advertisements for products to be sold and affiliations to be made. It struck him how similar the alphabet was to the one he knew – it took a matter of hours for him to read it and make his way about. The words they used were also slightly different, but not enough to cause major hindrance. Contrasted with cities like Saronia where everything was nigh-illegible, given their penchant for swirling tips and cut-off sides.
Arc almost smacked himself when he realized he hadn't thought to ask Alus about the east. Might have gained some valuable information.
Too late now, he reminded himself. Any news?
We can't transport you from so far away, the Crystals replied, voices overlapping as one. But the connection is still strong.
Where are the others?
Exploring. Keep going in this direction and you'll hit a wall. Look for the archway that takes you out of this section.
"Excuse me," he said, stopping a balding man – looked like a merchant. "I'm looking for somewhere I can find a map? Or perhaps exchange currency?"
"Currency?" the merchant repeated with a strange accent. He quirked an eyebrow at Arc. "Well, I guess it depends on the kind. Where are you from?"
"Saronia."
"Saronia?" The merchant balked. "I thought you looked different! Not from these parts, then? I admit, it's been awhile since I've spoken with foreigners like you. Some ten years, I think. Perhaps you can finally sate my curiosity and tell me what happened there?"
Arc shifted under the man's sudden scrutiny. Would they understand about the Cloud? "We, um, lost contact due to, er, civil war, see…"
"Civil war? For ten years?" The merchant nodded solemnly. "That must be a hard memory to bring up. My condolences, son."
"It's been a little while since it ended." Arc hastily amended. "I barely remember it now."
"Little while? How old are you?"
Arc changed the subject. "So, I can't buy a map, then?"
The man shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I don't have much to spare today. But, you might haggle with that shop over there. Got a wide variety, they do. Might be willing to take foreign coins"
Arc gave his thanks and made his way over. It was high time he went and found the others.
Queens was a noisy, busy place. Ingus was never one for the crowds of Saronia or the larger gatherings in Sasune, but this city was worse by far, despite looking a lot smaller in geographical size. Bodies milled about and voices rang out in the din. On top of that, it smelled like bad food and unwashed bodies.
Luneth and Refia didn't seem fazed, but they were from the country where manure and such often permeated the farmland air. Ingus could barely tolerate it there already, and this was worse. Though, the lack of animal blood in the streets was an improvement.
"That'll be a hundred gilda," the merchant said, preparing a stamp. Ingus looked down at their gil. The coins didn't look remotely similar–the currency here was inlaid with images of the sun, moon, and other key, naturalistic elements while Ingus' country's coins depicted a long-since-lost civilization's castle and iconic symbols. "Problem?"
Ingus held up the proper coinage by his definition. "We don't have the same money."
The merchant paused, examining Saronia's coins. "Hm. Never seen that kind before – where did you say you're from again?"
"The other side of the ocean," Luneth said impatiently. "Probably not anywhere you would recognize."
"The other…?" the merchant blinked.
"I'll handle this," a sweet voice said. Ingus darted his eyes to see a tall, curvaceous woman lean in, hands full of that gilda. "What are they buying?"
The merchant's eyes widened considerably and he jabbed a finger at the map. "J-just this, Miss Ruby. Honestly, I was considering giving it to them free, but if you insist…" The coins clattered on the counter and the woman took the map with an exaggerated smile.
"There you go," she said to him with a toothy grin, as if handing candy to an infant. "I wonder, have we met before?"
Ingus narrowed his eyes. The woman smelled dangerous, with too much perfume, too much exposed skin, and an exotic, purple shade of hair that fell into her eyes.
"No," Refia said shortly, stepping forward. "Thank you for your kindness, but we're actually running a little late. If you'll excuse us…" She pushed Ingus away and the woman smiled again. Turned gracefully on her heel with a quick farewell and disappeared back into the crowd as quickly as quickly as she'd materialized.
"Aye," the merchant whispered. "Listen close. That woman, she's trouble. Been in charge of the town when she's about, bullying people into doing her bidding. I hear she killed a man some time ago for not helping her, and blew up another's home for looking at her funny. And just this morning? She paid a visit to a shopkeeper by the name of Rando down by the docks, and no one's seen him since. I'd stay away if I were you."
"We'll be careful," Ingus said.
"Careful?" Arc asked, appearing out of nowhere.
"Where've you been?" Refia yelled over the noise.
"Looking for a map," he said simply. "Haven't you been listening to the Crystals?"
"Easier said than done when I can't hear anything." She looked pointedly toward some of the louder merchants.
"Hey," Luneth said. "Maybe we should take care of that."
"The merchants?" Refia asked.
"No, the mean woman."
"Mean woman?" Refia hissed. "He just said she killed someone!"
"It would be reckless to follow her," Ingus said. "We're foreigners here – if we invoke animosity in any way, it might cause problems for the future diplomatic relationship between our two lands."
"Diplomacy? You're worried about diplomacy?" Luneth repeated, gawking. The merchant stared at them now, so Ingus pushed Luneth off to the side. Luneth protested as Refia followed, grabbing Arc's attention from a nearby book stand. "Okay," Luneth said, "sure, while you're worried about how smoothly meetings go for you in the future, I'm going to go save people's lives."
"What?" Arc asked, joining the conversation, "What are we doing?"
"Nothing," Luneth said at the same time that Ingus said, "Debating."
"Debating? About what?"
"About her," Ingus said, pointing to the purple-haired woman in the crowd. She currently conversed with some guy wearing strange orange clothes. "She might be dangerous."
Luneth said. "She might hurt someone else!"
"We don't know that," Refia said.
"But we also don't know that she won't…" Arc said slowly.
"Hey!" Luneth shouted. "Hey, lady!"
Ingus pinched the bridge of his nose as Luneth got her attention. The guy she'd been talking to had left already, it looked like. "What are you trying to pull, huh? Use us in some game of yours?"
"Luneth!" Refia hissed. "What are you doing?"
The woman quirked her head. Ingus started, grabbing Luneth even as the other boy's hands sparked with fire. "Looks like magic," Ingus warned. "That can't be just any wristband on her hand there."
Refia looked at Ingus. "How would you know?"
"Sara has something similar."
Luneth promptly pulled his sword. "She wants a fight, then?"
"No, Luneth, that's not-!"
Luneth wrenched out of his grasp, brandishing his sword. The crowd parted around them, making room for a clear path between Luneth and the woman, some exclaiming in surprise and shock. A woman cried in alarm, shooing her children away. Young boys shoved to the front, eyes alight with excitement.
Ingus frowned, looking at the shining sword in Luneth's tensed hands. The woman's hand had left her wrist a while ago, but she twitched that wrist with the band and her feet shifted position.
"What do you want?" Luneth repeated.
"Nothing," she said airily. "I was just curious about something."
"Curious, my foot! Surrender yourself, witch!"
Luneth charged as the other three watched. The crowd cheered. Ingus smacked his forehead.
The woman's hand lit up with energy from her band and Luneth charged. His outfit changed to that of the ninja.
The witch leaped in the air away from him and Luneth stopped short, cursing. She landed again, gently, on the ground some feet away. The crowd opened up wider.
Not a flying target, then, but capable of becoming – however temporarily – airborne. That'll make things complicated…
"Hey," the woman said, putting a hand on her hip, "What's all this for?" She looked relaxed even as she charged a magic spell of some kind in the hand with the wristband.
Ice blasted the ground between them, creating a small barrier, and Luneth looked to see Refia coming up closer, remains of an Arctic Wind glittering and dissipating from her hands. She was dressed in the robes of the Devout and watched the other woman warily.
"We heard you hurt some people," she said carefully as Luneth fingered the hilt of a throwing knife. Despite the distance, the woman heard.
She called back, "Who said that?"
"Does it matter?"
"Who?" the woman repeated. "Did Ingus-?"
Luneth threw the knife and it grazed the woman's arm.
She hissed and hit Refia with a spell, who countered it with another block of ice. The woman grabbed her open wound and blood seeped into her sleeve.
Luneth took the opening and engaged with his sword. The woman dodged while deflecting another shot from Refia. Another magic source joined the fight – Arc was chanting, dressed as a Magus – and Ingus took to Luneth's side, spear swinging, red mage robes flowing.
The woman jumped again and kicked Ingus' spear into Luneth's swords, causing both to stumble.
The woman was distracted by the spellcasters and Luneth leaped in, aiming for her leg. She swung out, defying gravity in the way she spun away from him and continued forward again, grappling Ingus and slithering an arm around his neck.
Ingus dropped his spear, hands flying to pry away the witch's arm.
"Wait," she said, kicking the spear away. "Just listen-!"
An icy wind spell blasted them both, forcing her to release Ingus, who fell and gasped for breath. Arc still stood, breathing hard, hands extended in front of him. Refia charged a plain wind spell.
The woman stumbled back to her feet. The bun she kept her hair in was quickly unraveling and her braids frayed loose.
"Okay," she snarled, "That's it."
She kicked into the air. Refia sent a wind spell at her, but instead of knocking her down, she somehow spun with the magic, using it to boost herself higher into the air. Arc sent a blast right behind Refia's and the woman merely used it to fly even higher, her hands swirling around a searingly bright ball of summoned energy.
In the middle of a backflip, she let the energy loose. Aimed at Refia or Arc – Luneth wasn't sure which one, exactly. But he knew that they were recharging. And they weren't sturdy. And their ability to dodge was… not good.
He intercepted the shot and the world blurred.
Crack-BOOM!
He blinked, trying to make sense of the colors swirling in front of his eyes, and the ringing in his ears, and it took a moment to realize that he was lying on the ground. There was very little pain, surprisingly. The spell had done almost no damage.
Luneth bounded back to his feet to find that he had been thrown several yards away from the battleground. The crowd that had gathered to watch the fight was now scattering, running in all directions away from the combat.
Probably related to the long scorch mark that had appeared on the paved road. It didn't look like anyone was hurt, at least. And the woman was just touching back down on the ground. Luneth ran forward–
And she raised her hands in surrender. Her hair and clothes were singed, and she looked quite peeved.
"Luneth!" Arc said, holding his hat down against the wind, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Luneth answered, skidding to a stop beside him, "What…?"
"I'm sure," the woman said coolly, "This is all a terrible misunderstanding."
As the dust settled, Refia noted that the street completely cleared. Once Arc started throwing lightning bolts, their audience had – quite belatedly – taken its cue to evacuate.
"I've seen your picture on wanted posters," Refia said, before Luneth could open his mouth and promptly stick his foot in it again, "And you've already hinted that you hurt people. What, exactly, do you think we've misunderstood?"
"One more point," Ingus said, "How do you know my name?"
The woman's expression was unreadable while Refia spoke, but her eyes widened at Ingus's question, "You… are Ingus?"
She started to lower her hands and Ingus quickly leveled his spear at her, "The other matter first, if you would."
"Actually," Luneth said, "I'm more interested in–"
Refia grabbed his jaw, "One thing at a time!"
"Mmf!"
The woman took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Well then, allow me to introduce myself – I'm Ruby, a genie, and a protector of this city for the past few hundred years. And sometimes, in protecting this place from mystical threats, I do things that the people of this city do not understand. Without the proper context, I appear to be a bully, a cheat, and even a murderer."
She looked at the sky, eyes half-lidded as if this were the most boring day of her life, "And I'll admit, after dealing with the simple minds of this city for centuries, I do often use intimidation to get what I want. It's effective."
Ingus scoffed, "With that story, you could excuse anything! Do you truly expect us to believe you?"
"I think we should," Luneth said.
"Of course you would."
"Actually," Refia said, slowly, "I'm inclined to agree. She's just… I don't know. Too proud to lie?"
Ingus gave her a horrified look and turned to Arc for, presumably, a voice of reason.
"Ingus is right," Arc said, "She's clearly known throughout the city as a menace. The crowd was cheering for us."
"They're all wrong, then," Luneth said. He sounded annoyed, "She's not lying."
Ingus scowled, "Please, explain your line of reasoning."
"She's not lying."
Ruby smiled as if at some joke that only she'd heard, "My. You're a motley crew, aren't you? Where are you from?"
"Across the ocean," Refia answered. Then, because she really didn't trust this instinct that was pushing her to believe the genie, she said, "But if you're really a protector of this city, like you say you are, then what happened with Rando?"
Ruby froze, mouth tightening. Ingus took notice and sent an I-told-you-so glare in Luneth's direction. Luneth ignored him.
"Rando," Ruby spat, "Gave us a vengeful spirit in the ship wrecked on the harbor's floor. I reunited them and now they're both at peace and quite dead. The people of this town don't know the part Rando played in this, but they do know of the vengeful spirit – though I imagine it'll be a few days before they realize she's gone. If you want to know their view on this, just ask around about La Saia."
"Alright!" Luneth said, "Now that we've established that you're trustworthy–"
"We've done no such thing!" Ingus shouted.
"–Let's get onto the interesting question! How do you know Ingus?"
"Ah," Ruby grimaced, "That's… complicated. Before I answer, may I ask who you three are?"
"Luneth!"
"I'm Refia."
"… Arc."
Ruby nodded, "And Ingus – where, precisely, are you from?"
Ingus just glared at her.
"Sasune," Luneth said.
"Luneth…" Ingus warned.
"But we were all dropped off as babies in our hometowns. We don't know where we were actually born."
"Shatter all the Crystals, Luneth!"
Refia flinched back, "Wow, Ingus. Do you kiss Sara with that mouth?"
"Now is not the time, Refia!" Ingus grabbed Luneth's shoulder, "A word, please!"
Actually, speaking of the Crystals…
Can we trust her? Refia asked.
They didn't answer.
Ruby watched Ingus drag Luneth away, a curious expression on her face, "That's… hm. I… am not sure what to make of this."
"Could you explain?" Arc asked. "Please?"
"Well. I knew an Ingus, four hundred years ago. But not in this timeline, nor in the past few. And I… well. Changes to certain events in the past haven't affected the present the way they should."
She is mischievous, the Crystals finally whispered, but she has helped us in the past.
"Could you be more specific?" Arc asked, "If these things are related, then there could be clues in the details. What changed in the past, and how was it supposed to change the present?"
Ruby ran a hand through her disheveled hair, "Oh, now that is a very long story. The authorities are sure to be here before I can even get started. I believe we should still have a couple of minutes, though, so while we're here – you say you came from across the ocean. What brought you all out so far?"
"We're looking for his family," Ingus snapped, walking back into the conversation and jabbing a finger at Arc, "At some point, they lived in a place called Norune Village. Have you heard of it?"
Beside Ingus, Luneth looked insufferably smug. No doubt they'd heard what the Crystals said.
"More than heard of it," Ruby said, "I recently traveled with someone who lives there, although he's currently undertaking a journey to the west, where you came from. But I've been to Norune many times – and, oh, the map you purchased won't get you anywhere near it. It mostly details the western coast, while Norune is deep inland, and far to the east of here."
"Could you guide us there?" Luneth asked.
But Refia held up a hand before Ruby could answer, "Wait. What about Ingus? Or, the Ingus that you knew? Where was he from?"
Ruby pursed her lips, "Even farther east, and a ways south. He lived in the Raybrandt kingdom, which was built around a large river near the eastern coast. It fell from power about three hundred years ago, if my memory serves. Say, do you hear that?"
Refia cocked her head, "I don't–"
Oh, there it was. Footsteps pounding on the streets. Lots of them.
Luneth glanced at Ruby, "I think that's your cue to leave."
Ruby chuckled, "I don't think so, little fairy. This is bound to happen sooner or later – might as well get it over with quickly."
Wait wh–
A hundred soldiers swarmed onto the street, coming from all directions, "Don't move!"
Most of the soldiers were armed with spears. Some had swords and bucklers, some bows and arrows, and a few carried odd contraptions that looked like long metal shafts. All of them were focused on the genie.
"Oh, hello," Luneth said cheerily, "We're popular, aren't we? Who's here for an autograph?"
"I don't think they're here for us," Arc muttered.
One man – apparently the captain – stepped out from the crowd, "Children. Step away from her, slowly."
Wonderful, Ingus thought, this would be their first impression.
He raised his hands in a placating gesture, but didn't move, "We are the Warriors of Light from the western continent. We come in peace. We understand that this genie has a… an unfortunate reputation, but we believe that she is uniquely capable of aiding us in our quest here. For the sake of future diplomatic relations between our lands, we humbly request that you remand her into our custody."
"Oh," Ruby muttered, "It is you."
"Arc," Luneth whispered, "What language is he speaking?"
The soldiers balked at him. Not a good sign.
"Sorry, what?" The captain asked, "How old are you?!"
"I do not believe my age is relevant."
"Do you have any idea who you're trying to protect, son? This woman is a witch. Just in the past day, she's murdered one man and committed arson against another!"
"Yeah!" A large man in a white suit shouted, "She tried to kill me, I swear!"
"Oh, please," Ruby said, "You know as well as anyone that if I wanted you dead, you'd have reached the harbor floor years ago."
"Back off, King," the captain growled, then turned back to Ingus, "You won't be taking her anywhere. She's been a scourge to this city for longer than anyone can remember. Now, she'll finally face justice."
"But she's innocent!" Luneth said, stepping forward, "She's been protecting you this whole time, you just can't see it!"
The air stilled. Ingus desperately wished he could just take Luneth's voice and lock it up in the tallest floor of the Crystal Tower, never to be heard again. It would solve so many problems.
"I see," the captain said. His voice was like ice, "Stand down, boy. We don't want to hurt you."
"You can manage?" Ingus quietly asked Ruby.
"Please. This is nothing."
"Very well," Ingus dropped his spear and gave his companions – particularly Luneth – a pointed look, "We have no wish to fight."
At a gesture from the captain, one of the armed men pulled Ingus aside, taking out a pair of iron manacles.
"No!" Refia shouted. "Ingus, what are you doing?!"
"It's their land, Refia. We came here, and by so doing, we agreed to follow their laws." The manacles latched onto his wrists and the soldier tightened them until Ingus couldn't move his hands an inch. "This way, we're in a better position to offer justice. You'll want witnesses, I assume?" He directed his attention to the sheriff.
"But we're innocent!" Luneth insisted. "This is wrong!"
"We're not going to do anything that resembles injustice to you," the sheriff said. "I promise, by my word as a Macho."
"Even to me?" Ruby asked. "Because it sounds like you're going to kill me without a fair trial, and that's criminal, sheriff."
"Not without a trial, miss. Just without any inhibitions against the truth."
"So, I'll be fine." She gave him a confident smile. "Won't I?"
"If it's true you're innocent. But I honestly doubt it will come to that. Perhaps you'll give me the name of the 'real killer?'"
"That's enough!" Luneth shouted. Ingus snapped his gaze to see fire crackle in a blast of magic that dispersed as quickly as it materialized. "You're all corrupt! Let Ingus go!" Ingus strained against the restraints, instincts screaming to stop Luneth. How could he keep this up? He was going to get them all killed!
"I said, let him go!" Luneth snapped, pulling out his sword.
Ingus' attempts were in vain as the throng of armed forces pushed him away and a couple guards escorted him away. Chaos clamored behind them as magic sizzled and metal rang against metal. Ingus wondered if he should have waited, maybe even fought alongside the guard of this city for a moment to establish he wasn't against them. If he was a little more neutral, he could maybe bridge the gap between the east and the west, even in such a small-scale matter. Even the slightest gesture...
But it was what it was: he was in chains and being marched away from the scene with surprising speed. It was a good thing they didn't also bind his ankles as was common custom in the west. That would have just been humiliating.
Then again, if he were in Sasune, he never would have gotten into this mess. Or if he wasn't bound to the others, period. Perhaps if he'd spent longer than a few days with Luneth in Sasune, they would shortly arrest Ingus for murder, no matter how justified.
I might need your help, Ingus thought.
Of course. We'll do what we can.
Smooth, Ingus thought snidely to himself, straining against the cuffs on his hands. Sara would be impressed.
The dungeon wasn't as bad as it could have been. Those found in Sasune were far smaller, danker, and dirtier. These things were large and clean, and offered a full view of the sheriff's office, so there was something to look at, at least. Outside, the city glowed with light – an unnaturally yellow light that fogged the air and clung to the sky.
It was better to surrender, Ingus reminded himself, relaxing his arms. Resisting would only sour the relationship they had with this new land, and eventually Saronia would have to step up as the representative of the western continent and forge an alliance. And the highest-esteemed warriors from the west being branded as dangerous criminals certainly wasn't going to make things easier for King Alus.
This way, at least, they would just be plain criminals.
Ingus fell against the wall, shutting his eyes against a forming headache. It was braver to accept his imprisonment, wasn't it? Resisting would have been reckless and gotten people hurt. He proved his strength better here than out there.
No, Ingus was a captain. A Warrior of the Light, protector of the earth, Light of Determination – whatever that last one meant. He had more important things to focus on, things that weren't the result of pointless rivalries.
Sara. Instead, he could think about Sara, for a little bit...
The air turned stale. Ingus wrinkled his nose and twitched his wrists, again fighting that instinct to break free, even as his lungs restricted. Where did the feeling come from?
"Hello," a strange voice greeted him. Ingus snapped his eyes away from the accursed chains to hunt down the source. A shadowed figure entered his vision, walking slowly and deliberately forward. "Looking cozy there, I see. Bit of a change, isn't it? From your comfort in Sasune's castle."
Ingus didn't dignify that with a response. Whoever this man was, he didn't look like he belonged with with the rabble outside. He wore a long coat, emblazoned with a symbol on the shoulder that Ingus didn't recognize. It appeared to be made of tough material, and was tan in color, and plain. A uniform, but not one that matched with that of the army in this city.
"No large walls," the man said, "no legion of subordinates to protect you – not as if you need protection, of course. I know you could break right out of those chains if you wanted."
Ingus narrowed his eyes.
"Ah. You don't recognize me, I see." He stood tall, probably a good two feet taller than Ingus. "It hasn't been that long, you know. But then, I suppose I have gone through a few changes since we last spoke a year ago."
Ingus remained silent, watching the man.
He moved a little too stiffly, but that could just be explained with military experience. He was likely in charge of other soldiers, and Ingus knew the importance of learning to restrain oneself in front of trainees.
"As you've changed, actually," the man said, leaning in. His eyes, originally dark brown, turned red, pupils slitting. "You've grown, Ingus. The worlds of light and darkness are in balance once again, and you're all set for a nice, long, cozy life. Until, of course, the time comes for you to go to sleep and await the day a new set of Warriors of Darkness come seeking your help, to save their world from my flood of light. At which point, you will meet the same end as the Warriors you summoned to aid you."
Ingus froze, finally recognizing that taste of dark in his mouth. That was why the atmosphere changed ever so slightly. "The Cloud of Darkness," he hissed. His heart pounded. He couldn't fight it, not like this, not by himself. Wished he had his spear. Instead, he started heating his manacles slowly, hands warmed with an inner fire.
"There it is," the man said, leaning away again. "Around and around we go. But eventually, no matter what you try, this world will take its rightful place in the Void, Crystals and all. Not much point in worrying for yourselves, is there?"
"It won't return to the void," Ingus said. Perhaps arguing was risky, but he had to stall for time and get his manacles off. Better to make the thing angry then let it enact whatever it was planning.
The Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Amusing. You humans keep insisting that you can make a difference, but how long will it be until you get the picture? We." He raised a weapon like what the soldiers from before had wielded, with the metal plating. The corners of the man's mouth tugged up in a confident, sneering smile. "Can't. Die."
Bang!
The air shattered and something hard slammed Ingus' head against the wall. His ears rang and his head swam and that hurt, but he felt intact. Moving by instinct, Ingus raised his hands to grab his head, but failed, manacles still holding them together. He could feel the light of the Crystals inside him, rushing to fill in where the blow would have taken Ingus' health. If he didn't have their protection, he suspected he would have died with that shot.
Ingus looked up into the man's eyes despite the pain pounding in his head and the noise ringing in his ears. Those eyes changed back to normal. "It left again," the man said. His voice sounded different now. Less… clear. Garbled. "Interesting. I suppose you're not that big a threat, if he's so quick to leave me to finish you off."
Smoke wafted from the end of the tube. "Oi," Ingus managed. Or, thought he managed. He could barely hear his own voice.
"Your world's been frozen for ten years," the man said, noting Ingus' confusion. "You missed a couple of things."
Not frozen, he thought, distracted. Only the lower world was frozen. They saved it before... By the Crystals, that hurt.
The weapon blasted again. Once, twice-