Day 139 / A Fragment

Where was he? Colours pulsed, then dimmed to black as the world around Garret faded. He felt a spinning sensation, then a tug on his arm. A head came to rest on his shoulder, and he looked down to see a beautiful young woman, dressed in scarlet finery, clinging to him.

Ah, right. The theatre. He'd invited her to that, for their-

Another tugging sensation interrupted his thoughts, as a second woman, dressed in blue, mimicked the motion on his other arm.

Both of them. He'd invited both of them for a date at the theatre. Something felt odd about that situation, but he brushed it off and sighed, sinking back into the spongy, cushioned seat. Both of them had been happy to come, and the show was about to begin. No use worrying about pointless things now…

A spotlight pierced the darkness, illuminating a cradle on the stage. The narrator began the play by describing the tragic birth of a boy, born with a hunchback, and the efforts of the priests to heal it. Much to his parent's sadness, their attempts were fruitless. All the priests' magic couldn't correct his growth, and he was doomed to join the myriad of others in the town born with similar disfigurements.

A school. The laughter of children. The light went out, and when it came back on, it showed the hunchback, now a young boy, surrounded by a handful of other, similarly disfigured classmates. They sat in an isolated corner of a classroom, at which the healthy children mocked and jeered. Instead of fighting back, though, their targets just retreated to within their own little group, supporting each other, and bonding over their hardships. As the school scenes progressed, one by one, they disappeared, never to be seen again.

A wizards college. The crackle of spells and shouts of stern instructors. The hero of their story, and his one friend who'd made it through school, studied dutifully. Though still noticeably young, having been taken at an early age, they worked hard, putting hours upon hours into their books and spell practice. Slowly, they proved their exceptional abilities, excelling at whatever topics were given to them.

At a rate far faster than their peers they progressed through the ranks of proficiency, tackling their own research projects by the age of 18, and producing novel work by the age of 20. Seeing a man so naturally talented made Garret feel a slight twinge of jealousy, but that was wiped away when he noticed the shadow of doom hanging over them. Throughout the previous scenes, the protagonist's friend had continuously grown paler and frailer.

Sure enough, the next scene opened by showing their protagonist in an undersupplied hospital, visiting the woman who had now become bed ridden. They spoke a few words and tearfully embraced. Soon, she took her last breaths, leaving the main character alone to monologue about the cruelty of the world and fate. Rather than falling to despair or lashing out at those around him, like Garret had expected, however, as the scene ended, the man stood up, straightened his shoulders (as well as a hunchback could), and strode out of the room, determined to never let this happen again.

The second act progressed rapidly, showing his graduation from the college with a thesis on the utility of magic crystals, then followed him as he began his own independent research. He built his resources and influence by creating magical trinkets and selling them to the city's aristocratic elite. Spells of warding against disease, purification of water, protection from fire… crystals containing these spells, worked into ornate jewelry, quickly became sought after, and within a short amount of time, he had amassed a sizable fortune.

Using this money, he helped fund the hospitals in his city and donated necklaces of disease resistance whenever an outbreak of plague showed up, but despite this work, people were still dying. Waterborne diseases were not uncommon, nor were respiratory conditions from breathing the smoke of the innumerable cooking fires around the city. Day after day, the man returned to his bed, exhausted, with little to show for his efforts.

This turned around when a sinkhole collapsed in a farmer's field, uncovering a previously unknown cave system full of strange and terrifying monsters. The stage erupted into choreographed combat as The Order plunged in, doing battle with the beasts. Being one of the richer wizards in town, the man donated vast sums of money to the campaign, and occasionally joined himself, doing everything he could to protect the city from the abyssal creatures spilling forth. It was these contributions that won him the right to study what they found at the end of the caves – a leyline nexus.

When he realized what he was looking at, the actor playing the wizard made a dramatic show of shooing the soldiers from the stage, then burst into song of triumph and anticipation. The lyrics spoke of hope, about how the mysteries of this place could give him the power to fix everything and stop all the evil in the world.

The final act skipped ahead to years in the future, after he'd successfully harnessed the power of the nexus. The City Mageworks, as they'd come to be called, provided clean water and fire to every household in the city, and rates of respiratory or water-born disease plummeted. With the staggering amount of money this development brought him, he had purchased a fine manor, and even converted part of it into another hospital to treat the masses. Despite all his efforts, though, it was never enough.

Scenes showed him crying as he heard the anguished wails of a mother as she gave birth to a stillborn babe in his hospital. Children continued to die of birth defect complications, of which there seemed to be an ever increasing number, and though he eventually created the barrier that protected the city from monster attacks, soldiers were still drafted and sent away on crusades. Many of them would never return.

A drum beat sounded for every death the man could not prevent, and though he worked himself nearly to madness, nothing he could do could ever save them all. He twirled around the stage, voicing a monologue that became increasingly unhinged and frantic as he searched for something, ANYTHING, to save him and the city. The final scene of the play found him alone in the spotlight, with darkness surrounding him. He had fallen to his hands and knees, sinking into despair, but when he slowly looked up, he spotted one final solution. Before him, sprouting from the ground, was a tiny matango mushroom.

The audience around Garret applauded as the curtain was drawn, but while the two women on his arms joined in the cheering, he simply frowned. It had been a well-acted and interesting play, but its message was dubious.

"Wasn't that such a wonderful show, Garret?"

"The ending had me in tears… he worked so hard, but he finally found a way to help everyone!"

From either side, his dates extolled its virtues, but when asked what he thought of it, Garret shook his head.

"I'm not sure it's as great as you say it was…"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if he uses that mushroom, he'll transform the entire town. No one gets a choice in the matter. I think a lot of people would be upset about that."

His suggestion resulted in a pair of incredulous expressions.

"But Garret, the town was suffering. No one wants to die, I'm sure everyone would have been happy to receive his gift."

"Yeah, he saved so many lives. Would you have rather he let things go on as they were?"

That line of questioning gave Garret pause… For some reason, he was finding it difficult to think.

"Well, he'd save them, but would they really have a life worth living? Being fused with the mushrooms like that?"

The three argued a bit more about exactly what a worthwhile life would entail, but eventually were interrupted by another theatregoer.

"What's going on, here?"

A buxom, raven-haired magician stepped in front of them, dressed in tight-fitting black robes, with a wide-brimmed wizard's hat to match.

"Garret here, didn't like the ending."

"Yeah, he thinks life with a matango is worthless!"

"I didn't say-"

"Does he, now?"

The magician brought a pale hand up to her cheek, an expression of mock disapproval gracing her face.

"Well, darling, why don't we have a nice… deep… conversation about that?"

Stepping forward, she placed on knee on either side of him, then slowly sat down on his lap, straddling him. As she did, Garret felt something warm and moist envelope his cock, which had sprung to attention. Wait, was she fucking him? But he was wearing pants, how did-

"Just the three of us…"

The black-haired seductress slid her hands over her curves as she raised her arms, then slowly leaned forward and wrapped them around Garret's neck and shoulders. The folds that had enveloped Garret's manhood tightened as she pressed her hips even lower, then gently began to slide up and down. The sensations caused Garret's eyes to roll back for a moment as he was overcome by pleasure. She was fucking him, the logistics of how or where their clothes went didn't matter. What did matter was how amazing it felt. From the sides, his dates joined in, planting kisses upon his face, and pulling his arms down to their waists and under their dresses. When he felt moisture, Garret instinctively began to work his fingers, eliciting moans of pleasure from the pair on either side of him.

"See? Doesn't this feel good?

It did… it felt good. Too good. Unnaturally good. Her movements, combined with his previously foggy mind, made logical reasoning ever more difficult. Stubbornly refusing to yield his point, though, Garret grasped at the first thought that came to him.

"But there's… more to life than this. People can't leave a matango, their entire life becomes sex."

"Can't, darling? Or won't? Have you ever thought they just might not want to leave? Why would anyone want something that feels this good to stop? … Do you want me to stop, darling?"

She paused just as Garret was on the brink of orgasm, and his dates suddenly pried his hands away from them.

"N-No!"

"Oh?"

She cracked a sadistic smile and remained still. Desperate for release, Garret tried to buck his hips and force himself into her, but something stopped him. Somehow, he wasn't able to garner the force necessary to move.

"Are you sure?"

Mercifully, she took pity on him and didn't make him beg. A moment later, she resumed her motions, and Garret's vision went white as he exploded deep within her. Unperturbed by him coming, the black-robed woman continued her work, leaving him no time to rest.

"You see, my dear, pleasure is what everyone wants. It's what you're wired for. But why chase the fleeting delights of intellectual satisfaction or the pride of accomplishments when we offer you the purest form of pleasure right here?"

She leaned in close, pressing her purple lips to his. Her tongue forced its way between them, and she locked him into a long, deep kiss. When she finally released him, Garret was left gasping for air, but she seemed none the worse for wear.

"All you have to do… is receive it."

In the back of his mind, a dim feeling that something was wrong began to materialize. How was she fucking him through their clothes? And why was she now referring to herself? As he tried to piece it together, he reached for another fleeting thought to form an argument.

"But the Chief God! She… Guh…"

He was interrupted by a grunt of pleasure as he shot another load into her.

"She forbids living with monsters or helping them!"

"Mmm… She does… But why should we care? Why should you care, darling?"

She brushed aside a strand of hair as her purple eyes gazed into his.

"What has she done for the town? What has she done for us? For all our prayers and devotion, nothing changed, and anything that helped the people, we did ourselves. Why should we trust her to deliver us salvation when we've made our own right here?"

She rocked her hips, eliciting another groan of pleasure as she intensified her movements. Beside him, Garret's dates pressed his hands deeper, and ground harder against him, the pleasure and their combined movements making it exceedingly difficult to form coherent thoughts.

"B-But… The Orde-"

"Shhhh…"

The woman straddling him pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him.

"You're a very stubborn man, darling… Most men would have been convinced long ago…"

With one hand, she pulled at her robe, folding back a side of it, and allowing a bountiful breast to spring free.

"It seems I'll have to be a bit more… persuasive…"

She leaned forward and, with her free hand, brought it towards his face. From the dusky-grey nipple, a droplet of glowing, purple liquid oozed out, dribbling down the globe of flesh as she gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Go ahead…"

Garret, who was having trouble even remembering who he was at this point, absentmindedly opened his mouth and latched onto her. A strange, creamy, yet earthy, flavour filled his mouth as he suckled from her breast, and his partner gave a gentle sigh.

"Ahh… It's alright, darling… You don't have to worry about The Order or their goddess. Once you help us, we'll be safe again for centuries…"

Centuries? As he gulped down more and more of the strange milk, a fog descended over his thoughts, but Garret's increasingly befuddled mind still tried to make sense of what he was hearing. Seeing his confusion, she smiled down at him, planted a kiss on his forehead, and elaborated.

"Yes, dear... we've kept our paradise safe for half a millennium. When your crusade is broken, we'll keep it for millennia more. Those poor soldiers… they don't know how pointless their mission is. If the Chief God couldn't end the war in a thousand years, what hope does their army have?"

She sighed and gazed off into the distance, letting Garret nurse in silence. For a time, he could have sworn she almost looked sad.

"But you don't have to think about that, darling. Just keep drinking. Soon, you won't have to think about anything at all."

… How did he get here?

The magician shook her hips.

What was he doing?

A squirt of breast milk distracted him.

Who were these women?

One at his side squeezed herself closer to him and kissed him on the cheek.

Though that mysterious, delicious liquid and the efforts of his lovers impaired his judgement, somewhere in the back of Garret's mind, the feeling of wrongness continued to grow. Even when the woman in black switched him to her other breast and continued feeding him that mind-numbing cocktail, she couldn't entirely suppress it. Gradually, reoccurring thoughts about the strangeness of his situation began to form.

He was in a crusade? How? He was just a civilian visiting the theatre. Wasn't he wearing clothes? Why did it feel like he was naked? Who was this magician? And why were his dates ok with her fucking him? Wait, were they even his dates? With the tiny bit of willpower he had left, he strained his memory, trying to recall where he had met them. … Nothing. He couldn't remember anything from before the show began. Something was wrong. Everything was out of place. It was almost like he was living in… A dream…

He tried to spit the breast out of his mouth, and struggled to get his hands free, but the magician straddling him wrapped her arms around his head and held him firmly in place.

"… You've noticed it, haven't you? That this world makes no sense?"

He felt hot breath on his ear as she whispered into it.

"You truly are a remarkable man, darling… but it's no use. We're in complete control here…"

She squeezed him tighter into her breasts, the increased pressure resulting in faster and thicker streams of milk filling his mouth.

"You won't be able to wake up with this much milk in you, so relax… forget… just enjoy our undivided attention…"

No! He had to… He had to… What did he have to do? As more of that devilish milk flowed down his throat, his resistance faltered and faded. It was like she said… as strong as he was, there was no hope of him winning this fight.

A flash. Light. Clarity.

Garret blinked and suddenly found himself awake, alert, and… nearly completely encased in mycelium. On his lap, sat the mage-matango from before. She was the one who'd been nursing him. She'd been that black-haired magician. Unlike in his hallucinations, though, she was much less talkative in the real world, and barely seemed conscious. She offered no resistance when he ripped his arms free from the matango at his sides, and pushed her off of him, seemingly still lost in her own dream world. From atop the pile, Aleksy glanced down and greeted him, as he pulled himself out and onto the rocky ground.

"Finished already? That was quick… Welcome back, Garret. Ready to get to work, now?"

Garret didn't hesitate with his answer.

"Yes."

Then he reached for his magic.

"No! You bastard! What did those women ever do to you?!"

Rich words, coming from someone who'd let them dominate him. With a flash of fire and burst of magic, their magician's duel began anew. This time, however, Garret knew what to target. He bombarded Aleksy with magic as before, but focused on spells that were more flare than substance. The flashy lighting and walls of fire did almost nothing to his wards, but they obscured his vision enough to let Garret direct his more powerful spells onto their targets, unmolested.

First, he fired a blast of flame at the matango who had tormented him, detonating it when it hit, with lethal effect. Then he shot a flaming spear into the woman holding Aleksy from behind, severing her head as it cut through her neck. With each death, his opponent screamed or shouted, becoming increasingly unhinged as the fungal network he was attached to (both physically and emotionally) was pruned.

"I put blood, sweat and tears into this town! I even worked with that BITCHfrom Siegfried's Landing! You can't take this away from me, Garret, I won't let you!"

Aleksy's offensive began to falter as he shifted focus to directing wards and protecting his remaining women. As sick as it sounded, though, the more that were killed, the easier this was for him. In the beginning, Garret could outsmart him, sending fire towards one matango, then pulling the string of magic at the last second to redirect it into another, unprotected one. Once their numbers had been reduced to about a third, though, Aleksy, even with his unstable emotions, was able to shield all of them, and they were back in a stalemate. Frantically, Garret looked for things that he could do to break it. If this was anything like before, he knew how things would end if he couldn't.

His sword! The solution suddenly sprung to his mind. Aleksy was still able to maintain his wards, but those only protected against magic! Garret's pants had been partially undone by the matango, but they hadn't touched the scabbard belted around his waist, hidden under his robes. If he could get close enough, he could end this!

Garret stepped up the tempo of his assault, and edged his way closer to the pile. When he reached the base, he jumped onto it, then lunged for a matango, reaching his hand through the wards and-

"Don't you fucking dare, Garret!"

A rune circle materialized, but before it could explode, Garret lept to the side and disrupted it with a blast of fire. Though one could hardly see clearly through the smoke from the burning corpses, Aleksy had somehow spotted what Garret was trying to do, and counter attacked. He might not have known exactly what was in store, but Garret climbing on the fungal mound was not a good sign.

Fire. Force. Magic. Half way up, Garret was suddenly put on the defense again, as Aleksy sacrificed total protection to try and blast him off the pile. Rune circles appeared and exploded, forcing Garret to try and disrupt them with counter-magic, or leap to safety, out of range. Now he had reached the critical point… he was almost there, but his crystal had been drained of energy, and fatigue was creeping into his limbs. He had to find an edge, he had to do something to get Aleksy's focus off of him… out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the glowing, green, focusing crystal, hovering over the leyline.

"What?! No!"

The assault on Garret ceased as he spent his remaining energy on a flaming spear, and sent it flying into the stone. It penetrated down to its core and exploded, cracks rippling across the surface of the gem as it fractured. Aleksy began shouting a complex incantation when he saw this, and the rune circles that had been harassing Garret now appeared around the stone and contracted, trying to hold it together. If he'd been left alone, Aleksy likely would have succeeded, but this distraction was exactly what Garret needed. He took another step up the mound, drawing his sword as he did, and then thrust it forward, just like Eric and Annika had taught him.

"Y-You…"

Shocked, Aleksy looked down at the unexpected weapon piercing his chest. He coughed, blood pooling in his lungs, and the magic around them ceased.

"You've killed… Everyone."

Before he could say anymore, Garret planted his feet, wrenched the sword out, and then swung it with both hands, towards his neck. When the decapitated body slumped and fell over, Garret dropped to his knees and breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. … Or was it?

He only had a scant few seconds to catch his breath before he noticed an increasingly loud, magical humming. Looking to its source, he saw the focusing crystal shaking violently in the air. Its colour had changed from a soothing green to an angry red, and brilliant flames burst from its cracks. That wasn't good.

As the humming reached a crescendo, Garret dove to the other side of the pile and slid down it to take cover. Just as he hit the bottom, an explosion shook the cave. The concussive force rattled his bones and nearly deafened him as a wall of fire rushed outwards, incinerating anything left exposed. When Garret peered out from behind the, now charred, pile of mushrooms, he saw a towering inferno where the crystal had been.

The pillar of flame was endlessly rushing out of the leyline and licking at the rocks on the ceiling. Around him, machines groaned and screeched as pipes ruptured, jets of fire spraying from the holes. With loud cracks, the stone of the walls split, fractured by the vibrations from the unending explosion. He had to get out of here before the whole place came down on top of him. Fueled by a reserve of energy Garret didn't know he had, pushed himself to his feet and tore out of the cave, scrambling up the stairs.

While no longer at risk of being buried by a collapse, when he arrived at street level, Garret found he was still a long way from safety. The pipes of the mageworks began to rupture above ground as well, spraying streams of fire over the surrounding area. Within the houses, explosions shattered windows and blew open doors, as the miniature focusing crystals within overloaded. The sudden rushes of air stoked the flames even hotter, and it didn't take long for entire buildings to be engulfed.

A creak and groan from one of the nearby pipes caused Garret to flinch, the motion of which might have saved his life. As one of its joints burst, a rivet shot through the air, whizzing past Garret's ear and missing his head by the thinnest of margins. It wasn't safe here! He had to go! Running for his life, Garret sprinted through the streets and alleys, dodging explosions and shrapnel as he did. He had to get back to the wall and get out of the city before it was completely lost to the conflagration.

Already a maze by any measure, walls of fire or burning debris made navigating the city even more difficult than usual. Routes were always in danger of being suddenly cut off, and Garret was forced to stick to the widest, main streets that connected the city squares if he wanted to get anywhere reliably. It was in one of these squares that he witnessed the true extent of what he'd done. A broken fountain, once supplying water to the matango surrounding it, was now surging with fire that slowly crept across the orgy.

When they spotted him, single matango cried out for help,... but they were rooted, and he was a fire mage. There was no way for him to stop the flames as they engulfed the screaming women. Strangely, the monsters who had husbands didn't cry or beg. Those matango, almost without exception, just closed their eyes, hugged their partner close, and tried to protect them from the heat. No matter how near the fire got, though, even when it burnt their flesh, the men didn't react, and continued thrusting into their partner. As he turned away from the gruesome sight, Garret tried to take comfort in that. At least, immersed in whatever hallucination or dream they were having, they didn't seem to suffer. Just keep moving, Garret. They're just monsters… just monsters…

When he arrived at the wall, a pair of Garret's soldiers shouted and waved to him from the top, then threw down a rope when he got close. After he'd been hauled up, Garret collapsed against battlements, shielded from the withering heat coming from below.

"Where's the other two?"

"I don't know, sir! We haven't seen them!"

"Shit… Ok. We wait. We should be… somewhat safe up here."

The spearwoman's partner poked his head up to survey the devastation.

"What the hell happened?"

Joining him in looking, Garret lied through his teeth.

"I don't know…"

Off in the distance, Aleksy's manor crumpled as the cave underneath it collapsed. Halfway down, something in the top of its tower exploded, and the barrier shielding the city vanished. They'd accomplished their mission, but… something told Garret their hero wouldn't be happy about how they'd managed it.

"Come on,… where are they?"

Though stone didn't burn, the damp, rotted hoardings to their left and right had dried out enough that small fires began cropping up on the exposed edges. They'd have to leave if those ignited, Garret didn't fancy being trapped between another two bonfires.

"There! Quick, throw them a line!"

The spearwoman was the one who spotted the two as they ran up a street, flanked on both sides by curtains of fire. A sudden explosion nearly knocked the magician over, but her partner hauled her to her feet, and they kept moving. Just as they reached the wall and were pulled up, the buildings closest to them began to explode as the crystals inside overloaded. Singed, bloodied and bruised, Garret and his soldiers rappelled down the outer wall and fled the city.

"Where to now, sir? Back to The Order?"

"No. First we go to the ocean, treat our burns, and get scrubbed down. Then we head back."

It was a miracle that no one had been seriously harmed in their escape, but the excitement hadn't caused him to forget what they'd been exposed to. They couldn't risk bringing any spores back to the camp, and maybe cleaning up would give them a better chance at survival…

"Damn it, Garret!"

A teary-eyed Annika pounded her armoured fist against the barrier.

"Why didn't you run?! You were supposed to stay safe, why didn't you come back!?"

"Annika…"

When they arrived at the camp, Garret told the sentries their situation, and it didn't take long for them to be quarantined. None of them were showing symptoms of a matango infestation yet, but The Order couldn't risk letting them in the camp. Instead, they'd been sent to the rear, several hundred meters away from the main columns, and a handful of wizards had collaborated to create a semi-airtight forcefield that surrounded the five of them.

"I'm sorry, Annika… I was stupid… by the time I knew what was happening, it was too late."

"Why?! Garret, you're better than this! You're more paranoid than this! How could you…"

She trailed off into sobs.

"Its alright, Annika… I'll make it through somehow."

They both knew that was a lie. If he'd already been infested, which he certainly was, there was no way he'd survive.

"… When you're back, I'm never letting you go again."

"Deal."

The other soldiers sat in pairs, quietly talking amongst themselves, or cuddling. They, at least, had their partners with them. The closest Garret could get was placing his hand on the barrier, across from Annika's. It was a trade he was happy to make. It meant she was safe, while the others were in danger of dying.

"Mr. Fax. When you have a moment?"

After they'd fallen silent for a while, they heard their Valkyrie address them, and she materialized just behind Annika. It was fine… there was nothing to talk about, and Annika needed to get back to her duties. She wiped her tears, stood up and, after casting one last glance back at him, walked away, leaving the two alone to speak. When she was gone, Brynhild nodded towards the column of smoke rising from where the city had been.

"Lukas wants to know what happened in there."

"Ah,… alright."

Over the course of the next hour, he spoke about the events that occurred on their mission, occasionally clarifying when Brynhild interrupted with questions. He told her how the wizards from the forward camp had been acting odd, but he hadn't thought it merited cancelling the mission. He detailed their infiltration of the abandoned city, then his logic behind staying once they discovered the first matango. Finally, he went over his encounter with Aleksy (though he omitted the bit about his temporary capture), their duel, and how he had won it at the cost of destroying the city. When he was finished, Brynhild was quiet for a while, deep in thought, as she mulled over what he'd told her.

"If what you say is true, you saved us a lot of trouble. We'd have to burn the city anyways if there was a matango infestation… A shame the harbour and ships couldn't be salvaged though. Plans will have to be adjusted to account for this… and for the rangers and wizards likely exposed…"

She looked off into the distance, doing some mental arithmetic, but quickly brought her gaze back to Garret.

"What about you? How are you doing?"

He shrugged.

"I'm still human…"

"Maybe you've got a bit of time, then."

She lowered her voice so the others couldn't hear and leaned closer to the forcefield.

"I assume you know the survival rates for matango spores?"

"Yes…"

"Then you should plan for that… Is there anything we can do for you?"

Well he'd been dead before, she should know exactly what they could do for him.

"… I don't suppose you could heal my soldiers and I?"

Brynhild shook her head, sadly.

"Divine energy is a gift given once. Heroes and Valkyrie don't regenerate it. That fight with the Lilium took more than expected, and now we have to extend the crusade until we can capture a port. We can't use any more, unless its urgent."

Well it seemed pretty damn urgent for him… but Garret was wise enough to know that five soldiers (even if one of them was a pseudo-hero) weren't worth risking the entire crusade by stretching their resources.

"I see…"

He sighed, dejectedly, and sat down. That was out, but there were other things he could ask. In particular, there had been a question nagged at him ever since he'd escaped the matango… and he doubted he'd get a straight answer from Brynhild.

"Eric Cross and his partner, Aisha… They're two friends of mine. I'd like to speak to them."

The Valkyrie nodded.

"Certainly. Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of…"

"Very well."

Then she crouched to his level, lowering her voice as she dropped her usual, stern demeanor.

"I'll pray for your safety, Garret. May the Goddess bless you, and may her aegis protect you."

He shrugged. It was better than nothing.

"Thanks…"

A flash of light illuminated the clearing as she teleported away, leaving Garret and his soldiers alone.

"Yo, Garret!"

"How are you feeling?"

An hour later, a pair of voices shook him out of his daydreams, and the tramp of metal and leather boots signaled the arrival of Eric and Aisha.

"Hey, guys… I'm ok. Surviving."

"Well that's good. The valk' said you were sick with something, so we got a little worried."

"Would you like me to sing a song for you? If you're in pain, I can dull it a little."

Garret smiled, but shook his head. It was nice to have such considerate friends…

"Thank you, but I'm fine. I just wanted to talk."

The trio sat down together to chat, but while Eric was thrilled to hear that he'd put his swordsmanship to use in the wizard's duel, and Aisha was fascinated by the description of the city's leyline and mageworks, most of their talk was of little importance. Eventually, though, the conversation drifted to the question that Garret was bothered by.

"Do you know anything about history, Aisha?"

The girl nodded, cheerfully.

"Quite a bit! That's a domain of the spellsingers too."

"Ah, good… Naton was founded around two hundred years ago, right?"

"Yup!"

"And you were fighting the mamono back then, too?"

"Mhmm."

"… Just how long has this war been going on for?"

That question caused Aisha to frown, then furrow her brow in concentration as she tried to think.

"… You know, I actually have no idea. … I mean, Naton was founded by refugees from a different kingdom, when that country was overrun by monsters. Historical records weren't the priority there, since they had to carry everything with them and outrun a mamono horde. We don't really know for certain."

"Northreach was founded like that too… about a hundred and fifty years ago."

Aisha brought her hand to her chin as she thought some more.

"If I had to guess, I'd say two hundred and fifty years? Maybe? The scriptures all speak of the mamono as being a relatively recent enemy, so it couldn't have been much longer. Why?"

"Oh nothing. Just curious."

They chatted for a while longer, but eventually the two had to leave. Once he was alone again, Garret flopped onto his back and stared into the sky. Wrestling with himself, he tried to dispel his doubts. His dream with the matango had so many nonsensical elements to it that he didn't dare trust it as a reliable source, not to mention the possibility that she might have just been lying… but if they were being honest,… if there was a fragment of truth in there… if the war really was thousands of years old… what were the chances of this crusade ending it? And if the situation was hopeless, what had he been doing everything for?

Burning children, slain families, an entire town reduced to ashes… visions of horror and the atrocities he'd committed, all in the name of victory, flashed through Garret's mind. He clutched at his head, trying to bury the feelings of remorse and regret. No! She had to be lying! Their crusade was doing well! They were going to win! The Chief God had even sent a Hero and Valkyrie to ensure that! Grasping at the thought, he clung to that strand of hope.

He would be fine. In the end, all his sins would be justified.

… Right?

Author's Note: *Happy Grimdark Noises*

Alright, so I tried to edit this down to be less wordy, while still keeping the important elements. I think it worked out ok? Maybe? This chapter covered about the same amount of ground as the last one, but it's half the size. … Then again, I did have the descriptions/background built up in the previous chapter to lean on, so… AAAAAAAAHHHH. I don't know. I think it's better, but there's still improvements to be made. Moving on.

As I said before, Matango have like… zero personality to work with, story-wise, aside from being very gentle and quiet. I decided to build on this concept by combining it with the hallucinogenic properties certain mushrooms have. Now we've sort of got this idea where, if you're with a matango, you live your life in a drug-fueled, dream world where things are strange, everything is pleasant, and they can display their true personality. I'm well aware that they way they've been written here is not how actual hallucinations work, but shhhhhh~ demonic energy + artistic license~.

The play scene was… a bit of an info dump, but I couldn't figure out how else to get the exposition in. I wanted to showcase the logic and story of someone who aided the mamono for what could very easily be argued as 'good reasons'. Hell, if you go by utilitarian principles, what Aleksy did was 100% correct. ... But Garret also operates under a subset of utilitarian principles (though more about ends justifying means rather than maximizing pleasure)… Hmmm~

I'm a little burnt out right now, so I think I'm gonna cut off the notes here. I'll take a week off to clear my head, then hopefully get right back into writing the next chapter. I hope you liked this entry better than the previous two, and…

Until next time, Sayonara!