Notice: No chapter next week due to my event. Looking forward to not having to write notices.

Cover Art: GWBrex

Chapter 33

The tavern was quiet and rather destitute, that was the first thing Ruby noticed. Even in Ansel, a dinky village in the middle of nowhere, the single drinking house had been packed full of families talking, laughing, eating and drinking. A shipping town like this ought to have been richer, and thus have even more people – sailors if nothing else – and yet only three tables were occupied, and one by themselves. Taiyang took a seat and drew one out for Ruby next to him, while Blake and Adam did the same opposite. A very nervous young woman came to take their orders and left to collect mead. Ruby was dying for a proper drink after three days on a ship drinking what they affectionately called grog, and what she called swill.

Once the drinks were delivered they sipped in silence for a few moments, waiting for the serving girl to leave and people to stop paying attention to their odd little party. Rescue came in the form of their ship's captain and a local merchant, who took a new table and began to haggle none-too-quietly about shipping fees and cargo for a return journey to Vale.

"I'll lay our cards on the table," said Adam, voice low. "We've been tasked to find your friend and recover the Relic of Knowledge."

"Peacefully," chipped in his partner, Blake. "We know who and what he is, and we're not here to start issues with him."

"As Blake says. I expect you're here for similar. Or on Raven's orders?"

"Our purpose is our own, but Raven does want the Relic back," said Taiyang.

"She promised us a question by it in exchange for a hefty fee. If we take the question and deliver to her the promised amount, that would be enough. Do you think?"

Taiyang shrugged. "I can't imagine she'd complain. There's a second question, though."

"We'll pay for that as well if needs be. And we're prepared to pay him for access to it as well. Or offer our own aid, or even succour." He leaned forward, tapping his fingers on the table to indicate Ruby and Taiyang should as well. "I have permission from Sienna to offer you all protection and homes with us, on the ancestral isle of Menagerie."

"Menagerie was lost," said Ruby.

"Our goal is to get it back," replied Blake. "The passages to and from the island are dangerous, but we know there must be a safe way in because the refugees got out when it fell. We need to ask a question of the Relic to figure out the correct path, and then we can sail back and take the island. It might take decades to get it up and running again. A whole generation."

"Time enough for someone to live a long life away from the attentions of the rest of the world," said Adam. "Why, any who went there may as well have vanished off the face of Remnant."

The perfect place for a group of criminals to lay low, or for the Dark Lord to spend his days without once drawing the attention of the church. Their offer was clear, and Ruby thought it might be one Jaune would like; he only cared for finding somewhere to live a peaceful life, and this might well be it. She looked to her father, who kept a calm expression and gave nothing away.

"It'd be a risk for the fledgling kingdom to take on wanted criminals," he said. "The church would frown on that."

"They'd never know. Once we enter the storms surrounding the island, they would assume us lost like so many faunus before us. It wouldn't be until Menagerie is back on its feet and reaches out to the world that they'd realise."

"And you don't mind having someone like him in your new home?"

"It's not ideal," admitted Blake, "But we can at least trust he'll be strong enough to help clear the island with us, and we're not his enemies. There's no reason for him to lash out at us."

"We also don't have much of a choice," said Adam. "Sienna recognises that we need his support in using the Relic, because strong as we are we don't want to make enemies – and certainly not one like him. If he makes demands of us, we'll listen." He shrugged. "We don't have much of a choice. We need the Relic of Knowledge."

They did have a choice, thought Ruby. They could try and take it from Jaune by force or sneakiness, and both would be a lot easier than risking their future on the Dark Lord's whims. I'll have to keep an eye on them. Blake especially, because she looked lithe and quick, and seemed like the subtlety to Adam's strength. The White Fang had sent two people; one who was a strong fighter, and the other who was quiet and sneaky. That felt too deliberate to her, and she was sure her dad had figured that much out as well.

Taiyang leaned back, humming softly to himself. He had helped the sailors out on the ship, making friends and ingratiating himself with the crew as he so often did, and his skin was more sun-kissed than usual. He was also fitter than he had been on Patch, growing plenty of muscle and losing fat in his time at the Branwen tribe. It was hard to recognise him as the man who bounced her on his knee.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to travel together," said Taiyang at last. "Though I should warn you that we have little idea where he might be, so if you were looking for an easy approach then we can't provide that."

"That's fine," said Adam. "Pooling our resources is help enough. I take it the two of you haven't been to Menagerie before…?" He waited for them to disagree, but Ruby and Taiyang nodded their heads. "I thought as much. We travelled here before coming to Vale for the spring tournament, so we're aware of the current situation." He let out a heavy sigh. "It's not a good one, especially not if Jaune thought he'd be safe here. I'd best fill you in."

/-/

There was a commotion in the underground caves of Kuroyuri, and it woke Jaune from his slumber. He couldn't tell if it was day or night, and he just caught sleep whenever he wanted now. Candles and torches lined the walls at all hours, but there wasn't normally so much noise. A dull gong was rung, sounding what he thought might be an alarm at first. Standing and approaching the curtains that made up the wall of his small space, he peered out and saw people moving toward some location. He called out to someone passing by and asked, "What's going on? Is there a problem?"

"It's the summons bell," explained the man, looking back briefly. "Means there's an announcement."

Not danger then. Jaune let the man go and wondered if he should as well, before shrugging and stepping out. It wasn't as if he had instructions not to attend, and he wanted to know what was going on as much as everyone else.

It wasn't hard to find where to go; everyone was moving that way. He followed the crowd, which soon became a horde – men, women, children, they all gathered together in a mass in an open space toward the tunnels, facing back into the cave as An Ren stood atop a raised wooden platform. Jaune moved to the back of the crowd, content to sit on a rock and hear more than see. There were a few other people who had the same idea as him, while others leaned on the cave walls and crossed their arms, waiting. They had to wait a few more minutes as the last stragglers arrived. Only then was the gong rung again, and did the crowd become silent.

"Brave people of Mistral!" An Ren's voice echoed off the cave walls, casting far across Kuroyuri and making her seem all the more imposing. "Long have we suffered under the tyranny of the Schnee family. Their barbarism and cruelty, which knows no end, has taken many lives of good, innocent Mistral sons and daughters."

The crowd didn't roar. They nodded, grumbled or grunted. Those at the back merely huffed and tightened their arms. They all knew this. Nothing An was saying was new by any means, and he imagined it was more of a preclude than anything. Interesting that they don't say Salem, thought Jaune. They blamed the Schnee but not the one who put them in charge.

"Salem is a goddess to these people – and to you," said Ozma. "Railing against her must feel hopeless to them, and so they aim their hate at someone more human. It may be that many here are staunchly religious and still love Salem but believe that the Schnee have abused the trust the goddess placed in them."

Jaune hummed. It felt strange for Ozma to be the one to say that, and for him to be the one to doubt the Goddess. Usually, it was the other way around. He could see the logic though; to rebel against a family of corrupt overlords was much easier than rebelling against a goddess who had ruled all the lands of Remnant for over ten thousand years.

"It's closer to three," said Ozma. "The rest is propaganda."

He would say that, wouldn't he?

"I have not called you here to tell you that which you already know," said An, "and so I shall get to the point of the matter. The Dark Lord has risen again in Vale, striking against the Goddess and then fleeing the kingdom."

Every muscle in his body tensed. He felt magic swirl as if by instinct alone and heard Ozma whisper for him to stay calm. He let out a long breath, eyes locking onto An as if to speak directly into her mind. Don't you dare. Do you really think you can steal the relic, out me and chase me away? I won't go easily. Ozma continued to whisper for him to calm down, but Jaune's body was coiled tight.

The crowd were muttering too, angrily in many cases, and he knew there was no love lost there. They might even attack him if An ratted him out here. Several had raised their hands and were shouting, their words mixing together into meaningless babble. "Goddess take him!" roared one, all but confirming Ozma's suspicions. An waited it out, and soon the crowd were quiet again, though they simmered with rage.

"The Dark Lord has been pursued to Mistral, and the Schnee family have been tasked with his capture for the Goddess," continued An. "Her gaze is on our fair country, and the progress of the Schnee will be judged more than they ever have before."

"We should find him first!" shouted someone. "Hand him over to the Goddess."

"No!" An was quick to reject it, and her eyes scanned over the crowd. Probably looking for him. "No, we cannot do that or the Schnee shall claim it proof we are subservient to their whims. It will be proof that their methods have worked and brought us back to the fold."

The crowd grumbled and growled again, this time in agreement. Jaune relaxed a little as well, content that her point was valid. They couldn't really afford to let him get caught if it meant the Schnee could claim victory to the Goddess, so keeping him safe and out their hands was for the best.

"We will not be joining with the Dark Lord either," said An, not quite lying but also not telling the truth either. "Instead, we will take advantage of this moment where the Schnee are under the gaze of the Goddess, and we shall use it to humiliate them!" People cheered. "We shall show the Goddess how much her choice has failed. We shall prove to her, while her attention is focused fully on us, that the Schnee have destroyed any cooperation that might have existed between us."

"What if the Goddess smites us?" asked an elderly man. "What then?"

"What, then, if we do nothing at all?" countered An. "Better to be smote by her than to live under the boot of the Schnee and subject our children to their cruelty. Our victory has always been uncertain. You all joined the rebellion ready to risk your lives for a better future. I ask for no more than that. We strike at the Schnee, not the Goddess and not the Church of Salem. They will be distracted trying to find the Dark Lord, and the SDC are already roaming the land. I am afraid that the village of Siryu has been destroyed. Its people stacked high and burned to death."

There were wails and cries from the crowd, and some people sobbed openly, perhaps having had family or friends there. Some among the audience left, too upset to stay and listen, escorted by others. No one stopped them and An let her head fall sadly.

"I am afraid there were no survivors," she said. "The SDC killed everyone, including the children. This nightmare will continue unabated, I fear, especially when the days go by and the Schnee fail to locate their quarry. They will accuse every village and town of harbouring him and search every home, and they will put people to the sword if they so much as blink wrong. They will not search – they will cut people down like wheat and hope to expose the Dark Lord as they go. It will be a massacre of untold proportions." An slammed her foot down on the stage. "And we shall not let it happen!"

Cheering. Shouting. Fists raised. Jaune watched it all silently, feeling a pit open up in his stomach. He'd come to Mistral hoping to avoid trouble, and he hadn't once thought the people here might suffer because of it. Is this all my fault? If I'd let myself be captured then the Schnee wouldn't have to go this far.

"Their brutality is as such precisely for this reason," said Ozma. "Do not be cowed by it."

That was easy for him to say. He knew about all this, and he had reason to want to fight. Jaune didn't. He'd thought coming to Mistral would be little more than the same as Vale: hiding, running, escaping. No one had told him about the rebellion, the Schnee and this madness taking hold of the country. If they had then he would have picked somewhere else.

"This is our time!" shouted An. "The world watches, and we shall show the world our will. We start small. We strike at the SDC, destabilising them and saving the villages they intend to destroy. The Schnee will have difficulty finding the Dark Lord with the SDC out of commission, and we shall see how they explain their failure to the Goddess. If that is not enough to sway her mind then we shall strike at the city of Mistral itself."

"Attack the city?" yelled someone. "That's insane. We'll be destroyed."

"Not if the SDC are dealt with and the Schnee send their Chosen out to search the villages in their place. We will attack the city when it is empty, and only when the Schnee grow desperate enough to lower their guards. We will take the city, kill the Schnee and reclaim our independence."

"And then what? The Goddess will still want the Dark lord."

"We shall allow the Chosen and the Church in to look for him," said An. That she was giving him the warning now was at least time enough for him to leave when that time came. "But I dare say the Dark Lord won't be staying long in Mistral. He flees Vale, and he's unlikely to find aid here. I expect he will keep going to Vacuo or Atlas." There was a chorus of rumbled agreement. "That is why we must strike quickly – before the Goddess' eyes turn away from us. We have a limited timeframe in which to make our wishes clear." An threw her hand up. "Let us take it!"

The crowd roared their approval. The war was on.

/-/

An Ren came to visit him later, and away from her fellows. She brushed his curtain back and paused to check his mood, like he was a wild animal that might lash out at any moment. His silence seemed to inspire some measure of confidence and she stepped inside, saying, "I take it you heard my speech."

"I was there. Do you really think it'll be that easy?"

"Do you know it won't be? What can you claim to know of our situation?"

"Not much," admitted Jaune, "But saying you'll kill the Schnee and then things will magically be better seems…"

"Naïve. Idealistic. Hopeful." An chuckled and took a seat opposite him, kneeling on the cushions. "You can call it any number of things, but we must work with the little we have. We can't rebel against Salem and the Church. We tried that before. Our only hope is to rebel against the Schnee and pray, perhaps fruitlessly, that we will be forgiven for it."

"You might be if you were to hand me over at the end of it."

"Is that a test?" she asked. "I'm not going to reveal who you are, nor give you over. Not because I trust or respect you, but because it would be a tragically poor decision. To betray you at the last would be the same as admitting we hid and assisted you before. The Goddess would not forgive that, and it might be used as evidence that the Schnee were undermined. We can't have any doubts remaining on that front. The Schnee must fail. Wholly and completely. You escaping Mistral entirely only proves our point. We will argue that in a united Mistral where a less cruel overlord controlled us, that we would have worked together with them to apprehend you."

He wanted to ask if she really thought that would work, but he didn't know the answer any more than she did. As she said, he couldn't claim to know anything about their situation. It was obvious his life in Ansel had been simple in comparison. This isn't my home either, thought Jaune. Not only do I not have any right to tell them what to do, but I won't be sticking around to see the consequences. Better they make their own choices. Win or lose, they'll not be able to say I ruined them.

"What part would you have me play then?"

"Nothing overt," said An. "We don't want to be seen as harbouring you or that defeats the purpose. You should stay hidden, evade capture and help in small ways." She smiled. "Not so bad, eh? I'm not asking you to use your magic to beat back the SDC."

"But you do want me to fight them."

"That goes without saying. You fought them before. And thank you for protecting my son." An set her hands on her knees and bowed deeply. "Nora told me all about it. I was… surprised to hear how reckless my son acted, though I suppose I should not be. Nora lost a home, but Ren lost a father. The wounds cut deep even now."

"It was the first time I ever killed someone," admitted Jaune. An looked surprised, and then contemplative. "It didn't feel as bad as I imagined."

"The SDC are scum. Not evil, but cowardly, selfish and only interested in their own luxury. I sometimes think that is worse. At least the Grimm are mindless, but they? They would kill children to better their lives. Human nature at its worst. Not many would feel guilt at ridding the world of such. Still, I apologise for my son having pushed you to it."

Nice words and flowery language, but he wasn't blind to the bias in An Ren and her people. The SDC had seemed awful, and those three, at least, he didn't regret having a hand in killing. What they had done to those people in the village was nothing short of monstrous. He couldn't believe someone who even came from that village would do it.

"You would be surprised how inhuman a person can become after a battle," said Ozma. "Good men and women turn to wild beasts in the moment. It is worse after a siege, and the innocent within the walls always pay the price for it."

"Did you just come to tell me that?" asked Jaune. "Or was there something you needed?"

"I wanted to be sure you wouldn't think I'd betrayed you." An was honest if nothing else. "I obviously couldn't say you were here; you saw yourself their reactions. I must appear an enemy of the Dark Lord, so that means I'll need to speak against you any number of times. I just wanted to make it clear that was an act. You will not be given to Salem by me."

"What if someone else finds out?"

"It depends. Some would want to hand you over and some would sooner kill you and pretend we had nothing to do with you. I won't blame you leaving if you ever feel in danger. All I ask is that you not reveal us to our enemies. We are on the same side. It may not look it, but we want the Schnee to fail. If they capture you, they will rise in Salem's eyes, and then we shall never be free."

"I get it."

Honestly, it felt like she was laying it on a little too thickly, but he could see her fear. If he felt spooked and ran, then he might be caught by the SDC, and then the Schnee would hand him over and cement their rule. An Ren was caught between warring ideals and had to contend with the risks of having him here and the risks of not, and then the risk that he might try and take over and fail the rebellion like he had the last. Like Ozma did, thought Jaune. Not me.

"Ren and Nora are going to scout the nearby villages," said An. "Their job is to find out which have been visited by the SDC, if any, and to ask what happened. I fully expect the SDC to be ruthless in their search. There may be those who need help, and even those who will be pushed to join us because of the SDC's actions. I would have you go with them."

"This is a recruitment drive, then?"

"Something of the sort, but it is also a chance for you to see with your own eyes what happens to our country."

Jaune recalled the bodies. "I think I've seen enough."

"No. You have seen the aftermath of a rebel camp being discovered. Whatever cruelty you might have seen, you can at least convince yourself it was deserved in some way. I would have you see the villages that comply with the Schnee. The innocent and loyal, who would no sooner rebel as cut their own throats. See with your own eyes how they fare."

Badly. It had to be, or An Ren wouldn't be asking him to go out there. Jaune grimaced, but nodded, knowing he didn't have much of a choice. Better to be with Ren and Nora, who knew his magic and wouldn't be horrified by it, then here in the dark caves. "Alright. I'll go see it with my own eyes. What if the SDC are there?"

"Drag my son back before he can do anything foolish. Nora has the same instructions. Intervening, even if you feel you ought, will only bring reprisals down on the villages. We do our best not to burden those who wish to live simple lives here. Do not interfere and doom them."

Okay, no update next week as said. Here's hoping the event goes without issues.

Next Chapter: 25th September

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