Chapter 36: Haggstrom
The interior of Rana's shelter had a homey feel to it, in spite of its purpose being short term. The furnace was crackling warmly, much like a fireplace, and Sky was sitting atop the crafting table. It was unfortunate that I wasn't in a position to enjoy all these things.
Rana sat at the foot of her bed, and took turns glancing at both of us, anticipating. Alex was mostly just admiring the paintings that were adorning the walls. In the meantime, I thought of how much information I should give.
The bare minimum was what I went for, which included what had happened after the raid, my origins, and my relationship with Alex. Actually having to retell these things was even more demanding than I had imagined, especially when Rana would look at me with confusion or worry.
By the time I was finished, she was staring off into nothingness, with a distraught visage.
"Are you done?" she asked dejectedly.
I merely nodded, and she locked eyes with me.
"Okay, good. Great. Where do I fit in all this, again?" Her arms were crossed.
I took a deep breath, and ran a hand through my hair.
"I…I don't know, Rana. I couldn't have foreseen any of this…but Alex and Sunbeam are my family. I can't abandon them."
Her hands balled into fists, and her brow furrowed deeper.
"So you'll abandon me instead?"
"..."
"What about all the time we spent together? Did that not mean anything to you?"
"Rana, I enjoyed our time together-"
She shook her head.
"Yeah, right. What about the things you told me in the Nether, huh? That you'll always want me near you?"
"..."
"You said you can't imagine a future without me in it. What happened to that?"
"..."
"Are you kidding me…?"
She was getting increasingly irritated by my lack of response, but I just couldn't think of anything to say that would make things better.
"You'll leave me on my own? Just like that!?"
"..."
"..."
"You could come live with us in the mansion if you'd like. I'll ensure the illagers will treat you with respect. You don't have to be alone," Alex offered.
Rana shut her eyes and stood upright.
"You know what, Steve? Thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for me. I mean it. The moments we spent together are some of the most comforting memories I've got, and I'll always hold them near and dear to my heart." She had her hand over her chest as she said that.
"There is one thing I especially want to thank you for, and that's for teaching me a valuable lesson. You see, all my life, I thought that all I needed to be happy was to be accepted by others. A nice group of friends… A stable job… A supporting relationship… That sort of thing. And yet…you helped me learn that what it is I truly need…"
She was speaking in a different manner than what I was used to hearing from her. Calculated. Distant.
"What I truly need…is to be left. Alone!" she shouted.
"I've had enough fake friends and false promises to last me a lifetime! So, no, Alex, I will NOT be coming with you. Did you really think that after everything you've done, after destroying my village, after almost killing the one person I thought loved me, and after almost killing me, did you really think I'd EVER come around to become your bottom bitch!?"
We were both stunned. I had never seen Rana act like this. The rage in her eyes; the venom in her voice; the trembling of her hands… The worst part was that…all that anger was justified.
"Rana, I…"
"No, Steve. Leave. Both of you, leave me alone. I never want to see either of you again! Leave me alone! Leave me alone!"
She was breathing heavily, and her eyes were watery. It was then that I knew there was nothing anyone could do to salvage this situation.
"Thank you, Rana. And I'm sorry. For everything."
"Please…go…" her voice wavered.
"I wish you a happy life."
I let the drawing of a frog she had gifted me with all her heart float down to the floor, and pushed the door open. I stormed outside, not once looking back.
"I'm truly sorry," Alex admitted, before departing. Whether Rana had heard her or not, she didn't show. Once she was left alone, like she had asked for, she fell on her bed, sobbing. Only Sky provided her some comfort.
Although her heart ached, Rana had gone through worse. Even though she hadn't realized it yet, once her grief would cease, she could finally get the happy life she had always been wishing for. Until that, however, there was a long way to go.
Nighttime was in full swing. Monsters of every kind were slowly but surely starting to rear their ugly heads. Had this been any other night, such a scenario would have made me feel concerned, perhaps even worried.
Not this time, though. I was going to dive head-first into the skirmish, consequences be damned.
That served as the ideal way for me to curb my frustrations. To make matters clear, I wasn't mad at Rana; she had absolutely every right to feel the way she did. She had been looking for me for days on end, and the first thing I told her after so long was…that. I hated how I seemingly betrayed such a good friend.
That said, I wasn't quite mad at myself, either; I hadn't asked for any of this, nor had I known how the future was going to unfold.
I was simply vexed with the way things had to turn out. Why couldn't we have simply stayed in the Sky dimension? None of this would have happened that way. What even was the point?
For that reason, the hostile mobs that were present would have to voluntarily suffer through my onslaught. Hordes upon hordes of scum were foolishly marching closer to their inevitable doom.
Undead, spiders, creepers, all of them were none the wiser.
I even faced off against a (somewhat) new type of enemy. A skeleton was riding a spider, as though it were a horse. The rider shot with its bow, while the steed rapidly crawled closer to me.
'Come and get me.'
I was forced to block the incoming arrows, until the ideal time to attack would reveal itself. In a timely manner, I managed to dispatch the skeleton, but got bit by the spider in the process, which served as fuel to my irritation. It's not like the filthy arachnid lasted much longer.
The crowd of hostile mobs had diminished, leaving me to stand alone in the middle of the valley. My mood had marginally improved, though I couldn't expect my bitterness to fade away so fast.
"Are you okay?" I heard Alex ask from behind me. She had finally caught up, it seemed.
"No. Don't worry about it. I'll get over it soon."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No. What's done is done."
"..."
I turned around to see her after not hearing a reply, or any comment for that matter. Because it was so dark, I couldn't discern her facial features. Once I flared up a torch, I noticed her unease.
On one hand, it felt slimy to give her sweet talk so soon, considering I just broke someone's heart, but on the other, I both needed and wanted to move on. Doing the opposite would just be a pointless hindrance.
"I can't stay like this for long, anyway. Not when we have our whole life ahead of us."
She nodded, but didn't look convinced. In truth, I couldn't even force myself to crack a smile, either. The aftermath of that last exchange was still weighing heavily on me.
"We should look for a place to rest," she suggested.
We ended up finding - or rather, building one next to a dark oak, by raising three dirt walls adjacent to the trunk. We didn't have enough materials for a bed, so we would once again have to make-do with the limited comfort the grass provided. Trivial matters such as replacing the ground weren't any of our concern.
I sat down against the dirt wall, and stretched my legs, while Alex sat next to me, criss cross. Neither of us spoke, and the only sounds audible were those of the outside world. I sunk into my thoughts once more. Alex's incoming question also helped in that regard.
"Do you regret this trip?"
I thought about it. I wondered if Rana would have been happier if I hadn't found her…If I hadn't driven her to that point. Would she have given up on her quest, with only fond memories to remind her of the time we spent together? Would that have granted her the peaceful life she yearned for? Or, alternatively, would she have persisted and found me sometime later?
None of those questions mattered, for I was never going to find the answer to them. What I knew for certain, was that if I hadn't set off on this quest, I probably wouldn't have stopped thinking about her. I wouldn't have been able to get that sweet girl who granted me her parts of herself off my mind. As such…
"No. To be honest, I'm relieved I told her the truth. I may have unintentionally led her on, but at least now all three of us can move on."
"I'm glad to hear that. It's important to not have regrets."
She pressed her knees against her chest, and continued.
"Steve…I'm sorry if this isn't the best time, but...I think I'm ready to tell you what was bothering me the other day. Do you want to listen? I'd understand if you're not in the mood to listen to my problems right now."
"...The floor is yours."
She turned her body so she could face me fully, and ran a hand through her ponytail.
"When we first left the mansion, I was just pumped to start our adventure together, so I…I wasn't too concerned with our goal or whatnot. When we made it to Cornelia, I was anticipating this to be over, so we could focus on the things we wanted to do."
She paused for a moment, and I kept watching her attentively. She sighed.
"I guess…when I saw the lengths you'd go to for the sake of this girl…I got a little insecure…The only reason I didn't say anything was that I knew how much this meant to you, and I wanted to support your choice. Now…I'm really glad I kept quiet."
I shifted in place, curious.
"Why is that?"
With a smile, she answered, "Because I learned firsthand, there was no reason for me to feel that way."
"…"
She brushed my cheek.
"Steve. Mark my words. I'll return every drop of love and joy, and…commitment you've given me. I'll make you the happiest man in the world!"
Almost subconsciously, my hands wrapped around her waist. My eyes zoomed in on her soft lips, and…I couldn't help myself. Our short kiss left her looking flushed. I, on the other hand, felt the lack of emotion on my face. My mind was still occupied…
"...Something tells me you won't have to go to great lengths to achieve that, Alex," I remarked, and she beamed brightly. At least, she was happy.
"By the way," she started, "did you mean what you said? Do you really view me and Sunbeam as your family?"
I rubbed the back of my head, slightly nervously.
"Forgive me if I imposed myself, but…yes, that's what you two are to me."
"Sunbeam, too? Are you two really that close?"
"...Honestly, I've seen you treat her like a daughter. Since we're together… I wonder if she could start viewing me as her father. She means a lot to me."
She threw her arms around me and pecked me on the cheek.
"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that! Oh, Sunbeam will be overjoyed! I know you'll be a great father to her."
"I would be honored...when we return to the mansion, that is."
I couldn't stifle a yawn.
"Ah, I guess we should call it a day, then?" She suggested softly.
"Yeah…I'm beat."
"Alright. Good night. Oh, and have a sweet dream, okay? I don't want to wake up to you grunting in pain again…"
"I'll try…Good night."
The next morning, which thankfully wasn't accompanied by any night terrors, made for an optimistic and light hearted start for our trip back. We were both quite eager to turn our dreams into plans, and put those plans into motion.
We both suggested potential locations for where to build our house. The roofed forest, the valley in which we spawned in, and the spruce forest northwest of Cornelia were among the top contenders.
The topics of the house's style, block palette, and number of rooms also came up. We additionally had to consider how many allays we'd take with us, and how many we'd leave back at the mansion.
Our future home aside, Alex brought up a personal goal of hers, which piqued my interest.
"I want to get rid of the evoker's powers at some point."
"Why is that?"
"I just…don't want to be associated with them anymore. Maybe I'll find a way to pass them onto someone else, or hopefully discard them entirely. There's gotta be something in our libraries that could help…"
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. I didn't know much of anything in regards to these strange powers Alex had obtained, besides what she had told me. I gave a suggestion based on the limited information I had.
"Did your old mentor leave something like a journal, or an instruction manual behind?"
"That's kind of what I'm hoping to find…"
"Hmm…Perhaps we should focus on that, first. Everything else will follow."
The rest of the day was filled with talking of a similar caliber. It wouldn't be until the sun was about to set, when we'd stumble upon something unusual.
We had entered Cornelia again. The first time around, it was populated. Sure, its citizens had gone into hiding, but they were still present. That wasn't the case this time around, though.
We checked high and low, but there wasn't anybody to be found. The village had truly been abandoned, without any traces of its former inhabitants. Their fates were undetermined. It was a surreal thing to ponder, and it felt as though an era had ended, with these hollow buildings left to serve as a memento of its existence.
Well…at least one of the houses got the chance to fulfill its purpose once more, probably for the last time. Since it was almost night time, this was undoubtedly going to be the best refuge we were going to get to sleep in.
We made it to my old house the following day, as the sun was on its apex. We decided to take the rest of the day off, this time as well. This was going to be the last time we'd sleep in a bed for the following days, so we savored the luxury as much as we could.
…
The following morning, I rubbed the sleepiness out of my eyes, and was greeted with the sight of Alex sitting, hunched over a crafting table. I couldn't see exactly what she was working on.
"Good morning."
"Ah, good morning, there. Slept well?"
"Yes. How long have you been up for?"
"Uh…a while, to be honest."
I figured as much, by how clear her voice sounded. I stretched, and got up.
"What are you up to?"
She fidgeted awkwardly for a bit, before standing up, and handing me a sheet of paper.
"You…know I'm not really the best with words. Sometimes, I feel like I can't express myself properly. But, I worked really hard on this, so…I hope you'll like it. It's…for you."
I accepted the offer, and was met with a poem. The handwriting was smooth and elegant, probably written with a quill instead of coal. Its title was, 'Stand Tall'. Not knowing what to expect, I started reading along, silently.
Stand Tall
/
It stood there,
next to the river,
proud and tall,
the great oak tree.
/
It thought itself grand and fair,
until a gust of wind
sent it tumbling
to the depths.
/
Uprooted and forsaken, the oak was
at the mercy of the current.
Every shake.
Every twist.
Every turn.
/
Agonizing.
/
In time, it reached the ocean.
It felt the warm sunlight.
The water's tender embrace.
The sky's loving gaze.
/
The gentle stillness
let it find bliss.
I flipped the page, just to see if there was anything written on the other side, but all I saw were earlier drafts that had been scribbled over. Alex was staring off to the side, as if to show disinterest. I could catch traces of anticipation in her subtle hand and foot movements, which is what gave her true feelings away.
That said, she really had no reason to be nervous. It wasn't difficult for me to figure out what the poem's message was, and what it meant to her.
"I don't know why you keep saying that you're not good with words. You're selling yourself short."
"..."
"I think this is a wonderful poem, Alex; it's like I can feel every emotion that went into it. You should be proud of it."
She crossed her arms behind her back, and looked at me bashfully.
"You…really think so?"
I couldn't help but smile at her. Even her cheeks had turned a faint rosy hue. It was especially weird when taking into account that normally, she was quite forward and confident with certain bed-related activities. Was this really more difficult for her compared to that?
"Of course I do! Thank you for the poem, my great little oak tree."
Her eyes widened instantly.
"Don't call me that!"
"Why not?"
"...It's embarrassing," she stated, rubbing her arms in annoyance.
"Ah, I'm sorry… Here, I'll…uh…"
I swiftly glanced at the poem in order to remember the exact phrasing.
"I'll give you a tender embrace to make it up to you."
With no further banter, I did just that. She groaned quietly.
"Alright, I get it… Glad to see you understood the meaning."
She seemed to be resisting, which forced me to take drastic measures, by planting a kiss on her temple. That's when she hugged me back, just as firmly. We stood there, as if in a trance. I was able to feel her breathing, and even her heartbeat. I couldn't describe the sheer euphoria that moment gave me.
As much as I didn't want to let go, I knew we had to move along at some point.
"C'mon. We need to get dressed and get going. Sunbeam's probably waiting."
"...Alright."
Even if that moment didn't last very long, its sweet aftertaste certainly did.
A day and a half of mellow sailing, followed by half a day of on-foot travel later, we entered the roofed forest. The mansion was within sight, and I had strangely forgotten just how massive it was. I had to give props to the architect.
We stepped inside the foyer, and were met with…nothing. Not a single illager came to greet us. To make myself clear, I wasn't expecting a royal treatment, or anything of the sort. A simple 'hello' would have sufficed, but there wasn't anyone around to say it.
Bewildered, we stood for a bit. The building was way too quiet, considering all the residents it usually housed. I could understand why Cornelia was left abandoned, but now the mansion, too?
Our steps echoed throughout the hall.
"Where is everybody?"
"Maybe…they all decided to go on a field trip? Is that something you used to do?"
"No, but at this point…I really can't think of a better scenario…" she admitted. "Let's check out the allays' room. It could provide some answers."
We turned right and down the hall, all the way to the room in question. Peering through the gaps in the bars showed that only three allays were accounted for. They had huddled near a corner, trembling. The one in the middle seemed to have protectively wrapped its arms around the other two.
Upon noticing our presence, they practically dashed toward us. Alex quickly opened the iron door and walked in. They all latched onto her, yet in spite of their attempts at communicating with us, the mysterious disappearances weren't getting any clearer.
I looked down the hall to our left, and…something caught my eye. It was fleeting, but I knew my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. Something, or someone, had hid behind the pillar.
"Hey!"
I sprinted over to the rogue pillager, and despite their initial attempts to flee, they soon gave up and raised their hands in surrender. They appeared afraid.
"What's going on?"
"I…I…"
Alex caught up to us.
"Calm down, and answer. Where is everybody?"
"They…they're hiding! Somewhere in here."
"Why?"
"They're fighting! I wanted nothing to do with it, so I ran. If this is what things are going to be like…I-I'd rather be on my own!"
"Traitor!" came a gruff voice from behind us.
Turning around, we saw Vincent cutting a corner, before coming to a stop when we made eye contact. The pillager hid behind me, pleading us to protect them from the seemingly aggravated vindicator.
"Boss! Good to have you back! Could you please help me get this spineless coward back on track?"
"Leave me alone! I want nothing to do with this!" the pillager shouted. Alex didn't pay them any mind, instead addressing Vincent with irritation in her voice.
"Could you please explain to us what the hell is going on?"
Vincent flung his axe carelessly over his shoulder, and rubbed his chin.
"Hmm, lemme see… Ah, right. After you ditched us with the use of fast-track procedures, we all banded together to get our act straight. All was fine and dandy, 'till our resident potion geek and our socially inept captain threw a hissy fit, and now everyone's at each other's throats."
Vincent's explanation was certainly…something. He continued after a brief pause, during which he cleared his throat.
"Now, I, along with other people with actually functioning brains, started our own faction. Don't get me wrong, boss, or rather, Eva. It was a pleasure serving you, but the main reason I did so was because you'd kick my ass if I didn't. Getting bossed around by those two simpletons is the last thing I want. Let's see…did I forget anything…? No, that's basically the gist of it."
Alex rubbed her temples, and I could practically hear her thoughts bubbling up like lava.
"You know what? If you want to kill each other, you have my blessing. Knock yourselves out for all I care. Tell me this, though; where are the rest of the allays?"
"Damn, ya got me there. I know Matilda's keeping one for 'safety measures' as she put it, but that's all I know. In any case, I don't care about them, to be honest. What I do care about is that smartass over there," he pointed with his axe. "Pick a side, or I'll pick one for you."
We let the two illagers settle their dispute privately - much to the pillager's dismay, and focused on planning a course of action. Our ultimate goal was to retrieve the rest of the allays, but that would probably require us to put an end to this conflict.
As the main staircase came into view, the sounds of combat, though muffled, grabbed my attention. There was no doubt that in order to find the answers we sought, we'd have to pull through once again.