I have done nothing but play Baldur's Gate for five days now.
It is very good.
Here's a chapter!
Start Chapter 39
Jaune's first instinct upon seeing the giant, nearly eight-foot-tall metal woman in the middle of a sea of nothingness is to start asking questions and really never stop, but given that the woman herself doesn't seem finished speaking, he decides instead to quiet himself, and to listen to what she has to say.
"It has been an awfully long time since one of your kind has made it here." The woman states, smiling. "Or, I suppose none have ever made it quite here, but to the Ever After instead. Curious, however, I feel I recognize one of you."
The way she looks at Jaune, then, has him pointing to himself a bit confusedly.
"Uhm… me?"
"…Ah, but perhaps some mysteries are better left unsolved, hm?" The woman hums. "And besides, you are not as rusted as I remember."
With that cryptic dialogue having been said, the metal woman places down the two tools she'd been carrying along with her in her hands. One is a blacksmith's hammer, and the other is a… well, actually, Jaune has little idea what the other implement is. Perhaps it, too, is simply another tool used by smiths, but to say he's familiar with such would be a rather hearty lie.
"Welcome." The woman states. "You stand among the beyond of the Ever After. Not quite within, but not quite without, either."
That… doesn't really mean anything to any of them.
"Though it appears that has only added to your confusion," She laughs softly, the sound tinny and metallic. "Perhaps it would aid you if I told you a story?"
Jaune looks towards the others, trying to gauge exactly where they're all at.
Both mentally and physically, given that Jaune still has absolutely no clue what it is that's happened, where they are, and what they're going to do.
He hopes, therefore, that someone else will have said answers.
His hopes are dashed rather thoroughly as he turns to see Cinder paying rapt attention to the woman, seemingly wanting to gather as much information as she can. Jaune… decides that's likely a pretty good idea.
"A long, long time ago…"
The woman's story is rather… well, complicated. Jaune and Cinder both know a bit about what it is she's saying, surprisingly. Information that they'd received along their travels; information that they'd received from Salem, even, comes into play then and there.
"I created two beings; the God of Light, and the God of Darkness." The woman states, gesturing towards her workbench, where two carved, wooden statuettes of dragons sit. "My goal was for them to take care of the Ever After where I could not. But in time, they began to want for bigger, better things. And so, I gave them the freedom to make their own creations in another world. That world… is what you now refer to as Remnant."
This would be a lot more to take in, Jaune thinks, had he and Cinder not already learned a good deal of this from Salem. to learn that another godlike being created the brothers is a lot, but not exactly impossible to take in.
"I confess, I have not had much time to look after or pay attention to them since I let them leave the Ever After. I have had my own worries; my own subjects to protect."
"The brothers abandoned our world." Cinder speaks, stepping forward. "They have long since stopped 'protecting' us."
The woman does not seem surprised. "Yes. So, it seems."
"What happened to them?" Jaune asks. "Salem… or… do you know who Salem is?"
"I have a tertiary knowledge of the world that my creations have sought to build, but I confess the individuals of said world evade me."
They take a good twenty or so minutes to explain who Salem is, how she fits into all of this, and as much about Ozma and Salem's relationship – and subsequent falling out – as they know.
"I see. So, the brothers cursed this Salem to walk Remnant forevermore, as punishment for her perceived hubris?"
Jaune and Cinder nod.
"I cannot blame them for their choice to try and correct their creations mistakes, but I can blame them for the severity of their punishment. A short-lived creature should never be made immortal. They are not made for such. Neither should time be meddled with in such a way. Nor death. The very thing they accused Salem for attempting to abuse, they themselves are guilty of."
"You don't think they're immune to their own criticisms?" Ren of all people suddenly steps forward, seemingly having had to ask such a question. "I would assume that as gods, they would be above such things as fairness, or at least, they would think themselves to be."
"Perhaps they do believe such things," The woman answers Ren. "But I have seen what such arrogance creates; the fallout of such decisions. It is never wise to think oneself above another, no matter how small, no matter how insignificant. I consider the brothers no greater a creation of mine than the mice who roam the Ever After, or the multi-colored leaves on my branches."
Ren seems satisfied with that answer, and steps back once more.
And then Cinder steps up, and she asks a question that has them all rather shocked.
"Could you free Salem of her curse?"
Jaune's eyes widen, because he hadn't even thought to ask that, but it seems such an obvious question to ask now.
The woman across from them – or, Jaune suppose he might as well call her the blacksmith at this point – just nods.
"I could."
Jaune nearly gapes, as do several others, but before he can get too excited, the blacksmith – or… is she the tree? It's kind of confusing, really – raises a hand with some small consternation.
"I am afraid, however, that such lies at the very edges of my power. My creations are clever and powerful beings themselves. Yes, they are less powerful than I, but that is only a slight difference. To attempt to use brute force to break a curse of theirs – for I do not know how to properly undo such a thing, only they would have such knowledge – would require nearly everything that I am. I would have to divert all the energy that I utilize to keep the Ever After alive to do so. I am sorry. I am not willing to make such a sacrifice."
That does, admittedly, sap the wind from Jaune's sails. There he'd been momentarily thinking they'd found the solution to all their problems.
Of course, their lives could never be so easy.
"That does not mean, however," The blacksmith cuts back in, causing them all to look up at her once again. "That your idea is not sound in theory."
"What do you mean?" Cinder asks.
"If you could somehow figure out what it is that the brothers cursed Salem with; the exact magics they cast upon her in order to make her unending, then I would be more than willing to help you. I could, in such a case, take a few moments to break the seal on her, without risking the Ever After and its peoples."
Jaune can't quite help smiling as he looks over at Cinder, trying to see if she's as excited about such as he is. She, however, looks only pensive, as if thinking on the logistics of such a proposal.
"That, or you could attempt to reason with the brothers, but…" The blacksmith pauses, a rare show of hesitation from a god. "The problem with such is that I am not entirely sure where it is they are."
"You can't sense it?" Cinder asks. "I would have thought you'd be capable of such."
"I have a vague sense that they are not here." The blacksmith states, and though that's confusing in and of itself, she clarifies what she means a moment later. "The brothers give off a certain aura, you see. They were always prideful; unafraid to show their true strengths to any who might question them. They have never been the kind to hide their auras. That I cannot sense them at all means that they are in no realm close to this one. However, that does not mean they are lost. After all, they left something behind in order to summon them back, did they not?"
"The four relics…" Jaune says, reaching down to the inert lamp on his hip and feeling its presence. It gives off an odd sort of warmth in that moment, the most obvious sign it had ever given that it is a magical artifact. "So, we should gather them all?"
"You could." The Blacksmith states. "But the fact that they can be summoned at all means that they have left a link to this world. A magical tether, so to speak, or perhaps a string. One that connects them and their creations. Given you have come to me at all, I assume you possess quite capable magic."
"We… didn't entirely mean to come here." Jaune admits.
"Hm… how intriguing. Give me a moment." The woman pauses as she reaches out a hand towards each of them. There's just this feeling that flows through Jaune, then, as if the woman's magic is washing over him, studying him. It leaves him, and passes on from person to person over the next few seconds. Finally, after perhaps thirty or so seconds, she looks back up.
"Yes, I understand, now. The power you used was not your own, but a bastardized version of another's. In doing so, you missed out on some of the fundamental truths of said ability – its strengths and weaknesses. It is linked to those it knows. Or, perhaps, it is linked to those you know. Unfortunately for you, the only people with whom you truly share a bond were right beside you, and so the magic, sensing your desperation, sought any other link it could find. And the easiest of those links… was to me. Its progenitor. Its ultimate source."
That… huh. Jaune decides that trying to wrap his head around all of this likely isn't worth it.
"So, what should we do now?" Jaune asks. "I mean… you just said that the portal that Cinder used could only warp her to those it has a connection to, or that she has a connection to. What are we supposed to do to get back?"
"Back to your world?" The blacksmith asks, and, as Jaune nods, she shakes her head. "Do not fret over such. I can conjure a portal to your plane of existence with ease."
"Oh." Jaune mutters. "That's uh… that would be very helpful."
"Tell me, where would you like to go when you return? I assume not back from whence you came?"
"You assume right, Mrs. GodTree!" Nora salutes.
Of course, the first thing Nora says the entire time they've been here is that.
"Hm." The blacksmith leans towards Nora, staring down at her. "You are a particularly odd human. And yet I find your antics amusing."
"I think that's just about the greatest compliment I've ever been paid!"
"I am glad. Though to clear up your misconception, I am not exactly the tree, and yet I am also certainly some of the tree."
"Not entirely the tree, but some of the tree?" Nora cocks an eyebrow. "Sounds overwhelmingly complicated."
"I can see how it might seem as such, yes."
"Let's maybe leave the logistics of how much you're the tree for another time." Jaune offers, and the blacksmith nods her head.
"So, uhm…" Jaune steps up, rubbing at the back of his neck, feeling a bit odd addressing a… well, a sort of god-tree. "If it's possible, could you create us a portal to Ruby Rose? She's a friend of mine, and– Well, I should probably give you a description of her or something, so that–"
With a single flick of her wrist, the woman conjures into being a golden portal, with a pale blue center.
"It is done. This portal will take you to the northern section of the continent you refer to as Sanus. Your friends are staying in a temporary abode there on their way to meet up with another of their number. Alongside them are a few curious figures as well. Some… who I believe will surprise you."
Jaune just nods his head, sort of staring blankly at the woman in front of them all, who has just, as casually as if it had been nothing at all, created a portal to what is, to her, a random human in the entirety of Remnant, a world she has never so much as seen.
"You are uh… frighteningly powerful, aren't you?"
The god-tree seems entertained by his insinuation. "I am not exactly powerful in the traditional sense. I am that which gives, in essense, life. I give form. I give purpose. Meaning. I could not exactly wage war upon your world with endless light, or rain meteors from the sky, like the brothers could. …But I could recreate your Remnant if it were destroyed without much effort."
Jaune nods a bit absently. "I… okay. It's uh… It's been an honor.
"Hmm. Likewise. It is strange, but… meeting with some of the creations of my creations is… humbling."
"Oh!" Nora interjects. "You're a grandma now!"
The blacksmith's brow creases somewhat. "I… do not know what that means."
"I am so sorry." Ren bows, sounding like he's a second away from combusting on the spot. "Forgive her, she can grow overly excited about these things."
"I do not take offense, child, do not fret." The blacksmith responds with a mellow chuckle. "But I believe your time here is at an end. I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavors. If I might offer one last bit of advice?"
"Of course," Jaune nods, more than eager for such. "What is it?"
"Magical strings, such as what you are searching for, are often formed when creators such as we go out of our way to exercise our powers. If you are looking for one, and given what I've told you I imagine you will be… then I would begin your search where the Gods granted miracles. If you can find such a location… you may yet find that which you seek."
"Thank you, uhm… I don't really know what say?"
"Do not worry." The blacksmith states simply. "Such is not among my concerns. If you manage to figure out the curse that was cast upon Salem, then return to me the same way you did before. Until then… I bid you farewell, children of my creations."
"Likewise." Jaune says.
Nora salutes. Pyrrha and Ren nod. Emerald and Ilia are in awe, staring all about the endless space surrounding them. Mercury, uncaring, just steps through the portal.
And Cinder's waiting for him.
So Jaune gives her the go-ahead, and they step through it together.
/
To say that stepping out of an endless expanse of nothing into a random forest somewhere in northern Vale is weird is kind of an understatement, honestly. It's extremely weird, to the point where Jaune feels a shiver running down his spine.
In less than an hour, they've traveled more than half of Remnant. From the Grimmlands to the Ever After – an entirely separate world – and now back to somewhere…
"We appear to be in the Northern Forests of Vale," Ren speaks, seemingly checking their locations via GPS on his scroll. "This is all… a bit much to take in."
"Yeah, tell me about it." Nora shakes her head. "Y'know, when she said that Ruby and them were staying in a 'temporary abode' I sort of figured she meant a hotel or something. Not that they were camping out in the middle of the woods!"
Honestly? So had Jaune.
"She also said that there were others here." Cinder speaks, stepping in front of all of them. "I'm not entirely sure what to make of that, but for now, I think we should meet up with your friends. Then, we go over the plan that the blacksmith woman gave us."
They all nod.
They walk for a sizably long period of time after that. Jaune is both surprised and not about that. He's surprised because, admittedly, a part of him had just assumed they'd end up smack dab in the middle of Ruby's hotel room, all falling out of the portal like circus performers out of a clown car. He's also not surprised because… well, creating a portal to a single girl in nary a second without difficulty had seemed like an impossibility an hour ago.
It had really been quite the hour.
Still, as Ilia climbs a nearby tree to get a lay of the land, she points them westward, saying that she can see the smoke of a fire in that direction. They make their way towards what they're hoping is RWBY's campsite.
Nora takes center stage, then, speedwalking in front of all of them in order to be the first one to get to see RWBY again.
So, she pushes past them all, sprints into the nearby enclosure, and yells out, "Surprise!"
After that, a lot of things happen in a very short period of time.
For one, every single member of Team RWBY – minus Weiss, who seemingly hasn't arrived – lets out a scream and draws their weapons. The next thing that happens is that a red and black portal materializes just beside Yang, and Raven Branwen steps out with a murderous glint in her eyes, her hand on her blade. A crow flies into the space as well and transforms itself into a Qrow – a far rarer species – who draws Harbinger from off of his back, priming it for combat.
And then, as if all of that hadn't been enough to take in, a massive, shadowy figure pounces out of the underbrush, and tackles Nora to the ground.
Jaune is ready to take the Grimm out – for he only has a split second to recognize that it is a Grimm, and that it's likely going to try and kill Nora – before Ruby Rose suddenly blitzes towards it, and pulls on its left arm.
"Ah, no! Bad mom! Stop! Don't eat my friends!"
Ren is the only one of them who can manage to move after that, helping Ruby in prying Nora out from underneath the…
From underneath the Big Bad Wolf.
The creature seems somehow tamer than it had been when Jaune had last seen it, but it isn't by much. It is frothing at the mouth – its mouth being the entire length of its torso, as if the creature itself could split down the middle to devour the very world – and looking like it wants to eat them all alive. The only thing that seems to be holding it back is Ruby being wrapped around its right arm.
Somehow, that seems to steady it.
"Ruu… by…"
"Y-Yeah, mom," Ruby says, her eyes tearing up as she reaches up and rubs at them, shaking slightly. "It's me. It's me, so… so please, don't hurt anyone."
And it's really only in that moment, suddenly faced with Raven Branwen, Qrow Branwen, three of RWBY's four members, and the Grimm form of Summer Rose, that the next thought runs through Jaune's head.
"Oh…" He mutters.
"I think I can see why they didn't get a hotel."
End Chapter 39
Well, then!
Just letting everyone know now that school starts up for me this monday. I might find myself busy with that, so if next week we're going on a break for this story that'll be why. Hopefully it's not too much, but eh, we'll see.
Also yeah, I had a lot of people assuming we'd be staying in the Ever After a while last chapter, so I feel kind of bad to reveal that no, it was more of a quick pitstop. We get some hints as to future plot points, and we're back to it!
Anyways, see you next week! (Barring school being annoying)