Content warning: Torture.
Cathy had no idea what she was doing. Again. Richelle brought a bowl of sand and a few maps and led her to an empty room with three stained-glass windows depicting Lord Marchutan. Richelle directed Tatran to stand in front of the middle one, where the Lord was holding an hourglass in his hands. On the window to the left he held an unrolled scroll and on the right a smooth sphere.
"We're divining the present," Richelle said and led Cathy to the center of the room to face Tatran and the window. "Take the sand, focus on the feeling of wrong you had and direct aether flowing through you into the sand. When your mind gets clear, slowly spill the sand on the floor."
So, Cathy did that. She had only a vague idea on how to direct aether into the sand and making her mind clear sounded impossible. But she closed her eyes and tried anyway. At least the aether wasn't disappointed with her. As the sand in her hands filled with aether, she more and more clearly recognised its structure, until she was able to tell apart the individual grains. She parted her palms a bit and let the sand go.
For a moment, the sand stayed in the air and formed a landscape. Mountains, between them a round valley and a thick wall nearby. A person was there, floating in the air, with something like a rod piercing their chest. There were no details and the sand collapsed after a few seconds.
"I... I'm sorry," Cathy said automatically. "I don't know what it meant."
"The wall reminded me of Tiamat's Stronghold," Tatran pondered. "But I don't remember any round holes around it."
"If that was Tiamat's Stronghold," Richelle unrolled one of her maps on the floor, "then the mountains could be the border with Sarpan here and the hole would be Rancora crater. The person is also important, but I haven't seen any defining features."
"I'm sorry," Cathy replied. "I think the person was somehow tied to Tatran. Or the spirit he has. And they're in danger. But it's not just this person, there's more and... something. Something big. It all felt real, but... not entirely. I'm sorry, I don't..."
"Lady Cathy, it is inappropriate to apologise, when you've done nothing wrong," Richelle said. "Considering your lack of experience, this result is acceptable."
"But... we don't know what's wrong."
"We know it's in Tiamaranta. That is enough for a premonition like this. Now we return to Lady Triniel and consult our strategic options."
"I... yes, of course, you're right," Cathy lowered her head, looking at the spilled sand. Did she really do something right? Or was Richelle just being nice?
"Lady Cathy, shall we go?" Tatran stopped at the door and gestured at her.
"Yes, sor... yes."
"Thank you for your effort, Lady Cathy," he said as they walked down the stairs. "Do you, perhaps, remember any details from your premonition, about what was supposed to be me but not me?"
"I'm sorry, Mister Tatran, I... I was afraid, I mean... I think overwhelmed with fear. And I don't understand it myself. It was you, but not entirely. Or something like that."
"Or someone like a blood relative?"
"Maybe? Yes, that's... um... maybe? Do you think your family could be there?"
Tatran stopped and grimaced, as if he was in pain.
"Are you alright?" Cathy asked.
"Yes, it's just... the spirit just flared."
They reached the council room, where others waited. Cathy was surprised that in addition to Lady Triniel, Seritha, Shairun and Engor, Veille and Ylrian were also included. Richelle summarised their finding from the divination, which had no effect on anyone, except a few raised eyebrows. Did they even believe her? Did they trust her abilities? Should she trust herself?
"We should send a small reconnaissance group to the Rancora crater," Tatran suggested after a brief moment of awkward silence. "Lord Kaisinel mentioned he'll be sending his spies, so there must be something worthy of looking at."
"I'm in shock," Ylrian muttered. "I did expect this suggestion, just not from you."
"Ylrian," Lady Triniel said. "Did Kaisinel mention anything to you about what he expects there?"
"Nope. But in general, Tiamaranta is full of Balaur. Probably some Lepharists stayed behind after salvaging what they could from the crater. Sorry, I have no more information than you."
"Are we really considering sending a group to a random place just because a thirteen years old girl said so?" Shairun grunted.
"This girl is your Lady of Fate," Richelle said. "Show some respect."
"I'll show her respect when she earns it."
"Shai, love, you're right we shouldn't rush this," Seritha chimed in. "But we also shouldn't discount that Lord Marchutan used to have these premonitions too. Richelle and Tatran saw the divination, we have to consider the possibility it's real."
"But Lord Marchutan knew what he was doing," the warrior sighed. "Fine, if it's real then what?"
"Tatran's suggestion of a small group seems reasonable," Engor said. "Lonewolf and Gathre know the area, they would be my first choice. Along with Esumi, if they want speed, or Aarten, if they need to stay there longer."
"Gathre is still dealing with the Strigiks," Lady Triniel noted.
"I'll go too, if no one minds," Ylrian flashed a smile. "You don't need me here and Lord Kaisinel would appreciate being involved."
"How do we know you won't just stab us in the back and leave us to the Balaur?" Tatran asked.
"You don't and I won't," Ylrian kept smiling, but even Cathy could see he was struggling. "Does it mean you're going too?"
"If Lady Triniel finds the risk acceptable, yes, I'd like to participate in this mission."
"Do you know who this possible relative of yours is?" Veille inquired.
"I'm not fully certain," Tatran glowered. "But I have an idea, which is none of your business."
"If we really go there," Ylrian said. "We really don't need any unnecessary surprises."
Everyone looked at Lady Triniel, who stayed silent for a few more seconds, probably contemplating their options. Cathy wanted to help, but she had no idea what to say or do to make things better and not worse.
"Seritha, can you create a portal somewhere close to the Rancora crater?"
"In theory yes, my lady," the sorceress replied. "But I'm not familiar with Tiamaranta enough to make sure the portal doesn't end in the middle of a mountain."
"What is the closest reliable place?"
"In Kamar city, my lady."
"What about up?" Cathy blurted out. Everyone looked at her and she immediately regretted speaking. "I mean... sorry, it's... if you create the portal really high, they can just glide down?"
"Yes, but everyone would see them from a far away," Seritha clarified. "And have plenty of opportunities to shoot them down."
"Oh, sorry."
"But we could use this canyon," Ylrian pointed at the map. "In this area it's quite wide, so you drop us somewhere there, it's less chance to end up in the middle of something."
"Last time I was there it was overgrown with trees," Tatran pointed out. "It might provide either a good cover or a nuisance."
"Alright," Lady Triniel said. "We'll send Ylrian, Tatran and Lonewolf. Find him and meet me here in an hour. Seritha, Tatran, you stay here. Others, dismissed."
~ o ~
Nesha watched the Lightshade leader take Aielyn away and her hopes to save the girl with her. She might have a chance against Cerullon himself if she were at her full strength, but with one arm non-functional and the other in an aether cuff and with all the guards around she could only watch. She had to come up with a plan. She glanced around, most of the other prisoners stared at the ground, only a few, the black man with blond hair included, displayed detached curiosity, taking in what was happening.
As the guards herded them into the crater, she pushed through the crowd, sideways to its current, as if she moved in water. She wasn't able to make it to the man before the crater and it took her a while to find him in the mist. He was gathering the stones, like everyone else, but there were two people, an Asmodian man and an Elyos woman, nearby, warning him when she approached.
"You're in charge here," she stated. "What's going on? Where did he take her?"
The man stopped with a black crystal in his hand and slowly turned towards her. With a gesture he stopped the two from interfering.
"You're mistaken," he said. "The Lepharists are in charge."
"Yeah, sure, but the prisoners go to you. And they're not subtle about it."
"Everyone needs comfort from time to time. And dumping their worries on an old man can provide that."
"Fine then. If everyone dumps information your way, where did Cerullon take that girl?"
"Oh, that's his name? He's not been around much, I don't know where he took her. Maybe his bed?"
"That's not his style," Nesha shook her head. "He's probably gonna beat her up really bad, so I need to know where."
"There have been rumors about a torture shack, where people disappear from time to time," he said, watching her warily.
"But you don't stand a chance against the guards," the woman by his side said. "Better forget about her and focus on the rocks."
For a few seconds Nesha kept quiet and returned their gaze, studying them. Their buckets were next to each other and contained way more black crystals than the white ones. And from the brief observation it looked like they shared them and the woman was the only one throwing in the white crystals.
"What are those crystals anyway? Why are they so important for them?" she asked, hoping to get at least some information.
"Those are remnants of Lord Azphel's and Lady Ariel's powers," the elderly man said. "And the mist around is a remnant of whatever has killed them. It's slowly killing us and it will kill you too, if you're not careful."
"And what does being careful mean in this case?" she picked two small crystals, one black and one white. "Something with their colours?"
"Alright, that's enough. You've wasted enough of our time," the Asmodian guard stepped in. "Leave now."
"No, I won't leave until you tell me something I can use to help my friend."
The boss shook his head, sighed and turned away from her.
"There's nothing you can do for her."
~ o ~
When that Cerullon guy dragged her away to another hut, which was empty except for a brazier, a table with tools and a wooden frame he shackled her to, Aielyn expected it to be bad. But not this bad this quickly. As he stripped her by simply cutting her clothes, he made sure the knife also sliced more than that. Slowly. Painfully dragging the blade through the surface of her skin. At first, she didn't scream. Not yet. The cuts were shallow, almost scratches. Yes, scratches, she got scratched many times before. There was another cut. Her skin burned. Her eyes couldn't focus through tears. She felt blood from her wounds trickling on her skin. She imagined it to be water. Another deliberate and precise cut. Her jaw hurt from gritting her teeth.
The carving stopped. Would he question her now? Or was this just a punishment? There were no words. Then a slash of a whip landed on her back and she yelped in pain. Then nothing happened. Was he deciding where or how to whip her next? No. A punch landed on her face from the side, while he calmly told her to shut up. And she tried. Really tried. But the whip hurt. And she sobbed. He stuffed a shred of her shirt into her mouth. Slash. Slash. Slash. She wanted to scream, but instead was choking on the rag. After an eternity the whipping stopped.
Before she could feel relief, he started a fire in the brazier and put a poker into it. No! No! No! She thrashed around, feebly. She couldn't find her strength. And the aether-cuffs held firm, digging into her wrists and ankles. He stared into the fire. Then he took the poker, turned around and locked his gaze with hers. The orange of hot metal eerily reflected in his turquoise eyes. When it touched her belly, the searing pain shot through her and the world around turned black.
She woke up into pain, still shackled. Water was touching her skin, both soothingly cooling and agonizingly painful at the same time. It touched her face, comforting her chapped lips. The dirty shirt was no longer between her teeth. She twitched and opened her eyes.
"Easy there," a calming voice said. It was familiar.
"Is she awake?" Cerullon asked from somewhere aside. Her body shuddered.
"Almost, sir."
The person, a young man, in front of her had short black hair. She focused, until she recognised freckles and hazel eyes. The Lepharist from before. A commoner, but still working for them. Of course, who else would be here?
"Cut her hair while you're at it," Cerullon said. "It will only get in the way."
"Right away, sir," the young man nodded and reached behind her with a knife.
No! She shuddered, trying to move away from him. The shackles didn't allow it. Somehow the net still held most of her hair in a bun, only a few strands escaped.
"Easy," he said quietly. "I'll just take the hair."
She felt the weight of her hair disappearing and her heart sank. She cursed herself in her mind, it was a stupid idea to smuggle...
"I'll keep this safe for you," the young man leaned closer and whispered. She slightly turned her head to face him, terrified. He stuffed the bundle of her hair, including the bead from Chroma, into his pocket. "I won't tell him."
Why?
"What the fuck are you doing?" suddenly Cerullon was there and dragged the man away, holding his collar. "I said cut her hair, not cuddle with her."
"But she's so pretty, sir."
"And? What does that have to do with not following my orders."
"I... I'm really sorry, sir. I didn't want to disrespect you. I'll... I'll be more diligent, I promise. Her beauty is not relevant."
"Hmph, get out. And if you want to be useful, make sure I'm not disturbed."
"Yes, sir. Of course, sir."
The young man scurried away and soon she heard the door open and shut quickly. She was alone with the executioner again. Was this it? Was this how her execution would look like?
"Let's see how long they'll find you pretty," he muttered, again, all anger was gone from his stone-cold face. He looked like a statue, even the hair framing his face resembled blue-tinted steel.
He took the poker from the fire again.
"N-no..." she begged.
He slapped her and stuffed a dirty rag into her mouth again.
"I said shut up."
He held her chin firmly, as he slowly brought the poker nearer and nearer to her face.
~ o ~
The trio ignored her further questions and returned to gathering the stones, confirming Nesha's earlier observations. The men occasionally threw in the white crystals, but they mostly avoided them. The woman did the same with the black ones. Nesha tried to sense or feel or see why they would do that, but she could find no difference between the types of crystals. But if the crystals really were remnants of the two most powerful Empyrean lords, there could be something. Lord Marchutan's barrier stopped the Balaur, so what if...
"They have different effects on Asmodians and Elyos, right?" she broke the silence and raised her left hand with two crystals. "Lady Ariel hurts the Asmodians and Lord Azphel hurts the Elyos?"
"You're on the right path, but no," the elderly man shook his head. "It's the mist that hurts us, poisons our souls, even keeps us from obelisks. They protect us."
"Right, that makes sense. Can they heal too?"
"Maybe. They experimented with them at the beginning," the man said. "You could draw aether out of them, but not with these on," he glanced at his aether-cuff.
"Well then, how about taking them off?" a familiar voice said from the mist and a young black-haired man with a lepharist armband appeared. "Oh, hello, Peregrine, Ostia, didn't expect you here."
Oh, so that's, Peregrine, Lord Azphel's Wing?
"Aiden?" Nesha finally recognised him. "What are you doing here?"
"Had to improvise, when you got yourself captured," he shrugged. "This is not my best disguise by far, so don't judge. We have bigger problems."
The Asmodian guard grabbed a big ordinary rock and stepped between Aiden and the others.
"And what do you want here, Lepharist?"
"As I said, this is a disguise, I'm on a mission here with Nesha and it just got quite complicated," Aiden pulled a small aether-key from his pocket. "How about I open your aether-cuffs and you help us with it?"
"If you're not a Lepharist, who are you?" the elderly man, Peregrine, asked.
"Ah, and here I thought I was already famous," Aiden sighed theatrically. "Aiden, the youngest of Lord Vaizel's Wings for the last seventeen years."
"Give us the key and we can talk about helping you," Peregrine said.
"Sorry, can't do that. Couldn't find more than one and I'll need it. Anyway, as I said, Nesha, we have a problem. Cerullon's torturing her and she doesn't look like she can handle much more. I had to wash her with diluted health potion, he's gonna prolong it, so we have some time before she's forced to obelisk, but the more we delay, the less of her we can save. Also she had this," Aiden showed her a red bead, its hues swirling and shifting slightly. "You know what it is? It looks kinda familiar."
"No idea," Nesha shook her head.
"It's a paint bomb," the Elyos woman, Ostia, said. "I've seen Chroma using them. Red explodes."
"That could come handy," Aiden whistled, put the bead back into his pocket and unlocked Nesha's aether-cuff.
She expected the usual snap of aether, but here it felt more lazy, slowly flowing into and around her. She focused on the crystals in her hand to test Peregrine's theory. In a moment both of them evaporated, their light pouring into her, sharpening her senses and easing her aching muscles.
"You're a half-breed?" Peregrine looked surprised. "And they didn't take you for experiments?"
"Probably forgot," she shrugged. Good to know. "Aiden we can use them on Aielyn, try this," she found a white crystal and gave it to him. "They don't really heal, but can keep you going. She'll need it."
The crystal in Aiden's hand dissolved too. "Yeah, could be useful. We should stock up on them."
"So, what's the plan?" Nesha asked.
"The two of us can handle Cerullon and get Aielyn, but we'll need a distraction to get rid of the others. That's where you come in, Peregrine. Gather everyone you trust, I'll open the aether-cuffs for you, then you can get high on these crystals and run for Sarpan. It's close, if enough people run at the same time, most of you will get there."
"We don't have any weapons," the Asmodian guard protested. "We'll be slaughtered."
"Don't tell me Ostia's the only sorcerer here. You can blast a few of them with aether and take their weapons. They won't expect you."
"Your suggestion poses a great risk," Peregrine pondered. "Even if all of the prisoners run at the same time, we're weakened by months in this mist. Some could make it, but a lot of them will die and end at the Lepharist obelisk."
"Do you have a better suggestion?"
"Ostia, how strong is the bomb he showed us earlier?"
"Hard to say, at this size it should blast a locked door at least. It might knock out a small group."
"Alright, Aiden," Peregrine decided. "You'll unlock our aether-cuffs and give us the bomb and we'll create a distraction for you."
~ o ~
Cathy paced across her room and she was useless. Again. The sudden... it wasn't even a vision, it was just a feeling of... dread. Whatever it was, it only distracted Lady Triniel and the others, stealing their time from more important issues, like their own survival. She had to do something, she couldn't let others risk their lives because of her. That wasn't right. She had to fix it. They left her alone after Lady Triniel dismissed them, they didn't need her anymore, so how could she fix it? Should she stay out of their way and hope things will get better? No, Shairun wouldn't like that. And the others also, they would just be too polite to tell her. No, she had to actually do something. But what?
~ o ~
Although Lonewolf trusted Lady Triniel's decisions, his trust in the Empyrean lords has its limits. And this mission was getting pretty close to them. Not only they were being sent away, but on a vague mission to scout northern Tiamaranta. And Sigwyn was staying here. They finally had calm moments together, he didn't want to leave her again. Back in the day they each had their own missions, often spending days before they could see each other, but she was missing, presumed dead, dammit, for more than two years! He wanted to stay, to be with her, to make sure she has everything she needs. And to figure out those metal limbs. They didn't seem to hinder her or cause her pain, but it still worried him. They were experiments, if it was the final version, the Lepharists wouldn't bother with prisoners.
"Are you ready?" Seritha's question pulled him out of his thoughts. Along with Tatran and Ylrian they were gathered near the teleporter, even Cathy and Shairun were there.
"Sure, let's get this over with," Ylrian grinned. "Although I would appreciate to know who are we looking for ahead," he gazed at Tatran.
Yeah, me too. Lonewolf didn't like agreeing with the gunslinger, but he was right. Tatran not telling them about this relative of his created unnecessary risk. But the spiritmaster was adamant.
"Alright, I don't know where exactly this portal opens, so be ready for gliding or climbing or in the worst case, swimming," Seritha crossed her arms, forming a ball of aether between her hands. She twisted her wrists and stretched the accumulated aether until it formed a shimmering portal with clear edges. But the destination was hidden behind the glow. "Go!"
Lonewolf jumped through. He appeared right above a tree line inside a canyon, falling. He spread his wings and tilted them to glide around the nearest tree and not too far from the portal. He spotted Ylrian, who followed him, and a moment later, Tatran also appeared. Just as the portal was about to collapse into itself, Cathy emerged from it. That's not in the plan! Lonewolf landed on the nearest branch, signaled to the others and watched the girl attempting to glide, then dismissing her wings in panic and plummeting into the trees.
"Dammit!" Tatran cursed and summoned a wind spirit, using too much aether to do it quickly.
The spirit dove after Cathy, Lonewolf followed it, although he had to jump from branch to branch, there wasn't much space for gliding. He found the girl holding onto a branch, trying to climb up with the help of the wind spirit. He jumped and climbed to her and pulled her up.
"What in Aion's ass are you doing here?" he asked as soon as she gained somewhat solid footing.
"I'm sorry, this is my fault," she looked down and aside, refusing to meet his gaze. "Please, let me help to fix it. I can help, I promise."
"And how do you imagine you'll help us?" Tatran asked, climbing towards them. He and Ylrian moved more carefully than Lonewolf, but still got there decently quickly.
"I... I can heal and create shields and... and I brought a weapon too," she tapped her cube, a staff with a green crystal on top appeared in her hand and made her wobble on the unstable branch. Lonewolf caught her before she fell off and stabilised her.
"Put it back to your cube," he told her. "You'll need both hands for climbing out of here."
"The tree over there looks like we could use it," Ylrian suggested and pointed at a large tree quite close to the northern canyon wall, reaching almost to its edge.
"And let's leave this place quickly, before the Balaur send someone to investigate the aether surge from the portal," Tatran added.
"So, uhm, can I go with you?" Cathy asked, holding onto a tree trunk, looking down.
"We can't really send you back, can we?" Ylrian pointed out. "Just stay close to Tatran and don't make much noise."
~ o ~
The unlocking of the aether-cuffs took longer than Nesha expected, because Peregrine decided to free everyone who was in the crater. He didn't necessarily trust all of them, but if someone decided to run to the Lepharists instead of Sarpan, it was their choice. And the fact that they were also a cover for her and Aiden was kept secret; getting free was still their main goal. Peregrine divided the prisoners into five groups led by himself, Ostia, the Asmodian guard named Gampt, a former Elyos soldier named Abolos and an Asmodian woman named Jylla. Everyone stocked up on the crystals and Peregrine commanded to begin the operation.
Jylla's group went first, they could hide in shadows, which was invaluable for a surprise attack. Nesha and Aiden waited aside, for Ostia's and Peregrine's groups to follow and make sure the attention was on the escaping prisoners. The groups of Gampt and Abolos waited to attack the incoming Lehparists from behind.
That was the time for Nesha and Aiden to quietly leave the crater. Through the shadows they circled towards the torture shack. Unfortunately due to his disguise Aiden didn't have any daggers to spare, so she only had the one she took from Aielyn. They didn't meet anyone on their way. Good. But as they reached the door, it was open and the inside was empty.
"Shit," Aiden cursed.
"The brazier is still burning," Nesha pointed out. "Wherever he's taking her, he can't be far."
"Yeah. But where? Did he..." Aiden inspected the ground, trying to find something useful among the many tracks in the area. "He's dragging her. This way."
They ran. They didn't use shadows, but there was no one to stop them. They caught up with Cerullon when he dragged her closely around the crater. Aiden leaped through the shadows and just bluntly bumped into the Lightshade leader, causing him to lose balance and drop his unconscious load. But he recovered immediately, a dagger appeared in his hand and he slashed Aiden's thigh. The younger daeva jumped back, so the wound was only shallow.
"Take her!" Aiden shouted and threw a fistful of dust into Cerullon's face. The Lightshade leaped back though the shadows and materialised several steps away from them.
"So, Nesha," he snorted. "You really don't want to be useful anymore."
As she tried to lift Aielyn, suddenly Cerullon was in front of her kicking her from the right. A flash of pain jolted through her arm and then through her whole body. She was on the ground and he kicked her again. Aiden used this distraction and managed to slash his right upper arm. Which didn't have as much effect as he hoped, Cerullon was ambidextrous. With his left hand he grabbed Aiden's hair and yanked. The black wig remained in his hand while Aiden himself rolled away, ready for another attack. Nesha didn't waste time by getting up and stabbed her Lightshade dagger into Cerullon's calf. He was already moving, so she only managed to scratch him, while her dagger flew somewhere. Still half dazed from the pain she got up. She had no weapons, but she could find an opening to throw in a punch or a kick. But Cerullon knew how to assess weaknesses. When he evaded and parried another series of attacks from Aiden, he leaped through shadows behind her and caught her into a choke hold. She tried to punch him, but he only tightened his grip.
"Alright, Aiden, was it?" he panted. "If you make one more step, I'll break her neck and throw her into the mist."
"Seems like you got me, man," Aiden tried to sound chill, very obviously tried. "But if you kill her, you're..."
The pressure on her neck suddenly eased and Nesha twisted, got free from his hold and rolled away. For a moment Cerullon didn't move. A woman in a lepharist uniform, Darillia, stood behind him, she pulled a bloody dagger from the back of his neck and pushed him into the crater and the mist.
"Thanks for returning this," she held the Lightshade dagger for Nesha to see.
"So, you're helping us?" Aiden asked warily, keeping his fighting stance.
"Helping you? It's sad I couldn't get to my boss before you killed him," with the other hand Darillia drew her sword. "All I could do was to avenge him."
She took off and thrust her sword at Nesha, but she tumbled and fell to her knees right next to her instead. Two arrows stuck out from her back. Before Nesha or Aiden could react, she leaped through the shadows and ran away.
"Nesh! Are you alright?" Ylrian asked and ran towards her. Wait…
"Ylrian? What are you doing here?"
"We just got here. Where's every... oh, shit Lyn!" the gunslinger crouched next to the unconscious naked girl. "What happened?"
She had cuts all over her body, as well as several burns carefully placed at the sensitive parts. The one over her left eye and cheek looked especially nasty, it would be a miracle if the eye wasn't lost.
"He tortured her," Nesha dropped to her knees next to him. "Cerullon. We were... late."
"She's alive, but barely," Ylrian frowned. "Lonewolf, do you have any potions or poultices?"
"What the... where's that asshole?" the ranger's eyes flashed red.
"Dead," Aiden produced a blanket from his cube and spread it on the ground next to Aielyn. "That woman you shot killed him just before you showed up."
Nesha fished two crystals, black and white, from her pocket, placed them into Aielyn's hand and hoped that just holding them would give her some aether. All that while Lonewolf poured a healing potion into the girl's mouth.
"We should leave before Darillia returns with a backup," Nesha said.
"Yeah, let's get her to... somewhere safer," Ylrian said and wrapped her into the blanket.
"I'll carry her, you shoot," Aiden added. "Nesha, take this," he gave her one of his daggers and carefully lifted Aielyn.
"Follow me," Lonewolf commanded and chose a path to leave this horrible place.
~ o ~
The waiting was insufferable. Cathy was used to sit patiently and wait until she's needed, but not when people she cared about were in danger. She glanced at Tatran, who sat next to her with his eyes closed and didn't seem to have this problem. He sent a small earth spirit to patrol around, so he could rest now. Or maybe he was studying the aether around them? Some people did that. Or maybe he was talking to his armband spirit. It was turning his skin red again, it had to be really hot. Why would he keep a spirit like that? And why wouldn't he tell them who this relative of his was? Maybe he didn't want to keep hope in case he was mistaken? That's what she would have done.
"Lady Cathy," he opened his eyes and looked at her. "Do you wish to say something?"
"Uhm... you can read minds?"
"No, you're acting as if you had something on your mind."
"Oh, um, sorry. I'll... I'll calm down. I didn't want to disturb you."
"We have time before the others return," he said. "And my spirit will warn me if anyone approaches. If you want to say something, this is the time. You might not get an opportunity later."
"I... I messed up again, didn't I? I wanted to help, but... now you have to watch over me."
"Believe me, you haven't lived long enough to really mess up. Take this as the opportunity to learn."
"But... what should I learn? What if the thing I learn is wrong?"
"Then you'll have to learn better next time. That's what life is about."
"Oh, right. Of course. Sorry."
"Long time ago I messed up too. But unlike you, Lady Cathy, I thought I was right. You're on a good path."
"Thank you."
An explosion sounded somewhere not exactly nearby, but not far away either. Tatran put his palm on the ground and concentrated. A moment later he got up and tapped the aether-enhancing jewel on his wrist.
"Get your staff, someone's getting closer."
~ o ~
They ran through the rocky desert as fast as carrying an unconscious girl allowed. Peregrine's distraction worked well, they met only a few Lepharists on the way, which Lonewolf and Ylrian disposed of quickly. But their luck had to run out eventually and it did in the form of an arrow that hit the ground at their feet and exploded in a cloud of smoke that made them cough. Ylrian threw a grenade in the arrow's direction and they ran out of the cloud, taking cover between nearby rocks.
"I must say, Nesha, it was a good plan," Herlen shouted from behind of the slowly dispersing cloud. "But not good enough. Surrender and you'll be treated well."
"The canyon is close, you can make it, if you run now," Lonewolf whispered.
"You don't count yourself?" Aiden asked.
"Someone has to get Tatran and Cathy, I'm the best for that."
"What? Cathy is here? Why?" Nesha was shocked.
"You'll have to ask her," Ylrian shrugged and pulled a different grenade from his cube. "Cover your ears and look away. Nesh, Aiden, when I distract them, run that way. I'll be right behind you."
He threw the grenade in the direction where they heard Herlen's voice. As soon as the horrendous noise and blinding light subsided, Nesha helped Aiden lift Aielyn and they ran. Behind the next rock Aiden fell to his knees, only barely keeping himself from dropping the girl.
"I need... a break..." he panted and fished a white crystal from his pocket, which he absorbed as fast as he could.
"I'll take her, go," Ylrian took Aielyn from him and they continued.
But only after several steps they stopped, as an aetheric arrow pierced Aiden's thigh and two soldiers in Miragent armor came into view. One was Sparos, aiming another aetheric arrow at them, clearly angry. The other was the white-haired woman, Simunai, with a shield and a sword and attacked immediately, Nesha barely evaded. In the next moment she was punched into her face with a shield and staggered. An arrow swished past her, grazing her cheek. Simunai blocked Ylrian's shot with her shield and stepped back, so Nesha had time to look over the battlefield. Ylrian was crouching between rocks with Aielyn propped against the wall behind him, and was firing his gun. Aiden, limping, moved behind Nesha to cover her back, as Herlen was running towards them from behind.
"Alright, Nesha, you're not really thinking this through," Herlen slowed down, but held his two swords ready. "Give me Lyn and I'll let you go."
"What the fuck?" Sparos shouted. "We're supposed to..."
"I said, I will let them go. You can do whatever you want, I just want my little niece back. Anyway, where was I? If you three refuse, I'll throw you into the mist once I'm done with you. You'll Vanish and no one will hear of you again."
"You idiot, we're supposed to capture them!" Simunai fumed.
"That's your job," Herlen said.
"What a lovely teamwork," Ylrian muttered.
A small tornado formed around Sparos and he screamed in pain. At the same time a volley of aetheric arrows fell on Herlen. Nesha leaped through the shadows behind Simunai and hit her at the back of her head with the pommel of the dagger. The warrior fell unconscious. Ylrian joined the newly arrived Lonewolf in showering Herlen with shots and chasing him away. Sparos, seeing he was outnumbered, fired a smoke arrow and disappeared.
~ o ~
After Tatran and Lonewolf helped the others to get rid of the Lepharist pursuers, Cathy crouched next to Aielyn and unwrapped a part of the blanket. The wounds were horrible. And there was dirt in them. And she was burning. Cathy checked the ranger's vital functions and transferred some aether into her to keep her alive and to cool some of the fever. But there were so many wounds.
"I... I need to clean those wounds first," she said, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I... I'm sorry, I don't know how to clean it with aether and..."
"There should be some pools at the bottom of the canyon," Lonewolf suggested.
"Yeah, let's get some cover before that guy brings more," Ylrian agreed.
"What about the Balaur?" Tatran asked.
"We can't drag Aielyn like this all the way to Gelkmaros," Lonewolf said. "We have to heal her before her body gets worse. She's already having a fever. And to heal her, Ca... Lady Cathy needs water. The Balaur might not know about us yet, the Lepharists do."
Tatran commanded his earth spirit to rise under Aielyn and carry her on its back. Cathy quickly patched the wound on Aiden's leg, so he could walk more easily, but she had to tell him she'd need to take a look at it later, when they're not in a hurry. Lonewolf led them back to the canyon and they half glided, half climbed through the trees, down to its bottom. Tatran's wind spirits took care of slowly lowering Aielyn with them. He was so exhausted, when they finally found a spring, that he dismissed all the spirits the moment they put Aielyn down.
Ylrian and Nesha went to look around to see what dangers waited nearby. Cathy and Lonewolf started washing Aielyn's wounds. She didn't wake up, but kept wincing in pain. Lonewolf procured a new, clean blanket they put her on. Cathy knelt next to her and started channeling aether, begging it to heal her friend. The wounds themselves weren't deep and life threatening, but there were so many of them! She started with the cuts to ease at least some pain. Burns were difficult to heal and she was afraid that... NO! Focus on the cuts! Cathy took a few deep breaths and one by one she closed the wounds. She couldn't possibly close them all, for each one she closed, there were more that remained. She should be able... NO! Focus! Another one! She closed one more wound. And one more. She took a break to create a cooling aether to ease Aielyn's fever. And one more wound. Another one. And... Her head spun. She had to stop. But she couldn't, there were still...
"That's enough," Lonewolf caught her as she almost toppled over.
"But... I'm not done... She's still..."
"Yes. Take a break and continue later."
Lonewolf pulled a clean shirt and short pants from his cube and carefully dressed Aielyn. She looked better than when Cathy started, hopefully the healing didn't add any hidden harms.
~ o ~
It hurt. Everything hurt. For a long time already. During the torture she was at the verge of breaking, but every time Cerullon somehow pulled her back. Only to make it hurt more. And then it stopped. Or maybe she stopped being there. There was nothing, only pain. But there was no fresh pain anymore and some of it was dull. And her mind was clearing. There was aether around her. She lay on her back on something... not soft, but nice. She tried to move her hands, there were no aether-cuffs anymore. Ste tried to open her eyes, but searing pain shot through the left side of her face. She took a deep breath. There was a smell of flowers and trees around, was she somewhere else? And there were voices. Some men were speaking. She shivered, which sent another cascade of pain through her body. But none of them sounded like Cerullon. They were familiar. One voice was different, higher. It was like... was it... Cathy? Aielyn forced her right eye open and yelped in pain, as the left one tried to move too. She was indeed in nature, under some trees.
"It's alright, it's alright," Cathy's face came into her view. At least someone seemed fine.
"W-what..."
"Shh, shh, don't speak. I know you're in pain, I'm sorry, I'm... I'm working on it. Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just... hang on for a bit."
"Where..."
"We're still in Tiamaranta," someone said. Lonewolf! Yes, Puppy was here too. But why? Did they come for her? And why would anyone let Cathy go to Tiamaranta? It made no sense, even thinking hurt.
A blanket of soothing aether covered her, making some of the pain weaker. Yes, Cathy was channeling her healing spells. She was good, it was much smoother than when she healed her back in Beluslan. The power of the Empyrean Lady certainly helped, but there was training too.
"That's enough, Lady Cathy," another voice said and the healing stopped. Tatran. Her grandfather who blamed her for her mom's death. Which was... partially true. But she couldn't tell him about Nesha, he would kill her. She hated her, but didn't want her dead.
"But... she still needs healing," Cathy protested.
"And you need rest. You'll do no good if you exhaust yourself."
"But you said it yourself that the Balaur are here, we have to move. I... I'll be fine."
"You're not fine," there was one more voice. A new one, but slightly familiar. Aielyn turned her head to see what was happening on the left side of her. A man was sitting nearby, cross-legged and he was sharpening a stick. He looked... she stopped breathing and her heart was pounding. Every fiber of her body wanted to run, but she could barely lift herself. His hair was ginger, not black, and he no longer had the armband, but the freckles, the hazel eyes, the...
"N-no..." she wheezed and tried to move away. "No..."
"Easy," Tatran crouched next to her and pushed her to the ground. "Stay still."
"Shit, I knew the disguise was bad," the ginger-haired man frowned. "Sorry, you don't have to be afraid of me. I'm Aiden, Ylrian's friend. I was undercover there. I'm sorry I couldn't save you sooner."
"You're... you're not..."
"No, I'm not a Lepharist."
"Enough talking," Tatran said. "You rest now. And after we get back to Gelkmaros, I'll make sure you'll get proper training, so this doesn't happen again."
"Well, that's way out of nowhe..." Lonewolf stopped and closely looked at Tatran, then at Aielyn. "Wait, she's the relative you were talking about?"
"That's none of your business," the spiritmaster grunted.
"Uhm, what?" Cathy asked, switching her gaze between each of them.
"Quiet," the man, Aiden, jumped to his feet, clutching his dagger and the newly sharpened stick. "Do you hear it?"
~ o ~
"I'm... glad you're alright, Nesh," Ylrian mentioned as they passed over another grounded tree trunk.
"We're not alright yet, but thanks," she smiled in return. She was well aware they weren't out of danger yet, but it was nice to talk with him as if they were. "I'm glad to see you here."
"I'd prefer to see you somewhere else."
"Really? Where?"
"In Sanctum's Outer dock, sitting on the bench next to Dionysia tavern, sipping merone wine and watching the airships come and go."
"Well... I'd like that."
"Good," he beamed. "When this mess is settled, let's go there. I'll pay."
"Sure," Nesha chuckled. "But first, let's actually get out of this mess."
"Yeah, you're right. You look for tracks on the ground, I'll climb a tree and check if the Lepharists regrouped."
She nodded and turned her attention back to the forest. It was dense enough that she couldn't see far, but it also meant nothing could watch her. And it was loud, there were many insects and birds specific to this particular jungle. She scanned her surroundings, looking for signs of someone's or something's presence. Behind another bush, there was a clearer patch with a lot of old Balaur tracks leading in both ways. This path was used a lot, but she couldn't tell how often, or when the latest group had passed. It led in the direction of their little camp, but it probably bent around some rock or fallen tree, as they haven't seen it in the immediate vicinity of it.
She heard a thud, as Ylrian jumped from the tree.
"No Lepharists so far," he reported.
"At least something's good. We're near a Balaur patrol route," Nesha pointed. "Let's go check it out."
As they crept forward, a feeling of uneasiness rose in her. She wondered if it was a sign of something, or if she was just getting exhausted. Ylrian followed her with a gun ready in his hand. A flock of birds suddenly screeched and swarmed them before flying to the canopy. But before they recovered their wits, they were surrounded by a group of armed Balaur. They were Tiamat's, wearing mostly red and brown spiky armors.
"Trespassers," their leader, the one in mostly red, organic looking armor and with a giant nasty sword, stepped forward. "Surrender, or die."