A/N: There hasn't been a lot of Dark Souls in this story yet. It'll appear later on, and I hope it'll be significant enough to justify the crossover. Still, as I mentioned before, this story is largely FE-centric.
In other news, I should really stop writing after midnight. Oh well. Thanks for the reviews, follows and favs so far!
I need to think fast. Okay, summary of options: abandon Libra, help Garm kill Libra, or help Libra kill Garm.
Don't forget diplomacy, Humanity says. Low-cost to try, and failure doesn't lock-off those other 3 options.
Logic is trying to analyze the first 3 options in the background of my mind. Unfortunately, Logic and Humanity are just labels I've created to understand my own thought-processes. They aren't actually capable of parallel-processing.
Garm steps past me and holds out his hand, eyes locked onto Libra.
He wants his axe. I can't spare the time to label whichever part of my mind said that. Delay. We need time to figure out what we're doing.
"Oi, oi," I say lightly, not relinquishing Garm's weapon. It's a killer axe. "Didn't think you were into that kinda thing, Garm."
Garm's expression when he turns around could perhaps best be summarized as what the hell are you saying, and why don't I have my axe yet?
C'mon, just take the conversational bait. I close my eyes under the guise of exasperation and examine Libra's stats as quickly as I can, even as I speak.
"We all know whatcha mean when you say someone's gotta 'pay', but… y'know that's a man, eh Garm?"
Libra
War Monk
LV: 3. EX: -.
HP: 20/43
Str: 17
Mag: 18
Skill: 15
Spd: 16
Lck: 13
Def: 13
Res: 19
Damnit. Libra's stronger than his in-game self, but even a critical hit won't 1-shot Garm. So much for just tossing Libra the axe and praying. I can't rely on the surprise factor alone.
When I open my eyes, Garm's looking at Libra incredulously. Libra, for his part, is recovering his breath from our forceful break-in.
"He speaks the truth," Libra says after a moment, eyes flickering warily between myself and Garm. Behind him, there's a group of 7 children, sniffling quietly. The oldest is probably no more than 8 years old.
I eye Garm's neck. Can I behead him with this axe from behind? I know in terms of game mechanics, I shouldn't be able to deal damage to him, nor should I be able to wield axes. But what else could happen if I swung an axe at Garm's neck? Wouldn't he have to die?
No, Logic says. We were stupid and didn't test combat mechanics before. It's too risky, now. For all we know, it'll bounce off his skin. If we can heal people from near-death in this world with heal-staffs, then clearly the laws of Earth don't apply here.
A part of my mind whispers that I should've tested my combat capabilities back in our first raid, since the islanders would've died regardless. I shut those thoughts out firmly. An understanding of my combat abilities would be invaluable to save Libra now, but I don't have time for what-ifs.
Okay, so a surprise attack from me is ruled out.
"Bullshit," Garm says, clearly not believing me. His eyes narrow at Libra. "Yer a man?"
"I am," Libra says.
"A man of the cloth, Garm," I say.
"Still took m'axe," Garm growls. "Still hit me. Still gonna die!"
Garm clenches his fist, clearly signaling me to pass him the killer axe. I think I can attempt diplomacy once more without appearing heavily suspicious.
I blow out a breath and try to sound incredulous. "You crazy, mate? Yer gonna kill a priest of Naga when he's guardin' a buncha kids? You tryin' to get the crew cursed?"
Garm looks at me, brows bunched together. I shake my head in feigned exasperation, thinking furiously all the while.
We're more valuable than Libra, Logic says. If talking fails, we take priority over him. The question is whether or not we want to risk our life for a chance of the ideal result, where we both live.
"Shit man, he ain't even attackin' us," I say, gesturing towards the unarmed Libra. The war monk's eyes brighten with a tentative hope as I speak. "I don't want Naga pissed at us."
If we don't help Libra now, then when will we help? Humanity muses. The enemy is unarmed, weakened, and has his back to us. We're weak, but no situation will be perfect.
The stakes are my life. My life outweighs Libra's, but I also have a possibly safety net in the Darksign penalty.
We have no idea if the Darksign will be useful, Logic says. We have no information, no percentages to work with. It's a complete gamble.
The stakes are acceptable, Humanity says. In the worst-case scenario of defeat, we can just consider this a test of the Darksign's mechanics.
I don't have much more time to think. If I'm going to help Libra, what's the safest way to go about it?
I'm relieved when Garm barks out a laugh. It's a lot better than him getting impatient with me. "Har! Ain't no gods ever stopped us 'fore, swabbie," he says.
I fake surprise. "What, you've done in priests before?" I surreptitiously loosen my arrow bag.
"Aye," Garm says, leering at Libra. "And-"
As Garm's gaze breaks away from mine, I heft the axe slightly and gesture at Libra with a tossing motion. I point a finger at him, pantomime slashing with a jerk of my wrist, and then indicate Garm with a thumb.
"… a whole bunch o' 'em, back when-"
Libra's eyes widen. Damnit, man, don't be so obvious. Fortunately, Garm seems to interpret Libra's reaction as being to his words.
I hope Libra understands what I'm trying to say.
"… so yer gonna have to get used to it," Garm finishes.
"Are you sure about this?" Libra asks softly. His eyes are on Garm, but I'm pretty sure his question was directed towards me.
"You block yer ears, priest?" Garm gives a savage grin, holding his hand out for his axe without looking at me. I give Libra a subtle thumbs up, and he nods slowly.
"We have nothing for you to steal," Libra insists, and even as he distracts Garm with meaningless dialogue I run through my options one last time. Should I give the axe to Libra or try to use it for myself?
Libra can't act without his axe. I can.
I can't delay anymore. I've got to make my move.
I give as little warning as possible. I draw an arrow from the bag on my belt and toss Libra the killer axe. I try to be accurate, but I'm not watching to see if Libra catches it on the first try. Gripping the arrow like I'm about to throw it overhand, I jam it into the back of Garm's neck. Or try to, at least. The arrow shaft breaks off, and the arrowhead barely penetrates.
"Gargh!" Garm stumbles, but he's quick enough to realize what just happened. "YOU-" he roars and pivots with a vicious backhand.
Exactly as I predicted. Garm fights with his fists, not his legs. I'm ducking and stepping back even before he starts attacking. Yet somehow, his fist still clips my forehead.
It hurts. Stats, some part of my brain says weakly. Stats, our avoid isn't high enough, it doesn't matter that he should've missed, something happened and he hit us anyway -
As I reel from the blow, my eyes close involuntarily and I manage to catch a glimpse of my own character page.
Ess'ai
Outrealmer
LV: 3. EXP: 55.
HP: 8/19
I'm too out of it to actually process the numbers. Distantly, I can hear the children behind Libra screaming. No, forget about that. I know that even 1 more hit will mean death.
He's too strong. Did I make a mistake?
I stagger and prepare myself to jump and roll backwards to buy myself a second. My vision shakes, but I see Garm winding up for a direct punch. I flinch when I catch his expression.
If his rage was a fire when he was hammering at Libra's door, it's a supernova now.
"-FUCKIN' BACKSTABBIN'-!"
And then Libra swings and slashes Garm with his own axe.
Garm bellows in a mix of pain and rage, and with a fluid spin his charged-up punch hits Libra full on in the face before he can dodge.
"Ah!" Libra falls back, clutching his face. I run past Garm, making sure he can't trap me between himself and the walls of this room. As I move, I close my eyes. Even my thoughts are shaky.
Staff – Heal.
In my belt buckle, my nearly dead healing staff thrums. I hear Libra gasping, and I focus my mind's eye on his location until his character page pops up.
My eyes snap open and before I know it, my staff is in my hand, arcing skyward with almost familiar motions. There's a green glow, and I don't need to see Libra's character page to know that it worked.
Libra
War Monk
LV: 3. EX: -.
HP: 21/43
He had 20 HP before, and he's now at 21. I heal 8 HP, which means Garm did 7 damage, which means his strength is probably being halved in damage calculations. Probably because he has no weapon.
We can do this!
Garm
Berserker
LV: 8. EX: -.
HP: 26/72
Libra glances at me with surprise clear on his face, probably because he didn't expect the healing spell. I've adjusted my positioning to stand a bit behind him. The children behind Libra flinch away from me, but I pay them no attention.
Across from us, Garm is still guarding the door and cursing violently.
"Fuckin' whoreson," he swears. "Roll was wrong 'bout ya, yer just a filthy-"
As he speaks, he reaches around to the nape of his neck and pulls out the arrowhead that was shallowly lodged there. I use the time to close my eyes and drink Estus. I'm glad to see that a single sip restores me to a full 19 HP. There's a few exclamations of surprise from the children near me, likely because the flask appeared from nowhere.
Garm can kill me in 2 hits with his fists. He didn't get off a double attack last time, but I'm not sure if that was because I landed a surprise attack or because Libra intervened. Hell, I'm not even sure if doubling is a thing in this world.
I prepare myself to spam heal Libra, but Garm seems to sense my intentions. He charges Libra as soon as he's able to with nothing but his fists. Libra brandishes his axe, trying to space himself from Garm. The children behind him scatter.
Garm gets in the first hit this time, punching Libra firmly in the gut. With an oof, Libra pulls back and manages to get a slash in on Garm. I should be safe for a few seconds, so I close my eyes again.
Staff – Heal.
My eyes snap open as I complete another heal spell on Libra. In the time it took me to cast, Garm got in a furious swipe on Libra's face. The monk's nose is bleeding profusely now.
The two stagger apart.
Libra
War Monk
LV: 3. EX: -.
HP: 15/43
Garm
Berserker
LV: 8. EX: -.
HP: 19/72
"Please," Libra pants, his voice distorted by his broken nose. "This is madness. Why are you fighting an axe-man while unarmed?"
"Don' need an axe to kill ya," Garm growls back. He's panting heavily, too, blood shining on his chest from his wounds.
My eyes are flickering open intermittently to make sure I'm not being charged by Garm. Every second the two spend recovering is another second I can use to prepare heals for Libra.
Staff – Heal. My healing staff thrums, ready to be used again.
"You fuckin' maggot," Garm snarls. "Were ye lyin' the whole time ye were with us?"
"No," I lie, hoping to prompt Garm into talking and wasting more time. I cast heal again.
"That's enough," Libra says, sighing as my spell washes over him and raises his HP to 23. There's a faint pinging sound going off in my head. "There does not need to be any more bloodshed here today. Please, just leave us be."
I close my eyes.
Level up!
Ess'ai
Outrealmer
LV: 4. EXP: 6.
HP: 19/20 (+1)
Str: 4 (+1)
Mag: 0
Skill: 3
Spd: 7 (+1)
Lck: 5 (+1)
Def: 10 (+1)
Res: 9 (+1)
An excellent level-up, but it's still only 1 level. Against a promoted enemy like Garm, it's almost worthless. I open my eyes quickly.
"Har, so ye'd rather I kill some other folks, then?" Garm grins, and Libra's face tightens. Garm's expression changes to an angry scowl. "I'll tell ye what. Get outta my way, and I'll leave ye and the brats be."
"Out of your way?" Libra asks quizzically, before he catches sight of my expression. "Ah. What, may I ask, will you do if I 'get out your way'?"
Garm's glare at me could probably melt steel. "Ain't yer business."
With a shudder, I remember the pirate's accord that I signed when I joined up with the crew. "There's only 1 fate for traitors," I murmur, and Libra nods slowly.
Now look what you've gotten yourself into, dumbass, Logic laments.
Trust in Libra. He won't abandon us, Humanity says. He's not an amoral prick like us.
Humanity is right.
"He acted to protect these children," Libra says earnestly, gesturing to me. "Such a decision after a life of crime… surely, Naga would not wish to see such kindness punished."
Whoa now, life of crime? I was with the pirates for like a week!
Garm spits.
"Naga gives second chances to all men," Libra continues, imploring Garm. "I don't know why you've turned to piracy, but a man of your incredible strength could-"
"Fer fuck's sake," Garm says. "Jus' shut it. If ye won't stand aside, I'll kill ye both!"
I can see Garm working himself into a rage again. He meets my eyes, and says, "Death's too good fer ya, but I'll make do!"
Well, round 2 of negotiations is a failure. Damn, I knew I should've prepared another heal for Libra instead of monitoring the conversation.
Garm charges, but Libra steps in front of me smoothly. C'mon, get a critical!
"To the locker with ye!" Garm roars, eyes flashing. Faintly, I think I can hear a sshing!
Wait wait wait, did Garm just –
The next few seconds are chaos. Libra back-steps, but Garm gets inside his guard and executes a brutal barrage of hits. A punch in the face mangles Libra nose even further. There's a sideways chop, and Libra gives a cry of pain as I hear something in his arm crack.
"AHH!" he screams, and I flinch at the sound of the monk's voice.
Libra manages to get in a hit with his axe, but he's driven back, and I need to interrupt my heal spell. If I cast it, I'll be unaware of myself for a few crucial seconds, and Garm will probably knock me out.
Gods damn it all, when I said "get a critical", I meant for Libra to get it, not Garm! This must be Garm's wrath ability kicking in.
Libra
War Monk
LV: 3. EX: -.
HP: 2/43
Garm
Berserker
LV: 8. EX: -.
HP: 12/72
Son of a bitch, what do I do? Garm hesitates for a second and checks his bleeding wounds, before he seems to write them off, looking instead between me and Libra. He seems to designate Libra as the greater threat, and with another roar, he charges.
Libra has been driven to a knee. His axe-hand is bent awkwardly, and blood runs down his face and over his robes. His eyes are glazed, and his breathing is uneven.
My brain whirs as my eyes flicker to the now unguarded door. Most of the younger children have already fled in the chaos of our fight, and I… I did what I could, didn't I? I tried to be the good guy. Garm's just too strong, though. I should cut my losses and –
"Get away from Uncle Libra!"
The oldest of the children Libra was guarding hasn't fled yet. He rushes to defend the monk.
What the hell are you doing, kid?!
Garm barely breaks stride, hefting the child, spinning, and tossing him violently into a wall. The boy gives out a cry of pain, and I can see Libra jerk suddenly at the sound.
Gods damnit! What do I do?!
You're panicking! Logic says. Heal Libra, fight or run! Don't just stand there!
Garm's charging at Libra. If I'd just kept my cool and healed Libra without hesitating, I wouldn't be in this position. Well, no more hesitation.
As Garm moves in to kick and probably kill Libra, I tackle him from the side with a high-pitched scream. The burly man is barely fazed, but before he can grab me, I grasp at an arrow protruding from his side and jostle it violently, snapping off the shaft.
It didn't distract the Berserker nearly as much as I'd hoped. Garm's elbow crashes onto my head from above, and I fall to the ground with a cry, vision spinning. I can barely make him out as he stands above me.
Sshing!
Oh, right. He has Wrath active right now. Against me with my low stats, he probably has an incredibly high critical rate.
Fuck. What a way to go.
"Repent, sinner!"
Blood washes over my face. I… what?
I look up in a daze. Garm's still standing over me, but there's something that shouldn't be there. The tip of an axe protrudes from his chest.
Oh. It was Libra's critical this time, not Garm's.
The axe is withdrawn. Garm falls to a knee. I can see Libra standing behind him, panting for a few seconds before he collapses.
Garm's face is right in front of me, close enough for me to smell his breath. His blood is everywhere. His eyes are hazy, but they lock onto my own.
"…" His mouth moves, but I can't make out what he says.
Slowly, Garm raises a hand. I should get away, but I can't move. I'm frozen. If he wants to kill me, even in his dying breaths, I think he could.
The Berserker gives me a faint grin as his hand falls onto my shoulder. He gives me 2 hard thumps on my shoulder, as if it were just another day aboard the Raven.
Then he collapses, too.
It's silent. The 8-year-old boy is quiet, lying unconscious against the wall. The other children are gone. Garm is at my feet. Libra is lying next to him in a small pool of blood.
Slowly, like an old lawn-mower, my brain sputters back to life. I stand up, and close my eyes.
Ess'ai
Outrealmer
LV: 4. EXP: 6.
HP: 9/20
Garm
Berserker
LV: 8. EX: -.
HP: 0/72
Libra
War Monk
LV: 4. EX: -.
HP: 1/44
I feel numb, but I have enough presence of mind for this.
Staff – Heal. Staff – Heal.
Libra's HP increases to 17. I check on the young child that Garm tossed into a wall. Blood drips from the side of his head, but he's alive, somehow.
Noah
Villager
LV: 2. EX: -
HP: 1/11
How did he survive? I'm pretty sure Garm's attack value was 20 when fighting with his fists, and scanning the boy's stats doesn't provide me with any clues. His defense is 3. Perhaps game mechanics don't fully apply to people who aren't me. Or perhaps there are other factors that affect hand-to-hand combat damage calculations.
Oh, wait. Skills. The boy has 2 standard Awakening skills: aptitude and miracle. Perhaps miracle triggered for him.
I shake my head forcefully. Priorities. I cast my last heal spell on the boy. The small gem on the tip of my staff dulls, leaving me with an ordinary staff of wood.
I feel a little better when I take another sip of Estus. I'm really glad I didn't use it up as a source of food earlier in the day.
Then I sit down against a wall, and everything starts to sink in. I almost died. Libra almost died. Garm actually died.
And… his blood is still on my face. Garm's blood, which washed over me when Libra struck the fatal blow. My breath quickens. I've been through a decent amount of mental trauma, but something about having a dead man's blood on me is just too much for me to handle.
He was just alive, a few minutes ago. But now, because of my actions…
My breathing becomes more erratic when I look at Garm's corpse again. I have to close my eyes to yell at myself to calm down. It doesn't help.
Libra stirs as I'm having my private panic attack.
"Gods," he groans, sitting up blearily. "What a terrible dream…"
Then he takes a look at himself. Specifically, his blood-drenched robes. I see him taking in his surroundings. Garm's body is cooling next to him. Noah, the young boy who jumped in to save Libra, is still unconscious, although no longer in critical condition. And me, well -
"Oh god," I whisper, wiping my face with my sleeve. Only my sleeve is bloodied, too. It's smearing the blood into my face, making it worse. And my knowledge of biology isn't helping. My skin must be permeable to some parts of his blood. What if I'm taking into me? I'm making it worse by touching it but I've got to get it off -
Calm down! Logic snaps. I'm hyperventilating anyway.
Get it off, get it off, get it off…!
I jerk wildly when I feel an arm on my shoulder. It's Libra. He says nothing. His face is bleeding, too, but it's from his own blood, dripping from his nose.
Slowly, he puts his uninjured hand inside his robe. When he pulls it out, he has a brown handkerchief. Kneeling next to me, he dabs at my face, surprisingly gentle.
"It's gone now," he says quietly, after a minute.
I'd really like to act cool or competent around Libra, but I can't help it. I start to cry.
It takes several minutes for me to pull myself together. When I do, I feel a lot lighter.
"I'm sorry," I say to Libra as he checks over Noah. "Here I am, breaking down, and you're the one that's seriously injured."
Libra seems to be happy with what he finds in his check-up of the boy, because he turns to me with a faint smile.
"Not at all," he says humbly. "Blood isn't an easy thing to deal with, even for experienced healers."
Perhaps not, but I'm still a little ashamed at myself for falling apart. What's the point of living a great, steady life in a developed country for so many years if it doesn't give me emotional stability when it matters?
There's so many things wrong with that thought that I'm not even going to bother, Logic says.
A bit of angsting was called for, given the situation, Humanity remarks. And you did it after healing Libra and the child, so it's okay. Plus, you've pulled yourself together now.
Libra's looking at me. Oh right, I spaced out in the middle of a conversation. I take a second to recall what he just said.
"Well," I say wryly. "I take it you can tell I'm not very experienced, then."
"Indeed," Libra says, and I can see the laughter hidden behind his straight face.
"Well, I only started using staves a couple of days ago," I say defensively, and Libra's eyebrows rise.
"Truly?" he says, sounding surprised. "That'd certainly explain it." He stands up and dusts off his bloodied robes. "But we're speaking out of order."
He extends his uninjured hand out to me.
"My name is Libra," he says. "I'm a priest hailing from Ylisse. I know it can't have been easy for you, but thank you for helping us. You healed me after I fell unconscious, didn't you?"
I take his hand. "Ess'ai," I say. "Yeah, that was me, and no thanks are needed. I shouldn't have helped him open your door to begin with."
Libra shakes his head as we break our handshake. "You did the right thing in the end, but we can discuss details afterwards. For now, did you perhaps see where the other children ran off to?"
"No," I admit. "I lost track of pretty much everything during that fight."
Libra nods. "Then I'll go out to find them."
"I don't think the raid is over yet," I warn him. "From what I remember, there's supposed to be some kind of signal that we can't miss, telling the crew when to return to our ship."
"All the more reason for me to act quickly," Libra says, walking towards the door. Then he pauses and looks back at me. "… What will you do? Will you return to your ship when the time comes?"
I shake my head. "No," I say, not elaborating.
Libra doesn't press me further. "I see," he says. "I'll be directing the children back here. I'd hate to impose on you further, but do you think you could…?"
He trails off and gestures lightly at Garm. Ah, I see.
"Yeah," I say. "I've got it."
Libra opens his mouth to say something, but I wave it off. "It's okay, I've got my head in the game now. Go, quickly."
Libra nods and leaves without any further fuss. It hits me a moment later that he's showing me a lot of trust by leaving Noah in my care.
I sigh as I move to Garm's corpse, gagging at the scent of death and rust. I'm going to have to drag him, leaving behind smears of blood on the floor, but it's better than having an honest-to-goodness corpse here when the children return.
If I had some water and my faithful mop, I'd be able to clean a lot better. But I guess that life is behind me now. I'll make do without.
It's probably about 20 minutes before Noah finally wakes up. I hear a whimper from his general location, but when I look at him, his eyes are closed.
An eye peeks open, and then abruptly shuts when he sees me looking at him. I probably make for a scary sight. I'm standing on guard at the door, Roll's bow in my hand, and my white shirt is caked with dried blood.
"Libra will be back soon," I say simply, reciting the words I'd been planning for this moment. "I'm not going to hurt you, and the other scary man is gone for good."
The boy sits up slowly, all pretense of being unconscious forgotten. He doesn't speak, but eyes me warily.
I say nothing more, splitting my attention between watching for Libra and making sure Noah doesn't do anything stupid.
Another half-hour passes. The sounds of battle aren't very audible from inside this building, as we're at the other end of town, far from the Raven.
I grow a little worried as time passes and Libra doesn't return. I should've asked him if he had a staff for me to heal him with before he set out. Will he even be able to wield Garm's axe as he is?
A horn blares loudly in the distance, three times in succession. That must be to signal the end of the raid.
Libra appears an hour later. He's just as bloodied as he was before, but it doesn't look like he's sustained any new injuries. Better yet, he's leading a bunch of children. Most of them are sniffling or crying, but while they all look scared, they're unharmed.
"You made it back," I say, relieved. "Thank-"
I cut myself off when I notice his pained expression. "Hey, you okay?"
"Fine," Libra says. "But, the children…"
I do a quick headcount. There are 5 kids with Libra, and Noah's with me. There were 7 children originally. Someone's missing. And if Libra came back without them...
... I know what that probably means.
For their part, a lot of the children shy away from me, hiding behind Libra. It's to be expected, I guess. I'm more impressed that they aren't afraid of Libra, even when he's all bloodied up.
Libra shakes his head. "I know it's a little scary, but we're going to sleep here for tonight," he says, addressing the children. "Tomorrow, we'll find Father Bran. Things will be better in the morning, I promise."
I'm silent as I watch Libra reassure the children. He's good at it. There's a bunch of folded rags stashed in the corner of this room that I noticed earlier. Libra takes them and lays them out as a makeshift bed, and the children huddle together to go to sleep.
I keep my distance. The children are all clearly frightened of me. Instead, I step outside and keep watch.
The night sky is still clouded. Torches are lit, and I can hear the lamentations of the townsfolk. I wonder if it was a successful raid.
I wonder, too, what the crew will think when they realize that Garm and I are missing. Most people probably won't notice my disappearance, except for Roll. Garm, on the other hand, was a senior member of the crew. Has the Raven already cast off, or are they waiting for Garm? Will they come back to find him, or write him off as dead?
The wind is surprisingly soft on my skin. I hear footsteps, and Libra joins me outside.
"They're asleep," he says quietly. "The resilience of children never ceases to amaze me."
I nod.
"That horn earlier," Libra says. "Was it…?"
"Yeah," I answer. "The signal for the crew to return to the ship. Their usual game-plan is hit-and run, so there shouldn't be any more danger tonight."
"A small mercy," Libra says. "But a mercy nonetheless. What will you do now?"
"I don't know," I say. Then I frown. "Strike that, actually. I need to get messages to Ylisse. There's important information that some people need to know. Lives may be depending on it."
"I see," Libra says slowly. I get the feeling he's choosing his next words carefully. "I get the impression that you're a good man. If I can ask, why-"
"Was I with the pirates?" I finish, before shaking my head. "It's a bit of a story, but I think it can wait until morning." That should give me time to clarify what I should and shouldn't tell him.
"You're planning on staying here?" Libra says, sounding surprised.
It occurs to me that it might've been pretty presumptuous of me to say that. I assumed that once I met up with a Shepherd, I'd join their party or vice-versa. But reality might not be so convenient.
"Ah," I flounder, "I didn't mean to presume anything. I mean, I'd certainly like to, but I don't have to if you don't want me to. I won't take up any of your food and I don't have to stay in the building, though! It's just that-"
Libra takes a good look at my expression and laughs, so I cut my losses and shut up.
"It's fine," he says, smiling. "I'll speak to the children. And you're right, anything else that needs to be said can wait until morning."
It was a hell of a risk and I was a little too indecisive for my own liking, but I'm glad I didn't abandon Libra in the end. I follow him back inside. I find a corner for myself and fall asleep, sitting down with my back to a wall.
Despite all the horrors of the night, my sleep is untroubled by my usual dark dreams.
A/N: So I decided to make a skill that the protagonist could obtain only by abandoning Libra. Then I made him stick out the fight without even rolling for his decision, lol.
The roll for catching Garm off guard was a success at 85/100 (requirement of 40). I'll remark that losing at this particular roll would've been really, really bad. Like, completely story-changing bad.
Crisis averted, though, and a great level to boot. Praise the Sun!
(Side note: Does anyone want me to start rolling on Invisible Castle or something, for transparency's sake? Or does it not really matter to you guys?)