Chapter 125: Flexibility of Faith(1)

Chapter 125

Gula POV

*Knock*

*Knock*

The world went black for a long blink before revealing the page in my hands. The red coat whose sleeves reached to my wrists was rubbing across the faintly yellow paper. It was a fresh look at the latest inquiry to arrive from the Crasden Council. At some point during the avalanche of work orders, storage figures, and written begging the stream of words started running along the eyes but never reaching beyond. Now fully paying attention to the world, the salty tang of sea reintroduced itself to the nose now resuming its work.

"Yes?" I called from my position in the back of the wood room now taking a wobble to the right. Despite the ship's size and craftsmanship, I had learned you were never truly on solid ground when bobbing about the sea. The dining table to the left wall and bed on the right stayed still from the nails in their legs, yet the particularly big wave made some strands of midnight hair obstruct the double door directly opposite of me. Even with that, I instantly placed the black pants peaking from behind shifting strands.

"I thought ships were supposed to ride the sea like carts." The grumpy voice of Sally extolled with exhaustion, even if her gold irises in black spheres darted around the room with alacrity. Her short grey hair dripped with bits of ocean spray. She rubbed a sharp chin just above the white square adorning the black collar tucking into the white shirt. A cloud of mist came out of her small nose to flow over the leather vest covering the chest of her white shirt and black coat. "Everyone's busy these days and I'm sure the captain of the only means out of here is at the peak of it. So I will be as brief as I can be.

We messed up the plant scions wall."

I raised eyebrows at the words, trying to understand their dire tone.

"A bit chipped or cracked-"

"It's down. Part of it is, at least. The rest of the structure is still standing save a section near the main gate for the road to Crasden."

The words, like those on the papers, didn't fully penetrate even with her voice carrying over the waves outside.

"Down? As in…. To the ground, down?" I asked with a held breath. I scoured the woman's frame, trying to find some indication that this was a joke.

Her gulp of spit cut through the ambling sea.

"A bit lower in some spots." She confirmed with a small nod.

I quickly put the paper to the right before the hand holding it could clench into a fist.

"Do you have any idea how much we risked to get that tunnel ready?" I demanded with a lean forward.

Any cold nipping at the skin vanished as I felt my cheeks warm. This had to be what Eli didn't tell me about two nights ago. The budding irritation at being left out immediately withered. If he had told me this it would have robbed me of precious sleep for no gain. That and there was no way I could properly feign the raw fury churning through my veins at this moment.

"I know," The priest agreed with hands raised in supplication. "Your people risked a lot for all our lives, and still do. As did the women who were crushed by the rubble."

Right, there were probably a lot of people working under the wall when it fell. The sadness in those gold eyes made me reign in my anger. As much as it would allow, at least.

"Will I be going on another excursion for stone crafts?" I asked, forcing my spine to loosen enough to let me pull back into the chair.

"No. Some guards will be…. We just need to know what the inside of the plant scions house looked like. The only ones who've been in it are maids who owe us nothing, mages and lion guards who would kill anyone who even helped us, and you. As for what, I cannot say."

I took a deep breath as I pulled down on my white shirt's collar.

"You know, if you're going to make it so obvious that stealing more crafts is the goal, maybe saying it in a spirit connection would be better advised."

Sally rolled her golden eyes before fixing me with puckered lips.

"If we were meant to always talk with that, Christ would have used it to deliver his sermons."

"Good for him." I offered with raised hands. "But we're not here to give speeches. I trust every person on this ship with my life, save the children. Something you can't say. In the future, I would advise you to not be so trusting."

Her nod of agreement came with only a small touch of hesitation.

"Games of deception aren't for me. Which is why Kev will be attending the meeting. It will be happening at the ruined construction site."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is the Council building unavailable?"

"PFF!" Sally scoffed with a smile. "No. Kev wants to meet there so that we don't have a small riot getting you through the tunnels."

Memories of freezing water plowing over my bare skin came back of their own will.

"Another swim?" I asked with little hope. Her shrug lifted my heart a bit.

"How you get there will be up to Kev. He'll be sending a guard later tonight to pick you up. Everyone wants this done today. That leaves a small window when…. Well, I suppose in games of espionage, telling you more about the plan than needed would be unwise."

Getting a vague memory of Eli saying something similar, I gave her a final nod. She gave a slight bow before turning around and out the doors. The moment she opened them, I heard the yells and plopping of crates before being silenced with a slam of wood on wood, leaving me with an empty cabin and more paperwork to tend to.

When we first returned, I had hoped we'd be out on the sea towards the Cradle after a day at most. Getting as much meat and leather as they requested, however, proved more difficult for the Crasden government than just a trip to the local market. They still gave reassurances about meeting the trade request, but it would take time. I'd have been irritated if we hadn't finished unloading our goods late yesterday. Dealing with the poorly disguised spies we brought with us sucked a few more hours out of our first day back, but it still took a lot longer to move those laden crates than expected.

The rest of the day passed into late afternoon without further issues save a working of the radio at the desk.

"Mom." I called into the box with a button press.

"Aye? Finished." The familiar voice called through the metal mesh on the bottom of the rectangular box.

"Checking in early. I've been called to an unexpected meeting. Finished"

"Understood. We'll wait for Eli's check-in then make our way back to the Base. Finished."

My eyebrows shot up.

"Oh?" I asked.

"I don't know what you think clouds are made of but I assure you they aren't edible. Finished." The box spouted off moodily.

An idle thought about how torturous describing my meal at the Cradle must have been for her came, but I quelled it.

"Understood. Goodnight. Finished."

"You too, brat."

This weird form of communication where our faces remained unseen certainly had its oddities, how it lulled you into being more open because you can make any face you want. And then the woman who raised you hears faint amusement in your voice that only she could pick out. Musing on the social oddness continued as I put the radio back in its hiding spot beneath the floor.

At the sun's dying hour, when clouds lost their white coloring to instead mix red and orange, another knock came.

"Lady Gula," A young girl's voice half-yelled through a slight crack in the door. "Some guard in red leather is here. He says he's expected and ready to go."

"He is," I affirmed with a rise from the chair. "I'll be right there."

Brushing off my black pants, I quickly retrieved the sword by the bed. Feeling whole with some steel at my hip, I walked through the door to visit the Underground. Ever-present crashing waves pounded my ears with a step into the sea air. Nothing more than a slight breeze went through my white shirt and red coat, lending a feeling of something approaching comfort to the outdoors. The land was still fully in winter's grasp, but the men on the deck below weren't shivering and most didn't even have a second shirt beneath their coat.

I took a right down the wooden stairs, savoring a moment to appreciate the waves and rocky shore ahead before finishing my descent onto the deck. My second-in-command wasn't around, so I pulled one of the young green girls lugging a basket of wet clothes around to a stop.

"When you're finished with that, tell Geoff he's in charge for an hour or so."

"Y-Yes, Captain." She exclaimed with a bow sending her brown hair flying around and gold eyes wide. Her immediate turn around to the double doors on the front end of the ship made me almost shout for her to finish setting up the clothesline first, but she was already lost among the sailors.

"A lot of different ages here." A male voice to the right exclaimed to me.

Turning to the front, I saw the red leather guard waiting by the dinghy lifted up by the geared wooden arm beside the upper deck. His black beard had some sea spray on it, though the red cap was the only other thing for the water to get stuck on his face. Those green eyes above a wide nose regarded me with some warmth as he did a slight bow that made the sword and unlit torch around his belt sway.

"And types." He continued, looking at the horns and goat faces found on some of the men.

"All solid people," I assured him as I walked forward with an entourage of three Kelton men coming up from the crowd. They had been assigned to my guard, sporting metal chest pieces and some metal helmets. Their equipment had a faint shine from the dying sunlight, but their swords were still in leather sheaths. Two on the left were brown-furred with curved horns of the same color.

"I'll be guiding you to the site." the red-leathered guard announced to us, giving the black-furred Kelton on his right a small nod.

A few sailors joined us as we shuffled into the dingy without another word. The lack of exchange continued when our boat hit water and the human sailors started paddling among peaks and valleys of frothing ocean. I couldn't hear anything besides soft wind and smacking water. That left me with no distraction from the worrying nibbles floating inside my skull. How this was all going to be fixed wasn't apparent to me, aside from the fact that it was going to be done by pilfering more of Eli's work. I hadn't talked to him directly, but mother made it clear he sounded rather worn.

It was too few minutes before the boat came onto the rocky shore beneath a sky fading from red to black. Disembarking took a few seconds longer as our human guide struggled to get onto the rock without slipping backward, but we were soon plodding along the path to the entrance into the Underground hidden among the jagged hills and rocks.

At least, we were until the human guard suddenly took a left between two horse-sized boulders away from the main trail. It took him a few steps to turn around and see his companions had stayed still.

"Ah, yes. There are a lot of Orcs in the Underground who are eager to talk with you. Getting through without constant stopping simply isn't going to happen. The men on the walls know of our trip, so I'll light my torch if needed." He finished with a head bob before continuing his walk.

I only nodded as we followed him. From there, we walked an S-shaped path around mounds of rough rock. Sunlight was a fading commodity that barely peaked over the horizon now. Faint golden rays ran along the endless expanse of fractured stone while small chasms of shadow moved beneath the upright ones, a few of which we walked under. It was unfortunate that my vision was good enough for all but the darkest nights because if I had trouble seeing in the coming darkness then making these simple bends would keep me occupied and prevent what I suspected this trip would be.

When the sun finally lost its fight, my prediction proved accurate. This path had been untraveled by me or my guards, yet it was unobstructed in its center. Smooth on the feet, yet jagged in some of its turns. Too unfamiliar to let the mind wander and too boring to fully engage it.

Even when one of the stones peaking out over the others revealed itself to be the top of Crasden's high walls, I paid little attention. The night allowed the stars to shine as the clouds had chased after the sun, making the few torches burning along the top mold into the heavens. When the city walls came close enough to almost reach by spear throw, our guide took a right around a boulder and kept on it.

Faint memories of approaching such masses of stone came to me, the ones in the past raining a hail of arrows down in greeting. Walking around it with an upright walk, even in the night, put me on edge. As we took a bend around the mark of human civilization and down a small hill, I saw my husband's labor.

Jutting walls stretched on for almost the entire horizon. A huge tower off to the left stood around twice the height of the walls surrounding it. The imposing mass, however, wasn't what drew the eyes. At the end of the smaller wall connecting Crasden and Eli's domain was an open wound of crumbled rock near the quad mage's main gate. Bits of flame played around the top from what I wanted to guess were guards.

None of the others noticed the irritation in my every step and I was content to keep the walk silent as we moved alongside the road's wall. Waves pounding the shore mixed with the occasional drop of a pebble from our trek. Aside from that, it was dead silence. Not a single insect or bird could be heard among the jagged mess of rock left behind by mole packs who cared how long ago.

Winter was still a faithful companion, however lax it had been today. My fingers were starting to get a bit stiff when we made it to the road's wall and the coat barely made a difference when a breeze groped through my white shirt with each step towards Eli's land. Words of measured complaint were on the back of my tongue and about to travel towards the tip when our human guide finally stopped beside the sheer face of grey rock.

"Here," He exclaimed with a pointed finger to a hole about a foot from the wall that had faint flickers of torchlight inside from somewhere below.

It would be a bit tight for my armed Kelton guards, but as I plopped down to place my legs in, my thighs went past the rocks and dirt with little fuss. My stomach leaped up with the six-foot drop, but the landing onto rough rock floor was otherwise flawless. I was surrounded by grey rock wall that was doused in the torchlight of what looked to be a wider expanse of the open stone room beyond the hole for a door directly ahead. Moving off to the left, I took a sideways glance to realize that the room out of here was the big tunnel connecting Crasden and Eli's domain and we were coming in from its side.

The guard's arrival was not as smooth. Swords had to be tossed down lest they jolt out of their holsters and be sent flying up a rib cage. Our human guide had the easiest time of it, with his leather armor, but the Keltons had to do a small roll on landing with their horns and metal chest plates. Standing near the exit of the room with the human, I thought we'd be dealing with at least one snapped horn before they'd made the first jump. Which made it all the more impressive when, of the three, the only problem was the last one hitting the wall with his shoulder.

"How much longer do we have to walk?" I asked the guide behind us as I inspected the scuffed skin of the brown-furred Kelton.

"He's not there," The black Kelton guard to my right said, his white eyes looking behind me with furrowed eyebrows.

The rest of us followed his gaze to the empty entrance into the tunnel. Irritation at being left behind coiled in my gut. I sucked in a deep breath to yell after the man. In the blink of an eye, the sound of rushing water filled the room. By the time my lips had changed to form new words, a wall of ocean reaching the ceiling surged into the room.

I immediately tried swimming to the top, perhaps helping the Keltons get rid of their armor as I did so, but then I noticed that the water wasn't letting me move, either under my power or from its forceful entry. When the faint lights shifted a bit, I realized what this was.

Magic.

A few seconds of shifting oranges in the world of water passed before the liquid near my head pulled away. Releasing the held breath, I tried to look around. Aside from a tunnel around the front of my face showing grey rock and the occasional torch, the world was nothing besides murky distortion.

Cool water pressed against my body, filling any gaps in my coat, shirt, and pants. What I wasn't feeling was panic. I could do nothing against a mage. Maybe if the ambush had been on the other end… Now, however, I could do nothing against their power.

Some faint suggestion that I should have gotten some magical protection from Eli came. The healing enchantment in my collar wouldn't do any good against being diced into dozens of pieces. The crafts I had taken on the excursion to Mole Hill had been left…. I couldn't remember. At the moment of probable death, all I felt was embarrassment that I had misplaced such treasures.

Unable to hear anything, the sudden scratch of poorly made rope on my wrists made me jolt. Given that the liquid cage had all the give of stone, a soft pain from scraping my shoulder against uncaring water was all I got for the movement. Pushing through the distraction, I tried wiggling my entire body. South of the thighs and upper half could be encased in metal bands for all they could move, but the midsection moved like sludge as the ropes pulled my arms behind me.

After my hands were snug to my backside, the water finally released its grip on me. I felt like I was in a waterfall for a second before solid stone slapped my soles. The former cage splashed around my thighs before pooling on the floor. Then it vanished into nothing almost as quickly as it came into the room.

The massive tunnel would no doubt merit a look if I could pull my eyes away from the woman a few feet in front of me. Wearing a leather jerkin with a white shirt and black pants, I had to say her poise more closely matched mine than Salamede's or Nersa's. Red hair reached the shoulders and the right hand at the sword on her hip was in the correct position for a quick pull. I would even say the sharp nose was pretty close to the one seen in mirrors and still ponds. Any potential companionship from such similarities was dispelled by the sour pull on her strong chin and the scowl revealing a missing tooth on the left side.

"Lady," Our guide turned trapper said as he walked up behind me from the right. "Being so close to the green-"

The groveling words died with the slow turn of the woman towards him, sending his head downward in submission.

"Do I have a dick?" She asked in a whisper that could never be heard anywhere else but in a bare tunnel.

"Do-…." The man gulped. "No. Lady. Scion."

"Well, the great ancestors did manage to fit that much in your skull," She said with a hint of bitter-sweet anger. "Then, it stands to reason that they pose no threat of spreading my talent to their children. They can, however, give us the information needed to make Tilvor's failures well known. The Keltons…."

Her green eyes regarded the goat-headed men behind me with indifference.

"Hmm," The mage's pink lips puckered in deep thought for a second before she casually shrugged. "If they know something the Orc doesn't, it will die with them. All of you, come."

She turned around with the full assurance of unquestioned command. Our former guide was joined from behind us by a few other previously unseen men in red leather. When he pulled me ahead, any worries about tripping in mud subsided when I realized all the water had dissipated. There was no puddle around my feet and even my underwear was as dry as when I had gone down the hole.

The yawning tunnel stretched on for as far as could be seen until what I presumed to be the site of the wall collapse came into view. At the end was a thick grey curtain reaching down to what I wanted to say was a dozen and a half feet. Our captors kept us going until the disaster beyond the cloth revealed itself.

Jagged walls with uneven gouges in the rock surrounded a space around the size of a barn. Large, but too small for the opening into a major underground city. That was until it became apparent that the section at the front was mostly comprised of huge grey slabs that used to be above ground. All illuminated by lit torches stuck in odd spots along the wall.

I took a moment to consider what being here at the moment of collapse was like before looking elsewhere. However bad it looked, the stone building to the right seemed untouched.

It was as simple as anything more than a lean-to could be. No windows in the walls comprising a single floor or other furnishings could be seen on the thing barely large enough for three proper rooms. The long creak of wood and sudden sound of footsteps made it clear that a door was on the unseen side facing the rubble. Around the corner of the building came another red-leathered guard.

"What is it?" The red-haired mage demanded with no attempt at patience.

His bare face got a bit of sweat but he continued all the same.

"Fessel isn't convinced he can get the plant scion to come but-"

A raised hand stopped him.

"Bring him here." She commanded. The guard gave a light bow before shuffling back to the unseen door. The mage then motioned towards the building, which the guards promptly moved us towards. As one of the Keltons was pushed ahead of me, I noticed that they had been stripped of all their armor and weapons, which made it a bit easier when our backs were against the wall and squished together. The men watching over us stood a bit to the left, allowing the mage a full view of us.

Another swing of wood preceded another human coming around the corner, though this one had a metal helmet and chestplate. Bits of black hair flapped near his upper neck while a nervous chewing of lips above a strong chin made it clear that the presence of human mages didn't set his heart at ease. Despite that, a steady breath came out of his sharp nose and green eyes brimmed with energy. He came up to the mage with heavy thuds from his leather boots, which the mage regarded with expectant silence.

"Tilvor has stayed away from this place at Kev's pleading," Fessel explained in a dull tone. "He's familiar enough with the guards to know mine aren't with the regular bunch. Sending Kev to fetch him is probably the best way to avoid suspicion."

The woman puckered her lips at that.

"I suppose anything that brings him to the place he's been kept away from will seem off. I do hope you know how hard it is to motivate a man as near to death as Kev."

The armored guard did a light bow.

"I do. And I have the how of it." Fessel implored.

She nodded before resuming an almost statue-like stillness.

The man went back inside and returned in a few seconds. This time he was accompanied by two of his fellows manhandling a rather mute Kev between them donned in a white shirt and black pants. His black hair was short now, though the matching beard and mustache were the same as always. Sweat dripped down his thin nose and cheeks, but his brown eyes told of determination.

"A final task," The woman announced with all the friendliness of an executioner. "Tilvor. We need him here. You will fetch him."

Kev looked unimpressed at the demand. Raising his eyebrows as if to say 'Really?' and sucking in his lips like the words only amused him. A vein throbbed in the woman's forehead at the obstinate display. Fessel, however, moved between them.

"You die today," He announced with a casual shrug. "That is a fact. The question is whether your…. Spawn joins you."

The disdain in the man's voice reverberated around the cave before cracking through Kev's demeanor, whose lips immediately went white from the clenching of teeth.

"A member of the Watch will be seeing to his soon enough. They're well trained in such arts and taking a small detour to visit that hovel you call home would be trivial. That is, of course, still a risk. A risk that isn't worth potentially letting the bigger fish go. As long as we don't have to take it. Will you force us to take it, Kev?"

Any resistance in the man melted away about halfway through. All they got was a numb nod, which the two accepted with smiles. Fessel opened his mouth, the words about to come out silenced by the swing of the unseen door.

It was hard to see the person coming around the corner with a hood up, but the green robes screamed expensive taste. Gold leaves embroidered up and down the cloth, wrapping around emerald gems sparkling in the torch's light.

"Did you say Kev has gotten him?" The man asked the scion with little of the usual deference.

"We're fuc- sending for him. He's getting ready to send for them now," The woman stated slowly between gritted teeth as the man in question was dragged back towards the stone dwelling.

"It's not like we don't have time, Percy," An unseen woman from the front of the house called. "The captain was quite happy to put us on the manifest after the coin we gave him. We'll be off soon enough."

"I know you lot aren't used to actual toil," The water mage hummed with a casual thumbing of her sword. "But I hope you're aware that the woods aren't streets with uneven stones. Don't be so eager to start the trek after we've finished here."

The two guards placed Kev to the right with a single brown-furred Kelton between us. His brown eyes were dead and an air of defeat hung about him as the mages bickered. An opportunity I took. Sending out a spirit connection, I moved it across the Kelton first.

'Don't move.'

The goat-man followed the order as I moved the unseen connection behind his head and towards the human's shoulder.

'Kev.'

My sudden intrusion into his mind only elicited a small sigh.

'Who are these mages?' I demanded.

'The green-robed dick is a plant mage, while an earth caster also waits inside with two of my trusted men, Sally, and two other priests serving as architects. And three of Fessel's guards for protection. The woman who brought you is a water scion. Not a 'might be a' scion like the plant mage either. She had a familiar who died at his hands.'

His head dipped down a bit as he finished. By all accounts, life had abandoned him and the feeling seemed mutual.

'What's this all about?' I demanded, growing a bit more furious at his demeanor with each word.

'The man we stole magic crafts from. That spy they mentioned found some of his crafts among the wreckage. Whatever animosity has come between these mages and Tilvor, they want to end it by shaming him for letting us get a few of his tools.'

His face turned up a bit as he gave me a small smile.

'Not that I would ever blame you. It's been good. My girl's going to grow up and I've got another on the way. A good life overall, I think.'

'They're bringing him down here, right? That's what they said.' I demanded with a raise in pitch approaching panic. My chest heaved like I had run here while cold winter nipped at exposed skin.

Kev only gave me a sideways glance barely peeking between black locks.

'Um, yes. I also remember what they said two minutes ago.'

The snide resignation in his voice sent a twitch through my right arm, the slap only stopped by the Kelton between us and its bonds.

'Shut up!' I growled in the spirit connection.

Thinking it over for a second, I crafted the words that would reveal as little as possible.

'Kev, when you meet the plant mage start a spirit connection. Tell him about the trap then say 'Gula said to kill everyone not tied up'. Do you understand?'

His head went straight up at that. Midnight eyebrows furrowed as the sound of the unseen door opening filled the cave. That look of skepticism finally sent my temper over the edge.

'Kev, if you don't do this I will spend the entirety of my death haunting your bloodline!' The words were sent as loudly as my mind could make them.

A dubious look was all I got as two red-leathered men approached with matching armor and a breastplate for him. Before they pulled him away, the sense that he wasn't going to follow my instructions was a bit too real for my taste. I stared hot murder at him as the messy black beard was pulled out of the leather armor being lowered over him and his chest encased in steel, those mud eyes never meeting mine.

The captain of the local guard was quickly looked over by Fessel, who nodded and sent him off with a small smile. Kev and his two captors went further to the right past the unseen section by the house. Echoing footsteps told of a tunnel somewhere in the hidden area, though our position lined up against the building left any curiosity unfulfilled.

"That's why." The woman mage expounded to Percy off to the right in full view of their hostages. Her left hand idly thumbed the sword's pommel, more in irritation than threatening its use.

Realizing that an entire other conversation had happened while I was mind-screaming at Kev, I finally tuned into the mage's argument.

"Yes," Percy scoffed as he threw up his hands, the dark tan of his arms being the first I had seen of him besides gaudy green robe. "Him being shamed about having the Orcs touch his crafts is certainly worse than a blade to the throat."

Thick sarcasm dried up even as he continued.

"The man has no shame! No dignity or pride. Killing him outright is the best choice for everyone."

The redhead took a step closer to him, her red eyebrows furrowed and smile thin.

"He is still a scion." She announced.

Even with the face unseen, the sudden rise of the man's shoulders and deep breathing made his emotions clear as the woman continued.

"Knowing she filched it from under his very nose, that he directly aided Garren's bane," She stopped for a second to nod towards me, "Will haunt him till his dying day. As his murder of Zanel will me."

"Your decision to attack him after surrendering is-"

The redhead's right hand shot forward like a whip, carrying her a bit past Fessel. It reached into the hood, pushing it back to reveal the black locks currently grasped between her fingers. Percy's tan continued on the bits of exposed face and neck, doing nothing to conceal the quiver in his stubby chin.

"I DIDN'T ATTACK HIM!"

That almost feral scream reverberated around the cave, emphasizing the woman's wild green eyes and gnashing snarl.

"He-," She stopped for a moment to steady her breathing and tighten her grip on his hair. "Will suffer. He took the hole in his heart and fitted mine with it. This disgrace is the only true revenge I can give him in return. You may have freed me, but do not think that gives you the right to dictate our course."

She pulled him a little closer, leaning his head to the left as she did so. The move exerted dominance yet the tone that followed was sweet enough to match her soft smile.

"This is between scions and all the weight of our station. Your insignificant grievances will be as satisfied as can be. We're going to be heroes, Percy. We're the ones who will uncover the flow of magical items into green hands. Such a disgraceful thing hasn't happened in decades, at least to my knowledge."

"Hmm," He hummed in agreement, though his head stayed in place beneath her palm.

"When I get back to the Mist, I am going to dispatch spies to this pit. They will tell me every word of condemnation that falls on his head, every drop of spit that proper mages send his way. And when that crusty, withered, husk of a man shits his deathbed for the final time, I will do everything in my power to be there.

Are you going to deny me such satisfaction? Or will you bask in the glory to come and whatever promotion your bosses can throw at you?"

A full second of silence passed.

"Fine," Percy spat out, the petulance of a child coming clear through.

The woman released her grip, allowing Percy to stand straight. He put his hands in the sleeves of the robe and turned away from the scion. Smooth cheekbones had a few flecks of sweat, though the brown eyes almost matching his skin didn't deign to look my way.

Minutes passed before another human guard in almost blood-red leather came from the curtained entrance. The walk over brought him between the guards standing like statues off to the left, only springing to life to allow his passage. He regarded the scion with a smile and extended Percy the same courtesy when the robed man came back from the side of the house. His thick red beard and mop of hair were a lighter red than the woman's, though his green eyes above protruding cheeks matched.

"Is it done?" Percy demanded with an indifferent gaze as he idled about on the right.

"Yes," The newest arrival announced. "We'll be long gone by the time the…. Ilk are discovered."

The scion woman puckered her lips, looking the man up and down like he was a bug climbing onto her plate.

"Those Ilk came from your loins, did they not?" she asked with a not quite accusing tone.

A rough cough came from Fessel, who had been content to stand to the woman's right and keep out of the mage's conversation.

"The Watch does what is needed," Fessel's voice announced. "You can't spy among those who mate with Orcs without participating. He expunged the stain, so let's focus on what's next. What of the other members? Is there anyone else among the Orc's men who could help us? Tilvor is going to the prison she was staying at and any help bringing him in will be appreciated."

The red-haired man took a deep breath and released it as a cloud from his mouth.

"I don't know who else is in the Watch. All we are provided is a single phrase to prove our association, which is rotated after a few years. Saying anything else about the plans-" His green eyes darted towards me and the Keltons, taking us in like we were rabid dogs in a cage. After that moment, he turned back. "Is needless."

Fessel nodded with a bow that sent his short black hair cascading down.

Any further conversation died. I checked on the Keltons through spirit connections. None were hurt or had nothing else to say after asking me the same. Cold bit at my skin as the torches lining the walls could do nothing to hold back winter's embrace. Minutes of staring at uncaring rock passed only interrupted by the crushing of rock beneath impatient feet from all present.

The woman had a small smile that grew with her skittishness. The smacking of her boots soon bounced off the walls as she started pacing in place. No fear or trepidation could be seen in the hard face, only excitement and anticipation in those green eyes. A bit of which showed in Percy, even if he stayed in place.

The mundane guards were likewise energized, thumbing their sword pommels and standing at full attention with spines of steel. Even I couldn't keep my toes from curling and lips free from crushing teeth. We were all headed to the same place, with no one able to say precisely where this long wait ended.

When the first steps sounded off from the unseen corner of the cave, they landed with the weight of a falling mountain. The humiliated pirate immediately stood straight, her chin sticking out with the tongue swiping over her lips. Everyone else was likewise engaged, each smack of leather on stone demanding full attention.

Around the corner came Kev, looking dejected and resigned as his brown eyes lazily took in the room. Any interest I had in him vanished when the grey hair of my sister-wife finally showed around the corner. Eli's green eyes, my green to be precise, shot back and forth above a brown cloth face covering. Anyone not familiar with his reluctance to show his face would assume it was due to keeping warm, something his thick leather coat with a white shirt and black pants helped sell.

Those emerald pools stopped dead when they fell on me. When there wasn't an immediate cascade of magic blasting through the faces of everyone else present, I looked towards Kev on the quad mages left. He regarded me for only a second before turning back to Eli. And at that moment, I knew what my afterlife was going to be spent doing. If I couldn't ensure the cur got there before I did, at least.

Her moment of triumph finally at hand, the water scion walked forward with a broad smile. The woman trekked up to me, seizing my left arm like I was a trophy kill before dragging her prize towards Eli.

"What is this, pirate scum?" My husband demanded through a growl.

"Your failure," She announced with barely restrained glee. When we were just within arms reach of my husband, she brought us both to a stop. "This Orc slipped into your home and stole your magical crafts, which they've since put to use towards their ends. A shameful thing only caught by a member of the Watch who arrived at this wreck."

Percy would not be denied his moment in this climax of the play. Walking forward with a kingly gait from the left, the smug smile on the man's face held a lifetime satisfaction condensed into a single expression.

"Our magic has been sullied by you for the last time. As the representative of the Seed Association, I will expunge the stain you've put on the great plant element." He pronounced. That voice filled the cave with a child's joy.

The happiness in both mages' faces only emphasized the way I was shoved forward like a rotting animal to coat him in rancid stench. Eli clenched his jaw as I stopped two feet from him, refusing to look at me. Instead, he gave Percy a slightly puckered lip.

"The plant element deigned to allow you its use. I can pile no greater shame on it than that."

All that confidence and joy disappeared in Percy's face like sand dipped into a frothing river. His teeth ground together while bits of white colored his cheeks.

"Even now, Tilvor? At your lowest, you still brush all that I am aside?" The green-robed man demanded.

"Enough!" The woman put in. She spared only a scathing look for the enraged man before turning back towards her prize. "You've allowed Garren's disease the use of your crafts. Aided in their survival through your carelessness. Lady Ashe will have her due from you if the other mages don't exact justice before her turn."

Eli continued with no acknowledgment of the male mages' suffering.

"I will not take this slander without proof." He continued.

Red hair jostled with the woman's eager nod.

"And proof we have in abundance. This has all been put in letters wrapped around a craft in our great guard captain's quarters. So, it goes without saying, that any thoughts of killing your way out of this are pointless. If your creaking joints could even achieve that, of course." She announced, almost skipping ahead of us towards the closed wooden door now revealed along the wall of the building.

Footsteps came up from behind, the familiar crunch of rock beneath boots filling my ears. I took the moment to check in on the Keltons before this charade continued. They looked as fine as hostages could be. When I began looking away, the brown-furred Kelton that had been between me and Kev opened his mouth. Time seemed to slow as I realized what kind of face the goat-man was making.

Whatever was coming out of his mouth, it required enough air to put his brown, curled horns up for a full-bodied yell. That, combined with the widening of white spheres of him and his fellows, made it clear that something was happening behind me. When my vision passed by the door, the Kelton's scream finally rang out.

"Lord mage!"

By the time his shrill scream hit, my eyes were already taking in what his had. Percy had a silver dagger in hand, the sharp tip glinting in the torchlight. The hand holding it was already pulled back for a proper stab into Eli's back.

Percy's mean grin mixed with confusion at the goat man's scream, slowing his vengeful thrust. That half-second fumble was the only reason I got between him and Eli in time. My teeth gritted in preparation for the familiar pain as the knife slid into my right side. The scars littering my body were not received from bushes or the playful swipes of children, yet the searing agony above the hip was no less excruciating for all that experience.

Black eyebrows furrowed on the tan mage's face. The red-haired member of the Watch to the left was likewise immobile, their green eyes looking between me and Eli. A dawning comprehension began to steal over the spy's face. Percy looked to be the first to say something, his mouth opening to deliver a world-shattering revelation.

The white-hot flash of fire that flew past me burned through his right leg like butter, keeping the words in his mouth forever after. More heat poured from behind me, like a bonfire that suddenly lit up. For my part, all I could feel was the lack of steadiness in my right leg. The world tilted as thin columns of flame engulfed my human captors to the left and further beyond.

Content to let the man with too many talents deal with it, I concentrated on facing upward when my right leg fully gave out. The only thing worse than being stabbed with a knife was landing on it immediately afterward. More heat. Lots of screaming. By the time hard rock finally hit my back, the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

I stared at the jagged ceiling for a second, allowing myself a second of idleness before looking around. All the humans were in states of crispiness. Looking directly left, I saw a pile of ash with bits of skeleton sticking out. The red-hot sword lying on top stuck out the most. Someone with a more artistic mind could probably explain in detail why the bone hand still wrapped around the pommel of charred leather was so haunting, but I was no such person. There were a few piles of charred mass and bits of smoking clothes by the door, now open to reveal a torch on the side illuminating the table and chairs inside.

Any further perusing was cut short as Eli lifted my head up with his right arm. Those green pools were filled with worry and the way he nestled me like a babe in his embrace, I had to admit it took a few seconds for me to realize the knife had been removed and a warmth was blooming from his left hand on my side.

"We have to stop meeting like this." He mused, the face covering failing to hide the mirth around his eyes.

"Yeah, me saving you is getting a bit old." I shot back, trying to keep how good it felt to have his arms around me out of my voice.

The smug joy in those green eyes said I didn't succeed. Failing at that, I decided to change the subject. Shifting onto my right arm, Eli gave me a slight nod as he summoned a rock knife and went to work cutting through the ropes.

"Kev," I announced to the empty room.

Slow footsteps came from somewhere above me. They were distinct from the ones further off behind me, which I placed as the Keltons coming over. When the leather boots came into view, I took a deep breath and then looked up.

Black hair only drew a starker contrast to the white skin on the guard's face, not that those thin cheeks had much blood to begin with. Those brown eyes were not starved, however, as they shot between me and the local mage of legend. Taking another lungful of air, I released it in a cough to draw his gaze firmly to me. He obliged with a sharp swing of his head that sent a bit of sweat down his sharp nose.

"Did you tell him?" I asked with a small smile.

"Um…." Kev bit his lower lip. It took a good second for him to shake his head.

My left leg connected with his shin before I could even decide how to react.

"Gula."

The chiding voice of Eli stopped the leg's second swing.

"You idiot!" I hissed between gritted teeth.

Kev didn't seem to register any of the abuse. His brown eyes resumed speeding back and forth between us. When the snap of cut ropes bounced across the rock walls, I lifted myself up onto my butt. Sitting there, a moment was taken to appreciate the pile of bone and charred muscle that was my attacker. Eli had not been precise with his flames, reducing this Percy fellow to bits of charred meat. The lofty origins of which were only shown in the bits of fine green cloth scattered about and still shining emeralds. An inner voice of greed told me to take the sparkling gems but I resisted with a heave off the floor.

On the left, my husband was freeing the goat-men while Kev kept up his impression of a white statue to the right. When the last ropes were undone by Eli's rock shiv, I took another deep breath. This time my legs moved towards the only other human without violence.

"When I said 'Tell him Gula says to kill them all', did you think I was doing it for fun?" I demanded.

Color returned to his cheeks as he puckered his lips.

"I wasn't going to risk giving them a reason….You're together?!" Kev almost whispered.

"I would have thought my message, the message that was supposed to save all our necks, made that clear," I demanded between gritted teeth.

"A man with a family in danger is not a rational creature," Eli extolled behind me.

Turning around, the Keltons were moving closer with hands rubbing red-ringed wrists. Eli was a bit off to the left, his green eyes taking us both in.

"But," My husband continued with a pointed look at Kev. "The time for rationality has returned. Do we have any other guests coming?"

"No." Kev said, "This is….Was a discrete meeting between the architects of the church, the human guard, and Gula. We were talking about…."

His awkward gulp echoed through the cave.

"Kev," Eli asked patiently with a raised eyebrow. "Do you think it wasn't immediately obvious to me what happened when the wall collapsed?"

The guard puckered his lips, thoughts churning through his skull so hard they were almost visible even without widening eyes and quickened breathing.

"Yeah," Kev announced with a look to the floor. "I suppose it wasn't just luck that Jerry saw your notes about the new governor's aims."

His head suddenly snapped to me in a flurry of black locks.

"Or that the plan to get his crafts succeeded."

I puckered my lips to keep a smile down.

"The past is very interesting with new context," Eli continued, drawing everyone back to him. "But the now has wrinkles that have to be addressed. Who else is around here?"

"There are two of my guys in the building and three members of the church. Two of those are architects looking to fix this place with more of your crafts. Which I suppose we can considering the one who made them is present."

The guard had a hopeful tone, perhaps the first positive emotion he had felt all afternoon. He emphasized it with a look towards the building, though my husband was still thinking about other things.

"And you trust those men? With everyone's lives? They weren't killing off the captives yet, so they may have been waiting to reveal their status as spies." Eli asked Kev with a puckered lip.

Brown eyes turned towards the quad mage with an enthusiastic nod.

"I'd like to say we were selected for our positions because of our skill. The truth is a large part of why I lead the guard, and they assist me, is because we've shown we're not part of the Watch in the past. I survived a raid after the spies had run away and those two stopped one from killing their family."

Eli looked towards me again. I had heard as much from the Orc guards and in gossip, so I nodded. This time, however, I followed it up with a questioning eyebrow. He was jumping a bit ahead, but a more important question needed answering.

"Is anyone else coming by?" I asked.

"No. There are Orc guards at the end of the tunnel and the men under Fessel you saw on the way here. Both sides think everything is fine. For an hour or two, at least."

Eli furrowed his grey eyebrows, biting his tongue as his unfathomably old mind pondered the situation.

"I don't like Fessel's men being so close. Killing them will be easy, but will any other guards come looking?"

"No," Kev put in with a small shake. "The reason it was so easy to slip in here is because I've made it clear to the men that they are to avoid this area save those needed to scour for anything ambling in from the rocky plain. Any more than that draws the undead."

The quad mage turned to the Keltons.

"Two of you get back in armor and watch the end of the tunnel. Kev and I will deal with the last of Fessel's men."

"And what about me?" I asked.

Eli nodded over toward the back of the building facing the rock. I followed his lead behind the building while the four others waited around with an awkward stillness. The smell of burnt flesh still hung in the air, growing a bit stronger as we walked over the ash piles and retreating slightly as we turned around the corner of the building.

It was a bare thing resembling a topless hallway, sporting only a jagged rock wall on the left bathed in a fire glow, the smooth surface of the building on the right with a window showering the opposite wall in light, and an empty space at the end. The second we were out of sight of the men, Eli did a turn around so sudden I nearly collided with him. Standing a few inches away from each other, the irritation in his green eyes and slight push on the face covering by puckered lips was now apparent, or at least finally being shown. The impression left me prepared for the electric sensation sent across my face.

'Don't do that again,' Eli said, 'If I get attacked in the future, try to shove me out of the way or…. Anything else.'

My eyebrows furrowed at the unexpected start to the conversation.

'Don't try to save you?' I asked, too incredulous to be mad.

'Try to, if you can. Getting yourself killed to do it? Absolutely not. Worst comes to worst, I would have had to heal myself while the pirate woman attacked hi-'

The violent shake of my head stopped him. My spine straightened into a steel bar while I let anger pucker my lips and nose flare with each breath.

'My people need you, Eli. Far more than they ever will me.' I countermanded while driving a single finger into his chest. 'A single Orc isn't important. The untold thousands of green women being ground into paste in this hellish world are what matter. More than our feelings or personal comfort, if that decision has to be made.'

He closed the gap between us, taking my hands in his and clasping them together inside his larger palms as he squeezed groping fingers around them.

'You're important to me. To Salamede and everyone else.'

A blade of warmth cut through bone and flesh to seize my heart. Not the kind that had seen to the mages around the corner but a comforting blaze pushing away the coldness on my skin and softening the ice that had etched into my soul from years on the battlefield as worthless fodder. Heavy breathing continued even as my lips trembled. Eli responded by pulling me into a full hug.

'Mathematically, what you said is true.' He continued in a patient tone while I stared into his leather jacket. 'What we're doing here has the potential to bring a level of prosperity previously unimaginable. The industries and technology we're working to bring this world will save millions and bring about the food and housing to allow for the birth of billions more. Is that worth one person's life? A single individual?

Yes.'

Eli pushed me a bit back, still keeping me in his embrace but now my world consisted of green eyes piercing me through.

'Blade to my wife's throat, can I say all those possibilities are worth more than her? Is the woman I've grown to love, who will one day bear my children, worth letting die for the sake of all the woulds and coulds of an unrealized vision?'

He probably meant to leave the question unanswered, but the subtle, seemingly unconscious shake of his head betrayed that intention.

'That is not something any man should be asked.'

I bit my lip. Any effort to not register how good he felt around me failed yet again. Equally as shameful, the honeyed words sloshed through my ears without resistance. Raw love would not be denied, whatever frustration I was feeling at how illogical it was. I pressed myself against him, soaking in the moment before finally responding.

'Then we best make sure it doesn't come up again. Resolving the current situation will go a long way towards that.'

Whatever notion I had of pulling away for this conversation, my arms and legs voted against it.

'I don't think we should tell them everything,' Eli put in as his arms wrapped around me more fully. 'Just say we're making a place for us to stay together since I don't think they can be convinced our relationship is purely one of mutual benefit.'

'Them?' I asked with a raised eyebrow at his right peck snuggled against my cheek. 'Right now, it's just Kev. Why not keep it at that? We can tell the others….something to keep them ignorant of our connection.'

'If they hadn't brought down my wall, I'd possibly agree. Sadly, just giving them the plans for this place has proven wanting. That doesn't even touch the whole other problem surrounding this mess. Three mages and the replacement for the head of the guard are now spoken of in past tense. A story will need to be conjured and Kev working alone cannot explain these events to any satisfactory level.'

Right. A ball of panic dropped in my stomach as the enormity of the past few minutes came into view. A reluctant pull backward was the first answer I gave.

'Ok,' I said with an unsteady tone. 'You deal with the remaining guards and I'll get the people still tied up free. Assuming there isn't anyone hostile inside.'

Eli shook his head, intentionally this time.

'The earth mage and the last two guards inside were burned to a crisp.'

With that, we separated in a single step towards the group around the corner. When we made it back to the main floor of the cave, I was surprised to see how indifferent Kev seemed at our return. The Kelton men had since retrieved their stolen armor and waited off to the left.

"Kev, with me. Two of you guard the entrance to the tunnel while another helps Gula free those stuck inside." Eli commanded the group.

None objected, least of all the only other human present who moved behind Eli like a nervous attendant as they walked into the mouth of a small tunnel to the right. One of the black-furred Keltons likewise followed me to the building. A single step over a pile of ash brought me into the bare room.

The rushed nature of the building became even more apparent when I realized the floor was the same bare rock outside. A single torch burned on the left wall near a window, illuminating the long table with seven plain wooden chairs in the center. Another was placed near a desk to the left. The flickering orange and red didn't reveal any tied-up hostages. It did make it easier to see the door in the back left, however. I moved around the right of the table only to feel a hand on my left shoulder halfway to the door.

A turn around revealed the Kelton guard shaking his black-furred head and brown, curved horns. That was all I got before he pushed ahead, hand on the pommel of his sword with his other moving to take the door handle. He gave it a good yank, sending the wood slamming against the frame. The light push that followed revealed another room with no light. Some firelight flickered through but I couldn't see anything inside from the angle save a bit of the left wall.

He took out a small dagger, making my hand fly to the sword not on my hip.

"You're safe now." He announced to the room before going in to leave me grasping at air.

The poorly lit closet produced the twang of cutting ropes for a few seconds before stumbling steps preceded a priest in a black dress and hood coming through. All her features were sharp, from the nose, chin, and cheeks, though her red eyes in black spheres were a bit wide from the sudden light. Her black robes were covered in dust yet the early 30's woman didn't seem too out of sorts, only regarding me with a questioning glance before shuffling to the side for the next survivor.

Shortly after, a rough man with a brown beard that matched his eyes and smooth cheeks walked out. He and his skinny, blonde fellow looked a little more out of sorts. Their red armor was covered in the same grey dust but the brown and green eyes immediately went to the exit door. There were bodies close to the entrance but they were blocked by the table. The lack of screams or pale faces said their vision was similarly obstructed even as they moved directly ahead closer to the wall.

The next was a smaller priest with ears so large and sharp they pocked out of the cowl. Old to the point that all her hair was black-flecked grey and the skin around the sharp nose and stubby chin was lined with wrinkles. Those red eyes had a rather sour look despite the rescue and lack of dust on her barely five-foot body.

"Being in such tight places has never agreed with me." The older priest announced to the room before shuffling to my right.

"Oh, shut up!" The brown-haired man scoffed with a sour look "I'm the one who had a goblin plopped on them for an hour."

I tried to cough louder than my laugh. The common insult for older Orcs was apparently a feature of the universe. Hearing it out of a human mouth, however, caught me off guard. My efforts drew the old priest's severe gaze on me.

"And what a poor chair he was."

The man stood silent even as his human companion choked. Their jovial spirit was not shared by the younger priest, whose nervous demeanor cracked enough to allow an angry scowl.

"Is this a show by the mages? String us along with some false hope before crushing us like ants?" She demanded with a pointed look towards the open door.

As cruel as it was, I had some gratitude for the time they had to process their coming deaths. No hysterics, just four people wondering if the reality they had lived for the past hour was finally reaching its conclusion.

"No, you're safe."

A slight slouch in all their shoulders said almost as much as the relieved sighs. The nervous woman merely bit her lips, not quite accepting the good news.

"And how did that happen?" A familiar voice announced from the closet.

Sally stepped out with the Kelton, her black pants and white shirt looking disheveled with the black collar opened and hanging on her shoulder. She was trying to fix the dark band and wipe the dust off at the same time, yet her gold eyes still looked at me with unwavering attention.

"That will be explained." I said as the goat man moved off to the left and out of sight "For now, just take a seat at the table and try to relax. You've all spent the last few hours waiting to die. Take a few minutes to collect yourselves, in proper chairs this time."

That drew a smile from the older woman while the men were too busy moving to the right side of the table to notice. The priests were a bit slower, with….Bishop? The faintly remembered title danced on my tongue yet Sally moved towards the left side of the table all the same. Fortunately, the Kelton guard had the forethought to close the door after coming out as we mingled on the group's salvation.

I moved to the head of the table, taking up the seat closest to the door. On the way there, I noticed my sword by the desk. Probably a prize one of the human guards wanted. Sadly, swords made for poor sitting companions, so I made a mental note to pick it up on the way out as I plopped into the chair. The nervous priest sat on what was now my immediate right, with the older woman behind her and Sally at the last seat on the right. My immediate left was taken up by the brown-haired man with the blonde fellow sitting further behind.

The scrape of wood on stone to the left announced the Kelton's theft of the desk chair. He dragged it to the table, filling the position opposite of me. When he finished and immediately moved away to stand at my right, every eye present made note of it. Whatever questions were present behind those gazes, they were fighting with the sudden realization that tomorrow would be coming for them and remained unspoken.