Chapter 293

'At least the big oaf stopped flailing.' Zesshi thought when she finally began to slow her pace. Behind her the city became smaller, though hardly a dot, no pursuit was either likely yet, or likely to find them even if they'd begun. 'And none of them saw me, I'm sure of that.' The half elf stopped and dropped the behemoth of an elf, from off of her shoulder, and to her relief he didn't try to run or fight. His resistance to her taking him up to carry, died as soon as they were outside the city walls.

He landed and touched his ears, blood dripped from them still, the veins and nerves that made them so sensitive had done nothing to stop either the flow of blood or pain to her half sibling, as his shaking hands testified when he ran the fingers back and forth over their newly cropped shape.

"They really took them… so it's not just a rumor… those… those monsters…" He grunted and gasped, but suppressed his dismay and his pain when Zesshi said nothing, and looked down at her at last. "Who- Who are you?"

"How many of you are there?" Zesshi demanded and crossed her arms in front of her slight chest.

"What?" He stared dumbly from his almond eyes, whatever answer he was looking for, a question phrased as a demand wasn't it.

"You. How many? Kingets. Sons and daughters of the Elf King?" Zesshi clarified her question, and the sheer absurdity of the question gave him further pause.

"Lots. Like… one in eight of the population, s'posedly, I don't really know, nobody does, but a lot." The behemoth answered, and Zesshi felt her knees grow weak.

"My… brothers and sisters then… do they… do they all end up how you did back there, when they're captured, that is?" Zesshi asked, but dread roiled in her heart like oil spreading out over a fire.

"Yuh, I guess? Talked to some of the others, but the Theocracy, they got a lot of us now. I passed through a bunch of cities on my way here, can't go that long without seeing one of us, brothels, fields, mines, houses and such… why? Who are you an… and what was all that? Why'd you save me?" He demanded and crossed his own arms, a trail of crimson trickling over the length of his arm before a single drop fell into the green of the grass at their feet.

"I'm your half sister… and a citizen, no… a weapon of this country. Or… I was." Zesshi explained. 'So this is what they've kept from me… brothels… mines… fields… menials of all kinds. They've been lying to me, lying to me for a hundred damn years!' Even sheltered as she was, Zesshi was not unaware that some people preyed on the powerless. 'That instructor who raped Clementine was like that… strange how I was the only one to believe her. No wonder she ran off, but she was crazy before that anyway… but if that'd happen in the Black, where else? Raymond… you have some serious explaining to do when we meet again.'

Zesshi shook her head to remove herself from her stupor, "Listen to me," she said when she looked up at the brute, "North of here is the Kingdom of Carne, if you can make it there, you'll be safe."

"Which way is north?" Her big brother asked and looked around.

"No idea. But…" Zesshi answered, then thought it over. "Brain, my traveling companion, he knows where it is, and we've been traveling steadily in that direction." She looked around and then leveled her arm out and pointed toward the distant horizon, tracing her finger from the city and toward another big bend in the far river.

"So… you're my little sister… half sister… one of so many… thank you." He answered and touched his bloody ear again, "I… I'll see you, I hope. I'd better get going, I suppose you're not coming with me?" He asked in a deep, regretful voice.

"No, I need to get back to my companions, nobody saw that it was me, so that shouldn't be a problem, all you have to do is keep moving, good luck…" Zesshi held out a small hand and it disappeared inside of the enormous grip of the towering, broad shouldered elf, "big brother."

"Same to you, little sister. Do you have a home somewhere that I could come see you at?" He asked, a gentle smile over his smooth lined face.

"Yes, I-" She stopped. "No. No… I don't have a home anymore… I just realized that… I can't stay here anymore… what the hell am I supposed to do…?" She wondered about that with no clear answer. 'I've got no friends now… no place of my own. Just… where the hell do I go?' She asked, and the big elf put a hand down on her shoulder.

"You're strong, don't worry, the strong always find a place in this world, and if they can't, they've got the power to make one. I hope we meet again, and if we don't, I'll be forever grateful for my wandering little sister." He said and wiped the blood away from his arms, then with that, he turned and took off at a dead run.

Zesshi lingered to watch him go. 'I… shit, I didn't even ask his name.' She looked at the city again and it took her big brother out of her line of sight. "I need to go back… maybe… maybe I should have gone with my brother instead, but he knows this place at least as little as I do, and he's not going to go all the way to Arwintar."

She thought it over, 'Plus… I'm sure they're waiting for me.' That brought an unexpected little smirk to Zesshi's face that was entirely pure, even without being together very long, Brain proved himself a pleasant and amiable, even charming companion who could brush off her brusqueness, while Layali was just… 'Damn cute when she doesn't have that deathly look on her face…'

The pathetic girl pulled at the faint heartstrings of Layali's fellow half elf, and whether she wanted to admit it or not, she thought, 'I'd actually miss the girl a little.'

With that, Zesshi began to make her way back, though she took her time about it.

When she did return, the city guard was doubled, with figures along the walls and in particular, at the hole in the wall which was steadily being repaired by various masons working by torchlight. Their backs were bent about their labors, notably, they were all human.

The flames licked at the air, held up by multiple heavy looking guards, 'They're clearly taking this seriously, magic would make this easier, but they must be worried he'll come back and want to save mana for a fight…'

An understandable, practical, and needless response. The guards were equally useless. She used her martial arts again to boost her speed, and she was over the wall before they knew anyone was there.

The grousing of workers having to labor into the night, slapping down stone after stone onto mortar to fix the hole Zesshi left for them, gradually retreated at her back as she advanced toward the inn.

Nobody noticed one more pedestrian walking the street in the daytime, much less so in the darkness as people either returned from work or were going out drinking. The noise of abundant carousing came from various establishments, the smell of food and beer was accompanied by the sound of laughter and bright yellow lights out of more than one building.

Out of the most idle curiosity, the half elf stopped at one as she passed it when she heard the noise of a stringed instrument and a fair and feminine voice ringing out with a drinking song.

Zesshi looked at the place, it didn't have glass windows, but it did have a broad bay window with heavy shutters that were held open to allow air to flow freely. She stood close to it and looked inside. Humans were gathered at various wooden tables, and a single song followed along with that of the woman who stood on a very low stage playing a tune.

"The beer she makes your will so strong…

But that don't help that big ole dong

So buy it time with a drin-king song…"

"She'll show you the way to go home!"

"Hey!"

"She'll show you the way to go home!"

"Hey!"

"But if it's not up she'll leave you a-lone!"

"Nay!"

It was high spirits inside with mugs of frothy beer waving around as rough workers flirted with pretty young women, gap toothed smiles and big, lecherous grins that might have been off putting anywhere else, were there cause for people to relax more fully as they sought out whatever they truly wanted…

So… Comrades.' Zesshi thought, and thought about her fellow Black Scripture members, 'Can I really count those as comrades? We never did anything together. I'm literally 'the extra seat'. The closest one to that outside of Raymond is Cenna, the Captain is usually quick to offer to let me go on one of his little outings… now I'm wondering where he actually goes every year.'

When the camaraderie of the various common humans in the big tavern, their raucous laughter and crude humor and general happiness was put right up in her face as it was through the window, Zesshi couldn't help but put a hand on the sill as if to leap over and join the crowd within.

The brushing of the air against her ears beneath the hood was what stopped her.

The ears twitched beneath her hood, and her hand tensed enough on the stone sill that her fingers gouged tracks in the gray stone.

'I have no comrades here.' She thought, and turned her face away to return to the inn.

When she reached her room and knocked on the door there was no answer initially. She knocked again, still nothing.

Finally Zesshi said, "Layali, it's me." And the rapid sound of small feet scampering over the floor sounded through the door.

The lock turned, the door opened, and Zesshi slipped in before Layali pushed the door shut and locked it again.

The half elf trump card of humanity looked around the room as if Brain were hiding from her. "Where's Brain?" She asked as Layali yawned and went back over toward the bed.

"He said he was going to get work." She stretched out and lay on the bed, the 'warmers' were long since gone, and she snuggled beneath the blanket with her head on the pillow. "So this is what it's like to have one of my own… never had it before… it's nice." Layli murmured.

"What, a room?" Zesshi asked.

"No… never had a bed." She yawned again and began to fall back asleep.

Zesshi pursed her lips while she watched the half elf sleep, and thought of the relative opulence in which she was able to live when not minding the treasury. 'The difference between she and I… it's just power… that's it…' The treasury guardian's fingers formed into fists as she began to wonder how those who treated her with respect, would treat her if all her power was lost, or if she'd never had any at all.

The answer was steadily running north still. 'I'd be like the rest of them. I"m not 'one of the good ones' I'm a trump card, to be discarded when used and managed when not…' She cursed and snarled until she saw the half elf begin to quiver beneath the blanket as if Zesshi were disturbing her sleep.

"I… I'm going to find Brain, maybe earn some extra money with him…" Zesshi said, unsure if the girl heard her or not, she left the room behind.