Fortune of the Fallen

I didn't wake up this time. I was between worlds, not in Morgana's realm but not in the world I now called home. It took only a moment before the silence was broken. I could hear the slow clap before I could see anything 

The slow, deliberate sound echoed across the void. My vision cleared just enough for me to see a faint shimmer in the distance. Shapes began to form, a crow perched on a gnarled tree branch, a massive boar pawing at the mist-covered ground, and a lynx sitting lazily on a rock, licking its paw. Though the most unnerving thing about this, was how the hell were they clapping?

"Well, well, well," came a smooth, mocking voice from the crow as it tilted its head, its glossy black feathers shimmering faintly. "Look who we have here. The parasite who promised to behave."

The boar snorted loudly, its voice rumbling deep and gravelly as it spoke. "Behave? Ha! That lasted what? A week?"

"I think it was closer to a day," the lynx chimed in. It didn't even bother looking at me, instead grooming itself with the kind of disinterest that irritated me

I narrowed my eyes, my hands clenching into fists. "Oh, great. The peanut gallery," I muttered, my tone dripping with sarcasm. "What do you want this time? I'm a little busy trying to survive, in case you haven't noticed."

The crow let out a low, condescending laugh. "Oh, we've noticed, parasite. We've noticed quite a bit." It hopped along the branch, its beady black eyes narrowing as it leaned forward. "Killing a commander of our paladins? Turning our precious soldiers into corpses? Taking a mortal host after explicitly saying you'd stay in your lane?"

The lynx yawned again, it wasn't clear if he was trying to show boredom or expose his teeth to me. "It's almost impressive, really. You've managed to piss us off in a few days, more so than most mortals do in their entire lifetimes."

I glared at them "In case you forgot, I was minding my own business until your holy army came stomping into the woods, burning villages, and interrogating innocent people. What was I supposed to do? Let them kill me and everyone I care about?"

The boar snorted again, pawing at the ground as it stepped forward, its massive frame looming over me. "You brought this on yourself, parasite. You think we didn't see you skulking around in that human body, gathering power and allies? You've been meddling in the balance we maintain."

"Balance?" I spat, my voice rising. "You call what your paladins are doing balance? They're abusing anyone who so much as looks at them wrong, all in the name of your so-called justice!"

The crow cackled, its laughter sharp and piercing. "Oh, he's got a backbone now. How adorable. Listen, little shadow-dancer, our paladins do not abide by your rules, they do not bend to your twisted morality. They serve our higher purpose."

"Then maybe your purpose is the problem," I snapped, the words leaving my mouth before I could stop them.

The lynx finally turned its gaze to me, its golden eyes tearing into me. "Careful, parasite," it purred in a soft yet deadly tone. "You're already hanging by a thread. Don't cut it any shorter."

I took a step back, as their combined divine aura began to radiate toward me with much greater intensity than previously. I could feel the shadows within me stirring, reacting to my emotions. "If you're here to lecture me, save it. I don't have time for your cryptic nonsense. Either say what you want or let me go."

The boar let out a guttural laugh, its tusks gleaming as it shook its head. "Let you go? Oh, no, no, no. You don't get to walk away from this. Not after what you've done."

The crow flapped its wings, perching closer. "You've disrupted the balance, parasite. And now, you owe us a debt."

I crossed my arms, trying to mask the unease creeping up my spine. "What kind of debt?"

The lynx stretched, its claws digging into the rock beneath it. "You'll see soon enough. Consider this your warning, parasite. Keep stepping out of line, and we'll remind you why gods should not be trifled with."

The shadows within me surged yet again but I tried to press them down. I wasn't going to give in this easily. "Do what you want. I won't stop fighting!"

The three gods regarded me in silence for a moment, their forms shifting slightly as if they were barely tethered to this plane. Finally, the crow spoke, "We'll be watching, parasite. Let's see how far your defiance takes you."

The boar snorted, the lynx yawned, and the crow flapped its wings, and just like that, the void began to dissolve.

"Pray that your shadows don't consume you before we do."

When I finally woke up, I was drenched in sweat, my body aching for good reason. Mara's worried face came into view, her hands gripping my shoulders.

"Lucian, are you okay? You were thrashing in your sleep."

I nodded weakly, the gods' warning still fresh in my mind. "Yeah," I said, my voice hoarse. "I'm fine. Just… a bad dream." but our troubles weren't over, I could tell by the pained expression Mara held as she gazed down at me. 

Mara's hands were shaking as she hovered over me, she wanted to say something but appeared to be struggling with breathing her words into existence. I sat up slowly, though it didn't matter, anything I did shot pain radiating through my body. 

"What's wrong, we took them all out didn't we?" I looked around and observed the carnage of the remaining two paladins we fought in that last stand. One was a pile of gore and torn flesh, the other–the commander–was far worse. I couldn't stare for long, the hollow face, the black holes where eyes once rested, the singed veins that still held the lingering power of the shadow realm in them. It was haunting.

"Lucian…" her voice was barely a whisper, more akin to a tremble as a small tear began to form in the corner of her eye. "You've been through a lot…" she muttered while reaching out tentatively, her fingers brushing the right side of my face where the paladin's beam had struck. I flinched slightly as the skin was still tender and I had all but forgotten about the strike I had been hit with; but her touch was delicate, careful.

I reached my hand up to trace the groove in my flesh. The skin there felt strange, like it didn't belong to me anymore—gnarled, uneven, and rough to the touch. The beam had left its mark, one that would stay with this host until it died. It spread jaggedly across my cheekbone and down toward my jaw. The texture was charred and raw in some places, a brand that signified the cost I had incurred to achieve this victory.

Her brow furrowed, and she leaned closer, inspecting it with sorrow. "It's… bad," she said, her voice cracking slightly.

I chuckled weakly, trying to lighten the mood. "I figured. I don't need a mirror to know I probably look like a nightmare."

"You don't," she shot back, offended I would even imply something like that. Her hands cupped my face now, forcing me to meet her gaze. "That scar only shows you survived, a reminder of everything you accomplished for us, and the town those jerks tormented." Her fingers traced along the edges of the scar, gently as if she were afraid of causing me more pain.

Her eyes still glistened with tears. "You saved me. Again. So, if anyone has something to complain about, it's me, because you keep throwing yourself into danger like this."

"No–" my tone was grave as I recalled everything that had happened over a few short days. "We already went over this, the only reason you got wrapped up in this is because you decided to show me compassion. Everything that has happened has been a result of me–existing. The gods are after me, and as long as you are near, you will never spend a moment in safety or comfort." I hated how this was starting to sound like a goodbye, but I had to consider the options. If we stayed together, one or both of us would inevitably die. 

Mara sighed, exasperated. "I understand that, but you could have run out on me at any time. Instead, you chose to stay, and I chose the same thing." She brushed away the wetness building in her eyes. "I'll tell you what, let's get to the Academy and we can figure things out from there. That's likely the safest place in the capital I could be, and maybe you can stay nearby for a while until I get settled in. Then once I finish my studies, who knows, this entire thing might have blown over." A fragile smile crossed her lips as that familiar peppy nature returned her to the girl I knew–well, almost.

"First things first, we need to patch you up," she said, rummaging through her pack to pull out a set of potions. She handed one to me, then uncorked another for herself.

The liquid burned as it slid down my throat, warmth spreading through my body as it worked to knit together smaller wounds and bruises as well as any untreated internal damage. But I could feel the scar on my face remained untouched, the raw yet charred tissue remained unmoved by the potion's magic. Mara's expression told me she noticed it too.

"It won't fix that," I said, my voice flat.

"I know," she replied softly. "Some things aren't meant to heal completely."

Once the potions had done their work, we pushed ourselves to our feet, moving carefully as the exhaustion of the night weighed heavily on us. The clearing was eerily quiet now without the chaos of chase and battle.

"Let's check the bodies," I said, my voice low. "Might as well get something out of this mess, and it could help fund our time in the capital."

Mara nodded, and we worked our way around the clearing. The first body was the one I had torn to pieces, nothing more than a human-shaped pile of meat and armor. I crouched, patting down the paladin's armor until I found a small pouch tied to their belt. It jingled as I opened it, revealing a handful of gold coins.

"Got something," I said, holding it up.

Mara sighed in relief. "Nice, is it much?"

"It just feels like a lot, and considering I only had 5 silver and 5 copper left, anything would be a lot." I opened the pouch and my jaw dropped. I had earned 8 gold from the four bandits and that stretched out for a while, considering I needed entirely new gear. This also reminded me that I needed to pick up that cloak, the boots, and the gloves from the leatherworker–if he was still willing to do business with me. 

"Holy shit," I whispered, like I was afraid that speaking too loud would draw a crowd of cutpurses. 

"What, what is it?" Mara went over to get a closer look. "Lucian!" she cried out before clasping her mouth reflexively.

"There has to be like a dozen gold in here, and that's just from one guy. We gotta pick up the pace, these paladins are walking gold mines!"

[Total Wealth: 14 gold, 5 silver, and 5 copper.]

"I don't think they will be walking anytime soon," Mara responded with a giggle. "But I agree, let's go!"

Was she always this morbid? I kind of liked it. 

When we reached the commander's body, I hesitated for a moment, staring down at the man who had nearly ended me. His once-pristine golden armor was a mixture of slag and soot, and his face—well, what was left of it—nearly caused me to retch. I tried not to make eye contact–well, you know what I mean–as I riffled through his belongings.

Mara stood beside me, her hand resting lightly on my arm. "Take it," she said gently. "He doesn't need it anymore."

I knelt down and found his coin pouch, heavier than the other, and not by little. Of course, the leader would carry the most wealth. 

"May I do the honors?" Mara asked, her eyes large as she stared at me like a doe.

"Of course," I chuckled, tossing the purse to her and laughing again as she grunted at the weight of it. 

She opened the coin purse and gestured for me to open my hands before pouring the coins into my outstretched hand. The jingle of extraordinary wealth filled the air as 12 gold coins and an honest to god platinum coin cascaded into my hands. She shook the purse a little more and five silver coins tumbled out. We both stood in silence as the system tallied my wealth–or, our wealth. I had no intentions of keeping this all to myself. 

[Total Wealth: 1 platinum, 26 gold, 10 silver, 5 copper] 

"Alright, let's get this back in the back," it felt wrong exposing this kind of money to the brutal world, so I poured them back into the bag and tucked it away, the smell of precious metals still lingering on my hands.

"You're going to buy me something nice after this, right?" she teased.

"Buy it yourself," I teased back to her, eliciting a pout before continuing, "You're getting half sweetheart, I don't think you'll have to worry about money for a while, let alone rely on me." I leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek which turned her pout into a blushing smile.

We continued this grim scavenger hunt, collecting coin purses from the bodies that hadn't been lost to the ravine. Four more pouches in total. This was starting to weigh me down, but it was the kind of burden I could bear. 

[Total Wealth: 1 platinum, 66 gold, 22 silver, 48 copper]

"And of course your cut of the loot!" I exclaimed with a much happier disposition than I had when I awoke from my dream. I portion out the money and divide it the best I can before handing her one of the pouches. 

[Total Wealth: 1 platinum, 26 gold, 11 silver, 24 copper]

"I added 10 extra gold to yours, figuring it would be best if I hung onto the platinum. Flashing that kind of money around is likely to bring negative attention to whoever has it, and since I will be laying low anyway, I probably won't even spend it. We can think of it as some savings, in case we get desperate later."

"No worries love–uh, er, I love the idea." She started choking up and turning red as my own cheeks felt the flush of blood rushing through them. I let out a few coughs and felt so strangely awkward. 

I cared for her immensely, but the fear of what was yet to come made me hesitate. Besides, we had only been together a few short days, and who's to say things won't change with time? I hoped they wouldn't, but again, who's to say?

"We'll be fine, we just need to pick up my stuff and we can figure out how to get me into the capital."

"Right," she nodded curtly before wandering off ahead of me, avoiding my gaze as best she could while her face cooled down.

As we made our way back toward the town, carefully avoiding any untriggered traps, no other words were spoken. Each one of us was lost in thoughts, and if her's were anything like mine, the thoughts weren't about how close we came to death, or how wealthy we had suddenly become. 

When we reached the edge of the woods, Mara suddenly stopped, her gaze fixed on the ground ahead. I followed her line of sight and saw it: blood, dried and smeared, leading away from the direction of our traps.

"The caltrops," she murmured, which caused the memories of our original plan to come flooding back. Two bodies were missing. They hadn't pressed on after stepping on these traps. 

I crouched down, examining the trail. It was faint, but it was clear enough. The paladins that had been caught by the caltrops had managed to heal and escape.

"They'll report back," I said grimly, standing and dusting off my hands.

Mara's expression darkened. "Then we'll need to be ready. If they send more…"

"They'll send more," I interrupted, my tone flat. "But it's not us I'm worried about."

She nodded reluctantly, and we continued on, into the town that was still reeling from the intrusion these past couple of days.