As Above…
[X] Plan Lurking Darkness
-[X] Upper Floors: This area seems mostly safe. A bit run-down, a bit dirty, but now that the Talons and bandits are gone there doesn't seem to be any actual threats. However, this makes it more likely that thieves have stolen most things of use.
--[X] Visit yours and your parents' rooms. These places may be destroyed, but they were some of the most important places of your early life. Maybe you'll find… something… to remember your roots by.
--[X] Dig through the main library. This was where the scrolls and tablets that your parents used on a regular basis were kept. While you have plenty of scrolls from the box in the shrine, there might be other things here.
--[X] Look at Father's Runewrighting labs. These were the places where Father carried out his experiments and made his runes. Maybe there's something here that could prove useful
--[X] Visit Mother's study. As the Matriarch of the family and tribe, Mother used the ancestral study of the Matriarch and Patriarch when doing official business. Maybe there's something here that can give you some answers as to what happened a thousand years ago…
--[X] Your Shrine. Not only do you want to get the rest of the scrolls, you want to try and figure out how that place survived as long as it did. If other manakete have survived, surely it is by some similar method, and so knowing the signs to look for will be useful.
-[X] Lower Floors: Past the ward and the barricade, you fear that you will start running into monsters, possibly the revenants your human friends fear, possibly more dangerous ones like baels or doogs. However, if humans were afraid of going down there, then it is more likely that useful materials survived.
--[X] Visit the Deep Library. A massive storage space for all those scrolls and tablets that were rarely used, you're sure there's something interesting and useful here, if only you can find it.
--[X] The Crypts. The ancient burial place of your ancestors. Not only might this be a place to bury your family, but perhaps you will be able to find some peace or wisdom among the memories of those who came before.
--[X] Even Deeper. Down in the darkness is a passage beyond which you were forbidden to tread. You don't want to go through it… but maybe, if you look at it, you can figure out how the monsters got into your home.
--[X] The Ward. If you spend some time, you might be able to reinforce the warding runes so that they at least won't fail. At least, not anytime soon.
-[X] Upper Floors: This area seems mostly safe. A bit run-down, a bit dirty, but now that the Talons and bandits are gone there doesn't seem to be any actual threats. However, this makes it more likely that thieves have stolen most things of use.
--[X] Visit yours and your parents' rooms. These places may be destroyed, but they were some of the most important places of your early life. Maybe you'll find… something… to remember your roots by.
--[X] Dig through the main library. This was where the scrolls and tablets that your parents used on a regular basis were kept. While you have plenty of scrolls from the box in the shrine, there might be other things here.
--[X] Look at Father's Runewrighting labs. These were the places where Father carried out his experiments and made his runes. Maybe there's something here that could prove useful
--[X] Visit Mother's study. As the Matriarch of the family and tribe, Mother used the ancestral study of the Matriarch and Patriarch when doing official business. Maybe there's something here that can give you some answers as to what happened a thousand years ago…
--[X] Your Shrine. Not only do you want to get the rest of the scrolls, you want to try and figure out how that place survived as long as it did. If other manakete have survived, surely it is by some similar method, and so knowing the signs to look for will be useful.
-[X] Lower Floors: Past the ward and the barricade, you fear that you will start running into monsters, possibly the revenants your human friends fear, possibly more dangerous ones like baels or doogs. However, if humans were afraid of going down there, then it is more likely that useful materials survived.
--[X] Visit the Deep Library. A massive storage space for all those scrolls and tablets that were rarely used, you're sure there's something interesting and useful here, if only you can find it.
--[X] The Crypts. The ancient burial place of your ancestors. Not only might this be a place to bury your family, but perhaps you will be able to find some peace or wisdom among the memories of those who came before.
--[X] Even Deeper. Down in the darkness is a passage beyond which you were forbidden to tread. You don't want to go through it… but maybe, if you look at it, you can figure out how the monsters got into your home.
--[X] The Ward. If you spend some time, you might be able to reinforce the warding runes so that they at least won't fail. At least, not anytime soon.
"The Spirits do not answer prayers, for they have already given us all that we need. They built this world up from their own essence; now it is up to us to make something of it. That is the truest nature of Animism."
-Archmage Krysta Truebolt
You don't sleep very well that night. Even as you curl up under your blanket, you can't help but jump at every small noise. A part of you had wanted to retreat back to the shrine and sleep there. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough space for everyone, and it felt unfair to ask some people to sleep outside while others got to be safe.
Thankfully, it seems that the recharge you gave the wards are good enough, as nothing bad happens. A few of the guards mutter that they thought they heard something moving down there during breakfast, but if they did the source never saw fit to come into the light.
However, you can't just leave it be. It's just too dangerous. Therefore, the first thing you do afterward eating is to go and take another look at the wards, just to make sure they won't fail at an inopportune time.
"So you understand all this?" Belle asks as she sits on the stairs behind you, peering down into the darkness as you poke and scratch at the runes.
"Kinda-sorta," you say. "I can get the gist of what they're doing. I was right, these are protective runes: they're meant to stop monsters passing by." You run a finger along a worn, battered groove. "We're lucky; whoever made them really didn't want them going off accidentally, so there seem to be several redundancies in the detection structures. Otherwise, with the amount of damage, they'd probably be triggering on us!"
Kelton glances over from where he's sharpening his spearhead. "Can you fix them?" he asks.
You grimace. "Not… for very long," you say. "They are badly degraded; it's a minor miracle they're working at all. I'm not sure exactly where they're getting their magical energy, but wherever it is, they're running out, and that's only part of the problem. There are several branches that have completely burned out, and several more that are not far behind." You sigh. "I… might be able to get a few weeks more out of them, maybe a month, but when I'm able to move back in here permanently they're going to need to be completely redone. Like, the whole wall's going to have to be scoured and smoothed and I'm going to have to carve them all back in." Just thinking about the amount of work that'll take makes you want to groan.
Belle pats you on the shoulder. "Well, better than having monsters wandering around," she says. "Though I suppose having some about would mean you wouldn't need a larder."
It takes you a moment to figure out what she means, but once you do you start gagging. "No! Oh Mother no!" you squeal. "Monsters are extremely unhealthy to eat! They're all twisted and corrupted by evil magic, they'll make you sick!" You look down at the corpse, which had been carefully pushed to the bottom of the stairs. "And that's the living ones! I'm not a savage, I don't eat things that are rotting!"
The thief giggles. "Good to know that you have standards," she says. "But seriously, we should fix this. Anything we can do to help?"
Slowly, you shake your head. "I'm going to need some tools…" you say. "I didn't expect to have to do much, so I didn't bring mine or Runewrighting, so I'll have to see if any of Father's labs have anything useful." It feels… wrong, to be scavenging through the remnants of your own home, but you can't feel safe until this ward is at least somewhat secure, and to do that you need some tools.
It takes a while to reach the section of your home where Father's labs had been. You'd once asked him why he needed so many, and he'd quietly said that, once upon a time, there would have been a lot of runewrights around, each with their own space. Since it was just you, him and Mother, he'd taken to using the different rooms for different tasks, just so things could stay organized.
Your heart falls as you try to step into the first room, only for the entire thing to be filled with rubble. You half-heartedly try to shift a few stones, but it's hopeless. Even if you were to use your dragon-form, it would take days if not weeks to dig through it, and the chances of anything surviving are… minimal. Sadly, you step past it and keep looking.
Most of the other rooms are not as bad off, but none are whole. Many don't even look like rooms anymore, just vaguely-ordered caverns filled with mold and dust and debris. Others are still recognizable, but anything that might once have been there was gone. You see more signs of pick-axe marks, as if humans had been testing to see if there were valuables hidden in the walls.
You have to take a few minutes to calm down after that thought crosses your mind.
Finally, however, you find something. Just as you're starting to lose hope, you peer into a room that seems filled with rubble, but when you look closer you realize there's a gap, nearly invisible. Without your ability to see in the dark, you probably wouldn't have seen it, the light source would cast shadows if not put in exactly the right place. "I'm going in," you say.
"Be careful, kid," Kelton says worriedly, peering at the wall of stone with his lantern before crouching down and shining it into the gap. "There might be some instabilities."
"I know," you say, getting down on your belly and wiggling under some rocks. "I'll be right back."
As you squeeze your way deeper, you realize that, somehow, the ceiling of this room only partially collapsed. It dumped tons of rock across the door, but the back was actually mostly intact. Worn away by the ages, of course, but still mostly intact. The bench where Father would do his work is still possible to pick out, and as you poke at it you find a few chisels and a small hammer: similar to the ones he'd left you in the shrine. You even find a few broken vials of gem-dustings, which you carefully scoop into a small bag. It'll help you keep the runes somewhat functional.
As you pocket everything, your foot connects with something on the ground. Looking down, you see a tablet, but not a spell-focus. Instead, it looks like… calculations. Picking it up and lighting your hand to see better, you recognize your father's work. He was testing something, planning out a new structure…
For some reason, as you stare at it, you can't help but feel you've seen this before. It's complicated, too complicated for you to hope to figure out what it's supposed to do, but a strange sense of deja-vu passes over you as you stare at it. Poking around the bench, you find a few more tablets, each of which seems to fit with the same general idea, though you can't figure out what any of them mean.
"Ryza?" Belle calls. "Do you need some help in there?"
"No, I'm fine," you say, kicking yourself. You hadn't meant to worry your friends. "I found what I need, as well as some of Father's old stuff. I'm coming out."
Carefully making your way back out, you show your friends what you found. "Father made these," you say. "I wonder what he was working on."
Kelton simply ruffles your hair. "I'm sure you'll figure it out," he says. "Do you need a moment?"
You look around. A part of you wants to keep digging. To keep going through your memories until you've found everything, every last scrap of the world you once knew. However, after a moment, you sigh. "Let's go fix the runes," you say. "Then… then we'll see."
It turns out, that while you've gotten a lot of useful practice in fixing runes from your time helping James and Siri, you still have a lot to learn. It takes you almost the rest of the day to purge the seeping monster magic and fix the worst instances of burn-out. This includes a break for lunch and a few panic-stricken moments of re-killing walking corpses that wander up the stairs. Thankfully, despite their hideous appearance and sharp claws, revenants do not prove to be a threat, needing only a few arrows, some spear-stabs, and a jolt or two of White magic to put down. You're grateful that you'd grabbed Mother's Hymn: without it you think your White magic wouldn't have been effective enough to really hurt the monsters, but with it and your practice you're able to cast what the humans call the Light spell easily.
Finally, however, as Lancel comes to tell you that the sun is almost entirely down and you need to rest, you sit back and watch the magic play through the partially-repaired runes. It's not a lot, and you're sure your patch-work repair job will fail before too much longer. However, for now, you and the people who came with you are safe from that which lurks below.
You sleep more easily that night.
The next morning finds you kneeling in front of Father's impromptu grave, considering your options.
You want to move him. You don't just want to leave him, but… if his body is to go anywhere, it should go to the crypts, and you don't know how safe those are. As painful as it is, for now… for now, this is tomb enough.
"I'm sorry," you whisper, running a finger along Father's skull. "I'm so sorry but I don't want anything bad to happen to you down there, since there are monsters down there. You… you can rest here for a little, right? Just for a while, I promise I'll come back and find you and Mother a better home."
A wind seems to whistle through the corridor as you carefully stack rocks back on top of Father, not enough to crush him, but enough so that he won't be disturbed by anyone who comes around while you might not be here.
Swallowing your pain, you decide not to go poking around the darkness below today, you're… you're not ready yet. Instead, you make your way upstairs, towards your own room.
"So this is where I slept," you say to Axton, Lancel, Kelton and Belle, gesturing around. When you'd said where you were going, none of them had questioned you, just silently fallen in behind you.
You're so happy to have friends.
Your room, thankfully, had not been completely buried or looted. However, it was only barely recognizable as a room anymore. The bed was a ruined pile of rotted wood and scraps, the murals and tapestries that had hung along the walls were all gone, but you could see it all in your mind's eye. "There was a depiction of Marikara's Friend over on that wall," you find yourself saying, pointing to the wall above the remnants of your bed. "It was my favorite story, and Mother and I made it when I was eighty. Well, Mother made it, but I helped." Flying up, you run a finger across a scrap that was still hanging from the peg driven in to the wall. You can even see the faint remnants of colored threads.
"Who's Marikara?" Belle asks as she pokes at the block of rough, scarred stone that was once your bedside table.
"She's a character from a bunch of manakete children's stories," you say, landing and moving to poke around your old closet. "She did all sorts of things, but in Marikara's Friend she actually met a human boy, and they went on adventures together." You smile sadly. "I wonder if the reason Father's spell thought I'd like Artemis was because I loved those stories so much." There's a long moment of silence, and as you look behind you you realize everyone's staring at you. "What?"
"Wait… manakete and humans got along back then?" Axton asks.
You shrug. "I don't really know," you say. "I've never heard of it happening outside of stories, but Mother would sometimes see them when she was out hunting, and nobody tried to hurt each other. I have a scroll on ancient humans, but I'll have to look through that before I can give a better answer. I've been more focused on practicing White magic, for when we go down to look at some of the things downstairs." When nobody answers, you huff. "You all know the old stories are wrong about a lot of things, is it really so surprising that they're wrong about something else?"
As you spoke, you continued to dig through the detritus in your closet. Aside from a few tiny, useless scraps of fabric and shards of wood, everything had fallen apart. You feel a prickle in the corner of your eyes as you lament the years of work that had gone into your wardrobe, all wasted. Nearly a century of Promise Days, Life Days, of growth and changing interests, all gone. Nothing but dust in the-
Your hand, digging under some fallen rock, bumps into something soft. Instinctively, magic flares down your hand as you try to figure out what it is you found. It's not clothing, too thick for that, but it feels familiar…
"Baa."
You gasp at the faint sound coming from the thing. "Goaty!" you cry, digging with renewed vigor until you're holding the dirty, worn stuff-toy in your hands. He's a bit banged up. Okay, he's a lot banged up; he has rips and tears where his stuffing is showing, and he's absolutely filthy, but right now he's one of the most beautiful things you've ever seen! "I don't believe it! Goaty!"
"What is it?" Kelton asks, looking up from where he'd been picking at another pile of rubble. "What did you find?"
Giddy, you hold Goaty up for everyone to see. "It's Goaty!" you say. "Father made him for me when I was a child! Listen!" You press your finger against the stone again, and Goaty bleats. His mouth doesn't open anymore, and the sound comes out scratchy and muffled, but he's still your old childhood friend. "The protections Father put on him after I left him out in the rain once must have kept the damage to a minimum!" You happily hug Goaty to your chest.
Belle, meanwhile, is struggling to hold back laughter. "I'm sorry, Goaty?!" she snickers.
You puff up your cheeks. "Hey, I was thirty when I first got him!" you cry. "I was in my literalist phase. Didn't you ever have a silly name for a toy when you were little?"
The woman's laughter stops, and for a moment you see a shadow cross her face before she carefully masks it. "I can honestly say I have not," she says in a flat voice.
You feel your heart fall: you can tell something you said hurt Belle's feelings. "I'm sorry," you say.
She waves a hand, smiling. "Think nothing of it," she says. "We can't all be as… original, as you." Grumbling, you make Goaty bleat again before going back to digging through your closet, careful to keep him under one arm.
Sadly, it seems nothing else survived save for a few tiny scraps of paper with half-legible words on them. Finally giving up, you lead the way up the stairs, through the winding, shattered halls, until you finally reach Father and Mother's room.
Like your own, it was still recognizably a room, but nothing had survived. The massive bed was nothing but its broken base, Father's well-loved plant-house had been reduced to twisted, rusted bars of metal that only vaguely resembled a frame. Mother's countless tapestries were all gone, with only weakly-fluttering scraps still attached to the wall. Swallowing, you lead the way in, followed by your friends.
As the lot of you start poking around, looking for something, anything to remember your family by, Axton glances at the bed. "Your parents shared a room?" he asks.
You nod, confused. "Of course they did," you say. "They loved each other. Don't human husbands and wives sleep together?"
For some reason, the man flushes slightly and seems to struggle for a moment to find an answer. However, after a moment, he carefully speaks. "It is not… uncommon, for couples to sleep in separate chambers," he says finally.
You frown. "That sounds very lonely," you say. Some of your most comforting early memories were waking up to the warmth of someone you love holding you. Why would humans deny themselves- You flinch as you remember what Artemis had said about human marriages. "Do humans… do human marriages not include loving your partner?"
Lancel sighs. "It's complicated," he says. "A lot do, but especially among the nobility, its main purpose is to cement alliances among families. Sadly, that means that sometimes, the people involved don't… aren't compatible."
Okay, that just sounds depressing. Having to spend your life, short as human lives are, with someone you don't love… "Will Artemis have to go through that? Sypha?" you ask worriedly, wondering if there's anything you can do to prevent it if she will.
"I'm afraid I don't know," Axton says. "Such things are up to the families. Spirits willing, Lady Artemis will find a good match, but there's nothing we can do to affect that."
You frown, there has to be something. "So what makes a good match?" you ask. "Maybe if we can find someone she loves and make sure they get all those things, that could work."
Both yeomen laugh. "Ryza, please, don't worry about it so much," Lancel says. "Lady Artemis can take care of herself: you have enough things to worry about without taking another burden."
"But she's my friend and I want her to be happy," you say.
Belle, poking at the base of the bed, glances up. "I'd say the best way you can make her happy is to be happy yourself," she says. "From what I've seen, girl really likes you. Shame you're not a boy, you could probably make a good-"
"NOPE! Nope do not finish that sentence I forbid it!" you squeal, covering your ears.
The thief laughs. "You're way too easy, kid," she says. "But I think I found something, here, take a look at this."
Curious, you unplug your ears and flutter over the bed. "What is it, what did… you…"
It turns out, there was a cubby hidden in the rock under the bed on Mother's side. You're not sure if it was already open, or if Belle had found it and pried it open somehow, but as you stare at it, you see the remains of a few scrolls. Sadly, at a glance it seems they've mostly disintegrated, maybe there'll be a little information, but not a lot.
The real prize, however, is a stone tablet. Unlike others, it has no carvings or runes on it. Instead, it's colored, using magic, to show a picture. A crystal-clear, perfect picture of yourself, along with Father and Mother.
"I remember this…" you say weakly as you take the picture in a shaking hand. "I had just turned ninety… Mother was saying how… how I was growing up so fast…" Your vision starts to cloud as you swallow. "Father made it… it's got a spell on it to capture an image, and I wanted it to be of all of us… Mother must have…"
Belle gently starts rubbing your back as you start crying. "She loved you," she says. "If she kept this so close to where she sleeps, it means she didn't want anything to happen to it. She always wanted there to be a memory of her family." You nod, sniffling, as you lean into her. She's right, you know she's right and you're grateful, but seeing your Father and Mother's faces again, to have the faces that had been staring to fade in your memory re-sharpen… it's both wonderful and painful.
Kelton kneels down on your other side, gently ruffling your hair, as you descend into blubbering.
After you finally are able to pull yourself back together, Axton suggests that, barring any other family-spaces nearby, you take a break to recompose yourself. "This was never going to be a quick or easy trip," he says quietly when you weakly suggest that you need to get things done fast so you can get back to Agrithe. "Lady Artemis will understand, as will His Highness."
Therefore, you find yourself sitting on a broken rock outcropping that was once a balcony near the top of your home, hugging Goaty and staring at the picture as if you could summon your parents out of it if you gazed hard enough. You'd asked for some time alone, and thankfully nobody had disagreed, save to remind you not to try and go down past the ward alone.
You understand that they're just trying to keep you safe, but you're not stupid!
Looking up, frustrated and sad, you stare out at your surroundings. How many times had you sat here before, looking at this exact view? Except it wasn't the same view. The mountains were mostly in the same place, but you could tell they'd shifted somehow. Some were taller, some were shorter. Cutting between them, the forested valley was all but gone, instead taking the rocky form of the Narrow Pass. How many humans must have trod along it to make it so… so…
Frowning, you stand and peer east, along the trail. Are those… shapes? You wish you had Robin's spyglass, it would be really useful right now. You'd have to get one of those at some point.
Spreading your wings, you fly back down to the front door. "I think there are some people coming from the Empire," you say. "I'm going to go check in with Claire and the others, make sure they're alright,"
"Soldiers?" Sir Octavio asks warily.
You shrug. "I don't really know, I couldn't get a good look," you say. "I'll be back," With that, you fly off down the mountain, careful to keep low in case the people approaching are mean like the Talons.
On the wing and not needing to wait for others, it only takes a few minutes to reach the camp site. "Hi Claire, hi everyone, how are you?" you ask as you look around the camp.
The woman looks up from where she's carving something out of wood. "Mistress Ryza," she says. "We're well; nothing has happened since you left."
"That's good," you say. "But I'm just coming to let you know that there are some people coming up the path from the Empire,"
Just like Sir Octavio, Claire tenses. "Soldiers?" she asks as well.
Sighing, you realize you should have predicted that. "I don't know," you say. "I can go check, if you want."
The woman immediately shakes her head. "No, that won't be necessary," she says. "Migul, you and Ronan go take a look, see what we're dealing with." Two men nod and start hustling down the path. "How far were they, Mistress Ryza?"
You ponder for a moment. "Not too far; they'd just come around a bend when I saw them," you say. "Probably about twenty, thirty minutes by walking. I could see who they are much faster-"
"And if they are a threat, you'd be an easy target for an archer," Claire says. "Countess Mantrae commanded us to keep you safe, and that's what we're going to do."
"I guess…" you say, though personally you think that, unless they're as good an archer as Robin, you'd be able to dodge almost anything they shot at you, and if you really got into trouble dragon-you's scales would block arrows. However, you don't want to worry her, you nod. "Okay. Do you mind if I stay?"
Claire nods. "Of course," she says. "This is your home, after all."
"Well, technically my home ends at that ridge," you say, pointing back. "At least according to humans. Countess Mantrae said that this pass is Whitewing territory." The Countess had made it clear that the Whitewings got very upset if anyone tried to take any of their land, and since you had no real wish to you didn't want to step on their toes.
The soldier nods again before looking up towards your home. "How are things going up there?" she asks.
You sigh. "As well as can be expected," you say, holding up Goaty and the picture of your family. "I found these in me and my parents' old rooms. This is Goaty, and these are my parents."
"Wow," Claire says, starting to reach out to touch the picture before stopping. "May I?"
You dither for a moment before nodding. "Please be careful…" you say. Claire nods, gently running a finger along the image of your mother.
"Did you make this? It looks so lifelike…" she says.
"No, Father made it," you say. "It's a pre-made magical tablet, that then reproduces the image of what's in front of it, and preserves that." You look at it. "I'm actually a bit surprised it survived so well." Shaking your head, you hold up your doll again. "This is Goaty. Father made him."
"Baa."
Claire clearly bites back a laugh. "Hello, Goaty," she says, gently running a finger along his head. "I'm glad you found him." You preen slightly: finally someone seems to realize why he's important to you.
The pair of you quietly sit and talk while you wait for the strangers to arrive. About halfway through, Kelton and Belle show up. The two soldiers glance at each other, but neither says a word.
Finally, the two men Claire had sent out return. "It's just a small merchant caravan, Claire," one of the soldiers says. "They're asking if the pass has been closed."
The woman shakes her head. "No," she says. "Even if we could, there's no need." You nod; you don't want to cause trouble for anyone.
A few minutes later, a trio of carts round the last corner. "Hail, friends!" a red-headed woman cries from the front cart as it comes to a halt. Jumping down, she puts a finger under her chin as she looks around. "Nice place you got here."
"Hail," Claire says. "Guardswoman Claire of Legerius. Who might you be?"
The redhead grins. "Anna, at your service," she says. "Purveyor of fabulous wares of all kinds." She flounces over to sit nearby, her red eyes scanning the area. "I often use this spot when I'm coming this way, do you mind?"
Claire glances at you. "I'm okay with it," you say. "Hi, I'm Ryza. I live here."
Anna looks you up and down, still smiling. "Nice to meet you, Ryza," she says. "Can't say I've ever heard of someone living around here before."
You shrug. "It's complicated," you say.
"Isn't everything," Anna says, her eyes taking a slightly calculating expression as she looks you over again. "Well, you seem like a nice enough girl, Ryza."
Claire clears her throat. "So, miss, what brings you on the path towards Legerius?"
The redhead grins. "Why, business, of course," she says. "I'm a merchant, if I stay put I go out of business." Getting back to her feet, she beckons you over to her cart. "So, by the looks of it you fine people have been out here a while. What can I get for you?"
You're about to say that you're doing fine (even though you are curious) but Belle speaks up. "Well, one thing we could use is a little news," she says casually. "We've been hearing some worrying things going on in the Empire. Anything you can tell us?"
Anna taps her chin again, her grin widening. "Interesting…" she says. "I might have some information… what are you looking for, and how much is it worth to you?"
You give Belle a confused look, but she simply winks at you before continuing in an easy voice. "How can one say what information is worth without knowing what the seller has?" she says, doing the little finger trick you'd seen to make a gold coin appear in her hand. "After all, merchants usually sell stuff…"
"The bad ones, maybe," Anna says, her grin becoming predatory. "But I rather think I know some things your fine soldier friends would be very interested in." She smirks. "Very interested indeed…"
"Care to share?" Belle says, another coin appearing in her fingers. One of these days, you're going to have to figure out how she does that… You and Claire glance at each other.
"I'll tell you what," Anna says. "Your friends seem to be getting a little confused, so I'll give you a hint. You're not the first soldiers I've met today, and the last batch wasn't… as friendly as you all seem to be."
"What are you talking about?" Claire asks sharply. Anna simply grins.
Belle considers for a moment before pulling a small bag from a pouch. "Let's say, for the sake of argument, that we're curious," she says. "How about this: I give you this bag, and you tell us what you know. If we're satisfied, you get another bag. If we're not, you give half the bag back. Deal?"
Anna hums for a moment, her eyes tracking the slightly swinging bag. "You drive a hard bargain, but you know what, I'm in a good mood today," she says, holding out a hand. "Deal."
Belle tosses the merchant the bag. "So, what're these other soldiers up to?"
"They never said," Anna says, opening the bag and starting to count the contents. Seemingly satisfied, she closes it and gives you all a serious look. "But they were looking for a certain type of people. I actually met them yesterday, not today, but it was late so I'd say it's close enough."
You frown. "Are you okay?" you ask, looking her over. "Nobody got hurt, right?"
Anna giggles. "Aww, don't worry, sweetie," she says. "They were Imperial regulars, looks like the Duchess's own household men-at-arms. They approached us and questioned us, but they didn't do anything." She frowns. "They were very insistent, though."
"What did they want?" Claire asks.
"They were asking if I'd seen any other travelers," Anna says. "When I said yes, I had, they got very curious, demanding to know who and where and where they were going." She leans back. "They seemed… particularly, interested in the small retinue I'd seen a day or two before, seemed to be escorting a noble-boy. Got a bit disappointed when I said he looked Imperial."
You all look warily at each other. "Did they say why they were looking for him?" you ask.
Anna considers you for a moment. "As I said, I don't think they were looking for Imperial nobles," she says. "But they were sure looking for nobles. And… well, you didn't hear this from me, but it seemed a pretty aggressive group. Controlled, under the direction of a household knight, but ready to fight if needed."
"Are they worried about the Emperor having died?" you ask.
"Could be," Anna says. "They were certainly out with a purpose." She looks you up and down before lowering her voice. "Let me give a bit of free advice: you probably don't want to go wandering into the Empire any time soon. They might mistake you for noble; you've got the look about you." After a moment, her grin returns as she looks back at Belle. "So, did I earn that second bag?"
Belle grimaces, but nods and starts to reach for her belt, only for Claire to shake her head. "This affects all of us," she says, digging in her backpack and pulling out some money of her own. "Thank you, Anna."
The redhead takes the bag and starts spinning it around her finger. "Always happy to make a deal," she says before looking back at you. "So, Ryza, you say you live around here?" You nod. "Mind if I ask where? I know there are some small family groups that hang around in the mountains, but I never heard of any this far east. Certainly not ones who are so well-dressed."
"Thank you… I think…" you say.
"It was a compliment," Anna says. "So, spill. How else will I know what I need to bring to sell next time I'm passing this way."
You spend the next few hours talking to Anna. She's… odd. Oh, she's charming enough, friendly, interested in you and everything about you, but you can't help but get the feeling that she has an ulterior motive for trying to get the measure of you. Instinctively, you keep your manaketeness to yourself: by the sound of it this woman works in the Empire as well as the kingdoms, and so you're not super keen on her knowing everything about you. You also downplay just where your home is and how important it is to you, just saying that it's "around."
However, as you talk to Anna, you're able to get a bit more out of her "for free." She apparently traveled pretty widely, and as such she'd seen plenty of signs that something was up. Apparently, in the Southlands, granaries were being stocked, crops were being planted early, and censuses were being taken. In towns across the Empire, there were whispers that conflict was on the horizon.
The really strange thing, of course, is that by your calculations a lot of this had started even before the Emperor had died.
Finally extricating yourself from the curious merchant, you join Claire, Kelton and Belle. "We need to tell Archduke Letoro about this," you say worriedly after telling them. "I can probably rush-"
Claire shakes her head. "Don't worry yourself about that," she says. "I have enough men that I can send a few back with the message. You have enough to do without worrying about what the Empire is up to." Kelton glances at her, but doesn't say anything.
"…Thank you, Claire," you say.
You end up spending the rest of the day down with the Legerians, telling them about your home, but as it was and as it is now. It's nice to be able to take some time to process what you think about the ruins of your home, put everything in context. It's even better that the same acceptance the nobles at the gathering were showing seem to be extending to the soldiers. Despite the way your first meeting went, it seems that your friendship with your new neighbors is solid.
All in all, you think as you curl up, hugging Goaty, you'd call today a successful day.
…You really shouldn't have tempted fate like that.
The next day started off well enough. You waved goodbye to Anna, flew back up to your home, checked on the ward to make sure it was still working. Then, you decided to go look around your shrine.
"Are you sure you need all these scrolls?" Belle whines as she stares down at the box.
"It's better than just leaving them here," you say firmly. "This is a lot of the history of my people, and I don't know if it exists anywhere else in the world. It must be preserved!"
Kelton sighs. "Sure, I guess," he says. "Alright, Belle, let's start gathering them up." He glances at you. "You were talking about checking this place out?"
You nod. "If I can figure out what Father did, at least a little, maybe I can tell how other manakete might have survived," you say. "There has to be some sort of clue here." You rock back and forwards. "Do you mind moving things while I look around?"
The two humans glance at each other. Belle sighs as well, but nods. "Sure," she says. "And we'll make sure nobody pokes at them without your permission."
"Thank you," you say, looking around. "Alright, let's see how this works…"
You quickly realize that you're in completely over your head. This shrine is complicated, it clearly took Father years and years to make it. Countless runes swirl over every wall, somehow still charged despite the centuries. You try to walk around and read them, but you quickly realize that, without having taken the time to read Runewrighting, you simply have no chance to figure out how the shrine does what it does.
Sitting back, frustrated, you feel one of the stone tablets you'd brought from Father's lab digging into your leg. Pulling it out, you stare at it, as if hoping for Father's voice to drift from the past and tell you what to do.
As you stare at the stone, you realize something. The stone tablet… looking around, you realize that some of the rune-structures are similar. Pulling out the other tablets, you quickly lay them around you and start studying them.
Sadly, it seems that you didn't find everything: only bits and pieces are available. However, Father's notes do give you some clues. That bit over there, it's part of the defensive warding, to prevent any and everything from entering the space. The teleporting wall, of course, is protected countless different ways in order to keep people out, but it also has to be able to move and seal the shrine off. There are also a few other structures: ones that keep the shrine warm and lit, ones that help prevent erosion, as well as similar tasks. You have no clue how they work, but you can at least guess at what they're supposed to do.
The thing you quickly realize is the sheer amount of power it must take to keep all this running. This is far beyond anything even an elder manakete should be able to charge, at least not for any length of time. Whatever source Father did find… even it seems to struggle, as the light runes are less than reliable.
Frowning, you make your way to the alter where you'd lain. Everything seems to connect to it, every single rune structure originates from this alter… Slowly, you start looking it over, searching for Father's reasoning, his logic…
After a few minutes of searching, you find a swirl of runes, mostly laced with topaz but with a mixture of all colors of magic flowing through it. Power seems to thrum around it, enough that you're shocked you didn't notice it immediately. A part of you hesitates… Father clearly put a lot of work into this, and you don't want to inadvertently mess something up. However… you have to know what he did, so that you can tell how you can find other survivors. Slowly, you place a hand on the swirl…
...
You returnYour eyes widen. "Who- who are you?"
Irrelevant
There's something here! Big… powerful… engulfed in Yellow magic… No, she is Yellow magic! "You're a spirit! A Yellow spirit!"
A meaningless title
You frown. "What do you mean?" you ask.
Irrelevant
"No! I need to know what Father did! Did he summon you here?"
I have always existed
You try to figure out what the spirit means. "Are you saying this is your home?" you ask.
Yes
Are all spirits this blunt and rude? "Do you have a name? My name's Ryza."
Irrelevant
"Are you saying you don't have a name? Or that names are irrelevant?"
Both
You sigh. "Well, it's nice to meet you anyways. What are you doing here?"
Existing
"Are you the one powering the runes?"
Yes
"…are you… doing that willingly?"
Irrelevant
A flash of annoyance. "No it's not! I don't want you to be forced to do something you don't want to do."
I have no opinion I exist that is all
"Did Father ask you to do it? To charge the runes?"
Among other things
"What other things?"
Summoning
A memory flashes through you. "Were you the one who called Artemis to me?"
Yes
"Thank you." As you say this, you focus on your feelings of gratitude.
…You are welcome
"Do you want me to leave you alone?"
Irrelevant
You sigh. "Are you going to stay here?"
Yes
"Do you want me to come and talk to you again?"
Irrelevant
A flash of hurt fills your heart. "Okay, I'll leave you alone," you say.
…Unnecessary
"…One last question: are there others like you? Other spirits that are protecting manakete survivors?"
…Yes, possibly
You're not alone! There are others out there! "Where are they!?"
Unknown
Of course, that'd be easy, wouldn't it? "Okay, well thank you."
You are welcome
...
"-yza? Ryza!?"Gasping, you jerk as you suddenly return to the body you hadn't realized you'd left. "Huh? Yes? What?!" you yelp, toppling onto your side with a cry as your hand seems to be repelled from the glowing runes of Yellow magic. Your knees are killing you, and you feel stiff and uncomfortable. What happened?!
Kelton lets out a whooshing breath as he kneels next to you. "Sentinel be praised... Ryza, you had us worried!" he said. "You've been kneeling there for hours, and any time anyone tried to move you they got zapped! Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm okay," you say. "I… I was just talking…" it takes you a moment to remember what you were doing, for some reason your mind is a little fuzzy… "There was… a spirit. Father… convinced it? Bound it? I don't really know, but it's keeping this place working."
"A spirit?" Belle gasps. "The essences of magic?"
You nod. "Yes," you say. "I think it was also the thing that kept me in stasis until Artemis came to wake me up." You frown. "It was… cold. Emotionless. I could barely get it to use more than a single word at a time."
"Old man Dreamseer always said that the spirits don't think the same way humans do," Kelton says. "They're supposed to be the world itself given form, the basis of all existence, viewing things on a level we mortals cannot hope to follow. The fact that it even said anything at all…" he shakes his head. "But as fascinating as this is, we have another problem. Claire came up a while ago, with a Baron Marcellus Cicenco. Apparently, he wants to talk to you."
You frown, trying to remember. "He's… Legerian, right?" you say. "His land is right next to my mountain?"
"Yep," Belle says, her eyes narrowing. "He said he was here simply to greet you, but I don't trust him."
"Why not?" you say, cocking your head.
The thief grits her teeth for a moment before growling. "Let's just say I grew up in his domain, and I learned that his word isn't worth very much and leave it at that." You and Kelton glance at each other and decide that now is not the time nor place to try and figure out why she's upset.
The three of you hurry back to the front hall, you consider what you'd learned. It takes you a little while to piece together everything, your memories of the conversation are just so distorted and fuzzy. Maybe the spirit had been saying more and you just hadn't been able to understand it?
Either way, the important thing is that you now have a clue, for the first time, how other manakete might have survived. If a spirit is strong enough to power the entire shrine without even caring about it, then if there are other spirits, powerful ones, maybe other manakete were able to convince them to shield their families when everything went wrong.
It was a hope, at least.
You bring yourself back to the here and now as you re-enter the main hall. The camp, including Claire and Sir Octavio, is tense and quiet as everyone pretends that they're doing something important, but clearly they're all paying attention to the tall, sharp-faced man sitting in the center of the space upon some sort of folding stool. Two large, beefy men with axes slung over their backs are standing at attention behind him, wearing armor similar to the sort Claire wears but slightly lighter. He's studying what you realized was one of your scrolls, acting for all the world as if he could read it. Maybe he could? If he was one of Jenna's friends that she'd sent the translation to, he could be seeing if he could figure out what the scroll was saying.
"Baron Cicenco?" you say, moving to stand in front of the man. For some reason, he'd set up his chair in the very center rather than near the pile of boulders that had been co-opted as a seating area.
He doesn't look up immediately, seeming to want to finish whatever line he's on. Just as you're about to repeat yourself, he finally raises his eyes. "Ah, if it isn't the new mistress of the mountain," he says smoothly, rolling the scroll up and holding it out. One of his men instantly takes it from his hand, allowing Baron Cicenco to steeple his fingers as he studies you. "I am honored that you were able to take the time from your busy cleaning to meet with me."
You force yourself not to frown; you'd come as soon as you could. "I apologize, Baron Cicenco," you say. "I was communing with a spirit, and I discovered that takes a long time."
The man raises an eyebrow. "Truly?" he says. You nod. "Fascinating."
The pair of you look at each other in silence for a few seconds before you clear your throat awkwardly. "So… is there something you need, Baron Cicenco?" you ask.
Baron Cicenco considers you for a moment longer before speaking. "I had simply come to greet you," he says. "After all, Her Excellency seems quite enamored with you."
"Thank you," you say. "I'm sorry that things are a bit of a mess, I haven't had a chance to clean."
"Clearly," Baron Cicenco says, looking around. "Still, I must say this is quite impressive. It must have been quite beautiful in the past."
You nod. "It was," you say.
The man hmms thoughtfully. "It does seem such a shame to just leave it, but I suppose you'll need to return to your Agrithian friends once you're finished here."
"That… was the plan," you say. "Why?"
"It has long been a tradition that when a child inherits a role they are not ready for; they turn to an adult to bear that burden for them until they are of age." He gives you a serious look. "From all I have seen and heard of you, despite your… heritage, you are a child still. Compounding this is the fact that your chosen path will keep you far from here, in Agrithe. It only makes sense that, with these factors, you would allow someone to manage this place while you are away. My family has long watched this region for the rulers of Legerius, and as such I would be the most sensible choice."
You blink a few times as you stare at him in confusion. This… isn't quite what you'd expected. "Umm…" you say, stalling for time as you try to marshal your thoughts.
Your attention is drawn, however, to Belle. The woman had carefully circled around so that she's behind the Baron, far enough back so as to not be in his space but easily within your line of view. She is using this opportunity to rapidly shake her head. She even goes so far as to make a cutting motion with her hands.
Swallowing, you refocus on Baron Cicenco. "Thank you for the offer, but I'll be fine," you say. "This is my home, it's my responsibility, and I should be able to fly back and forwards when needed; I just needed a cart to bring some stuff back to Agrithe, so I had to go a bit slower." You smile. "It's nice to meet you, Baron Cicenco. It looks like it's starting to get a little late, so if you want you can stay the night. Do you and your fri- soldiers need anything to eat?"
The Baron narrows his eyes slightly. "Is that your final answer?" he asks, his calm, almost friendly tone taking on an edge.
You nod. "I'm afraid so," you say. "Countess Mantrae promised that my right to my home would be respected, didn't she mention that to you?" The baron simply frowns. "Then there's not much more to be said on that topic. Are you hungry? I have some-"
"That will not be necessary," Baron Cicenco says coolly. "Technically, you are correct: this is your domain and you have power here." He leans back in his chair. "On a… completely unrelated note, it is tradition that… meaningful travelers present themselves to the lord of the land they are passing through. When you are returning to Agrithe, I shall expect to see you."
"Why's that?" Kelton asks from just behind you.
The baron gives your friend a scathing look. "Mind your tongue, boy," he says icily, making a sharp gesture. One of his men starts to step forwards towards Kelton, cracking his knuckles.
"Baron Cicenco!" Claire cuts in, a hint of anger in her voice. "Kelton's efforts were vital to the rescue of Mistress Sypha, both by his own bravery and by helping smooth over difficulties with Mistress Ryza. He deserves respect."
The baron starts to open his mouth, but Sir Octavio speaks up as well. "Guardswoman Claire is right, my lord," he says. "Kelton's efforts have brought honor to Legerius. Her Excellency said so herself. She would not wish for there to be any conflict." His eyes narrow slightly. "The same goes for Mistress Ryza. She is a precious friend not only of Legerius, but of Lady Sypha. Any attempt to do wrong by her will be met… poorly."
Baron Cicenco glares at the two Legerians. "This dragon is no lady," he spits. "As I understand it, she is not even a mage. She is nothing but the spawn of a bygone era that will never return."
Pain and fury lance through you. "Get. Out!" you snarl. "You are no longer welcome here. Get out and do not come back." The baron glares at you for a moment before standing and sharply gesturing for his men. One grabs his folding chair, and the three of them turn towards the door. "Wait. You have something of mine. Return it."
Baron Cicenco casually holds out a hand, and his man hands your scroll to him. Carelessly, he tosses it in your direction, leaving you to scramble to catch it. "We shall discuss your cargo when you travel through my land, girl," he says. "Good day." With that, he leaves. A moment later, you hear a trio of horses start to make their way down the path.
You slump where you stand, hugging the scroll to yourself. "Why…" you whisper. "Why did he come here? Why is he like that?"
Sir Octavio sighs. "My deepest apologies, Mistress Ryza," he says. "To answer your question, while they never had any official claim to it, the house of Cicenco has long seen the entirety of the mountain range north of the Pass as their domain, as the Countess's family rarely did anything with it. This does not excuse his actions, of course, but that might be the source of his displeasure."
Belle scoffs. "Don't give that bastard that much credit," she says. "He's a power-hungry asshole, plain and simple. He had an opportunity to try and get one over on Ryza, and he took it, it's as simple as that."
The cavalier sighs. "Dear Belle, you should not speak of the baron that way," he says.
"Why not?" the thief says casually. "Everyone was thinking it." Kelton nods.
"Perhaps," Sir Octavio says, "But we should not give him any excuse to make trouble."
Claire frowns. "I'm afraid that might be too late, Sir," she says. "He's already made it clear he's going to make trouble for Mistress Ryza as we are leaving. We have to figure out how to deal with him."
As you and your friends and allies eat dinner as night begins to fall, you discuss how exactly you're going to deal with Baron Cicenco when the time comes for you to go back to Agrithe. Eventually, you come up with a plan.
[] Simply go and talk to him. Surely he would not be so fool to actually hurt you. Should he try to steal anything from you, it will give Countess Mantrae an excuse to come down on him, showing that she will back up her promise to respect you.
[] Simply refuse to go to his castle. While it is tradition that highborn travelers present themselves at the castle of their host, it's not required. Besides, as Baron Cicenco so cruelly pointed out, you're not a Lady, and as such you don't really apply anyways.
[] Try to slip past without drawing attention. While Baron Cicenco will likely leave some men to "remind" you to visit him, you know your home well, as do your Legerian friends. It would be hard to do, but if you could manage you would avoid any more unpleasantness.
[] Fly over him and go talk to Countess Mantrae. She promised to help you, and so if she sent a clear message that she was not going to tolerate any shenanigans, he would have to back off.
[] Write-in
AN: Part one of exploring Ryza's home, and you haven't even gone down below.
EDIT: To be clear, what you're voting for this time is what you're going to do when you leave; you're going to do what you planned to first. If you want to take a break and leave early for whatever reason, that would be a write-in.
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