B6 Chapter 7: Return to... Trouble?

(Sorry for the late af chapter. I've been absolutely miserable and sick af thx to my partner sharing his definitely not a flu sickness -_-. Hope you enjoy, and I'll be posting a poll thing tomorrow for those who like to vote on things like I sometimes do on RR. Cya then!)

I hissed as I rubbed at my third rib. Of course, the movement only spurred the pain to shoot toward the other half of my chest. When I groaned and raised my tail to itch myself, a large, calloused hand grabbed on.

“If you keep doing that, you’ll rip apart the patch,” Khrem said with a scowl.

“Uggh! It’s so damn itchy. Are you sure you don’t have anything stronger?” I begged.

“No. We won’t have anything stronger until after we reach the islands again. So stop messing with it. It’s a limited supply.” 

“Well it’s not doing its job,” I grumbled. “You said it’d numb my skin; that was a lie.”

“You are a strange creature with more skills and perks than most will ever experience in their life and the next. It is incredibly hard to promise you the perfect effect of medication when your anatomy is magically resistant in ways that are nearly impossible to track. Your best bet is to head to the healer’s guild and have them perform a full-body diagnostic.”

“You know we can’t.” I frowned and stared out the window where the city gates were coming into view. “The longer we stay, the more chances something goes wrong. We’re here to pick up the brute. Check in with Walter. Then we head out; as quickly as possible.”

“I admire your optimism,” Sereza said as she tossed me a drink. She handed one to Khrem and took a sip before scrunching her face. “Not the best. Anyway, you somehow still have hope that things will always go according to plan. I admire that, truly.”

I narrowed my eyes, but Sereza sounded sincere. Of course, as I thought that, she cracked a smile. 

“Haa ha,” I said dryly. “Well,l that’s what I'd like to happen. Who knows if it does or not. The plan is the same. We separate, get stuff done. We meet up at the manor then have Walter book us a ride outward. I’m only concerned about him, if he brings crazy…”

Sereza readied a reply but there was a chime from inside the cabin.

“Excuse me, we are nearing the city gates. There will be an inspection. We guarantee your privacy of course, but you’ll have to submit to the scanner,” came the robotic voice of our driver.

Another jolt of itchiness sprouted from within my chest and emerged along my lower ribcage. I resisted the urge to scream and tear into the patch with my nails as I stood up. My mask slid into place, and I shifted the form to its neutral configuration, displaying three eyes and a subdued grin.

Beside me, Khrem and Sereza did the same. Their masks weren’t anything special, with only basic enchantments to allow breathing through them, but they had their own designs. 

Sereza’s was spikey. Pointed at the edges with green and orange outlining a white faceplate with her eyes exposed. It looked vaguely like a creature’s maw, with jagged quills going into her hair, and combined with the horns, it gave off a pretty intimidating air.

Khrem’s was smoother, with warped edges on the side and pointed, teeth-like fangs on the underside. His mask was adorned with mainly blue fading into white and grey, while splatters of other colors joined the edges.

Honestly, it looked like a fanged fish creature bit into a clown with confetti for blood. 

It was a strange choice, but I respected it.

“You know, this feels so incredibly edgy,” I said.

Sereza’s tail smacked into mine, spawning another jolt this time toward my spine. “You’re one to talk. You practically wear this everywhere. I almost forget your pretty face.”

“Yeah, yeah. Alright, let’s see if the emblem still works. If not, I’ll call for Syrreisha. She can at least validate me. Failing that, we go for the adventuring guild.” I paused and waited for any objections but none came. With a roll of my shoulder I headed for the door. “Show time.”

As if on cue, knocking echoed inside the cabin. I undid the enchantments sealing us in and found a pair of guards. The one with a ridiculous mustache that stretched to his ears in length jumped at my sudden appearance.

“Open up for insp-eeeeeh!” he half screamed.

I summoned the lightcrest emblem and tossed it over. He caught it on reflex before his mind thought better of it. He glared our way and slowly looked down to see what was in his palm. Upon seeing the pin, his face blanched.

“Marty? What’s wrong?” the second guard asked.

Stache, as I now dubbed the first guard, managed to collect himself enough to clear his throat. He bowed his head and returned the emblem with shaky hands.

“On your way, sir,” he said. 

“Marty?”

Stache shushed his companion and they backed off with a salute. I shut the door and turned with a smile.

“Easy.”

“What do you think they did this time?” Sereza asked.

I shrugged. “Don’t know. I suppose we’ll find out from Walter.”

Khrem tapped my shoulder. “I don’t think we have to wait.”

“What do you–” 

My voice trailed as the window to the cabin exposed the skyline inside the city walls. There atop the mountain stretched wide enough to see from even the lower rings, was a stretch of glowing light. In that banner two familiar heads scowled from below like the glare from gods upon the citizens of Solara.

And below even that? The words that scrolled by in menacing red mana: We will never forget.

“That wasn’t there three months ago,” Sereza said, dumbfounded.

“No, no it wasn’t,” I mumbled. Clearing my throat I knocked on the driver’s wall. “Bring us to the Lightcrest manor please.”

“Yes, sir.”

We continued the ride through the city in silence. The roads were fine and people mingled in the streets. Vendors hawked their goods, and people flourished in every crevice, but there was an air to the city that wasn’t present before.

It was almost like an undertone that hid just below the surface of normalcy. It wasn’t until we passed the crafter’s district and saw an expanse of new buildings did I figure it out.

“They have new forges…”

Sereza followed my gaze. Her shoulders were stiff and even with the mask I could feel the tension rising.

“In times of strife, a city comes alive for only a few reasons. One is the celebration of birth; of something new. Two is the remembrance of something old,” she said before pausing. We moved past where the felkin family lived and she lowered her chin. When she spoke, it was a whisper, barely audible. “The third reason is when the kingdom prepares for war.”

I placed a hand on her shoulder and she tapped my tail with hers. “You okay?”

“My father told me. When I was seven. It was after I threw a tantrum on my birthday. I wanted to know why he was so damn miserable.”

My lips pressed thin as I gently squeezed. She didn’t say anything else, and we soon arrived at the manor.

The gates were the same, as was the paint and the walls. I half expected chunks to be missing from the house itself, but all seemed… Alright.

As we exited the cabin, I summoned gold from my inventory and headed for the driver. Almost immediately, they swept their heads away from the sack.

What the?

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“No, sir,” the driver replied. “I’ve been informed in advance not to accept any payments.”

“Why…” 

In response they dipped their heads in a bow. “We are not to charge the savior of our kingdom.”

I tightened my fists. “I’d rather you take the money.”

“I’m sorry, sir. My orders are direct from our head. I’ll be on my way. If you have need of our services, merely call and we shall come.”

With that, the terrorbirds left, leading the carriage back down the cliff and deeper into the city.  Sereza and Khrem offered me a shrug in response.

“That was weird. I’m already not liking this,” I sighed.

“Maybe it’s a counterbalance. We need some small misfortune first, so we can have a smooth exit?” Sereza tried.

Khrem shook his head and knocked on the gate’s bell. Instead of a peaceful melody chiming off the embedded crystals, the metal making up the gate and fencing turned a shade of malevolent red. An eerie foreboding tune whistled away as the gate slid open on its own.

When it ended, the pathway to the manor’s door lit up with a series of demented faces that looked like they were drawn by a five-year-old. 

Huh. That’s new.

“Sir! I must ask you–”

“Off me, Walter! I’ve waited too long for–”

“Sir!”

Bang!

The door to the house slammed open as a disgruntled man hobbled his way out. Following behind him was the ever-dapper, Walter. His fists were glowing with his spectral gloves, and his eyes burned a scary blue as he reached for the other man’s jacket.

He caught it, but the man tore through the fabric with ease and continued to shuffle our way. The cane in his hand tapped the stone with the fury of a horse’s hoof.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Is that–”

The man grabbed my shirt and pulled me in with surprising strength. Golden eyes blazed in a gaunt face, made of porcelain skin. His once golden hair was a disheveled mess, tied back by a clip of silver.

“You… You!” he growled.

My tail rose and stopped, the tip pointing at his neck. “I don’t personally know you, and you’re not my daddy’s issues to deal with, but I’m fully willing to slit your throat.”

The head of the dawnborn house wheezed as he held back a cough. His eyes burned into mine, not an oune of fear in his expression.

“We need… to talk.”

I closed my eyes briefly, trying and failing to find the happy place in my mind. 

Could this get any worse?

I opened my eyes, but the ground rumbled around us. Isaac’s father started to slip, but Walter helped hold him up as the ground to the right of Khrem cracked open. A wooden structure resembling a tree sprouted from the ground, growing to become half as tall as the manor.

Half-formed swirls made up the bark while the leaves of the tree shined like emeralds.

The center split open and a new voice emerged, one rich and deep.

“Cyrus. We have things to discuss.”

Of fucking course it can…