Maria’s fears were justified. The assassins had split into two groups to track her down and many of them continued to follow the caravan after she had left. She feared the worst when thinking about how the people who had welcomed her might be caught up in her problems. What she didn’t know was that those fears had already been realized. Both groups of attackers had already made their moves, and the caravan had been devastated.
In the chaos of the attack, the Bolbian slave, Belos saw a chance to make his escape. It wasn't that he had always been looking for an escape, just that he felt the fighting had become too dangerous to stay any longer. You only have one life after all, and he was at risk of being attacked by either side in the confusion. Now that he has left, he also can’t return and show his face without being accused of running away. Belos has a new problem now that he is free.
A Bolbian seen walking free is more likely to be killed on the spot then to be recaptured. He can’t rejoin society, and if he is found while hiding, it’s practically an admission of guilt. He needs an opportunity to rejoin a caravan like Barros’ where he can be mostly left alone.
“Ugh, this is so bad! I seriously thought I could spend at least a few more years with those guys,” Belos is headed back in the direction the caravan came from, but he is moving through the forest off the main road to avoid any more problems.
“What am I gonna do now? Maybe I could find a guardhouse? I bet they’d be able to find a place to throw me for a while,” that idea quickly loses its appeal, “Who am I kidding? They’re more likely to beat me for the fun of it than anything else. Funny enough my safest bet would probably be to find another slaver. They’ll at least keep me alive.”
He sighs thinking about being treated like an animal all over again, but at least until he finds a permanent solution, that’s the safest route he can choose. “Now the question is what to do about my little tag along.”
Belos looks behind to check on the little girl who started following him during the chaos. Kikka is staying silent even as Belos is ranting and complaining. Tears are under her eyes, and she is quietly sniffling. The girl saw him running for safety and tagged along. Now that they’re in the middle of the forest, she’s too lost to find her way back.
Belos knows he can handle life as a slave, he’s done it many times now, but that doesn’t mean he wants a life like that for the girl. Still, is there any place safe for her now?
“Hey kid, where is home for you anyway?”
Kikka stops for a minute with a puzzled look. Her drying tears sparkle in the sun on her crystal skin. She turns back and looks in the direction they had came. Towards the caravan. Towards Barros.
“Right, yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking. What about other Zultanites? Is there a place safe for you to go?”
The girl still doesn’t understand his questions. She wipes her tears dry and again, looks back at her home with the caravan. The two of them continue walking.
“Um, Mr. Bug Face,” Kikka finally speaks up, “You said I should be quiet, so the bad guys don’t find us. Is it alright to talk now?”
“What? Oh yeah, sure kid,” he only said that so she would stay quiet and stop crying. By the time they got away from the sound of fighting there was no point in staying quiet, “Let’s still try to be quiet though ok? Only talk if there’s an emergency. Got it?”
“Well, you said we were going to go get help right? Where are we going?”
It’s true, Belos told Kikka they would try to get help for the others. That was after they had already left and been running for some time. He mostly told her that to calm her down. Where were they supposed to get help anyway? They’re in the middle of the frontier, there is no one here. Maybe they could still chase down those three that left the other day but what could they even do.
In reality, Belos had no intention of finding help for the others. If they happened to come across anyone then perhaps, but it was almost not even worth considering. He felt bad for lying to the girl. He lied to her the other night as well when he was forced to take her from the Sulfuges. For him, lying was just another tool to stay alive. When everything is out to get you, sticking to conventional morals will get you killed.
“The truth is kid, I really don’t know where to go to get help. If we find someone, we can talk to them alright? But for now, we gotta take care of ourselves.”
Kikka thinks for a minute, just like the last time they talked, she wants to help him solve a problem he doesn't have, “I think we should look for guards. They help people and fight bad guys.”
“Yep... They sure do,” Belos hasn’t forgotten Kikka is a child, but she continues to surprise and annoy him with her innocence. There are no guards here and Belos has never once been helped by one. He is the bad guy they fight, “Let’s keep an eye out for some guards.”
They continue through the woods aimlessly. Belos is trying to think of what to do with both himself and Kikka. Both need different solutions, but he needs to make sure she is safe before he can move on to his own needs. His thoughts are continually interrupted by her pointless and misguided questions.
“You’re right Kikka, the capital does have lots of guards, but I think we’re a long way away from Tab,” he isn’t sure how much longer he can humor this child.
“I see. Well, what about a tower? Do guards live in towers?” Kikka hasn’t given up on finding help for her family.
“A tower? Sure, I guess. A guard tower is totally bad news for any crook.”
Kikka is ecstatic at the news, “That’s great! What about that one?” She starts jumping in the air and pointing at something in the distance.
“Huh? You see a tower? Where?” It doesn't make any sense for a tower to be out here. If this girl sees something like that, it can’t be good.
Sure enough, above the trees and closer than Belos is comfortable with, an old tower is rising above the canopy. From what he can see, it isn’t in use. It’s old and even from here, moss and vines have taken over the structure. This doesn’t stop Kikka though, they have found a guardhouse, which means they are very close to finding some guards. She runs off towards the ruined structure cheering and laughing.
Belos runs after the girl. This is the opposite direction he would like to go. Nothing good can come from running into ruins like these. Still, he can’t let her wonder alone. Something like that would haunt him the rest of his life, and he wants to live a lot longer still.
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They make it to the base of the tower and approach the old doors. Any kind of lock has rotted a long time ago so that even Kikka can open the doors without much trouble. The outside looks just as it did from a distance, this tower has been lost to time and has now been claimed nature. There is no sign anyone has been here in ages.
When the two step through the doors, they see something startling. The tower is stone, and the base is one large room, or at least it was at one time. Now the entire first floor has been taken over by a giant pit. The only floor remaining is around the entrance where they are standing and a narrow ledge running around the wall. Halfway around this ledge is a set of stairs to the next floor that are mostly intact. Covering this entire pit is a layer of translucent magical light.
“Wow! It's so pretty!” Kikka looks around the room spinning.
Belos isn’t as impressed as the little girl. He takes a knee and puts one hand over the magical film. There is a strong, steady breeze coming from the bottom of the pit. Looking down the hole, he cannot see the bottom. The second floor has collapsed but the rubble isn’t falling into the hole. Instead, the purpose of the magic here appears to be to stop things from passing through it. The rubble has accumulated over the top of the hole and rests on the magic. That gives a clue that this magic has been here a very long time.
“We should definitely not be here,” Belos says under his breath. This pit is very old, and the magic here is designed to keep things out. Or keep them in. Or both. Either way, there is no help to be found in a place like this.
After some coaching, Belos is able to convince Kikka to leave the tower. To a Zultanite this place is filled with natural beauty and the gentle light emitting from the magic on the floor only accentuates the charm. As a Zultanite child, Kikka will probably never forget this place. Still, there are people that need her help. She commits this wonderous place to memory and leaves with Mr. Bug Face.
Belos is still thinking about the nature of the tower and the pit. He decides to leave the forest in case there are any more surprises to be found inside. He and Kikka make their way out of the forest and rejoin the main road. Much to his despair, and to Kikka’s excitement, they discover another surprise on the road. They reunited with the group they had parted ways with only a day prior.
Both parties look worse off than they had when they separated. Keyon is conscious but it is clear that he needs more rest. Bao also looks ragged. Maria is the only one who appears to be fine but the look on her face tells the others all they need to know. As for Belos and Kikka, the fact that they are together at all is proof enough that something has happened.
Maria doesn’t need to talk with Belos to learn about what happened. Riding alongside of them is also Katz and Letz. The two boys had more wherewithal during the chaos than Kikka to make a break for it. They stayed on the main road and made their way until they came across Maria and the others. Kikka runs into the two boys hugging and crying aloud. Letz meets her hug with an embrace of his own, similarly concerned with the health of his little sister. Katz is older and more reserved in general but that doesn’t stop a relieved smile from appearing on his face as Kikka holds him tightly.
Katz’s smile turns quickly to shooting daggers when he glances at Belos. Normally, Keyon is the first to question and suspect others, but today he is too tired to do anything other than silent observation. Kikka picks up on Katz’s stare.
“We left to find help for everyone!” she proudly declares.
“Really?” Katz directs his response to Belos, “You sure took your time finding help.”
“It’s true,” Belos isn’t very convincing, but he doesn’t care to be, “We went through the woods to avoid any more trouble and came back to the road after we felt it was safe.”
Kikka adamantly supports this. It’s more or less exactly what she had believed as well.
“Well in any case, you’re both here now. I’m glad you two are safe,” Maria’s conscience feels a little better now that she knows all the children are alright. She still needs to find the caravan but now she also needs to safely bring the children back home, “Let’s keep going. From Katz, it sounds like we can reach the caravan in a few hours.”
Bao speaks up, “Wait a second Maria. I think it’s best if you stay here with the kids for a little. I’ll meet the caravan first to make sure things are safe. I think that’s the best option.”
“I agree princess,” Keyon rides alongside Bao, “I’ll go with him and make sure things are safe, I can’t let Bao go alone this time.”
Maria protests, “Keyon you are still recovering! Even if you do go, you’re too weak to even hold the reigns of your horse properly. How do you expect to hold a weapon? And don’t even think about using your magic.”
“Magic?” Belos didn’t know anyone here could use magic.
“Princess, we’re still a few hours from the place the caravan was attacked. I’ll have more time to rest. There also might not even be any more enemies left. If the others are fine, we’ll return quickly and bring the kids back to Barros.”
Maria knows this is the best option, so she gathers the children and together they move off the road and into the forest for some cover and safety. Belos also starts walking with them off the road.
“Bolbia!” Keyon musters a shout, “You're coming with us too!” Bao and Keyon begin to trot on, “I can’t leave you the children or the princess.”
“I really can’t get a break, can I?” Belos would love to protest this. At this point there is very little they can do. He could refuse to go or even make a break for it if he wanted to. They don’t have the time to waste on him anyway. Although, if there’s any hope of being accepted back into the caravan, that would be ideal. For that, he’s going to need more than Kikka’s word if he wants the ‘finding help’ narrative to stick. He takes one of the assassins’ horses the others had been using and joins the two fighters on their mission.
The three men’s journey is a quiet one. Keyon is too tired to hold a conversation, Bao is lost in thought, thinking about the events so far, and Belos has no reason to speak to either of the others. Belos does notice that the old tower can be seen from the road. It’s far off the road and easily missed but now that he knows it exists, he can spot it. After a few hours of silence, they can see smoke in the distance. Bao understands this is a bad sign but tries to come up with a silver lining.
“Maybe they had to abandon some damaged wagons. Some losses probably couldn’t have been helped right?”
Keyon knows Bao isn’t looking for a reply.
“Sure buddy,” Belos isn’t as keen on social cues as most people.
The pillar of smoke continues to grow as they get closer. Once they are near the source of the smoke, the three of them get off the horses and carefully make their way to whatever they may find. As they approach the pillar of smoke it becomes apparent that the worst-case scenario has played out. They discover a scene of carnage littered with the bodies of cloaked assassins and the familiar faces of caravan members. At the center of this scene is a massive bonfire.
“That’s... gotta be almost every wagon in the caravan,” Belos stares in disbelief.
The three of them stare captive for a moment. None can remember the last time they saw such a huge fire.
“Let’s head back. There’s nothing left for us here,” Keyon puts a hand on Boa’s shoulder. He imagines this must be the first time Boa has seen a scene like this.
Bao shakes off Keyon’s hand, “Wait, we need to find Barros first,” He starts towards the fire and the rest of the victims and begins examining them.
Belos sighs and shakes his head. Bao is either doing this out of denial or out of some illusion of obligation. Either way, Belos let go of those sentiments a long time ago. He believes Bao will be better off doing the same.
“Bao! There’s no point to this,” Keyon has hardly moved since arriving at the scene, “Look around, everyone is dead. You don’t need to do this to yourself.”
“This isn’t about me! Kikka needs to know what happened to her father. I can’t look her in the eyes and give her a straight answer unless I know for sure.”
Belos is reminded about his lies to Kikka in the past. He could lie to her again about her father. He could tell her he saw him dead, and it would be the easiest thing for him to do. Looking at Bao now though reminds him that there is another way. He steps away from Keyon and joins the search with Bao. If he can provide closure to the little girl, maybe she can move on. Maybe he can be better.
Keyon gives up when Belos joins the search. He isn’t so much cold hearted as he is tired, cautious, and callus. He is a soldier and a former slave. He has seen the death of loved ones and comrades too many times. Seeing Bao like this reminds him that the sanctity of life and death should be respected. It’s an innocence that cannot be restored once lost.
Just as the three of them begin to search together, they hear a loud crack from the branches of nearby trees. They turn to face the sound and see one of the wagons breaking their way through towards the fire. It isn’t being pulled by the horses like normal. It’s being pushed by something. The wagon clears the trees and out from behind steps Arnit. The Sulfuges.