PART II - LAYING EVERYTHING BARE
“I am here this evening in my role as the guardian for Callie, a duty assigned to me by the Master Trainer,” Vanis stated as the room was yielded to him.
“Has she recovered her memories?” Xera asked, sounding hopeful. “Does she know what happened to her?”
Vanis looked askance at Callie, before replying, “Not exactly, Commandant. I’m afraid the situation is quite a bit more complicated. I ask you all to keep an open mind.” Vanis gestured, turning the floor over to the little Ranger.
Callie looked at her hands, which were sweaty and fidgety with nervousness. For a brief moment, she considered just running out the door, but realized it was too late to back out now. She took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly.
“I’ve been trying to decide how to tell you this all day,” Callie began, “and I didn’t know it would be all of you. I’ll be honest, I haven’t really been able to come up with the right words, and I’m really scared.”
Xera cocked their head, suddenly much more attentive and quite concerned. “Recruit? What is wrong?”
Callie glanced from her hands up to Xera, and then to each of the other officers. Taking another deep breath, she said, “I’m going to tell you a story, and none of you are going to believe me. And then I’ll explain why you should believe me. Please, let me finish before you interrupt, because this is really hard.”
“Go ahead, Recruit,” Xera said, leaning forward and resting their arms on the table, a concerned yet caring tone in their voice.
And so Callie told them everything. She started at the interview and ended when she and Vanis stepped into Xera’s office a short time ago. How she woke not knowing where she was, and what the Dwarves had done. How Vanis, Lena and Tazrok took her under their wing, with Xin joining soon after, and Pixyl soon after that. Even the charm Juniper had put over her and her argument with Reynard. She tried her hardest not to embellish, to not go into stories about her parents or the technologies and things of Earth that would be so hard to explain without becoming a distraction and take too much time.
At the beginning, Legate Galin seemed dismissive, but slowly he grew more attentive as Callie continued. Xera was riveted from the start, as was Tasi. Thorn seemed contemplative and calculating, as if he was trying to weave some kind of order into the chaotic tale Callie was sharing. Celeste was a hard read, her face remaining stoic and unemotional.
Finally, Callie got to the important part, reviewing the same logical breakdown that she had for her housemates, and showing how her explanation was the only one that really made sense. By this point, the little Gnome was almost in tears. Not for any particular reason, but more as a result of the stress that came from telling her superiors her story, and the relief from finally reaching the end.
There was a long, long silence after Callie finished as all five officers sat in quiet introspection. She was about to say something more, just to fill the nervous silence, but Vanis quickly held up his hand, signaling Callie to keep quiet.
Legate Galin finally rose, walking slowly over to a window with actual glass in it, looking through it at nothing in particular. “Damn,” he finally said. As he walked back to the table, he reached into a pocket, pulling something out. Sorting through whatever it was, he pulled out a single coin, which he slid across the table to a smug-looking Xera.
Xera turned their gaze to Thorn and raised an eyebrow.
“Bah! Fine!” Thorn snarled, fishing a coin out of his own pocket and sliding it to the Commandant. However, he again seemed to turn inward, as if wrestling with something mentally.
“You had a wager?” Vanis asked, his lips turning slightly upwards in amusement.
Xera pointed to Thorn. “Memory loss.” Pointing at the Legate, Xera added, “Gnome mischief.” Finally pointing to themself, Xera concluded, “My choice was, ‘Something very strange.’ I think this qualifies.”
At that, the mood in the room seemed to lighten quite a bit and Callie realized she could breathe again.
Xera addressed the room. “First, everyone, given the Recruit’s logical assessment, I’d like to proceed with this discussion on the assumption she is being truthful. It will simply make things easier. Perhaps in time we find out otherwise, but for now we’ll focus on that as the basis for conversation this evening,” Xera flatly stated, looking at her officers. She then looked to Callie. “However, Recruit, would you be willing to consent to Truthseeking? It would help to eliminate many doubts or concerns,” Xera asked.
Callie had assumed this would be coming after the warning from Vanis, so wasn’t surprised, although a little part of her hated the mental intrusion that the skill implied. “I figured you’d want to do that,” Callie said with a nod. “Whatever you need.”
Xera reached under the table, and from beyond the door to the waiting area, Callie’s Gnome ears heard the bell sound again. Momentarily, Kyra opened the door. “Commandant?”
“Would you ask a Sprite to retrieve Scryer Yulayla. If she’s on duty in her office, she may leave it unattended on my order. Tell her we need an Advanced Truthseeking. And quickly, please.”
“Of course,” the Elf responded, before backing out and closing the door.
“While we wait …” Xera began.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Thorn suddenly snapped, looking at Vanis. “She should not have received a worm. You should have told me, or any of us.”
“It was a decision we all chose to make,” Vanis said stiffly. “We did not know whom we could trust, and had very little time to make any decisions. With her being Conscript Cursed, and your confidence that the Ranger class was appropriate, there was no reason to second guess that decision. At that point, it seemed best to take time to evaluate who among the officers and staff could be supportive. Callie has seen something in all of you that makes her feel she can trust you, now.”
“Assuming this is true …” Thorn began, seeming to think out loud, a dazed look still on his face. “The ethical implications …”
“No kidding,” Tasi added, also lost in thought.
“Thorn? Tasi?” Xera said, seeing their friends’ worried expressions.
“I am so sorry,” the Ratkin finally said, looking forlornly at Callie. “I was blinded by the possibility of another anomaly. I … was so wrong to force this on you.”
This was not at all the response Callie was expecting from anyone. She had expected disbelief, or even anger and yelling. Not this. Thorn was genuinely having a crisis of conscience and almost had a panicked look on his whiskered face. Tasi wasn’t far behind him.
“It’s okay,” Callie instinctively responded.
Vanis again held up his hand to silence Callie.
“Sir, if I may. Your actions were completely appropriate given what you knew at the time,” Vanis said quite diplomatically. “It was our choice to withhold, and our choice to proceed with the joining given what we knew. Master Healer Tasi even confirmed Callie’s decision one last time before the procedure.”
“Still, there is no way …” Thorn began to reply.
“Enough,” Xera said sharply, a slightly-frustrated look on their face. “The joining is done and no value will come from recriminations. With Juniper’s assistance, the newly found Symbiotes should make up for the loss of a Ranger worm if this recruit’s joining ends up a mistake. Duwana!”
Now that Callie knew the historical meaning of the word, Xera’s harsh use of the Elven ‘end of conversation’ invective, despite not being an Elf, had the desired effect. Thorn quickly swallowed any other concerns he had been planning to voice on the subject with a simple, “Yes, Commandant.”
“Honestly, she’s made a pretty good Ranger so far,” Celeste added with a shrug, pouring fresh water into her cup. “Her archery has been excellent, and even her swordplay was very good for a beginner. You saw that yesterday, Colonel. This afternoon, it was on display again and had only improved. She has quite the potential.”
Thorn shook his head with a laugh, still seeming introspective. “Reynard is going to kill me.”
“Maybe this isn’t something to share with him,” Tasi warned.
“This is definitely something we do not share with him,” Legate Galin amended with a laugh.
“Everyone,” Xera snapped, “until we have at minimum completed a Truthseeking, nobody is going to do or say anything outside of this room. Are we clear?”
“Yes, Commandant,” the four officers responded sharply, acknowledging the sudden order just given them.
“Tell me,” Xera asked, refocusing and leaning in towards Callie. “Why were you chosen? Who were you on this other world?”
“We’ve discussed it extensively and …” Vanis began to answer, but Xera held up their hand to silence him.
“I mean no disrespect,” Xera said, interrupting the Prince, “but I would like the recruit to answer questions going forward. As you are her guardian at this time, if she needs your assistance, she may ask.”
“Of course, Commandant,” Vanis said, bowing his head in acknowledgement.
Callie shrugged as all eyes swung back to her. “I’m nobody. I can’t think of a single reason why someone would pick me.”
“You aren’t the daughter of some nobility, or someone important?” Xera asked, probing the question.
“No. My dad died a couple years ago, and before that he worked in construction and was a part time musician. My mom’s a retired teacher who occasionally does volunteer work. I’m just an accountant, a bookkeeper that is, and not a very good one at that.”
“You arrived with the Advanced Archery perk. Why would you have that?” Thorn asked.
“I was a competitive archer as a teen; it was a hobby. I started around ten and did that for about ten years or so. But it’s something I stopped doing a few years after I left home.”
“How good were you?” Thorn continued.
“I was …” Callie struggled for the right words and tone, worried she’d come off as bragging, “pretty good? I won a bunch of competitions, and placed at the state level. I certainly wasn’t Olympic material.” She saw confused looks on the officer’s faces, as they had no idea what those words meant. Callie tried to come up with a better reference. “I was in the top three within several hundred kilometers for people in my age range, but not good enough to compete on a larger scale. Certainly not good enough to justify sending me here.”
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“And the other perks?” Thorn probed.
“My guess is it’s because my dad taught me how to build and fix things. Like I mentioned, he worked in construction.”
“So somehow his teachings were turned into perks here,” Thorn mumbled to himself, trying to talk himself through what happened. “The same with your Bookkeeping perk, then? Fascinating.”
“I guess,” Callie said. “That’s what I studied at college.” Suddenly she had a thought as she considered Thorn’s questions. “One of my perks is Basic Electrical, and you don’t have electricity here.”
“Electrical?” Tasi asked. “What is that? Isn’t that like lightning?”
Callie frowned. “I’ll try to keep this simple. I’ll compare it to something here, so you have a reference, but it’s not a perfect analogy. Think of electricity a little like mana, but it can be created, stored and instantly sent long distances. It’s used to power things like lights or machines, as well as a lot of other things. Lightning is a natural and unharnessed form of electricity.”
“Stored? Like a mana stone? It can store mana for use by constructs or in long ritual magic,” Thorn asked.
“I … don’t know what that is, but the electricity storage device is called a battery.”
“What does this perk do, then?” Xera asked, interrupting before Thorn could ask more.
“Like lightning, electricity can be dangerous, so training is needed to know how to control it. I have some training at, say, an apprentice level, on how to properly build the infrastructure needed to keep it safe. But that’s about it; I don’t have the knowledge to create it or anything like that. Nothing about the perk seems applicable to this world, at least as far as I’ve been able to figure out.”
There was a long silence as the officers, as well as Vanis, tried to digest Callie’s poor description of what electricity was and what it could do.
“Let’s … move on,” Xera said slowly. “This is probably a much longer and complex conversation than we have time for, and it sounds like her knowledge is lacking in many critical places.”
“Sorry I can’t be of more help,” Callie apologized.
“A discussion for another time, that’s all. I would, however, like to discuss another part of your tale,” Xera said with a dark frown on their face. “You say that this Earth is populated only by the Human race, and that in fact you were once Human. I don’t know if you know the history of our relations with the Humans to the southwest. I survived the Battle of Betrayal,” Xera glanced over to their missing arm, “well, most of me survived I suppose, and to say there is not a lot of love for Humans in the land would be a gross understatement.”
“I understand. Vanis and the others filled me in on the history and even about the big battle,” Callie said, glancing down, almost ashamed. “It is true that Earth is all Humans, of many different variations. Fey and Elves and Ogres and all the rest are all the stuff of stories and legends. They aren’t real. To see them all here, heck, to be one of them, is all fantastical to me.”
“We …” Xera struggled for words, and started again. “To think you were once Human brings up some dark emotions for me, and I’m sure for the others. Perhaps not towards you specifically, but as a general view, it’s hard to look beyond that day. It may be wise to be wary of how you share this part of your story should you need to in the future.”
“I understand,” Callie said quietly. “I couldn’t tell you why the Humans did what they did, and a part of me feels ashamed for their actions. I am so sorry for what it cost everyone.”
From beyond the waiting area, Callie heard faint hurried footsteps and the sound of a distant door opening. Soon after a small bell lightly rang from the corner of the room, followed a few moments later by Kyra opening the door.
“Commandant, Scryer Yulayla has arrived, do you need her to wait?”
“Go ahead and bring her in,” Xera said to their assistant.
“Very well.”
Yulayla entered, carrying a small, leather satchel and breathing heavily. “I came as quickly as I could. Sorry for any delay.” She looked around the room, spotting Callie sitting next to Vanis. “Little One, it’s good to see you again. You as well,” she added, nodding towards Vanis.
“Thank you for coming so quickly. We are in need of an Advanced Truthseeking,” Xera said. “However, you may hear and learn some things that must be kept completely confidential. The highest level of secrecy. Would that be a concern?”
The Elf shook her head. “As you know a Scryer’s Oath is to keep confidence. If you wish, however, a Brownie could hit me with a memory loss charm. I’d lose about six hours, and would need to begin the book I just started over again, but otherwise no harm. I would ask to wait until after midnight, so I don’t lose the fun Druid reveals from this afternoon, though.”
“Let’s see how things go,” Xera said. You could see her seriously pondering the idea, however, as were the other officers.
“Who is the Truthseeking for? And how invasive do you need me to be?”
“The Gnome,” Galin said starkly. “And as deep as you need to go.”
“Yes, the Little One,” Xera said, eyeing Galin slightly. “She has brought us some information we need to understand better, and we need to be absolutely sure.”
“Ah! Of course.” Yulayla turned to Callie, “Has your memory returned?”
Callie looked to Xera, unsure if she should answer. Xera returned a slight nod of permission. “I never lost it,” Callie said slowly. “I needed to keep a secret for my own safety, because I had no idea what was going on. I had to know who I could trust. I apologize for not being honest.”
Yulayla was taken aback. “Truly? No memory loss? That makes the lack of class in your reading even more odd than before."
“Yeah,” Callie said sheepishly, “this secret might explain that.”
“Then we will find out.“ The Scryer set her satchel on the table, taking from it what appeared to be two leather bracelets, one longer than the other. Each had a single cloudy crystal inset into the leather, in a style similar to the gems on Pixyl’s suppression bands, with metal on the back designed to touch the skin. “If we’re going for a full reading, I’ll start by putting this on.” She wrapped the shorter bracelet around her left hand.
The Scryer held up the longer bracelet. “I’ll need to place this on your neck.”
Callie, raised her head as Yulayla wrapped the leather around her neck, held in place with matching pieces of Scufrow. She spun the now-choker until the metal under the crystal was against the side of Callie’s neck.
“Commandant,” the Scryer began as she fiddled and settled everything, “the band at her neck measures purposeful deception. However, it’s rather easy to fool if the wearer believes they are correct, or are well-skilled in deception. I will also be casting a spell that reads her magical aura, which focuses on overall intent, and will see if answers may be incomplete, inaccurate or vague.”
Scryer Yulayla turned to the Commandant. “I will be in a form of trance once you begin your questions, so you won’t be able to speak to me, although I may say a few things or ask clarifying questions. You also will only have about ten minutes before I’ll be mana drained, and then there’s a long cooldown on the spell, so I’ll give you a signal when time is running low. The necklace and bracelet will stop working once I’m out of mana, as well.”
“We’ll make do with the time,” Xera said. “Go ahead.”
Yulayla nodded and shifted in her seat to get more comfortable. “Keep your eyes focused on me, as it makes the reading easier,” she said to Callie, “and try not to get distracted or look away. You may blink as normal.”
Callie swallowed hard, tried to settle her breathing and then nodded to the Scryer. Yulayla closed her eyes in concentration, and then opened them. Callie was immediately drawn towards the Elf, seeing a faint sparkle of dancing lights in the Scryer’s gaze and feeling no desire to look away.
“Good,” Yulayla said. “Please answer with a lie. What color is your hair?”
“Uh…” Callie stammered for a moment. “What color is my hair? It’s uh … Green?” Although she couldn’t see it, the stone on Callie’s neck began to glow with a deep red color, and the matching bracelet Yulayla wore glowed the same.
The Scryer touched the stone on her bracelet, causing it to return to a neutral setting. “Excellent, and what is your full name?”
“Callie Willow Archer,” Callie confirmed. Yulayla’s wrist did not change color, but the Scryer immediately frowned, adding, “Please be more specific.” Rolling her eyes, she answered again. “Calliope Willow Archer.” This time, Yulayla nodded, indicating the answer was truthful.
“Well, that was a good test, actually,” the Scryer said. “I was able to see that she gave a partially incorrect answer by only stating her nickname, even though she actually answered the question truthfully in her view. You may begin as soon as you are ready.”
“Has anything you told us been a lie,” Xera came right out and asked.
“No,” Callie replied confidently.
Nothing happened.
“Tell us your story again, from the beginning, and quickly.”
And so Callie repeated her tale for Yulayla and as a repeat for everyone else, starting from the beginning and ending at the doorway to Xera’s office, quickly over the course of a fast five minutes. Occasionally, Yulayla would ask for a clarification, but largely she kept silent. The Scryer’s bracelet never changed color, however, nor did the Scryer raise any significant concerns.
“Are you positive that your story is true?” Tasi asked.
“Yes,” Callie responded
“That isn’t true,” Yulayla interrupted.
At the end of the table, all five officers stiffened suddenly. “You have doubts?” Xera asked.
Callie thought for a moment, trying to review her answer in her head. Numbers eventually seemed to race through it and she finally understood. “There’s a non-zero possibility that one of my other two options could be true, despite the evidence. I believe the chance is very low, but statistically it’s there. Remember, Bookkeeping; I’m a numbers person.”
This time, Yulayla said nothing.
“Tell us a lie,” Celeste said sharply.
“Um, my skin is purple and I have twelve arms,” Callie said, rattling off the first crazy thing that popped into her brain. Immediately, the stone turned a deep crimson and Yulayla raised her hand, indicating a falsehood, before she instinctively reset the stone again.
“Just testing,” Celeste mumbled with a shrug.
“Are you in league with the enemies of the Free Folk?” Galin asked.
“No.”
“In that case, do you consider yourself an ally of the Free Folk?” the Legate asked as a follow up.
“Yes … maybe …” Callie scowled as both the stone and Scryer indicated deception.
“Explain,” Xera ordered.
“I’ve been here only three days,” Callie replied carefully, not wanting to set the band or the Scryer off. “I don’t even know where we are located on that map behind you. I’m having a hard time using the word ‘ally’ for some reason, because I don’t know enough. I might consider myself an ally of Vanis and my friends, and many of the people here also have become or are becoming my friends. I care for them.”
No indicator went off, although Yulayla held up two fingers on her unbraceleted hand, indicating about two minutes remaining before she had to end the casting.
“Will you fight for the Free Folk?” Galin asked.
Callie took another moment to answer, hoping that nothing would get triggered as she did so. “I will defend the weak if I am able. I will fight with and fight to save my fellow soldiers and my friends. If the Demons are as evil as I’ve been told, I have no problems fighting against them. But I do it to help people, not for a people, if that makes sense.”
Galin sat back to think about that answer, and the nuance that Callie had expressed with it, but Yulayla indicated no falsehoods.
“Do you wish to continue training?” Thorn asked.
“Yes, I do,” Callie said flatly.
“Why?” Xera asked.
Callie had expected this question, and had given it some thought during the day as to how she might answer it. “Because I have this Conscription Curse, and because training provides the best likelihood of being able to survive.”
“There’s more to it,” Yulayla quickly said, although neither stone went off.
Callie thought for a moment, trying to figure out why else she would want to continue training. “Because I’m here and don’t have other options?” Callie said, thinking out loud and letting the words spill out like a stream of consciousness, as if she was trying to find the exact combination to satisfy the Scryer’s lie detection. “Because it’s the best way to defend my friends? Because I promised my Symbiote? Because the powers are cool? Because I have to show Reynard that Gnomes can be Rangers.” Callie ran out of breath, taking a moment to check with the Scryer.
“What else?” Yulayla said. “There’s more.”
Callie thought deeper, and finally found her answer. “Because I can’t disappoint my dad. He taught me I have to do the absolute best I can, no matter the circumstances,” Callie quietly said, realizing that all this time, that single gigantic reason had been staring her in the face. “I cannot allow myself to give up, until I reach a point where I cannot go further. I’d dishonor his memory if I did.”
That final statement seemed to satisfy the Scryer, and she nodded, holding up one finger to indicate time remaining.
“Do you have any idea who may have brought you here? Or how? Or why?” Tasi quickly asked, trying to cram all the questions into the time remaining.
Callie sputtered with the deluge of questions. “Again, I have no idea why. As for how, I assume magic of some kind. As for who, you’ve got me.”
Neither Yulayla or her bracelet indicated a deception.
“Are you in league with the Humans?” Galin blurted out. Celeste, lightly slapped his shoulder, to which he snarled back.
“I owe them no allegiance, Legate.”
“Explain further,” Yulayla said. “Your answer is incomplete.”
Callie frowned and tried to dig deeper into her answer, realizing she was on a countdown. “Given that I was a Human on Earth, I can’t help but feel close to them on some level. But I have no allegiance to them here beyond that. I am not working for them in any way.”
The Scryer nodded, confirming that was a more-complete answer.
“Are you scared of what will happen to you?” Xera asked finally.
“Despite Gnome Fear Resistance, I’ll be honest, I’m plain terrified of what comes next,” Callie flatly replied.