The forest looked as though it had gone through the apocalypse and not made it out intact. When dawn graced the group, everyone was shocked to see just how much upheaval had taken place. Entire parts of the woods had collapsed. The persistent tree canopy was replaced by open sky which felt entirely too clear and beautiful to exist after such tragedy down below.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Brivaria was able to fully extend her wings and soar up into the air. The swath of destroyed land was even more horrific from above. It would be decades, maybe centuries, before the forest recovered from the scar left by the ritual. The area of destruction was almost a perfect circle around the dungeon and ritual site. The group would have to pick their way through the destroyed forest with care.
After taking stock of their surroundings, she flew down to rejoin everyone for breakfast. Kseniya was skipping the meal in favor of having one last look at the ritual site. The magic that inscribed the sigils into the dirt had collapsed in on itself after they were disrupted leaving nothing left. Both she and Brivaria agreed it was the same kind of inscription magic as what they saw north of the Red Lodge. That didn’t necessarily mean they were related but it was highly suspicious.
The angel returned to find Nyx was confessing that the whole episode yesterday granted her three levels. She had another skill selection and was almost to her class advancement. From what the winged girl could discern, Nyx was now a mighty level 27. Her brother tried to tamp down on her excitement with little success.
Speaking of which, Arx was exactly what Brivaria envisioned. He had shorter hair than Nyx and there were streaks of white mixed into the black rather than one large stripe. Aside from the hair, he was a slightly taller, slightly bulkier version of his sister. Their resemblance was uncanny.
A happy wuff got Brivaria’s attention and Trixie padded up to her. The smile that had already made its way onto the angel’s face bloomed in full and she knelt down.
“Hey girl, did you eat your fill? Are you ready to go?” Trixie barked again and Brivaria scritched her tummy as the dog rubbed affectionately against the angel. “Okay, let’s get ready to set out.” She began collecting their things in preparation to set out. Seeing her packing up, everyone else broke camp as well.
Adventurers and hunters packed up and readied themselves for the trip back to Pemburne. Brivaria watched as the last person made ready to leave. What came next was an awkward moment as Brivaria looked at the group and everyone, in turn, looked at her. Nothing happened. Kseniya coughed and spoke up.
“Which way?” Kseniya asked, pointedly directing her question Brivaria’s way. The angel had the sudden realization that she’d gotten used to waiting for Duncan’s call for them to march. She’d been blithely waiting for that despite the fact that it would never come again. Now everyone was looking her way and it startled her.
“Oh, right. The forest was heavily damaged by the magic but there’s a safe-ish path to the southwest. Follow me!” and they did. Brivaria used Wind Formation to give them steady footing on unstable terrain and Current Control to move them faster through the regions more likely to collapse. It turned what could have been a stressful, all-day trek through the destroyed woodlands into a morning’s run.
The rest of the trip was peaceful. There were likely still manaspawn in scattered packs around the forest. Whether they were created by the unfinished dungeon, the ritual, or some combination of the two was impossible to say. For now they were well to the northeast and not in any immediate danger of heading toward the town. They could be a problem but it would be one for another day.
Brivaria wasn’t certain what she expected upon returning to town. Something more, perhaps? The guards at the gate nodded at them and that was it. Arx volunteered to come to the guild with the group to vouch for successful completion of the mission while the other two men were grateful to be home and eager to return to their families.
Silas also split off. They offered him a share of the payment but he declined politely. He had his story and that was, apparently, enough for him to be content. That was how Brivaria, Kseniya, Nyx, and Arx entered the Pemburne guild hall. Gustav was hard at work on a sliding block puzzle but graciously took time out his busy schedule to look up and welcome them.
“Welcome to the Pem… Oh hey, you’re back. What’s the good word?” the brown-haired boy asked. His eyes flicked to the rather disheveled appearance of the catfolk man with them.
“Some folks are home and seeing their families thanks to my sister and her friends. Others will need to be informed of events,” Arx said while holding a forced smile on his face.
“That’s good news,” Gustav replied with good cheer then he noticed something missing. “Where are the brothers?”
“They didn’t make it,” Brivaria answered, stepping forward and getting everyone moving toward the reception desk again. “They were heroic to the end.” Gustav’s face fell and Brivaria worked to keep her own from doing the same.
True death was difficult to fathom. Dying on an intervention was painful but it was merely the death of the physical manifestation of her people. Angels would always return to Heaven whole and intact. For the people of Zlithia, death was the end. She would never see the brothers again and every time she thought about that, it hurt her anew.
“I’m sorry. They were a good sort. If you’ll give me the full details then I’ll have your payment shortly.” Gustav listened as they told him what they found. Arx excused himself after telling Nyx he wanted to get home to let their parents know they both were safe. He’d already heard the full story on the trip back anyway.
Soon they were all seated at one of the tables in the guild hall with a bag of coins in front of them. Brivaria and Nyx sat opposite while Kseniya rested on her tail at one side of the table. Trixie had her front paws on the bench next to Brivaria and was sniffing at the bag. The angel fished a mana coin out to let the curious dog sniff it. Trixie was much less curious when she realized what the bag held.
“The original agreement to split this doesn’t work anymore. How would you two feel about an even split?” the angel asked. It was 120 coins. The original agreement was 60 to the brothers, 50 to Brivaria and Kseniaya, then 10 to Nyx. The amount was paid to the angel as she was the person who originally took the request.
“That sounds fair,” Kseniya said politely. “I think the custom is that an adventurer’s share goes to their next of kin if they die on a successful mission but the guild has no record of such for the brothers. There may not be anyone to inform. I think they would approve if we put the coins to good use, you know?” Both angel and lamia looked to Nyx. The cat girl blinked.
“Even? As in I get 40 coins?” she asked.
“Yes, kitty. You did well. All that was asked of you and more. Most would run from monsters like the one we fought, you know? Some would call it foolishness to stay but I will call it courage.” Nyx’s ears twitched as the lamia spoke and her tail started to rise.
“I agree and I feel like an even share is more fair regardless,” the angel added. There were no objections as everyone was getting more than they planned. Brivaria pulled the 24 mana coins worth five each into her inventory and then gave a bag of eight to each other girl. Divvying such things was always easier with her Inventory skill as no manual counting was required.
With the money handled, that was everything that needed to be done. Nyx bid the other two goodbye then Kseniya excused herself to handle her own things. They’d not found Amon among the dead nor any clues as to where he was or went. The lamia came away from the trip with no answers and little in hand beyond the coins from the guild.
Brivaria stopped at the same restaurant she’d bought from before setting out and ate a meal while restocking. The owner was pleased that she’d brought everything back perfectly intact and was more than happy to make similar arrangements. Eating well out in the wilderness was a luxury but it was one the angel was willing to pay coin for. Though, she did need a new helm and to get her armor fixed so maybe she’d go easy on the food she purchased… in the future.
The angel was melancholy upon returning to the inn. She played with Trixie until it grew late and then she waited. She’d been expecting Balthazar to check in with her for days now. Every night she waited and every night nothing came. Their talks were fairly regular with the old angel checking in on her every week or so. With each passing night of no contact, she missed them more and more. Even if he was far away, it was a reminder that she wasn’t alone and her friends in Heaven were still watching over her. Now there was just silence.
The morning came and Brivaria decided it was time to move on from Pemburne. She’d check the adventurers guild for new requests and see where they took her. Her plans were interrupted by Nyx and Kseniya in the common room.
“I can’t believe it came out so fast,” the cat girl was saying while Kseniya was reading something.
“What is this? He missed the best part,” the snake woman protested.
“He was unconscious! Oh hey, Brivaria is up.” Nyx casually pulled the sheet of paper they were discussing from the lamia’s hands and waved it at Brivaria. “Look at this!”
“Good morning. What’s this…” she stared at the paper and then realized what it was. It was an article like the one Gustav was reading when they first entered the adventurers guild. The headline read “Divine Blessing Comes to Pemburne.” It was an accounting of their events—a very abridged one she noted.
“Silas works fast,” the angel commented, offering the paper back after scanning through it.
“Reporter skills or something. I saw it on the way over and grabbed a copy.” Nyx was cheerful yet nervous. The cat girl’s tail was swishing.
“Oh, you were on the way over?” Kseniya asked and Nyx shifted uncomfortably under the lamia’s gaze.
“I was hoping to join you two, if you had room for someone else on your team and didn’t mind,” her voice got quieter as she spoke. Both Brivaria and Kseniya blinked in surprise but it was the lamia who recovered and spoke first.
“That sounds like a great idea,” she pronounced.
“It does?” both Nyx and Brivaria asked at the same time.
“Why not?” Kseniya looked from one girl to the other but the words were clearly directed at Brivaria. “Little angel, you barely know the difference between animal and monster, get winded on short hikes in the woods, and no one would be here if any one of us had gone looking for the hunters by themselves. I think being alone in a proper city would do even worse things to you and your cute, cute doggy. You need friends and I think it could be fun, you know?”
“What about your friend? Amon?” the angel asked. She would mentally unpack the rest of those allegations later though they already hit a little too close to home for her comfort.
“He is gone and I have no leads. Shall I sit in this small town and wait for him? For how long? A month? A year? A decade? I think not. I have changed my mind and decided this ‘being an adventurer’ thing sounds fun, you know? I could go to another city and meet new people, true, but you are here now and I know you and you know me so why not?” Kseniya finished.
“Please. Even Trixie likes the idea,” Nyx pleaded. She knelt in front of the golden and was giving very enthusiastic pets and scritches. Trixie wuffed happily at her name being mentioned. Whatever was happening was definitely a good thing to the dog.
“Okay,” the winged girl assented. “I was going to head to the adventurers guild to look for requests. Do we want to go together?”
“Yes!” Nyx cheered.
“We’ll need a name for our team. All teams have one. How about this?” Kseniya turned the sheet of paper toward the two and pointed to the article heading. “Divine Blessing sounds good, you know?”