CJ was hobbling when they made it back to Cinderhall. The sun was getting low, and everyone was spent for the day regardless. His leg was wracked with pain whenever he used it at all. It felt awful, but at this point it wasn’t the first time he was hurt. He knew what the little village could and couldn’t do for his wounds. He would get patched up, and heal over time.
Other members of the mercenary company were helping Kurtys, Ophy, and the others. The explosions set off by Brook more incapacitated them than anything else. The temple there had a priest that was able to stabilize them until they could be brought back. Now they were being carried like stiff packages, taken into the nearby healing house.
Mae walked past him, and headed off toward barracks.
“We’ll talk more about that fight tomorrow,” CJ said to her. Mae didn’t bother looking his way, and kept going.
Alyss passed by next, and gave him a look of pity. “Not the best time.”
CJ furrowed his brow. He didn’t know what that meant. She did fine during that fight. He even congratulated Mae on holding her own. She stayed quiet for most of the journey back, nursing some light wounds. He could feel their humiliation and frustration, and he assumed it was like his.
“CJ,” Larl said as he approached from the direction of the main meeting hall.
CJ turned, “Hey, how has everything been back here?”
Larl smirked. “Just fine. Duskbreeze returned while you were gone.”
CJ instinctively took a step forward, “Really?! How much was she able to bring back?”
“Why don’t we go look,” Larl said. His tone was like a parent hiding a fun gift. It was a little condescending but CJ didn’t care. He could feel the excitement.
“Are we getting presents?”
CJ and Larl stopped. It was Benton. The young man walked over with a smug expression, not masking at all that he was listening in on their conversation. He put his hands on his hips and looked between the two of them.
“Benton,” He said to Larl, sticking his hand out.
Larl nodded, “Oh I’ve heard of you. I’m glad you caught up with the party out there. You finished your other job okay?”
Benton chuckled, “Of course, it was easy enough once we figured out where the Earl’s men were.”
They shook, and CJ decided to give the man his due. “Benton here actually saved the day. That thief was more trouble than we expected.”
“That’s why she was the job,” Larl said. “Brook is well known in these parts. But she made too many enemies.”
“One enemy in particular, I imagine,” Benton said. “The Earl doesn’t take kindly to losing money. But thankfully his pains are our gains, right boys?”
Benton laughed, Larl chuckled, CJ just smiled.
“So uh…” CJ looked to Benton, “what is up with this Earl anyway?”
Benton leaned in, “oh you don’t know the details?”
“We can talk all about it inside,” Larl said. “Come on.”
They walked in, with Larl detailing some of the information CJ missed while he was gone as they walked.
“We finally got the full tally on what happened in Scaleback,” Larl said as CJ fought against the throbbing pain in his thigh. “The city was decimated before Chuck and his guard were able to surrender. The guard were imprisoned or killed. The city still works, but the news out of it is strange, confusing.”
“So it is true what they say?” Benton asked, “about the Ash Walker invasions?”
Larl looked to the man, then to CJ.
“Yeah,” CJ said. “Unfortunately. Larl, how are they masking what they did? What is Barune saying about it?”
“That is the bad news.” Larl said.
“Akahi,” Benton broke in between them. “I’ve heard word that Akahi has gone rogue. A blow to the poor Emberists. There are already whispers of turning them out of delicate positions in cities.”
Larl nodded at CJ. “He is right. The invasion of Scaleback is blamed on Akahi. They have officially dealt first blood in their war with Barune. It is said that the Princedoms have declared war on them as well, and are fighting them from the opposite front.”
“That…” CJ started talking, and then stopped. It didn’t make sense, but it could all just be a ruse. But back home, CJ always stood by a simple theory on conspiracies. There were only so many people that could reasonably keep a secret before it would spill. It wouldn’t make sense for the Princedoms to try to lie about being in a war with Akahi, they must really believe they are fighting them. “This is stranger than we thought.”
“We aren’t too far from Akahi’s borders,” Benton said. “But the way here is roundabout, quite a few places they would hit first, and I imagine the local Earls and Counts would call on the King Mandin before long. It may just spare us.”
“Maybe,” CJ said, letting the conversation fade as they reached the door to the meeting hall.
Larl opened the door and Benton shoved through first. CJ followed behind. The room was a large central hall built for Cianna to bring everyone together and talk to them. It had a high roof, and rows of chairs all coming out from a central round table, and a flame pit near the head for when it was particularly cold. But near the entrance there were some tables, usually used to distribute stuff to the village or for people to drop off items. In this case, there was a bundle of about eight books there, all wrapped in a bundle by two belts.
“Eight?!” CJ shouted as he tried to dash to the table and regretted it. He took his time and moved over, untying the bundle and laying them out. The books had particularly dry titles to the eyes of locals. For CJ though, they were exactly what he needed.
The Tales of the Twin Conquests
Facet Identification Index Volume 3
Registered Townships of Northeast Barune
Proper Stylings and Titles in the North Kingdom (Title scribbled out)
Buffalo Illnesses and Remedies Almanac
Mimic-Serpent Breeding Charts and References
Accepted Names in the Traditions
Treatises on Cleanliness and Death
Benton was standing behind CJ as he went over the titles, riffling through some pages before restacking them.
“Kind of an odd selection, friend.” Benton said, “I’d ask if you’re a scholar as well but I couldn’t say what you would be writing with these.”
It was CJ’s turn to grin. “We’ll see. Sometimes it isn’t about having all the information on one topic, but knowing enough to get a broad picture.”
Benton rolled his eyes, “If only my old mentor agreed. A statement like that would get me a slap on the wrist.”
“I’m a strategist,” CJ said, turning to face Benton. “But while I have a lot of thoughts on how to move forces around, a lot of it is useless if I…”
He hesitated. So far he wasn’t hesitating to tell Cianna’s people about his eye and his abilities. But he didn’t bother unless asked. He let her tell her fighters, but he still didn’t want word spreading around the world. Greywind would be looking for him. If the world figured out who he was, where he was, they still weren’t ready.
“Well, I don’t know enough, let me put it that way.” CJ said.
Benton stared at CJ, raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged. “Well, to each man his own vision. Just try not to bore yourself to death with some of these.”
“You were going to talk about the Earl,” CJ said as he turned back and packed up his books to move them to the barracks.
“Ah yes,” Larl said. “Well the local Earl is a man named Bran Shellert, Earl Shellert is well known for being sort of… absent.”
Benton laughed, and slapped Larl on the back. “That is one way to put it. These lands are the closest to the edge of Akahi and the Princedoms, but if you asked some people the Earldom may as well fly no flag. Those who pay the Earl their coin may see his support, but everyone else are on their own.”
CJ looked over his shoulder to Benton, “King Mandin doesn’t do anything about that?”
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
“This is hard to navigate. Pockets of beautiful forests surrounded by mountains and rock.” Benton said.
Larl added, “A third of this region ‘belongs to the Skymen’, as they say.”
CJ learned during his first week that ‘belongs to the Skymen’ was a phrase that meant the land was all but impossible to traverse. Jagged mountaintops and deep chasms. They were places that Skymen liked to go to in order to escape dealing with the other two tribes of men.
“So Shellert sucks, but no one wants to get rid of him?” CJ asked.
Benton proffered a palm as he spoke, “Oh plenty of people have thought of getting rid of the Shellerts. Most of their wealth goes to protecting their own interests. The center of the Earldom is a collection of mines. They have enough to protect themselves from all but a full assault by a higher authority, but they would make it hurt I’m sure.”
“But for the individuals in the Shellert Earldom,” Larl said, “life can be rather grim. Which is why so many turn to mercenary work to feed their villages.”
He was being told the story of Cinderhall, in a roundabout way. That made sense. Everything about this place felt like a large lumber town. He still heard them working during the days, cutting down trees and preparing them to be shipped away.
“So Brook pissed him off?” CJ asked.
Benton nodded. “She tends to do that. I don’t know if she’ll be able to escape this time. But this was a long time coming. She has a habit of stealing valuable items from the Earl and then bragging about it. But this time she acted without cover from uh… the right people.”
CJ remembered Benton mentioning earlier something about her getting in trouble. That was an interesting situation. If this was one of his games, this was definitely a decision point. He knew which one he wanted to make, but he didn’t know if he could get everyone else to agree with him.
“Larl,” CJ said. The older priest perked up. “Remind me to talk to Cianna about Brook. I might have an interest there.”
Larl smiled. His eyes looked less tired these days, he was mostly healed. But he still had the scar across his head, and still seemed less peppy. “Of course, CJ.”
Alyss walked through the door, and all three men turned toward her. CJ barely realized she was approaching. She looked at CJ with a firm glare, and made a straight path for him.
“Hey, what was that-“ CJ started.
“Yeah, that’s why I’m here.” Alyss said. Her eyes darted to Benton, and then she got close enough to CJ that she could whisper in his ear. “We need to talk about the Duchess’s progress, and what comes next.”
CJ swallowed hard. He didn’t like the sound of that.
Alyss lead him across the village. As the sun set, CJ could hear the distant yells of workers around the village. This place was already more familiar than anywhere else he had visited in this world.
“So,” CJ said, “what am I walking into here?”
Alyss didn’t answer at first, then sighed as she walked. “It is about her soulstone.”
So far, Madaleene didn’t have a soulstone. It was becoming its own problem. Because she didn’t have a soulstone, it felt dangerous to take her into the field. Even when she insisted, it made CJ second guess them joining real engagements.
Then there were times like today.
“She’ll get there,” CJ said. “I don’t know if this is something someone can really rush. I’ve been reading about it and everyone has different opinions.”
“It isn’t just that,” Alyss said. “Like today, why didn’t you make use of the bond?”
CJ huffed. He knew it was coming, but he didn’t know if there was an easy answer. Especially when giving it to Alyss who was so protective of her ‘charge’. She still treated Mae as a duchess, even though she tossed the title. CJ was sure that Alyss would throw herself on a sword without question if it meant saving Mae.
“You put all of us in danger,” Alyss said, staring at CJ as they walked.
“You’re the one who told me it was dangerous to use it with her!” CJ said, pulling his volume down when he realized he was starting to yell. “Remember the whole strain and exhaustion thing? You told me that, you! So which is it?”
Alyss crinkled her nose. “If she might die, the only way to even the battlefield is with that power. Also, if she isn’t being subjected to that extra strain…”
“She might not solidify a soulstone, yeah.” CJ nodded. He knew that much. The whole concept was that hard work and strain was what made it happen. It was just a question of what counted and what didn’t. He didn’t know how to make the process go any faster for her, he came here with a soulstone already in place.
Since they were linked by their bond, even if it wasn’t ‘on’ at the moment, CJ could check on Mae’s sheet with ease. He brought it up.
|Lady Mae 99% to next Milestone 9 of 10 Milestones
|None Attunement Soulstone Tier 0 Human - Fieldman
|Allegiance: Cinderhall Mercenaries, The Violet Fighters
|
|Strength 3 | Control 4
|Stamina 4 | Resilience 4
|Command Unk | Health Avg | Mov. Spd Avg
|
|>Facets
|>Artifacts & Relics
|>Bond - 3
She was right there, it was within her grasp. But she was this close for some time now, and CJ felt like something was holding her back.
“Just hear her out,” Alyss said as they walked into the barracks.
She was there at one of the closest beds inside. There was a small table beside her bed that she was using as a desk. The whole area was a little fancier than what CJ had, but in a way that showed Mae cared to make her living space better for herself. It didn’t seem like anyone was giving her special treatment, she was just making the best use out of the space she was given.
She turned from the desk when they entered. Mae looked a little beaten, but her determined look said she wasn’t broken.
“Thanks for fetching him, Alyss.” Mae said. “I wanted to apologize CJ, for brushing you off earlier. I wasn’t in a good place, but that isn’t an excuse.”
CJ shrugged, “I disagree. You were mad, but you didn’t snap at me. It worked out okay.”
She shook her head no. “Regardless, I feel like you’re treating me like a wisp, as if I’m not allowed to contribute. That isn’t the promise you made when I joined you.”
CJ crossed his arms. “I know, it isn’t exactly fair but I’ve been warned more than enough times about how strenuous the bond is on you. It already feels wild enough for me, I can’t imagine.”
“You’re right,” Mae said as she stood up from her desk.
Alyss snorted in amusement, and sat down on her own bed.
Mae stepped toward him. “You can’t imagine, so please don’t bother. I’ve agreed to this, and if I ever change my mind you will be the first to know.”
“Okay,” CJ looked out over the room, breaking the hard eye contact Mae had established. “No more kid gloves, got it. I don’t know if it would have helped us today though. We need some new facets, new strategies, something.”
“This connection really does link us,” Mae said as she went back to her desk and grabbed a letter. She turned back and brought it over to CJ.
It looked simple, but he could see the remainder of a Goldfeather seal. So it found her through the post. He started to pull the letter out.
“What is this?”
“Some of the past catching up with us,” Alyss said.
Mae glared at her, but still answered. “I received a letter from members of the Brotherhood of One Flame, they say they escaped from Akahi.”
|Brotherhood of One Flame|
|Attunement Mastery Organization
|A religious order central to Emberism. Founded in Akahi.|
“A mastery org?” CJ asked.
“Not just that,” Mae said. “They were central to the operation of the Magmaguard. They crafted their weapons, kept their records, ran their recruitment.”
A possible ally. The letter was from a man called Brother Shaw, who heard that the Duchess still lived and wanted to meet her. It seemed they still had a small part of the group operating in a village, and they wanted to hear the truth from the duchess herself. Then it went over how they found each other. It seemed they were all on different pilgrimages when Akahi was hit. They found each other on accident.
“It seems dangerous to contact them,” CJ said. “This could be a trap, Greywind could be looking for us.”
Mae lifted a hand and shook her head, “I doubt it. The brotherhood are nearly as tough as the Magmaguard, and you’ve seen how effective they are against the Ash. It is the whole point of their order. They are devoted priests all of them.”
“Yes but, we don’t know what all has happened since we left. This could-“ He stopped talking and looked back to Mae. Her face told the story of the emotion he felt from her. There was a desperate hope there. She needed these people to still be around, the question was why.
“I want to attune to Searing,” Mae said.
“Searing?” CJ asked. His guide didn’t know anything beyond it being an attunement.
“Not all Magmaguard go toward Purity attunement. It is a tough path. But the first step is Searing.”
CJ nodded. He understood now. She had that sword, even now it was beside her desk. But to really use it, she had to follow in Byr’s footsteps. She wasn’t going to attune to iron, she wanted to go even further.
“Good idea,” CJ said. He grinned at Mae which made her whole stance shift to one of confused excitement. “I like it.”
“Really?” Mae said, “we’ll go?”
CJ handed the letter back to her. “Don’t get too excited, I have to ask Cianna if we can spare the time. There are a lot of jobs in the queue right now.”
Mae stutter stepped, then hugged him. CJ chuckled, but the hug went on long enough that he sighed.
“Okay okay, I still need to get this leg taken care of before bed.”
“Right,” Mae said. She turned from him and used a hand to wipe a tear away as subtle as she could. “I’ll see what other information I can establish without giving away our position.”
She was keeping his rules in mind for communication, so she wasn’t running on pure emotion. They couldn’t communicate in any way that confirmed they were still out there. The exception was recipients who also wouldn’t be able to make larger moves. But CJ didn’t even want to endanger people by sending them letters that implied they worked for his group.
“I’ll let you know what we’re doing next as soon as I hear,” CJ said as he turned to leave.
He looked over to Alyss, whose stare seemed less angry than usual. It seemed he made a few good moves then.
He found himself in Cianna’s meeting room. A smaller place with a few chairs around a thick carved wooden table with a map laid out on it. The carvings were of heroic symbols, some which CJ was learning matched to facet symbols. Unlike the Akahi survivors, Cianna and friends were staunch Torchbearers, and the symbols of their heroic demigods were everywhere.
“There you are,” Cianna said. She was leaning over the table, looking down at the map. “Larl said you were just going to talk to the girl.”
Larl was in the room as well, as he often was. It seemed despite their history, Cianna insisted on keeping Larl close when she was planning. Despite that, Larl rarely commented on strategic plans while CJ was around.
“Yeah, didn’t feel like I took long.” CJ said as he came in and stood across the table from her.
The map wasn’t of the world. She had out a regional map which mostly covered the Earldom and just beyond. The capital was the center, but there were many flags and figures to represent groups they sent out and other groups acting in the region.
“I was going to talk to you about that thief Brook, and if they aren’t more valuable to us than the Earl,” CJ said, “but Mae dropped a different problem in my lap. I think I may need to ask for some time for me and my bond to go and get new facets. In particular, Mae needs to meet with the Brotherhood of the One Flame.”
Larl tilted his head. He was sitting in a chair off to the side of the room, relaxed enough that he had a leg crossed. “The Brotherhood? Surely they were all captured or killed.”
CJ shook his head. “There are some in a village called Lotun, they found each other. I’m not sure it isn’t a trap, but we should look into it regardless.”
Cianna stood up and paced. CJ wasn’t sure what part of the conversation had her so intrigued. She stopped and turned back toward him.
“Sit down, we should figured out the details,” Cianna said, “because I might have a way we could take care of both. Though it won’t be easy.”