They were all glad when Louise returned home, but it led to one of those quiet sort of nights where conversation was stilted, as everything was uncomfortable. Everyone was just exhausted, physically and emotionally, after that nightmare of a day, and Cray soon crashed into slumber with the force of a bomb.
Dreams that night… flashes of past, of backstory, thundered through him. And not for the first time did he wake up clawing at the face of a long-nonexistent enemy.
Morning came with a heavy moisture that clung to everything, weighing them down. Cray would've preferred to relax until it was time for the find, but unfortunately, they had the town council meeting first.
Still, at least everyone was on the same side for a change, and they put the arguments of yesterday on hold to face the trial of today. Whatever disagreements they might have, they united against the outside foe, and over a breakfast of cooked rice, they planned for the battle to come.
Louise didn’t have much of an appetite, he could tell. She picked at her food like a bird: one grain at a time. “W-What do you think it's going to be like?”
Definitely nervous. "It's not like it's the first time that someone has caused a collapse this year, and we did warn everyone, so it shouldn’t be too bad," Cray said. “If we make it clear that it was an accident and we will make sure won't happen again, we should be fine. Maybe a slap on the wrist, at worst.”
Louise raised her gaze, visibly cheered by his words… just in time for Karah drop a ton of bricks on it.
"Except that we’re a bit of a special case," Karah said. "We deliberately chose to not have you join the Welcoming Group, saying we could handle everything. Now we caused a collapse, so they might go harder on us because we didn’t do the safe choice to begin with. And we also need to discuss your class and passive with them too." She paused, shook her head, and finally noticed his annoyed look at how Louise looked as if the life had been ripped from her. A wince from his sister, and she cleared her throat, before saying in a more upbeat tone of voice. “Still, I understand it’ll be just the three council members, not a full town meeting. So that’s good.”
The look on Louise’s face made it clear she didn’t buy the fake optimism, but she didn’t answer, and instead turned to Cray. “What should I do?”
“Honestly? It’s probably best just to let us do the talking.”
"Are you sure?" And Louise looked so worried and so hopeful that Cray that it was downright adorable, and Cray feared you might die from a sugar overload.
Don’t patronize, don’t patronize. "I'm sure. As the senior members of the group, I and especially Karah will explain what happened. Let's make sure that we are ready, though. Read us your ability again so we can review."
It wouldn't be the first time that someone had an ability or a passive that caused trouble, that he knew from experience. And hers wasn’t really too bad, as long as he and Karah were there. They’d just been blindsided this time. Worst-case scenario, he and Karah would just have to stay in charge of any future Finds, or pull her back if it looked too tetchy. Nothing too complicated to worry about.
“Uh-oh.” Louise looked up. “Not to worry anyone, but… I have a new ability: Water pulse."
Cray massaged his forehead.
/-/
Once more, they were back in the town hall, directed to a set of double-doors with a bronze placard upon them that read ‘Conference Room’. Inside, it rather reminded Louise of a church and those shows of legal trials she’d watched before; there was a banister and a set of pews to the right and three podiums across from them, each occupied by a council member. In the center was a table, all chairs facing the podiums. Apart from the stands, the room was almost empty of life.
One figure upon the podiums she recognized as Aimee, in her same glyph-covered robes but far more serious in demeanor. Another was an older man. The third was another woman, older than Aimee but closer in age to her than the man. The town council.
Without a word, Aimee motioned them to sit at the table.
With each step, the cold air of Lifehome bit at Louise, and she wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm. All the empty chairs around them stood as ghosts, promising judgment. The table stood in a depression in the floor, such that everyone could look down upon them.
Cray squeezed her shoulder in an effort to encourage, then he and Karah took seats flanking her. Right then, the protection was definitely appreciated.
Aimee looked to each of them in turn, her expression cool rather than smiling. "So, from the reports we received, your group caused a collapse in one of the overgrown complex waypoints yesterday. What happened?"
It was my fault, but Louise stayed silent. Still, maybe they’d overheard, as she kept catching the members of the town council looking her way with frowns.
Karah cleared her throat. "It was our fault, exactly as you heard, although we didn’t plan for it. We saw an opportunity to gain a significant treasure and pushed forward without checking the time first. Although we won, by the time we finished, the collapse had already begun."
All true, from a certain point of view. However, Karah acted as if it had been a group decision, that they’d opted to go for it together rather than Louise alone charging forth, the others forced to chase after lest she run to her death. She was responsible, and all three of them knew it.
For her part, Aimee looked dubious. "You say all three of you made the mistake? Who was responsible for monitoring the time inside the find?"
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Karah met the other woman’s gaze. “As the one who was supposed to lead our Finds, it is my responsibility to keep track of the time and my fault.”
True again, but she had put Louise in charge to allow her to learn this time. Karah stood tall and threw herself under the proverbial bus for Louise’s sake, something which made guilt gnaw away deep within her stomach. Why were they doing this?
Aimee narrowed her eyes and, while Cray stood composed, it was all Louise could do to not start admitting her guilt right then. Then she nodded to one of the other woman amongst the town council.
That woman looked to be a fighter like Karah, with a bandoleer over her robes. Black in coloration and rather scrawny, with robes a trifle too big for her, she peered at Louise with a frown that made her feel like an insect being examined. She turned to Karah and said in a voice that was nearly a squeak from being so high pitched. "It was your responsibility, perhaps, but let’s try this again. Who had the timer?"
Karah met her gaze, too. "I did–"
"It was me," Louise said, unable to watch Karah throw herself upon her proverbial sword any longer. "I had the stopwatch, but was distracted and failed to keep track of the time. When I finally looked, the collapse had already begun." She bowed her head and steeled herself for the anger. It was her fault, anyway. "It was my passive—we didn’t know about it then; it called me toward a red crystal underneath one of the buildings, and rather than slow down or check the situation, I just kept going until it was too late." She bowed her head. "I am sincerely sorry, and if there’s anything, anything I can do to make up for it, I will do so."
The council members looked between one another, then back to her, and the third member of the town council, the man, smiled kindly down at her. "It is admirable that you take the responsibility, Louise, but I am afraid it is not yours to claim. Rest assured, Louise, nobody blames you here. Yes, you may have been out there, but Karah and Cray should have already known about your passive, or prevented you from heading forward when time was pressing."
Karah and Cray's fault? Louise’s eyebrows knit together. No, it wasn't their fault. Maybe they should have checked the passive, yes, but she was the one who refused to stop until it was too late.
When she said as much, though, the man shook his head. "But with how young and new you are, you should have been back long before the time even became an issue to begin with." He shook his head, then frowned towards Karah and Cray. “From what I hear, it sounds like the entire group has a habit of taking risks—perhaps calculated, but risks all the same. While the older members are experienced enough to make those decisions, even if they are unwise, Louise lacks the capacity to make that sort of decision. I propose that Louise attend the Welcoming Group, starting tomorrow’s Find and for however long it takes until she feels herself ready.” He gave a hard look toward Karah and Cray there. “This way, we can assure she develops good habits for Finding and avoid a repeat of this in the future. Additionally, Karah and Cray should pay a small crafting material fine to recompense those who couldn’t find in their preferred areas. Last, and this is my personal recommendation, figure out how you’re going to handle it the next time Louise’s passive calls her to do something."
The other two town councils made murmurs of agreement, then they all turned to the three of them.
Karah opened her mouth, but paused, with a glance toward Louise and Cray. Unsure. She asked their thoughts with her gaze: was this something they should accept?
The way Cray shrugged as good as said this was the best they were going to get. And as for Louise… It felt like a betrayal to even think it, but even if the town council was wrong about who was at fault, it might be a good idea for her to join the Welcoming Group, if temporarily. She nodded.
“We’ll take it.” Karah said.
“Excellent.” Aimee noted it down on a pad, and visibly relaxed, perhaps because the matter was handled. “Don’t think of us as cruel ogres. We just don’t want anyone to get hurt or risk ruin. We know it was an accident, but don’t want to risk a repeat.”
“Now,” the man amongst the town council said, “if there isn’t anything else…?”
Cray cleared his throat. “There is, actually. It is in regard to Louise and her class…”
Now everyone turned to peer down at Louise again, and she shrank under their gazes. They listened as Cray and Karah explained the situation and asked a few clarifying questions. The cold, wet air made it feel like Louise had jumped in a pool and left to drip-dry. She was alone while they all talked about her without addressing her.
Cray squeezed her elbow, though, which helped.
Finally, the second female council member, whose name was apparently Laura, drummed her fingers on the podium. "So, it sounds like whatever that red light was, it drew her to it and gave her an ability even though she hadn’t leveled up. Does that sound about right?"
"Yes, I think that sums it up." Aimee said testily. She brushed back a lock of her hair, the countless rings upon her fingers glittering. "Now, let’s talk about the passive first. I have heard of a few cases like this. It's rare, but some classes do get that sort of ability, the kind where it really draws you to do something. You build up a tolerance after a few times, typically. But I understand your concern.”
"We are also concerned because of her class," Cray said, although not without an apologetic look to Louise, as if he had somehow betrayed her. "Not in a bad way, just… we are not sure what sort of equipment would be best for her to use nor what we can expect—I am sorry, but I have never heard of a ‘Hero’ before.”
"Nor have I. What does a hero even do?" Laura stretched in her chair like the proverbial cat. "A class that does heroic things?”
But the male council member’s eyes opened in wonderment. A man named Simeon, with mottled, wrinkled hands, he grinned. “I have heard of a class like that before, which might be… yes, that’s what it was,” he said, almost to himself. “They are rare creatures, happening not more than once a generation. Lifehome has never seen one before. Most towns never do, never get the chance to see... Other classes follow the path, but Heroes were made from it,” he quoted, then sighed. “Unfortunately, I cannot say that I know much about them. They are such a rare class that very little is known as to their abilities.”
"Is it bad?" Cray said, holding onto Louise’s shoulder protectively. "And what do these hero crystals mean?"
Simeon shook his head. "I cannot say for sure, but since it says that she must obtain the hero crystals, that implies that is something that she needs to do. It will likely empower her too—I doubt it to be a coincidence that she obtained a new ability after she touched one. I will look into the matter further, but it may take time. In the meantime, I would suggest aiding her when she senses a Hero Crystal, but only if there isn’t too much risk to it."
“Of course…” Cray said in a murmur.
Simeon turned to Louise again. There was interest in his gaze, curiosity, like there was something special about her that he couldn't quite place.
Louise couldn’t say the same for the others. While Cray stood beside her and Karah in front like a shield, the other two council members watched her like she was a bomb about to go off at any moment.
“Are there any ways,” Karah said finally, “to make it so that when the passive triggers, she immediately leaves the state?”
"When you went with her, you were able to bring her out of it. I imagine that, were the situation sufficiently dangerous, she could override her passive. Still, I will be careful to check. Perhaps following Welcoming Group Guidelines will help you on that front."
Karah grimaced, but nodded.
With that, the meeting was adjourned. Louise followed Karah and Cray out of the Town Hall, all silent. A strange class, a compulsion that she could barely control, all added on top of everything else. At least she could try out the Welcoming Group.
Hopefully, that would fix everything. For now, though, their day had just begun. Tired, frustrated, and worried, they still had to Find.