"So, Hera. How are you doing?" Sammy asked while they were inside yet another room in his 'office.' This was a smaller version of the central area that he only used when there was a number of people being treated. As a matter of fact, this was the first time he needed to use this particular room. These sessions were going on since the beginning of the week, but this still felt very much like a novelty.
"I… I think I'm doing ok. I'm not thinking too much about… what happened," Hera shrugged while petting Daskka. They had decided that having the Herald here wasn't a bad idea, but she couldn't speak anything until the end of the session.
"Not thinking much or not thinking at all?"
"At all, I guess."
"And do you think this is a good idea? I understand why you were avoiding thinking about everything inside the memory and that, after it, you needed some time to rest. But now, is this what is best for you?" Sammy pressed while making a small cup of tea approach her.
"I… don't know. It took a lot of me to get over… that last time."
"I remember what you talked about. This has happened in the past, correct? But it was a different situation. Some kind of wide-range spell that turned a lot of people mad?" Sammy asked as Hera took the teacup.
"Yeah. It was a mess. A centaur came for… I don't know, revenge? Hate? Whatever the case, it came after us, managed to sneak past a bunch of people, and just started killing. I think it would be easier to show you, but I don't have an internet connection in here," Hera sighed.
"Oh. That's a good idea. I'll read about it later," Sammy nodded.
"You have access to the internet here?" Hera looked up from her cup.
Sammy frowned, "Well. Yes, but there are some limitations. For instance, I can't share things with all of you. It's more of a … closed network, so to speak. Also, I don't have access to any information since about two weeks before you and the… Royal Explorers?" Sammy questioned, trying to confirm if he got the name right. He could use spells and skills to make sure his memory was perfect, but doing so felt too impersonal, and he opted to remember things the old-fashioned way. Hera nodded in confirmation before he continued, "Yeah, so I can't talk about anything from between then and now. I have seen some things during that time. After all, it's really boring to be here alone, but when you all arrived here, the memories I had about new things during that period were all locked away."
"I'm sorry about that…" Hera looked away, feeling a bit guilty about this. Having your memories locked didn't sound like something fun.
"Don't be. This is part of my job, and being someone who can mess with memories, having that done to me is only fair. Now, back to you. While that was going on, the madness with the centaur, I mean. You had an encounter, correct?" Hera just nodded after hearing Sammy's question, "Would you mind telling me about it?"
"Again? I've already told you."
"Very well. I'll say what I remember. If I get anything wrong, please let me know," one more time, Hera nodded, hearing Sammy's question, "During that attack, people started fighting each other like monsters. They didn't stop unless you had a way of knocking them out or incapacitate them in some way. As you and Alex went back to the hotel in search of a notebook where Alex had written down some information about the curse, which, for the record, I think was a good idea."
"You do?" Hera tilted her head.
Sammy nodded with a smile, "I do. Despite her actual intentions, if you had left the notebook behind and it fell into the hands of someone else, then someone else might have ended up being cursed, and this whole ordeal you all went through would be for nothing. But let's move on. After getting the notebook, you rushed out, trying to find Helena and Bonnie, and that's when something happened. An elf attacked you when you were alone."
"And died," Hera replied.
Sammy paused, "May I ask you an uncomfortable question?"
"Isn't that part of the whole deal?" Hera chuckled.
"More or less," Sammy smiled, "May I?"
"Sure."
"Why do you always say it that like that? 'He died.' You always formulate the sentence by removing yourself from it."
"Why does that matter?" Hera shook her head.
"Because it's a way to deflect and avoid just like not thinking about what happened in the memory. Another reason is because of horror movies."
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"What?" Hera stopped and stared Sammy in the eyes.
"When you watch a horror movie, many times, the monster is scarier when you haven't seen it. Because our mind does a much better job of creating something scary than most artists. It's the same with words. If you are afraid of saying a specific word, your mind will make it even more dangerous, even more scary. Not to say that it isn't, but when you hide from it, you give it even more power."
"So you want me to say what happened? What I did?" Hera asked.
"No. I want you to do well and get better. This is simply a suggestion. A… let's call it a tool that you can choose to use or not."
Hera took a deep breath, "I… I killed that elf. I killed Vulmer Keller. And I killed Kadhan. It doesn't matter if it was in a memory. That doesn't change what I've done," when she finished speaking, she half expected something to happen. A weight to be lifted from her shoulders, a dark spot in her heart to vanish. Yet, nothing happened. There was no change, no difference between now and 30 seconds ago before she said anything. With a frown, she turned back to Sammy.
"Mental health is not that easy, unfortunately. There is no spell or trick to make everything better. What I hope is that this will make things easier. With time, at least," Sammy could tell that Hera was still uncomfortable with the entire situation, so he decided on a different approach, "Let's change topics for a moment. How are you doing with the rest of the party? You all have been through some traumatic situations together, and some events were not that positive. Between Alex attacking you all and Adriel's secret job, how is everyone?"
"Hard to say. Alex is trying to act as if everything is normal, but she tends to overcompensate. Either being too nice to everyone, or just doing her own thing as if she didn't matter to us, or as if she didn't want to bother anyone. Adriel told everyone about his job, as you know, but I don't know if anyone processed enough about it. On one hand, he was lying to us and trying to use us. On the other hand, he didn't actually do anything bad or wrong. No one got hurt, no one got anything stolen. It was just part of his agenda, and it didn't affect us so far. I still don't know how to feel about it."
"And how do you feel about Alex attacking you? You talked about what she is doing but not how you feel about it."
Hera stopped for a moment. She didn't do this on purpose, it was just how she felt like she should talk, "I trust her. I still do. But it's not the same. Not yet, anyway. When we were fighting, I still felt worried every time she tossed a spell that seemed to go in my direction. I know it's not fair, but…"
"But it's an instinct. She attacked you, and now you are weary. This is not something unexpected."
"I don't like that."
"We hardly like the results of trauma. Yet, the scars are still there. They will heal, and with time, you won't even notice them, but unfortunately, it's something that you will carry with you forever."
"So you mean that once trust has been broken, it can never be fixed?" Hera asked.
"Not quite. Trust can be fixed, but just like a vase, it will never be the same as it was before."
"A bit heavy-handed with the metaphors today, aren't we?" the Empress chuckled.
"Well, the topic is a bit complicated, and metaphors help us understand more subjective things."
They continued their conversation, which was a daily thing, and at the end of the hour, Hera left the office. During the past week, this was their routine. Everyone would have between 30 to 40 minutes sessions with Sammy, then they would explore the Temple of Sands. Trying to find something else in the Thermal Waters didn't sound like a good idea. The entire place was too peaceful, and the monsters were starting to be annoyed by their presence. If Hera and the others found one of the nests, things could become a problem. Even the most calm of creatures would become aggressive when its home was threatened.
In the Temple of Sands, they found a dungeon, the same one that Hera and Adriel saw before finding the right doorway. That one wasn't that exciting. In essence, it was an escape room where the solution was to match the things in the area they were in with one of the paintings in the hallway just beyond the entrance of the dungeon. The main issue was that the quest only showed up after they left said hallway, and they couldn't go back, which meant they would have to figure out by following some very cryptic messages that barely were any help. However, thanks to Adriel's new skill, he was able to remember everything in the paintings, and they quickly completed the dungeon. It was a shame that someone else had completed it before them, but they still got quite a bit of money as a reward. Also, each of them got a piece of a painting, but no one actually took the reward out since carrying a piece of a painting didn't seem like a good idea here. Not much because of whatever they might actually be, but because they would have to carry it around a place where high tides could be an issue, and if there was one thing that didn't work well with a painting was water.
They already spent a bit over a week here, and everyone agreed that there wasn't anything else to do. Sure, they could keep trying to search the Temple of Sands, but traversing that place was a nightmare. The only one who could move around without any problems was, again, Adriel. All thanks to his new skill that improved his memory. Aside from him, everyone had to go through so many hoops to avoid getting lost that exploring that place became a slog. Worst of all, they found the doorway they had to go to in two days, by almost complete accident. This only made Blue even more anxious to leave. Soon enough, the rest of the party also started to feel restless, hoping they would go back home soon.
Knowing that, Sammy tried to press everyone to have longer sessions, but this was still the last day of it. At least the last day for most of the party. Shane and Hera would be able to continue their sessions with the help of the guides. They could only do so in their private rooms, and it would be, essentially, a video session. Both of them were very grateful, not just because they could continue the sessions, but because they would be able to talk with someone who they could completely trust. Unlike people, beings that were part of the MAZE were bound to a set of rules, and they would not go against that no matter what.
Hera was the last one to have a session that day, and they all took a break before gathering in the central rest area. If this was the last time they would see Sammy, this could only mean one thing. It was time for a goodbye party.