After being reacquainted with my old pal death, I came back to reality only to hear familiar voices talking around me. “We need to tell Kala.” This voice certainly belonged to Velshi.
“He asked us to be alone in here for a few minutes.” Durdan replied. I guess I had lost consciousness for a little while before officially dying as it felt like a couple minutes had passed. More than enough time for Velshi to show up only to confirm that I had died.
“Why? There’s nothing that can be done, he’s dead. We should prepare him to receive last rites.”
“He asked for this, his last request, and I will see it through to the end. After that, you may do what you need.”
Alright, I think it’s time for the big reveal, any more listening and this might become awkward. Well... more awkward. I opened my eyes first to see them standing off to the side having their discussion. They didn’t notice that, so I did something they would notice. I sat up.
Both of them caught the movement and snapped their attention onto me. They were staring wide-eyed at me, jaws hanging slightly agape. It seemed like they were scared a little bit as well, they took a step back from me. I didn’t know if there were some concerns about magical bullshit bringing the dead back to life as zombies or revenants or something like that, so I decided to break the tension a little and show I was still very much myself.
I put my hands out to the side and adopted an awkward smile. “Surprise.” I said half-heartedly.
They both just blinked at me, utterly stupefied. Velshi was the first to recover enough to make an attempt at speaking. “Wha... how... y-you were dead, your heart stopped. What is going on right now!?”
“Not so loud, please. I’ll answer your questions, but I would prefer it if the whole camp didn’t hear them as well.”
Velshi hesitated for a moment, clearly trying to organize her thoughts and bring herself back under control. Durdan had come out of his stupor though and decided to join the conversation. “Your wound, we should close it now, right?” It seemed he was trying to be practical about things, but his face betrayed just how confused he was.
“It’s already closed. I’m perfectly fine.” I lifted my shirt to reveal the area I had been stabbed, wiping away some of the errant blood that lingered around there. He was once again forced into silence, not knowing what to do with this new knowledge.
Velshi took up the conversation again in his place. “How? How did you recover when you were by all measures dead?”
“You know that I have a magical entity inside of me, right?”
“Yes, you are saying that it healed you?”
“I’m thinking that is the case, though I can’t say with absolute certainty.”
“You don’t know?” She asked skeptically.
I sighed. “Like I said, I'm fairly certain it’s responsible, but this whole situation was thrust upon me without so much as a single word in explanation.”
“And what is your situation?” Duradan asked.
I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. “Well... I’m sort of... immortal.” Once again, the entire tent fell into an awkward silence with Velshi and Durdan just staring wide-eyed at me. They opened and closed their mouths a few times, doing their best impression of a fish out of water, though frankly I was the one who felt like it was difficult to breathe. Everything would depend on how they reacted to this, and while I wanted to believe that I knew them well enough to say that they wouldn’t do anything bad, I still had my reservations.
Eventually, Velshi managed to get some words out of her flapping jaw. “I-Immortal? But your heart still stopped, you still died.”
“Yes, I can still technically die, but every time I do, I’m brought back to life shortly after.”
Velshi contemplated this while Durdan took the opportunity to ask another question. “Do you know how this happened at least?”
Oh man, here comes the kicker. “Yeah...” I took a breath before continuing, “From what I understand, this is all happening because the Eternal Goddess decided she was going to just take me from my home and plop me down in the middle of a war.”
Another pregnant pause happened in the conversation. I must have been setting some kind of record for the number of times I could leave someone speechless in the same conversation. This was certainly a lot of information to process, and it was casually dumped on them in the span of but a few minutes.
Durdan spoke up first. “The Eternal Goddess, the mother, she has given you her blessing?”
Curse, but I don’t feel like arguing that point right now. “Yes.” I chose to reply simply instead.
Durdan’s eyes flittered about for a second, clearly thinking. “But you hate her, I remember when we tested you that day, and your anger towards her was boundless.”
“I hate her because she gave this to me.” He looked stunned by that, like he couldn’t comprehend why I would say such a thing. I elaborated. “I wasn’t asked, I wasn’t given a choice, hell, I didn’t even know she existed before. I was trying to do some good with my life, but she took me away from it without even telling me why, casting me into a life of suffering you could scarcely imagine.”
They both pondered my words, then Velshi’s face lit up in realization. “You weren’t telling me everything during therapy, were you? They didn’t just torture you.” She stated that more than posed it as a question.
I shook my head. “No, they killed me, over and over, each way slightly different from the last.” I looked at my hands in contemplation. “These limbs aren’t even my originals.” Their faces took on a ghostly sheen as they probably imagined living through having your body torn apart.
I sighed a little before continuing. “Look, I know it’s a lot to take in, and I’m sorry if you think that I was hiding it from you maliciously, but I was scared. I didn’t want a repeat of what I went through at the hands of Alathos, I don’t know if my mind could survive that again. To that end, I need to ask you, beg you, not to talk about this with anyone else. As far as the events of this night are concerned, Velshi made it in time, and she saved my life.”
They looked at each other for a moment before turning back to me. Durdan spoke first. “I do not believe that anyone here would dare harm a chosen of the Goddess, but you saved my life, I owe you more than just keeping a secret.”
Velshi continued to stare for a moment before relenting with a sigh. “Very well, I’ll keep quiet about this, though I do believe Sert should hear it as well, he’s probably the one who would know the most about this situation, or at least be able to find more information about it.”
“Can he keep a secret?” I asked.
“Sert knows the value of subtlety, he won’t spread sensitive information.” Durdan assured me.
I shook my head slightly. “Fine, if you’re confident he won’t talk about it, then you can tell him as well. I’m a little concerned that at the rate things are going, the whole camp is going to know about me.” I released a mirthless chuckle.
“That brings up a question actually, does Kala know?” Velshi asked.
“Yes, she does, and another Trelnval by the name of Holdrem as well.”
“How did they find out?”
“Funnily enough, they both killed me before.”
That made her eyebrows raise before she ended up laughing a little. “You know, I always thought you and Kala were an odd pairing, but now I think you are downright ridiculous.”
That managed to get a little laugh out of me as well. “Can’t argue with that. I think we should call an end to this little show and tell for right now, don’t need anyone getting suspicious.”
They nodded in agreement, particularly Durdan. “Yes, this recent chain of events has been shocking, but I'm more disturbed that one of the camps' inhabitants has turned traitor. There will be a trial where his crimes will be laid out and he will be questioned, you two will most likely be summoned to attend as witnesses to these events.”
Velshi and I nodded in understanding of our role in the act to come. I had a feeling that they still had questions for me, but there were matters beyond myself that needed to be addressed. For now, I was content knowing that the whole camp wouldn’t be privy to my secret. Worst case scenario in that instance would be someone attempts to take it from me, probably by force. Best case scenario is that a cult forms around me, the worship of the goddess seems to be quite common amongst the races of the coalition, so I would probably end up swarmed by believers looking for some kind of religious experience from me. Neither sounded particularly pleasant to go through.
Everyone exited the tent, some of the guards outside inquired about my wellbeing. I assured them that all was well and that I appreciated the sentiment. A few of them looked genuinely relieved to hear it, and I briefly thought on how much things had changed since I arrived here. In my first few days, they probably wouldn’t have even given me a passing glance if I was bleeding in the middle of camp. Now it seems I have become a part of it to the point where my presence would be missed.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
After the situation was cleared, everyone went back to their own business, whether that be going back to bed or preparing for the upcoming trial depended on your rank, and I felt sorry for Durdan who seemed to be heading into a sleepless night. I was one of the luckier ones who could return to their room for the night, though I questioned if I could even fall asleep anymore. Down the tunnel to my room I went, pushing open the door to see the familiar surroundings that summoned a feeling like home.
Kala was sitting on her cot and smiled at me as I entered. That smile quickly turned to a look of horror as she noticed my blood-soaked side. “James!” She exploded out of bed and rushed to my side. “Are you okay!? What happened!?”
She started examining my side for injuries, but I grabbed her hands to reassure her and prevent her from doing an impromptu examination of my every square inch. “I’m fine, Kala, but something did happen.” I gave her a rundown of everything that happened, from the assassin, to me dying, to Durdan, Velshi, and Sert now knowing my secret. She listened with a wide variety of emotions, most of them a mixture of worry and anger.
After I had finished my recounting of tonight's events, she looked at me with sadness then rushed forward, embracing me in a deep hug. “Are you okay?” She wasn’t asking after my physical well-being anymore.
I smiled and wrapped my arms around her as well. “Better now. Thanks, Kala.” I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss before snuggling into the hug some more. It’s frankly quite shocking just how therapeutic physical contact is. I didn’t even realize how tense I was until she hugged me, and my body just deflated.
Kala brought me to bed after we finished our long hug and got me out of my bloody shirt. She all but tucked me in and laid down close to me, looking at me with a soft smile while she ran a hand through my hair in a gentle massage. I frankly could not imagine a much more comfortable position to be in, and I quickly found my eyelids growing heavy. Eventually, Kala managed to lull me into unconsciousness with an efficiency that would make sirens jealous. I slept quite heavily, exhausted both physically and mentally.
The next day came without much ceremony to it. Kala still had me partly in her embrace as she appeared to have fallen asleep while still draped around me. I was content to just lay there until she woke up, so I did. She ended up sleeping for another twenty or so minutes before she shifted and started to wake.
Her eyes opened and I smiled at her. She returned my smile with one of her own before speaking in a soft, early morning voice. “Hey, did you sleep alright?”
“Yeah, much better than I thought I would. Guess I have you to thank for that.”
“Glad I could help.” She snuggled into me a little more and I sighed contentedly. This was nice, and after that reunion with death I really needed this. We had to get up for breakfast though, and I didn’t know when they would ask me to attend the trial.
Kala didn’t grumble as much today, evidently trying not to add any amount of stress or hassle to the day. My shirt once again had a hole in it and was soaked with blood. Déjà vu is a bitch. We went to find me a new shirt, making a quick detour to the storage area to sift through some of the stolen fabrics. There was a shirt there that was a little loose on me but was clean, which was good enough for now and I didn’t want to miss breakfast looking for a replacement.
We got our food, and about halfway through eating it, a pair of Ulgor came up to us, looking rather official. “Your presence is requested for the trial of Lochis.” I guessed that was the name of the would-be assassin from last night.
I scarfed down the rest of the food I had before standing. “Alright, lead the way.” I began walking and Kala stood to follow me but was stopped by one of the soldiers.
“I’m afraid the trial is closed to only those who are integral to the night’s events.”
Kala looked like she wanted to protest, but I put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. “It’s alright. It probably won’t take too long. Besides, I'm not the one on trial this time. I think I can handle this at least.”
She contemplated for a moment before nodding. “Okay, I'll see you at Velshi’s later then.”
“See you then.” With that, we parted ways for now as I followed the pair of soldiers to wherever this trial was to be held. It turned out that the tent that I was first interrogated in was used for official business such as this.
All the representatives were there, and it gave me a brief panic attack as I remembered the last time I had faced them all in this place. I quickly overcame it though, remembering that I was not the one on trial here. I was directed to stand off to the side of the room where I saw Velshi, evidently having arrived before me. We gave each other a nod of acknowledgement before turning our attention back to the room.
There was a little more talking amongst the representatives before they finished up with their conversation. The Trelnval representative stood from their chair and addressed the guards by the front of the tent. “All the preparations have been made, bring in the prisoner.”
A minute later, the assassin, Lochis, was brought into the tent, legs bound in chains, broken arm in a sling, and oddly enough, his other arm was chained to his tail. The Trelnval representative once again took to announcing the proceedings.
“We will now hear of the crimes committed by the accused. We will start with Durdan, the intended victim of the assassination attempt.”
Durdan stood from his seat and cleared his throat before beginning. He gave everyone the rundown of what happened from his point of view, starting from the moment I burst into the tent and woke him. The struggle and stabbing that ensued after that was relayed, but he kept to his word and omitted my death, claiming that Velshi arrived and healed me.
After Durdan finished his recounting, I was called up next to give my side of the story. I started a little earlier, during my walk around camp. After that, I explained how I followed Lochis, whom at the time I only saw as a suspicious individual, to Durdan’s tent. Once I more or less caught up to where Durdan's story began, I glossed over the finer details since they were already covered.
Velshi explained her story next. The frantic exodus from her room after she was abruptly awakened, arriving at the tent to find me “unconscious,” and then healing me and making sure everything was alright after I woke up. Our stories more or less matched up, so, they now turned to questioning Lochis.
“How do you plead to these allegations?” The Trelnval representative asked.
“They are true, I did everything that was said.” Lochis confirmed.
“There is no question to the guilt of this individual then. Now, the question we have for you is why? What cause could you have to kill representative Durdan? What did you hope to gain from damaging the leadership of this camp?”
Lochis appeared to do a dry swallow before answering. “My family.”
The representatives looked at each other, but it appeared they had no idea what he meant. “Explain yourself clearly.”
“The Thrainians, they have my family. My wife, my son, who’s barely even old enough to hold the tools they force into his hands. They said if I brought them the head of General Durdan, then they would let them go.” He started to break down, shuddering and crying. “I failed them. They’ll be worked to death, or worse! Kill me if you must, I can’t live without them, and I can’t return, or they will be punished for my failure. There’s nothing left for me!”
The representatives now looked a little more sympathetically towards the crying man. “Why didn’t you ask us to help? We might be able to liberate them, send a raiding party to attack the slavers.”
“You can’t do anything for them.”
“Why not?”
Lochis looked at them with dead, empty eyes. “Yol’vastume.”
For whatever reason, that word made the entire room either go wide-eyed or pale. I didn’t understand, so I asked Velshi in a hushed voice. “What’s Yol’vastume?”
The look she had made it clear that it wasn’t pleasant, but she answered anyway. “It’s a town, and a farm, and a prison. It’s the largest plantation in all of Valthrain, producing a significant majority of the food that the empire needs to keep running. It’s also the largest holder of slaves in the empire, keeping hundreds, if not thousands in chains to work their fields.”
“I’m guessing there’s a reason why you haven’t attacked it and burned it to the ground.”
She nodded. “Yes, the city itself is built like a fortress. High walls, magical wards, a variable army of soldiers and mages defending it and making sure that the slaves can’t escape. The rumors that come out of that place are haunting. Its name roughly translates to ‘god’s garden’, though it’s more like the cold pits themselves.”
Shit, that almost sounds like a concentration camp with a focus on laboring. The very idea of that pissed me off, and I'm sure it was the same for everyone else here.
The trial continued on towards its conclusion. “We are sorry for your situation, but that does not excuse your actions. You will be locked up for the foreseeable future, until we can decide an appropriate punishment for your transgressions.”
“Just kill me.” Lochis deadpanned, “My family will die in despair of my failure. I will await them in the next life so I might apologize for being a useless husband, a useless father.”
“Your fate will be decided later, now y...”
“Kill me you fucking cowards! Do it! If you don’t, then I will! I can’t live without them; I can’t live knowing their suffering while I'm stuck rotting in a cell! Just fucking kill me!” He was broken, that much was plain to see. He sobbed and screamed and babbled incoherently, all the while begging for death.
I could barely bring myself to look at him. His torment and anguish were laid bare for the world to see. He could see no salvation, he knew no one could save his family, and it drove him to the brink of madness.
I could feel a knot forming in my chest, a painful mixture of pity, sadness, and pure rage. Lochis’ story was probably not unique. There were most likely thousands of broken families in this world who could do nothing for their loved ones who were sold into slavery. Hell, Kala was one of them as well. Her father killed, her mother a slave in some unknown place. She never really showed it, but I could imagine that she felt just like this on the inside sometimes.
The knot inside me continued to tighten, and before I knew it, I stepped forward. “I’ll go.” Everyone in the room turned their attention to me. What the fuck am I doing?
“What do you mean by that?” The Trelnval representative asked.
“I’ll go to Yol’vastume, I'll bring it down.” Honestly, what the fuck am I doing?
The representatives looked at me like I just said something stupid. “While I'm sure your intent is pure, it is a foolish endeavor. We have tried many times to breach the city, be it with force or subterfuge.”
“You didn’t have me before.” I said with much more confidence than I actually had.
“And what makes you so special that you can do what all have failed before you?” The representative's voice now had a bit of irritation in it, as he clearly thought this was a waste of time.
“I look more or less like a Thrainian right? I can walk in under the guise of a merchant, or noble, or something like that. I can find the weaknesses on the inside, maybe create some that you can exploit in an attack.”
That gave them some pause, clearly sending them into deep thought. At first, I could see doubt plain on all their faces, but as they thought and murmured to one another, the doubt slowly turned into consideration. While most of the representatives were in discussion, Durdan was looking at me with a strange expression that I thought might have been concern.
I didn’t have long to puzzle out what Durdan was thinking about because the rest of the representatives had finished their quiet conversation. “You make an interesting proposal, James. We will consider this course of action more, but for now, we will all continue as normal.”
Oh, uhm... fuck. I think a part of me just thought that they would shoot the idea down, but it looked like they were actually considering it. My damned impulsive decision making is screwing with me again. My self-control really does go straight out the window when I get emotional. I might need to work on that.
The representatives adjourned the trial, and Lochis was taken away. On his way out, he stared at me with a mixture of disbelief and hesitant hope. It felt weird to be the singular entity that holds a person's hopes in their hand. I was his last bet, an all-in that would determine if he would retain any desire to live. He disappeared behind the flap of the tent to be thrown into a prison cell.
I mentally sighed, quite heavily. What the hell did I just get myself into?