Leonidas was grinding herbs in a mortar, pestle in hand before tapping the contents in a glass jar and handed it to two parents and their daughter. “Have her drink this once a day, and this should take care of her cold.”

“Oh, thank you, doctor,” said the mother, “I can’t think of a way to repay you for this.”

“No worries,” Leonidas said to her, “Just a part of the job.”

As the family left the clinic, Leonidas closed the door gently behind them and turned back to the staircase. “Jeanne!” he called out. “Jeanne, where are you?”

He heard Jeanne make an unusual animal sound. A cross between the hoots of an owl, a wolf howling, and a person yodeling.

“I seriously need to apologize to Cid,” he said to himself. “Jeanne, I swear if I have to look for you, I will hurt you.”

“Come outside!” he heard her muffled voice.

“Oh gods, what’s she doing now.” Leonidas ran his hand over his face, wishing he had just gone back to bed. He opened the door, looked out, turning his head to both ends of the street, seeing not even a stray animal. “All right, I’m here,” he said.

He heard a series of quick steps causing Leonidas to look up as a blurred figure leapt off his roof and turn face him. Recognizing the figure was Jeanne as she descended, her fall was arrested a half foot off the ground. Then she softly touched the earth and gave a courtly bow.

Leonidas mouth jutting to the side, his eyebrows lifted up high and nodding. “All right, that was pretty damn impressive.”

“Thank you,” she said, gleefully. “I got it from a book I found over at The Unyielding Fortress."

“Really?”

“Yeah, up at in the library.”

“Huh,” said Leonidas, “Maybe we can take a look and see what else is there.”

“You mean head out today?”

“I don’t see why not, I have no one else to see and the others are going to be out and about for the few days.”

“We should probably leave them a note so they’re not worried.”

“Good idea,” said Leonidas, as he went over to his desk in examination room to scribble a quick note. “I’ll grab my gear, too. Just in case.”

“Your medical gear?” she asked as they moved up the stairs.

“That too,” he said.

“What other gear do you have?”

“You’d be surprised.”

Reaching his bedroom, he stepped behind in front one of the wardrobes and grabbed some brigandine armor hanging next to his full plate armor, placing it on his bed.

“Where did you get all this armor?” Jeanne asked.

“Something I gathered over my years in the Outlands,” said Leonidas. “Learned to keep whatever you found and were gifted that could help you live to see the next sunrise.”

“Some of this must’ve cost a fortune.”

“You’d be surprised what people are willing to give when you save them or their family.”

He removed his shirt and vest, throwing them onto his bed. He noticed out of the corner of his eye Jeanne looking at him, specifically the three scars on the left side of his body.

“Everything all right?” he asked her.

She cleared her throat, nodding quickly.

He looked down at the scars. “It was a lycan creature.”

“Hmm?”

“The scars, it was a lycan who got me,” he said imitating the clawing motion with his fingers.

“I can imagine how much it hurt,” she replied.

“It was not enjoyable,” he said. “Neither was treating it.”

“Should I ask?”

“I had to cauterize the wound before I could get back to my supplies, damn near passed out, and then I had to stitch the wounds shut,” he said, wincing at the memory.

“Gods!” she said, running her hand up and down her arm.

“Oh, that’s nothing. One time I broke both my legs when I fell into an artic ravine, had to drag myself out of there and back to a nearby settlement.”

Jeanne’s mouth dropped slightly. “How on earth did you survive?”

“I’d credit sheer will, unbridled rage, and a good ole fear of dying in an ice tundra for being a real drive for survival. That and I had enough pain medication to not feel anything until my legs were set back in place.”

“Was this all in the Outlands?”

“More or less yeah. The vast majority of these wonderful little marks, scars, and everything else was when I was over there,” he said as he threw on his brigandine tunic.

“Remind me never to go there,” she said, sitting on the edge of his bed closest to him.

“There’s very little that’d make me go back,” he said, pulling out several pieces of leg armor, “And I doubt most of them are still alive.”

“What made you want to go over there in the first place?”

“Well, the big reason was there was a plague going on over there and I was wanting to try and do some research to try and maybe start developing some actual treatments,” Leonidas said as he began attaching the pieces of leg armor over his pants.

“And it wasn’t for anything else?”

“I can only assume you’re referring to my devilishly good looks?”

“Doc, do you want me to insult you, or not?”

“Fair enough,” he replied with a chuckle. “There was a noblemen’s family who’s boy had been possessed by a demonic entity. It was a lesser demon, but I can’t remember which one anymore. In any case, I was preparing to exorcise the spiritual bastard when the family decided they were going to try a different method. They then declared that I was a witch, was trying to sell their child’s soul to the underworld and was marked as someone outside of the protection of the law.”

“Wait, they made you an outlaw for suggesting an exorcism?”

“That’s about the size of it, yes?”

“Gods, what was the family planning to do?”

“If remember correctly, they were going to try and use mediative chants to dispel the boy’s negative energies and align his chakras.”

“Did – did it work?”

“Gods no! He went full on feral, murdered his parents and ate their flesh.”

“I … that was an escalation.”

“That’s what I said when I found out.”

“Was that what made you come back?”

“No. That was because I grew tired of people doing the same cyclical efforts of self-harm and self-destruction, never learning from their errors, and acting as if their actions god-like miracles and their shit was divine boons.”

“I’m not even sure where to start with that,” Jeanne said, shaking her head.

“You’re telling me.”

“But not everyone there was like that, right?”

“Oh no, not everyone. Just the vast majority,” Leonidas said, grabbing a cuirass with flanges fanning out along the bottom, and strapped it around his torso.

“Was there anyone who you had more than a friendship with?”

“You mean intimately?”

Jeanne nodded. “Yeah, like Spider-Lady,” she said, wiggling eight of her fingers.

“Oh, for the love of … her name is Lynnvielle. She had two arms and two legs last time I saw her. Though who knows if that’s changed at this point. And …,” Leonidas paused for a moment as he looked at Jeanne, “damnit I forgot what I was gonna say.”

“That you slept with a spider-woman?”

“A – am I detecting a bit of jealousy?” he asked, grabbing two gauntlets from his wardrobe.

“I just didn’t see you as someone who would, you know …” she said trailing off and looking out towards the side.

“… Have a sexual relation with someone who I barely knew?” Leonidas finished.

“Yeah. And who was a spider-lady.”

Leonidas took a deep breath, and sat next to Jeanne. “Her being an arachnethrope notwithstanding, I was in a rather dark place at the time. The royal patrons at the court I had joined had literally left the lands without much of a warning. My skills as a healer were being belittled by people who had days before sung praises to my craft, and everyone felt they were an expert in demonology and arcane arts because they felt that they were. I felt useless, I felt like I was nothing. So, when she proposed a, for a lack of a better term, night together, I took it. It certainly wasn’t my proudest moment, but I don’t entirely regret it.”

“Was there anyone who you had a deeper relationship with?”

Leonidas looked down to the ground and gripped the bedsheets tightly. “I’m assuming you mean more than physical. There was one. Her name was Selreene Ianyra.”

“Was?” Jeanne asked, leaning forward as she looked at Leonidas.

Leonidas nodded. “She was … a complicated person. Sadly, those complications got her killed.”

“How so, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“It turned out she was not above saying what she thought was needed to survive in the Outlands. Even if it meant twisting emotions to get what she wanted. Regarding her and me, I thought she was looking for a sincere relationship. When I learned of the truth, I realized I wasn’t more than a play thing to her.”

“Did you love her?”

“At one time there was something. Though whether it was love proper or an intense desire, I couldn’t tell you. Our relationship was still fresh when she wanted to keep it platonic. Which that alone didn’t bother me. It was all the lies, the falsehoods, and the deceit, which made it difficult to know if I had feelings for the real woman, or if it was to nothing more than a waking dream. And honestly, when she died, it was the last straw for me staying there.”

“What do you mean?”

“For years I would make connections and feel the bliss of findings those I could open myself to. To not put on airs and pretend to be what I thought I needed to be so I could be accepted. And without a single warning I would be saying goodbye to them as they were being buried and sent into the next life. It was getting to where I could not be myself to people in both public and private moments. Having to bind and seal my innermost thoughts. As if I needed to shackle my very soul into the darkness of the world.”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Jeanne was silent as Leonidas’s head sunk low.

As he spoke, Leonidas’s voice began breaking, “I was just tired of feeling as if I was an exile, bereft of kinship, in a land of people who cared more for their own reputation than for their survival. I was just tired of being alone.”

“I … I’m so sorry,” Jeanne said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Leonidas shook his head, standing up as he wiped the tears from his eyes and grabbed a pair of shoulder pauldrons and fitted them on him. “There was nothing done there you should take responsibility for. And those who should would never see why, nor is it my place to open their eyes to the true world around them.”

“Have you made any friends since you came back?”

“As of right now, you are about it. And I’m trying to be better about not keeping the others at an arm’s distance.”

“You really haven’t appeared to be doing that with them.”

“Being professional doesn’t mean being cold. And, like I said, it isn’t anything you guys have done. It just, you lose enough friends, you naturally stop making new ones. At least as fast as you used to.”

“I get that,” said Jeanne, “I guess we were doing that back in the Cold Company when the replacements would come in. You didn’t want to get too comfortable with them if they didn’t last their first month.”

“Though it was nice they didn’t freak out when they learned who I am.”

“I mean, it does help you’re not actively trying to resurrect half a crypt.”

Leonidas shuddered. “Gods that’s just creepy.”

Jeanne leaned back. “Really?”

“Gods yes. The undead are usually covered in some weird slime, they smell horrible, and are absolutely terrible conversationalists. All they do is gargle and groan, or that screech which sounds like nails scratching a chalkboard. No thank you.”

“I can imagine you love going into dungeons then.”

“It’s not my first choice, obviously. But if the situation calls for it, then I just do what’s needed. Though it is nice when I’m not the only one going in there.”

“Well don’t expect me to hold your hand when we’re down in there.”

“And I thought were on good terms,” Leonidas replied, imitating being hurt by the comment.

“Maybe if you got me a nice trinket, that would be a good start.”

Leonidas looked at the lone buckler on Jeanne’s side and pointed to it. “Question, how come you have a buckler, but no weapon?”

“Oh,” Jeanne said, looking down at the sole piece, “I had a sword a while back, but between learning the rockscale spell and that weapon breaking, I sort of stopped using one.”

“Would that mean you would be again a replacement?”

Jeanne lifted an eyebrow. “I’m not against some window shopping.”

“Give me a moment, I think I have something you’d enjoy.” He reached into the wardrobe and removed a long staff with a caduceus design at the top with a red stone placed at the top. Within the stone there was a swirling of light and dark red clouds swiftly akin to a great storm raging.

“Is that what you’re going to give me?” Jeanne asked.

“This? No, that’s my fulminating staff.”

“Is that what kids call it these days?”

Leonidas jutted his jaw to the side before saying, “And I signed on for this.”

He reached into the wardrobe and pulled out a war hammer. Its handle was short and made of dark hickory, enough to hold with one hand and the metal head was black as night, with soft light specks reflecting the light of the room.

Jeanne clutched her hand over her heart. “Is that?”

Leonidas nodded. “Night-steel. It was made from the same rock that made my sword. Though the material is rare around here, in The Outlands it’s like sand in a desert. You’re practically tripping over it. And this hammer was what got me out of that damned ravine,” he flipped the hammer, grabbing the head and pointing the to handle and the belt holder to Jeanne, then sheathing his own weapon. “I think it’ll serve you exceptionally well.”

“I – I don’t know what to say,” Jeanne said to him, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Consider it a thank you gift,” he said to her.

“For what?”

He put his hands on her shoulders and said, “For being there. And giving me the chance to remember what it’s like to have someone to care for. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt something like that, a very long time.”

She wrapped her arms behind his neck, pulling him in close. “What if I cared for you as well?”

He moved his arms down to the base of her back, holding her tightly. “Are you saying what I think you are?”

She softly kissed his lips. “Maybe,” she said coyly.

He kissed her lips before moving to her neck, moving down with each one as she breathed in sharply.

“What about the ruins?” she asked.

“I doubt they’re going anywhere until tomorrow,” he replied.

***

Leonidas watched the rays of the morning sun cresting over the horizon slip through his bedroom window. He turned over seeing Jeanne resting next to him on her stomach. He could see the many scars of battles on her bare back and arms. Some beginning to fade away, while others had more color, with small indents or beading on the skin. She stirred in bed, groaning as she moved about.

“You awake?” he asked.

“No,” she replied, with her eyes closed. “I’m fast asleep, and completely unable to hear you.”

He glided his index finger along her back. “So, I probably shouldn’t do this, should I?”

“You stop, and I’ll taking your hand.”

“Well, we’re going to be like that aren’t we.”

She opened her eyes as a smile grew on her face. “Don’t you remember the old saying? ‘Seek comfort not in the arms of a sorceress. For she will lock your limbs and mind, steal your want for food and drink, and make you forsake your desire of sleep.’”

“Oh gods,” said Leonidas scoffing. “My teacher knew that writer. Said he was a man who desperately needed to get out of the little space he called a room and touch some grass.”

“You’re joking!”

“No, he was five hundred winters old when I met him, my teacher obviously.”

“Five hundred!” Jeanne exclaimed.

“Absolutely, a real master in the arcane arts. Still out and about, last time I heard about him.”

“I didn’t think someone could live to be that old.”

“If you know what you’re doing, and don’t fuck with forces beyond your control it isn’t that hard. But, to my original point, that gentleman needed to go out and see the world. Probably touch some grass and maybe a tree. And definitely let go of more than a few personal grudges against women.”

“Wow,” said Jeanne, snuggling closer to Leonidas, “I thought he was just a normal world deprived monk?”

“Oh, he was. But he also had one of those ‘thou female-iths are all sinners-iths and should be punished-iths’ attitudes.”

Jeanne rolled her eyes. “I should be surprised people quote him.”

“People cling to where they find comfort in. Even if the comfort is a complete and utter lie.”

“Was there a lie you believed?”

“Well, there was one?”

“Oh?”

“It was I wouldn’t sleep with a woman who tried getting high some of my herbs.”

Jeanne gave him a stern glare.

He gingerly placed his finger on her nose. “You know I’m right,” he whispered.

She snapped at his finger. “Shut up,” he said to him.

He kissed her on her forehead, holding her tight as she her ran hand over his chest. “What do you think the others are doing?” he asked her.

“I know Kel and Cid are probably staking out the Council building. And they’re good at keeping themselves out of trouble.”

“What do you think of the others?”

“I don’t know. My concern is while we were gone the Council either took the documents we were looking for or they’ve just locked it down.”

“Yeah, I’m worried about that too.”

“You think there’s a way to figure out the lines without the maps?”

“There is, but it can be a little finnicky.”

“Finnicky?”

He brushed her hair from her forehead, placing it behind her ear. “Oh yeah, ley lines can change and flow as time passes and energies are changed. That’s the nice thing about maps made focusing on them, they tend to help figure out what the changes are. Sometimes even see where they’ll go for their next major shift.”

“I didn’t know they could do that.”

“Absolutely, this can happen when something major happened, like when a religious site is no longer being used, or if something traumatic occurred like a battle or a catastrophic disaster. But one doesn’t necessarily mean the ley lines are altered or even generated.”

Leonidas rubbed her shoulder with his fingers as she looked out to the sunrise before letting out a drawn breath. “Sun’s now up,” she said, turning back to Leonidas, “We should probably get dressed, shouldn’t we?”

“Probably,” said Leonidas. “I prefer to deal with the day’s problems with pants on.”

“I see the extent of your adventurous spirit.”

“I have a comment, but I’m going to keep it to myself.”

“Am I the subject?”

“No,” said Leonidas, while he nodded adamantly.

“I swear you are incorrigible sometimes,” said Jeanne, shaking her head as she rose from bed.

“You’re one to say that, but we both know you’re the enabler,” said Leonidas, rising from bed and grabbing his clothes.

“I am the enabler?” she challenged, throwing on her pants and grabbing her shirt.

“Absolutely, I was a sweet little partially insane doctor until I met you,” he said as he tucked his shirt in and looped his belt through the belt straps. “You are the living embodiment of chaos and all things weird.”

“I swear to all the gods in creation, I will show how I truly drive people crazy.”

Leonidas went over and embraced her tightly. “And I wouldn’t want anything less,” he said with a smile before kissing her lips.

A short series of light knocks came from the door. They both turned to the front and to each other. “I guess it’s time to get to work.”

“I doubt we could pretend to be sick,” said Jeanne.

“I sure as hell can’t,” said Leonidas.

“Really?”

“Gods no, my acting abilities are deplorable.”

Reaching the front door, Leonidas and Jeanne were greeted by Silvius, Sianna, Hypatia and Benkin. All of them looking worn and haggard.

“Gods, what happened with you lot?” Leonidas asked.

“We spent the entire night trying to shift through all the records and make legible copies of the maps we found,” said Silvius.

“Would the archives not let you take them out?”

“No, they’re not too keen on that,” said Hypatia, slumping in a chair and sliding down the seat as her body went limp. “And they were already doing us a favor by letting us see the maps in the first place.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Council established certain new rules and regulations, mostly pertaining to keeping the special archives off limits to anyone without a special pass.”

“And I can assume how easy that one is to get,” said Jeanne.

“Between the forms, duplicates and triplicates, as well as the upfront and monthly fees,” said Silvius, his arms crossed on the table with his head resting on top of them, “Not exactly.”

“Thankfully,” said Hypatia, “I have some friends at the archives who misplaced their key. So, we were able to find the stuff and make some sketches. But’s going to be it regarding the archives.”

“We’re going to need to get them a nice gift basket,” Benkin said, laying on his back next to the fire.

“Or maybe a selection of fine meats,” said Sianna, curled up in the other chair.

“Sia, not everyone is into meats,” said Benkin, barely lifting his head up.

Maeryn waved the comment, making a groaning noise in lieu of speech.

“Well, why don’t you all rest for the day, regain your strength and Jeanne and I can go check to see how Cid and Kel are doing?”

“I’m for that,” said Benkin.

“I could go for a nap,” said Silvius.

“Naps look quite lovely right now,” said Hypatia.

And poor Maeryn was already asleep.

“I think we should let them rest,” Leonidas said to Jeanne.

“Yeah, that might be a good idea,” she said as she gently closed the door behind them.

***

Leonidas and Jeanne reached the plaza where the Councilor’s building rested. Keeping out of the open area and their hoods up over their heads. They soon found Kveldulf and Cid standing by one of the many columns of the walkway. Cid was leaning against the column as Kveldulf had his back to the building and occasionally would peer out behind his shoulder.

They spotted Leonidas and Jeanne approaching them, lifting their chins as the two neared.

“Hope we’re not intruding?” said Jeanne.

“Not at all,” said Cid, “Things are about what you’d expect around here?”

“Bored beyond words?” asked Leonidas.

“And then some,” said Kveldulf. “I keep forgetting just how boring these people can be sometimes.”

“Should we even ask?” said Leonidas.

“Please don’t,” said Cid.

“There was one group …,” said Kveldulf as Cid smacked his hand against his face.

“Oh no,” Cid said weakly.

“… And they were just talking about this musician they had listened to and were literally saying how instead of going dah, dah, dah with her notes, went dah, dah, daah, and somehow this made the composition exponentially better.”

“Oh gods,” said Jeanne, “He’s using fancy terms.”

“You would’ve wanted to bash their faces in, too, if you heard them,” said Kveldulf.

“That’s true.”

“Anything about the Council?”

“They meet for about an hour, usually after lunch, and leave in a particularly foul mood.”

“And these people are in charge of the city?” Jeanne asked.

“Blame that on Allania,” said Leonidas. “She was the one who gave them the greater share of power in the city.”

Kveldulf snarled as he looked back at the building.

Leonidas opened his mouth to speak, but caught himself. “Sorry, I forgot.”

Kveldulf waved it off. “You’re fine.”

“Honestly, it’s hard to see what exactly the Council does,” said Cid. As he finished his ears perked up. He looked at the others, making the hand signal: Someone’s behind us. Get ready. They turned around swiftly, their weapons half drawn as they saw Captain Laurent standing behind them, dressed in casual clothing.

“Nice to see you’re all well,” he said to them calmly, “Mind not taking those out? There’s an ordinance about that.”

The four slowly put their weapons away. “Didn’t expect to see you,” said Cid.

“That’s funny,” said Laurent, “I was.”

The four stared at him with a narrowed gaze.

“I’m sorry that sounded more condescending than I meant. After what the Council’s been doing, I’d be surprised if one of you didn’t have an eye on them.”

“I don’t supposed you know why they’re being obstinate in helping us?”

“Entirely I can’t say. But I’d bet good money it is from fear.”

“Fear?” asked Kveldulf.

“Anything involving Calanband or his ilk have been sparse, disorganized, mostly outsiders looking for somewhere to fit in. Nothing that would merit a real threat. But when you lot arrived with the severed head of his wife, that changed the story. And they haven’t been preparing for this eventuality. Not by any stretch of the imagination.”

“And you have?” asked Leonidas.

“As much as we can dominus medicus medicinae et necromancia,” Laurent replied.

Leonidas’s eyes widened and color left his face as Jeanne began moving forward. Laurent lifted his hand out, palm forward.

“Do not fret, good doctor, if we wanted to do something about your deeper knowledge we would’ve had. If this job has taught me anything, it’s don’t be too terribly picky about who your friends are.” Laurent turned back to the Council Building, dropping his head and shaking it slowly. “And at this point we can use all the help we can.”

“Why can’t you just get rid of the Council and be done with it?” asked Jeanne.

“It is easier for an established institution with years behind it to maintain power than for a new one to replace it,” said Cid. “And besides, most people who probably not believe us even with the head.”

“Doom is often the only impetus to shift the minds of the ignorant,” said Laurent, “Even if the truth can only live for a minute or two.”

“Then what are we to do,” said Kveldulf, “if the Council refuses to see the truth and people will accept death without a thought?”

“My suggestion is maybe try to find something from the fortress. Something that would force the Council to act.”

“What if they don’t?” asked Jeanne, “What if they have us arrested?”

“Then we will do what we can,” said Laurent. “As I was told as a young boy, ‘Better fail trying, than to sit and do nothing.’”

“Then let’s get back to the others and see what our options are,” said Cid. “Take care, captain.”

“And to you,” Laurent replied, as the four made their way back through the city streets.