Ginzari had set a certain precedent in my mind. An idea of what a person who was like us, looked like, felt like, acted like. That was the ideal of what one could be in this world, even if they weren't a part of it. That was what one should aspire towards. That was what I looked at with respect and longing. And that’s why I always thought that there was no other way to look at it. That’s why I thought that everyone like us, was exactly like us.

Current Story – Jillesha

Character – Ryworn

Role – Major

Stage Directions (Day 29) –

Do What You Were Told

For the first few hours of the day, everything was weirdly normal. People were much more cheerful now, especially the ones who had been working throughout the night. Most of the tents were completely repaired, and there wasn’t a lot of blood in sight. A bit away from the training fields, I could see a massive pile of burning hay. That’s probably where they had gathered all the bodies.

I met Typhen, who ate breakfast with me. The ones who were going to meet with Jillesha had been given some basic instructions by Ginzari. So, they were sitting together and talking about what they wanted to do. Hess had told them about us joining them, and one of them later came to us to tell us to do our best. Their mission itself wasn’t related to us in any way, so it made sense for them to not include us in their own planning. According to them, we were just the lookout.

Kaisel and Sylvia had gone to sleep just a little while ago. Turns out that both of them had used their magic throughout the night to help everyone out, and completely exhausted themselves. Sylvia in particular had almost fainted before Kaisel used healing magic on her. That worried Typhen a bit, but then he controlled himself and turned his mind to other things very quickly. I decided to go and check on them once before we left. For now, though, breakfast.

“Jillesha’s one of you.” Typhen whispered to me as we ate.

“What?”

“He isn’t from this world, I mean.” He explained, “I just thought I would let you know. I heard it from master once. The context escapes me, but she was telling me about people who had come from different worlds, and she mentioned Jillesha in passing. Her face seemed quite scary in that moment, which is why I remember it in the first place.”

“Oh.” I replied. That was interesting information for sure, but I wasn’t sure how I wanted to process it. There were a lot of different possibilities that I could choose from, if that little detail was used properly during the negotiations. Maybe if the situation wasn’t too good, we could step in and help the team out. They might not like it, but the result was more important.

“Don’t you think it’s weird?” He asked.

“What is?”

“That Ginzari is a mercenary leader, while he is a bandit leader. Pretty accomplished, distinguished posts, not considering their ideals. Meanwhile, you’re, uh…” He cracked into a smile. It was nice to see he was at least trying to be a bit happy, considering how he had been last night.

“Pretty much on the same level, I’d say.”

“Hmm, indeed.” He nodded, “A duel between you and Ginzari could level this camp, couldn’t it?”

“Totally. It would be one for the books.”

Typhen began to softly giggle, “The way you would block his axe with the same two moves would definitely throw him off. Just imagine guessing what move you’re going to do next. One would have to be insanely lucky to get it right!”

“In a way, fifty percent is still half. So, you know, if you look at it like that, it’s very impressive.” I retorted.

He nodded with a smile.

I continued, “And you know, he won’t be able to rely on judgement anyways. Because using something like that only applies if your opponent actually knows what he’s doing before making a move. In my case, it’s a true fifty-fifty. Even I don’t know what I’m going to do next.”

“You can't guess pure instinct, huh?” His smile turned a bit softer, warmer.

He was thinking of Wellath, wasn’t he? I wanted to ask him to stop being sad about it and feel happy that he had taught so much. But that probably won’t land too well after everything that had happened. It also seemed quite senseless, when I thought about it for too long. The idea that it had been the first thing to pop up in my mind, however, could not be forgotten. I kept that fact alive for the time being, in my mind.

To distract him from the newly found sadness, however, I decided to tell him about how I had used the moves he used with his dagger to block my opponents with a sword. He would probably like listening to that. I grabbed his attention, and explained it to him. For a second, he thought I was being absurd, but then looked quite pleased when I explained the entire encounter to him. In the end, he declared that it was a pretty smart move that I had come up with. That made me happy too. He had been relentless during our practice sessions, so getting praise from him made me equate him with someone like Kaisel or Wellath already.

And talking about that for a bit longer, was what took up all of our time for breakfast. After that, we went and practiced for a few hours before being asked to rest once more, by Hess and Ginzari. We went back to our rooms and did that for the next few hours.

In the evening, I was woken up by one of the people who was going to go with us to Jillesha’s base. I got ready and went out with him to meet the others and make sure that all of the preparations were complete.

Ginzari was talking to a completely different person that I hadn’t seen in the meeting last night. He also seemed a bit tired, and was being given refreshments by some of the other mercenaries. Around the two of them, Gurthen and his group had gathered. Deciding that it was best, I waited for Typhen, and then the two of us went and joined them in the back too.

It turned out that the man was a scout who had followed the fleeing bandits after they had kidnapped Prince. While the condition of the chef was unknown, the bandits had been spotted going inside a cave that had a huge entrance. After the scout had stayed hidden for some time, he had also noticed some other bandits coming out of the cave for some time. That, paired with some conversations he had eavesdropped on, had given him undeniable proof that that was the bandits’ camp.

He was now going to lead us there before waiting for us to come back. That was why he was being given whatever he wanted to eat or drink right now. Judging by what he said, it was far, but not that far. It would take us three to four hours of walking to get there. Normally, that would have been an inconvenience for me, but all the practice these days, and the massive amount of running and jumping I had done yesterday, made walking feel like a piece of cake. It was almost dream-like to think that I would be able to walk.

Ginzari, however, suggested that we should use carts instead. That would make sure that the bandits would hear us coming from afar, and be alerted to the fact that we probably didn’t intend attack. These, according to him, were small details that we also needed to pay attention to before we went for the negotiations. That was what he proceeded to explain to the main team for the next twenty minutes. We weren’t invited to the discussion, and we didn’t feel very welcome either, so me and Typhen decided to move away for a bit and wait for them to finish.

After sitting in one of the newly repaired tents for some time, we saw Sylvia walking in the distance, going for some food, and we decided to go and talk to her. She seemed fine when we did, but said that she was very tired, and intended to go back to sleep after eating a bit. Kaisel was the same, and had already slept again. He had been the one to set the lines she wasn’t supposed to cross regarding the overuse of magic, but since he had broken those rules himself, she had done the same.

It didn’t make a lot of sense to me, since magic came from the atmosphere itself, and wasn’t something we generated inside our bodies. Maybe I could ask Kaisel some other day about it, given that neither of us had the time or strength for it at this moment. That could also probably extend to the idea of the unmonitored time itself. I had thought of that time as the time when God rested to gather his magical energy, but putting it like that brought up a lot of questions which weren’t just limited to the idea of magical fatigue, but extended to the nature of his magic. There definitely wasn’t enough time to learn all of that right now. At least I had considered them.

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Sylvia went back to sleep after eating for some time. Typhen seemed very happy to see her being fine. She didn’t talk to me much, but she definitely wasn’t as hostile as she had been a few days ago. It wasn’t like she had been particularly distant last night, but that was a special situation. I added talking to her to my list too. Now that I was slowly being put back into this group of people once more, I needed to iron out a lot of things to make sure that I never left it again, even accidently.

After that, it was time.

Ginzari gathered all of the people who were supposed to leave and gave us a last speech asking us to do our best and wishing us luck. After that, the carts were arranged and the camp gathered to see us off. It felt a bit insane to me, seeing mercenaries gather and hope that their peace negotiations would be successful. They were supposed to be fighters, morally ambiguous ones at that. But most of them probably didn’t want to be. That was why everyone who was going to Jillesha’s camp was so determined to succeed. They needed the peace.

Then the carts left, leaving all the faces behind, and heading deep into the forest, led by the scout.

“How do you think it’s going?” Typhen whispered to me.

The entrance itself had been successful. They had had someone watching us almost as soon as we entered the general area of the cave, and when they saw that we were carrying no weapons and a white flag, they hadn’t attacked. Gurthen had then taken the lead and explained exactly why we were there; particularly emphasizing that we were worried about, and wanted to save, Prince’s life. They had disappeared into the cave for some time, and then come back with a positive attitude. All of the people from the main team had been allowed to enter the main cave, while we were asked to stay outside without worrying. Since then, it had almost been half an hour.

“Hopefully well.” I said, “If something had happened, then they would have escaped immediately. If they were killed, then the bandits would have come after us too. The fact that they have been in there for such a long time means good things, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He sighed with worry while taking another look towards the entrance of the cave.

I kept quiet and decided not to continue the conversation. The worry had been on my head too, but my own words had worked wonders to calm me down. They had to be correct, after all. That was the most logical conclusion to come to, based on the development of events. Yes, the way they had been so open to negotiations was suspicious, but Ginzari had told us that Jillesha’s true personality did not match the one he was acting as. Maybe he had bent himself just enough to allow the negotiations to start.

The stars suggested that it wasn’t very long until they would be able to talk free of influence. That would probably lead to even better results if the meeting was alright till now. Anyways, when that time started, we would have to go in and spy on them. That would be helpful to lift the burden on our minds as well. I blew some air into my hands and rubbed them together. It was fairly cold out here.

“Actually, we should move inside.” Typhen suddenly suggested.

“But, there’s like,” I looked up once more, “Around six to seven minutes left?”

“We can use that time to find a good place to hide in. Who knows what the layout of that cave looks like?” He pointed out.

That was true. I had had an image of a simple cave in my mind, but that couldn’t be the case. This had to be some kind of labyrinth like the underground of the hospital to be able to house all of those bandits. It was smarter to start now, if we wanted to make it to the meeting room when the time was right. I looked at him and nodded. Both of us went to the entrance and peered in for a quick second.

The rocky corridor right in front of us was empty, other than the torches everywhere.

“Let’s go, then.” Typhen said and pushed past me to enter the cave. Hesitating for a second, I bit my tongue to bring myself to focus, and started to move behind him.

The place was definitely sprawling. That word, in fact, might not have been enough to explain just how massive it was. And that wasn’t just reserved to the total area of the caves, and the complexity of their structure, but also how massive the individual corridors were on their own. Most of them were wide enough for seven people in full armor to walk side by side, and long enough for a person thrice as long as me to be able to walk without bending. We stumbled around for a while, to say the least.

I wasn’t sure if Typhen had been keeping tracks of the turns we had been taking, but the incident with the doctor in the hospital had taught me the importance of it, which meant that I was already making a mental map of the cave. I was confident in the fact that I would be able to run back to the entrance and escape if the time came. That meant that I could lead the others outside too. That was good.

After some time, we reached a place, which in my mind, seemed like somewhere which was central to the structure. A lot of paths of the cave seemed to link to it, which clearly meant it had some importance. From the inside, we could also hear a lot of noise. We kept switching between paths until we found one which did not have a door blocking the entrance, and slowly went in.

The room was massive too. Almost as large as the training grounds, and still as tall as the rest of the corridors. Along the edges of the place, touching the walls, were six bandits who were spaced out pretty well. Most of the normal soldiers were probably enjoying themselves, since the unmonitored time was going to start very soon. In the middle of the room, were a lot of seats. Six of them held our main team, who seemed to be smiling as they talked to the man who was sitting in front of them.

He was lean, tall, but muscular. Every single part of his body looked chiseled to perfection, and his blonde hair looked like it had been treated at some parlor just now. He was wearing a thin, baggy pair of leggings on his lower half, and his top was covered with nothing but his sword strap, which in itself carried a massive sword. He was definitely from another world, based on how he looked. But there was still the possibility of it not being mine. The way he smiled made me smile too. Jillesha seemed like a kind man. But Hess’ doubts could not have been misplaced. She must have some reason to distrust him.

“What’s the time?” He looked at one of the bandits, pausing his conversation.

“Less than minute left, sir.” That one replied.

“Good.” Jillesha stood up with a smile and casually strolled over to a table behind him. It held a large mug, which he picked up and poured from into seven glasses. One by one, he took them to all of the people of our team.

I looked at Typhen. His face seemed fairly relaxed too. For a second, I had considered that there could be poison in that drink, but the chances were little to none. Once he was done giving the drinks to all of them, Jillesha took the last cup for himself and returned to them, laughing.

“So, you can go and tell Ginzari that I will be more than happy to meet him and deal with any problems. The situation was…out of my hand, to say the least. And the same has been reciprocated by all of you. In the end, we can hopefully have some calm from all of this nonsense.” His voice was assertive, but sweet. As if he took your permission to order you. As if he was incapable of being at a higher position in the first place. Or at the very least, think of himself that way.

He did not sit back down, and decided to roam around the six mercenaries instead. Every few steps, he took a sip. During that time, the others began to whisper amongst themselves. Jillesha kept looking at that one bandit from time to time, probably to know if the time had begun yet.

And eventually,

“It’s time, sir. We’re free.” The bandit said before nodding. Jillesha smiled, and all of the bandits who had been there, gathered together and left the room from the door opposite to us.

“Do you want a refill?” Jillesha asked the six.

All of them said that he was far too hospitable and said they didn’t.

“Oh.” He sighed, “I had really hoped that we would be able to drink to our actual freedom from all that oppression, together.” He was right behind Gurthen now, looking at him.

Gurthen turned back and with smile, “Well then, Jillesha. Let’s do that.”

Jillesha smiled and started bringing his hand down towards the glass. But it never got there. Instead, it rested on Gurthen’s head. Typhen twitched a bit with worry. I hesitated, but couldn’t move. The hand swirled around on his head for some time as Jillesha closed his eyes, smile still maintained. Gurthen looked worried, his eyes moving here and there.

Then, Jillesha pushed his hand into a fist, through the head. He tore through the skull, the brain, everything, and blasted Gurthen’s head with his fist.

“Let’s have a toast.” Jillesha turned to the others.

Typhen grunted and tried to push forward, but I pulled him back and grabbed the hand which was going for his dagger. I pulled him behind cover, still shaking myself, and he calmed down too, letting go of any resistance. There was no way we were fighting that. Hess had been right after all. There was no way we were having peace. But what had just happened anyways? He had become more violent when he was given his freedom. The two of us kept looking in horror.

The remaining five tried to attack him, but it did not work. He dodged every attack with grace, rolling over their bodies and hands as he did. It was like he was playing with little children with no effort in his own movements. The five kept attacking, and he kept jumping around without a care. In between, he would stop and hold someone’s arm before turning it and breaking the bones. He would jump on top of a leg to gain height, and twist it in the process. And all the while, he had the same, calm smile on his face.

“You’re all such ants.” He said, “It’s hilarious. Being you must be tough, eh?”

He laughed as he put his hand on top of another one’s head and crushed it in the same way. The four others attacked, but two of them met the exact same fate in the next few seconds. He laughed through it all, as if it was some kind of…game.

My eyes widened as I looked at him. He was…from another world. Did he also think that…?

Before I knew it, my body was limp. I was sitting right in front of the entrance, in a place that he could easily see, and witnessing his massacre. But I saw almost nothing at all. My eyes blurred; my brain seemed like it stopped working for that time. In a second, it all made sense, and took away all meaning from the scene itself.

To Jillesha, these people were ants. People he was meant to crush for fun, and play around with. NPCs in a video game. Nameless characters in some story. But all of them did have names. They had lives, and families, and dreams, and hopes. And I knew none of them. Because I never even looked. Because to me; who couldn’t shed a single tear for these people even now, just like him, none of these people truly mattered.

Once the six were dead, his confused eyes landed on me. They met, and I knew. He saw the same world I did, didn’t he? One where he was the one who mattered. The only person among a world of people who didn’t. Because they were just instruments for fun and play. They were not my actual acquaintances. They did not share his blood or species. They weren’t people I could truly connect with. They didn’t have value as long as they didn’t give him something. These…were not our people.

That moment, I met myself for the first time.