Seamus tossed aside another melted sword, his boot kicking the surrounding rubble. The vault was proving difficult to traverse through, especially with the amount of stone and melted objects in the way. He had hoped there’d be more salvageable items, but he was proven wrong time and time again. He was close to giving up before his eye caught a glimpse of something poking out from under a piece of rubble.
Seamus guided his candlelight orb to the object, its steel glinting in the light. He pushed the debris off with his boot, finally revealing it. It was a mangled piece of armor, specifically a bracer. Yet, it looked strange. Seamus wasn’t sure why until he picked it up.
“I remember this,” Seamus muttered. This was part of the armor set he had worn the day Aldren had burned down. Lowe had stripped it off because of its weight and unwieldiness. Back then, Seamus didn’t care to see what it looked like. Now that he was holding the strange thing, he almost wished he saw what it was in its original state. The bracer was mangled and half melted, its steel warped. Even with that, he could clearly see that there was something peculiar attached to it.
‘Are these mechanisms?’
There were what looked to be moving parts and gears, and its design was almost reminiscent of something he would see in Nathan’s shop.
‘Perhaps I should take this to the gnomes? Maybe even Rockford might know what this is.’
Seamus decided to hold onto it for later.
“Did you find anything?” Falrick’s voice called out. The Wizard was currently somewhere deeper in the vault, his candlelight orbs visible from afar.
“Just something that could prove to be useful,” Seamus called back as he carried the mangled bracer to the entrance. It was far too large to be put into his satchel. He would rather have it sitting outside instead of carrying it everywhere in the vault.
The sky outside was still a muddled gray, snowfall making itself present. Seamus sighed as he stepped out of the dark vault, his eyes watching the snowflakes descend.
“Enjoying Frost?” a voice called out.
Seamus tilted his head to the source, only to see Helen standing above the dilapidated vault, her hands on her hips as her woolen cape flapped in the slight breeze. She was wearing her blackened armor—the same she always wore—over fur-lined breeches and a jacket. Seamus noted the large White Raven symbol she had painted over Deimos’s red handprint. He wondered why she never got rid of the armor itself despite having the coin to afford something of better quality.
“Honestly, I don’t hate it,” Seamus sighed. “It’s peaceful. Sort of. Maybe it’s the silence that comes with the snow and lack of nature. I find it nice.”
Helen snorted at that. “That’s one way of putting it. I personally find Gale superior.” The veteran walked her way down the cliff that hung above the fallen vault, her boots finding purchase within the slanted rock and dirt.
“I’ll be departing soon to Yorktown. I’m just here to collect anything valuable to bring back to the coffers,” Helen admitted.
“I know. James contacted Falrick earlier about it,” Seamus responded. “We have a crate of Valdoras, some swords, a couple shields, and this.”
He held out the mangled bracer to Helen, who tilted her head at the sight. She narrowed her gaze as she picked it up, her eyes examining it. “Where’d you find this?”
“It was part of an armor set,” Seamus explained. “A Lumen Knight’s armor set.”
“Lumen?” Helen asked with raised eyebrows. “Where’s the rest of the set?”
“Uh…” Seamus didn’t exactly remember what happened to it after the events of Aldren’s fall.
“I wore it when I escaped the vault last year. Going by what happened that day…” Seamus trailed off. Outside of a few pieces that had fallen off during his run through the burning island, the main pieces were probably sitting somewhere in Frostbite’s cargo hold. “Have we cleared Frostbite’s cargo since then?”
“You mean to tell me that you left an invaluable set of armor in the cargo hold of a dinky ship?” Helen asked. There was a sense of rising tension in her voice.
“To be completely fair, that dinky ship has artifact-level runes engraved in its hull…” Seamus commented meekly.
Helen pinched the bridge of her nose as she let out a sigh. “I’ll be sure to check if it’s still there once I leave. Until then,” she placed the bracer on top of one of the crates before hefting it up with both arms, “I’m going to load up the ship and prepare for our departure.”
“Is Haggard heading with you?” Seamus asked.
“No, he’s staying behind to watch over the outpost. He still needs to fulfill his duties here,” Helen said. “Mind helping me with this? The sooner I get home, the better I’ll sleep.”
“I suppose you could use the extra help,” Seamus muttered. He picked up one of the crates on the ground. “It’s a long walk from here to the docks.”
“Falrick won’t mind?” Helen asked as she walked up the steep incline.
“He’ll be fine. Falrick is here on his own business,” Seamus explained.
“What’s that again?’
“Nothing important. Promise.”
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James looked over at the harbor, his eyes scanning the massive crowd of people that were gathering around. He wasn’t aware that there would be this many people, let alone enough that he had to have a group of orcs act as his bodyguards as he waded through.
“Is the ship ready?” James called back to Dimitri, who was currently loading up Draugr’s Haunt with cargo.
“Almost ready,” the shipmaster called back as he lugged one more barrel of brew. This was a new batch of liquor brewed by none other than Gladis, the barwoman who ran the tavern in Yorktown. She and Haggard had been working on the new batch for quite some time, and James hoped it’d be enough for Markov to accept.
The liquor business in Vindis was becoming problematic as time passed. The high standards of the Thieves Guild and competitive businesses were doing their damndest to run James’ business out. He was beginning to wonder if it was even worth it.
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‘Don’t think like that. Bjorn wouldn’t give up on this, so why should I?’
The late dwarf had given his all to this business, working tirelessly through night and day to make sure he got the brew right. James didn’t want his lasting legacy to be for naught.
“We’re good to go!” Dimitri’s voice cut through his thoughts, bringing him back to reality. James turned to his right, his gaze focusing on the older woman who was waiting impatiently on a crate.
“Shall we?” James asked Nora, who perked up at his voice.
“It’s about time,” she muttered as she stood up.
Nora was a councilwoman for Yorktown back when they had a council. She had once been what James would call a ‘Control Freak.’ She even wanted to exile James for his supposed involvement in the Siege of Yorktown. Correction: She did exile him. James only managed to stay after he had defended the town from Lumen Knights during last Frost.
‘Fun times.’
Now, James had Nora accompany him on his trip to Vindis, specifically for his meeting with the city council that oversaw Vindis as a whole.
Despite owning half the city, James still had a duty to show up for these meetings. He was supposed to discuss the future of Vindis and make decisions that were supposed to hold weight. At least, that was what he was told. In reality, for the past three meetings he’d been to, James had been chewed out by councilmen and politicians, most of whom wanted nothing more than for him to leave the city for good.
Attending those meetings was rough since James would barely get a word in before he was called out for being a filthy ‘Outlander’ and the cause of all their problems. It had taken a toll on his sanity and reminded him of the times on Earth, back when his supervisors would drag him into their office to yell about stuff that wasn’t even his fault.
James had decided to change things up this time and bring along the one person who had reached this level of annoyance for him. Nora was his answer.
“What?” Nora’s voice brought James back to the waking world. He didn’t even notice that he was idly looking at her. The councilwoman was looking down at him with a confused and annoyed expression. Despite being short—roughly 5’4 in height—Nora still had an air of authority. Her black hair was tied into a tight knot, allowing her eyes to be fully seen, complete with crow’s feet and the occasional wrinkle.
Nora looked to be in her mid-to-late forties, with some gray accompanying her hair. If James squinted, he could swear she resembled his old boss, Kim. It gave him a bit of nostalgia and kinda freaked him out.
‘Comparing a boss who actually cared to a woman who nearly sent me out to die. Wild.’
“You remind me of an old friend from my world,” James chuckled as he passed by Nora, his feet stepping onto the longship. The councilwoman huffed at that but said nothing.
As James got comfortable, he felt a cold shiver wash over him. He went stiff, his instincts all on high alert. He quickly scanned the harbor, where there were still crowds of people.
‘What’s wrong?’ Faust asked, the Centurion sounding confused.
‘I… I’m not sure,’ James thought back. He could have sworn that something from the harbor had triggered this sensation. It was like a warning signal, a feeling that alerted him of something dangerous. Yet he could only see merchants, townsfolk, and the occasional drifter.
‘My senses are all messed up. Maybe I’ll talk to Nathan about this when I get to Vindis.’
As much as James wanted to stay and figure this out, he felt that it wasn’t worth acting on a hunch that even Faust didn’t sense. He’d rather get the day over with first.
“Dimitri,” James called out to the shipmaster. “Set a course to Vindis. We have a meeting to catch.”
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Seamus set down the last of the crates on Frostbite, his hand wiping the beaded sweat on his forehead. He let out a tired breath, his gaze moving to Helen. Despite the trek across the island, the veteran didn’t look tired. She looked more lively, actually, her grin growing as she carried a second crate over her shoulder. The same one Seamus had struggled to carry earlier.
“Maybe if you trained a bit more, you’d have an easier time,” Helen said. She even had a hint of amusement in her expression as she set down the crates.
“I do train,” Seamus said in a breath. He took a second to let himself rest on the deck, his hand brushing his sweat-soaked hair back.
“If by training you mean swinging your sword a hundred times against the same dummy, then I suppose you’re right.” Helen sat down on a nearby crate, her hands undoing her hair bun. “But we both know that it’s not.”
Seamus stiffened at that. He remained quiet for a while, his mind going back to the recent times he had been at the training center. He had been going nearly every day, practicing his swing and running laps. For any normal trainee or guard, that was good enough. But Seamus wasn’t normal. He wasn’t the average guardsman.
Seamus knew how to use his sword. He knew how to run. He had spent nearly all his life training those aspects of himself. Repeating these actions every day served next to nothing for him. It was like running in place.
“Of course, there’s nothing wrong with keeping your skills sharp and your endurance up. Yet I can’t help but feel there’s something else to what you’re doing,” Helen muttered. Her hair fell down to her shoulders like a row of curtains. “I have been in your place before. I know you’re still angry at yourself.”
“What are you on about?” Seamus answered back with gritted teeth. “Do you think I’m trying to cope with what happened in Vindis?’
“I think you’re trying to do the impossible,” Helen countered calmly. “You’re trying to be stronger. To be your father. I think you’re exhausting yourself to your limit, hoping you’ll break through and reach a point of strength that’s enough to save everyone.”
Seamus recoiled at that. He went silent for a second before he responded. “What do you know about me?”
“Not much,” Helen admitted with a shrug. “All I know is that you’re scared. Have been for the past year. That’s what I’ve managed to gather.”
Seamus didn’t know what to say. While he never doubted Helen’s perception skills, he didn’t realize they went this far. The boisterous ex-marauder was now replaced by a worried mentor, her words speaking truths that not even Seamus knew.
He stood up, his gaze not meeting with Helen. Without a word, he began to walk off to the deck bridge.
“Seamus,” Helen called out to him. “You don’t have to lie to us. To your friends. We’re here for you.”
Seamus stopped at that. He didn’t know how to respond to that. How could he?
‘I know you all are there for me. The problem is that I don’t know what’s wrong with me.’
There was a sense of dread deep inside his chest, the feeling resurfacing every time he thought about his new home and friends. He was scared but wasn’t sure of what. Was he afraid of losing everything like that fateful day a year back? Or was it something more? Something to do with memories he hadn’t recovered yet?
‘There’s a part of me missing. I know it.’
Seamus didn’t know what it was, but he knew it had something to do with the vision of his mother he had witnessed during Midsommar. It was a puzzle that still needed to be solved, perhaps sooner rather than later.
“I… I think I know what I have to do,” Seamus muttered to Helen. He turned back to the veteran, who watched him in worry. Without another word, he headed off to the open hatch of the ship, where the descending stairs beckoned him.
Helen took the hint and left the young man alone as she called over the crew for Frostbite. As the men readied the ship for sailing, Seamus found a comfortable spot beneath the deck and sat.
‘Staying on this island probably isn’t helping with my mental state, anyway,’ Seamus thought. The last thing he needed was a constant reminder of a lost past. ‘Best I get home. Besides, I’m sure I’ve kept Kate waiting long enough.’
With a dry chuckle, Seamus rested his head against the hull, the movements of the waves almost lulling him into a deep sleep.