The clatter of the sylvani weapons hitting the deck coincided with Soriya’s annoyed ‘tch’, but the sight of all the pirates raising their hands in surrender was a sweet relief to me.
Now we just need to figure out why they stole the Sparrowhawk when there was a perfectly good mothship docked right next to it. I grumped mentally. Oh yes, and find out why my best friend suddenly decided that murder is an excellent solution to all problems!
“Excellent choice!” Lakshmi declaimed. “Crew! Restrain the prisoners, I have an airship to save!” Lakshmi holstered her gun and dashed for the cockpit. Which was good, I had to admit, as the deck had an increasingly steep tilt to it, and the water probably wasn’t going to be especially soft if we hit it at speed!
The Sparrowhawk gave a lurch, and I could feel our speed start to ease off. There were a few more lurches, but no panicked exclamations from Lakshmi, so I had to hope that was in hand.
Eshaan and Daniyel took charge of the prisoners while Camaxtli headed to the back and acquired rope from somewhere in the stores. I was half convinced that it was made from our monain sheep wool, honestly. It sure looked suspiciously fluffy and white. Shortly the captives were tied up and scowling at us, though I definitely detected frustration and confusion mixed into their expressions.
There was another lurch, and the Sparrowhawk started to dip. I bit my lower lip, and grabbed for one of the handholds, but Lakshmi’s voice from the cockpit was full of confidence.
“Alright crew! Prepare for landing. It might be a little rough…”
I dropped my staff and grabbed at the handhold with both my hands.
The Sparrowhawk shook and rattled under my feet, and the deck swayed far more than I was comfortable with, but the grinding noise from the hull was not followed by the shriek of tortured metal, but rather the gentle ‘thump’ of the Sparrowhawk’s landing skids touching down, and the sound of the engines slowly spinning down.
“Bloody bitch can make the ship sit up and bark, and we can’t even get it to outrun a broken down mothship.” I heard one of the pirates mutter.
“Quiet you fool.” Another said, elbowing him sharply.
Well well. Also… maybe I owe Lakshmi an apology. I pondered.
The World Soul took that moment to whisper in my mind. <{Arcanist} Advanced to level 9. For retrieving the Frost Arcanum, breaking the hold of the sylvani mafia, and retrieving your stolen airship, you have advanced to {Arcanist:9}>
Alright. So make that definitely owe her an apology. I thought, pursing my lips and scowling. And maybe have some strong words with the World Soul. All that, and all I get is one SysAdmin level?! What’s a girl gotta do to level up around here?! Though, I suppose I am level 32. I wonder how that compares to the rest of the world?
I blinked, and then had to shake my head and laugh softly to myself. Well why don’t I find out? I turned to the sylvani pirates and knelt down.
“I’m aware this might be rude, but given you tried to steal our airship I’m confident you’ll forgive me.” I smiled sweetly, and felt a guilty thrill as the tied up pirates flinched backwards from me in unison. “May I ask what level you are?” I said, with as friendly a smile as I could muster.
The pirates flinched backwards, and then after a tense moment the pirate who first spoke up spat out “Alright, we get it! We stole from the wrong people! Gaia’s breath, you’re all monsters!”
I raised my eyebrows. “And what level would that be?” I asked sweetly.
“Gods, I don’t know! Level twenty eight?!”
I tipped my head to the side. “You think we’re level twenty eight?” I asked curiously.
The catkin snorted and then stared intently at me. I could feel his gaze, unlike anything else. Like the strangest awareness… I was under observation, but I knew it, without doubt.
He suddenly paled and then gawked, a strangled squeak struggling out of his mouth.
“They’re… she’s level thirty two!” He garbled out, his eyes so wide that they looked like small points of blue in a sea of white.
“What?!” Caleb gargled, and then directed that same stare at me, his head whipping to the others with a more and more wild look in his eyes.
I narrowed my eyes, and aimed a {Study} at the pirates. Shortly, information filled my minds eye courtesy of the World Soul.
{Name}: Merihim {Level}: 20
{Classes}: Guardian 10/Fury 10
HP:255 MP: 117 DEF: 208 M.DEF: 121
Current Status:
DEX: 267 INS: 127
MIG: 268 WIL: 147
Special: Power Strike, Rampart
Oh! He’s… only level 20?! I blinked in surprise. Also, that’s a lot more information than I got the last time I did this! I wonder… is it because he’s tied up like this, or because I’m a higher level?
“Oh gods, what the hell did you get us into?!” He shouted at the leader. “Who are these people?!”
Soriya took a step forward, and I shot to my feet, spinning around and placing a hand on her chest. I looked into her eyes.
“Don’t. You. Dare.” I said to the dark glee in her eyes. “We’re not the villains. We don’t do those things! You know what happens when the heroes slide! There’s always a karma backlash!”
Soirya’s eyes flickered, and then she nodded. I let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Soriya. Truly.” I said softly.
Just then, Lakshmi entered from the cockpit. “Well, why are you all standing around?! We’ve got an airship to untangle!” She announced proudly. From outside there was a faint creak as of an ancient tree bending in ways it didn’t want to. Lakshmi winced and added “And we might want to hurry, there’s a small chance that it could break their ride home.
“You’re letting us go?!” The catkin who had been silent until now finally spoke up.
Lakshmi turned to him and blinked. “Well of course. Is there a reason we should hold you? Do you have a kidnapped princess somewhere? Maybe buried treasure?”
The pirates gave each other side glances. Lakshmi’s eyes lit up and she smiled as broad a smile as the sky. “You do have treasure!” She said delightedly.
The Sparrowhawk turned out to have landed on a beach. If it wasn’t so cold I would have been tempted to rush over to the ocean and demand to go swimming, just to reenact the “the sea!” scene from every anime ever. But it was cold, there was patches of snow lingering in shadows, and the forest just up the hill from the beach was mostly evergreen trees and dark shadows, and whatever level the pirates might be, I had a very strong feeling that just walking into the woods without a care would result in some very unfair random encounters.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The pirates were acting as our grunt labor helping to disentangle and carefully lower the mothship to the ground, with a great deal of cursing, sweating, and rope. They had angrily demanded to know why they should help us-
My lips pursed again and I scowled.
-with language that was quite rude thank you very much. That is, until Daniyel politely informed them that the choice was us wrecking the mothship and stranding them here, or giving them a free ride.
The pirates had chosen the Sparrowhawk because, in their words, “You’d be crazy not to try! This thing has to be worth 20 ships! If anyone could fly it, that is!”
I pressed my lips together to repress a giggle at the memory. Who would have thought that excessive {Tinker} prototyping of multiple different tech bases would result in a theft deterrent system?! I thought happily.
It seemed that these losers had been the lower end of the criminal underworld. Or perhaps, overworld. These were the sylvani thugs, and some of their thugs, fleeing from what appeared to be a brewing rebellion. Or at least, all their bosses had vanished, and so they’d figured they should vanish as well.
The treasure… I sighed and rolled my eyes. I can’t believe those… those… idiots! Actually took a literal treasure chest of zeni and precious gems with them.
Lakshmi had pounced on it with glee, and spent a fair amount of time grabbing handfuls of it and throwing it up in the air. Eshaan had been extremely firm with her, backed up by Daniyel that this was money that the beastkin should have. What they did with it… well.
I have to wonder though. Were we supposed to take the money? Were we even supposed to have the money? Eshaan… if I hadn’t been so stern with him when we met, would he have taken the chest? He’d certainly have gone on a crime spree in every city and village we’d ever had a chance to visit!
I pressed my lips together again, and nodded. And if that stopped him from robbing the Cloudhearts blind, then that’s a very good thing! I thought firmly.
With a loud screech of splitering wood and bending metal, the mothship finally fell free of the entanglement, coming to rest on it’s side. Lakshmi made a very fine pose, standing there with her red longcoat flapping in the wind.
“Well, she’s free. She’ll fly, I think, but not fast or far. We’re taking the money, so you know, that’s what pirates do. And we’ll be returning it to the beastkin, because that’s what Air Pirates do! So if I were you, I’d make sure they didn’t catch wind of your involvement!”
The look in Soriya’s eyes as she stood behind Lakshmi, fondling the gun… the pirates must have seen it too, because they wasted no time at all rushing for the mothship, and getting it running.
I walked over to Soriya, and laid my hand lightly on her arm. She jerked, and glanced at me. I tipped my head to the side, a wordless invination. She pressed her lips together, and for a moment I was sure she wouldn’t answer. Finally, with a huff, she abruptly dismissed Ægishjálmur, and stalked off towards a quiet cove in the beach. I hurried after her, my boots wobbling in the sand.
Behind us, I spotted Eshaan, hand raised just starting after us, before Daniyel grabbed his arm, and shook his head firmly. I shot both of them a grateful smile, and then hurried to catch up to Soriya.
The cove was quiet, with only the slow steady wash of the cold waves, the smell of salt and the toothed seagulls that dipped into the waves hunting fish.
Soriya stood nearby, letting the wind swirl her robes, and I took a seat on an unfortunately cold and damp rock. Not that there were many other seating options, it was a beach after all. Cold and damp came with the terrain.
We paused there for a while, her looking out into the slowly setting sun, while I thought about finding driftwood. With an abrupt spin that set her robes swirling, she turned, and pulled Ægishjálmur from her pouch, aiming it at a nearby bolder and shouting out the {Flare} incantation.
I leapt backwards, almost going for my own staff, before I realized that she’d turned a nearby bolder into a suitable campfire. Or at least, something like. I sheepishly returned, and then squatted down next to the boulder now glowing a cheerful red orange, and extended my hands to the heat with a sigh of relief.
It really had been getting just too chilly! I thought. When I think the Sparrowhawk’s bunks and cloudwool blankets are better… well it’s just too cold! I thought defiantly.
Soriya came and squatted next to the heated boulder with me.
“You know.” She said quietly, staring at the boulder. “For someone who didn’t start off as a healer princess, you do a pretty good job pretending.”
I glanced at her, my eyebrows raised. I wasn’t sure what to say to that. I hardly felt like I was doing a good job. Most everything that I had done that fit was a result of that early me who had grown up completely immersed in her destined role! I waited, patiently.
Soriya twitched her lip into a sad half smile. “Like that.” she said “Just… waiting for me to explain. You’ve always been like this, you know? Even when we were children.”
I turned back to the boulder and shrugged slightly. “We’re best friends, so I can assume it’s not a critical flaw?”
Soriya laughed quietly, sadly. “Yes, that seems safe.”
I reached over and put my hand on her shoulder. I saw her curl her fingers tightly around Ægishjálmur, so tightly her knuckles turned white. I bit my lower lip and then leaned over to give her a full hug. It just… felt right. Sure, she was gorgeous and buxom, but this… wasn’t about that. My friend needed a hug, and that’s all there was to it.
“When I died.” She said, and it was as though she was spitting up broken glass. “I’m confident that bastard of a husband murdered me.” She said.
I blinked and held her tighter.
She took a deep breath, and I heard the ragged edges of her voice crack faintly.
“I gave everything to that man. I couldn’t have college. My parents wouldn’t allow it. I couldn’t have a career. Society wouldn’t allow it. I couldn’t be ugly. I couldn’t like video games. Who would marry me if I did?”
Something shattered in her voice, and raw pain came out. “And then it was all for nothing. So my husband could have the insurance money! And he could spend it on a prettier woman! And for WHAT?!” She shrieked, and then broke, the sobs tearing out of her chest, and her body shuddering in my arms.
Eventually, she calmed again, and continued. “And then I was here. And I was Soriya. And I was young and pretty. I was smart and feared. And I was in charge, I was the heroine! And I met Daniyel, and I thought… I thought I could prove it to myself. And he was so sweet. So kind. And I thought… I thought for sure, this was a better life. That people like that couldn’t exist here, because this was a perfect world, a world where I was a heroine who had a paper in the Imperial College archives.”
After a long pause, she continued. “And then we came here. And he was there. Again. Suddenly. In front of me. Sneering just like he always did. And I knew what was coming next and I… I wouldn’t let it happen. I will never let a man like that happen again.” Her words might have been dipped into a {Poizon} spell and lit on fire, they burned with such a fiery venom.
“And so I didn’t. And I won’t.” She finally pushed back against the hug. “And I know my best friend doesn’t want to hurt anyone. But Lily, you have to understand. I will hurt people who want to destroy others. And if I find out that those pirates that you’re letting go do something like that… I told you so, will be the least of your worries from me.” Her eyes blazed with a fierce intensity, and I bit my lip, looking away, but refusing to back down.
“I understand. Thank you for sharing with me. For explaining.” My eyes filled with tears and I pulled her into a quick hug. “Oh Soriya, I’m so sorry! I wish you’d never had to feel that way! I wish I could make all your pain go away!” I sniffed and wiped at my eyes. “But I know I can’t.” I shook my head. “And I don’t think the wicked witch suits you. Not really. You don’t want to be that person.”
She pulled back and shook her head, opening her mouth to deny it. I held up my hand and plunged on, reaching for my mana pool and pouring everything I had into a {Persuade}, praying to the Goddess or the System or whatever might be listening.
Please. Let me reach her!
“We can’t be the police. We can’t be the detective, the jury, the judge, and the executioner. We won’t know if they’re guilty. Not unless we spend days there. Not unless we give ourselves over to… to this. This vengeance. Don’t you see? We would have to burn ourselves on this altar of justice, sacrifice everything we are, every good thing that this world could show us, could let us be, in order to… to try and kill a phantom. A dead life from another world! You’re not pretending to be a heroine. You are a heroine. You’re not pretending to save the world, or to give a presentation that’s put into the Imperial Archives.
“You did those things. You, Soriya, the Dark Witch of Breezewood. You don’t… have to live that old life. You can dispense your justice… without needing to make it fatal. Or what’s the point of this new life of ours? If we can make a fresh start, who’s to say that even the worst scum of the multiverse can’t too?”
I pressed my lips together and looked into her eyes. “And if it turns out, that the justice is given to us to use. Then…” I took a deep breath. “Then we can do the best we know how. But please Soriya. Don’t kill just because somebody deserved death in another world. They can’t get a second chance, if they never get a first.”
The sun vanished below the horizon, and the glowing cherry red boulder in front of us slowly dimmed. The stars had come out overhead when Soriya finally took a deep breath and nodded.
She turned to me and smiled. “If the healer princess says it’s the right thing to do… then it probably is.” She reached out and tweaked my nose. “But right back to you. You can’t heal the whole world, Lilyanna. Not even if you plead at it. Deacon… isn’t just going to leave because we ask nicely.” She looked at me seriously.
I gulped and nodded, looking away. Soriya was right.
Some things… just don’t go away when we ask nicely.