Chapter Text
Carefully, Reed snuck her way towards the end of the hallway and peered down the steps to check the main lobby. No lights were on, and further waiting and listening showed no signs of any of the immediate downstairs being occupied.
Slowly, she silently stepped toe by toe towards the bar and behind the counter. Soon, she opened the door to the kitchen and flipped a switch to turn on a light in the back. Once she was certain the coast was still clear, she began rummaging around the cabinets. After pilfering a few rations, she carefully retraced her steps, placing things back and turning out the light to the kitchen before slowly shutting the door so as not to make a sound.
She sighed in relief and scanned the room before she discovered something that either hadn't caught her attention or hadn't been there before. By the table in the blind spot coming down the stairs was the one person she absolutely was dreading to see right now, staring into her hands which were clasped together as she leaned towards the table.
Seconds ticked by and Reed felt her chest sink and her pulse run fast and hard, but eventually Reed noticed a total lack of response to her presence. Slowly, she took a few steps to test, and no movement was made. Reed quietly began shuffling towards the stairs. Just as she lost sight of the source of her unease, she spoke up.
"Could we…talk…for just a moment, yeah?" Bagpipe's voice quietly sounded from beyond the barrier separating them now. Reed stopped, and after more agonizing heartbeats, Bagpipe continued, "Look, I don't need to know what happened to you…or who you were…before…I just…"
Bagpipe cupped her hands tighter until they were shaking. Then, she took a deep breath and said, "...We both lost everythin' that day…but I promised Outcast…to get you to safety and to Jane…after…Jane and I saw her arts light up the sky…"
Bagpipe looked up, and Reed was standing across from her on the other side of the table. For a while they just stared at each other before Reed looked away and pondered her next course of action. After a while, she worked up the courage to respond.
"...I…I always thought Outcast carried me the whole way back…"
Bagpipe smiled sadly before she said, "Don't worry…I didn't stick around long after…"
"No…that's…" Reed started to protest before retracting her gaze again. "...I didn't know you had carried me the rest of the way…thank you…"
Hearing those words from Reed for the first time, Bagpipe let an honest smile rest on her face. Seeing that smile, Reed couldn't help but remember what she had spoken to Evan about.
"I'm…sorry for my reaction to you…it was undeserved…"
"Aw shucks, don't sweat the small stuff," Bagpipe said with her usual cheerful smile before she returned to thinking about how they even met in the first place. A certain person came to mind too. "Do you think…you could talk to Jane though? She could use it…"
"Is she unwell?"
"Not exactly…she told me she was happy to see you that one time in the cafeteria…but I think she would like to talk to you more…even if it is about books and poetry," Bagpipe responded before rubbing the back of her head with an off kilter smile. "I make poor company in that regard." Shortly after though, she doubled back saying, "N-Not that I'm tryin' to force you to because of that. I just-"
"If we cross paths again…I'll consider it…"
Bagpipe gave a sigh of relief before relaxing in her chair. Once her smile was back she decided to conclude, "Thanks, it would mean a lot to her. Also…" Bagpipe paused as her gaze turned to the pilfered rations. Reed hugged them a little tighter in response. Bagpipe smiled and gave a light chuckle before continuing, "I won't tell anyone about you pilferin' a few rations. I've also done it too."
Reed only nodded before turning around to leave. Once both were out of sight and earshot of each other a weight lifted from their chests.
When Rhodes Island had arrived with proper equipment, a lot of the medical staff ended up relocating to a local clinic as their temporary medical headquarters. Inside one of the patient rooms, Evan waited to be seen. Folinic had ordered an appointment for him to check his vitals among other things. He guessed she was worried about what seemed like allergies to him. His nose was congested and he had a tickle in his throat that persisted. Thankfully, some basic antihistamines had done the job, but considering his special status, it didn't seem they were going to take chances.
So, here he was patiently waiting for Folinic to enter after a logistics operator showed him where he would be receiving his appointment. Ten minutes had passed, and a couple minutes after footsteps sounded their stop at the door and the knob turned.
Instead of Folinic though, he was face to face with a sarkaz woman who covered her head and body with a tattered cloak and robes. Two bright, long horns erupting from the side of her head. She carried with her a bag of medical supplies and equipment. In her other arm she cradled a sheathed sword.
"Greetings, I am Shining. Kal'tsit ordered me to give a complete assessment of your physical being once we arrived in Wolumonde."
Shining carried a rather empty expression, and her statement was matter of fact. Without hesitation she walked over towards him and set her bag down. Carefully, she opened it deftly with her free hand and set her various medical instruments on the counter. Most were regular, but a few stood out as they seemed to be more occult tools than medical, but none of them looked particularly dangerous at a glance.
Once she was done setting up, Shining looked him in the eye and made a simple request, "Your hand, please."
Evan obliged and held out his hand with his wrist up. Soon, they were delicately and carefully wrapped in the sarkaz's fingers. Almost as soon as she did, she put two fingers on his wrist and listened to his pulse. Nothing was said as she closed her eyes and focused on silently counting each heartbeat that echoed through his limbs. Once she was done though, she didn't finish. She carefully moved her hands to open his palm and look at the wound on it, now mostly healed.
She placed a finger over it and a soft, malleable light began flowing from her hand and into his wound. Initially, Evan wanted to recoil at the alien feeling, but shortly it was replaced by a sense of comfort, the light soothed his wound as threads weaved through and performed their magic.
"That's a relief…" she muttered before dimming her arts and retracting her hand. As she did so, he felt a strange longing as the soothing light left his hand and faded into nothing. "It appears that no crystals are forming. This is where your hand made contact with an infected's oripathy crystal?"
"Yes."
"Folinic also told me you've been experiencing a heightened immune response around the area, but it appears to have died down compared to her earlier description."
"I've also been having respiratory allergy symptoms lately."
"I see…" Shining affirmed before picking out a simple wooden popsicle stick and a medical flashlight. "Please open your mouth as wide as you can."
Evan did so and Shining carefully inspected the inside of his mouth before commenting, "Your tonsils appear to be inflamed, have you had trouble breathing?"
"A little, but nothing I'm not used to with regular allergies. Maybe it's the change of the seasons here."
"Maybe," she admitted before pulling out a stethoscope and placing it on his chest. "Please, take deep breaths."
After a battery of basic vital checking, Shining pulled out a needle and a tie. Used to this process by now, Evan rolled his sleeve and outstretched his arm. Once the necessary samples were collected the needle was removed and the site of the extraction thoroughly bandaged.
"We should be able to assess your blood levels by the end of tomorrow. Also, I will be prescribing you more preventative medications to take before we go within the city plate."
"We?"
"Yes, I was assigned to the mission as the emergency medic. It will be my duty to heal and protect all of you with my arts should we encounter danger."
Evan thought back to the meeting, and he did remember she was there at the meeting. She had volunteered, but all Snowsant did was write her name down once the identity was confirmed. He also remembered there was someone else sitting by her that day.
"If any more complications open up, please let Folinic or I know. If you cannot locate me, find Nearl."
"Nearl?" he asked, completely befuddled.
"She is known as Nearl, the Radiant Knight. You can ask almost anyone from Rhodes Island who she is. She's good friends with operator Grani," Shining responded with her matter-of-fact tone before she finished packing up her bag and preparing to leave. Before she left, Evan decided to say goodbye.
"Well, it was nice meeting you."
Shining stopped at the door, and without turning around she reciprocated, "Likewise…"
Later he would catch up to Grani, actually talking happily at the bar with another kuranta he assumed now was Nearl. It wasn't until the smaller kuranta pointed to him and he saw Nearl's face peek out as she turned around. She gave a little smile and a wave alongside Grani's usual method of making herself look taller and calling his name enthusiastically.
With a smile, Evan walked over and took a seat by Grani before asking Nearl, "Sorry, I don't believe we've met properly."
At this, Nearl's smile grew a little larger and her expression softened. After that she responded, "I am Nearl, The Radiant Knight of Kazimierz."
"Yeah, I saw Shining earlier, she told me I should find you if I can't find her."
To his complete surprise, her face tensed up, trying to keep some reaction inside. For a moment he feared he had struck a nerve before Nearl let loose a chuckle while shaking her head. Once she was done she looked Evan in the eye and said, "That's just like her, don't worry though. I've never known someone more responsible with the lives of her patients. She will come running if anything happens to them."
Evan thought back to his first real interaction with Shining a moment ago. He had felt how gentle and careful she was. Her arts seemed to manifest that too, a sense of dull warmth had come from her arts as though it was reassuring him.
"How do you know Shining anyways?"
The smile on Nearl's face faltered, but it came back, if only a little somber.
"We've traveled a lot together. With Nightingale, we've traveled far and wide across Terra, helping those we could. We became known within Kazdel as 'The Followers' during its civil war, that is how we came to Rhodes Island."
There it was again, the mention of a civil war in Kazdel. Evan had heard of Kazdel being the homeland of the Sarkaz, and he hadn't forgotten what Mudrock had said to the Winterwisp leader from Click's video. Folinic had mentioned it in relation to Rhodes Island as well, but as he understood it went by a different name back then.
"Was it known as Babel back then?"
Nearl froze completely, her eyes losing focus as her mind clearly swimmed with the sudden surge of her past occupying her mind.
"Sorry, I-"
"No, it's fine. Tell me, how much of the Kazdel Civil War do you know?"
"Absolutely nothing other than it happened."
Nearl raised her eyebrows curiously while Grani gave him a somewhat sympathetic look. Nearl, accepting that she had to start from the beginning, decided to think a little.
"...The history of Kazdel is long, but its most recent civil war starts with the efforts of its previous King, Theresa, alongside her brother, Theresis, to rebuild the country over the course of two centuries. Twelve years ago, an ideological split triggered the Kazdel Civil War between Theresis's Military Commission and Theresa's Babel. The civil war ended two years ago after almost ten years of fighting, when Theresis attacked the Rhodes Island landship and assassinated his own sister. Since then, the country has been under his rule as Regent."
"You know…" Grani started. "Why did Rhodes Island become a Pharmaceutical Company with the goal of treating Oripathy then?"
"Because Theresa was a kind person, an idealist. She believed that healing the wounds of her people meant also helping to heal the wounds of Terra as a whole. You can probably guess the kind of person her brother is in comparison, since, as the Regent, he and the Military Commission have occupied Londinium."
"Oh…" Evan thought to himself. Pieces were beginning to fit together. Though, there was still one thing he found strange so he asked, "You said Theresa and Theresis started reconstruction of Kazdel two centuries ago?"
"Yes."
Grani caught his confusion and explained to him, "The Sarkaz are very well known for their capability to live for centuries under the right conditions, even though almost all Sarkaz are infected."
"Wait…so they can live that long, despite having oripathy?"
"Yes, for reasons I don't understand, Sarkaz constitution allows them to live remarkably long and full lives with oripathy…but no one really seems to know why, not even many of the Sarkaz themselves," Nearl explained. "Some are known to live longer than others with greater ease. For instance, vampires are known for barely aging if at all."
Needless to say, the knowledge that Closure, his boss, could be centuries old and he could be none-the-wiser for it shifted his expression more than a little. His gaze became fixated on something almost impossibly far away. With the shake of his head he told himself silently, "Not like this changes anything between us."
"Oh…" Nearl voiced, realizing something herself. "Sorry, I just realized vampires might be a bad example considering-"
"Nope!" Evan interrupted before continuing. "Say no more. I really, really want that to just be forgotten if possible."
Grani raised a curious eyebrow while Nearl simply nodded in acknowledgement to his request. Meanwhile on the landship, Closure gave a mighty sneeze alone in her workshop.
"So…" Grani started, trying to find a way to clear the awkward atmosphere that was starting to settle in. "Nearl, have you been keeping up with the Major any? A lot of crazy stuff happened last season."
"A little," Nearl admitted with some uncertainty present in her voice.
"Ok, how about this: Your opinions on the Infected Participation System last season's champion requested?"
Nearl's attitude shifted a little and her brows knit as she thought about the situation, "I wouldn't put much stock in it. Even if on paper the infected can gain a knight title through participation in the Major, I imagine the K.G.C.C. will use their typical rule-bending and nefarious means to ensure that as few infected earn and keep such a title. Unlike regular knights, very few will stand up for them as they try to make their voices heard, if they're not snuffed out in the dark."
"Hold up," Evan called while raising his hand. "Sorry, but can either of you explain what this Major is and what an entity known as the K.G.C.C. have to do with it?"
Nearl blinked a little in surprise before recomposing herself, "The Kazimierz Major was first established in 1025 as a triennial Jousting Tournament between knights. At first it was meant to honor the long held knightly traditions in Kazimierz, but due to the attention it received, the ruling Kazimierz General Chamber of Commerce swiftly took control of the event, devolving it into nothing more than a commercialized tournament they could make money off of. Seventy years later, the interference of the General Chamber of Commerce means that without corporate backing and sponsorship, even the most talented knights will struggle to progress through the tournament."
"Says the first champion to steamroll her way to the top without any backing or sponsorship," Grani interjected to Nearl. Nearl stiffened briefly at the statement. "Still, maybe you could go back. After all, the K.G.C.C. has lifted the tournament ban on infected."
"My banishment has far more to do with my lack of cooperation with the K.G.C.C."
"Still…how long has it been since you've been home, since you've seen your family? It just isn't right they can take that away from you."
"My return would only put me, and my family, in the crosshairs of the Armorless Union's assassins. For now, it's best I stay out of Kazimierz entirely. I'm also not the first champion to be exiled or run out. After all, my predecessor, The Black Knight, ended up fleeing the nation to escape the Major's stakeholders after her third consecutive win."
Feeling more than a little out of place, Evan stood up from his seat and said, "Sorry, I have a few things I should attend to soon. It was nice meeting you, Nearl."
Nearl smiled and replied, "Farewell, perhaps another time we can discuss something lighter."
Evan shook his head before saying, "Thanks. It was very informative, but I have little grasp on the politics of anywhere on Terra. It's a lot to chew on."
Nearl gave an understanding nod before he departed from the two's company.
Inside a decrepit wooden shack just outside of the Ursine tundra, a door slammed open to reveal the leader of the Yeti Squadron as she marched in, brows knit and lips pursed as a flame of righteous anger danced in her eyes. The two occupying the room, sitting on either side of a large dining table, turned their heads as though it were simply a loud noise. Before either could greet their unexpected visitor, Frostnova marched to the draco sitting calmly across from her adoptive father and slammed a hand down on the table, the passive cold immediately sublimating water vapor to ice crystals.
When Frostnova spoke, her voice was low and shockingly calm for the expression she gave, but as cold as the hand that was now rapidly growing ice crystals, "Mephisto's experiments must be stopped. It's wrong."
Talulah turned her gaze to Patriot before returning her gaze to Frostnova's eyes. Frostnova's fiery glare was met with an icy gaze as the room's temperature activating her own arts to counterbalance the leader of the Yeti's.
"We…will do…nothing…" a raspy voice clicked and clattered from the other side of the table. Frostnova whipped her head around, gazing upon her father with widened eyes and raised eyebrows as her mouth hung open briefly, only for her to clench her teeth and began glaring at the old Wendigo even more fiercely, daring him to explain.
"Patriot and I have agreed," Talulah stated, returning attention back. "From now on, to preserve a sense of unity for the upcoming operations, we will no longer interfere with the actions of individual squads. Each squad will operate on its own rules set by their respective leaders."
The temperature spiked downward and Frostnova leaned into Talulah's face before growling, "Then denounce his actions. I don't care if you never punish him for his sickening practices, you cannot remain complicit to what he's doing."
Talulah took a deep breath to compose herself before she stood up. Even though both she and Frostnova moved, their faces did not back away from each other.
"Do you really think your practice is all that different? Your own squad uses your oripathy crystals to channel your arts across the battlefield, do they not?"
Frostnova bit her lip before finally raising her voice, "I don't put my crystals inside my fighters, nor do I place them inside the corpses of our enemies for experimentation!"
"...Frostnova…" Patriot's voice clicked. "Our…decision…is final…"
For the first time in her life, in all the years she had spent under the old Wendigo's care, Frostnova felt a whirlpool of emotions she never thought she could feel against the old man. She felt her heart sink from the disappointment, she felt her vision grow red from anger, and she felt ice forming in her eyes as she felt alone next to him for the first time.
"I'm sorry, but despite how abhorrent his practices may be, they have shown results. We can't sustain a campaign against the army without making some sacrifices. We'll need all the strength we can if we're going to make it to Chernobog."
Frostnova held her head down, choking back her feelings. Once she regained some composure she looked at Talulah. Looking into her eyes she finally noticed how the flame had changed, no longer fueled by the seemingly endless hope and optimism that so characterized the Talulah she had first met. Gone was her radiant and inspiring smile, replaced with a near constant and light frown. She had always suspected, but now she could clearly see what had changed.
The idealist leader she once knew had grown numb to the suffering she had accepted. When was the last time she had seen Talulah smile? When had she last seen her true anger across her face? In the heat of the moment, Frostnova wanted to see a sign, a sign that the leader she followed still held something dear to her heart.
"Alina would be disappointed."
For the first time in months, fury ignited upon Talulah's face, a fiery passion ignited an inferno as memories flooded back. In a flash, Talulah reached for her sword and in the same span of time, Frostnova did the same.
The sound of metal striking metal rang through the room, but instead of the sharp clang of sword striking sword, the dull thud of a sword against a shield sang. In a flash, the table had tipped over and a large silhouette had placed itself between the two, pushing Frostnova aside in the process. A shadow cast over her as bright flames licked the side of the massive shield. Despite the obvious force of the blow and the arts brought with it, the old Wendigo held firm, not moving a single centimeter.
The room grew deathly silent before the sound of Talulah's sword scraping off the shield sounded.
"...Pathetic…both of…you…" clicked the mutated larynx of Patriot.
Talulah and Frostnova shut their eyes in shame. Their swords were sheathed and both looked down. Neither had truly let go of their emotions, but it was clear that they had suppressed them. Patriot wordlessly relaxed his shield and stance, and Frostnova moved to the door. Before she left, she looked back silently, gazing at Talulah who still held her head low, but the false serenity on her empty face spoke volumes. Frostnova could only hope that she was thinking over what just happened, then shut the door behind her.