“I know what you intend to do,” he continued as I teetered in front of him. “I cannot let you take that risk. They told us what really happened to you last time, explained just how close you were to death from the toll it took on you. No one understands what it means more than I when we tell you this, but you cannot do this to yourself. You’re too important to us—to all of us. You’ve done enough already just bringing back one of the fallen, and it is more than any other ruler would do in your place. We will mourn our dead, and you need to accept our losses, not add yourself to their number.”
A hand reached out to mine, and I felt gentle pressure as it held onto me. I looked down to see Faine, newly reborn, looking up at me while still sitting on the ground where her body had been laid to rest. Her eyed filled with tears as she held my hand and her voice cracked when she finally spoke.
“Do not do this to yourself,” Faine spoke softly. “None of us would want you to take the risk. We all agreed that we would do whatever it takes to prevent you from even trying. I am glad to be alive, but if you had chosen to bring back another instead, I would rest peacefully knowing that you chose someone else for the honor. It’s alright to let them go, you have done your part.”
Before I could reply, Tási burst into the tent. She looked at me crossly before reining in her anger and speaking to me.
“You weren’t considering doing something foolish, were you?”
“Truthfully, I was,” I replied to her honestly. “But Madren and Faine have reminded me of my promise and my duty.”
“Good,” Tási answered as she looked me over critically. “You don’t look well. I’m declaring you one of the wounded. You are restricted to bed rest until I have time to check on you later.”
“I’m fine, I just need a moment to rest before I get back to work,” I replied, dismissing her pronouncement. “There’s too much that needs to be done for me to simply take a nap.”
“You don’t seem to understand how this works, Dreya,” Tási responded testily. “I am the healer here. What I say goes in these matters, and as long as you defy me, no one will follow your orders. You can resist as long as you want, but you will accomplish nothing so long as you do so.”
I looked around in dismay and saw both Broda and Stel nodding their heads in agreement with Tási’s words. Tási watched me casting about, searching in vain for some support before speaking again.
“Stel will help you to your tent,” she said more gently. “I will come for you as soon as I have seen to the rest of the wounded.”
Stel was at my side before Tási finished speaking. He walked me carefully out of the tent, helping me stay on my unsteady feet as we made our way through the canyon.
“Do you need any help with your equipment?” He asked tactfully as he led me the final few steps to my tent.
“Thank you, but I think I’ll be fine,” I replied sincerely.
As I slipped inside my tent, Bane ambushed me, jumping on top of me before I had made it past the tent flaps. His small, delicate build was not suited for the battlefield, and his presence would only have served to distract me as I constantly worried over his safety. So, I had made him promise to wait for me here during the battle. Bane had agreed reluctantly, finally admitting the truth of my concerns, but he hadn’t been happy about the arrangement.
You are back, Sintári! I was so worried. Has the battle been won?
‘We won, Bane,’ I sent back to him. ‘But we also suffered some losses. I brought back one of our dead and Tási ordered me to rest afterwards.’
Bane responded by nuzzling his tiny head against my face while purring softly. The sound of his gentle thrum soothed me almost instantly, and I removed my weapons and laid down on the blankets with him. I closed my eyes and the combination of my exertions and Bane’s rhythmic purring soon lulled me to sleep.
I woke up some time later to the rustling of the tent flaps as Tási entered. She smiled back at me as I stared at her through half-lidded eyes.
“I’m glad you took my advice,” she said as she sat down beside me. “Otherwise, I might have been upset with you.”
“How are things going?” I asked her, ignoring the implied threat.
“About as good as can be expected,” she sighed as she took my pulse. “Ridge cleared the passageway for us, thankfully. That would not have been a pleasant duty for anyone. He’s repairing the stonework in there now. We have teams out on the battlefield salvaging what they can and dealing with the corpses.”
“You know,” she continued. “With the orc threat gone, we can finally focus on making this place something more than just a fortress.”
“While that’s true,” I replied. “I have a feeling we will always face some new danger. We can never get complacent. Even while we try to make something more here, we’ll never be able to let down our guard.”
“Maybe,” she said as she gently stroked my forehead. “But we can at least pretend for a while.”
“Are you going to let me out?” I implored her. “I feel better now, and I can’t just lay here while there’s so much to do.”
“Yes,” she said before cautioning me. “But I’m coming with you. If you strain yourself again, I will send you right back here.”
“I thought I was in charge here?” I replied in frustration.
“You are,” Tási answered with an innocent smile. “But only so long as you don’t do anything stupid.”
I quickly strapped my weapons back in place before she could change her mind, and then picked up Bane as we exited the tent and set him on my shoulder. His presence there always reassured me, but as he coiled his tail around my arm, I couldn’t help but notice that he did in fact feel noticeably heavier.
‘Bane, I’m not trying to insult you, but you are definitely growing,’ I sent him cautiously as we walked towards the fortifications.
I should not be, Sintári. I was nearly fully grown when we met.
‘You didn’t say that you weren’t growing, only that you should not be,’ I replied, noting the way he had tried to sidestep what I had said.
You are very wise, Sintári, he replied with a little reptilian smile.
‘That is still not an answer, dear Bane.’
Very well. Yes, I have noticed it as well. I have no explanation for it.
His answer was tinged with frustration. The discovery and his lack of an explanation for it clearly bothered him.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out,’ I reassured him with a few strokes along his scales.
Before I could console him any further, Tási made me aware that I had a problem of my own to worry about.
“So, what was that thing with your eyes?” She asked.
“What ‘thing’ are you talking about?” I asked her in return. I had no idea what she was referring to, but her comment reminded of Stel’s earlier observation about my eyes taking on an even deeper shade of green.
“You weren’t even aware of it, were you?” She inquired. Without waiting for an answer, she explained.
“On the wall, when the orcs first appeared,” she continued. “Almost as soon as you saw them, your eyes practically glowed with a green light. It was only for a second, but they definitely flashed with light. It was kind of spooky, to be honest.”
I remembered my vision briefly tinting green when the orc army showed up. It had happened while I was consumed with anger at them, outraged by their continued assaults against us. According to Tási, the powerful emotion had clearly triggered more than just an internal response. Realizing the connection, I reached out and took hold of Tási’s arm, bringing her to a halt beside me.
I stared into her eyes and conjured up the rage I had felt before. As I considered the many injustices and depravities I’d encountered during my travels, my anger rose to the surface once more. And while I focused on the potent emotion, my vision suddenly flared green again.
Tási gasped and took a reflexive step backwards as my eyes blazed with verdant light. Instead of letting g
o of my rage, I held onto it, and used my increased level of control to keep it from overwhelming me. The effect was clearly unsettling for Tási, but maintaining it seemed to have no adverse effects for me.
“Are you alright?” Tási asked hesitantly as I glared at her.
“I’m fine,” I replied to her reassuringly. “I didn’t notice it at the time, but it seems that this is a side effect of my anger. Now that you’ve made me aware of it, I can make it happen on purpose.”
“Yeah, well next time you do anything that creepy, I’m keeping it to myself,” she shivered as I held her gaze. “Seriously, can you stop that now? It’s really uncomfortable to look at.”
As soon as I let go of my anger, the world returned to its normal hues. Tási breathed a loud sigh of relief as the green glow subsided, and Bane finally spoke up.
That was truly magnificent, Sintári.
‘It seemed quite disturbing to Tási,’
She knows nothing of such things. Bane sent with adoration.
‘Let’s just say that the two of you have a different perspective on the matter,’ I sent back to him with a smile.
We resumed our walk back to the defenses and were greeted by Stel and Khorim when we arrived. The two men were directing some of the repairs but stopped what they were doing when we approached.
“Are you better, Dreya?” Stel asked with concern.
“I’m fine, thanks to all of you,” I replied. “Madren’s appearance was no accident. I know you conspired together to keep me from pushing myself too far. I may have resented it at the time, but I’m thankful for your concern.”
“It may take her a while, but she sees right through us eventually,” Khorim lamented.
“Never forget that, master dwarf,” I teased him before getting back to business.
“Now, tell me how the repairs are going.”
My friends had coordinated everything for me in my absence. Teams had been sent out to deal with the bodies in the field before they could fester while others ferried in the equipment they salvaged from the dead. While most of it was destined to be reforged into something new, several fine blades were also recovered. The weapons were of dwarven make and had obviously been previously looted from some unfortunate victim, and we added those blades to our own store of weapons.
The orc army had brought along a great deal of its own coin as well, and Stel pooled those funds together in a community treasury. At some point, we would commence trading with the rest of the world, and our forces would transform from a militia into a standing army. The coin we collected from the orcs, along with the bandit loot we had salvaged, would help smooth out that transition for us.
While our people worked on their assignments, Ridge cleaned out the scorched passageway. He made a great deal of progress just by clearing out the ashes of the dead for us. With that done, Ridge began repairing the damage we had done, replacing the blocks that shattered under the intense heat and reworking the stone.
The final duty was the tending of our own dead. There was much debate over just how we would do that, and the ultimate decision had yet to be made. Some were satisfied with a simple funeral pyre, while others insisted on a permanent resting place to honor our fallen heroes.
“I have a place in mind,” I told them when they informed me of the dilemma. “We will bury our dead there tonight.”
Teams of dwarves and elves worked together repairing the damage that had been done throughout the rest of the day. Stel and Khorim had intentionally mixed them together to force our people to get used to working side by side with each other, but when darkness began to fall, all work was halted, and we turned our attention to the somber matter of laying our dead to rest.
I sent Ridge ahead of us before we marched solemnly through the valley, leaving only a handful of volunteers and a few of my traps behind to watch over the fortifications. We walked the entire length of the valley and for many of those with us, it was the first time they had seen its true majesty.
We reached the far end of the valley, and I turned the procession aside as we passed by the waterfall that cascaded down from the mountain above us. After a few more moments we came to a small glen tucked into the cliffside.
The peaceful alcove was surrounded on three sides by the sheer walls of the mountain, yet still provided an incredible view of both the valley and the towering waterfall. The dwarves among us were drawn to the majesty of the cliffside while the elves were taken in by the majestic views of the surrounding land. It was the perfect location for both of them, providing us with a resting place suitable to honor the sacrifices of all our fallen people.
Ridge had done as I asked and created resting places for our dead. Deep pockets were hollowed out of the cliffside, each bearing the dimensions suitable for a dwarven body. In the soft earth, graves had been dug out for each fallen elf as well, accommodating their custom of returning their bodies to the earth.
Friends and companions placed bodies in each of the graves and Ridge began sealing the stone around the cliffside hollows as the dwarves were laid to rest. When he finished with the last dwarven tomb, Ridge summoned the earth he had pushed aside and reverently covered the elven graves with the deep, rich soil.
“This will be our sacred place,” I said as the last grave was filled in. “A place where we will not only honor our dead, but where will remember what they died for. We have a great deal of work to do right now, but in one week’s time, we will hold a celebration in honor of our victory and in remembrance of those who lost their lives helping us achieve it.”
A murmur ran through the gathered crowd as I made my announcement. I had thought about it all through the evening and decided that after having worked so hard and suffered through so much, a celebration would be just the thing to bring all of our people together.
While the dwarves and elves worked together well enough, they seldom mixed together socially. Each group kept to its own, and I was concerned that if things continued that way, fractures might eventually drive them apart. I hoped that fighting side by side and then rejoicing together in victory might seal any fissures before they took hold.
I wasn’t only concerned with my people, but also wanted to force my own hand as well. I had already delayed too long on some business I needed to take care of myself, so before the throng could disperse, I made one final statement.
“Before you go,” I called out to the crowd, “There is one more thing you should know. I will have an important announcement to make during our celebration—news that will affect all of you. I will tell you about the future I envision for us, and how I plan to get us there. Until then, please help me repair our defenses and begin establishing our community.”
When I stopped speaking, the crowd grew silent. No hushed voices responded to my declaration. Instead the people seemed to consider my words and what they might mean quietly, each one imagining for themselves just what I might intend for them.
We wandered back through the valley in a ragged line. Instead of the orderly procession that had advanced to the funeral, small groups gathered together along the way. I was encouraged to see that these gatherings were not segregated, the dwarves and elves mixed freely with each other, sharing conversation on our way back.
“Are you going to let me in on the secret?” Venna whispered as she sidled up beside me.
“No,” I smiled back at her. “But there is another secret I’m willing to share with you when we get back to camp.”
“Why don’t you tell me now?” Venna pouted, unwilling to wait for my disclosure.
I just smiled back at her and took her hand in mine as we walked on. Venna continued to pout for a while before reluctantly giving up on the tactic. The cool night air made the walk back a pleasant one, and the increasing bonds between the people were evident as they walked alongside us.
By the time we returned to camp, I had an entirely different feeling about those who had chosen to join me here. Although I did not know all their names, I no longer considered t
hem simply ‘dwarves’ or ‘elves’, and I even had difficulty thinking of them as ‘the people.’ They were no longer abstract concepts to me, if they ever even were. They weren’t ‘the’ people, they were my people. People I was beholden to, and not the other way around.
The thought was both frightening and comforting to me at the same time. Assuming the mantle of leadership was one of the pivotal steps in the journey ahead of me, and while I knew it was necessary, the responsibility that was involved was incredibly intimidating. I would be accountable for every life and every death that occurred under my command, and if I was to succeed, I needed to become far more comfortable with that idea than I was at the moment.
My companions and I had split off from the main group of travelers during the journey towards the barracks and the temporary camp that had been established for them, and I set aside the weighty thoughts when we finally reached our campsite. As my people walked off in the distance, my companions sat down around our campsite while Broda rekindled the fire.
“Khorim,” I began as they settled in. “I’m going to count on you to scrounge up enough ale and spirits to make our celebration memorable.”
“I can do that,” he replied with a twinkle in his eye. “I managed to make friends with a brewer that came with us. I’ll make sure he has enough stockpiled for our needs.”
“Stel, do we have provisions for an appropriate feast?” I asked him.
“Mostly, yes,” he replied. “There is plenty of game, and I will see if we can get some fresh fish from the lake as well. We may not have much in the way of sweets, but there will be plenty enough food for everyone.”
“Music?” I asked of my companions.
“You’re in luck,” Tási responded. “There are musicians among both groups. We will have entertainment that suits everyone.”
“Is there anything I’m forgetting?” I asked them.
“Yes,” Venna quickly chimed in. “You’ve forgotten to let your closest friends in on your secret announcement.”
Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3) Page 19
