by Pirateaba
“What?”
“Ryoka says that the food is too rich for their stomachs. They’ll get sick and die.”
“I see.”
Pisces looked at Ryoka for a second, and then took one of the squashed sandwiches and bit into it. He made a face.
“Tomatoes.”
“If you don’t like it, don’t eat it!”
Erin scowled at him while she handed Ryoka another sandwich and Rags one more. Ryoka’s sandwich turned out to have fried fish in it. She found she was suddenly ravenous and devoured her meal and another sandwich in seconds.
While Pisces and Rags were devouring their food and Ksmvr was nibbling at another flatwich as Erin insisted on calling them, the innkeeper went over to Olesm and Ceria. They were sharing some of the soup Ryoka had given them, but they didn’t seem to have much of an appetite.
“I feel full. Should I be feeling full after only a few sips?”
Ceria smiled weakly at Erin as the girl approached. Erin’s eyes were drawn to Ceria’s skeletal hand, but she looked back up at her friend’s face and forced a smile. She also ignored the terrible stench that was coming from Ceria.
“That’s what Ryoka says. Your stomach hasn’t had anything to eat, so it shrunk down. You won’t be able to handle much food for a while.”
“Oh, good. It’s so hard to stay thin, the way I eat.”
Erin smiled at Ceria’s joke. Her eyes moved to Olesm. The Drake was very pale. His light blue scales had turned even lighter, and dead scales flaked off every time he moved. He smelled even worse than Ceria did.
“Olesm?”
She reached out towards him, but the Drake flinched away. Concerned, Erin looked at him.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Erin. Really. It’s just—”
Olesm looked at Ceria for help. The half-elf shrugged.
“Um, we might need some water if you have it. And some clean cloths?”
“I can get that. But why…?”
For the first time, Erin studied Olesm. He looked just as desiccated as Ceria, but he was also doing his best to stay as far away from her on the coffin’s seat as possible. He’d been wearing leather armor, but something had torn it mostly to shreds. Parts of her scales were scratched, but not badly.
But his clothes did seem rumbled, and the area around his leggings were…brown…
Olesm caught Erin’s eye and turned pink. Ceria coughed into her good hand. Erin noticed that she was crossing her legs, too.
“We could use something to clean ourselves with. Rather urgently.”
Erin backed away from them. The smell searing her nose suddenly intensified now that she was aware of its origin.
“Oh. Oh. I’ll uh, I’ll—”
She half-dashed to her rucksack, where Ryoka was eating her third sandwich. The other girl had saved Erin some soup and a squashed sandwich from Rags and Pisces, but Erin ignored that.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing. Um, don’t go over there just yet.”
“Why?”
Ryoka always wanted an answer, especially if the reason was ‘because I said so’. Erin paused for a second and tried to say what she meant without Pisces figuring it out. Rags had clearly already made the connection because she was sitting several meters away.
“Um, you know how you were talking about survival and all that? Well, just imagine the coffins as one big…diaper.”
Ryoka’s face went blank for a fraction of a second, and then her eyes widened.
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Do they need water? I’ve got a flask and some bandages that might—”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry! I packed all of the essentials!”
One of those essential items was one of Ryoka’s water flasks and a clean bit of cloth from Erin’s pack. Ceria explained as she used one of the stone coffin lids as a privacy screen. Not that there was much need to hide; only Pisces and Olesm had to look away. Ksmvr was clearly indifferent.
“The first few days I cleaned up after myself with spells. It was a waste of mana. But I thought the undead might smell. After that…well, you don’t have much of a problem when there’s nothing to eat.”
It was an aspect of living in a stone coffin neither Erin nor Ryoka had wanted to ponder or wished to dwell long on. At least Ceria didn’t smell too bad. Olesm on the other hand—
“I had the same problem. And I don’t have magic, okay?”
Everyone stayed clear of him until Olesm had finished thoroughly washing himself down. Pisces even provided magical assistance. At a distance.
Olesm grumbled as a fine spray of water misted him. He twisted his head to glare at Pisces as the mage studiously looked away.
“Can’t you give me more water? All you’re doing is making everything wet.”
Pisces sniffed, which turned out to be a mistake.
“I’m no [Hydromancer], and I specialize in ice magic. Besides, the air is dry around here. This is the best you’re going to get.”
Erin stared at Ceria as the half-elf finished scrubbing herself. She made to hand the cloth back to Erin, looked at it, and then tossed it back in one of the coffins. Erin offered her another clean roll of linen – Ryoka’s emergency bandages, and Ceria finished wiping with that.
“How’d you survive so long without water? Or did you have supplies?”
“Olesm did. A few of the dried rations, but we lost our packs during the—the attack.”
Ceria coughed and took another small sip of what was left in the flask after her impromptu bath.
“But we didn’t have any water. I burned up all the mana I had left creating ice for us to suck on.”
She shook her head.
“Another day or two and we’d be dead. We couldn’t even move the lids from the inside anymore. I really thought this was it. When I heard your voices and realized you couldn’t hear me—”
“It was Ryoka who figured out where you were hiding.”
Erin pointed to Ryoka. The barefoot girl was alternately avoiding stepping in any of the runoff generated by Olesm and Ceria’s baths and staring none-too-covertly at Olesm’s private…parts. Ceria smiled.
“Ryoka. And you met her? The world’s full of surprises. Or maybe it’s fate.”
She laughed, coughed, and grimaced weakly. Erin sprang forwards to help her, but Ceria waved her away. Her skeletal hand—
Erin saw that Ceria saw that she was looking and turned away. Ceria shrugged, and the two were silent. In the end, Erin spoke again.
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Really glad.”
Erin had said that before several times, but this time Ceria seemed recovered enough to respond. She smiled at Erin.
“I am, too. But I never would have imagined the group that came to get me.”
“Yeah, it’s sort of weird, huh?”
Ceria raised an eyebrow.
“To put it lightly. I recognize the little Goblin and Pisces, but that Antinium…that’s not Pawn, is it? They all look the same. Did he regrow his limbs or something?”
“No. That’s um, Ksmvr.”
The Prognugator looked up at the sound of his name. When he saw the two were looking at him, he turned away. Ceria shook her head.
“Huh. You’ve got a lot to explain to me, I can tell.”
“And me.”
Olesm rejoined the group at last. He smelled a lot better than he had, but he still exuded a personal bubble no one was willing to breach. He bowed at Erin clumsily, nearly falling over as he did.
“Miss Solstice, I am in your debt again. What you’ve done for me and Ceria—I can never repay. I joined this expedition to change myself, but in the end…”
Olesm stopped and shook his head. He wiped at his eyes.
“I’m just lucky to be alive. I won’t forget this, I promise you.”
Then he looked up and hesitated.
“I’m grateful, I really am. But why didn’t anyone send the Watch in after us
? I mean, I understand they were nervous, but I have friends! Didn’t they want to save me?”
Erin exchanged a glance with Ryoka, although she got more of the glance. She turned red and fidgeted.
“Um, well, we spoke to Zevara, but she didn’t want to send anyone to help us. She said she didn’t want to risk sending anyone on a wild goose chase.”
Olesm looked shocked. His tail thrashed the ground in agitation.
“Zevara? But she knows me! I’m sure she would have sent someone—she’d at least have hired a mage to cast [Detect Life] or something!”
“Well, I’m sure she would have…if…she knew you were alive.”
“What? Didn’t you tell her I was with the others?”
Erin avoided Olesm’s gaze.
“I, um, forgot you were with the Horns of Hammerad. I don’t think anyone else in the city knew you were going, either.”
Olesm wilted.
“I…see.”
“I’m so sorry, Olesm! It’s just with the attack on the city and the bad news and the giant skin creature—”
“The undead!”
Both Olesm and Ceria broke out of their happy reverie in horror. Ceria unconsciously grabbed for Ryoka’s arm with her skeletal hand and stopped.
“What happened? Did anyone make it out? Rot, we should have asked earlier. But if you’re here, the undead—”
Ryoka tried to reassure Ceria without looking at her maimed hand.
“Don’t worry. They’re not out there anymore.”
“But what happened?”
That was a question Ryoka couldn’t answer, but the others could. Erin broke in, talking excitedly.
“It was crazy! A bunch of undead came out of the Ruins and started attacking the city! I was in my inn so I didn’t see everything, but Krshia says they got into the city before the north gates got closed. The entire city was fighting in the streets!”
Olesm groaned aloud. He grabbed at Erin.
“How many died? How many…?”
“Skinner.”
Ceria interrupted Olesm. She looked sharply at Erin.
“Did he come out? Is he still out there?”
“Who?”
“The monster—”
Cera’s skeletal fingers twitched. Ryoka stared in horror at them, but only Rags noticed. The Goblin edged away from Ceria as she tried to explain.
“It was what was leading the undead. A horror made of skin. He guards this crypt. He killed the others. Did it get out? Is he still alive?”
Ryoka had no idea who or what Skinner was, but the others did. Erin’s smile faded. Pisces glanced around the ruins and shook his head.
“Skinner? Yeah, I saw it. He’s dead.”
“You’re sure?”
“Very sure.”
Ceria and Olesm both sighed in relief. But then Ceria looked up.
“How? That thing had some kind of magical ability. It projected fear.”
“I know. I felt it.”
Something. Ryoka glanced at Erin. She had that unsettlingly vacant look on her face again, that expressionless glimpse into something far away. Pisces and Rags were looking at her too. Just what…?
“He attacked my inn. Him and a bunch of undead. They tried to kill me, but all of the Workers—the Antinium I played chess with—they came to help. And all the Workers fought and—”
Erin broke off. Ceria and Olesm were staring at her, but no harder than Ryoka. Workers? Antinium? Chess? She’d fought the thing that killed—
“And he died. Rags killed him. Her and the other Goblins, I mean. He was this large worm underneath all the skin and we—he died. The Goblins ate part of him and then burned the rest.”
Ryoka had run through the High Passes and lived. She’d done something no Runner in the area had done in years. She was the fastest Runner in perhaps a hundred miles. Maybe that made Ryoka special, but Erin was different altogether.
Erin had fought monsters.
And though it was silly to look at the young woman and imagine her fighting some kind of flesh monster that even Calruz and the others couldn’t defeat, part of Ryoka had no doubt that she’d done it. With help, yes. With luck and chance, perhaps. But she’d done it.
Ceria stared at Erin for a second. Olesm was open-mouthed, eyes bulging. But Ceria was just quiet. She met Erin’s eyes.
“You killed it. You.”
Erin shrugged uncomfortably. She pointed at the Goblin sitting behind her.
“Rags did.”
Pisces choked on one of the sandwiches and coughed as he stared at Rags. The Goblin scratched at one ear and looked around defiantly.
“A Goblin and an [Innkeeper].”
“Lots of Goblins, Workers, and Kblkch and some Soldiers too.”
Ceria shook her head.
“Ha. Course. It’s just—”
She began to giggle, and then to laugh. Ryoka blinked. Ceria started laughing hysterically. Erin reached out and steadied Ceria as the half-Elf laughed until she choked and began to cry.
“I’m—I’m sorry. It’s just…”
She laughed again, a short barking exclamation. Ceria stared wide-eyed ahead, face caught in a taut grin.
“I know. He nearly killed me. And he killed almost all of my friends. And a lot of the City Watch.”
Erin held Ceria as the mage began to shake again. Ryoka felt helpless. She wasn’t the type of person to reach out and comfort someone. But she wished she was.
“He’s dead.”
“Thank you.”
Ceria said it quietly as her tears leaked into Erin’s shirt. She looked at Ryoka.
“Thank you so much.”
Ryoka shook her head.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You came for us. Thank you.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Olesm bowed his head at Ryoka. She nodded back, feeling like a worthless piece of trash. She hadn’t done anything. In a very real way, she was even more of an outsider to this moment than Ksmvr and Toren, who were watching silently as they stood guard. They’d fought the undead and this Skinner. All she’d done was get here too late.
“Ahem.”
Pisces cleared his throat noisily. When Ceria looked at him, he flashed her a condescending smile.
“I believe part of that thanks belongs to me. I did receive your message, after all. Without my urging, we would never have gone looking for you. I also eliminated quite a swath of the undead during the battle.”
Erin and Ryoka both frowned at Pisces. Erin opened her mouth to scold him, but Ceria nudged her very gently.
Ceria turned to Pisces and bowed her head deeply.
“Thank you, Master Mage.”
She said it without a trace of irony or sarcasm. Pisces blushed and looked away.
“Yes, well. We Wistram students must stick together, mustn’t we?”
“If we’d brought you along in the expedition…”
Ceria shook her head. Ryoka wanted to know what happened, but she wasn’t sure now was the time to ask.
“What happened?”
Erin looked at Ceria, concern in her eyes. The half-Elf closed her eyes and for a moment Ryoka worried it would be too much to ask. But then she began to speak.
“It started when we got to the second floor. Everything had been going fine before that. We’d run into a nest of Shield Spiders, but nothing besides that. But then we met a group of zombies…”
Ryoka listened to an abbreviated version of all that had happened up to Skinner emerging from the treasury doors.
“It must not have been locked. That thing was just waiting inside for the right moment. He killed Cervial, Gerald, and half of us in moments. And then when we arrived and tried to make a stand—”
Ceria closed her eyes and shook her head. Another tear formed unshed in her eyes.
“He killed them all. Gerial, Sostrom…he tore off Calruz’s arm. I couldn’t even fight back while he was staring at me.”
She looked at Erin.
&nb
sp; “You avenged them. Thank you for that.”
Erin shook her head, but not in denial. She looked at Olesm.
“And what happened to you?”
Ceria smiled at Olesm.
“He saved my life.”
The scales around Olesm’s face turned a light red as everyone looked at him. He demurred.
“I didn’t do much. I just ran when that thing appeared and dragged Ceria into one of the coffins. It was all I could do.”
“He saved my life.”
Ceria said simply. She showed the others her frostbitten hand.
“I could barely move and a Ghoul was savaging me. He stabbed it from behind and used a healing potion to mend the worst of my wounds. If he hadn’t been there, I would have died.”
Erin reached over and patted the Drake on the shoulder.
“Good job, Olesm.”
He blushed and shook his head again silently. Ryoka looked at Ceria’s hand and hesitated.
“Is that how you lost…?”
Ryoka indicated Ceria’s hand. The half-Elf looked down and laughed. The fingers didn’t move, but she seemed to be able to move the blackened stump just fine and without any pain.
“This? No. I—well, I used a spell above my level, that’s all.”
Pisces peered at Ceria’s hand, frowning at the blackened skin.
“I can sense the magical residue. Frost spell? [Glacial Spear]?”
“Nothing so fancy. I just used up all the magic in my wand; that’s all.”
“You idiot.”
Erin glared at Pisces again, but Ceria just nodded.
“I had to create an opening for the others.”
She paused.
“The others. Yvlon was trying to get away. Do you know if she…?”
Erin exchanged a glance with Pisces and shook her head.
“I uh, didn’t ask. Some adventurers survived.”
“Yvlon did.”
Ryoka nodded at Ceria. She hadn’t seen the adventurer herself, but she had asked.
Ceria hesitated, looking at Ryoka’s face.
“Is she…?”
“She’s comatose. She doesn’t speak or move.”
“I see.”
Ceria bowed her head and closed her eyes. Again, Ryoka didn’t know what to say. Saying ‘at least she’s alive’ seemed crass even to her. She cleared her throat and looked around instead.
