Her blade sliced through flesh and the creature’s head tumbled to the forest floor. Black blood coated her blade but still the creatures came. Taria didn’t remember the Dasi Forest being so dangerous before...
But she had been gone awhile. And some new threat, along with the bandit scourge, had emerged from deep in the forest. Horrible creatures, thin, gangly, snarling beasts with only a vaguely humanoid shape attacked and killed travellers on a regular basis. Taria had yet to come across so many at once. Now the slavering, pallid creatures ran at her from all sides.
She had lost count of how many had fallen to her blade but, now, she only had survival on her mind. That and the only reason they could have come to exist: Morrina.
The woman had always been in Ikaatan, apparently, but it seemed she waited until the more powerful Jhana had been dealt with. Now that the sorceress was out of the way, Morrina, Mistress of the Dead stepped forward and proved herself to be perhaps more vicious than Jhana ever was.
Malicious intent coated her actions and the necromancer sent countless undead abominations after the innocent people of the Island of Ikaatan. Innocents were slaughtered daily as they simply travelled the road and there didn’t seem to be any quick solution. For now, people were just told not to travel the roads alone or without protection. And to avoid thick, wooded areas.
The blue haired warrior was now drenched with sweat, watching the innumerable creatures swarm around her, cutting them down with her long, silver blade. The cold steel was coated thick with black blood as the undead fell to pieces around her, some still moving and grasping for her ankles.
Though the bangs of her short, bobbed hair covered her right eye, Taria was precise in her movements, lightning fast, and focussed beyond measure. Her armour and clothing were now also splattered with the black blood of the creatures.
Heavy, studded leather covered her shoulders, straps crossing her chest diagonally to another thick piece of studded leather guarding her midsection. This covered a tight, dark green shirt of thick cloth. Thick steel guards protected her wrists, matching the dark green of the shirt and lined at the edges with blue.
A thick, brown leather belt hung around her waist, with pouches holding whatever she could carry that might come in handy. The belt’s buckle was tinged with blue, matching Taria’s hair colour. She planted her feet, baring her strong muscles, only covered by a pair of tight, dark green shorts that were really quite short and strappy, knee high leather sandals.
Glaring at the creatures behind her angry purple eyes, the stoic warrior cut the head off one creature that rushed for her, lashing out with a gnarled, clawed hand before it collapsed to the forest floor, its black blood seeping into the grass at her feet.
Another two came for her, slashing at her throat but she cut off the hand of one, leaning to one side, and in one smooth motion buried the sword into the thing’s skull before spinning in place and lopping off the second creature’s head, causing both to collapse, unmoving, to the forest floor.
She could hear more of them in the woods but they weren’t coming for her. For whatever reason they had... retreated. Taria thought so, anyway. That was until she heard a voice. A voice from the past... someone she knew....
“Arys?”
The woman let out a cry of pain and confirmed it. It was Arys.
“Arys!”
Taria dashed through the trees, trying to find her old mercenary friend and battle against whatever vile thing she was fighting. But she couldn’t see the mercenary anywhere.
“Arys, where are you?”
Frantically searching, hearing nothing but the growls of the undead... but that was just how the last two days had gone. First Lila, now this...
...
Two days earlier
It had taken some effort but Taria had finally tracked Lila and her mercenaries to their camp just outside Matesi Village. Choosing to forget her rather embarrassing memories of the place, Taria watched them set up camp... directly inside an abandoned fortress.
The place had been built long ago by ancestors of Taria’s, the original inhabitants of Ikaatan. This bloodline was passed down from Taria’s mother who had, apparently, once garrisoned the fortress as an archer.
It was built originally to defend the former city of Matesi from the Dragons that used to roam the skies. So formidable was this stone that the Dragon’s fire had done little to its walls, even while it razed the city itself to the ground.
Even though it failed in its ultimate goal, the place still stood. Though anyone left from the slaughter abandoned the place and managed to rebuild Matesi into the modest village it was now.
Lila’s group of female mercenaries, the largest band of sellswords in Ikaatan, had chosen to set up camp here for one reason or another. Taria had yet to figure out exactly what they were up to but someone had hired them to attack the Elder Council of Matesi Village.
She watched them from afar, waiting for nightfall to begin her assault. To take them on alone would just make things harder but Taria refused to let others get involved. With her allies scattered across several worlds she took it upon herself to right the wrongs she knew she had a hand in creating during her reckless youth.
The sun finally faded behind the horizon, leaving the world in draped in a starless night. Without even moonlight to guide her, Taria’s sharp eyes pierced the darkness as she crept up to the wall of the old fortress. Searching for footholds, Taria climbed her way up, keeping in mind the patrol patterns she had seen of the mercenaries guarding the battlements.
Once she was vaulted over the wall, Taria reached to a pouch on her belt where she pulled out a small, needle-like object coated in a substance crafted for her by Elyn. Though she wished to hunt down both bandits and sellswords alike, Taria followed Artema’s lead and would not kill them. She had done enough of that in her lifetime...
The substance would cause anyone to pass out within seconds of being pricked by the needle and would work almost indefinitely with a thorough coating of any small, sharp implement.
As soon as Taria was over the wall, she went to work. Lila’s mercenaries were not all as large as she was and some even turned out to be smaller than a lithe, short woman like Taria herself. Though Taria was perhaps physically stronger and faster than most of these sellswords so taking them out would be easy if she maintained the element of surprise.
One woman, standing a little taller than Taria, rested her hands against the wall, leaning out and watching the ground below. Without a sound, Taria grabbed the woman around the waist and jabbed the needle into her shoulder, pulling it back out quickly and resting her on the ground gently, careful to prevent her equipment and weapons from rattling around and alerting the others.
Still plenty more Taria thought, pressing on along the battlements, staying well out of sight. She took out another woman the same way. And then another. Before long, all of Lila’s mercenaries along the battlements had been taken care of. But there were still plenty on the ground. And, unfortunately for Taria, the last woman she knocked out had a particularly noisy flail on her belt that rattle and dragged on the ground. She had been heavier than Taria had expected and had dropped much faster than Taria would have liked.
The utter silence maintained around the fortress was deliberate, of course, as Lila always seemed prepared for such stealth attacks. She instructed her mercenaries to remain as silent as possible during night patrol. So at least three, if not more, looked straight at Taria as soon as the woman fell.
“Damn it,” Taria said, standing up straight and bolting for the wall. But the mercenaries reached a set of stairs in front of her and cut off her escape, while more climbed up behind her. The worst part now was that Taria’s only escape was over the highest part of the wall beside her and she wasn’t going to take that option. She would break something for sure. Instead, she drew the sword at her side and planted herself, tightening both her hands around the grip.
“Taria,” a thick voice called out from below. She knew then that Lila had finally emerged from her cozy bed inside the old quarters of the fortress. “I wouldn’t.”
Taria glared, looking back and forth between the mercenaries on either side of her. Though the odds were against her, if she could just fight long enough to reach one of the shorter walls...
“Taria,” Lila warned again. This time, Taria allowed herself a sidelong glance at the mercenary leader. She was always a big woman, though not quite as large as someone like Artema or even Fa’rah. Her thick, muscular arms and legs were impressive enough, though, and Taria knew she was a highly skilled warrior. And she was much bigger than Taria and, with her added strength, Taria didn’t want to risk a one on one fight with her. Strangely, she thought her chances would actually be better against a group of eight or so of her mercenaries. Even with the odds against her, Taria had a healthy respect for the deadly, two-handed sword sheathed on Lila’s right hip. She remembered how Lila could wield the thing in one hand like it was a toy.
Her imposing nature hid what Taria thought of as a rather attractive appearance; neat and short brown hair, shining green eyes, and a rather shapely figure accentuated by her armoured, leather tunic. It was sleeveless, save for two thick pieces that guarded the tops of her shoulders. The chest of the garment was clearly reinforced, with two diagonal, black straps holding on whatever metal was used to help protect her.
The tunic was short and stretched over Lila’s thighs like a thick skirt, belted at the waist, and stopped about halfway down her thighs and well above her knees. More thick leather protected her wrists with long, fingerless gauntlets and a pair of heavy boots, also leather, stopped partway up her shins, stopping well short of her knees.
“Best if you stand down, girl,” Lila continued. “Odds aren’t with you this time.”
“You’re just scared,” Taria said. “You don’t want me to hurt them because you know I can.”
Lila smirked. “Funny. Hearing you say that, almost reminds me of the old days.”
“Don’t start,” Taria snapped. “Tell them to stand down and let me walk out of here in peace. You don’t want them getting hurt. I know you don’t.”
“You know as well as I do when there’s no need to fight,” Lila answered. “We’ve got you dead to rights. Best give it up. Lay down that sword. You don’t want to make us hurt you.”
Letting out a short breath, Taria let her mind clear and she focussed on the woman immediately in front of her, wielding a short battle axe. “I’d like to see you try,” she said, through gritted teeth.
Lila swore as soon as Taria lunged at the woman closest to her, disarming her in seconds and sending her sprawling with a strike from her sword’s pommel. Two more women charged at her, with the group from behind closing fast, and Taria deflected the incoming sword of one, managing to weave between them and shoulder the second to the ground.
She whirled around and deflected another strike from the first woman’s sword, flicking her sword upward and disarming her before also striking her with the pommel of her sword.
The group at her back forced her into the remaining three still standing in front of her and she took a chance, bowling into one with her shoulder, knocking into the other two. They all caught themselves on the stairs but it created enough of an opening for Taria to run for the stairs and escape the pincer she had found herself in.
But as soon as her feet were back on the ground, she heard the singing sound of another sword being removed from its sheath and the women on the battlements stopped their attack and stepped back. Several moved around to the front gate, slamming the portcullis closed while Taria turned around to face the deadly blade of their leader.
“You don’t want to make this any harder,” Lila said. “Lay it down.”
Taria rolled her shoulders and gripped her sword yet again.
Lila’s mercenaries quickly surrounded the two women in a circle, leaving their weapons sheathed. Taria noted with pride how several of them were looking a little worse for wear and already nursing the injuries she had given them.
“Really?” Taria said. “This is how you want to do it?”
“Everyone knows you’ve lost your spine since you left. So I figure either we take ourselves a nice little prize... or I force you to grow your spine back.”
“What do you mean ‘prize’?”
Lila chuckled. “Come on, Taria. Do I have to spell it out for you? We know the Queen is all about that little ‘Order’ of yours. There’s a good chance she’ll pay us a lot for your safe return. And if not, well... I could always use a slave.”
“You think I’d agree to that? You expect me to just lay down and let that happen?”
“I never expected that, Taria. But you decided to do things the hard way.”
“So then my other option is...”
“Kill me,” Lila said, a wide grin on her face. “I beat you, and you’re our captive to do with as we please. You beat me... and you have to kill me. You don’t and, well, I doubt they’ll let you walk out of here a free woman,” Lila said, nodding toward her mercenaries.
“You can’t make me,” Taria said.
“I know it’s in you,” Lila replied.
“Not anymore.”
“That’s a shame. You’ll learn soon enough that you have no choice. So... let’s go, Taria. Just like old times.”
“Stop saying that,” Taria said.
“Come over here and make me.”
With frightening speed, Taria struck out at Lila with her blade, clanging against the heavy steel of the mercenary’s sword. Lila parried the smaller woman’s sword to one side and tried to reach out and grab her with a free hand but Taria was too quick for her, stepping back and launching a counter attack, once again connecting with Lila’s sword but now forcing her to the back foot.
Pushed toward the edge of the circle of mercenaries, Lila could not stop the quick flashes of steel coming at her. She had to get a grip on her sword with both hands to handle Taria’s ferocity and finally managed to counter, the sheer force of her strike sending Taria stumbling backward. She was quick to regain her footing, however, and plant herself for Lila’s incoming strike.
The fight went on like this, back and forth, with neither woman gaining the upper hand. Lila couldn’t match Taria’s speed and ferocity but Taria, in turn, could not match Lila’s strength and rock solid balance. Seeming to be at an impasse for the longest time, Taria gained the upper hand again with her relentless speed, sending Lila to the edge of the circle again. With one quick feint, she forced Lila to block in the wrong direction and came at her from the opposite side, connecting hard enough with the hilt of Lila’s sword to disarm her. The hit forced Lila off balance and Taria kicked her feet out from under her, forcing her to the ground.
She tried to get up but stopped with the tip of Taria’s blade only millimetres from her throat. She smiled.
“You... you will let me leave,” Taria said.
“That’s not how this works,” Lila replied. “You’ve got to finish it.”
Taria grimaced and lowered her eyes to meet Lila’s gaze. “I don’t do that. Not anymore...”
Lila chuckled and nodded behind her. “Why don’t you take a look back there. See if that changes your mind.”
Taria looked up again and her eyes hardened further. She spotted a wooden cage. And, inside, a woman sat against the bars. Her wrists were tied behind her back and behind one of the poles. Her arms were lashed to the pole with more rope and her legs were tied at the ankles and knees.
A black cloth was tied on behind her head, covering her mouth, and holding another cloth inside. She and Taria met eyes and the lithe warrior immediately recognized her.
“Arys....”
She was older now but she had the same youthful, innocent appearance. Taria always wondered how a girl like her had wound up becoming a mercenary.
Like Taria, she had blue hair though hers was a much darker shade. Her hair was much longer than Taria’s too, hanging down her back and draped over her shoulders. Taria looked into her brown eyes, seeing the same innocence she always did... and now both shock and fear.
“Mmmmph!” she cried into her gag, unable to communicate what she was thinking.
Her outfit was the same as always. Brown cloth and leather, with a sleeveless cloth shirt and long, fingerless gloves that hugged tight and ran up over her elbows, leaving just her shoulders bare.
She wore a black leather belt over her tight pants, though Taria could barely describe them that way. The top part of her pants looked a pair of short, leather underwear and her legs were covered in tight straps all the way down to her ankles with one long strap running up the front of each leg. This left part of her dark skin bare, showing off a good deal of her pretty legs. Flat, ankle high boots covered her feet and a cloth cape, hanging down just below her waist, draped around her neck and back. Beside the cage, as though to taunt Arys, Taria noticed her usual weapon; a light weight, black steel scythe with a blade in the shape of a crescent moon.
“Mmmmph mmmph!” Arys cried out again, struggling hard against the ropes that held her.
“What did you do?” Taria asked, lowering her voice when she turned back to Lila.
“I didn’t do anything. Arys on the other hand, well, she sold us out. To you.”
“To... what?”
“You remember. When that sorceress hired us to take your order to her little prison... you weren’t there. You and the green haired girl. Because Arys warned you. But I found her out.”
“And you’ve been keeping her tied up ever since?” Taria asked.
“Nothing else to do with her,” Lila said. “Besides, she’s a good example. She’s what happens when you’re loyal to the past. You, Taria, you’re the past. I’m the present and the future. Nobody betrays me.”
Taria swallowed hard and tightened the grip on her sword again. “You would do this to...”
“I would. And don’t forget, you abandoned her. Disappeared for months on end.”
“If I had known...”
“What? You would have tried to rescue her? Well now’s your chance, Taria. And you know what you have to do...”
The anger swelled in her heart as she held Lila’s life on the end of her blade. One swift movement and she could watch the light in Lila’s eyes go out. For what she had done to Arys.... Taria grimaced again. Her honour, instilled in her by Artema, and the love of her old friend... she couldn’t think of what to do.
Arys had always been against killing in the old days. Taria used to do it for her. But she would never do it in front of her. And now Arys’ eyes were firmly on her, a blade to the neck of a woman. A wretched, awful woman, yes, but still... was it worth more blood on her hands? She had sworn to Artema... never again. No more blood would stain her blade.
Knowing her only other option, Taria stepped back and stood up straight. She dropped her sword on the ground beside her. She and Lila locked eyes again.
“That’s not who I am anymore.”
Lila chuckled again. “Then...”
Taria said nothing, just nodding and ignoring the laughter of the women around her. They swarmed her then, someone pulling her arms behind her back, crossing them and tying them tightly together with a heavy coil of rope. A white cloth was pulled tight between her teeth and tied off behind her head.
“You really have lost your spine...” Lila said, getting to her feet again and picking up her own sword, sheathing it again. “You really should have taken your chance. Now you’re both captives of mine. Is that what you really wanted?”
Taria didn’t even try to speak into her gag, ignoring Lila’s words as she was led off into the fortress down to the dungeon cells she knew were there. In truth, she believed this was her only course of action. And she was already planning her escape and how to get Arys out of there...
...
“MMMPH! DMM MMMT! MMMMPPPHHH!!”
Taria grunted and growled, muffled by the cloth gags in and over her mouth. Now in addition to the cleave gag, another white cloth had been tied on over her mouth and nose very tightly and making it difficult to breathe, let alone fight her unyielding bonds.
Locked in a dark cell, Taria’s wrists were still crossed and bound behind her back, with two heavy coils framing her chest and pinning her arms to her sides. Her legs were tied above the knees and at the ankles but the iron tight knots just wouldn’t come undone.
Despite becoming quite the escape artist under Artema’s tutelage, these mercenaries seemed to know their way around knots and made most of them out of Taria’s reach as she struggled away on the cold, stone floor.
Her belt and sheath had been removed, of course, so she had nothing to help her cut the ropes that held her captive. Worse still, without the key to her cell, she was trapped even if she wasn’t tightly tied up and gagged. And knowing Arys hadn’t escaped in months of captivity and with no one else who knew where she was... the situation certainly looked bad.
“Mmmmph...” Taria groaned, shuffling up against the wall and leaning her back against it, slumping into her bonds. She was drenched in sweat from her fruitless struggles and decided to rest. She kept her eyes closed, though she heard footsteps against the stone floor, echoing off the walls of her empty cell.
“Such a pity to see you like this,” Lila’s voice said from the dark. “But, then again, I hear you get into plenty of situations like this...”
“Mmmph,” Taria grunted. Yeah, like it’s never happened to you she thought. If only Artema was here...
“Pretty stupid of you to come all by your lonesome like that. I mean, goodness, what would happen if you got captured? Then nobody would come to save you...”
“Mmmrrgghh...” Taria growled beneath her gag, still keeping her eyes closed.
“Aww, don’t be like that. Come on, give me something, Taria. Where’s that fiery girl we used to know?”
“MMMMPPHH!!” Taria screamed in rage, finally opening her eyes and glaring daggers at Lila, struggling against the ropes. Lila chuckled, kneeling down to be level with Taria’s eyes.
“There you are... Now that reminds me of old times. You remember... even if you don’t want to.”
“Dmmt ymm dmmmmr! Mmmph!”
“Hey, remember those people on the road who saw me kill that old nobleman? Remember that?”
“MMMPPHH!!”
“Yeah, you remember. I mean, they were just a couple of farmers. With kids. Sure, they were former bandits and they knew our faces, yours in particular, but they were still just farmers.”
“FMMK YMMM!” Taria spat, shaking her head and trying to dislodge the gag. But she couldn’t get it off her face. And with her tight bonds she was helpless to stop Lila’s words.
“Oh, I saw who you were that day, Taria. Who you really were. Who you are, on the inside. You can never bury that. Not really. It’s still there. In fact, I can see if now. In those eyes of hate you’ve always looked at me with.”
“MMMMMPPPPHHHH!!!”
“Well... once thing I’m sure you told yourself.... at least you made it quick. I always said it was good their kids didn’t see your face...”
“MMMMPPHH!”
“Is that what all this is about, Taria? Is that why you came after me? What are looking for? Redemption? Forgiveness? Take it from me. People like you and me, we can never wash that clean. No amount of redemption or forgiveness will ever be enough. Or revenge. Nothing will fill that hole, Taria. You’ll never bury that. You and I both know who you really are... and I know you’ll never forget that.”
“Ymm BMMCPH! LMMT MM MMT MMPH HMMR!! MMLL GMMT YMM FMMR THMMPH! MMMMPPPHHH!!!”
Lila smirked and stood up again. “Enjoy your stay... Maateni...”
Taria screamed and growled, struggling hard against her restraints as Lila left again, heading back up the stairs. That nickname... it always drove her mad. But when she finally stopped struggling, she was forced to confront what it meant in her mind.
Maateni... killer... she thought. It was the ancient language of the people who came before, Taria’s ancestors, the people who had named Ikaatan and everything within it. That’s what they always called me... she thought, remembering the nickname she had earned when she joined the group of mercenaries who currently held her captive.
Of course, these mercenaries weren’t the only scourge of Ikaatan she had sworn to stop. So many bandits, also former friends of hers, still existed in great numbers across the island. She should have known her past would come back to haunt her. It always did, even across the worlds with Artema, her past haunted her dreams. The faces... the things she did... they were all there. But now it had all come back with a horrible vengeance. Perhaps she deserved this...
Taria shook her head. This was not the time to mulling what she deserved. She still had a future and a chance to right the wrongs of her past. Even if it did nothing to fill the hole, as Lila had said, it was still the right thing to do. And that was all Taria needed.
She redoubled her efforts to squirm free of the ropes... and then stopped when she had an idea. One thing she knew about Lila was how much she hated noise from her captives. And if she heard anything, she was always sure to come down and teach them how to be quiet.
Taria shuffled across the floor of her cell, making her way to the iron bars and leaned against the door. She took in a deep breath and screamed as loud as she could into her gag.
“MMMMMPPPPHHHH!! HHHHLLLMMMMPPPP!!”
Nobody responded. So Taria screamed repeatedly, calling for help, calling out to Arys, to Lila, and even just screaming nonsense until her voice went hoarse. Finally, after all her efforts, Lila came back down the stairs and opened the cell door. Taria smirked beneath her gag when Lila didn’t shut it behind her.
Step one finished Taria thought.
“You know, it’s unlike you to be such a whiner, Taria,” Lila said. “But, believe me, it’ll be my pleasure to teach you this lesson.”
Lila knelt down and pushed her face right up close to Taria’s. “Hope you still know how to handle pain... Maate-ugh!”
Just as she was saying Taria’s scathing nickname again, Lila felt a jarring pain and then her vision went black as she collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Taria reeled a bit from the hard headbutt she had given to Lila but, luckily, it had proven to be enough.
Ignoring the pain in her head, Taria shuffled to Lila’s belt and pulled out her sword just enough so she could saw away at the ropes on her wrists against the sharp edge.
It took some effort and Taria kept a sharp ear out for any footsteps. But Lila always did like to deal with prisoners personally... and alone. So she was in luck.
Eventually, she pulled against the frayed ropes and they snapped, allowing Taria to pull her wrists free and remove the rest of her bonds. She pulled the gag down from her mouth when the ropes around her arms were untied, finally taking in a proper breath before moving on to her legs. After a few minutes of fumbling, Taria was finally free.
Thinking quickly, took Lila’s sword and tossed it outside the cell. She wanted nothing to do with that blade. She wanted her own back and she had seen where it was being stored, along with her belt.
Untying the cloths that once gagged her, she stuffed on into Lila’s mouth, filling it, and then tied the other on over her mouth, tightly tying it on behind her head. Using the scattered ropes, she crossed and tied Lila’s wrists and ankles, pulling them up tight so that they were touching and tying her wrists and ankles together in a tight hogtie.
Before leaving, Taria made sure to close the cell door and head back out to the stairs. There she found a chest that contained her sword and belt. Replacing them both to their rightful place at her hip, she peered up the stairs and noticed it was still dark outside. Although she realized then that she had been down in that cell a long time. What she didn’t find out until later was that she had been held captive for almost two whole days.
Focussed once again and with Lila now tightly bound and gagged, Taria was ready to go to work...
...
The present
The creatures still howled and snarled from between the trees and Taria had no idea where Arys was and she wasn’t answering her. Why hadn’t that girl run like she told her to!?
The rescue had gone... strangely well, at least in the moment. There was no resistance from the mercenaries and they had, in fact, all retreated into the fortress when Taria emerged. All except Arys, who struggled and squealed in fright in her cage. When Taria released her she had heard... growling. All around them was a growling sound and it was getting louder.
That was when she first encountered the undead creatures she had heard so much about. There were people who had warned her of Morrina and the undead creatures but she had yet to run across any. That changed in a big way when she rescued Arys and got her out of the fortress.
Listening carefully, she told Arys to run in the opposite direction, on the road toward Matesi, to get away from the creatures. She had promised to hold them off for as long as possible. But, as Taria had just found out, Arys ignored this and came back to help Taria. And now she was lost in a maze of trees and a cacophony of snarling beasts.
Still frantically searching, Taria at last heard the faint call of someone through the trees.
“Taria...” Her voice was faint. But she heard it. And she was close.
She had fallen into a copse of trees that was now surrounded by creatures who couldn’t reach her in between the trees. They shielded her from their clawed hands and hungry jaws. When Taria found her, a powerful rage overtook her as she attacked the creatures in a flurry of steel, cutting through their rotting bodies and slicing off their heads.
Taria avoided their claws and cut them all down. But the growls still continued around them. She had bought them both some time and she rushed to the copse of trees where Arys had collapsed and noticed a deep gash in her shoulder.
“No... No! Arys!”
“Taria...” she said weakly. “I think I’m...”
“No you’re not,” Taria said, picking her up and cradling her in her arms. “You’re all right, you understand?”
“No... Taria... I’m going to turn into...”
“Not if I can help it. Just stay awake, okay?”
Taria ran through the trees, Arys in her arms, scrambling away from the hungry, relentless creatures that just kept coming. Finally, she found the path and had to think. Matesi was no good. There was no one to help her there. But the Order’s headquarters weren’t far. And Elyn was still there. She had said she wouldn’t be staying long but she had returned to further her alchemical knowledge. She had to have a cure for whatever was poisoning Arys’ blood.
“Hold on. I’m getting you to help.”
“Taria... don’t... I don’t want... want to... hurt...”
“You won’t. You’ll be fine.”
Taria was fast enough to flee through the trees and finally escape the growling creatures, their sounds fading into the forest behind her as she retraced her steps to the old headquarters.
She stumbled into the training arena first, bursting through the gate and rushing to their quarters. “Elyn! I need help!” Taria called. “Elyn!”
One door opened and Elyn, thankfully not indulging her... hobby... stepped out.
The woman with short orange hair with long bangs, soft red eyes, and dressed in her rather provocative red and black battlemage outfit, said nothing as she met Taria’s eyes, saw the wounded girl, and ushered them both inside her room.
“What happened?” Elyn asked.
“Undead wound,” Taria said. “You have something for that, right?”
“I have this,” Elyn said, plucking a bottle of glowing, pale blue liquid from her shelf. “It should do the trick.”
“Thank you...” she said.
Taria set Arys down on Elyn’s bed and watched her consciousness fade. “Shit.. Elyn, she needs it now!”
“I’m on it,” she said, uncorking the small bottle, gently opening Arys’ mouth and pouring it into her mouth, helping ease it down her throat. Taria was horrified at first to see Arys’ skin turn pale.... but then the colour returned, her pained breathing returned to normal and the wound on her shoulder stopped bleeding and already started to close.
Taria sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Thank you...” she said again.
Elyn sat down next to her. “So... who is she?” Elyn asked.
“And old friend. I saved her from... well... Lila.”
“You haven’t checked in like you promised,” Elyn said. “What else happened?”
“It’s a long story,” Taria said, standing up again. “And I don’t really have time to tell it.”
“You’re leaving? What about her?”
“She... she doesn’t need me. Not now. She deserves... you both deserve a better friend.”
Elyn furrowed her brow. “Taria? What... what’s going on?”
She stepped to the door and didn’t turn around. “Just tell her when she wakes up... I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
“Where are you going?”
Taria let a long breath out of her nose. “I have a job to finish.”
Without another word, she closed the door to Elyn’s room. Although she wanted to go after her friend, she now had a patient to attend to. Though she was no healer, Elyn did know enough to help get Taria’s friend back on her feet. Sitting by Arys’ side, Elyn could only wonder what had come over Taria.
Leaving out the front gate, Taria could only hear Lila’s words in her mind. They echoed again and again. And the nickname... it stuck with her.
“Maateni...” she said to herself. “Is that what I am?”
Not anymore her thoughts answered. But, given how much she had hated Lila in that moment in the cell... she wasn’t sure of that. But Taria did know one thing. Those mercenaries, and the bandit scourge of Ikaatan... it wouldn’t last. Not as long as she was free and had at least one breath in her body. After all, she had to fill the hole... and bury the sins of the past.
Unofficial Story Theme Song: Molly Durand- Bury These Sins