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Breath of Air

Approaching Trouble

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Alyssa felt like something was missing. She had never lost an arm or even a finger before, but what she was feeling at the moment had to be something akin to phantom limb syndrome. Every so often, she would find herself trying to close her eyes and check the souls around her only to be met with nothing but darkness. She had bought a rather large wool coat from one of the local shops, but it really wasn’t doing much to keep that unearthly chill away.

She figured she would get used to it. The first twenty-five years of her life went by without Tenebrael’s presence settling around her shoulders like a fleece mantle, so surely things would go back to normal. But there was just a slight niggle in the back of her mind that Tenebrael’s power was like some hard drug. Even after only a month of sharing a connection, she might need years of therapy to get back to normal. And the slightest trouble in front of her might result in a relapse.

But… that was probably an overexaggeration. It had been a week since meeting Tenebrael and severing the connection. At least so far, she hadn’t felt much of a need to use Tenebrael’s power. Or a desire, really. The few times she had tried looking for souls had been more out of habit than anything else.

It took twenty-one days to break a habit. Or so the saying went. She was a third of the way in so far. She just needed to find something to distract herself with.

Like Izsha and Irulon.

The latter had almost finished with what she hoped was a working method of jump-starting the synchronization. Alyssa could no longer look at Izsha’s soul to see how the poor draken was doing, but given the lack of progress or regression in Izsha before she had severed her connection to Tenebrael, the state of its soul was probably static at the moment.

Irulon had been a bit annoyed that Alyssa was no longer connected to Tenebrael, but after citing the Astral Authority as an ongoing issue with remaining connected—and something that put everyone else around Alyssa into danger as well—she had relented on her scolding. Alyssa did feel a bit guilty over not being able to look into Irulon’s souls anymore, especially after the princess had confessed her fear to Alyssa that she was erasing herself from existence.

But she wasn’t able to do much on that front without Irulon’s help anyway. By the time Irulon was ready to start working on herself, Tenebrael would hopefully have finished her suppression field, thus allowing Alyssa to reconnect… at least for a short time to help Irulon. She wasn’t all that certain that it was a good idea to remain connected on a permanent basis again.

Her mother might be right. It was just a little too abnormal. Even for this world.

Aside from Izsha, which occupied a large majority of her time, Alyssa had also been spending a lot of time with Volta.

Even now, she sat in the court arcanist’s office with him, discussing matters of monsters while trying to avoid looking in the direction of the cursed sword. The sword just… had this look about her constantly. Alyssa was fairly certain that, if not for Volta somehow keeping her under control, the cursed sword would go on a rampage throughout the city, killing as many people as it could until someone finally managed to put it down. Of all the monsters she had seen, the sword probably unnerved her the most. Even more than the gaunt. The gaunt was creepy, yes, and nearly invincible, true, but it didn’t look human. It didn’t have a facial expression, let alone one that screamed murder to everyone around. It was no wonder that the sword kept herself wrapped up in a cloak at all times.

Volta was pleasant enough to talk to, thankfully.

“So you’re saying that those eel-like monsters migrated all the way from the southern coast to a desert, then into a tiny little pool of water within a dormant volcano? Why? They traded a huge ocean for that little cavern. I could understand it if they were escaping from south of the Fortress of Pandora, but the ocean? And why a desert? It just doesn’t make any sense.”

“You know, I’m not entirely sure,” Volta said, the false man leaning back in his chair. From an objective standpoint, it was quite amazing how well the man blended into reality. Everything from blinking to breathing, stretching to slight shifts in his posture to get a little more comfortable… It made Alyssa wonder whether that was all consciously controlled or, much like a real person, simply unconscious movements. “We don’t often ask about each other’s histories or what led people to where they are today. That oftentimes brings up poor memories. Some share willingly, such as those you freed who mentioned your name. But I don’t believe that the eelfolk ever did. They could have been fleeing from a destroyed habitat, a slaughtered community, or a life in bondage and slavery.”

“Do they have natural predators that live in the ocean? Because even if one or all of those things were true, I couldn’t imagine fish traveling for weeks over land and through a desert. I mean, at least find a lake or something. There’s a pretty big one just south of Teneville. My… I have a… house there. If they could get to Lyria, I could get them there very fast. If they’re interested, that is.”

“Asking wouldn’t hurt, but they’ve been there almost as long as I have been. They might have a new sense of community about them. Living in such small quarters breeds companionship, even if I doubt mantises and eelfolk would normally be that friendly toward one another.”

“Hm… Is there a lot of strife between different species of monsters?”

“That depends entirely on the species in question. Some get along with others quite well. Some only interact with certain others. Some tend to alienate everyone but their own species. And there are a few that are more or less hostile even to others of their own kind. With as many varieties of monsters as there are out there, we would be here all day trying to map out which ones interact with others in which ways.”

“That sounds like—”

Alyssa cut herself off as Volta raised a hand. The doppelganger didn’t start talking, simply choosing to wait. At the same time, the cursed sword pulled her hood back over her head and covered her face with a dark brown scarf. The second Volta put her hand back down, a heavy knock tapped against the door three times. There must have been some kind of alarm spell to warn Volta of anyone outside the door. Which explained how they could talk so candidly about monsters without others hearing.

“Enter.”

Almost before the low voice called out, the door swung wide open to reveal a panting guardsman wearing the fleur de lis on a grey sphere, the emblem of Illuna, on his brown tabard. Helmet off, he stared around for just a moment before sighing. “Master Arcanist, sir… and, uh, guest,” he added with a glance to Alyssa. “Your presence is requested at the eastern wall.”

Alyssa felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, wondering just what trouble was poised to attack this little city. Lyria had come under attack so many times since coming to this world. She had to wonder whether or not it was her presence somehow attracting enemies or whether it was just something that happened on a chronic schedule. “They asked for me?” she said, pointing at her chest. “Who asked for me?”

“It was the…” His eyes flicked up to Volta for a moment before his voice dropped to a whisper. “The Black Prince.”

“Oh?” Alyssa perked up a bit at that. Ignoring the hushed and slightly terrified tone in which the guardsman spoke, Brakkt asking for her was actually good news. If it were something vital or dangerous, he would have sent her a Message. Sending some poor guardsman running to find her was more or less just a way to save on having to draw out more Message cards. Alyssa felt a bit bad about it, especially because it looked like the guard had sprinted all the way here—he was still trying to catch his breath—and had gotten spooked because of the sender at the same time.

But it was good news for her.

“What is this about?” Volta asked, standing. Volta’s real body hopped to the side, holding onto the fake body’s hand as it stood as well. “Has something happened?”

The cursed sword moved immediately to stand right in Volta’s shadow, giggling slightly as she moved.

The guardsman didn’t respond right away. Not for a lack of trying. He was just having a little trouble breathing, half doubled over from his run.

Alyssa, getting to her feet as well, stretched slightly. Hearing that Brakkt wanted her and not someone else made her just a little too relieved to be overly concerned at the moment. There might still be trouble, but it would be minor trouble. Maybe an infected shambling toward the pit—though he would probably just take care of that himself. Or… the Astral Authority? He wouldn’t want to handle one of them on his own, but that seemed Message-worthy. Actually, the more she thought about why he might want her and Volta, the less certain she got about just why he might ask for them. If it really was something small, infected or otherwise, he and Fela could take care of it.

Her stomach tensed again as she considered that it was something big, but not something that had to be dealt with immediately. Lacking time sensitivity, a guard would suffice in place of a Message…

“Tell us on the way,” Alyssa said, deciding to hurry over and get information directly from Brakkt. “East gate, you said?”

The opposite side from Owlcroft and the forces fighting there. Outside the east gate were the stables that Izsha was resting in. The Plains of the Dead were even further east. Not a lot of habitation in that general direction. Some kind of opposing army could come from there, but—and Alyssa was far from a military strategist—she thought they would come from the northern or southern directions instead. An army would rather march through populated lands to resupply on the raided villages.

Unless they were targeting Illuna directly and had been trying to keep themselves a secret until arriving…

“It’s monsters,” the guard managed as Alyssa slipped outside the room.

Alyssa froze, looking past the guard to find a genuinely shocked expression on both of Volta’s faces. With the cursed sword bundled up in her mask, Alyssa couldn’t see her expression, but there was a slight pause in her steps as she followed along behind Volta.

“Monsters?” Volta said with almost no delay.

“A whole bunch of them,” the guard said between breaths. “They’re marching on the city. We’re scrambling all the guards and alerting his lordship as well.”

“How far away?”

“Half a day by horseback. A pair of rangers spotted them this morning and rode back immediately, only arriving a few minutes ago. The monsters were not mounted, but monsters might be able to run faster than humans or even horses. The rangers met the… Black Prince near the gate and informed him as to what they saw.”

Ignoring the awed tone he used around Brakkt’s epithet, Alyssa shook her head. “What kind of monsters? How many exactly?”

“I… I don’t know what kind. But they counted up over forty monsters.”

Forty. Almost double the amount of people at the oasis. For a moment, a thought entered her mind that something had happened back there that forced them to flee. Knowing their leader was some highly ranked person in the city, they might have had to take a gamble that they wouldn’t be slaughtered on sight.

But forty was too many.

Too many for Alyssa too. She hadn’t used up many Spectral Chains cards recently and had been drawing several, but chaining up forty creatures at once might not go over as well as chaining up just one or two. She did have a few Annihilators, but…

She would rather know why they were here before she decimated the landscape.

And whether or not they were being mind controlled like that troll army that had attacked Lyria when she first arrived in the city.

“You don’t know what is approaching? Useless scouts,” Volta grumbled. “What good is having them if they don’t even properly scout? Knowing the kinds of monsters could change the context drastically.”

Alyssa could not agree more. “What about Illuna? How many soldiers can you muster?”

“Everyone’s on alert. Over a hundred men are gathering at the eastern wall. We have enough equipment to arm a militia of roughly the same number of people, though I can’t speak for the maintenance or quality of said equipment.” He paused, just about making Alyssa trip down the stairs as she hopped to the side to dodge him. “Should we toll the bells for the militia? I’ll… I’ll head to town square and—”

“Calm down, Javick. Let’s see what awaits us before we disturb everyone’s day. It might not be that big a deal.”

“Monsters are attacking the city! We’ve had a reprieve from the demons lately, but… we’ve never had monsters attack the city!”

“Just be thankful that the demons aren’t still attacking us. Dealing with enemies on two fronts would be a trying endeavor. And these monsters may not be attacking. We shouldn’t act with haste only to regret our choices in the future.”

“What else could they possibly be doing?”

“Are you forgetting?” Volta said, offering a small gesture toward Alyssa. “We are playing host to a few monsters at the moment. A hellhound and several draken, among others. Perhaps they have heard such news and are merely curious.”

“Then they should have sent one monster as a representative.”

“Only to wind up killed on sight by our rangers? A group is a far safer method of travel.”

As they reached the main entryway, they encountered another pair of guards, ones who looked mildly less out of breath than the one who had fetched Volta. With them was a familiar face. Wearing a far more militaristic uniform, Martin stood at the door, attaching a sword to his hip.

“Ah, Martin,” Volta said as if inviting the older man out to a cup of tea. “How are you this fine afternoon?”

A bushy eyebrow lifted, half-cocked for a moment before a wan smile crossed Martin’s face. “Does nothing perturb you?”

“I try to remain level-headed regardless of the situation.”

“And I would prefer to know more about the situation, court arcanist. What divinations have you for me today?”

“Nothing much, I’m afraid. I’d like to see for myself this approaching force. There is a chance things aren’t nearly as dire as they appear.”

After a slight grunt, and a bit of armor plating, Martin led them across the yard filled with geese and turkeys out to a small stables. Rather than riding on a horse, he led them all, including Alyssa, into a rather spacious carriage. It set off immediately. Volta, sitting next to the cursed sword, simply closed her eyes and relaxed. The fake body did, anyway. As unexpressive as her real body was, it was not unobservant. The cursed sword at her side sat almost perfectly still, as if not trusting herself not to do something she might regret.

Martin, on the other hand, stared out the window. His leg bounced up and down with a constant, nervous rhythm.

It only took twenty minutes for the pair of horses to pull them all the way to the eastern wall. Even still, Alyssa found herself a bit surprised that he hadn’t hammered the floorboard clean out of the little carriage.

All three guild members, Lisa, Brakkt, and Fela were standing around, talking with the guards or otherwise preparing for what might happen. The only ones of her party to not be here were Irulon, who must have decided to continue her research, assuming that everyone else could take care of whatever problems happened, and Kasita, who was probably sticking with Irulon. The draken were missing as well. Ensou was just outside the gate, making a pair of guards there awfully nervous, but the others must still be down at the abandoned stables with Izsha.

Alyssa felt a pang of guilt at leaving her friend alone without her or Brakkt there, but… if the situation was serious, it might need the two of them to stay away for some time.

Upon their arrival, people immediately split off. Some moved to speak with Martin, presumably informing him as to the status of their defenses or possibly any further information on the approaching group. Others went up to Volta, probably giving him similar information.

No one approached Alyssa and she didn’t really get the feeling that she was invited to either of their conversations, so she walked right up to Brakkt and her mother.

“We’re going to head out on the draken,” Brakkt said without word of greeting or pleasantries. “They’ll be fast enough to get a look at these monsters and get word back.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll…” Alyssa hesitated, realizing just what that meant for her. “I’ll stay here the, shall I? I suppose I could draw out another Annihilator. Though I would prefer to not use it.”

He had his armor on, though his helmet was off. That gave a clear look at his face as he frowned slightly. “Musca has agreed to allow you to ride her.”

“M… Musca said that, huh?”

“More or less,” Brakkt said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“You know? I was just thinking that I could use a few more Spectral Chains as well…”

“Alyssa,” Lisa said with no small amount of admonishment in her tone. “From what I gather, the city is preparing to fight. I don’t know what these monsters are, but I have seen Fela.” Her tone dropped to a hushed whisper to keep anyone around from listening in. “Forty Felas against a hundred poorly trained soldiers is going to be a slaughter.”

“I wouldn’t call them poorly trained,” Brakkt said, turning his head to look over the assembled force, the guards watching from the wall, and Volta and Martin. “They handle infected on the regular. This close to Owlcroft, they have to be decent at their job, enough to keep from being overrun, anyway. But… it is true that infected don’t tend to work as a group. Their fighting style may be incompatible with even a loosely organized group of stronger enemies.”

“Even if they can fight back, many will die. And many monsters will die as well. I… Well, some monsters I’ve heard about deserve some sympathy. Something I learned from my time overseas—something I wished others would have learned as well—if negotiations can be made, then all efforts should be afforded to make them.”

Alyssa opened her mouth, about to suggest that maybe Fela should take the draken on her own given how well Alyssa’s last attempt at negotiation went. The oasis monsters had not taken kindly to humans barging into the sanctuary.

But then she remembered Fela’s attempt at negotiation. That shrug as she turned to Alyssa with a blank look and said that she had tried.

“Kasita really should be the one to negotiate,” Alyssa said. And it was true. Kasita had been the one to defuse the situation in the oasis. “Can we grab her before we go, at least?”

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