D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

— Kat —

Hedera was certainly… having a good time. *I really didn’t expect Weaver to be such a gossip. Is this something I just don’t understand because I’m asexual?*

[Um… I’m not sure if that’s really something you can blame here? Though… maybe? I have a bit of a complicated relationship with gossip. I still enjoy it, but I don’t love it the way some people do… and I don’t really have people to gossip with most of the time. Still… this is… nevermind I have no idea how normal this is.]

*So… do we just sit here and wait?*

[I think normally we’d be expected to participate but frankly I got lost ten minutes ago and I’m not all that sure what they’re talking about anymore.]

“… his abs! I mean, I held a torch for the king and his body was rather nice but there is a difference between ‘nice’ and ‘can be used to grate vegetables’ you know?” insisted Weaver.

[Yeah no idea what they’re talking about.]

*Fair enough. I’m surprised you didn’t just go to sleep.*

[I was tempted but this has been a good chance to chat with you. I probably should sleep but assuming we still want info you can get some real stories from Weaver after they finish this gossip session.]

*Wait… so we’re letting this go on?*

[Of course. Just because we have no idea what they’re talking about anymore doesn’t mean Hedera has checked out. In fact, I’d say she’s learning quite a wealth of information… I have no idea how to tell if it will be useful or not but she’s learning it. I wouldn’t put it past Thyme to slip in some major clues but… well neither of us are paying enough attention to spot them at this point.]

*Hmm… was it ever mentioned how long ago this was meant to have happened?*

[No, but I don’t think we’d get a good answer anyway. Weaver would just say ‘I have no idea how long it’s been since I was trapped. Hard to tell the passage of time while stuck in here’ which is probably nonsense because Weaver was apparently a shut-in that didn’t leave anyway so she’s… I don’t want to say ‘used to it’ but surely she’d have a good method of telling the time. Then again maybe it didn’t matter? Hard to say.]

*Well once they finish is there anything we should be asking about?*

[Major landmarks, legends, ruins that might still be around. Towns or cities if they aren’t included in the ‘major landmarks’ explanations. Maybe more information about this Autumn area we’re in? Hedera might have come from elsewhere inside it but that doesn’t mean we’ll exit back there. Weaver said she connected the various settlements from across the island so clearly she CAN move about the whole place.]

*Should we ask for her to send us somewhere specific?*

[Eh… we could? I don’t think it would matter too much but… if we do go that route I’d suggest going back to the mushrooms. Presuming that Thyme spread everyone out mostly evenly sending two people into a ‘crowded’ area would mean less orbs to go around.]

*Considering we have twenty-five people it can’t actually be even when there’s only four areas.*

[Well that’s presuming nobody got sent to the centre or something. Thyme said you’d be able to pass into it after a week but what about someone starting there?]

*Seems like an unfair advantage.*

[Look, I’m just saying Thyme has options if they want to keep things ‘even’]

*I guess. Thyme does have a good reputation for being fair. I’m just not sure how they’d manage it in this case. Still… Thyme is smart and has been planning for a while so I suppose it makes sense that they’d know a way.

To completely change the subject. What about our plans? Are we still wanting to head to the Autumn village? Villages? Did we ever get confirmation about how many there are?*

[I don’t think so. There’s at least one in each section… except maybe the middle. Though obviously ‘people’ can be found in other places as Weaver here has shown us so now I’m wondering if it would be better to try and find more of the non-village ‘people’ but how many of them are there likely to be? I can’t imagine the number is high and just knowing they exist isn’t a big step up when everyone is looking for secrets.]

*Yeah that’s something to consider. What about…* Kat and Lily continued to discuss plans for the future as Hedera and Weaver continued to gossip about the various attractive people that were around back when Weaver was more actively involved in the island. Conversation flowed easily until Weaver offhandedly mentioned her jailer. Hedera, invested in the conversation took that drop as permission to ask. “So, what? You’re saying that he was evil but at least he was attractive while locking you up?”

The silence was suddenly very pronounced. Kat and Lily immediately started to pay attention once again. Weaver looked like she’d turned into a marble statue for a few moments before her breathing restarted. “I… I guess he was?” Weaver said uncertainly. “I wasn’t really thinking about it before but… hmm…” Weaver tapped her face a few times, the uncovered part of course. No sense in making her wound worse. “Oh dear. I think he was related to the king…”

“What?!” hissed Hedera. “There’s no way he’d do that to you! And surely he’d say nice things about you to his kids?”

“He did!” insisted Weaver. “They even visited a few times and I babysat the daughter he had for a while… I just… I didn’t notice it in my distress or anger and I’ve been trying not to think about it because it hurts but… but I think there is a good deal of family resemblance there… but I know his line well. Hmm…”

“A bastard perhaps?” offered Kat.

Weaver jumped a little, now remember Kat was there but slowly she nodded at the suggestion. “Yes… yes I could see how that would happen. It may… also explain why they were targeting me. I thought they hated ME specifically and spread those lies to destroy me… but what if it was about destroying his ‘families’ legacy… or the legacy of the family he thinks abandoned him?”

“I can see things playing out like that,” sighed Hedera. “Do you think it was jealousy or just anger at the world?”

“I can’t be sure…” mumbled Weaver. “I think it makes sense, but… the fight and the conversations before and after are a little fuzzy. It’s not exactly something I wanted to remember. Indeed I didn’t believe I DID remember what he looked like. It’s a revelation I clearly suppressed. I wonder… if any of the king’s family tried to save me? I grew somewhat distant from them as the generations went on but not so far removed they wouldn’t know of me… I’m not sure which I’d prefer…”

“What do you mean?” asked Hedera.

Weaver sighed. “If they left me to my fate… it’s somewhat of a betrayal of the family but it’s not like they ever promised me generational loyalty and I admittedly DID interact less and less with the younger generations. It would still hurt of course… but it’s not as if I was personally betrayed by the family members I was close to even if it’s not pleasant to imagine.

“On the other hand… if they attempted to save me they clearly failed and I worry about how many may have perished in the defence. I didn’t hear about it obviously, but I was partially cut off from things long before I was sealed completely. I could easily have missed a large number of the family dying and perhaps they think it is I who abandoned them. As I said, I’m not sure which option hurts my heart more,”

“Aah… yeah I guess I can understand that,” admitted Hedera with an awkward grin. “My parents are merchants, and so were my parents, parents. We’re not like… a super rich merchant dynasty but we’ve got our long term trading partners. Sometimes it’s not entirely profitable to keep working with them, especially through rough patches… but many of them have stuck by us when our own fortunes waned so simply discarding them would be wrong,”

“Oh? You are from a merchant lineage? I had assumed you specialised in combat… considering,” said Weaver.

“Ah, I DO specialise in combat. I’ve got a two older siblings both with interest in continuing and expanding the business so it’s likely never going to me. Not that I was all that interested in numbers anyway…” admitted Hedera.

[Wait! Kat! They’re about to start gossiping again!]

With that prompt, Kat decided to cut in. “With that in mind, is there anything you might want us to do Weaver? We will have to leave eventually, even if it’s just for a bit. We could visit some settlements for you? Bring more food? It’s up to you really but I’m sure we’d all be happy to assist,”