The Forsaken Hero

Victor looked at Fyren. ”Thank you, demon. For sparing me, I think.”

”You are a fool of a hero, but no longer a dog of the church,” Fyren said, returning the nod. ”I will not kill you today.”

”Thanks, I guess,” Victor said, rubbing the back of his neck. I turned to Fyren and gasped. His state was no better than Victor’s, perhaps even worse. I took his hand and recast the spell. He hardly moved as his wounds knit together, expressionless as always.

”Doesn’t it hurt? Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked, biting my lip.

He offered me half a smile. ”Pain is nothing to a demon. I would suffer a hundred more cuts if it meant keeping just one more blade from reaching you.”

”I...I don’t understand you,” I said, staring down at my hands clasped in my skirt. First the arena, now this.

He sighed, patting my shoulder. The gesture was rough and awkward, but warm. ”I do what needs to be done. For your sake.”

”I see you finished up here,” a new voice said from the sky.

Zephyriss descended through the dissipating clouds, her wings beating silently as she alighted upon the ruin of the deck. She looked around, an unimpressed expression on her face.

”A bit of a mess, isn’t it? And here I was hoping for more of a challenge. The storm I brewed had enough destructive potential to level half the city,” she said. ”It’s a pity I didn’t get to use it. Ah, well, maybe next time.”

The wind sighed through the gaping holes in the skyship’s hull, carrying with it the coppery tang of blood and the faint, acrid scent of spent mana. The ship had tilted a few degrees on its side, but held its course where the captain had anchored it. A piece of the main mast, splintered and blackened by Zephyriss’s lightning, groaned as it shifted, then crashed into the sea of rigging and bodies below. The sound was jarringly loud in the sudden, heavy silence that had fallen over the deck.

”What are we going to do about this?” Luxxa asked, gesturing at the ship.

”Most of the crew was forced to their quarters once we crossed into the city,” Victor said, then hesitated, glancing at the holes in the deck. ”How many are still there is anyone’s guess.”

”About twenty,” Gith said.

Victor raised his eyebrow, and I quickly explained the ranger’s ability. ”How convenient,” was his response.

”We’ll fetch them. We might have enough to limp the ship away. We’re high up and shielded by the canopy, but our battle can’t have gone unnoticed,” Luxxa said.

She and the other members of the star guard kicked open the door leading down into the quarters, disappearing into the dark. While they were gone, I questioned Victor about what he knew of the church’s plans.

”Not a lot, I’m afraid,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. ”They ambushed me almost a month ago in the outer reaches of what used to be Brithlite, lowering my guard by pretending to be refugees attacked by monsters. Everything after that is kind of hazy, but we spent most of our time at a camp somewhere between here and Blacksand.”

”The border?” I asked.

He nodded. ”Yeah, they seized every traveler going to and from Sylvarus. They were all alive when the skyship showed up this morning to pick our detachment up. From what I heard, they planned to meet up with the rest of the force at the Grove and, well...” he trailed off, a shadow crossing his face.

”Are there any other specifics you remember?” Fyren asked.

He shook his head. ”Just that there will be an archon, and that I had to be the one to kill you. Something about redeeming myself to the masses. Like a tool that needs proving,” he said bitterly.

”I suppose that’s one plan thwarted,” I said.

Shouts rang out beneath us, and I felt a pulse of Luxxa’s mana. I gravitated closer to Fyren, tightening my grip on my staff. To my surprise, Victor also moved, summoning his sword and taking a position that triangulated himself around me with Fyren and Zephyriss.

”What?” he asked, noticing my confusion. ”I have a lot to atone for. Protecting you is a start.”

He didn’t get to say more, as my guards returned, escorting the terrified crew members. They were all elves, wearing a mixture of sigils branding them as members of house Whitemarsh and Splitbark. One among them wore the uniform of a captain. As soon as he saw me, he threw himself before his crew, bowing on his knees.

”My lady,” he said, voice cracking with fear. ”Please, forgive us. We had no intention of turning against you. Splitbark soldiers boarded with orders to return when we were resupplying in Sangra City. When I refused, they staged a mutiny.”

”He’s telling the truth,” Luxxa said. ”We pulled him and his officers out of the brig.”

”Brig?” I asked, tilting my head.

”Ah, excuse me. It’s something of a jail,” she said.

”A ship’s jail,” Jenna added.

”I do remember hearing something about that,” Victor said, rubbing his chin.

”Please, have mercy on us.”

I could feel Victor’s eyes, and I hesitated for a moment before I crouched beside the captain, ignoring every one of my allies’ alarms. I laid a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up, tears in his eyes. Beneath my fingers, a single thread on his uniform was a different texture than the rest, a red ribbon woven across the blue fabric.

”You know me?” I asked softly.

He nodded. ”Every captain and officer of House Whitemarsh knows of you. Lady Whitemarsh said we had a duty to aid you in whatever situation you might be in.”

”Are your men to be trusted?” I asked.

He nodded. ”None here are traitors, even those of House Splitbark. Those who cooperated were simply following orders.”

”Then rise, captain...?”

”Melvet. Melvet Whitemarsh,” he said, looking up in wonder. ”My Lady, you mean...?”

”I believe you. Please, would you help us get the ship under control?”

I stepped back as he rose, offering me a more formal salute. His crew followed suit. ”Yes, my Lady.”

Captain Melvet started barking orders, and the elves scattered over the vessel. They began calling in damages, checking systems, and kicking the corpses into the hold.

”Captain?” I asked as he turned to leave.

”Yes, my Lady?”

”What kind of cargo is this ship carrying?”

He frowned, a line creasing his brow. ”I’m uncertain, my Lady. If you give me some time to check the ship’s logs? Whatever bastard they had commanding in my absence would have recorded it.”

”Assuming he followed protocol,” Victor muttered as the elf hurried away.

”Are you certain you wish to trust them? One of them could signal for help, if given the chance,” Fyren said.

I nodded slowly, watching the captain as he retreated down the stairs to his quarters. ”I am. Most of the crew bears the Crimson Thread.”

”You really did forgive them,” Victor murmured, watching the crew get to work.

”Most people deserve second chances,” I said. ”And they’re only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You can see from their actions now that they had no part in this treachery.

The ship’s crew, though only half as numerous as the other skyship crews I’d seen, worked quickly and soon had the ship in flying state. Most of them were soldiers, with third to fourth-level souls. They even had a few mages among their ranks, with specialized magic that wove the gaps and holes in the deck together, creating raw rope, timbre, and even rigging from mana. They were far from perfect fixes, but with a few notable exceptions, mainly the destroyed masts and scorch marks from Zephyriss’s lightning, the ship appeared from a distance in normal operating condition.

”My lady, the ship is ready,” Captain Melvet said, returning to us. ”We’ll need repairs soon, but the core has enough charge for a few hours’ flight. Also, I found this in the log, and had a few of my men verify it. It seems they had loaded up some sort of mana core. The log names it as Aetherial Prism, whatever that is.”

I glanced at Victor, but he shook his head. ”Is it dangerous?”

The captain shrugged. ”I’m afraid none of the information we have is too limited. If you’d like to see it yourself...?”

”Please. And set a course for the Grove. Surely some of your crew who flew the inquisitors in knew the plan, so follow that for now.”

”You wish to pretend to be with the church?” Fyren said, chuckling darkly. ”I wouldn’t have thought you had the temerity to be so devious, Oracle.”

”Is it a bad idea?” I asked, tail swishing anxiously.

He shrugged. ”Better than what I thought your plan was, which was to storm there yourself and join the battle. This will give us quite the advantage.”

”We have Victor, too,” I said, glancing at the justice hero. With a heart crest, there are no changes in personality and behavior, only desires, so they might actually think he’s still on their side, no matter how he acts.”

”As long as it gives me a chance to exact justice on those responsible for cursing me, I’m all in,” Victor said.