The first thing I felt were the hands. Long, sharp nails burn through my neck as the Doll lifts me in the air. I couldn't see the bastard's face because he's holding me from behind, but his shadow grew at nine feet, so he must be large. The healer looks at me with fear in his eyes before making a run for it. Coward. I guess I can't blame him. He isn't immortal, after all. The juggernaut tosses me aside and chases after him, trampling the young boy underfoot. I cough and look at him as I held my neck with my left hand. A lionkin wearing the Legion's golden armor. This is gonna be a pain.
"Ignys!"
I press my mark and used the distraction as an opportunity to attack. The lionkin resists as I hook him with the scythe, but keeping him in check is another story. The Doll's blue eyes glow brighter as he turns and pounces at me, his claws emitting a jet-black sheen. Good thing I anticipated it. I tumble sideways, unintentionally squashing some fruits laying on the ground. Great. Now the coat needs washing. The Doll crashes through one of the wooden stalls, but this didn't seem to bother him. His eyes glowed, yes, but his face never moved. Just like the others.
Then the burning sensation began. And after that, the drowsiness. Shit. My chest feels tight. My vision begins to blur as the Doll charges again, grabbing me this time and throwing me against a nearby wall. Miraculously as if it was on instinct, I sprang from the wall and leaped directly at him, summoning my weapon in the process. Blue energy emanates from the neck of the Doll as his head falls to the floor. Wow. I didn't know I was this athletic. I look at the healer and smile, but he screams and runs away. Weird. Oh, boy. The poison's starting to kick in.
I grab onto a cart to support myself, but a Doll on the side shoves and manages to scratch my left arm. I wince as I punch his stupid face in, and he falls to the ground with a light thud. Shit. It's bleeding. I take a fruit from the cart. Ugh. It tastes bitter. What is this? Everyone's still fighting, but it looks like the Snakes are winning. There's also Nelen helping them... Wait, Nelen?
"Nelen!" I scream from the top of my lungs. She turns and looks at me.
"Sol?"
"Heeeey! Where's Esmeralda?" I hop towards her.
"She's tending to the wounded over there. What happened to you? You look like you've lost your magic and became homeless."
"Oh, well... Things happened. I got attacked, but I'm holding up. I'm assuming your date wasn't as nice?"
"Uhh... Yeah. I guess there won't be dates until we capture the ones pulling the strings. Where did you get that?"
"What?"
"That fruit you're eating."
"Oh, I took one from that cart over there. Don't worry. I left some cookies in exchange."
"Hey! There are Ive Gourds in that cart! Give them to the sick as soon as possible!"
She shouts, but she rushes to the cart and starts pushing it by herself. The Snakes are starting to struggle, so I helped by thinning a small number of Dolls present in the area. Nelen calls everyone and hastily distributes the Ive Gourds, giving the healers two at a time and breaking each in half. Esmeralda and the healers joined to help her, squeezing the juice from the fruit directly into the victims' mouths. Soon enough, some of them started to wake up.
"Wait, so Ive Gourds are--"
"The cure for the poison? Yes. Yes, it is." Nelen answers as she breaks another two.
"Well, that's neat."
"You seriously didn't know?"
"Yeah. It happened to be the closest food in my hands, so..."
"You're as lucky as a saint, Sol. You helped us. Big time."
"Gee. Thanks. I'll go help the Snakes now, Nelen."
"Sure. We'll handle it from here."
I turn to the Snakes and charge. The air feels hot today, and the smell of lilies are weakening. I wonder why. I try to lunge at the large-looking one but... Something bizarre happened. The soundI didn't know if Nelen or Esmeralda saw it because they were too busy healing the civilians. The Snakes and I, however, never anticipated such a thing. All of the Dolls dropped dead. Everyone's reaction was one of two things: Eyes widened at the sight of corpses returning to what they are, or one of confusion, brows furrowed and worriedly glancing at everyone. We wait a few minutes, thinking that it must be part of the puppeteer's plan.
"Send the civilians to the clinic! Now!" A Snake shouts in the distance.
"What happened?" I ask one of the guards.
"The mastermind sealed his magic, which is a good thing for us. It may be only temporary, though, so watch your back. Be careful around the corpses."
"We need help here!"
He waves back and jogs towards the healers helping the victims up the carriage. Some of them only have light scratches, but most have deep cuts. So it's that serious, huh? Maybe I should go and help as well. I go to the cart and take an Ive Gourd, breaking it in two and squeezing the juice directly to my left arm.
...
Bad idea. The blue juice from the gourd sparkled as the stinging sensation slowly escalated. I felt nauseous as the ordeal went on for a good five minutes before the wound stopped bleeding. I pant and sigh in relief. A tap on my shoulder snaps me back to the world.
"You look horrible. Wanna go back?" Nelen says.
"I'd very much like that. Where's Esmeralda?"
"She's still tending to that carriage over there... Wait, where did it go?"
"Isn't it that one over there?"
"Shit. Come with me. We're going to do a bit of jogging."
"Can we eat first?"
"No."
The hot air kept my sweat from coming out as we chased after the carriage. It's been two minutes after that, but nothing changed. The vehicle continued on floating further away from us, turning to street after street with ease. Nelen's flaxen hair swayed as I chase after her, and the hunger I'm feeling increased for some reason. Maybe it's because I'm spending more energy than usual.
"C-can we stop for a moment?" I pant.
"Pathetic." She laughed. "I have an idea."
She takes my hand and we stop.
"Brace yourself."
"For what?"
"Augerre Vyribus."
"Oh, boy."
I become one with the wind as Nelen launches me thirty feet in the air. She laughs as I look at her with wide eyes, and she points to the carriage where Esmeralda is. I land at a large building a few meters ahead of the carriage. Gods, that was crazy. But fun. I want to do it again.
"Jump!" I hear Nelen's voice in the distance.
"What kind of friend are you?" I reply.
"Don't worry! You'll make it!"
I chuckle at the thought. Sure I'll make it. I wonder how long until I recover from this? I look at the way down. People walk by as the wind bothers my hair. It looks like the people here didn't have any clue about the attack. I look at Nelen again. She's eagerly waiting for me... It's cute. Oh, boy. The things I do for friendship. With a heavy gulp, I jump down.
...
Well, that wasn't so bad. I rise from the ground and dust myself off as passersby whisper around me. The impact felt cold and I blacked out for ten seconds, but it wasn't as serious as it looked. I still feel nothing. Everyone backs away from me, and the healer driving the carriage gets out. Her face is full of worry.
"By the Gods! Are you okay?!"
"Uhh... Yeah. Esmeralda! We know you're in there!" I shout. She comes out from the front passenger seat with a questioning look. She recognizes me, and her jaw drops.
"Oh, Gods! You look horrible! What happened to you?" She holds my face with both of her hands.
"Nelen threw me over that building and told me to jump. I feel okay, though. No harm done." I snitch. She turns to Nelen, still waving at me.
"Hold on, Sol."
Esmeralda stomps forward her as I follow her like a kid. She calmly smiles at Nelen, who was looking threatened... And she grabs her by the ear. I've never seen Esmeralda so angry. Nelen apologizes, smirks and kisses her on the cheek.
"D-Don't think you can get away with this, lady!" Esmeralda blushes and turns her attention to the people staring at us.
"It gets her every time." Nelen whispers sheepishly.
"You're actually blushing as well." I whisper back.
"Wha--! Sol. Quiet. You must be tired." She pats my back. Hard.
"No, I'm not. I feel a little-- Oof!"
Nelen lightly elbows my stomach as Esmeralda turns to the carriage. Her face is still red, and she takes a deep breath before speaking.
"He's okay! You guys can go without me!"
"Alright, lass! Thanks for helping us back there!"
The vehicle drives off and Esmeralda gives me a leaf and points to her mouth. I thank her and eat it without thinking, my face turning blue as the sensation hits me harder than the ground. I look at the time from a nearby post clock. Two in the afternoon. Huh. I thought it would be earlier. I wonder what Jean's doing. He must be napping. Oh, well. I guess I'll find out after we get home. We all chatted without a care in the world, me teasing the two's reaction from earlier, and them teasing me back because I look like I rolled in dirt. We were about to turn a corner when we bumped into Jean.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were gonna take a nap?" I ask.
"Did something happen?" Esmeralda lightly chuckles, but Jean only looks at us and hesitates for a second.
"I think it's best for us to find... How should I put this?... Somewhere else to stay."
"What about the clothes? I'm still working on a dress for Arra. She's going to attend a dinner dance two weeks from now. Her request hasn't even finished yet."
"How come I never see Esmeralda in work?" I ask Nelen.
"She prefers working alone. Also, she's a night owl."
"Someone broke into the shop and filled the place with the smoke that's been bothering us for the past few weeks. I don't know how they did it in an hour, but it's gotten pretty bad. Cleansing the place should probably end in two days. Don't worry, though. I called a bunch people who will take care of it. We'll also find whoever did this. I promise you."
Jean tries to reassure her by smiling lightly and holding her hand, but it doesn't work. Nelen affectionately rubs her shoulder and gives her a kiss, but she doesn't pay any attention to it. She just stared off into the distance. She must be thinking of something. Is it the clothes?
"I know a place. Follow me."
Nelen says as she continues to rub her shoulders, comforting her by repeatedly saying that it's okay. She frowns even more and starts to cry, and Nelen laughs at her, blushing. I finish my bread as we walk back into the market area, where Jean helps an old lady by returning a fruit that has fallen from her wagon. The old man selling the cookies is unbothered as usual.
"Where shall you take us, Nel?" Jean puts his hands behind his head.
"To the orphanage near the entrance in the West Gate. I grew up there."
"Will we see a photo album?" I seriously ask, but she only laughs. Dang it.
"We won't... I think... Hmm..."
...
The journey to the orphanage was a very tiring one. The alleys, unlike most of the ones I've encountered, are so narrow that we have to travel in a line just to get across. We had to continue with this for half an hour. The neighborhood here is comparable to the slums yesterday, but the people here are much more friendly. They smile a lot, and the kids are energetic despite being dirty. I honestly don't mind living here. Nelen was greeted by almost anyone she met here, and even Esmeralda seems to get infected. She finally smiles after what seemed to be an hour.
"There we go. You're starting to look better."
Jean flashes a light smile at her. Esmeralda looks okay, so I look around the street. A vendor with a basket on his back walks past us, so Jean buys some of the products inside... Huh. If my I left my pouch at Esmeralda's, then does that mean I'm going to rely on Jean until the poison's gone?... Eh. I've relied on Jean ever since I woke up. I should start working harder. We arrive at a large house a block away from the church.
"We're here."