Umbren ran and ran. The flames that engulfed Alyze and Jarvus's house were fresh in his mind. He tried to chase it out with other thoughts, force it out, pry it out, anything.
Before he knew it he and Grimel came upon a small lake.
Umbren didn't remember what possessed him to do so, maybe in a last ditch effort to rid himself of the image, but he threw himself off of Grimel towards the water. Stumbling to the edge of the lake he fell to his knees and started to splash water on his face.
Over and over, until his hands could no longer do what Umbren beseeched them to do. When that happened his hands fell loosely to his sides as he panted heavily looking at his reflection in the pristine lake.
The face looking back at him had the same dark eyes, and the same resting face that made him look irritated even when he wasn't, but somehow he didn't recognize it at first.
A sudden burst of strength brought his hand around in an attempt to strike the image, as if to destroy it. Though all it did was distort it. After a few seconds the same clear reflection stared back up at him.
Umbren let out a yell of frustration and fell onto his back.
His eyes were filled with the clear blue sky, not a single cloud in sight. Umbren wondered what it would be like to be up there away from all of this. Away from his misfortune that followed him that he couldn't get rid of.
Umbren didn't know how long he laid like that. It could have been seconds, minutes, or even hours, but he didn't care. All he could see was the house, that he was graciously allowed to stay in, be burned to ashes.
It was almost like deja vu. This kind of reminded him of…
The burning house left his mind, but in its place something equally horrific filled the void. An image of a tent, a monster, and lifeless star eyes.
Umbren jerked up and vomited all the contents of his stomach onto the grass next to him. Just when he thought he was okay, all the images including the burning house came back with twice the force, sending him into his previous state.
Only when he got to the point where nothing came out could he rest, if only a little. His throat burned from the bile and the smell that filled his nostrils was almost vile.
Umbren couldn't help but think about why that was happening now. Those images had flashed through his head and appeared in his dreams many times, but they had never done anything like that. To make it even worse, he had thought that he had successfully blocked the memories from that day.
Grimel walked up behind him.
Umbren breathed heavily, "Don't worry I'm fine," he looked back at the creature, "Really I'm..."
What he saw wasn't just Grimel but also another attoka in the distance running towards them. It was hard to make out from the distance but a figure seemed to lay over the saddle and sway to and fro at the attoka's every move.
As the attoka got closer the figure became clearer to Umbren. It was a small girl with twintails.
At this realization Umbren jumped up, almost forgetting about his previous state. Thendle made his way closer and Umbren ran to meet him.
He carefully lifted Kagi off the saddle as Thendle looked on in concern. To Umbren's surprise the young Hand was surprisingly heavy. As he got her out of the saddle something fell to the ground, but that was the least of his worries.
He gently set Kagi down on the long grass below them. She seemed to have lost consciousness, and one of her arms was bent in a way that wasn't natural. Umbren also noticed that one of her shoulders had something poking the underside of her cloak.
Umbren recalled how Dilem had slammed her into the floor of that house, and grimaced. Thendle danced nervously while Grimel looked on at Umbren gravely.
Umbren spun around to look at the two beasts. He hoped that Thendle had something to help. Something that could work miracles. Umbren had no knowledge of first aid once so ever. In the training camps, they just taught you how to use your weapons to kill. They never once spent any time on learning how to heal, actually he would believe it if someone told him they thought it was a waste of time.
He never really questioned their decision on the matter, until now. How he would love some of that training right now.
He ran over to Thendle and rifled through his saddle bag. Luckily he found some things like bandages, and other first aid items, but unfortunately he didn't know how to use them at all, and if he tried, it would most likely cause more harm than good.
As Umbren searched he came upon a plain wooden bowl. He almost brushed it aside until he recognized that the least he could do was get her some water. He likely wasn't going to be able to find anything else of use.
Umbren ran past Kagi to the lake, but right as he passed her he stopped and changed directions back towards her. He had realized that he hadn't checked for a breath.
He knelt down and put a finger right under her nose. To his relief he could feel a faint air brush against it.
He stared at the Hand at a loss. What was he going to do? He didn't know any way to help her, and would getting her some water help her at all?
as he was thinking this, Kagi's eyes slowly opened. They blinked twice slowly and they looked around, but she made no effort to move, "Where...am...I."
Suddenly Kagi winced and instinctively grabbed the shoulder that looked almost awkward. Though that only led her to clench her teeth together in even more pain.
Umbren laid a hand on her good shoulder to comfort her, "Kagi don't move. I don't really know anything about this sort of stuff, but moving can't do you any good."
Still clenching her shoulder, she nodded slowly with her eyes filled with tears.
"Remember don't move," Umbren picked up the wooden bowl and rushed to the lake, and filled it with water. He then ran back to Kagi, admittedly spilling some of the contents of the bowl.
Umbren slowly poured the water into Kagi's mouth, stopping at intervals to let her swallow.
After she gave one last hard swallow, she struggled to speak, "Umbren...where's Thestra?"
"Thestra?" Umbren frowned and shook his head slowly, "I have no idea, we sort of all split up after we left Lucel."
Kagi started to speak with more strength, but not by much, "Find Thestra…No offense...but I don't think...you'll be able to do much...but..."
Umbren held his finger to his lip to tell her to stop, "I understand Kagi, but I can't just leave you here."
"Please...Thendle can..."
"I'm sorry, but what if..."
Suddenly Grimel and Thendle tensed up as they looked in the distance at the last hill before the land got relatively flat as it approached the lake.
Umbren reached for his kukri but found that it was missing. He cursed his own luck, as he remembered Dilem disarming him back in Lucel.
His gaze followed the two attoka's until it rested on two black forms drawing close. From that distance Umbren could only hope that they were only friendly, but he was prepared for the worst.
As the two forms drew closer though he could make out two more Dorcha attoka heading their way, with one having a rider. A rider with a black cloak.
Umbren thanked Tenebrage as he frantically waved his hands to get their attention. As they approached he could make out the rider much better. A girl with an eyepatch that you could barely see, for it was covered by a curtain of hair.
As Thestra drew near, relief washed through her face, but just as fast terror took its place as she saw Kagi.
She jumped from the attoka she was on and rushed to the other Hands side. Oddly enough the attoka she jumped from didn't seem to care too much. Not just about Thestra, but anything else around him.
Kagi gave a weak smile upon her arrival, "Hey, Thestra...so how are you...doing on our bet so far?"
Thestra studied Kagi's currently weakened state, "Now's not the time to be talking about that."
"It must not be going very well for you then."
Thestra ignored her and looked to Umbren, "Can you give us some time alone. I'll call on you when I need you."
Umbren was about to protest, but the look from Thestra's eye told him it was better not to.
He nodded and went closer to the lake's edge and stared into the ripples of the water. Shortly after this he caught a glimpse at the fish in the water.
Even though he couldn't see the Hands, he could still hear them a little, "Kagi this might her a little bit. Here you can bite down on this."
Umbren shifted uncomfortably. The water wasn't enough to keep his attention away from what was going on behind him.
"GRRRRR!!" Kagi's scream of pain sent the fish darting away in every direction.
It was all Umbren could do not to look back. Desperate to find a distraction he felt a weight in his pocket. He pulled it out only to find the talisman that Alyze had given to him. The light of the sun reflected off of the ornate and complex roots that made up most of the necklace. The sun also reflected off the tree, but it was less noticeable because of it's small size.
Umbren sighed, he still felt bad about taking it. It did belong to her mother after all. Though there was nothing he could do about it now. He slipped the necklace around his neck.
"I really don't have time for you to be acting like this. I just need to look in your saddle bag. Do you still not like me that much? Didn't you pick me up in that village? Oh. See if you don't listen to me why don't you listen to him? He must be scared for his master."
Umbren continued to fidget with the talisman around his neck, resisting the urge to look back. He had seen what Thestra was capable of in Lucel, and he now very much did not want to be on her bad side.
"Hey you, bring me a bowl of water."
Umbren flinched and did as she asked. He went to the edge of the lake, trying to quell his trembling hands. This time as he carried the water back to the Hand, he was careful not to spill any of it at all.
Thestra accepted the bowl with quick haste, and as she mixed some kind of powder in it, Umbren got another look at Kagi.
She was breathing deeply and the arm that had an awkward shoulder was now placed in a sling.
Thestra got on the other side of Kagi and gently held out the bowl, the water now had a purple hue to it.
Kagi drank it eagerly and shortly afterwards she dozed off.
"What was that mistress?"
Thestra sat back letting her hood fall away, as if relieved that the work was over, "It was just some Rena root that Faldrid had stashed away in her saddle. Though it took some convincing to let me touch her," She gestured towards one of the attoka that eyed Thestra cautiously. As Umbren looked at the other attoka they were all eyeing Thestra like that, except for the one that Thestra had been riding. Though Grimel's gaze was more akin to unease.
Umbren looked back at the one Thestra had nodded at, "So that must be Dela. I've only seen her once so I'm not surprised I didn't recognize her."
All Dorcha Attoka looked similar, but if you know one long enough, you can make out personality traits and some facial features that might indicate who they are.
"Will she be fine?" Umbren asked.
Thestra looked up at the sky, "With all that Rena root I'm sure she'll be fine."
Umbren frowned, "Would he want you to be using that? I'm surprised he had so much in the first place."
"It's his fault for getting captured. All his stuff may as well be mine," Dela snorted at her response, and Thestra simply looked back at her and shrugged.
Thestra herself looked a year younger than Umbren, but she had some sort of atmosphere that demanded respect. It somehow reminded him of Mortis, and that scared him a bit.
Umbren started to fidget with the talisman again, it was almost as if it was becoming a habit, "Mistress if you wouldn't mind I would like to say something regarding..."
Thestra held out a finger, "I would also like to say many things, mostly regarding what you were doing in that village, and also where you got all that," She gazed at the talisman and the ring on Umbren's finger, "But now is not the time for that. I doubt you got much rest last night, so you should go ahead and get some rest now. I'll take my first watch."
There was no question in what she said, it might as well have been in order. Umbren was starting to become a little irritated by that, if only a little.
He also could not find much strength to resist. At her mention of rest, Umbren realized just how tired he was, and could even feel a yawn coming on.
Umbren slowly nodded and laid down a little way from the two Hands so as to not get in the way of anything. He wrapped his cloak around himself as he found a small rock to prop his head on. After he laid down it didn't take long for him to drift off to sleep.
***
His dreams were filled with fire. It started small at first then grew, and illuminated the forge being consumed by the raging flames. The flames didn't just stop there. They spread to the neighboring houses too. Soon all of Lucel was up in flames.
The screams were quiet at first, but they got louder and louder, until they were the only thing in the world, blocking out anything else.
"Please, no this can't be happening. Where are you! Please, I'm begging you, let me help you all!" Umbren didn't know who his desperate shouts were directed towards.
The screams came to a halt and Umbren was left in darkness. Relief washed through him, as he had escaped the desperate cries of pain.
"Oh, don't worry, we made sure to leave them as presents."
Umbren's eyes widened as he recognized the sinister voice, from a memory that felt like so long ago. His insides were ice cold, but his skin felt wet, sticky and warm.
He knew where he was. He realized it immediately after he saw that he was in a tent.
Though the shock still held him, as he blinked a couple of times to let it all set in.
He then slowly looked down at his blood covered hands, and scattered around his feat the faceless corpses draped in dark blue robes.
"You can never escape."
Umbren did not recognize the voice, but he still feared it; It was like poison to his ears.
"You can not escape. You cannot escape!"
As the voice grew louder Umbren clenched his ears in an attempt to block it out. Though it just grew louder and louder.
"You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape! You will not escape!"
Umbren couldn't take it anymore. He shut his eyes and bit down on his tongue until it nearly snapped off. He would give anything if the voice would just stop. He would do anything to escape it.
"YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY"
***
Umbren jerked up breathing heavily. He had to examine himself to assure that it was just a dream.
His breathing was heavy, and the only thing that remained that even reminded him of the dream was the sweat that dripped from his brow, reminding him of the blood…
He grimaced at the thought.
"Don't you dare hold this over me!"
Umbren looked over to the source of the noise. It seemed that he had slept through the whole day as a half moon hung high in the sky. Thestra had made a fire near her, Kagi, and the attoka. Umbren didn't know if she was being considerate, not disturbing him in his sleep, but a part of him wishes she had.
Now he laid his eyes on the thing that actually had woken him up. Kagi had apparently recovered much since Umbren had fallen asleep.
She now sat up a little bit, but not too much, with a finger pointed at Thestra.
Thestra sat over the fire stirring a pot that was roasting over the flames, "Lively now aren't we? You know a simple thank you would suffice. I did save your life and all. Also I don't think you have to worry about me holding anything over you, I'm sure you'll just do that yourself."
Thestra sounded calm, but she had tensed up a little at Kagi's movements. She must know how to handle Kagi.
Kagi furrowed her brow in frustration, "You really think you're sooo smart huh? Just you wait, one of these days I'll..."
Thestra looked as if she was about to interrupt Kagi with a retort, but both Hands stopped as Umbren approached the fire. As he drew closer, he noticed his hood was down and hurriedly pulled it up.
"Umbren your here!? Why did you let her do this to me! Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is."
Thestra continued to stir the contents of the pot, "Isn't it even more embarrassing to say something like that in front of me? I'm still waiting for that thank you by the way."
Kagi ignored her, looking at Umbren demanding an answer.
"You're the one that told me to get her." Umbren said curtly.
"You're lying! I don't remember doing anything like that! I would rather die than let her see me like this!"
Umbren was a little irritated after being called a liar, "Apparently not because you practically begged me to go get her."
Kagi looked at Thendle questioningly then blushed in embarrassment.
Thestra smiled to herself, "You also mentioned that game that you challenged me to."
Kagi panicked almost jumping up onto her feet, "Umbren what did I say?!"
Thestra tensed up once again at Kagi's movements, and answered for Umbren, "You said nothing really, but it doesn't seem to be going too well for you based on that reaction."
Kagi bit her lip, "You must not be doing well either, being in the middle of nowhere with us!"
Thestra eyes widened in surprise, "You actually admitted it? Though if you should no I was tracking down some luxcian general."
Kagi once again jabbed a finger at Thestra in frustration, "Morta wouldn't order either one of us to go after that general. Not even you! Do you think I'm an idiot!?
"Morta didn't order me to, Sadine did. Also yes."
"Sadine? That's cheating! She wouldn't be that nice to anyone!?"
"What do you mean? I think she's much nicer than Vale."
"Nicer than Vale!? Are we even talking about the same person! That woman isn't nice in the slightest!? You should have seen the things she made me do."
"Maybe she just doesn't like you."
Umbren was at a loss. For starters, the Hands in front of him were engaged in an argument that he didn't think he had the right to be overhearing. Though what he did know was that every time Kagi spoke the more she looked as if she was going to jump at Thestra
Coincidently every time Kagi made any sudden movements Thestra's body tensed, and her stirring obviously became more stiff. Umbren had no idea why the Hand didn't just tell Kagi not to move.
"Ka...Mistress if you keep moving like that you might hurt yourself. I understand your concerns relating to...your relationship with Mistress Thestra, but your health is of utmost importance."
Thestra relaxed a little bit as Kagi seemed to agree and lay back down, "He's right you know. You'll ruin my hard work. Besides, if you don't heal in time you'll just be more of a burden than usual when we reach Sangai."
Kagi jerked up abruptly at Thestra's comment, "Coming from the person who has no talent for a half of their blessing!"
Instant regret could be seen on Kagi's face not only from the pain that she must have experienced but also from what she had just said.
Thestra had stopped stirring with a pained expression on her face.
The small Hand slowly laid back down, "Sorry I just...The elders still say that it might come in with just a little more time," Kagi' had changed her response from defending herself, to trying to comfort the other Hand.
Thestra stopped stirring, taking a wooden spoon out of the pot. The spoon looked to hold some type of soup.
She went to take a sip of the soup, but stopped mid-way, "Don't worry I know they're just trying to comfort me. I've given up on using the 'Blessing of the Soul'," She said the last words in a mocking tone.
Umbren gave a start, "Mistress you can't..."
Thestra glared at him, cutting him off. She then gave a dry smile, "Not at all," she went to take a sip of her spoon, "You better not tell anyone else or I'll kill you."
Umbren was taken aback by how earnest her words sounded, and made a mental note not to ever pry deeper into the subject.
Thestra took her lips off the spoon, in satisfaction, "Okay it's ready. It's not much, but I put Rena root in it so it should help you both with your injuries."
Umbren sat down near the fire making himself comfortable, "Don't you need any mistress?"
Thestra smirked, "Don't worry I don't have even a scratch on me."
Umbren could hear something akin to a low growl coming from Kagi's direction.
Thestra got up and passed two bowls to Kagi and Umbren. The liquid of the soup had a purple hue to it and smelled like jasmine. There were of course some other aromas coming from the bowl that hinted at a variety of vegetables. If Umbren wasn't mistaken he could also see junks of some type of meat. The Hand had kept herself busy while the other two were asleep.
Umbren looked up at Thestra who had taken her place in front of the fire, chewing on what appeared to be jerky,
"So, Mistress, how do you plan on rescuing Master Faldrid."
Thestra looked blankly at Umbren, "Why would I do that?
Umbren was caught by surprise, "But you mentioned going to Sangai."
Thestra took a bite of her jerky, "That's where everyone else is. Why wouldn't we go there."
"I just assumed that since you two arrived together at Lucel..."
Thestra shook her head, "I barely even know him. I just saved his life the other day and we both went to go hunt down that general after I wounded him."
Umbren barely knew the man either but something was tugging on the back of his mind, "We can't just leave him."
"Sure we can. It's not like he has anything crucial information that he could give up. Though if the stories I've heard about them are true, he won't give any useful information over to the luxcians no matter how hard they pry," Thestra looked darkly at the bundle that Dela held, "Besides we need to get that disgusting thing back to Morta. After holding it, there is no doubt in my mind that it's Night."
Umbren gawked at the Hand in disbelief, "Night? That's impossible..."
Thestra just shrugged, she looked as if she was about to make a comment, but was cut off by Kagi.
"I'm going to rescue Faldrid!"
The other two looked towards her. She had her neck craned to get a good view of Thestra across from her.
Thestra rubbed her temple, "What do you mean? Why would you of all people want to do that."
"Why wouldn't I!? You literally found one of the weapons of legend! I can't compete with that. My only chance is to go save Faldrid. Maybe I'll find something in Sangai that will let me catch up with you, or I'll just get out with Faldrid. Either way, you won't be able to convince me not to go," the look on Kagi's face already showed a firm resolve in her decision.
Thestra's eyes narrowed at the other Hand, "I see..." she sighed, "I guess I have no other choice but to go with you."
"You can't go! That defeats the whole purpose! You'll get credit for what I do if you go."
Thestra raised an eyebrow, "Really? What if I don't go? I'm sure you'll be able to sneak into the city better than I ever could, but what if you come across him."
Kagi gulped
Umbren remembered how Kagi had defied Dilem in Lucel, and based on that her reaction didn't make sense, "What's that for mistress? You didn't seem to be afraid of him back in Lucel. It actually looked as if you weren't afraid of him at all."
Kagi looked towards Umbren or eyes like saucers, "Umbren I was the most scared I have ever been in my life! I even cried! Cried! I don't ever want to see him again! Never! I'm sure I'll die if I do. It was all I could do to look him in the eyes!"
Umbren was a little dumbfounded at the intensity at which Kagi spoke, "You really are forthright, aren't you?"
Thestra rested her head on one of her hands, as if tired, "See? I'll deal with him if he ever shows up. I don't think you'll say that I can't come anymore after knowing that."
Kagi didn't make any objection, but after a moment she did say one thing, "You just can't take credit for anything."
"And I won't. So now that that's decided we should get some rest. It takes two days to get to Sangai from here. That means we'll make it in time for Galaris. We can't afford any delays. Not only will the rest of the tenebrage be leaving Sangai after Galaris, but it itself is an opportunity for us to get into the city unseen." She paused and looked to Umbren, "You can keep watch for the night."
Umbren simply nodded as nothing the Hand said was flawed, and he was not tired at all.
As Thestra took off her cloak to make it into a makeshift pillow she said one last thing, "Your cloak has blood stains on it. I would deal with that if nothing else is going on."
As she laid down on her cloak Umbren noticed that she never took off her eyepatch.
That night Umbren washed his cloak in the nearby lake and the wounds on his back. He was sure there was glass embedded in his back, but after a while of trying to get it out he gave up.
As he let the black cloak dry he noticed that many holes and tears could be seen in it. Based on what he heard about the cloaks themselves, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
The rest of the night he tried to ward off any thought that came to his head as he toyed with the talisman around his neck and the ring on his finger.
He had put himself in such a trance that he barely noticed the sun rise in the horizon, painting the sky, and giving the lake in front of him a glassy appearance.
The only thing that broke his trance was the appearance of voices behind him.
"Kagi, can you help me with this?"
"Oh! You're finally doing it? It's about time. I don't know how you thought you could fight like that."
"Shut up and just help me with this."
"Where did you get this?"
"I snatched it on my way out of town."
"How did you even have time for that?"
"That should be good."
"I could've done it a lot better if I had my other hand."
Umbren looked back at the two Hands. Kagi was standing and looked much better than she did the previous night. Umbren also noticed that some of his muscles that ached in pain, now we're fine.
Though the one to actually catch his attention was Thestra. Her hair that had been left down with some being intentionally left over her eyepatch for some reason, was now up in a messy bun with a tail, revealing the other half of her face.
The eyepatch was even more noticeable now, and Umbren found himself thinking what it covered up. He stopped himself shortly after realizing that was probably what she had tried to avoid.
However, what Umbren hadn't noticed was that he was staring at the hand.
Noticing his stare Thestra justified the change, "What? The hair started to get really annoying during fights. I really don't know why I thought it was practical."
Kagi shook her head, "You really shouldn't have tried to hide that in the first place. Everyone knew you had it," Kagi started to snicker, "Besides it makes you more mysterious."
Thestra sighed, "I don't know if that was a compliment or not, but you should have told me that earlier."
"I tried, but you just avoided me," Kagi mumbled to herself.
Thestra looked back at Umbren, "C'mon Umbren we have a green cloak to save," she didn't sound too enthusiastic about it.