"Well look who's finally back!" Taldry held his arms out wide with a grand smile.
Night had fallen by the time the group arrived back in Canalith. The sheer speed of their journey surprised the tenebrage. Initially, Mortis had grumbled that the Healer with his cart would slow them down. However, be it the Healer's determination to see that his deal was honored, or the ability of his vodena, the cart proved to match the pace of the attoka.
Mortis' return was marked with whispers from the Black Crescent as to who the mysterious man that accompanied them was. However, neither Mortis nor the Healer paid these any heed. The only acknowledgement that they received was a few glares from Alsarie.
Now they appeared before Taldry in front of the palace. The disciple appeared more relieved than anything that the group had returned, and the hunch of his back seemed to be particularly severe that night.
"We could have gotten here faster if you used one of your lenses." Mortis said bitterly.
"Come now Mortis I may not be as old as you, but I'm still old. I'm still recovering from that incident at the Field of Sardon."
Mortis' whole body jerked upright at his words, "It was only…four people though."
Taldry wagged his finger with a smirk, "No, three people and a disciple. Fulgcere doesn't particularly enjoy the presence of other gods in the presence of her blessing."
Umbren took notice of Mortis' change in attitude, and it seemed like Mortis hadn't listened to Taldry's words. He seemed on edge, but also absent minded. It was as if his brain refused reality.
Umbren couldn't help but turn his attention towards Alsarie. She must have noticed the change, but he found her staring straight ahead. Odd for her when Mortis was so close.
Taldry got caught up in his act and jovially turned his attention to the Healer, "Oh my, well if it isn't the myth in the flesh. I have met other Healers before, but none were like you, hydrin. I take it you were…"
An explosion of purple energy burst forth from Mortis' being, sending Umbren and Taldry to the ground. Tenebrence appeared in Mortis' hand and it pointed right towards Taldry.
The events that followed this came fast and quick. Spikes of ice shot out of the ground, shadows whipped out of the ground as sharp as razors, and the earth crumbled behind Mortis. Before any of these could reach or affect Mortis, a bolt of lightning flew into his chest, sending him flying towards the tenebrage tents.
As the discourse settled everything seemingly changed in a split second. Cere stood on the palace steps with her hand outstretched, Morta next to her with Night. Geb emerged from the earth and stood before a shocked Taldry who had not made any sign of getting up.
Bluecloaks appeared from the wall of tenebrage tents with their weapons ready. At their entrance, Morta wasted no time giving a whistle, calling the Hands. They flooded out of the tenebrage camp, making a wall between it and Mortis. Needless to say, the Bluecloaks weren't as eager to assist Mortis.
However, Umbren noticed none of this.
"You're a fool." Alsarie's green eyes like daggers seemed to pierce Umbren's innermost being like the spear that was now lodged in his abdomen.
Senka expression was simply one of bewilderment at what has transpired before him.
Umbren gave a smirk as he removed his mask from his face, "Why would you say that."
Alsarie's glare deepened, "You jumped in front of my spear."
"How else was I supposed to stop you?"
Anger and frustration filled Alsarie's voice, "You protect a man that tried to kill our lord!? How dare you!? I would have run you both through!"
Umbren started to lose his fitting as his vision became hazy, "Yet… you stopped… short…didn't you?"
Alsarie's eyes widened in embarrassment at her hesitation.
Before Umbren could fall Senka rushed forward and caught him, "Don't remove that spear! Here help me get him to my cart."
Red rose up in Alsarie's cheeks, "You order me! No one but…"
"I do not order you! I'm demanding that you help me save his life!" Senka snapped with an authoritative venom.
"Why would I save the life of that ungrateful lap dog?"
"Because you're not one of those wretched Hounds! Because you know it's right!"
Alsarie furrowed her brow, "What makes you say that…"
"Because you haven't removed the spear from him."
Alsarie looked down at the spear in her hand speechless.
Senka started walking Umbren away, "I'm glad we've reached an understanding, but quite frankly, he doesn't have time to spare."
Alsarie shook her head and gave a violent groan, and helped the Healer to his cart.
While this was happening, Geb had helped Taldry up and was able to get him back to his senses. Morta and Cere slowly made their way down to the two. When they arrived each and every disciple viewed Mortis with the utmost concern. Morta had first appeared to strut over to her husband with her fist clenched, but in an instant her furious glare faded and was replaced with one of intense fear.
Purple energy bled from Mortis' very being. A viledarkness spewed from his skin, threatening to overtake him. His eyes flickered a violent purple.
The Hands that had formed a wall between Mortis and the others now were subtly moving away from the disciple.
Cere stepped in front of the disciples, "stay back."
Geb looked upon Mortis in confusion, "What is this," the disciple turned to Taldry for answers, but was left with more questions.
Taldry went ghastly pale and let out a stiff chuckle, "It…it can't be. Oh Fulgcere…not here…anywhere but here."
With Taldry not in his right mind, Geb frantically turned his head towards Morta, but what he found was a shell of the women. Morta trembled from head to foot as her eyes went wide with horror.
"What is this Cere! What's happening!" Geb called out with a mixture of frustration and unease.
Cere looked back to him with irritation, "Mortis isn't himself, and if I were you, I would stay back. You may be the Disciple of Stone, but you still have Luxcian's breath in your lungs!"
Electricity surrounded Cere as she began to levitate in the air, "Mortis, I will only give you one warning. Calm yourself! I will not let what happened to Fotos to happen to Canalith"
Geb's mouth went agape with shock, "Fotos…"
Mortis struggled on the ground. He clutched his head in pain, and gave violent groans, unleashing purple energy.
Suddenly, behind Mortis, a Hand fell to the ground and from the gap Faldrid rushed to his side, "Oh Tenebrage, not again, not here Mortis, please not here."
Faldrid crouched next to the struggling Morti with great difficulty as he struggled against the purple energy.
"Compose yourself Mortis. Your better than this."
Mortis slowly looked up towards Faldrid, forcing an audible gasp from the Greencloak. Mortis' face flickered from his own to something intangible and otherworldly. A shadow so deep in depth that one lost sense of what was real covered the disciple's face.
"Are you not afraid?" The voice had a deadly calm and husky voice. It was as if someone was gasping for air, but at the same time drowning.
"You've already have killed me, Mortis."
Purple energy burst forth from Mortis with another violent groan. This burst sent Faldrid a few paces away.
Faldrid desperately struggled against the wave of incoming energy emanating from Mortis. Upon reaching Mortis he clutched the back of the disciple. Mortis followed suit as his arm seized Faldrid's throat.
"You are a deceiver. Your words are poison. You sabotaged me and all I hold dear."
Faldrid gasped for air, "I'm…Sorry…you can bla…blame me…but…but at least…listen…don't make…don't make the mistake…that Sol…that Soluriel made."
Instantly, Mortis released his grip and the purple energy was sucked back into his being. Morta breathed heavily as he looked up to an equally shaken Faldrid.
"You didn't have to go that far." Mortis said.
"It worked, didn't it?"
Mortis slowly stood up with shaky legs, "I'll let it pass this time, but never compare me to him…ever." he spit.
Faldrid fixed the scarf around his neck with a sigh, "Yes, my lord."
Despite Mortis regaining composure, Cere did not release her lightning.
Mortis raised his brow at the other disciple, "Do you plan on using that?"
Cere gave a deep glare, "First tell me what possessed you to assault my husband. If you do that, I'll consider forgiving your crimes."
"Your husband revealed the truth."
"And what may that be."
Mortis took a step forward despite himself, "About me and Morta's past."
Cere smirked and gave a side-longed glance at Morta who had still not yet recovered, "And what may that be?"
Purple energy once again started to bleed from Mortis, prompting Cere to intensify her lightning.
"He speaks the word 'Hydrin' as if he uses the name every day! He speaks of my age with such confidence that he knows the truth! You're are hiding something from us and I seek to know the truth!"
Geb spoke up from behind Cere, "Truth? Cere what does he mean?"
Cere bit her lip at his intrusion, but went on talking to Mortis as if talking to a child, "You accuse me of hiding something when you yourself have done the same. How is that just?"
"I am no caetum. I care not for what is just and fair."
"Disappointing," she let out.
Cere looked around at the tenebrage camp as well as the Hall of Knowledge where a myriad of lenses could be seen hovering in the air. The curiosity and eyes of a fulgcere could be dangerous, "What will you do then, Disciple of Soul, if I refuse your demands? If I leave your questions unanswered?"
Mortis clenched his fist, "I will seek the answers no matter the cost. The past is dead and I will ensure that it remains that way."
Geb called out in shock, "Mortis what are you talking about. How could you challenge your host?"
He received a blank stare from Mortis.
Geb furrowed his brow, "If you move against the disciple of fulgcere here and now, I will not be able to turn a blind eye."
Cere gave a conceited smile to Mortis, "Well? What do you say now? Surely you are not foolish enough to challenge four other disciples?"
Mortis smirked, "Four? I think not. Just now I had every single one of you on edge. Especially you Cere, I'm surprised I scared you enough to take action. What a rare sight this is. I can just imagine how your children are feeling."
Mortis looked around him at the city, prompting a dark growl from Cere, "You wouldn't dare not here."
"I did it to one city, I'll do it again."
Geb's face turned to one of fury, "Silence! Do not suggest such a thing! I will not allow such a thing to transpire."
Mortis gave a light shrug, "You can try to stop me, but how many more lives would be lost in the battle that would follow."
Cere considered Mortis, and let go of her lightning, "How barbaric."
She turned around and kicked her husband on the ground, "Open the vault."
"The vault! Why would I do such a thing?" Taldry said
"Mortis wishes to see how my pig brained husband knows of things he should not know. I knew you were old, but I didn't think your tongue would start slipping so much."
"But…the records! What if he damages the records!"
Electricity crackled throughout Cere's body, "Just open the vault."
Faldrid got up and motioned to Mortis, "Please tell me you weren't serious my lord."
Mortis ignored the Greencloak.
"Surely the truths you seek were not worth that much."
Mortis started walking towards the other disciples, "No, they are worth everything." he said.
Suddenly, a lens appeared in front of the disciples. Taldry entered immediately. Though Morta was frozen to the spot.
As Mortis walked by her, she spoke with a shaky voice, "We will talk of this later."
Mortis nodded and moved through the lens, and Morta followed.
Before Geb and Cere went through, Geb stopped her, "What was that? What happened to Mortis? Please Cere, just answer me that."
Cere stared at the spot where Morts had once struggled in front of the tenebrage tents, "That…that was the Disciple of Death."
***
Umbren awoke in a dimly lit room with beds with curtains lining the walls. A figure loomed over him, "What a mess this is. How is he?"
A calm and tired voice replied, "He'll be fine. I've never given the same person more than one elixir, but it should be fine."
Umbren finally fully woke up and recognized the figure, "Faldrid?"
Faldrid looked exhausted even by his standards. The bags under his eyes appeared as if they would never go away, and his usually pristine cloak and scarf were ruffled.
"Yes," he said impatiently.
"Where am I?"
Umbren looked around the room. Half of the beds were occupied by Bluecloaks with the other half occupied by luxcians. The Healer, Senka, was busy on the luxcian side, while old fulgcere nurses with almost debilitating hunches attended the Bluecloaks.
"You're in the hospital. By Tenebrage what possessed you to jump in fron of a spear. Alsarie's at that!" He held a bewildered bit curious tone.
Umbren motioned towards the Bluecloaks, "Did something happen after I…"
Faldrid waved his hands with annoyance, "No that's just from the usual domestic violence, now answer the question."
"What else was I supposed to do?" Umbren said absent mindedly.
Faldrid gave a sigh and turned his attention towards Senka, "I guess you saved a diplomatic asset. I can't imagine if he were to die by tenebrage hands on fulgcere soil. Though there must have been another way."
Umbren looked back to Faldrid with a smirk, "For me to stop Alsarie?"
Faldrid motioned to say something, but conceded by looking down.
Umbren lifted the light linen sheets that covered him and looked at his abdomen. The only thing he found was a small faint scar that was difficult to make out in the soft lighting, but he oddly enough couldn't feel his stomach.
As Umbren was looking, a strong hand lifted the sheets, "Looks like it healed well. I doubted you would make it for a time," Senka let the sheets fall and stared at Umbren. His ice blue square pupils seemed to glow in the dimly lit room, "How does it feel."
"I can't feel it at all."
Senka gave a brief nod, "To be expected, I had to freeze the wound, hopefully you recover feeling there, but there's always a chance that you may not."
Umbren looked back down at his stomach, he could think of no reason why he would need sensation there, so he wasn't in grief over the lost sense.
Faldrid crossed his arms, "That's all well in good, but could you at least look over the other tenebrage."
Senka gave an amused smile, "This one saved my life, but the others tore themselves about amongst themselves. I don't want to waste my time just for my work to be undone the next day."
"These men and women are not like those Hounds…"
Senka put his finger up, "Oh I know. If they were I would ensure that they wouldn't leave this building."
Faldrid furrowed his brow at the Healer and gave up on his protest.
Senka walked back to the luxcians to attend to their needs.
"Are they safe?" Umbren asked.
"There safer here than they would be in Lysets." Faldrid responded.
Umbren fell asleep shortly after as Faldrid and Senka discussed something or the other. Umbren struggled to understand it. However, Umbren was shortly woken up by a commotion.
His eyes jerked open as he looked around the room. The luxcian men that had survived now stood up straight ready to fight, and Senka stood in front of them in a readied stance. Faldrid held up his hands defensively towards the Healer throwing out words to calm the upsetted atmosphere; though, the Healer and the luxcians' stares rested on the entrance to the building.
Morta stood at the door way, slowly shutting the door so as not to disturb anyone, despite the raucous that already filled the room. Morta seemed as if she was absorbed in thought, but the reaction to her arrival seemed to have surprised her.
If it did surprise her, she didn't pay any heed because she continued into the room without any hesitation. Her focus completely on the luxcians in front of her. As Morta drew closer, Senka seemed to grow more and more desperate.
"Stay back," he said with unease, "We don't want any trouble."
Morta appeared as if she didn't hear his words as she continued forward.
Just as Umbren felt a chill in the room, a luxcian women with a bundle rushed past Senka and Faldrid, collapsing on her knees in front of her.
She held up the bundle to Morta, "Please Lady Morta…" She joked back a sob.
Morta picked up the bundle and looked at the child inside, kissing it on the forehead, and giving it back to the women in front of her.
Umbren mouth went agape at the scene in front of him. Senka had the same reaction, but more subdued. The luxcian men stared on the scene solemnly, and Faldrid oddly had a similar expression.
Luxcian women started lining up with their children no matter the age and Morta did the same action with each and every one of them. When this was done, she gave a gentle smile to all the luxcians, "I am so sorry for the hardship you had to endure, I hope that you can move forward one day, however hard it may be. Just know that now you are safe. No one will harm you as long as you are in my presence."
She nodded to Senka, "I will send my Hands to ensure their safety."
Senka nodded with surprise
Before her exit, Morta stopped by Faldrid and whispered something in his ear. Faldrid's face went dead, but he nodded still.
When she left, the luxcian women confided excitedly with each other and the men that would listen. Senka looked upon the scene with relief, but after sliding a hand over his face he went back to work.
Faldrid moved next to Umbren's bed and collapsed with his head down.
"What was that?" Umbren said to himself.
"That was the Patron of Maternity. Ironic, isn't it?" Faldrid's tone was a sardonic one.
Umbren didn't quite understand, but he saw how Faldrid had withdrawn into himself, and chose not to push it.
Umbren had tried to get out of bed to get some fresh air multiple times throughout the night, but would always be stopped by Faldrid. He would start going off about the geodine or the fulgcere customs and history, and Umbren could quite frankly care less. It had nothing to do with him so he struggled to keep engaged with Faldrid's talks.
Strangely enough though, Faldrid mysteriously disappeared. Umbren of course wondered where the Greencloak had gone off to, but his excitement at being able to get out of bed defeated that thought.
As Umbren slowly got out of bed, Senka noticed him, but just gave a nod before he went back to the luxcians.
While Umbren was in bed he had spotted stairs in the corner of the room, and now went up the same stairs to discover where they lead. He eventually found himself on the roof of the hospital. He was breathing heavily by the time the night air had assaulted him, and hung heavily on the door despite himself.
The roof was bare except for a hunched over figure at its outer edge.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Vale's voice floated softly through the night.
Umbren hobbled near her, "Well…Faldrid tried his best to keep me in there."
"Hmm? And what may I ask made our dear friend fail in his endeavor." she asked playfully.
Umbren shrugged, "He just disappeared."
"Odd."
Umbren breath caught as he looked around him. The city was illuminated with stones that emitted a soft light, similar to the ones he saw in Lysets. Fulgcere moved around with joviality and impressive buildings loomed over them that went on into the horizon. Umbren had been in awe of the city, but seeing it from this perspective was something else.
Umbren heard a scratching noise from where Vale was. He looked to her and saw that she had a parchment of paper on her lap and a picture of the view before them lay on it.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"I do this sometimes. It helps clear my mind."
Umbren remembered the drawings of the boy he had met back in Ambis. He also remembered the promise he made to him.
"What…do you do with the drawings…after you finish them, I mean."
Vale raised her brow at him, "They aren't worth enough to keep around, so I usually leave them behind."
"I can take them off your hands if you would like."
Vale gave a curious smile, "Alright."
The two sat in silence for a moment. Vale drew while Umbren took in his new surroundings.
"I heard from Alsarie that you acted quite strangely when you visited the Hounds." Vale didn't look up from her drawing.
Umbren thought back to his time with the Hounds and shuddered a bit, but his heart also reeled at the thought of his sister.
"What do you think of the Hounds Mistress?" he asked quietly.
"They…their an interesting group. They wear the Black just like the Hands, and for that they deserve respect. However…their methods are…how should I say this…unorthodox. Though I never quite understood Mortis, so I guess it fits." She mentions the Hounds as if they were an everyday subject.
She looked up once again at Umbren with a curious expression, "Do you find something on your expedition that upset you?"
Umbren clenched his fist, "They're brutal."
"You still haven't taken the drug I trust?"
Umbren quickly shook his head.
Vale gave a relieved smile and went back to her drawing, "What else did you expect from the Hounds of Mortis. From what you said, they seem to match the stories."
"It's on principle and…" A familiar face came to him from his child hood and he griefed it, "...I met someone."
"Hmm?"
Before she could speak, a a small figure crashed into the roof, rolling away. Before Umbren could consider the figure, a wall of ice shot out from the roof in front of the figure. Immediately, five arrows were lodged into the face of the wall.
"You're trying to kill me!" Kagi squeled from behind the ice wall.
Another rolled onto the roof, "And you're still sloppy and stupid." Sadine's voice replied, "If it wasn't for this wall, you would be skewered with arrows."
"You say that as if you regret it!"
Vale slowly rose from her spot, "Sadine, don't make such a raucous. We are guest here."
Sadine hung her bow around her with a disgruntled mumble, "It's not like I was trying to kill anyone else."
Vale turned to the entrance to the roof, "I am sorry for disturbing you, Healer."
Umbren backed away in shock at Senka's arrival, "How long have you been there?"
Senka motioned towards Kagi, "I wanted to assure that the luxcian's protection was genuine. Though I can't help but be a little disappointed with the lack of care."
"I apologize for my sister's actions. She is…fervent when it comes to teaching younger Hands."
"It's just me though…" Kagi protested.
A stern reprimanding glare from both Bow Sisters silenced her.
Senka stopped before Kagi, "I can see that. Though I'll also never forget my blades," he looked up at Vale with a dry smile, "So I apologize for interfering with the matters of the Hands of Morta."
Kagi jolted up as her eyes shot opened, "It's you!"
She looked to have started to run away, but was frozen in place by the stares around her. She suddenly bowed in place with her Sai offered to Senka, "I'm sorry!"
Senka placed a gentle hand on Kagi's shoulder, "Don't be sorry. Those blades were the plague of my existence. I was sure that one day they would be the death of me," he wiped his forhead with a light chuckle, "When faced with the audacity of a little girl trying to steal them, I couldn't help but turn a blind eye."
Kagi's cheeks went red from embarrassment as she seemingly curled up into herself, "You let me…"
Vale put a hand to her chin, "So that's where they came from…":
"You little mouse!" Sadine suddenly appeared, seizing Kagi by the collar, "So you were caught huh?"
Kagi's eyes darted in every direction except for Sadine's, "Well…ummm."
Sadine stuck her face into Kagi's, "Are you going to thank him for your gift then?"
Kagi seemed to go limp, either with surprise her immense relief. She nodded towards Senka, "Thanks Healer for the weapons."
Sadine started dragging her away, seemingly satisfied by the apology, "We have a lot of work to do before you're ready. Don't expect to be sleeping tonight!"
Kagi hung her head in defeat as she disappeared into the darkness of the night.
Vale looked towards the two with a touch of disapproval, but shook her head and turned back to Umbren, "You should go back down and get some rest."
Umbren was about to protest, but was silenced when Vale held up a finger, "That's an order."
Umbren hung his head in defeat and headed back towards the door. As he made his way through it, he heard a low conversation between Senka and Vale. He couldn't help but have a feeling that he wouldn't get much rest in the days to come.
***
Faldrid held his scarf close to his face as he walked to the back of the hospital. His mind raced frantically at what Morta would want to talk about. Every single possibility led back to that Horrid black building in the plaza.
When he reached the back of the building, he found Morta in a daze looking up at the moon and stars.
"These are the same as the one's from before aren't they." She whispered this to herself, but then looked to Faldrid for an answer.
Faldrid averted his gaze from hers, "I don't know what you mean my Lady."
Morta's face relaxed with a soft sigh, "I know. Only me and Mortis have that burden."
Faldrid inched closer to her, "Is that why you are acting this way? Because of what Mortis did earlier? I personally don't know what could have happened…"
Morta held up her hand with a frown, "At the time I didn't understand it, but now it is all too clear."
Faldrid's couldn't help but look at Morta, "What? How…"
Tears streamed down Morta's face, "That accursed vault! The Vault of Endmin! It was here since the very beginning, from even before that," she clenched her jaw, "I could have never guessed that it had…oh Tenebrage how could I have forgotten their face! Her name! My Lady forgive me…" Morta trailed of as her tears fell to the ground.
Faldrid went pale and averted his gaze. Images of Morta crying came back to mind. He couldn't bear to be reminded, even if he didn't cause the tears.
"Why are you still ashamed of it?" She asked in a small voice.
Faldrid's eyes widened as he clenched his scarf even harder around his neck, "I am not ashamed."
"Then why do you hide it?"
"Because I do not deserve it. Because it is a reminder of how I failed you." Faldrid let out.
"You are deserving Iman. More than anyone else."
"Don't say that name!" Fadlrid started breathing heavely, "It is no longer mine."
Morta started to wipe her tears as she motioned towards Faldrid's scarf, "It is entitled to you, Now and forever. You have my…"
"Even so! I am not even able to help you in your time of need. I did not understand your words…I'm sure Mortis would be a better help than me in that respect."
All traces of vulnerability vanished from Morta's face as it hardened, "He has become mute. After he exited that vault, he fell to his knees and couldn't even bear to look at anyone. He went to the tent without eating. He took the whole situation harder that I did…I don't blame him either…"
Faldrid forgot himself as he let his hands fall to his sides, "'Fell to his knees?' What could make Mortis do such a thing?"
Morta furrowed her brow, "The Vault of Endmin…it had thing that…should have been forgotten. Things that don't belong on Aknown."
"But even so, what could have had such an effect on Mortis?"
Morta shook her head, "You would have to see it for yourself to understand. However, we don't have time to concern ourselves with it at the moment."
Faldrid gave a sigh. He knew that the subject would come up eventually, "Will you be alright. You haven't seen the prince since them."
Morta took a deep breath to clear her thoughts, "I have Vale and Sadine to support me. But I need you to ensure that the Bluecloacks don't act out."
Faldrid slowly nodded, "I can do that, but what about Mortis."
"I'm relying on the boy for that."
"He can't control him."
Morta gave a small smile, "I know that, but at least Mortis is willing to listen to his words."
Faldrid was forced to agree with her assessment, but there was still one problem, "Who will control the luxcians though?"
"Ritoro is here." Morta said briefly.
Faldrid's face brightened in relief, but Morta shook her head at that.
"He is here, but he is not with us."
"So, is he against us?"
"Not exactly…just be cautious around him."
Faldrid nodded, "I'll go talk to Mordrin. Enough Bluecloaks respect him, so his words may have influence."
Morta smiled, "I'll be rellying on you then."
As the two parted, something moved behind a window in the hospital.