Tyrant's Rest creeped closer, covered in a veil of unnatural mist. We arrived by longboat in order to carry all the equipment the horsemen needed to stand against an army of thousands. Two Waterborne soldiers pulled us the entire six hour trip.
It felt like I hadn't been back here for years. Last time we ran away from Alameda, whose motives still remained a closely guarded secret.
I had lived in this decrepit run down town for sixteen years, never once was this normal weather, especially on a pitch black night. Clouds covered the moon's glow, with not an inch given way to their silver or golden splendor.
Legends say Athena was banished to the biggest moon, cursed to watch her fellow gods chase each other's love forever, causing her to lament in a sea of gold. If even her light couldn't pierce this combined veil of uncertainty, what hope did I have?
"Steady Touji. I alone control the Fog Of War. No need to be so tense"
Mist wasn't the only thing that made my leg restless.
Ota, Rider and I sat side by side, while Red, Marge and Merrah took their seats facing us. Merrah had been staring daggers at me once we met up at Broken-Blade. She had time to catch up on Dragon back as I looked around for spare gauntlets to no avail.
Luckily Ota came across some old boots that fit me well, alongside black leather gloves that covered my middle and index finger. Enchanted for mana efficiency at the cost of little protection. Better than nothing.
Choosing to retain her strength, Ota wore her black and white striped training shorts, black top and leather sneakers with laces. When the time came, she would generate her own defense.
At times like this I envied her courage. She had somehow managed to fall asleep, leaning against me throughout our long ride.
I didn't need another warning to know Red and Rider were far more effective at attacking, rather than defending. Relying on them would only hinder the plan. Ota and I will need to work as a team to survive, of that I was certain.
"Where is everyone?"
"Enda decided it was best to evacuate the place over a few nights and replace them with illusions controlled by other copies"
"And now they're all dead..."
"Their sacrifice was their own choice, now it's up to us to make sure it wasn't in vain. Better wake Otoha up and eat, there's rations in that crate. Don't do anything that would attract more attention"
Red sounded like a stressed man trying to play it cool. From what I could put together, he was searching for his children, who seemed to have been kidnapped and sold into slavery. His intentions were clear, he wanted this over and done with as soon as possible.
Wait, more attention?
"We're just a bunch of adventures escorting highly esteemed members of their respective guilds. At least, that's how they'll see it if they're any good at gathering intelligence"
"Oi War, fine with the old colors?"
"Why not? I take it you kept some souvenirs in your workshop"
"Yep, figured this place would eventually become a bloodbath again. If nobody dug through the place, then I should still have yer old armor and our jackets"
"Let's move these boxes first. We have have few hours if their tactics haven't changed"
"I wouldn't be so sure. Capturing this place could be seen as a chance for easy accolades. How many Generals does the Empire have?"
Unsettled by the situation, Marge spoke up. Tyrant's Rest had always been a place of contention. As a major crossroads between nations, any one major power holding it could spell disaster if given the chance.
"Twenty. Each one with twenty five thousand troops at their disposal. The soldiers we face today will be under the banner of King Appius, his flag bears a yellow Cockatrice. Unfortunately for them, they believe one General will be enough"
This town alone could barely hold two hundred people, let alone a hundred and twenty five times that amount. No doubt this was a stepping stone for greater plans.
Part of me was angry now that I knew where everyone was gone, yet relieved that it wasn't without cause. By dawn, everything around me could be reduced to rubble.
We pulled into a private warehouse with a large wooden roof and the Horsemen immediately began to move a varied mix of supplies off the boat.
I reluctantly nudged Ota awake and opened the supply crate to grab some bread and dried meat strips from a jar labeled as 'Jerky' with Arisu's signature doodle.
"Hey, we're here"
"Damn, this- PLACE IS WOrse- worse than I thought. What's this?"
With several yawns, the newly awoken Oni stood up and looked around, somewhat puzzled. She accepted my offer of a thin strip of meat, deciding to test its flexibility for whatever reason.
"It's Jerky. It might be-"
Ota ripped off a quarter with her sharp teeth and immediately regretted it.
"-Salty..."
"Blah! This sucks!"
"Here"
Reluctantly, I passed her three separate canteens only for her to scoff down each one. Somehow I had the feeling like this had happened before. As I turned to ask the Horsemen for water, they all paused their task and emptied the remaining contents of each container they had.
"Sorry kiddo, old adventurers tradition. You two can go fetch some water while she grabs any nearby Lich Stones. Marge, you know what to do"
"Is this some sort of trap?"
"Best leave that attitude on the boat. This probably looks like a suicide mission to you, and I can assure you it is, but not for us. Listen to what we say and you might just survive, now hop to it"
Despite his reassuring smile and enthusiastic tone, War could not quell my doubts. As each of them passed me their water containers, their intentions bleed through. They wanted privacy.
I barely managed to swipe a few bread buns along with their canteens as Ota shoved me off the boat. She then eagerly pulled me along, across a small dividing bridge that separated the artificial concrete island, through a dark alleyway and out onto the ever muddy streets.
"So this is Tyrant's Rest huh? Kinda crappy"
"Ota, are you really okay with getting dragged into this?"
"Honestly I'm a bit more worried that I forgot to tell the others we were heading out, and you know, uh, not grabbing lunch. Oh thanks. Let's start over at that gate so we grab everything in one go"
Breaking bread in half, we walked and ate the little food we had while we made our way to the exit I had once used to flee my home. It felt uncanny. So much had happened over Harvest, Winter and Seed.
Soon Gale would arrive, but I already felt a change in the wind.
An Omen to be sure, good or bad, that had yet to be determined.
Nothing but empty rundown homes on either side of us. Almost all of them had been constructed using boats, with some houses being far more obvious than the others, incorporating the front or back of vessels no longer suited for travel.
This side of the town was once entirely occupied by Beast-kin, all except one building.
As we passed the burned down Guild Hall to our left, I couldn't help and wondered what would have happened if I stayed.
"Can you sense anything?"
"Eh, sort of? Like a bunch of animals moving around. Pass me the rock"
"Hawke"
"Huh?"
"It's Hawke... all that's left of her"
I found my hand to already be hovering over the silver necklace and black stone etched with her name.
"Sorry... It just- hasn't really set in yet"
With every step I took, the chain felt tighter around my neck as we retraced the final steps of my last day here. This time my body wasn't nothing but skin and bone, nor was I being carried by War. Despite that, conflict still loomed in the air.
"Maybe if I didn't fight back"
"Stop"
"If had just listened to her"
"Stop!"
"Maybe they'd all be aliv-"
Ota forcefully shoved me against a crumbling wooden house as tears began to swell in the corners of my eyes. I'd been so distracted by regret I didn't notice we had almost reached the edge of my small town.
Without a shred of hesitation, she pinned me against a dirty wall with her forearms.
"Heroes don't cry"
"Wha-"
"They save people and fix problems"
"I'm not a hero Ota, I'm a coward"
"Don't you get it? You're MY hero! You saved me! Don't you remember that night? With Ritsu? I ran away! Scarred! I wanted to die! Arisu didn't save me, Enda didn't! YOU DID! YOU HELPED ME KILL HIM! You... You're not a coward, so don't you DARE call yourself one!"
The Oni gently punched my chest with her wrists. I envied the lack of force from the normally violent girl, she had grown faster than I could possibly imagine. It was something I felt ashamed of being unable to do.
"Ota I'm-"
"I love you dammit! You understand that much right? I won't fall for someone as weak as you think you are! We'll fix this, all of this. Arisu, the copies, everything!"
I grabbed her wrists and backed off the wall to take a deep breath.
She was desperately trying to hold back tears herself. Something deep inside me snapped at that very moment.
Envy? Are you kidding me? What the fuck is wrong with me?
"Sorry for being so stupid"
I had apologized again, as much to her as to myself. Something I had done far too much lately. Flustered, I let go of her hands out of the fear of hurting someone who just confessed to me, even if it seemed impossible in hindsight.
Ota brushed her gentle hands against the corners of my eyes and gave me a hug. After a few seconds she spoke up again, voicing her own worries of the direction I was headed. All her words came from a place of genuine concern.
"I know you have your secrets Touji, just please don't forget about me. It doesn't matter who- or what you are, I won't run away if you talk to me, so please trust me, at least a little..."
"I ca-"
No. She shared her deepest secret with me, that she was almost raped and saw her friends violated. If she trusts me, I should trust her.
"After this is over, can we talk?"
Our eyes met as she leaned against my chest and greeted me with a smile as she looked up. I was almost half a head taller than her now.
"Always"
Savoring the moment she leaned in again to express her love. It was messier than I imagined. I always found her beautiful, even if the world didn't. Her deep eyes, imposing hair and sharp horns only ever drew me closer.
Everything she did, it was with passion, wearing her heart on her sleeve. Over time she changed and began to trust me after the rocky start to our relationship. As embarrassing as it was to have her tease at random times, it made me smile.
I didn't understand love, nor family, but maybe this was it? Not lofty ideals or everlasting vows, it was intimacy. A friendship that surpassed company and drifted evermore into each other's psyche.
After a while I felt a chill down my spine as if I was being watched and pushed Ota away, hesitantly grabbing my relic.
The purple eyed Oni looked at me in confusion.
"Anything?"
"There's no one around... little monsters maybe?"
Outside of the town was nothing but mist, yet in the corner of the crumbling gate, just outside Tyrants Rest, I caught the subtle movement of a small four legged monster with long thin legs and a short black hairy hide scuttering across the ground and into a hole in the gate.
It was at that moment I realized we had less time than I thought. The wild creature was hollow. No desire or aspects of survival.
This creature had no intent, only a slight aura of mana.
An illusion.
"Let's quickly grab the stuff here and head to the Orphanage. I'm sure our merchant is getting a little inpatient waiting for water"
"Yeah, you're right. I don't wanna lose out my bonus again"
We knew each other well enough to communicate through obvious lies.
Both our attitudes quickly shifted into completing our task, and preparing for battle.