Apparently Ardent, Taylor and Lara disappearing was a bad thing. Without guidance the three had gone together to explore but what that led to was something I was hoping to avoid. Though to be honest it was bound to happen and close to the border, as remote as we seemed, there was no way around it. Ronalt and I found them just in time.
In a small square not far from the port a single cage stood above the crowd on a stage. Demons gazed up and jeered at its occupant while a well-dressed demon spoke.
"This here is the enemy. The vile creatures who took our land and destroyed our homes!" he pointed to the malnourished man inside the cage. It was no one I recognised but the sight caused a pain in my chest, not because of the man but Lara's wide eyes staring at him. He was human.
The well-dressed demon continued, "Rise my fellow demons and follow our Lord! He, the one true power, will destroy the humans and return us a glory never seen!" If anything he was good at riling up the crowd. Jeers and chants threw out from their lips and rubbish fell against the cage's steel. The man inside could only look down in defeat.
Ronalt sighed beside me, "This was unavoidable."
"Yeah…," I shook my head and stared ahead to where Lara stood beside Taylor and Ardent. Ardent had a clear but understanding frown whereas Taylor seemed indifferent. Lara however, her eyes were wide and shaking as if unable to understand what she was seeing. Her hand hovered above the hilt of her sword unsure whether to grasp it or not.
"Lara stop," I grabbed her hand and pulled it away. "All of you, we're leaving."
"But-," Lara opened her mouth.
Ronalt shook his head dismissing her, "Not here."
We pulled them to the nearby alley and away from the crowd. Here the chanting was barely audible and the sight of the caged man now covered.
As soon as we were safe Lara pulled away, "We- we have to help him." Her voice shook.
I looked at Ronalt and he looked at me. We both knew the risks involved. Our entire mission could end here if we played this wrong.
Taylor came to our rescue with a callous disregard, "Why?" Her question aimed at Lara piercingly.
Lara faced her seriously, "He's in trouble. I can't just sit here and do nothing! What they're doing is monstrous."
A dark smirk gilded Taylor's expression, "You don't think we do the same to them? It's worse you know. I've seen demons and their children strung up for the pleasure to hit them. Hell I've seen us to do it to our own kind."
For a moment Lara faltered, "Still, we can't just leave him."
Ardent shook his head, "Lara, if we save him what would we do with him? We can't go back and we can't protect him. As much as I want to free the man, it's unrealistic."
"I- if that's the case I'll do it myself," she frowned and for a moment a stretch of mana coursed through her body strong enough for us to feel it.
"Lara!" Ronalt and I both pressured her to stop.
Softer I spoke, "Lara please, not now. We need a plan at least."
Her eyes flashed at us, skipping back and forth. Those innocent eyes that held the world capable and pure. They passed ours tainted by the realities we had seen.
Finally Lara nodded and with that we left the square, a pit within all of us.
*
Somehow we managed to convince Lara to let it go. It came under the heavy promise that once the Demon Lord was dealt with things like before would never happen again and on both sides to boot. To say it was being optimistic was an understatement. I saw how the man looked in that cage. At the rate he was going he wouldn't last the next few days and afterwards, he'd probably be fed to the monsters as bait.
Thus why I found myself awake at night. Maybe it was Lara rubbing off on me or maybe it was my desire to see her smile. Regardless I had dressed myself in black and my sights were set to where the man had been taken. I was at least confident if things went bad then I could just try again.
"Where are you going?" the voice chirped in my ear cheekily just as I stepped my leg out the window of my inn room.
I reeled back almost falling. "Taylor go to sleep," I shooed her away as she hung outside the window.
"No way," she grinned. "What you're doing looks so much more fun. Off to save that man I'm guessing?"
"What's it to you?" I firmed myself.
"For one I'd rather you not die," she replied with a hint of seriousness. "And therefore I'm coming too."
I sighed, "Fine, but you listen to what I say. Even if things go-." My words stuck in my throat as I spotted a figure running from the inn. Strands of white hair poked out beneath the ragged cap she wore.
Taylor noticed as well, "I know she's a Hero but she's not very stealthy."
"Let's just stop her before she ruins everything," I moved past Taylor and leapt to the ground. Taylor landed beside me easily and smiled.
We followed Lara silently from behind. Although it hadn't looked like it, Lara had been more attentive than I thought and found her way to the well-dressed demon's home quite easily. It was on the far side of town and significantly larger than the buildings around it. While lights shone from inside the building they did little to light up the street outside.
Lara stopped at the edge of the building and breathed as if psyching herself up. Before she could take a step however her head lurched up and faced to where I was hiding with Taylor.
"Come out now!" her voice was clear.
We left the shadows and Taylor shook her head, "Tut tut Lara you're doing it wrong. You don't let them know you know. You sneak around and ambush them. This is why you're not good at sneaky stuff."
"You two followed me?" Lara let down her guard and relaxed.
"Well I was on my way here anyway," I admitted. "You however should be back in the inn asleep."
She looked at me indignant, "Why can't I be here? I have every right and determination to be here."
Before I could stop myself my hand leaned forward and rapped her on the head, "As Taylor said, you're just not cut out for this kind of work."
"And you are?" she huffed.
"More than you at least," I replied bluntly. "Taylor and I can hide our presence. You being you, not so much."
Lara's expression curled into a frown. There was no denying her lack of talent in the field. Magic and mana wise she couldn't use it and her demeanour was more of a charge in and be known even more than Ronalt.
"Then what, you want me to just wait here?" her frown didn't let up.
"Well I'd rather you wait at the inn but I'll settle for that," I crossed my arms. "Taylor and I will make sure to get that man safe. Besides, what were you even planning? You weren't going to take him with us were you?"
"I- I, I was going to figure that out later," her fluster was cute.
I sighed, "Don't worry we'll take care of it. Right Taylor?"
At the sound of her name she flicked back into the conversation, "Ah yeah yup. I'm totally here to save that guy and not just for fun." The least she could do was sound more convincing.
I faced Lara again, "Promise me to wait here. If things go badly run back to the inn and get the others."
"Okay," she nodded clearly unsatisfied.
"Taylor let's go," I turned around only to find her already gone and over the buildings fence. I sighed and followed her while avoiding the spiked appendages. Lara watched us leave as we returned to the shadows.
To be honest it was my first time breaking and entering, or at least on this scale. The strange thing was I was oddly comfortable with it. Taylor even more so though that wasn't strange. I followed her lead as she quickly scouted out a section of the building and found a way in. Her finesse as she clung to the wall finding seemingly impossible handholds and hidden entrances confirmed all the more what she really was. Soon enough she was helping me inside through a tight fitting window.
We quietened our steps and headed down towards the basement. It was the most likely place the man would be. It also seemed like there were no guards. Though the area's major town, security must not have been a concern or at least not internally. It was as we snuck down the basement stairs that I had to change my mind. Taylor held up her hand to stop me and began to signal.
One man, large, looks strong. You lead, I'll take him down.
I signalled back, Don't kill. Try not to leave a trace.
She nodded and gestured for me to go. I peeked around the corner and quickly spotted the demon. Dressed in thick black material the demon looked to be as large as Ronalt. He was also occupied by something in the room. Now would be the perfect chance. The familiar pain spread through my chest as I charged my mana and stepped into the lit room. My intention was to knock him out with the powder in my pocket but his instincts were clearly better. As I stepped within a metre of him his arm swung wide, narrowly missing my head. My concentration broke as I dodged back and the pain receded. A split second later he lunged at me. I blocked the blow with all the force I could muster but his muscles easily overcame my guard pushing me against the wall. He didn't hesitate to pursue me and raised his fist. It was that point in which I realised.
"Taylor stop!" I yelled while trying to keep it hushed. Just in time the man's fist stopped before crushing my face as did the knives poised to strike his neck.
"Rain?" Ronalt backed away surprised and pulled down the cloth hiding his face.
I did the same, "Looks like we had the same idea."
"You shouldn't be here," he looked at me sternly. "You didn't bring Lara did you?"
"Of course not…. Though she came anyway."
"Where!?" he barely kept himself contained.
"Don't worry I made her wait outside. She's not exactly stealthy, though right now neither are we."
He nodded and recomposed himself, "My apologies. I'm not used to this."
"Then you should have stayed in the inn," Taylor chirped from behind him while putting away her daggers.
"I… I couldn't do nothing. If not for the man himself, then for Lara." His eyes softened. Looks like we really did have the same idea. Neither one of us wanted to disappoint her. Though we knew we couldn't protect her forever it didn't stop us from trying.
"Let's just get a move on and finish this," I pulled the mask back up.
There was no sense to not look around the room especially with how suspicious it seemed. We found not a small amount of Demon Lord propaganda and even a small shrine to him. In the closet there were even what looked like multiple sets of some kind of uniform and masks. The demon from before was clearly a fanatic and by the looks of it a part of some group. It was clear from the writing in the room he wasn't a fun of the church of the Goddess either. In these parts the church advocated for equality amongst all races including humanity. It was easy to see where the pro Demon Lord faction would collide with them. I only hoped we wouldn't have to deal with them.
Just as we left the room something began tugging on my brain. It wasn't enough to incapacitate me but had me reeling. The only thing that could cause it, magic. I turned around just in time to see the hammer descend towards my face.
*
It didn't take me long to come to and it wasn't what I had expected. My head felt suspiciously fine and in front of me was a very apologetic looking couple. It would seem our worst enemies on this mission were ourselves.
"Sorry about that Rain. No hard feelings right?" Marley whispered.
"My mistake Rain. We thought you three were guards," Ardent remarked. "Your clothes were suspicious after all." Unlike us they were wearing normal clothing which in my opinion was even worse.
I sighed and regained my balance. Ronalt had been holding me up. "Earnest isn't going to stab me in the back now is he?"
"We haven't seen him," Ardent replied with an apologetic smile.
Ronalt let go of me and frowned towards the two, "Now we're all calm, I'd like to ask what you two are doing here?"
Marley answered, "I caught Ardent trying to sneak out to save the man from earlier and decided to join him."
Ardent cleared his throat, "It left a bad taste in my mouth to not do anything."
"Great, we're all idiots," I responded dryly. "Let's just get this over with."
Before Ronalt or the others could reply I lead the way to the next room. Taylor walked beside me and tapped my head with her knuckles. I brushed her off as she continued to smile amused at my sudden injury. We moved past a storage room and eventually to a tighter fit room. The actual space was quite large but it was filled with devices clearly meant for torture. Chains hung from the wall and a large cross shaped table sat in the middle. Dried blood splayed out against the stone floor and nefarious devices laid littered without regard. The subject of which I could only assume.
As we entered the smell of blood and decay wafted clearly and a frown came across most our faces. Marley was seemingly fine with it as was Taylor who looked indifferent.
Ardent's brows drew together, "A lot of pain was felt here. We would do best to leave things untouched."
Ronalt nodded, "Agreed. The man can't be far."
A single solid door was built on the opposite side of the room. As I approached Taylor jingled a set of keys in front of me. I took the keys gingerly. A part of me was faltering sensing a clear disturbance on the other side. There was every option to let someone else be the one to open the door. Ronalt and Ardent came of their own volition. In the end I was the help, I didn't need to be here. Taylor had said it herself… and yet, I couldn't leave. No matter what, I felt it was my job to look after Lara and I'd see to it to make sure she was happy.
The door swung loose easily once the lock was released. A single cell with no light and no bedding. A man laid on his knees, his head turned to the sky he couldn't see. Scars ran all across his malnourished body and the stain of tears fell down his cheeks. He was frozen, unmoving…. I didn't even need my training to see it. The man was already dead. A crack broke through my heart as I thought about Lara waiting outside.
"Rain what's-, I see…," Ronalt came to a halt beside me and peered at the man with the same regret. He shook himself and sighed, "There is nothing we can do. Staying longer will only jeopardise us."
"Wait," I grabbed his arm before he could leave. "He at least deserves a proper burial." At the very least we could do that much.
Ardent looked between us, "I'll handle it. As much as it unwise to leave evidence we were here, at least we can help rest his soul. Marley please help me perform his final rights." She nodded simply.
Ronalt gazed back at the dead man, "Let me carry him. As for you Rain, I leave Lara to you."
I nodded sombrely knowing that his words held more weight than he let on.
With that we left the basement and split ways. The only trace of our arrival the disappearance of a corpse. Taylor had suggested to torch the place and a part of me was more than willing to agree, however the scene could come to bite us later and was dismissed. Ardent, Marley and Ronalt left to bury the man in the forest. Taylor and I found ourselves back where we began, and waiting patiently partially hidden in the alley was Lara. Strands of her white hair peeked out from the hat pressed against her head. She shivered in the cold but at the sight of us stood with a clear apprehension.
"D-did you save him?" her question was simple and earnest, filled with a hope I couldn't bear shatter. Those eyes that saw the world as pure and the heart she had to match it. I always believed in learning through hardship, to grow against the odds. Tough love you could call it. To hold nothing back….
A perfectly acted smile broke my lips, "Yeah. Don't worry. We got him out of town. He has enough supplies to make it to Kerchest and a note from me."
For a moment she breathed out in relief but then became concerned, "Will he really be okay?"
"It's all we can spare," I forced myself to keep up the act and became serious. "We have our own job to do. We're not a charity."
"Right," she nodded. "Thanks Rain, thankyou Taylor. I just couldn't sleep right without doing anything." And then she smiled. It was bright and unhindered but the usual mirth I felt broke and pierced my chest.
"No problem, now get some rest. It would be suspicious if we all went back together," I gestured for her to go first.
"See you tomorrow," and thus with light steps Lara disappeared into the town.
I couldn't hold it any longer and leaned against the alley wall releasing a pent up melancholic sigh. There was no telling if what I did was right or wrong.
Taylor stood in front of me, her eyes clear, "You lied."
"I did," I stared back at her. "I wasn't going to, but then… I just couldn't do it. Not now at least."
"You know you can't protect her from it forever. As much as Lara wants to talk it out with the Demon Lord, there's no way it'll be that easy."
"You're telling me," I released another sigh and straightened myself. "She'll have to grow up one day, but just not now. Sorry, it's stupid I know."
"No it isn't," Taylor's laugh surprised me. She leaned closer, "I like this part of you as well." "Well at least you do," I moved away from her. "Come on, we have a big day tomorrow."