Bauer struggled to pull himself up through the hole even with Kane's help—though what amount of help he had to offer was questionable at best, given that he could barely hold a longsword without it wobbling.
But of course, with an unfaltering determination to live and flee the nefandite hideout, Bauer and Kane pushed past their limits, reaching the surface level, where the cold embrace of night welcomed them in a dense forest.
The hooting of owls added to an otherwise silent night, where no critters, save for a few rodents and small furry creatures that went on their own adventures, shifting the fallen leaves. The trees, soaring into the sky, provided no clear path with how densely populated they were, practically walling off most of one's sight as well. Gnarly roots uprooted themselves, as though the trees wanted to watch whatever creatures that treaded upon their land to trip and fall.
"Alright, Kane," said Bauer, breaking the silence between each other, who took seats in the mixture of soil and leaves, "you'd better—"
"Fuck!" yelled Kane, preceded by his own echo and the fluttering of owls flying away, rummaging through his foraging bags, before he dropped them and held his head, shaking it. "No, no, no, no, no, no."
"What happened?" Bauer quickly stood up and walked over with creased brows, staring at the back of Kane's head. "Are you hurt?"
Kane stopped shaking his head, letting go of it as he slowly looked over his shoulder, getting a good look at Bauer's, scarred and battle-worn face and long brown hair that draped over the sides of his face and neck.
"That's right, you damn rat," growled Kane, snarling as he slowly stood up, lowering his head as he stared at Bauer's face through the top of his top of his eyes. "You made me lose one of my bags of moonshade... my money!"
Bauer slowly backed away as he held his hands up, staring back with raised brows at Kane who held his death stare. "N-now look, I did it to save your life."
Kane ignored his words, slowly approaching Bauer as he held his glare, until he caught a glimpse of one of the black swords laying in the ground. He quickly picked it up and held it forward with one hand, pointing the tip of the blade up as he performed little hops in one place, like a boxer.
"Hey dickhead," said Bauer, his voice bearing a sarcastic tone as he frowned and watched Kane stare back at him with an austere expression now, wondering if the boy was psychotic or... psychotic, "I didn't know you were menstruating around this time of year. Sorry for saving your life."
"I'm the one who saved your life," said Kane, murmuring as he chuckled, "dickhead. Your life is in my hands now. So stay put and die silen—"
He was cut off by the loud cry of metal clashing against each other, watching as his longsword twirled off to the side and landed in the air, waiting to be pulled out of the ground like Excalibur. He looked back to find Bauer's blade reaching up to his neck, forcing him to hold his open hands up and back off.
"What was that about my life being in your hands now?" asked Bauer, raising a brow as he smirked, before he slowly lowered his weapon, staring into Kane's eyes. "We're even. You saved my life, and I saved yours. It's about time I flee while I still can."
"Now hold it right there you ungrateful bastard. I went through all that bullshit because your ass had to get caught messing around with the nefandites."
"Okay? Were you obligated to save me?"
"W-well... no, but that doesn't matter! You'd be dead without me, so you should at least help me out with recovering some of my moonshades that you donated to the nefandites!"
Bauer stared through squinted eyes, his slackened jaw yawing to one side as he failed to comprehend why a bag full of flowers was so important to someone who decided to explore a nefandite hideout, whether intentional or unintentional.
"You're not serious, are you?" he asked, stabbing his sword into the ground.
"Oh I'm serious," replied Kane, rubbing his hands together as a chilly gust ran into his exposed back, thanks to the nefandites ruining his threadbare clothing even more. "That one bag had at least one hundred moonshades in it, which would've meant thirty-three silver coins for me, especially since the blue petals tripled their value."
"Riddle me this first: What were you, a herbalist, doing in a nefandite hideout?"
"A squirrel stole one of my moonshades, so I chased it, and it led me to a cave in the forest."
Bauer, not even sure where to begin, stared in silence, occasionally blinking as if to convey how stupid Kane sounded right now.
"Let me get this straight," he facepalmed, dragging his hand down his face to withhold his snickering, "you chased a squirrel," he paused to restrict his laughter, "because it took one moonshade?"
"Yes," replied Kane, lacking any emotion in his voice as he stared Bauer in the eyes.
Bauer laughed, hysterically. A mixture of wheezing with a cacophony for a laugh had Kane staring with pursed lips as one eye twitched. A ten seconds would pass by before he'd eventually walk eastward, giving up on trying and wasting anymore time.
"Wait," said Bauer, struggling to put words together as he continued laughing, "what's the matter?"
"The Sage is waiting for me, so I need to quickly go and return whatever moonshade I can. You can keep laughing and wasting your time... I really don't give a fuck at this point. I'll just go back to being poor."
Upon hearing his words, Bauer found the opportunity to collect himself, realizing that Kane was struggling to survive, hence why he was out collecting herbs for money.
"Alright, alright," said Bauer, picking up the two longswords before catching up to Kane and walking next to him, "I'll help you collect some moonshades, but after I help you get back to Thalamar, you're on your own again. I've gotta be on the run."
Kane nodded, his gaze affixed on the ground, glad to have some help, though his face refused to show it.
"Thanks."
***
The moon hung low in the night sky and thus could no longer hold up its veil on the land, with twinkling stars in the void high above finally being able to watch as Kane and Bauer walked back to Thalamar. Many hours would pass by, marked by the moon seeking refuge behind the mountains, while a blend of violet, yellow, and orange sky was just beginning to peer over the horizon.
Bauer now wore light brown, leather tunic and pants, using his black robes to hold a plethora of moonshades, whereas Kane walked shirtless, using his shirt to hold more moonshades. His torso revealed skin as white as snow, which Bauer did not think possible with how pale Kane's face was, which made him wonder how the boy had survived for this long, given that he looked like a zombie under those threadbare clothing. His rib cage laid outlined, his arms not much more than skin and bones, and his collarbone visible enough for someone to use as handles.
At the very least, they were able to reconcile and speak to each other peacefully, learning more about one another.
"... Do you seriously not live with anyone?" asked Bauer, learning that Kane was operating on a one-man show.
Kane shook his head with pursed lips. "Nope. Most people in Thalamar pass by me on the streets and call me a rat bastard. The ones who don't say anything aren't willing to help out either. The only two people I know that help me out are Sage Maleagant and a guardsman named Ephraim... Well, Ephraim is kind, and Maleagant is the reason I can even make some money to afford food."
"What about your parents? Do you not have a family?"
Kane scoffed. "Nah. I used to have a mother and father, apparently, but now they're gone."
"Gone?"
"Yeah, but not dead... They're as good as dead to me, though. Those fuckers left Thalamar and went to some other city in Teivel, where the life the other cities had to offer were better. They left me here just to save some more money on the travel cost."
"That's messed up. Though you've done a better job than most when it comes to surviving."
"It's the only thing I've had to do. At this point, I question how I made it past the toddler stage in my life, though that remains as much of a mystery to me as do my parents."
"Well, at least now I understand why those flowers were so important to you." Bauer reached into his coat that he used as a net, picking up one of the many moonshades, perusing its entirety, from the blue petals that could only be found tonight, to the orange stigmas entwined within. "Honestly, whatever you're doing is better than turning to Nefandyr."
"Nefandyr? What is that? Like the name of the nefandites' organization?"
"Basically. Nefandyr is a religious cult. Nefandites are its followers."
"Oh, okay. Well," Kane tilted his head side to side as he recalled the appearances of the laymen, which as a clear hint that something messed up was going on behind the scenes with the nefandites, "yeah, I guess. I imagine only a handful of dumbasses would rationally consider that."
Bauer chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I was one of those dumbasses, once upon a time."
Kane looked to his left, watching as Bauer scratched at his sideburns, raising a brow as he said, "I've been meaning to ask about that, actually. Why did you join Nefandyr?"
"Well, I was nineteen at the time and started getting really invested into magic and all that nonsense. I learned about Nefandyr, and I thought I knew what I was getting myself into when declaring that I wished to become a nefandite." Bauer shook his head as he looked at the tilled dirt pathway. "Then I witnessed the true horrors and atrocities they committed. Necromancy, spreading plagues, propagating violence, and human sacrifices... You name it, they're most likely indulging in it.. and all in the name of their God."
"But why?"
"Why?" repeated Bauer, questioning the question. "I don't really know. I really didn't learn much because I wasn't truly committed for those five years that I spent with the nefandites. I've been a layman all my life."
"Hmm." Kane looked off to the side, watching the fog retreat as he watched the horizon slowly light up. He searched through the conversation he listened in on, remembering a couple things that he could not possibly answer on his own. "The Final God... and the mission... Who was that guy in the armour, and what did he mean by those two things?"
"Oh?" Bauer looked at Kane with a raised brow, unaware that he heard about that. "Just how long were you stuck in that cave?"
"I basically just got there when he was talking about it."
Bauer nodded. "Well, I still don't really know anything about this Final God, but I do know that the man in armour—the bishop—said that the Sacerdos became the Final God. What is a Sacerdos? Fuck if I know. Never heard of it in all that time... As for the mission, the goal was to take control of Teivel. Nefandyr needs to gain absolute control of this land so that those bastards can perform as many human sacrifices as possible. After all, who's gonna stop them if they control everything?"
Kane shrugged with both his shoulders and brows, wondering just what there was to gain from human sacrifices, and more curious about this Final God that the Sacerdos became. Better yet, the question of what the epithet 'Final God' entailed. Were there multiple gods? Was this Sacerdos the Final thing to become a god? But then what does it mean to become a god? Such were, but a few, of the many questions that raced through his mind. If he thought that the identity of the nefandites was a mystery before, then these answers he wanted were a damn enigma to be certain.
"Huh..." he said, conveying his declaration of understanding that he really didn't understand what was going on, whilst looking at a familiar sight of the wooden pillars that led into Thalamar, now about ten metres away.
They walked in silence, taking notice of a guard who stood perfectly equidistant to the pillars, bearing a torch and pike in hand.
"If it isn't the rat bastard," said the guard, revealing a gruff and piercing voice. "Thalamar would look so much better without you scampering through the streets."
"See," said Kane, glaring at the guard, "this is one of those fuckers who like to call me that."
"Hey!" the guard pointed his pike forward. "You know that Mayor Wymond said to watch your profanity in Thalamar!"
"I'm not in Thalamar yet, dickhead. I'm beyond the pillars."
"Just shut up and get inside. Damn rat bastard." He glared at Kane, watching him as he walked past, before he stuck out his pike, stopping Bauer from heading in. "Who are you?" he asked, looking from head to toe, studying Bauer and taking notice of the two black longswords tied around his waist.
Bauer was just about to speak, but Kane interrupted immediately, saying, "Oh, hold on just a second." He walked back to the guard, stepping past the pillars and clearing his throat. "He was helping me forage," he leaned his head forward, just mere inches away from the invisible border that the pillars cast as he stressed each syllable whilst slowly saying, "dickhead."
"I'm giving you one chance to—"
"To what?" Kane cut off the guard. "Whatchu gonna do, dickhead?"
The gaurd wrapped his fingers tightly around his pike, growing irritated with Kane's antics. "You're lucky that Mayor Wymond doesn't let me split your shoulders from your spine."
Kane pointed at the guard, placed his other hand on his chest, and leaned his head back as he laughed.
"Oh, look at me," said Kane, sticking his jaw out as he spoke, "I'm a cry baby bitch who can't mind his own business and can't do anything without my daddy's permission. Wah, wah, wah—"
"That's it motherfucker." The guard dropped his torch and grabbed the pike with both hands, using the handle to pin Kane's neck against the pillar's rough bark, enjoying the sounds of Kane's wheezing.
Bauer dropped the robes full of moonshades, pointing both longsword at the guard's neck, wearing a scowl on his face as he said, "Drop your weapon, dickhead."
"You wanna challenge me?" retorted the guard with a sharp and bitter disdain in his voice, taking notice of the needles still jabbed into Bauer's arms and legs. "You're barking up the wrong tree."
"Would be my pleasure."
"Curteis, let go of the boy at once!" the voice of an old, frail man echoed around the corner. Not long afterward, an old man with a thick, long, bushy white beard appeared around the corner, wearing blue robes and a hood, holding a long, thick, and grey walking stick. "What do you think you're doing with my herbalist?"
Curteis stopped pulled back his spear, leaving Kane to drop to the ground as he gasped for air, standing straight and tall as he watched the old man slowly make his way over—although his movements were hasty.
"Sage Maleagant! I was just... training your herbalist. He needs to know how to defend himself, especially out at—" He paused mid-speech, looking down at Kane who was cackling whilst staring right back at Curteis.
"That was not very courteous of you," said Kane, struggling to restrain his laughter as he felt the guard's burning glare on his face, emphasizing his enunciation of 'courteous'.
"Come now, young one," said Maleagant, gesturing with his hand, before walking back. "It is much too late for you to be out now. Bring whatever you foraged, and I will reward you equally. Bring your friend as well."
Kane slowly pushed himself up, patting Curteis on his pauldron. "Don't let Mayor Wymond shove that stick any further up your ass, pissy... Oh whoops, I mean Curteis. That wasn't very courteous of me."
"Get out of here, piss taker," replied Curteis, dusting his pauldron as he watched Kane walk off.
Bauer gave Curteis a glare as he walked by, asserting his dominance by holding his chin high—which was already well above Curteis's head—before he quickly caught up with Kane and Maleagant.
"So," said Maleagant as he played with his white beard, his small shifty steps forcing the other two to feel like they were walking in slow motion, "it took you quite a long while to return. Any complications?"
Kane was about to answer truthfully but closed his mouth, pursed his lips, and shook his head. "None at all. I found the moonshades you really wanted."
"Very good! But what of the lavender? The rosemary? The yarrow? The bloodroot? The star flowers? Did you not find any?"
Every other herb that Maleagant asked about made Kane's heart drop as he realized that he'd completely forgotten about the rest, especially after the mess that he went through with Bauer.
"I... uh..."
Maleagant raised an open hand up to his shoulder, sighing as he closed his eyes. "Young one, I know you let your curiosity get the best of you. You must be careful, however. The nefandites are not the kind of people who'll take kind to your," he paused, rocking his head side to side with raised brows, considering his words until he found, "tricks."
Kane, at a loss for words, walked with an open mouth that moved on its own. "H-how did you know?"
"Ah," the Sage dug his walking stick deep into the dirt with each step he took. "You know," he leaned towards Kane's ear and whispered, "it wouldn't be the first time this old codger has seen someone with those needles in their arms and legs."
Kane looked at Maleagant, his gaze meeting with the Sage's wink, before he looked back at Bauer, who stared back with a blank expression, before looking behind him, wondering what was going on.