#Writing #BloodofSilenceSeries #BloodofSilence #BoS
Neshimo, village of Natoo
Dear adventurers,
An unusual number of hostile creatures have been gathering around the old volcano to the north. They've been attacking our people and destroying our crops, and w__e humbly request your aid in their removal.
More menial tasks, I sighed. Well, as long as the pay was good…
It was nightfall by the time I arrived at the bustling little farming village. It wasn't all that different to the village I came from, even if it was a bit bigger. This village, though, specialised in something a little out of the ordinary.
It wasn't a variety of wheat, fruits or vegetables that they grew. No, it was something very specific, and I could smell its aroma as soon as I set foot in the place. The sweetest, most authentic, and carefully brewed wines known to man.
I'd be lying if I said that wasn't at least half the appeal of accepting this job, and that's on word of mouth alone. I'd never actually been here myself.
The climate and soil here were apparently perfect for the growth and harvesting of grapes, and you could find them hardly anywhere else.
"Ah, you must be the last of the adventurers," a man said warmly, holding out a hand. "Neshimo. Good to finally meet you."
I took his hand, shaking it firmly, "Zeraenik."
"Feel free to have a look around. We'll get you to work tomorrow with the others."
I didn't have a partner, so it was rather uncommon for me to work with 'others'. Nevertheless, that was something to worry about later.
"I've booked out a room for you over there in the motel," the man pointed to a building to the left, a little ways down the path.
"Gotcha, thanks."
"My pleasure."
The village was relatively quite–its streets lit dimly by the occasional lantern, with hardly a soul in sight. If any were out at this hour, they were likely at the local bar. Naturally, that's where I was headed.
As I passed the street to the motel, a conversation peaked my ears and I paused. Hidden beneath the shadows of two buildings were two dark figures.
I squinted my eyes, trying to make out any discernible features of the silhouettes, but to no avail.
One was significantly shorter than the other, and they both seemed to be wearing something akin to robes or dresses. I couldn't see the outline of their hair or faces at all, which lead my to believe something was concealing their heads as well.
"You know it's not impossible," came the sound of a woman's voice.
"I know that, but how? How did she–"
"It sounds like it was luck. She's either incredibly smart, or incredibly foolish. Perhaps both."
"Indeed," the man grumbled. "Show it to me."
The woman held out a hand, depositing something in his. "Strangely, a piece of it is missing," she explained, "though I know not why."
The man was deathly quiet for a few moments. "You said it was a sealed crystal, did you not?"
"I did."
"Then there can be no mistake. These engravings on the back are unfinished, but…" he trailed off
"It looks like a lovers' engraving. 'C & '…?"
"'H', he finished, sounding almost angry at the missing letter. 'C & H' is the full engraving."
"How do you know?"
"Because the person it belonged to it loved the damned thing to death. She insisted on wearing it everywhere."
"You knew her? Who was it?"
He seemed to pause at that. "It matters not," he deposited the item in question back into the woman's hand. "Do not mention this to anyone–especially Emet-Selch. We continue on with the plan."
She seemed to tilt her head in question, but before she could ask any more questions, the man insisted she go back to the motel.
I ducked further behind the wall of the building to make sure they didn't take any notice of me.
"Cynthia Kore…" I heard him seethe. "For the good of the star itself, you cannot be allowed to roam free. To think She would claim the defector." he scoffed.
"Cynthia…Kore?" I murmured to myself aloud.
When I looked back, he was gone.
—–
"Time to wake up, you silly cat," came the cheerful sing-song of a voice I just barely registered.
Before I could make any sense of it, however, the intruder gave a swift tug to the covers I'd wrapped myself in, sending me tumbling out of bed. "Oww," I whined. "Who on earth…?"
"The sun is up, and you should be as well, Mr lazy bones!" she continued, and I peaked open an eye to register who it was. Oh.
"What're you doing here? Go back to bed," I groaned, rolling back over and burying my head in the pillow that came tumbling with me.
"I'm here to collect my partner, of course! Imagine my surprise when I found out from the innkeeper that it was you. I just had to come here and see for myself!"
"Of course you did," I groaned once again. "Has no one ever told you not to come into a guy's room unannounced? Did you even knock?"
"And what might I have seen had I come in at a bad time, hmm?" she asked teasingly, and I could practically hear the smirk in her voice.
I bristled at the question, tail briefly stopping it's irritated flicks. She laughed at that.
"You're avoiding the question," I grumbled.
She hummed in thought, idly musing aloud, "'Did I knock', hm? Good question…"
The fact that she even had to think about it was concerning.
"I think I did? But maybe I didn't… I was so excited to come annoy you that I don't even remember!"
I sighed frustratingly, lifting my head to look at her. "How can you not remember if you knocked? Isn't it like–illegal not to or something?"
She shrugged sheepishly. "I would've thought we were well beyond knocking at this point, anyway."
"We are never beyond knocking. Not with you."
She giggled.
"Now go away, so I can get some bloody clothes on. What time is it anyway?"
"Uhhh…" she began guiltily walking to the door, avoiding the question.
"Firyna."
"The time, hm… Suddenly it's escaped my mind!"
I turned to throw a pillow at her, but she'd already disappeared out the door. Annoyed, I huffed and went rummaging through my bag for the chronometer.
'The sun is up,' she'd said. I'll kill her.
After fifteen minutes or so, I head outside to meet with Fi. The morning air stung what little of my skin was exposed, and the sun was just barely over the horizon. She stood outside, the perfect picture of innocence as she rocked back and forth on her heals, humming an unfamiliar tune.
"What's that song?" I asked, making my presence known.
"Hm? Oh, it's uh…" she furrowed her brows in thought. "Good question, actually. I have no idea."
I sighed, the puff of air visible in the cold. "Do you know how late I got here last night?"
"After…me?"
"Yes, 'after you', dumbass, and I barely had even five hours of sleep thanks to you!"
"Five hours?! That's tons!"
"It is not tons. You've got to be insane to think that is tons."
"Well, I had to wake you because we've got a job to do, and my partner is waiting for us. So c'mon, let's get going!"
"You have a partner now?"
"Mhm!"
When we arrived at our destination, we were greeted by a woman clad in black. Dark blue hair hung gracefully at her hips, and ocean-blue eyes seemed as if they would swallow me whole in their expanse.
She was intimidating, that was for certain, but Firyna's ease lead me to believe this was her new companion.
As she smiled sweetly at me, there was something about her that I couldn't quite place. Something that unsettled me. "You must be Zeraenik."
"Uh- yeah," I stammered, "and you are?"
"Firyna's partner, Ines," she replied simply.
"Ah, so it's you I've heard about. You can call me Nik if you like, since we'll be working together and all."
She nodded, "This way. The monsters have been gathering in here," she explained.
She motioned for us to follow, grabbing the torch from the outside wall.
I scanned our surroundings curiously. The tunnel was rocky and uneven, and Firyna grumbled something about it 'not being made for tall people.'
It wasn't overly long before she was able to lift her head, though, for we managed to find something resembling a room soon enough.
The ceiling stretched far beyond the torch's light, and I shuddered to think what could be hiding in its darkness.
"Ines, look!"
Quickly diverting my attention, I spun to look at Firyna. She stood before a wall, pointing at something I couldn't quite see, but as the blue-haired women approached, my eyes grew wide.
Upon the cave walls–covering the expanse of what seemed to be entire the room, up to the very tips of the ceiling–were detailed paintings depicting various events. They all ended, however, where Firyna stood.
She seemed strangely unfazed and uninterested in the other panels. I'd half expected her to go running from one to another shouting in excitement, but she remained uncharacteristically silent.
There was a masked woman in the painting. She wore a simply black robe, and had stunningly beautiful long hair that seemed to float around her. She shone magnificently as she held up a crystal–not unlike the one from the other day–and seemed to resonate with it.
"What is it?" Ines filled in the silence, equally unfazed.
Firyna lifted a finger, gently tilting her head as she touched the crystal in the painting. She slowly followed the markings of it and the girl's glow upwards, until she paused.
Before the black-robed girl, was a bird that would strike fear into any sane person who beheld it, but she was not scared. She stood unshakingly as the people behind watched in awe.
Firyna was much the same. She seemed completely unfazed as she uttered a simple observation. "That fire bird. It came from the crystal."
"A phoenix," Ines corrected.
"Gah, you mean to say a monster could have come from one of those things?" My tail bristled at the thought, and she merely laughed.
"No, it's protecting them. Look, that appears to be a volcano."
She was right, I realised. Before the monstrous bird was a mountain-like structure, secreting what must have been lava. The bird–no matter how strange it seemed–must have been shielding them, and it seemed the girl was its master.
I moved closer to it, squinting at the figure in the painting. "She kinda looks like you, Fi."
"What, you think every girl with long brown hair looks like me?" she questioned incredulously.
"Truly, you sure know how to flatter a girl," she grumbled. "You say she looks like me, but I think she looks like Ines. I mean look, their outfits are practically identical! They've both got horrible fashion sense!"
As if braking the women out of a trance, she almost seemed to trip over her own two feet at the comment. "Y-you think so?"
I huffed, but before any further comments could be made, an ear-wrenching squawk resounded through the room.
"Shit, don't tell me that thing's still alive."
"That's–" I heard Ines murmur. "No, it can't be…"
In the blink of an eye, a bird made of purest fire descended from the nigh-endless ceiling above with yet another piercing screech. Reflexively, I went to cover my ears, but it wasn't until I looked up that I realised…
"Ines, watch out!" Firyna screamed–jumping to tackle the blue-haired girl to the ground.
It was all I could do to stare frozen in shock.