Playing For Keeps - Ch 50 (Adv) - Finding The Nerve (Patreon)

The Warrior In The Woods -› ‘A Brilliant R Name’ | Sunday 16:46

‹The Warrior In The Woods› Are you suuuuuure you don’t want us to come help? D:

‹Shining Knight› Ruby, with all my heart, yeah I kinda wish you could

‹Shining Knight› but I cannot get you to Mistral fast enough for it to matter and all of us would get in so much fucking trouble

‹Khamira› You still haven’t mentioned how you got there so fast.

‹Shining Knight› have not and will not

‹Shining Knight› outright asking you to trust me on this

‹Shining Knight› please accept that it was Semblance bullshit and move on for all of our safety

‹Captain Mistral› We understand, Jaune. We’re just worried. Please let us know if there’s anything that we can help with, though? Even if it’s just contacts.

‹The Warrior In The Woods› And we ARE coming with you on your next mission -.-

‹Shining Knight› I will Pyr, I promise. And we’ll see, Ruby.

‹Shining Knight› anyway, y’all’s lunch is almost over and I need to meet with Headmaster Lionheart and then check in with Qrow

‹Khamira› Good Hunting, Jaune.

I sighed briefly. You would not be saying that if I could explain the circumstances of this ‘meeting’… but then, I don’t know Lionheart’s circumstances yet, and I’m not going to drag his name through the mud until I know for sure.

Dismissing the interface, I sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch I’d laid Lionheart on. After a moment’s thought, I pulled a water bottle, a rag, and a wastebasket out of my [Inventory] before grabbing the unconscious man’s wrist.

Meditating while channeling [Lay On Hands] to bring his Aura back up to safe levels didn’t stop me from noticing the moment he actually woke up, nor from tightening my grip as he instinctively flinched away.

“Hold still, I’m not done healing you.”

Lionheart warily cracked an eye. Some, though not all, of the tension left his shoulders as he took me in, presumably because I wasn’t Tyrian. “You’re–?”

His rasping voice cut off in a cough, and I used my other hand to flick the cap off the water bottle, handing it to him without letting go. Sorry Prof, I don’t trust you not to bolt.

He sat up gingerly and looked around before taking a sip. His mouth worked for a moment, clearly wanting to ask a multitude of things, before he settled on, “…What happened?”

“Someone from Spider found you, already poisoned and delirious. I ransomed you back from them an hour ago. I’m not sure when you passed out, but it’s Sunday afternoon now,” I summarized, before fixing him with a hard stare. “Why did one of Salem’s lieutenants come after you directly?”

Lionheart jerked in his seat but still couldn’t break my grip. He looked terrified for a moment before seeming to master himself. “I… How do you know that?”

“He stands out in a crowd,” I said drily. “And he can’t shut the fuck up to save his own life. With the context I have, it’s not that difficult to piece together who the ‘goddess’ he yammers on about might be. I can’t imagine she lets him off the leash very often, so one can’t help but wonder, why did she send him after you?”

“I’m known to be an ally of Ozpin’s,” Lionheart tried. “If… she felt that she couldn’t strike at him, I am a logical choice of target. Haven coordinates nearly all the Hunters in this hemisphere. Removing me could disrupt Hunting activity all over the continent.”

“That might explain her motive if she was preparing to make a move here,” I agreed, still not letting go. “…But everything points toward her taking aim at Vale, at the moment. It also doesn’t account for why Callows was rambling about ‘traitors’.”

Lionheart swallowed and didn’t say anything.

“Why did he come after you, Professor?” I pressed, because that was the real question at the heart of my current Quest. “What did she make you do?”

He hesitated again, idly twisting his wrist in my grip.

“Would you rather have this conversation with me, or with Qrow?” I added, and Lionheart slumped.

“…You wouldn’t understand,” he said finally, his eyes on the floor between us. “None of them will. Qrow is liable to kill me… and perhaps he’s right to. She can hardly be said to have made me do anything.”

“Try me.” I gave his wrist a tug to break him out of the slump. “Tell me what happened and how.”

“I just…” He sighed helplessly. “…After so many years, after the centuries Ozpin has opposed her… How are we supposed to believe anything we do can make a difference against Salem? Hardly the first time I’d entertained such thoughts, of course. I shook them off in the past, but… I suppose she caught me at a moment of weakness. I was contacted by her associates. She promised that Mistrali civilians would be spared the Grimms’ depredations if I followed her orders…”

“And all you had to do was deliberately send Mistrali Hunters to their deaths?” It was a shot in the dark, because I didn’t know whether he’d done that in this timeline… but his renewed flinch told me I was on the money.

“I knew it was wrong, but as soon as I’d done it once… I was culpable, and I knew it. I continued, even without direct orders, too much of a coward to stop myself. Forcing myself to believe the lie that it was saving lives in the long term. I couldn’t tell Ozpin and the others. Instead I vacillated between hoping it would be enough to save my own skin… and wishing I was dead so I wouldn’t have to face those I’d betrayed.”

“But something changed, or Callows wouldn’t be here,” I prompted. “What happened to make you stop?”

He let out a huff, looking me in the eye for the first time. “You happened.”

I raised an eyebrow, and he elaborated.

“The night we met, you’ll recall I was late to Jeanne’s dinner. My attention was demanded because of the crash. Again, no orders from Salem… but I cancelled the standard escort that should have accompanied the medivac young Violet requisitioned, leaving her without backup should something happen.”

“Something like the appearance of a Named.”

He shuddered. “Yes. I deemed the danger of a Surge being drawn by the crash victims too high. I consoled myself that Violet’s Semblance might allow her to escape, but decided I couldn’t justify losing more Hunters along with the victims and the medics. But then…” He looked at me again, his free hand grasping my wrist where I still hadn’t let his go. “You kept them calm. You prevented a Surge. You held off Samiri until Violet arrived, and a Named was slain by a boy who hadn’t even attended Combat School. And I… I let myself dare to feel hope once more. I spent hours changing my own orders, sending reinforcements and coordinating better intelligence to our Hunters in the field before finally arriving to dinner late. It’s no consolation to those I sent to their deaths… but I stopped, and I cut all communication with Salem. I suppose I should have known it was only a matter of time before she sent someone after me as reprisal.”

“You turned against Salem… because of me?” I don’t know about that. Maybe I was the impetus… but the self-proclaimed coward still found a spine on his own.

“I know you have no reason to believe me,” he sighed. “But it’s the truth. When Callows arrived, I was sure my time was up. Nonetheless, I tried to lure him into my office and kill him. When that failed, I hoped I could at least get somewhere to call for help and try again, but without a Scroll and knowing I was being pursued, I delayed too long and began hallucinating.”

“Which is presumably when Spider found you,” I finished. “Credit to them, they’re probably why Callows didn’t find you. Still, you managed to hold out. When you missed your check-in on Friday, Qrow and I scrambled to get here.”

“You should have left me,” Lionheart said immediately. “I’m better off dead, and I wouldn’t be able to betray you any further.”

“Dead men tell no tales, but they also can’t make things right,” I told him flatly. “You say you turned back to our side because of me? Then as the one who saved your life, I say you’re not allowed to die yet. Not until we’ve won. You had your rest, it’s time to get back into the fight.”

He laughed bitterly. “They’ll never trust me again, and neither should you.”

“Then… I would say you have a choice. I can call Qrow and we can tell the Guardians what’s happened. You can face their judgment, like you seem to think you deserve. Or you can try to overpower me and escape. Tyrian knows he stung you, so he probably thinks you’re dead by now; you might very well be able to make a run for it and disappear without Salem or the Guardians finding you. Or…” He was clearly hanging on my words, so I made the offer. “Or you can swear, right now, that you’ve rejoined our side for good.”

Lionheart let out a self-disgusted scoff. “I’ve already proven that my word is worth nothing. That I’m such a coward I would sell out far better people to save my own neck. I could swear to you and mean it… but how could you trust that I wouldn’t do the same thing in the future when my cowardice gets the best of me?”

“Because we don’t have to leave it to chance,” I said softly. “If you think that your word can’t be trusted… Then don’t let your word alone be your bond this time. Don’t swear to me. Swear an oath that you can’t break.”

The headmaster stared at me. “…What are you talking about? Is such a thing even possible?”

“You know magic is real, Leonardo Lionheart,” I told him formally. “Yes, there is such a thing. It’s called a geas. An oath sworn on your mind, your body, your soul, your name, and your very life will take on those properties. Recite those words. Mean them. Inscribe them on your Aura, and it will enforce them. Neither of us will have to fear you breaking your oath… because you won’t be able to.”

He continued staring, but the uncertainty in his gaze was slowly turning to wonder. “You’re serious. You… have magic of your own?”

“Not like the Maidens. Not even like Ozpin, not really. But even if it’s only a ‘semblance’ of what magic used to be, there’s a spark of potential left in all of us modern mortal, and it’s enough to bind a geas. It’s where the ideas of religious vows and fairy tale contracts originated.”

“You’re certain?” he whispered.

I’m like, 90% sure I’m right about this. “I’m certain, because I took an Oath myself after I lost my memories, before I learned anything about magic. Ozpin recognized it when I described it, and warned me that taking multiple geasa is dangerous. Conflicting magical obligations or taboos can tear your soul apart… but a single promise, that you fully intend to uphold forever? Like I said, you wouldn’t have to fear breaking it. Ever.”

I could tell that I’d convinced him with those words, even before the popup that confirmed it.

[Persuasion successful! Charm has increased by 1!]

His resolve was visible in his eyes, and I let go of his wrist at last. Instead, I held out my hand for him to clasp. “Swear it,” I repeated. “Mean it. And we’ll make it real.”

I didn’t try to dictate what he swore. This was something he needed to decide for himself, just as I had done all those months ago on my ‘first’ night in Remnant. Instead, I simply let my Aura out in a way I hadn’t been able to when I swore my Paladin’s Oath, and Lionheart did the same.

He swallowed, but he grasped my hand like a lifeline. “I, Leonardo Lionheart, reaffirm my oaths as a Huntsman,” he started out whispering, but his voice grew firmer as he spoke. “I swear to oppose the Grimm and all enemies of mortals. I swear I shall atone for the evils I have done, by action and inaction. I swear to uphold these words, so that my courage may never falter again! I swear it on my mind, I swear it on my body, I swear it on my soul, I swear it on my name, I swear it on my life.”

[A skill has been created through a special action! Guiding another into swearing a geas has created the skill [Bind Oath]!]

----------------------------------------

Name: Jaune ArcLevel: 61 (Next: 63.35%)Title: Academy StudentRace: HumanAge: 18Job: Journeyman HuntsmanClass: PaladinSemblance: The GamerHP: 8202/8202MP: 4456/4456STR: 223 (100)CON: 279 (102)DEX: 162 (54)INT: 136 (51)WIS: 110 (52)CHA: 152 (52)Points: 112Money: 1,008,990LStatus: Cursed – Yellow Death [High]

----------------------------------------

A/N: If you’re enjoying this story, feel free to check out my discord server at https://discord.gg/H6V854Fvbg

I actually spent a good long while, even before this arc started, deciding what I wanted to do with Lionheart. In the end, this is what I settled on: Even before rezzing Amber, before getting involved with the Guardians, before even unlocking his own Aura, Jaune was causing butterflies simply by trying to be better, because I think that’s what the narrative of (early) RWBY was calling for.