Splinter Angel Chapter 157 — Back to Misery Splinter Part 4 (Patreon)

A tenday later, Lara, Mabb, Nari, Komaki, and Trislain sat in the common room of the Long Rest. It had once been one of Mabb’s regular haunts; run by the third generation of the same farl family that had founded it, the place had rooms—and beds—that could comfortably accommodate farl and even elves.

That they had survived the collapse of the Splinter was at once mind-boggling and no surprise at all. Plenty of the cultist mages had survived to be taken prisoner, and while many were fanatical enough to give their lives if it meant taking the Splinter’s residents with them, more were understandably miffed that their leader had used the deaths of their fellows to power a ritual whose one purpose was to allow her, and her alone, to escape. Being left to die did not, it seemed, inspire loyalty or piety.

So they’d recreated the ritual, modifying it to stay open as long as it received mana. It had taken two days. As the Splinter began to collapse in earnest, the massive amounts of freed mana poured into the ritual, opening the rift wide and allowing all the survivors near the obelisk—half a thousand all told, prisoners included—to flee through it. They’d had no idea where they might end up and had charged through ready for battle, but that turned out to be unnecessary. They emerged in an idyllic glade on a summer’s morn, in what turned out to be a wide, forested valley in the mountains north of Thaverskeep, a Core City and the pride of the Arden Heart Guild.

It was all rather surreal, but they were alive and, to all appearances, safe. Lara, for one, did her best not to think about the dozens, perhaps over a hundred, who’d taken to the swamp. What happened to you when the Splinter dissolved around you? All she knew was she was glad not to find out.

The march to Thaverskeep had taken a day, and caused quite a commotion. But once their identities as members had been established, the guild had done its best to accommodate them all without asking anything in return. After all, what was the point of being a member of a guild if that guild didn’t have your back when you were at your lowest? All they’d had to do was to answer some questions.

Lara should have known better than to trust the guild officers when they said that they wanted “a moment of her time” to “ask just a few questions, to clear some things up.” For two days, hour upon hour with only short breaks for meals and to stretch their legs, her interrogators had gone through every moment of any import from the last two months. The same, she’d understood, was true of everyone else. Every survivor of Misery Splinter, and especially those involved in leading the march on the white obelisk and winning the battle there, had been interrogated to the fullest extent the guild’s charter would allow.

From what the others had said, Lara’s experience had been pretty representative. The interrogators had asked about the void plague and the ferals. When had they seen the first signs of trouble? When had they first confirmed the presence of ferals? Could she estimate how many they’d found and killed in total? How many “changelings,” as the cultists had called their victims, had they rescued before they could be infected? And so on, and so forth, for two whole damn days.

Lara had the unsettling feeling that Misery Splinter wasn’t the first Splinter to be attacked. Possibly not even the first to fall. And while she did her best not to take any responsibility, the knowledge made her sick. So did they fact that the interrogators hadn’t even blinked when she told them about the attempted coup and assassination by the temple of the Lord of Order, or that they asked her, in a way that made it clear that they weren’t really asking, to keep that part quiet.

The only thing in her testimony that had truly thrown them was when she told them how the Living Wave, who’d given her name as Fahin Sparr, had used the defeat of her own forces as a method of escape. In answer to their incredulous questions she told them the same thing in different ways, over and over: the woman sure sounded Saphahran, but Lara doubted she’d given her real name. And her best guess was that when the surviving traitors from the attempted coup arrived at the obelisk, telling the mage just how many people were coming for them, she’d discarded any realistic hope of victory. She’d set things up to ensure her own survival, and she’d succeeded. With any luck, they’d never hear from her again.

It took two hours before they moved on.

And then, when every scrap of information had been wrung out of her, Lara had been sent on her way with the guild’s gratitude—some of which was tangible in the form of coin to help her get settled. Trislain had been released into her custody after his own interrogation ended, with the understanding that she was responsible for his future behavior. That had been five days ago.

Once they were all set free, Nari and Komaki had just sort of drifted into Lara and Mabb’s orbit. Trislain’s presence had made the others somewhat uncomfortable at the start, but Mabb wasn’t about to turn his back on someone who’d saved his life, and Nari and Komaki quickly accepted that the twins were a package deal. And with Lara for once not doing everything she could to drive every potential friend away, and with Mabb already being friendly with the pair, they ended up sticking together.

Lara and her companions had spent the past five days getting the best price they could for their Crystals, replacing the most important things they’d lost, and just enjoying the fact that they were in a Core City. Good food, good drink, good music, good plays, good weather—oh, gods, the weather! Sunshine and soft breezes, blue skies and soft, white clouds and night skies full of stars! Granted, you had to get out of the city and away from the stench of manure and the occasional dead horse to really enjoy it, but compared to Misery Splinter, it was practically heaven.

It was shocking how easily you could forget how good it could feel to be alive. At some point between Tendy leaving her and the present, Lara had forgotten how to allow herself to enjoy anything that wasn’t strong drink or a pretty girl’s company. But she was starting to remember now. She still hated herself for how things had ended with Tendy. She still felt some guilt over her role in bringing Norn into the outpost, but over the two weeks since escaping from her self-imposed imprisonment, things had been getting better.

Mabb had always wanted her to leave. He’d always wanted her to learn to be happy again. Maybe, just maybe, he might get his wish.

“So. Now what?” Nari said. There was a finality to the way she put down her empty cup, and a seriousness to the way she looked around the table, that suggested that she wasn’t just talking about their plans for the evening.

“We’ll need to start doing some work, I guess,” Lara replied, taking her meaning. “This silver won’t last forever.”

“Indeed it will not,” Mabb agreed, though Lara had a sneaking suspicion that he had plenty of coin to lend her, should she ask. She just didn’t want to.

Komaki heaved a sigh of relief. “That’s so damn good to hear. I’ve been having a great time, don’t get me wrong, and you all are solid company on a night out—even you, Tris!” he added, turning a wide smile on the Healer.

Trislain just snorted and shrugged, though the fact that he didn’t protest at being called Tris spoke volumes.

“So, Nari and me, we’ve been talking,” the elfin Vanguard continued. He turned to the woman in question, who pursed her lips, then nodded. What kind of telepathy had just taken place, Lara had no idea. Nor did she have time to wonder, since Komaki continued without pause.

“The two of us, we’re not really city folks. And while I’m mostly about just having a fun, exciting life, Nari’s got responsibilities, you know? She told you about her family. Debts and shit. And she hasn’t seen them for… how long is it? Years, anyway. And she’s got money for them, to help with that debt. So we’ve been looking at caravan work going in the right direction. Not a chance in hell we’ll find a caravan headed into Halewood from here, but we found one heading to Castra, and the master says they’ve been looking for extra guards for the trip. Demons are getting bad, apparently. The pay’s fixed, but food and all is included and he thinks the risk of attack is high, so there may be extra Crystals to be had there. Um… we kind of agreed. Leaving in two days. Were gonna tell you tonight or tomorrow. But he’s more than happy to take two more combat Classers, and he was pretty much foaming at the idea of having a Healer along, so if you’re interested… I mean, we’ve got a pretty good thing here, don’t we? We all get along, good times, bad times, quiet times. If you don’t have anything else planned… I mean, you don’t have to come along on the last bit. It’s another hundred-fifty, two hundred miles from Castra to where Nari’s folks are—”

“A week,” Nari supplied.

“About a week,” Komaki agreed smoothly. “We could say goodbye in Castra if you want, but I think it’d be nice to spend some more time together first, don’t you?”

“I certainly would not mind,” Mabb said. “Perhaps they might let me tend to the draught animals.”

“Castra,” Lara mused. “That’s over in Summervale, isn’t it? Bluesky country?”

“It is,” Trislain confirmed. It was the first thing he’d said for half an hour.

“And with Ardent Heart and Bluesky having such a good relationship, we won’t have any problems! That’s what makes this so great!” Komaki said excitedly. “There was another caravan headed to do a tour of the Wanteul Confederacy, but then we’d have to mess around with papers and all that garbage. To Castra we can just go, no worries!”

“Huh,” Lara said, thinking about it. “Trislain?”

“One place is as good as any, as long as it’s away from Saphahr,” her brother replied, and Lara wasn’t about to argue with that.

“Alright, so what’s the pay?” she asked, and Komaki enthusiastically started laying out the details.

* 

Two days and one night later, on the morning of their second day with the caravan, Lara sat high on a boulder watching the sun rise over the Thaver, the great lake on whose shore Thaverskeep lay. Fishing boats and merchant ships glided through the still water, expertly catching the faint breeze with their sails, and as she followed their slow progress Lara experienced a peace she hadn’t known for far too long.

“Can I join you?” a hesitant voice asked from below, rousing Lara from the near trance she’d been in. There stood Nari, looking awkward and beautiful, her face a warm bronze in the golden morning light.

“Sure,” Lara said, scooting over to make room then reaching down to hoist the Swordswoman up onto the boulder.

“We should talk,” Nari said once she’d settled. “Or, I have something I need to say to you.”

“Oh?” The peace Lara had been enjoying buffered her somewhat against the apprehension those words sparked, but experience told her that nothing good ever followed a statement like that.

“It’s been hard not to say anything these three weeks. Now we face another week together, two or more if you and Mabb come with Komaki and me to my home. And it wouldn’t be right of me to stay silent any longer.”

“Right. Right,” Lara said, not knowing what else to say. Her gut feeling was that she must have done something terrible, but try as she might she couldn’t remember what that might be. Which was worse in some ways, because there were a lot of nights—and some stretches of several days—that Lara had no memory of. “Um, so…”

Nari wasn’t looking at her. She was staring at the rising sun as she said, “I need to apologize. I should have done so long ago, but I could never work up the courage until now.”

Lara’s mind, still desperately trying to remember what she might have done to this woman who had, over the past three weeks, become a friend, ground to a halt. “Apolo— you?”

“You don’t remember. I know you don’t, and that’s part of the problem. That’s part of what makes this so awful. I—” Nari’s voice choked off, and when she turned to face Lara it was with such overwhelming guilt that Lara had to squash a sudden impulse to hug her. “I took advantage of you!” the Swordswoman finally blurted.

“Huh?” Lara was truly lost now.

 Words rushed out of Nari. “I was lonely, and I don’t usually go for women but you were so handsome, so charming, and you were interested in me, and I knew you were drunk but so was I, so figured it was fine, but it was only the next evening, when you didn’t even recognize me, that I realized how drunk you were! You were in no state to—” Nari’s voice broke again, and she looked down. When she spoke again, a simple “I’m sorry,” her voice was so pitifully small.

“Oooh,” Lara said, slowly understanding. “Did we…?”

“We didn’t get that far. We kissed a lot. You cried a little. I held you through the night, and you were gone in the morning. But that doesn’t make it right. I shouldn’t have let you make yourself so vulnerable when you were too drunk to make good decisions. And I’m sorry for that.”

This time Lara couldn’t help herself. Nari was so obviously, genuinely distraught that Lara first put her hand on the Swordswoman’s shoulder and then, when Nari didn’t pull back, pulled her into a gentle hug. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d hugged someone just to comfort them, but she did so now.

“Hey,” she said. “It’s alright. I forgive you. I don’t think you need forgiveness, but you have it. If anything, I feel like I should thank you for putting up with my blubbering and holding me. I honestly don’t remember, and I feel terrible about that, but I can only imagine that the next day was a little less miserable for me.”

“Really?” Nari asked, tentatively returning the hug.

“Really. And thanks for telling me. I’ve been wondering why you’ve been so awkward around me. I worried that I’d, uh… you know. Loved and left. I’ve had a bad history of doing that with pretty girls.”

“You kissed my scars,” Nari whispered. “You told me they were beautiful.”

“I’m sure they are.” Lara gave her another squeeze, then gently pulled back so they could look at each other. There were wet streaks on Nari’s cheeks. “So, from my side, we’re good. How about you?”

“You truly forgive me?”

“Again, no forgiveness necessary, but you have it.”

Nari smiled hesitantly, and gods, she had a pretty smile. “Then I’m glad to have told you.”

“Watch the ships with me?”

“I’d like that,” Nari said, turning back toward the sunrise. And while she went back to her normal taciturnity, she sat close enough for their legs to touch until the cook called them to breakfast.

*

The journey to Castra was supposed to take a week. It took them ten days. Bad luck saw axles broken, then a bridge washed away and the nearby ford swollen beyond any hope of a crossing from torrential rains in the mountains. A demonic thrunga, a beast somewhere between an aurochs and a wolverine which could have posed a problem even if it hadn’t been possessed, made an attempt on one of the passengers who’d strayed a little too far off the road; Lara and the other guards slew it, and the passenger lived thanks to Trislain’s prompt intervention.

A pack of bandits had set up an ambush. They took one look at the people guarding the caravan and ran when Komaki called them out, but clearing the road still slowed them down.

It took three days from the sunrise over the Thaver before Lara, almost shyly and without a drop of alcohol in her, asked Nari if she’d share her bed that night. Nari, just as shyly, said that yes, she’d like that. After that, Lara and Nari slept together some nights. Some nights they didn’t. They never went beyond kissing, and Lara wasn’t sure that Nari wanted to. That was alright. She was that wonderful combination of soft and firm that fighting women often were, and comfortingly warm, and she held Lara like she cared. That was all that Lara asked.

When they arrived in the Summervale capital there was no discussion about whether Lara, Mabb, and Trislain would continue on with Nari and Komaki. Lara and Mabb both expressly wanted to, and while Trislain only said that he was legally bound to follow his sister, it was clear to anyone with eyes to see that he and Komaki had struck up a preternatural friendship. And so, on the morning of the day after their arrival, with some of their pay spent but most pocketed, they set out north toward Halewood. Nari had not been home since she left. It was past time. And Lara, Mabb, and Trislain had nothing better to do than to help a friend.

As they set out on the northward road, talking and laughing as they left Castra’s walls behind them, Lara smiled into the morning sun. It was going to be a beautiful day.

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Bye-bye Misery Splinter! With the next chapter we return to Ana and her final days in her own Splinter. See you there!