EA Chapter 44 - The Eldest Alcett

Luna was slow to rouse from her slumber. The smell of burning herbs hit her nose first, joined soon after by a faint iron tang of blood and a chemical stink of alchemy reagents. Soft padding embraced her from below, a mattress markedly softer than that of her own bedding at the Citadel.

She rose with care, pain tingling in her muscles, and eventually managed to sit upright in bed. The room was unfamiliar but she could tell by scent alone that she was in an infirmary. She had inhabited a fair few of them in her misspent youth. A woman stood a modest distance from where Luna lay, her back to the young Arcanist, tending to a small tray of medicine.

“You,” Luna said, her voice dry and cracked. “How long have I been out?”

A startled cry escaped the nurse, who spun around with a swish of her stark grey skirt. A symbol of a red heart and a spear was emblazoned on the breast of her smock. “A... a week, milady.”

Luna nodded. At her bedside sat a small pitcher of water. Luna thought of moving it with qi, but thought better of it. Her mind was fuzzy and aching, she doubted she could maintain her focus for long in her current state. So, instead, she grabbed the pitcher and took a few long drinks from it.

“A week,” she eventually said, setting the pitcher aside. “Sounds about right. The strain of my spells was rather heavy.”

The nurse made for the door. “I shall inform the healers, and they’ll spread the word to your allies. I don’t doubt they were very worried about you, Lady Alcett.” She paused, standing in the doorway, then gave a sudden bow. “Thank you. My er... my family lived on Candor’s Street, one of the places attacked by those monsters. They said a girl with silver hair and purple eyes saved them.”

“That is part of the job. But I am glad I could help.” She maintained a calm facade until the nuse had left, and once alone she allowed herself to smirk.

Just as she had hoped, it seemed her reputation was already taking root. A folk hero that some folks in the capital felt a debt of gratitude toward.

People could be surprisingly easy to manipulate. One good deed could easily get them wrapped around your finger. And once that sense of loyalty was established, it could be very hard to break for some. Indeed, many people would sooner die than believe they were wrong about someone they had put their faith and trust in.

Soon the rest of her squad were allowed into the room, followed by Old Scratch himself. “Well,” the old man said, “the fabled Gargoyle Slayer in the flesh. This truly is an honour.”

“Oh hush,” said Luna.

“It was damned amazing!” Syri said, beaming at her. “People out there, they’re all talking about it. The cadet who tore a gargoyle’s heart out... There’s even bards playing songs about the battle.”

“Truly?” Luna kept her smile small with some effort. “Hah... well, that does soothe my pains a little.” Oh yes, it certainly did.

“Hate to dish out praise, but...” Kiharu flashed her a toothy smile. “You did damn good, Loon.”

“Loon?” Luna replied, giving her a flat look.

“Sounds nicer than ‘Runt’, doesn’t it?”

“It’s... Kiharu’s attempt at being nice,” Rema reasoned, managing an awkward smile.

Luna slowly sank back into the embrace of her pillows. “How bad was the damage?” she asked, allowing her tone to become more grave. She didn’t much care but she had to keep up appearances.

“Not good, but it could have been worse,” Old Scratch said, shrugging his mountainous shoulders. “Took us a few days to fish out all the corpses, and it’ll be some time before the rubble is cleared and the buildings are repaired. But we got lucky.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “What did you see up there? In the eye of the storm, I mean.”

Luna considered this. She had little to gain in lying. Indeed, she needed to position herself as an expert of sorts. “She called herself Iudex Kabal. She said she was a... fae, I think.”

That was enough to make Old Scratch stiffen where he stood. “A... fae?” he mumbled.

“Does that mean anything to you, sir?” she asked, slowly tilting her head.

The old man looked at her with some wariness. “Just something for the eggheads in the archives to puzzle over. Anything else?”

“Just that... we had overstepped some kind of boundary by exploring the Ashlands. She said that there were kingdoms beyond the Bulwark. That’s... they don’t want us to contact them.”

“Other... kingdoms?” Syri mumbled in disbelief.

“I didn’t think there was anything else beyond the Bulwark,” said Romula.

“But it makes sense,” said Rema.

There came a clatter of ironclad feet outside, and the doorframe was soon dominated by a towering man in sleek silvery plate, adorned in a gold and purple surcoat. His hair was light grey but his square-jawed face was rather youthful.

He exhaled as he laid eyes on Luna. “Damn. You really had me worried this past week Lulu.”

Luna grimaced, wishing she could slip instantly back into a coma. “Damn.”

“A palace guardsman?” Old Scratch asked flatly. “I take it that you know our girl here?”

“Lulu?” Kiharu repeated, trying not to laugh.

“Know her? I damn well ought to,” he made for the bed, thumbs hooked into his swordbelt. “The hero of the day is my little sister.”

Luna hadn’t paid much thought to her elder brother since she first set off for the capital. She had thought he was just one of the rank and file soldiers, but to see that he’d become a palace guard... well that was a surprise. But she could make use of it. It was hard to believe the meathead had managed to get as far as he had... but then again he had been something of a prodigy in the local militia back home.

She sighed, resigning herself to some of the embarrassment that was to follow. “Everyone this is Geran Alcett. My older brother.”