Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (139/?)

“Sometimes life throws you a curveball, and when it does you just gotta—”

“Roll with the punches, Aunty?”

“What? Heck no. You either eviscerate it with a Charon Innovations emancipation grill, or you knock it back at life with a power-armored swing!”

… 

My survey drones took flight.

Whhiiiiirrrr!

Just as the world exploded into a sea of pyroclastic fury.

FWU-FFWOOOOOSHHHHHH!

There was no hesitation.

No clemency.

And not even an ounce of mercy to be had, as Thalmin lit up the lightly wooded patch of forest in front of us into a raging inferno.

All seventy meters of it.

Temperatures soared—

ALERT: EXTERNAL TEMPERATURES EXCEEDING SAFE LEVELS. 827… 982… 1227 DEGREES CELSIUS. 

—while my thermals cut off, causing the colors of my composite imaging overlay to de-tint as a result.

Though thermals weren’t strictly necessary now… not when the night was now lit up by the orange and yellow glow of a raging forest fire.

Trees snapped and cracked as their bark blackened in seconds.

Whilst dense and impenetrable foliage were reduced to an ashen cinder in a blink of an eye.

I watched as the world burned in front of us.

And yet—

[STATUS UPDATE: 7 TARGETS. RANGE: 50 METERS AND CLOSING.]

—it wasn’t enough.

A fact confirmed by the establishment of the local battle-net.

I turned to Thalmin, head snapping in an urgent shake while I leveled my sights on the first target.

The prince responded shortly thereafter, but not with words nor a reciprocal gesture, no. 

ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 450% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS

Instead, he responded in a way only a mercenary prince could.

ALERT: EXTERNAL TEMPERATURES EXCEEDING SAFE LEVELS. 1400 DEGREES CELSIUS. 

With more firepower.

[STATUS UPDATE: 6 TARGETS. RANGE: 45 METERS AND CLOSING.]

There we go…

[ETA: 23 SECONDS]

My turn… 

=====

Thalmin

I thought I had more discipline.

I assumed I’d be immune to this draw to novelty.

But I wasn’t.

My eyes were inexplicably drawn to the motions of Emma’s hands, her index finger remaining unflinchingly still behind the trigger to this alien construct of steel and manaless alchemics.

I knew exactly what would happen when her finger was drawn.

Indeed, it was the alien-ness of the manaless machinations that would follow, that put me on edge.

It was unlike the dueling of a mage, where manafields could be read, and enchanted weapons could be anticipated.

This dynamicity of manasense was key to the perception of a battlefield, as the flow, direction, or even misdirection and masking of both manafields and auras were both quintessential aspects of both the martial arts and the art of warfare.

None of that was present here.

Neither in the warrior or her weapon.

And yet… her weapon held the capabilities comparable only to those of enchanted make.

It was as jarring to see as it was nerve-wracking to fight alongside, perhaps even more so than on that fateful encounter with the null.

For it was one thing to see and grapple with the capabilities of a weapon… but another thing entirely to comprehend the mechanisms that skulked beneath its unassuming surface.

I tried focusing on the creatures approaching us, as I let loose both flame and lightning—

BANG!

—before thunder quickly followed.

I felt a disturbance in the local manastreams immediately following that, confirming her kill.

Though it quickly became clear to me that this was merely the start to a thunderstorm.

As shot—

BANG!

—after shot—

BANG!

—after shot—

BANG!

—was made in accompaniment to the unnaturally quick movements of her arms.

Movements which could be achieved by certain species… but most often found, and eerily reminiscent of the flinching motions of arachnous creatures.

BANG!

This rapid pace of relentless and nigh golem-like concentration came to an abrupt halt however, just as I myself realized a radical and unexpected shift in the movements of these vorpal creatures.

One of them began burrowing.

Forcing the rest of the bleeding, singed, and hole-ridden to follow suit.

=====

Emma

I got one of the bastards.

The EVI confirmed as such.

But the rest of them? I just didn’t get why they didn’t die.

I’d shot them smack-dab where their puny little brains should’ve been.

The basilisk? Headshot.

The wyrm? Headshot.

The maned komodo? Double headshot.

Heck, the only one that was actually taken out by the headshot was that weird marsupial-feline hybrid.

What made the rest of them so different?

I was about ready to keep going if not for the unexpected development.

…

Their big escape underground, following the mole rat-like creature that Thalmin’s attacks had failed to stop.

“What the heck’s going on, Thalmin?” I turned to the mercenary prince, who looked at me with the same expression of bewilderment I had beneath the helmet.

“This… is something I haven’t yet encountered Emma.” He acknowledged. “I have no clue if it’s fleeing or—”

ALERT! LOCAL SEISMIC ACTIVITY DETECTED.

“Wait.” I stopped Thalmin in his tracks, as the EVI began pulling up local vibration readings, and I quickly put two and two together. “It’s doing something undergr—”

chrrrrrrrr

It began with a tremble, then a grinding shriek.

THRAK!

“JUMP!” 

At which point, the earth suddenly peeled open.

Soil, rock, and even flaming foliage was sucked into the split earth — the entire ground beneath us opening up like the lid of a predator’s jaw.

We both landed ten meters from the epicenter of the gaping sinkhole.

But before we could even catch our breath—

KRKKK-CRACK!

Something exploded from beneath the upturned dirt.

Dust, debris, and the smoke of snuffed-out flames temporarily obscured our vision.

Though it was clear from Thalmin’s expression, and the outline the EVI drew around this creature from the composite sensor readings, that we both saw what had just emerged.

Still riddled in bullet holes, singed from fire, and burned by electrocution — was the creature.

Singular.

Not plural.

Indeed, this reforged chimera towered over us, its mole rat head leering over us both, while its… limbs writhed, flinched, and swayed ominously towards us.

The mini-wyrm and the angler-fish-faced basilisk made up the bulk of its lower half, whilst its upper ‘torso’ consisted of what was formerly some sort of a lion and the frilled komodo dragon.

The weird uniformity of its grey and mottled scaly skin made sense now.

Indeed, its lack of eyes — save for the beady little things at its mole rat head — now made so much more sense.

“I think it’s a vorpal chimera.” Thalmin uttered darkly, as he readied himself for another attack.

“A what-now?” I shot back.

Though those were the last few words I managed out before the beast surged forwards with a deafening screech.

=====

Solizia of Alamont

At first there was only darkness.

Now, there was light.

Light so strong that it penetrated through the cracks and gaps between the wooden seams of the cart.

The world had erupted into a blazing inferno, the wrath not of the gods, but of mortals and men who had taken their places — nobility.

Yet that wrath was tested, tempted, and horrifyingly… tempered by the beast of the forest. 

As it stood there now, grotesque and defiant, slimy and slithering whilst paradoxically singed by the flames of the knightly prince.

I understood not what the Blue Knight had done to it. For it felt like much of nothing had been done at all.

However, before I had a chance to truly process the past few minutes, the beast bellowed out an infernal screech.

My heart raced, as my insides twisted and shuddered, the bassy and warbly undertones of that otherwise high-pitched screech inflicting upon me a guttural fear that froze me in place.

The world around me spun, as I struggled to hold in my dinner.

However, no sooner was that war cry uttered did the beast strike.

Its right side — consisting of a lion’s paw and a basilisk maw, extended outwards, growing like the heads of a hydra, and then jutting out faster than an arrow-in-flight towards the lupinor.

Claw and scale struck manasteel with a CLANG, pushing the prince back with a force deadly to any commoner as he landed with a nauseating CRUNCH against a sapling of a tree.

Meanwhile, its left side — particularly the worm-like wyrm — attempted to outright subsume the Blue Knight.

But to no avail.

For despite her lackluster offensive abilities, the Blue Knight was more than capable of feats of acrobatics and agility that seemed impossible in her heavy-set armor.

As each attempt at the wyrm’s gaping maw was met with flips, summersaults, rolls, and even kicks powerful enough to outright knock both teeth and tongue from its circular cathedral of flesh and fang.

Indeed, this seemed to frustrate the beast, as despite being locked in a battle from both sides, its mole-rat head seemed utterly focused on her movements, as if attempting to read her in order to anticipate her motions.

This lapse in awareness would be its undoing however. 

As I watched, with great elation, as the knightly prince moved forwards with a greatsword for a swift and deadly blow. 

=====

Emma

Thalmin knew what it was.

Which meant he knew how to kill it.

I just needed to buy him time for a clean strike.

Its attention was clearly capable of being divided between its 5 distinct ‘heads’. Or at least, whatever remained of its brains after it’d fused. 

However, annoyance could go a long way, and there was clearly a threshold as to just how much processing power this thing could churn out.

And so… I began my song and dance, my tango with this amalgamation of an abomination. 

I dodged where I could, ducked when it fit, and most satisfyingly of all — kicked when the opportunity arose; the EVI’s predictive analytics helped immensely in that latter part. 

The umf of reinforced composalite landing a solid kick against flesh and bone was as gut-churning as it was satisfying. 

However, no sooner than my last kick did Thalmin get back up, his sword lightning to its greatest extent… 

What transpired next felt like it was pulled straight out of a videogame, as time itself slowed to a crawl right at the moment Thalmin’s blade made contact with the flesh of the beast. 

It looked like there was barely any resistance.

Indeed this was the definition of a hot knife through butter.

There wasn’t even the typical crunch of bone you’d expect as the blade cut clean through its center, before emerging on the other side barely losing any momentum at all.

Which didn’t sit right with me.

The mercenary prince even managed to do a slick follow-through motion, holding his sword deftly by his side as he landed next to me in a ninja-like crouch, craning his head back to watch as the chimera slid apart into two clean halves. 

THUD!

Silence dominated the air following that, as both Thalmin and I turned to stare at each other in equal measures of shock and confusion.

“That… that should do it. A vorpal chimera is typically strongest yet paradoxically most vulnerable when it's fully formed. A clean cut, dividing up its constituent parts into halves, is enough to break whatever magics was keeping it together — the same magics keeping it alive.”

I nodded slowly at that, before narrowing my eyes at a particular point in the prince’s explanation. “So… your blade was powerful enough to pull that off, right? As in, that cut seemed a bit too easy for a creature that’s supposedly at its max strength. It’s just that when I kicked it, I felt solid bone in there…” 

“I can’t say. I haven’t encountered vorpal chimeras in combat myself, so I’m going to assume Emberstride was just that—”

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCHHHH!!

“—strong.” 

We both now turned to face two very separate yet very alive creatures moving and readjusting themselves to their new forms.

Indeed, watching them just moving like this sent my gut into a frenzy because of how wrong it looked.

The top half consisting of the komodo dragon and lion writhed and turned — forming legs beneath its ‘torso’.

Meanwhile, the lower half — the wyrm and basilisk — didn’t need to do much at all as it lunged forwards.

[COLLISSION IMMINENT!]

I dodged.

…

As the creature found itself tumbling forwards towards another singed tree, slamming into it with a nauseating CRACK, as the whole thing came crashing down on its burnt and battered form.

“THALMIN?!” I yelled, finding myself a few feet away from the motorcycle. “What’s going on? Why isn’t it—”

“—dead?!” He completed my sentence for me while he hacked, slashed, and attempted to slice bits and pieces off of the top half of the creature.

Yet somehow… it managed to either tank it, or dodge the attacks entirely. “Wait, I think I know—”

SMACK! The creature landed a hit on the prince, knocking him back a few feet as he once again landed hard against a broken tree. 

I moved to shoot— 

Only to find the bottom half having freed itself from the remains of the toppled charcoal husk of a tree.

Seconds stretched into minutes as my mind considered the next best course of action.

Of which, two large paths lay ahead of me.

The railgun, and the laser.

Overkill is good… but overkill also implies overpenetration. I recalled both Captain Li and Aunty Ran’s words.

Which… when given the context of the situation, with the town behind us and small flickering lights occasionally popping in and out on the trail… meant that I couldn’t take that risk.

Improvise.

I immediately moved to the travel and maintenance kit strapped to the V4c.

At which point, a small smile grew across my face.

The creature rushed forwards.

And so too did I pull out an unassuming repair tool.

With a flick and a quick override of safety protocols, I aimed the welding torch at the creature and squeezed the arc-trigger.

Click.

TZZZ-BBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

A ‘solid’ rod of superheated plasma emerged from the humble mechanic’s tool, in what was known in most circles as a dumb but oftentimes entertaining stunt, as its appearance and effect was strikingly similar to that of a certain photon-saber wielded by sci fi knights.

The creature, perhaps finally mindful of the dangers of flame, halted its advance half a second after it realized what I’d just whipped out.

But it was too late.

Momentum drove it forwards towards my improvised photon saber as it singed, then sliced itself clean in half.

At which point, it immediately retreated, scurrying back into the open debris field and shielding itself from both photon blade and pistol alike.

Its upper half seemed to have felt the same development, as it disengaged from the hectic fight with Thalmin in order to regroup; diving deep into one of the many open pits before scurrying deep back underground.

We both followed suit, chasing it as Thalmin turned towards me with an urgent expression. “It’s not just any vorpal chimera. It’s some sort of a…” He sniffed the air urgently, closing and clenching his eyes as if to double-check his findings. “Hydra. It’s some sort of a hydra, Emma. They all carry the scent of it…” He sniffed the air again, shaking his head as he did so. 

“Right, okay, where the hell do we need to shoot it to kill it then?”

“There’s typically a ‘lead’ beast. A prime ‘head’ where its enchantments and magics are derived. This is most likely why traditionally lethal blows to a chimera proved to be ineffective. We weren’t fighting just a chimera. We were actually fighting a sort of… amalgamation.” 

“I count four creatures I shot. One died, while the other three didn’t.” I explained. 

“The mole rat.” Thalmin concluded. “The mole rat must be the prime. Burning and electrocuting the creature was clearly ineffective. I should’ve just crushed it when I had the chance.”

“Hindsight’s twenty-twenty, Thalmin. We’ll just—”

The ground rumbled once again as the creature quite literally leaped out of the ground with legs I hadn’t yet seen.

The legs… of a fricking marsupial.

So the thing didn’t die after all?

Of course it didn’t. It didn’t fit the logic—

My train of thought stopped as I saw what the creature was headed towards. 

Time once again slowed to a crawl as I sprinted in the direction of the wagon, my hand gripping the moon gun tight as I leveled it just as the creature smashed in the side of the wagon.

Maybe it was hungry.

Maybe it was smart enough to know how to retrieve a hostage. 

But none of that mattered. 

Not especially when the screams started. 

“BLUE KNIGHT HEL—”

I didn’t need to hear the rest of that.

In fact, I reacted before the kid had even had the chance to yell out.

“Brace.” Was all I said.

[Affirmative] Came the EVI’s reply.

As with a flick of a finger—

[FULL AUTO]

—I unleashed the full might of Luna—

BRRRRRRRRRRT!!!!!

—upon the Chimera’s face.

… 

The world stood still.

As the roars, the caws, the cries, and the guttural screeches of the vorpal chimera-hydra were silenced.

Neither a cry nor a whimper was heard, not even a gurgle or snarl.

In fact, all motion ceased… as all eyes landed upon the face of the putrid beast.

Or at least, they tried to.

For what was just moments ago the ferocious mug of sickly grey scales, razor-sharp teeth, and weird and disgusting mole-rat nose tendrils was now obscured by a fine red mist.

A second passed.

Then, another.

Until finally the mist had settled to reveal neither the fury of nature or the resilience of magic… but the wrath of man.

I couldn’t tell what it was I was looking at once the fine mist had settled.

But I didn’t need to.

Not when hostilities had ceased

THUD! 

And what was once a threat was no more.

Haggard and hyperventilated breaths took the place of cacophonous roars and pointed yells, prompting me to move forward without a second thought.

I reached for the shaking Alorant, the teen finding no issue in prying and pushing himself out of the limp and lifeless grip of the creature that had ceased to be before it had a chance to process it.

“I gotcha.” I spoke softly, easing the boy onto shaky legs, and allowing him to slowly shuffle his way back towards his old man.

We all just… stopped for that brief moment. As it was clear each and every one of us needed to process exactly what had just transpired.

Moreover, my mind was still on high alert, and so was Thalmin’s, as the prince was quick to move towards the lifeless carcass of that amalgam, before applying some sort of telekinetics to lift it up and back towards the raging inferno that was the forest.

From there, he outstretched both hands, humming something soft within his throat and letting loose a fiery fury that matched, then even outpaced the sheer heat of my welding torch.

This continued for the next few minutes, as the prince took no chances with the terrifyingly resilient beast.

Only when every ounce of organic matter had transformed from flesh to atomized cinder did Thalmin finally let up. 

And only when the wind had picked up said blackened ashes did he finally let out a satisfied yet haggard breath, pinning both hands by his hips as he eventually turned back towards me and the father son duo.

“I think we’re finished.” He acknowledged, before moving towards the forest some more, taking a quick moment to extinguish the flames before they spread any further.

There, he seemed to focus on something else, as his feet kicked at something creature-like on the forest floor. 

“Was that the one you managed to kill first?” I asked.

“Yeah. And I think I get it now. Fire weakens them, as with any chimera. However, they can’t die unless their prime is eliminated, like a hydra. My focused attack on this particular beast knocked it out for the whole fight, while the feline-marsupial you took out managed to recover in the time between your shot and the tail end of the battle.” 

“Right.” I acknowledged. “So… is this sort of thing…” I trailed off, turning to the father son duo, before turning back to Thalmin. “... common?” 

“No.” Both Thalmin and Solizia responded right about the same time, as the elven commoner dipped his head in silence, allowing Thalmin to continue first.

“Vorpal Chimeras are vorpal chimeras. Hydras are hydras. Conjoining the traits of the former with the creatures that comprise up the latter is not just uncommon, it’s practically unheard of outside of very niche circumstances.” The prince acknowledged with a sigh.

“Circumstances like the Nexus?” I asked, prompting Solizia to answer nervously.

“I have neither heard nor encountered such a threat on the roads before, Sir Knight.” He responded.

“You wouldn’t have.” Thalmin chimed in. “I’ve only heard of such specific combinations being created by fleshcrafters, and only made to supply the armies of the Crownlands and the Inner Guard. Make no mistake, they’re monstrosities through and through. But as you saw from that skirmish, they’re highly effective beasts that would be an asset to any army.” 

“Depends on how easy it is to craft them I guess.” I offered with a shrug. “Again, all wars are won through logistics and production. So if this thing is bespoke, artisanal, or made-to-order… I doubt it’ll be able to match up against a competent polity with industrial bases with the capacity to produce effective counters to the thing.” 

Thalmin narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms as he did so. “I guess we’ll have to wait until that topic comes across in class, then.” 

“Though this does beg the question…” I pondered. “Where the heck did that thing come from, then? If it’s so rare, and if it doesn’t occur naturally, exactly where did—”

“It must have been one of the escaped beasts of Elaseer!” Alorant shouted, interrupting me and causing his father to smack him lightly against his head. 

“Mind your matters, boy. Don’t interrupt—”

“It’s fine, Solizia.” I offered. “What your son is saying makes sense.” I acknowledged. “It’s probably an escaped creature from the Life Archives.” 

That latter explanation raised the suspicions of both father and son however, which prompted me to turn to Thalmin. “Should… I have not said that?”

“Eh. It’s the Nexus’ problem if that’s a strictly confidential matter. Either way, it’s not our problem, Emma.” He smiled slyly.

“Yeah… I guess so.” I offered with a dry chuckle.

=====

Alorant of Alamont 

Dear Diary,

Today I thought I would die. 

But thankfully, I didn’t.

I met someone today who saved me. Her name is Emma Booker of Earthrealm, also known by her noble, heroic name: the Blue Knight.

I don’t know where Earthrealm is.

I think it’s a newrealm.

But how can a Cadet of a newrealm defeat the dreaded vorpal chimera?

It just doesn’t make sense right?

Having a prince of Havenbrockrealm probably helped to even out the odds. But it was she that slew the beast.

I thought she would be weak at first. Father saw it too, when her enchanted thunderbow did nothing at first.

But oh boy was I wrong about that.

Her thunderbow wasn’t just a tool to ward off beasts by sound… it also had the ability to kill using sound!

The sound that it made to kill the beast was unlike anything I’d ever heard.

It sounded like… angry bees, the tying of a knot, and… well… nothing else really. I can’t describe it, because it really was that otherworldly! 

More than that, it was LOUD!

It was so loud, loud that my ears were about to shatter, loud that my ears are STILL ringing, but it was also loud enough that the beast’s head exploded right off its shoulders! 

I thought enchanted weapons like that only existed in good adjacent realms or here in the Nexus.

Maybe earthrealm is one of the better adjacent realms?

I don’t know.

But what I do know is that I made a friend today, and that friend was also my hero.

I’m going to bed now.

Tomorrow we will part ways.

But hopefully we will see her again.

I have so many things to ask her about her life and her realm.

I wish we just had more time.

=====

Emma

It’d taken no time at all for Alorant to conk out. Apparently the kid’s nerves were so frayed that he managed to go to sleep rather quickly in his wagon.

We’d managed to re-establish camp soon after that, as Thalmin did his best to repair the damage done to the forests, tamping the dirt beneath our local area to the point where we could at least pitch up tents again.

Following which, we eventually huddled around the warmth of the fire.

Not that I needed it, of course. But it was just nice to experience something cozy following that dramatic turn of events.

“Blue Knight…” Solizia began, as he took a big swig of what was probably alcohol from his flask. “I’d like to thank you. For everything. For not only showing us mercy on the road, and of course not only for your tolerance to my son’s antics, but also for putting your lives on the line for us on this night.” He bowed deeply, towards me and Thalmin. “If there’s anything we can do… I’d be more than happy to oblige. We… both owe you and Prince Havenbrock a life debt. No amount of coin I have with me can compensate such a debt, and so I can only give you my word that we both will—”

“Hey.” I interrupted, reaching over to grab the man’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Solizia. Seriously. We were in the line of fire too, you know? So again, don’t worry about it.”

The elf’s features shifted to that of confusion, thoughtfulness, before landing once again on an expression of perplexity. “I… My heart still stands where my intent was made, Blue Knight. We both owe you a life debt, so whenever you feel the desire, you may call on us to repay our dues.” 

I let out a small sigh at that, smiling softly beneath my helmet as Thalmin nodded in my stead.

“We acknowledge this and appreciate the sentiments made, Master Solizia of Alamont.” He spoke in his signature gruff yet regal cadence, prompting the man to bow in response.

Silence, a calm silence this time around, finally took hold. As we all just stared into the fire listlessly, drinking, eating, and simply enjoying the peace following the attack.

It would be Solizia however, after about half an hour, to finally interrupt. His eyes grew weary with both time and alcohol. 

“You know… we weren’t really expecting to ever return to this sort of life.” He spoke, his eyes staring deep into the fire in front of us. 

“You mean being independent carters or something, right?” I offered with sympathy. “You mentioned something about being hired by a noble company or something before that, right? Judging from what Alorant and those kids were saying, I’m assuming that was a much better career path than what you’re currently forced into.” 

“Yes.” The elf nodded warily. “We were given the honor of joining this noble’s shipping house, with the promise that after a period of trial and temperance, we’d be given the opportunity for a permanent position within his house proper. This… was fated to be a fundamental shift in our livelihoods — an elevation in our status that I made clear to my son… for better or for worse.” He shifted in place, his eyes darting around as if to gauge whether or not to continue. Eventually however, he did, following a long and sullen exhale. “Because it wasn’t meant to be. I was in my last week of trial and temperance when my lord inexplicably… passed. What followed was his shipping house being tugged and pulled every which way by his surviving family. Of course, his eldest child is due to receive the reins. But because of this sudden upheaval, anyone caught outside of permanent contracts is disavowed from any further movement.” 

Thalmin raised a brow at this, quickly directing some followup questions to the elf. 

“What? Did they consider anyone outside of permanent contracts untenable or some such?” 

“It is the tradition of Crownland inheritance that the house is inherited as a permanent unit. Any transient contracts, or working contracts, are to either be reviewed individually, or dismissed entirely while the process of inheritance takes place. My lord’s estate… seems to have gone in the latter direction.” Solizia answered darkly.

A silence quickly formed following that answer, as only the crackling of flames and the boiling of the mysterious brew in the middle interrupted the utter empty vacuum that had formed.

“I’m sorry, Solizia.” I finally managed out. “If it’s any consolation, I think you’re making the best of this situation by moving forward. You’re doing the best you can given the… unexpected turn of events.”

“Aye… but I don’t consider myself free from the shame of social upheaval.” He sighed. “I taught my son to live beyond his social means before we were even settled in our new class. That’s… part of the reason why he brought you along to meet his former friends. He wished to reassert his place in the hierarchy. And for that, I once again apologize on his behalf.” 

I took a moment to slowly nod at that, as I tried my best to grapple with the whole saving face aspect of society that Thacea had mentioned from day one. 

I just didn’t assume it’d also hit the non-nobles so hard as well. 

“It’s alright, Solizia.” I managed out. “The fact you’re even acknowledging that means you’re already a cut above most.” I spoke warmly, and from the heart, attempting to steer the conversation towards brighter pastures.

“I… appreciate that, Blue Knight. Thank you.” He dipped his head in my direction.  

“Don’t mention it. And really, you don’t need to be thanking me. I’m just a stranger who happened to cross paths with you today.” I offered.

“A stranger who got my son out of a social mess, and me out of a monetary one.” He responded darkly. “And of course, a stranger who saved both of our skins from certain death.” 

“Yeah… well… I’m happy to help.” I chuckled awkwardly.

Thalmin took slow and measured sips of his own drink throughout that whole exchange, before finally chiming in with another unexpected yet pertinent question. 

“So… who exactly was this noble, anyways? Nexian elves don’t often die without a huge fuss, so who’s this bigshot if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Ah. Of course. I should have started off with that, actually.” Solizia acknowledged with a forced smile. “His name, Majesty rest his soul, was Lord Lartia.”