by Pirateaba
“Hey. Did you find—”
The words caught in Erin’s throat. Across the room, Krshia looked at her. Just looked. The Gnoll’s fur was wet with melted snow and sweat. Her chest rose and fell quickly, as if she’d just been running. And her eyes. Her eyes were too bright.
There was nothing supernatural about what Erin understood in that moment. It had nothing to do with magic or fate, and everything to do with the look on Krshia’s face.
Erin knew. But she pretended she didn’t. She told herself she didn’t.
“Did—did you find him? Brunkr?”
She smiled, forcing her lips to move as she walked out of the kitchen. A bit of soapy water dripped onto the floor. Krshia stared at the droplets on the floorboards, and then at Erin. Her voice was very distant.
“He is dead.”
“What?”
Erin was still smiling in that moment. She didn’t register what Krshia had said. She didn’t want to. Her heart began to beat faster.
“Krshia?”
The Gnoll looked at Erin. She had tears in her eyes.
“He is dead. My nephew, Brunkr. He is dead.”
There was a hole in the world. Erin fell through. She walked out from behind the counter as Krshia went on.
“They found him in the dungeon. In—at the bottom of the crevasse. His body and eight others. A team of Silver-rank Gnolls and—all dead. They were torn apart by some kind of monster, it seems.”
Erin felt the ground break under her. The day shattered. There was a hole in the world and Erin felt herself falling. Krshia collapsed into a chair and Erin sat on the floor. She didn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe it.
“Where is he now?”
There was a hole in the world. A dark, deep pit. Brunkr was lying there. They brought him out of the dungeon with magic and ropes. When she saw his body, Erin believed. She ran back to the inn to tell Lyonette to bring Mrsha away, far away. But it was too late. Mrsha smelled him. And she knew.
The city was filled with howling. The sun shone and melted the snow. Erin sat in the kitchen of her inn and wept.
And then Ryoka found Ishkr standing outside the inn. He was there for his evening shift. He hadn’t heard until the the howling began. He was crying in the melting snow when she asked him what was wrong. He turned to her, and she saw it in his eyes. And she knew too.
—-
“I’m going to kill her.”
Ryoka choked on the words. She ran, gasping in the cold air, tripped, fell. The snow was wet. Melting. Ryoka pushed herself up. She stood in the middle of Liscor’s rolling hills and valleys. In the middle of nowhere.
The snow had melted into ice in places. Part of the crust had cut Ryoka’s hands and arms as she fell. The blood and water mixed and dripped into the white snow, staining it. Ryoka looked down at her hands.
“I should have done it last night. I’ll kill her. I’ll—”
She choked on the words. There were tears in her eyes. Ryoka took a shaking breath, and then choked again. She coughed and bent over in the snow. Her lungs were burning. Her heart hurt.
And it was filled with rage. Ryoka felt at her belt. She grabbed a large bag of flour and the igniter.
“I’ll blow her up. I—I can do it. I’ll lure her into a trap or—or—”
“And do what? Die? You cannot harm her. You know that.”
Someone floated down beside Ryoka. Ivolethe stared at her Human friend, melancholy in her eyes. Ryoka turned to Ivolethe and half shouted, half screamed at her. The sound caught in her throat and she doubled over. She retched, and nothing came up. She hadn’t eaten since last night, really.
“I can’t let her get away. She killed—she—she did it to hurt me! I know she did!”
“Perhaps. But you know she did it because she could. Because you could not stop her. That is the truth.”
The Frost Faerie landed on Ryoka’s shoulder. She stared at Ryoka, not unsympathetically. Her words drove needles into the young woman’s skin. Ryoka grabbed her head with her hands.
“I know! I know. I can’t do a thing. I can only—”
She bit her lip, hard enough to break the skin. She could only tell someone like Zel or Ilvriss that Az’kerash’s servants were here. Then she would die. The [Word of Death] spell was on her, and if that failed, Venitra was sure to kill her.
But she had to do it. She had to do something. Brunkr was dead. Because of her. Because she had failed to do anything. Because she had been afraid.
Ryoka had hated before. She had hated her father, her teachers, the fake people at school and the entire world. She thought she knew hate. Only now, in this moment did she realize that she had never really hated anything before.
Venitra. Ryoka clenched her jaw so tightly her teeth ground together and nearly cracked. She hated only one person as much as Venitra. And that was the Goblin Lord.
Hate. She stood in the snow. Winter was ending. Ryoka looked to Ivolethe, resting on her shoulder.
“I don’t know what to do. Ivolethe. Tell me. What should I do?”
Ivolethe looked back into Ryoka’s eyes. She was melting. Her body was crystal and liquid, ice and fading perfection. When she spoke, she pointed up towards the open, blue sky.
“Remember this, Ryoka Griffin: when you run, the wind knows. The wind is a thing. A thing that thinks, like trees do, or rocks. The earth is not alive, but neither is it dead. Remember that. Step as if you mean to walk into the sky. That is how faeries fly.”
Ryoka stared at her. Ivolethe flew off her shoulder as Ryoka lashed out. She circled Ryoka’s head, speaking calmly.
“What? Do you expect me to grieve with you? I did not know this Brunkr. I mourn, but he was not my friend. Do you wish me to tell you it will be alright? I will not lie. And I will not dictate your fate. I will not. I cannot.”
Her words were like ice. Painful, piercing, but also clear and true. Ryoka’s shoulder slumped.
“I know. But I can’t—”
She hesitated, afraid to give voice to her feelings. Ryoka stood in the snow as it melted onto her boots and heard a shout.
“Hey! You! Yeah, you, Runner Girl! I remember you!”
She and Ivolethe turned. Running towards them through the snow was a green blur. Ryoka recognized Relc and raised a hand as he skidded to a stop, spraying snow towards her. He grinned at Ryoka, showing her two rows of pointed teeth.
“I just remembered! You’re that Runner, aren’t you? The one I nearly caught way back when! ”
Ryoka stared at him. Relc laughed.
“Don’t you remember? You were running down the north road and I was on patrol. I ran after you and I nearly had you, but then you got away! We should have a rematch! All those bastards at the barracks were saying I was slow! Me!”
It felt wrong for Relc to be here, laughing and upbeat. Ryoka could barely remember the incident he was describing. What was it? When she’d—yes, right after Pisces had healed her legs. She’d run back towards Celum and she remembered an angry Drake in armor chasing her.
“You were that [Guardsman]?”
“Sure was! I can’t believe it’s you! Small world, huh?”
Ryoka nodded. Then she stared at Relc.
“So what?”
He paused.
“Excuse me?”
Sorrow and helplessness became anger. Ryoka stared at Relc.
“Who cares how fast you are?”
The Drake looked insulted.
“I do. I want to race you again, to prove I’m faster. Not here—there are no witnesses. Back at Liscor. We’ll clear some snow or maybe run around the city. Then I’ll prove I’m the fastest!”
“Who cares? You lost! It doesn’t matter!”
Ryoka turned away, trying to resist the urge to punch Relc and get arrested or have her nose broken. The Drake danced around her, looking indignant.
“I didn’t lose! I mean, it wasn’t a fair race! I was in armor and I had my spear! Do you know how heavy chainmail is?”
“Not very. Yo
u can still run with it on.”
Relc opened his mouth and his tail twitched guiltily.
“Well, yeah. Right. But it’s still heavy if you’re trying to sprint in it! And I had too much to eat that day. You had a head start by the time I started chasing you—and uh, I had to get up to speed! If I’d have felt like it, I would have totally caught you in the next minute. But I’m a responsible guardsman so I had to get back to my patrol.”
“Right.”
“I’m telling the truth! Race me again and—”
“Oh shut up!”
Ryoka turned and shouted at Relc. He blinked. Ryoka raised her voice, too angry to care about the tears in her eyes.
“Don’t you have any decency for god’s sake? Someone just died, or haven’t you heard? I don’t want to race you, so piss off and leave me alone!”
She was breathing heavily. She turned and wiped at her face with a sleeve. When Relc spoke next, it was more quietly.
“I know. I didn’t know you knew the guy, though.”
“I didn’t. Not really. Not at all. But—”
She wanted to say it was her fault. And she knew she couldn’t. Relc shrugged his massive shoulders. He sounded genuinely contrite.
“Sorry about that. I uh, thought it wouldn’t bother you since you’re Human and he was—it sucks. I get that. But I wasn’t friends with the guy. And I’ve seen buddies die before. Too many. If I got bogged down every time it happened I wouldn’t be able to do my job.”
“What, you mean your job is coming out here and harassing me?”
Ryoka turned and glared. Relc smiled and pulled something out of his belt pouch.
“Not really. That was just for fun. See, I am here to talk to you about that Brunkr guy.”
“Why?”
“Oh…Klb has a hunch, and all the Gnolls are really upset about it. So Captain Z ordered us to look into it.”
Relc tossed a clear crystal—it looked like quartz—up and down in his palm. He spoke as he glanced back towards the city and then at Ryoka. The air of reckless energy around him was gone. He was still animated, but now he was serious. When she saw that, Ryoka calmed down a little.
“Here’s the thing about the Brunkr guy. We found him in the dungeon, at the bottom of that rift. You heard? Right. They died right at the bottom, right near the ropes. When Klb heard that, he got a bit suspicious. I mean, that Brunkr guy was a good [Warrior] by all accounts. So we decided to do some investigating.”
Ryoka’s heart began to beat faster.
“Investigating? Why?”
“I dunno. It’s a hunch.”
Relc shrugged.
“It could be it was all an accident and some damn monsters killed the Gnolls. Or it might not be. Might’ve been a fight that ended badly and got covered up. Maybe Brunkr went down on a dare. Or maybe the other adventurers dragged him with them. Maybe it was just him and the Gnolls being stupid. But Erin swears he wouldn’t have gone down there and Klb and I believe her. So we’re doing an investigation.”
“And you came to find me.”
“That’s right. It’s nothing personal, but you were at that party last night, right? I was there—didn’t see you talking to Brunkr, but Klb says we have to cover all angles. So I have this.”
He showed the bit of quartz to Ryoka. She stared at it. It was a truth stone. She looked at Relc, dread in her stomach.
“What…do you want me to say?”
The [Guardsman]’s eyes focused on her. He was still smiling, but his eyes were serious and his posture—it was just a little tense.
“Tell me you didn’t do it.”
Ryoka stared at the gem in Relc’s hands. The Drake looked down at her. There was no accusation in his eyes. But he was waiting. Ryoka opened her mouth and spoke. Slowly.
“I didn’t do it.”
The gem flashed. Ryoka stared at it. Part of her expected it to show her lie. But it glowed bright blue. A false color. A liar’s color.
“Well, that settles that! I told Klb it was pointless, but he insisted. He even tested Erin. And the Mrsha kid! Isn’t he crazy?”
Relc tucked the stone into his belt pouch, laughing. Ryoka stared at him. Laughter was the last thing from her mind, but then she realized something terrible.
“He’s testing everyone from the party?”
The Drake nodded.
“Yep! Got them to come back to the inn and everything. I think it’s easier there—lots of booze so they can drink until they drop, y’know?”
They were testing everyone. Ryoka’s pulse raced. She turned back to the inn.
“I have to get back there.”
“What? Wait? What’s the rush? Oh! This is a race! Alright! Let’s do this!”
Relc shouted with glee and raced after Ryoka through the snow.
—-
Erin sat in her inn, numb, quiet. She heard people talking, heard tears, listened to Mrsha howling and Krshia and Lyonette trying to comfort her. She could hear Krshia’s voice breaking. Erin listened to tears.
She did not cry. She couldn’t. A part of her was curled up in mourning, but it was only a part. The rest felt…numb. Some part of Erin was still awake in her grief. It whispered to her. It spoke.
I have been here before.
She had felt this very feeling. Erin could remember it, when Klbkch died. When the Horns of Hammerad were pronounced dead. When she killed the Goblin Chieftain. She had been here before. Only this time it was different.
This time part of her called out for vengeance. Brunkr’s death had come as a shock to all the Gnolls, to Erin, to Lyonette, to everyone at the party. It seemingly had no reason, and Erin had no idea why it had happened. But she did know one thing.
It was no accident.
Her head turned as the door slammed open. Relc surged into the room, beaming, and deflated as he saw the mood. He coughed, and held the door open. Half a minute later Ryoka stumbled through the door, breathing heavily.
All eyes turned to her and Relc as they walked into the room. Ryoka sat down heavily at a table, looking around. Relc edged over to where Klbkch was interviewing a group of three Gnolls. He nudged the Antinium. When Klbkch turned around Relc whispered loudly.
“I won.”
Erin had no idea what that was about. Neither did she care. She only had eyes for Klbkch. The Antinium turned back to the Gnolls without a word and asked them a question. Each replied. The stone in Klbkch’s hands glowed white each time they responded. He moved on.
They were all there, all the people who’d been here last night. Klbkch, the blue Antinium named Xrn who’d eaten so much, the Horns of Hammerad, Griffon Hunt, the Halfseekers, Zel and the Wall Lord…and the Gnolls.
They were eating. Quietly, some while crying. Others just drank, but Lyonette, Drassi, and Ishkr were serving food from Erin’s kitchen, hot and fresh as the moment it had been cooked.
It felt wrong to Erin. But the Gnolls were grieving as they ate. They had to—it was evening and many hadn’t had lunch or breakfast before they found out. And they were a different people. They ate and mourned Brunkr in their own way.
“Miss Blackpaw, it is your turn now.”
Erin’s head turned. She saw Ryoka look up at her table. Klbkch calmly walked over to the huge Gnoll. Like the others, Regrika was eating. She pushed back her plate and turned to face Klbkch.
“I am ready.”
Was it just convenience or another reason that had made Klbkch ask everyone to return to the inn? Erin watched as Klbkch consulted a bit of parchment he was holding.
“Regrika Blackpaw, you were seen talking to Brunkr last night, before leaving the party. You did not have a long conversation and it was within sight of others guests. I have one question for you. Did you meet, speak with, or interact in any other way with Brunkr Silverfang after leaving the party?”
The room was silent. It had grown silent each time Klbkch asked a question. Erin saw Ulrien shift casually in his seat. It was just a thought. Of course it wasn’t Regri
ka Blackpaw who’d murdered Brunkr, if that was what had happened. But she could see the thoughts running through the Gold-rank adventurer’s minds. It wasn’t, but if it was…
The Named Adventurer with black fur did not look concerned by Klbkch’s question. She smiled as he held the crystal in front of her. Her smile was as innocent as could be. It was a child’s smile.
“I did not meet with Brunkr, no. I regret to say that I did not see him after the party, and missed his presence at the end of it. I am afraid that is all I know, Senior Guardsman.”
Everyone stared at the truth gem. It flashed white. Klbkch nodded. Ryoka stared at the gem. Her face was pale. Erin kept staring at Regrika’s face.
Klbkch consulted the gem and nodded.
“Thank you, Miss Blackpaw. I will interview Ikriss Southwing next. Mister Southwing, last night you were seen…”
Prompted by some instinct, Erin got up and walked over to where Ryoka was sitting. The other young woman was sweaty and looked—disturbed. She caught Relc as he was passing.
“Hey, why is the other gem flashing white?”
Relc made a face.
“Eh. Truth gems. They’re enchanted by different mages. Some flash white when the answer’s true, others blue, green…it’s a pain in the tail. I once had a gem where it would flash red if you were telling the truth and brown if you were lying. Who does that?”
Ryoka didn’t reply. She sat back in her chair, staring at Regrika’s back. Erin frowned.
“Ryoka? Are you okay?”
The other girl started and looked at Erin. Ikriss was done being interviewed, and Klbkch was consulting his list. She shook her head.
“I—can’t stay here. I shouldn’t have come back. Stupid. I should have known—”
She got up abruptly. Erin caught at her arm.
“Ryoka. I want to talk. Can you speak with me upstairs?”
She felt like there was a hole in her chest, but the dread certainty in her gut was moving her. Someone killed Brunkr. She wanted Ryoka’s help, but the Asian girl shook her head.
“I really can’t. I’m sorry, Erin.”