Chapter 282: Your Dear Friend

Stryg and Feli lay naked together under the sheets in their new bedroom at the Katag villa. Feli rested her head over Stryg’s arm and stared at his face as he rested with closed eyes.

“You still awake…?” she whispered into his ear.

“...Mm, no,” he grumbled in response.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she giggled.

“Only if it means we go raid the cellar for some grub.”

“Pssh, you wish. I’m not about to raid the Katag’s anything. This may not be Hollow Shade, but I’m pretty sure they could execute me if they wanted to.”

Stryg pulled her into his arms and hugged her close, “I won’t let anyone harm you, not the Katags, not the Thorns, no one.”

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“You’re the one always biting me.”

“That… That doesn’t count, I don’t draw blood.”

“But you want to, don’t you?” she smirked.

“...No?”

Feli glanced out the window, it was dark, the new moon invisible in the midnight sky. “My birthday is coming up soon…”

“Right, the Festival of the Gods is in a few days,” Stryg mumbled, his eyes still closed. “Thanks to the tourney there are plenty of merchants in Undergrowth. Anything in particular you want?”

“Yes, actually.”

“What is it?”

“For you to stay safe out there.”

“Haah? It’s not like I want to get assassinated.”

“I’m serious. Everything has become much more dangerous since you came to this city. We could always go back home.”

“You know I can’t do that. Clypeus wanted to win this tournament, I’m going to make his wish come true, no matter what.”

“...I know. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be careful while dueling.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t lose, I promise.”

“That’s what I’m worried about. All you care about is winning, no matter the cost. If you keep going like that you won’t come out from all of this whole.”

“I don’t understand what that means…”

Feli sighed, “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

“Sounds a little ridiculous since I’m going to be fighting people who probably want to kill me, but sure, I promise I’ll be careful.”

“Good,” Feli whispered. “...You were born on a night like this, right?”

Stryg cracked a lilac eye open, “Mm, the Mothers told me I was born on the 9th moonless night of the year. It was a bad omen…”

“I wouldn’t put much stock into the words of a bunch of women who wanted to kill you over some dumb fight.”

“It wasn’t just some dumb fight.”

“All fights are dumb.”

“Says you.”

“Hey, what do you think Rhian’s doing right now?” Feli asked in a curious voice.

“She’s probably still getting settled into the stables. I heard her ordering around the servants, telling them to get dozens of blankets and the largest bed they could find.”

“Yeah, we definitely need to make sure she has her own room when we move into our new home in Hollow Shade.”

“Right, we do have to move out of the dorms, don’t we.” Stryg glanced at his hand, “My time at the academy is over… it feels strange saying that.”

“Do you still have to work for the city for ten years?”

“No, Loh paid off my contract months ago... After this tournament is over, I’m free.”

“Even from the Katags?”

“That’s different.”

“Right, you get to marry a beautiful and talented young daughter of a Ruling Family, lucky you,” she said sourly.

“I don’t even know what she looks like. She could be horrifyingly ugly for all I know.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

Stryg cleared his throat, “...Sooo, I heard you and Rhian did some reconnaissance this morning. What was that about?”

“That’s a secret.”

“Secret? Since when do we keep secrets?”

“Oh, I don’t know, since you decided to not tell me you were an Ebon Aspirant.”

Stryg winced, “I hadn’t even heard of that title until a few days ago.”

“And what about your other seven chromatic colors, hm? Did you only hear about that a few days ago too?”

“...Fair enough. I’m… s-sorry.”

Feli couldn’t help but laugh, “Was that really so hard to say?”

“Yes, very much so.”

“You’re hopeless.”

“So, what was that reconnaissance about?”

“It’s a secret.”

Stryg hissed in mild annoyance. Feli giggled.

A sudden knock hit the bedroom door.

Stryg sat up and glanced at Nameless hanging at the foot of the bed. “Who is it?” he called out cautiously.

“Tauri. Look, I know you and I aren’t on the best of terms right now, but my parents sent me to talk to you about a few things. May I come in?”

“Tauri Katag?” Feli whispered with wide eyes.

Stryg nodded to Feli. “Come in,” he called out reluctantly.

“Wai- shit!” Feli cursed under her breath. She quickly sat up, and with one arm covered her chest, and with the other she tried to fix her purple hair.

The door creaked open and Tauri walked inside before freezing to a halt. “Oh. I didn’t know you weren’t alone… or naked.” Tauri pointed back at the door, “Should I come back later?”

“No, what is it?” Stryg said as he stood to his feet and started putting on his clothes.

“Gods, you're naked, don’t just stand up like that!” Tauri flinched back.

“Sorry, my lady, my husband’s people have a complete lack of shame when it comes to clothing etiquette,” Feli bowed her head repeatedly.

“And here I thought he was just an exhibitionist,” Tauri said dryly.

Stryg finished putting on his pants, “I don’t know what that means.”

“It doesn’t matter honey,” Feli whispered. She glanced at Tauri, “My lady, it’s nice to see you again. I’m not sure you remember me…”

“Of course, I remember, I went to your wedding and saw you marry this rude bumpkin,” Tauri winked.

“What’s bumpkin mean?” Stryg narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t worry about it,” Feli said. “My lady, how may my husband and I help you?”

“Well, my parents sent me here to come and check on how you two were settling in, but clearly from the looks of it, you’ve settled in well,” she smirked.

Feli blushed and bowed her head, “Sorry for the trouble, my lady.”

“There’s no trouble. I needed to talk to Stryg about something anyway.” Tauri pulled out an envelope from her pocket, “Also, one of our servants found this letter at our doorstep this morning. It’s addressed to you, Stryg, but the sender didn’t leave a name.”

“Wait, to me?” Stryg frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. I hadn’t even made the deal with your parents until around noon. Why would anyone send a letter here?”

“That’s what I’m hoping we’ll find out,” Tauri handed him the letter.

Stryg grabbed it carefully and looked the envelope over. It was a simple slip of paper held together by a glob of green wax. He cracked the seal open and unfolded the letter.

Stryg furrowed his brow, “This, this is…”

“What is it?” Tauri walked over and glanced at the letter. She frowned, “I don’t understand, it’s all just gibberish. Wait, isn’t this…?”

“The Arcana Form, the language of magic,” Stryg said quietly.

“That’s not possible. Most mages can’t even write a full sentence, let alone an entire letter. And how is anyone even supposed to read it?” Tauri clicked her tongue.

“I can read it,” Stryg muttered.

“What? How?” Tauri asked skeptically.

“What’s it say?” Feli asked.

Stryg shrugged, “There isn’t much, just a few lines. It says…

‘Congratulations,

They now call you Ebon Aspirant

And yet you still fall short of who you are

But you’re in the Realm’s eye now

Enemies abound, they are all around

If you ever find yourself lost

Among the world of those savages

If you are ever in need of a true friend

You need only look into the shadows

~Your dear friend, Ann’

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Tauri frowned.

“Who’s Ann?” Feli asked impatiently.

Stryg shook his head, “I don’t… I don’t know.” He stumbled backward and fell onto the bed.

“Stryg, are you okay?” Feli rubbed his back.

“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just-” he grimaced. Memories of a dark world flooded his mind. Small brief moments flashed through his thoughts. He had been alone, sinking deeper and deeper into nothingness. It was cold, colder than he had ever been. But there had been a goblin, she was smiling, a glint of mischief in her yellow eyes.

“Stryg, Stryg! Snap out of it!” Feli yelled.

He blinked and slowly looked around. He was back in his room, sitting on the bed.

“What was that, you just blanked out on us,” Feli said worriedly.

“Yeah, I, uh… I was just remembering… about the…” His eyes widened. “...The Dark Fringe…”

Feli glanced at Tauri, “Are we supposed to know what that means?”

“I was hoping you’d know,” Tauri sighed. She looked around uncomfortably, “It looks like you’re dealing with something, Stryg. So, uh, yeah, I’ll leave you two to sort all of this out. I bid you both good night,” she turned around and left the room.

Feli wrapped her arms around the blue goblin, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“N-no. Everything feels like a jumble in my head, it’s hard to think straight,” he admitted.

“Maybe you should lie down?”

“...Yeah, maybe I’ll just rest for a bit,” Stryg laid his head back down on the bed and closed his eyes.

~~~

The next morning was filled with the cheering screams of the coliseum’s crowds. Stryg sat in one of the front seats next to his teammates. Freya chatted with Callum and Sylvie as they discussed who they thought might be called to duel next.

Stryg didn’t bother listening to their conjecture. He kept his hood up and his cloak drawn close. The crowds were loud and they bothered his ears. He hadn’t slept last night and he was too tired to try and focus on anything anyone said. Instead, he simply let the words flow past him.

Memories of the Dark Fringe drifted at the edge of his mind. He sighed tiredly.

“Hah! Deserved!” Freya cheered.

“Stryg, did you catch that?” Callum nudged his friend’s shoulder.

“Huh, hear what?” Stryg looked up.

“Lady Thorn just called participants of today’s duels,” Callum said.

“Who is it?” he asked warily.

“Gilgard Morrigan of Murtkon versus Veronica Sientia of Undergrowth,” Callum said. “And Heather Navis of Undergrowth versus Nalla of Frost Rim.”

“Those stupid Undergrowthers bitches are going to get ripped apart! Hahaha!” Freya laughed maniacally.

“Sometimes I forget how bloodthirsty you can get, captain,” Sylvie grinned, “I like it.”