Chapter 89: Confrontation (First Part)

All good things must come to an end.

This thought crossed my mind when I was forced awake from a rather pleasant dream by the harsh wind blowing violently on my wet hair. For once, the monster was absent from my dream. Memories of the peaceful days I had spent with Alianelle and her father inside their modest farm had finally managed to chase it away, making my sudden awakening all the more unpleasant.

The rain became heavier while I was asleep, making our visibility barely acceptable.

I rubbed my hands together and readjusted my soaked blanket that had slipped off in my sleep to cover my head once more. My languid flame was the next thing I summoned. Like a rising sun, it made everyone around, either asleep or desperately trying to ward off the cold, react.

Once more, no words were exchanged between us although I could see the children’s relief on their faces after the reappearance of my magic.

How long we spent in this total silence, each fending off our boredom and coldness in our respective way, I couldn’t say.

However, when I felt the carriage finally slowing down and coming to a stop near a thicket of massive trees, I was sure I wasn’t the only one to exhale a breath of relief.

The cover offered by these densely packed trees, barely moving despite the strength of the wind, was a godsend in our situation that Walmir had apparently decided to accept when he also realized how bad our visibility had become. Losing our way this close to our goal was definitely something he wanted to avoid.

We each got down from the carriage in silence and, led by Ilan who had taken his weapons out, we walked away from what was left of our carriage and from the Vrapy hungrily devouring large patches of long grass, something they hadn’t been able to do for far too long judging by the speed of their feast. We didn’t have to walk long or worry about leaving the Vrapy too far away from us when the entrance of a small cave came into view.

Apparently, the thicket of trees able to shelter us from most of the rain wasn’t the only gift this place had to offer.

Neither Walmir nor Ilan seemed surprised by this discovery, meaning that they probably knew this cave existed before and that we were definitely on a path they had used in the past.

A comforting thought that the disturbing sound of the wind shrieking through the hollows and gaps of the cave like banshees haunting a graveyard couldn’t extinguish.

None of us waited long before rushing past the massive tree roots along with the deep puddles of water and mud alike to get inside.

A few more minutes was all it took to gather wet wood and light an unusually hot fireplace near the entrance of this cave large enough to welcome us all. I certainly missed the convenient technology from my old world, but magic had its own wonders we were all too happy to enjoy.

My clumsy hands, reddened by the cold, would have certainly had a much harder time lighting this fire more conventionally. Once my task was done, I sat down heavily near the fire and waited for my companions to prepare something to eat. A sudden laziness none of them reproached me given how long I had to use my magic to warm us ever since the rain started. And that was without even considering the constant mental efforts I had to make to search for potential threats. Walmir’s methods for scooting relied exclusively on the water element. A useful ability to have as long as it wasn’t raining, something I had somewhat forgotten, but which had sentenced me to a constant lookout only broken by a few hours of sleep stolen here and there.

It’s only after annihilating the bowl of hot soup and the few pieces of bread I had, that I finally decided to pay more attention to my companions, each busy with their respective meal.

Once more, I was reminded that the word ‘companion’ was probably wrong if used to describe our already shattered group. It was somewhat true before, but now, no one was making any effort to keep up appearances.

Tired of trying to mend their relationship, I simply took my half-dry blanket to a corner, not too far away from the fire, and let sleep take me. Overwhelmed by the constant worry and use of my magic sense over the past week, it didn’t take long for me to try to return to the pleasant dream I had been forced to abandon just an hour ago.

How I would have liked this sleep to be as pleasant as the previous one. I would have also been content with a dreamless night with only the crackling of the fire and the sound of the rain, much more bearable while sheltered, to lull me to sleep.

A slumber far from any preoccupation.

Without any monster to haunt it or worry about our group tainting it.

However, Paul’s voice prevented me from getting it.

I tried to ignore his and Ilan’s voices for as long as I could. It was surprisingly easy at first, proof that I really needed the rest. However, when Walmir's and Jazor's voices finally joined the fray, I could no longer pretend.

I opened my eyes and fought against my blurry sight and a now-familiar budding headache. After a few more seconds, I got rid of my unclear vision and accepted my headache only to see Ilan holding Paul by his collar with a reddening face without any doubt not provoked by the cold.

To his honor, Paul refused to back down despite the obvious disparity in strength. A difference that could make things turn ugly pretty quickly. Something, my other fellow fighters seemed to understand as well as I did, judging by their efforts to hold back Ilan.

Still groggy by my sudden unpleasant awakening, I observed the situation for a while without even standing up. As sad as it was, this sudden confrontation was not that surprising, although I didn’t catch what they were arguing about.

It wasn’t important.

What was important was to keep things from going too far.

A mission that Walmir and Jazor took upon themselves with questionable success. In any case, they were still successful enough that I didn’t want to try to separate them with the body of a child.

The scuffle continued for a while.

Insults were certainly exchanged even if I didn’t understand most of them. I surprised myself by trying to associate these crude words with expressions from my old world. An important task, to be sure, to complete my education until I realized that the true children, who shouldn’t hear such words, weren’t near Alianelle anymore.

It took me a few more seconds to notice Seth and Himara hidden beyond this tangle of limbs and testosterone near the cauldron still containing enough soup for tomorrow morning. A surprisingly decent meal coming from a military supply although the quantity left much to be desired.

Worried that their wide movements might hurt the children or simply spill our next breakfast, I reluctantly stood up and, with all the patience I was capable of, tried to be as diplomatic as possible to understand their respective grief.

“What the fuck!”

My voice had more effect than I anticipated and put a temporary stop to their scuffle. Slightly taken aback by this surprising success, I missed the opportunity to put my new knowledge to the test and simply looked at their dumb faces.

Seeing four grown adults being reprimanded by a child wasn’t only weird for me apparently as they finally decided to separate without exchanging another word. Slightly out of breath, Jazor rejoined me while Walmir was muttering something to Ilan with a hand on his shoulder. Only Paul was left alone with his unconscious daughter until Himara and Seth finally returned beside him a few seconds later.

“Damn, sissy. You couldn’t have done that earlier?” immediately complained Jazor.

“What? Scream at you all? How was I supposed to guess I was this intimidating?” I retorted with a sneer.

“Ah ah very funny, pipsqueak…” he grumbled as he sat down heavily beside me.

“You don’t plan to sleep right next to me, right?” I asked tentatively.

“Uh, yeah,” Jazor replied befuddled. “Why couldn’t I?”

“Because I don’t want to hear you snoring like a congested bear right next to me all night!” I admonished him.

“Like a what?” he started to ask before apparently judging, a few seconds later, that it wasn’t that important. “Don’t exaggerate, sissy! A little bit of noise is not that disturbing.”

“Yeah, sure. I slept so well with you snoring in my ears all night… said no one ever!” I snorted with my eyebrows raised higher than ever before.

“Fine, I will go elsewhere,” he finally replied in defeat after a few more seconds.

However, before he took more than a step away, I interrupted him while trying to rearrange my thick blanket to make the hard cold stone of this cave more bearable.

“What exactly happened?” I simply asked, with most of my focus directed at my blanket.

“Who knows?” shrugged Jazor. “You know how they are, they can’t stand each other. I don’t know what made Paul get so angry suddenly, but he better stop trying Ilan’s patience if you want my opinion.”

“So, Paul started it? Without any reason?” I asked, keeping my body straight for a few more seconds to hear his answer.

“Yeah, damn maniac. Not sure any of these two needs a reason anymore to go at each other’s throat. If we weren’t this close to our destination, this would be a serious problem, and, either you or I, would have needed to remind Paul of the reality of our situation with their fists. But this close to the first Advanced town, it’s not necessary as they will never see each other again soon enough. I’m sure Ilan also understands it’s not worth it either.”

I stayed silent, a cue that Jazor took to go a few steps away with his blanket. Certainly not far enough to spare me from his snorings, but I didn’t care as much as I pretended given how tired I was.

My gaze was fixed on Paul, busy covering Himara with a blanket larger than her.

This whole situation wasn’t surprising or that serious, but it still gave me a bad feeling. The last two weeks of our journey definitely had bitter days in store for us.

-------------------------------------------

Jazor’s snores were as annoying as I had predicted.

The organization of our shifts between Jazor, Ilan, Walmir, and me meant that I rarely had to sleep next to him. Something, I was certainly grateful for considering how even the stormy wind outside seemed to pale before the thunderous noise created by such a small man.

Fortunately for me, I was too tired to be disturbed by this for long and soon succumbed to the embrace of a well-earned night of sleep.

No one tried to get me to take a shift. I didn’t ask for preferential treatment, but I was certainly grateful for their decision, given that I’ll have to bear all of our group's scooting on my own if the weather stays the same.

When the sunlight woke me up the next morning, I felt refreshed and more alert than I had in a long time. It wasn’t that surprising considering the last time I had been able to get a full night’s sleep was inside Paul’s farm, just before a member of the Ryunno clan ruined everything.

That time seemed so far away now as if it belonged to another life.

With the hope that similarly peaceful days soon awaited me and with the agreeable surprise that the rain had finally stopped, I stood up to rejoin the rest of the group near the fire. They had made sure to keep it alive all night long, but it wasn’t giving off the same unnatural warmth as when I started it. Without my mana to influence it, a fire even created by me seemingly tends to reverse to its natural state sooner or later.

An interesting observation to ponder behind safe walls and certainly not in a cave inside the wilderness.

Therefore, I pushed these thoughts away and took the bowl of soup Ilan gave me.

I couldn’t help but notice that my share was significantly larger than anyone else. I didn’t comment on it or asked for a reason because I knew exactly why. Although we never really talked about it and I never complained because our desperate situation left no room for feelings, the truth remained that I had to bear similar responsibilities as all the other fighting adults around.

I could argue in my head that I wasn’t a child at heart, but my body definitely was.

All this time either spent on edge, fighting for my life, or desperately running away with only a few hours of sleep each night was much more difficult to bear for me than it was even for an older Walmir. I could feel it in the daily pain in my joints and muscles, in my difficulty concentrating as well as I used to. Even my ability to shape mana was impacted by this kind of life unsuited to a child, for even though I had developed my magic far more than I could have imagined throughout this journey, I could also feel the fatigue weighing on me constantly.

The past week I spent with my senses continually engaged to detect any potential threat made the situation clearer to me than ever before. I had been able to bear such a task more easily before when I was blind, even though I was much less experienced, mainly because I had avoided combat and could rest whenever I wanted. However, this time, after a week of almost continuous effort, I was pretty sure that if we hadn’t stopped, I wouldn’t have been able to maintain this ability for more than another day or two.

Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I was reaching my limits and everyone around me knew it.

The reflection of my pale face with dark circles under my bloodshot eyes that the bowl of clear soup reflected back to me was proof enough.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I mentioned to Jazor exasperatedly before taking a big gulp of soup, burning my tongue in the process, but also warming my inside nicely, giving me goosebumps on my forearms at the same time.

“Can’t help it, you look even more tired than before sleeping. How is that even possible?” he questioned without even hiding the worry in his voice as he usually did.

I wanted to accuse his snorings to annoy him a bit but finally decided against it.

“Don’t worry, I had a good night’s rest and I’m feeling much better. I just didn’t have enough to call it a beauty sleep just yet.”

“If you say so,” muttered Jazor with doubtful eyes before turning his attention back to the piece of bread in his hand much too small to his taste if his wincing was any indication.

“Now that the rain has stopped, we’d better use this time to try to gather some food before we hit the road again. Even with rationing, I don’t think what we have left in the crate will be just enough to reach our destination,” commented Jazor with his mouth half-full. An observation I could have done without because of the sputters flying everywhere, but also because Walmir had already informed me of that a few days ago.

In our hurry to seek shelter yesterday, we had left the heavy crate of food inside the carriage under the surveillance of the Vrapy so it wasn’t possible to do a full inventory, but we all trusted Walmir’s analysis. He was the expert who had roamed this part of the wilderness probably dozens of times before. Ilan and Jazor both had their respective experience, but when it came to the roads to take, the parts to avoid, or how to manage the Vrapy, Walmir was the one in charge.

That’s why I didn’t even frown when I realized we hadn’t taken the crate of food with us for the night although I wouldn’t have done the same and would have gone looking for it as soon as I realized it wasn't with us. His faith in his Vrapy, and in their natural ability to intimidate other animals, was sometimes a little too strong for my taste.

"So, who wants to go do some hunting?" asked Walmir on the other side of the fire after hearing our conversation.

“I will go, “immediately proposed Jazor.

“Then I will go too,” declared Walmir immediately after.

“It’s better if I go with him I think,” interrupted Ilan.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, but it didn’t take too much effort to understand why he wanted to be away from Paul for a while.

I repressed a sigh before noticing that the main culprit wasn’t there.

“Where the fuck is he again, anyway?” Jazor suddenly exclaimed, turning my exact thoughts into words.

Paul had developed the bad habit of moving away from the group without any warning. Something extremely dangerous for once, but also very badly received by Ilan as we often had to wait or look for him, something none of us wanted to do in our situation. I tried to talk him out of it, but none of my words had any effect.

I repressed another sigh, something I seemed to do more and more often because of Paul, and reluctantly stood up, making my still young knees creak in protest.

“I will go get him.”

Ilan stayed ominously silent and diverted his bad humor to his bowl of soup he engulfed in one big sip while Walmir and Ilan simply nodded.

It didn’t take much effort to find him as I quickly sensed his presence near the carriage we had left near the entrance of the ticket of massive trees. However, contrary to the previous times I had found him after another of his usual disappearance, he wasn’t looking for any medicinal plants as he was standing on what was left of our carriage.

It took me a few seconds to understand what he was doing as he was turning his back on me, but I finally realized that this time again he was looking for something. Although there was not a single medicinal plant to find no matter how furiously he was rummaging through the robust bag we decided to use to collect all we could salvage from the now destroyed carriage.

I watched him for a few more seconds, not sure how I wanted to confront him.

I had hoped this time wouldn’t come.

I wanted to wait until we reached the safety of the first Advanced town before confronting him with what I understood about him.

However, as I watched Paul manically turning the bag upside down and rummaging through the same worthless items time and time again as if he was expecting to find something new the next time, made me realize that I could no longer escape this confrontation.