Ilis grimaced as Jason retched, while she leapt through the air once more.

“Jason I swear on every god there is, if you throw up on me, I will never let you forget it.”

He coughed, and tried to respond, but only managed to wheeze. She snorted. They had been running all evening, drawing closer to Grenion, and they had discovered that Jason had a weak stomach. He had even said at one point, that ‘if they didn’t stop soon, he might just stop his [Phantom State] and end it all’. Thankfully, it was unnecessary, as they finally jumped out of the forests, Grenion revealed in all of its bustling panic. Her gaze didn’t linger on it though, her eyes travelled to the now sprawling stone forest. She felt a sudden tap on her head, startling her, and she used the explosions from her feet to gently land. She slid the man off her shoulder, who immediately fell to his knees. He held up a hand to stop her questioning, apparently just giving himself a moment.

“Go…with bag… I’ll get healer.”

Ilis watched him with concern, for a moment, before nodding, and then, with a blast of fire, left him in a cloud of dirt.

As she flew through the air, her thoughts started to jump from one subject to the next.

Will the book help?

Will Falisty be alright?

What ability did my mum use against Silver?

How was Silver undead?! Are all Grasping Hand members the same?

She gritted her teeth, and pushed them out of her mind. This’ll work. I know it will. She landed against the packed earth, bending her knees to help absorb the impact. She rolled her neck, and walked the rest of the way. She soon came into the quiet clearing where Falisty and Falan were, and she couldn’t stop herself from looking at her friend, her eyes taking in the dim glow of the crystal green leaves, and the oddly peaceful expression on her face. She slowly exhaled, before turning to Falan who had made himself a desk out of ice, and was rubbing his eyes. She made her way over to him, frowning when she saw that he hadn’t noticed her. “Falan.”

The man jerked, and spun around on his chair. “Ilis! Your back, did you get the…?”

She nodded, and reached into the storage bag to pull out the tome. His eyes alighted. “Ah, yes…” He snatched it out of her hands, and started flicking through the pages. His eyes flashed blue, and the words of the pages started floating up to enter his pupils. He remained absolutely still, even when she waved a hand in front of him, passing through the blue words like smoke. She sighed, and sat on the table. Fucking idiot. Now I have to protect him.

—---

Jason walked out of the healer shop, poking the place where he’d been stabbed in the chest. The ageing woman, had been pissed off that he was taking up her time, when she was supposed to be packing. When she saw the hole in his lung, rather than being gentle, she slapped the wound, with a glowing hand, and healed it after fifteen minutes or so. She had scolded him for being so reckless, before threatening not to heal him if he came back again. He shook his head. He headed towards the centre of town, joining the streams of people. A few minutes in, he started to hear Brand’s bellowing.

“ONLY ESSENTIALS. RATIONS ARE CRUCIAL!”

He winced. Even from so far away, Brand could threaten people’s eardrums. He eventually entered the town square, and hung back so he could observe. Families were huddled together with frankly ridiculously sized packs. But he reminded himself, Strength is a thing. Brand wasn’t the only one making loud noises, adults were shouting, demanding answers from anyone who looked official, while some kids cried and whined. There was one group that didn’t though, and he blinked when he saw a group of children in rags. They all had a tough look to them, but he could see from their tense shoulders and clenched hands that they were worried too. He frowned. Do they have rations? He looked around for someone to ask, and his eyes fell on a familiar face. Helen was sitting behind a desk that had been brought outside, and was answering people while scribbling away. He headed over and, after some hesitation, joined the queue. He didn’t know why, but after everything he’d been through and done…to have to join a line? It felt strange. After waiting for some time, he finally made it to the Hane.

The woman was hunched over, and asked without looking up, “Yes, is there something the Adventurers Guild can help you with?”

He harrumphed. “Hey, Helen.”

The woman looked up, and tilted her head. “Jason? Wow, where have you been?! I thought you were dead!”

He snorted. “Well, it’s been an adventure, to say the least. Ha, I doubt I can get the money for that job now, am I right?”

Helen regarded him, clearly unamused. “That better not be why you came to talk to me, Jason.”

He shook his head. “No, you’re right. It was about them.” He turned and pointed at the group he’d seen. “Are they going to be alright?”

She leaned her head to the side, resting it on her hand. “Hmm, that’s a good point. It’s possible that no-one’s thought to help.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

“You could ask them?”

He stared at her, before smirking. “I suppose.”

She snickered, before her smile fell a bit. “It’s actually really good to see you Jason.”

He blinked. “Thanks Helen. It’s good to see that you’re alright too.”

She nodded, and he turned around, heading over to the kids. They noticed his approach, and a few of them puffed up their chests, causing him to internally scoff, and continue. When he was close enough, a young teen jutted her chin at him. “What do you want?”

“I was just checking that you guys are prepared.”

They all glanced at each other, and at the same time said, “Fuck off.”

He raised his eyebrow. “You guys obviously don’t have anyone to help you out, don’t be idi- don’t hesitate to ask for help.”

They tsked, and looked away, focusing on everywhere but him.

Brute force it is then.

“Well, do you have enough?” He demanded as he walked into their group, peering at their bags. They cried in protest, and a few of them lashed out with clubs or fists. He ignored it, their attacks passing through his now ghostly body. Which, he realised, was a mistake.

“Death Magic!” They cried and jumped back, while he cursed. He could feel dozens of eyes on his back.

He held his hands up. “It’s not death magic, it’s Mana impressions – memory. Totally different.”

They glanced at each other nervously, and he sighed. “Look, I literally just wanted to make sure that you guys would be okay. If you're that desperate to shoot yourself in the foot though, then I’ll leave you be.”

One of them sneered, and spat at him, which went straight through. He sighed, and turned around, walking away. Brand had noticed the exchange, and waved at him. He waved back and moved up the steps of the podium, before coming to a stop next to him.

“Hey Brand, me and Ilis came back not long ago. We found the book, amongst other things.”

The man nodded gratefully. “That’s good to hear. Do you think it’ll work?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t got a clue. I didn’t get a chance to look through it. I’m guessing that Falan is though.”

“Hmm. What about the Grasping Hand? Are they going to try to fuck with us?”

Jason frowned, replaying their exit from Danist in his head. “Maybe…they let us go though…”

They both remain silent after that, before Brand noisily exhaled. “What did you want with them?” He asked while jerking his head at the kids he had spoken to.

He ran a hand down the side of his face. “They looked lost, and I can’t imagine that they’ve got much on them.”

Brand regarded him, before grunting. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll deal with it. I still remember what it was like to be one of them.”

He raised an eyebrow. “One of them? Oh, I think Ilis mentioned something like that…”

Brand didn’t respond, and he thought the conversation was over, until, “Me, Falisty and Falan were street rats, Ilis joined us later. We used to live in a place called Isalt, and it was…rough.”

“How so?”

He started stroking his beard, a motion which made him weirdly appear much older than he was. “Isalt is bloody famous. A faction that’s as big as the Holy Will or the Hand, which is because it’s close to the sea, and has a finger in any large organisation there is. It’s the home of like three Merchant Lords, and well…you can tell just by seeing the place. Gold all moves towards the top. There were a lot of kids like us, flocking to the closest place that wouldn’t conscript you for whatever purpose. I don’t think we would have gotten out of there if it hadn’t been for Mr Heral, the man who eventually took us in.”

Jason blinked. That was the first time he’d heard their carer’s name. “Ilis said that he told her you were just lucky for him to take you.”

He barked a laugh. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that! Well, he wasn’t wrong. There were a lot of kids to choose from. I think he did like us the best though, and he was lonely. The man’s whole life was spent in his Archive, he lived for history.”

Jason smiled at him, and the bear-like man grinned back. “What about you? What were your carer’s like?”

Startled at the sudden reversal, he stuttered. “I-well-uh, just carer actually…”

Brand bobbed his head, listening attentively.

“Um…Yeah, never knew my dad, so my mom just raised me. It was an alright life, not nearly as hard as yours. I uh, yeah she did her best. I always thought of her as a hard woman. I used to joke that I didn’t need a dad, 'cause my mom was the manliest person I knew.’” He broke out a grin. “Yeah she’s still alive too. Once I was old enough to look after myself, she went off to start living around the country in a van that she converted…We haven’t really talked in ages, not many opportunities to do so and I don’t think either of us particularly felt the need to.” He mulled the statement over for a while, before being brought out of it when he heard a cough.

“Van? Country? What are those things?”

Jason regarded him seriously, and looked around at the many potential listeners. “I’ll tell you one day soon.”

The man looked confused, and was about to ask something when a cry interrupted him.

“THE HAND! THE HAND IS COMING!”

A hush descended on everyone. They all twisted to see a ragged looking scout, in leather and cloak, standing leaning against a wall. “An…army. Heading here.” With his message out, he slid down the wall. Panic erupted amongst the evacuators. Screaming and shouldering their way out of the square. Guardsmen tried to calm them down, but some of the people simply threw them aside, and rushed away. He felt the wood dip as Brand stood up.

“QUIET.”

His voice was like a toppling wall, travelling outwards and crushing people in place.

“It is not over. Anyone who is a strong enough level, to me. Everyone else? Listen to the guardsmen, they will begin escorting you out of the town.”

Even though he’d given commands, no-one could move. He’s not finished yet, Jason realised.

“We are no longer at a disadvantage against them. We have a solution to their parasites. One that we must defend if people are going to stay in the Freelands. It could be what we need to grant us mercy from the Holy Will.”

What, but we’re going to take Falisty away…

“It’s up to you whether or not you are okay with the risk. One thing is for certain though, we’ll need to distract the Hand so the others can evacuate. So, do not give up. We can still win.”

He trailed off, and he heard a collective gasp, as everyone could breathe again. Jason looked at the man warily. “Brand?”

He sighed. “I’m sorry Jason, but a choice between saving everyone or saving my friend, is no choice at all. I have to do this.”

He didn’t say anything, and returned his attention back to the crowd, who were slowly gathering around them. They were strapping weapons and armour on, pulling out potions and bandages. All of them had eyes that were dull, holding nothing but a flicker. This is our last chance, he realised, and exhaled. These people had nothing else to give, it was now all or nothing.

Falan’s going to fucking kill us.

—---

Ilis jumped as Falan suddenly gasped, and she turned around to him, wiping tears from his red eyes. She squinted at him. “You’re not crying, right?”

He shot her an unamused look. “It’s just the Ability.”

She snorted. “Suuuure.”

He grunted, rubbing his eyes again. “It doesn’t matter…”

Her heart fell. “You mean…?”

“I couldn’t find anything to change her back.”

Her breath hitched. “No…” She looked over to her friend, who was in exactly the same state as before. “No…” she whispered.

“That doesn’t mean there is nothing we can do for her.” He said so quietly that she almost didn’t hear it.

She whipped her head back. “What?!”

He grimaced. “There is something, but-” They both paused and turned to look at the numerous thudding they could suddenly hear approaching. Ilis stood up, her fists smouldering and Falan drew his wand. Not fucking now. She didn’t have to wait long, but was surprised to see Brand and Jason enter, both of them looking grim, with Jason looking nervous too. Behind them, was what looked like every single adventurer, random travellers or just high-levelled people that they could have gathered. They all had matching expressions of gloom. Her two teammates walked over, while the rest of their small army milled around the clearing.

“Brand, Jason, what happened?” Falan asked wearily.

“The Hand is coming.”

“Here?”

They both nodded. Ilis eyed the force they had brought with them “I’m surprised everyone didn’t just run. What did you say?”

Jason swallowed and glanced at the short bear-like man, who took a moment to reply. “I told them that we had a way of evening the field, and that if we defended…her, the Holy Will might have mercy on everyone.”

She stared at him in shock. “Brand are you-”

“You did what?!”

She jumped to look at Falan whose face had become white. He stepped closer. “Brand, did you just say you were going to lea-”

“It’s either her, or it’s risking everyone.”

No-one could respond to that, and she saw Jason peer at the elf, before saying, “Falan, is it even possible to bring her back?”

The man flinched, and turned to glare at him, putting the swordsman in an uncomfortable position.

Clearly struggling with himself, the elf spoke with gritted teeth and closed eyes. “Not to what she was before…”

“Wait…so we can do something?” Brand asked hopefully.

He nodded. “Yes…remember what that thing in the dungeon did with the corpse?”

Understanding bloomed in her mind. “Oh…” she whispered.

The elf nodded. “She can do the same. We would need to wake her, which would require some kind of emotional stimulus…and I have an idea on how to do that. The only problem is finding a body that she could inhabit-”

“Which we have.” Jason muttered.

Ilis nodded and walked over to the table, picking up the satchel, before moving the central tree-figure. She reached inside and willed the body to come out. It did with a wet thump, and she heard Falan’s hurried footsteps.

“You got it back…” He whispered. She nodded, not sure what else to say.

She watched him inspect it, his eyes lingering on its pointed ears, before grimacing. “That’s it then.” He spoke as if he were being strangled, and stepped over to their teammate. “I didn’t want to do this… I didn’t want her to realise what had happened to her.” He shook his head. “Fuck the Grasping Hand,” and then he leaned down to whisper in Falisty’s ear, before he kissed her gently on the lips. He stepped back, his face flushed, blinking away the water that was forming in his eyes. They waited, and she could hear his breathing grow erratic as it dragged on. Just when it looked like he was about to step in again…Falisty’s eyes opened.