Chapter 350: The Mysterious Troupe

In the dark hours of the night, the leaves of Glimmer Grove glowed a fluorescent array of blues, purples, and greens. Though there was no fire, the canopy illuminated the Singing Willow Troupe’s camp. The camp had been arranged in a set of three rings, with the outer ring being composed of their wagons, which formed a loose circle and a sort of barrier from whatever animals might lurk in the woods.

Several bright colorful tents composed the middle ring, most of the troupe was already asleep within them. They were all exhausted from the day’s battle in the outskirts of Undergrowth and the subsequent escape into the forest.

The few that were still awake and not standing guard tended to the injured who lay on cots at the center of the camp. Loh lay on a cot, staring up at the fluorescent canopy. One of the troupe’s white mages, a dancer with bright blue eyeshadow, had tended to her wounds with healing magic.

Though most of Loh’s wounds had been healed, the process had left her body drained to the point she could barely turn her neck. While chromatic healing magic was strong, it paled in comparison to elemental life magic and it was far more limited. Her bandaged leg was a clear reminder of that. Even the slightest movement of her leg caused her shattered femur incredible pain.

Usually, Loh would have complained about her injuries and cursed Lord Loch for causing them. But her wounds seemed insignificant whenever she glanced at the simple green tent that stood alone at the very center of the camp. The most skilled white mages of the troupe were inside the tent, tending to the most grievously injured. Vayu had been taken in first, and though several other wounded had been carried in and out, Vayu was still inside.

“Cousin,” Unalla whispered hesitantly. “Our chief healer is a high-master. She knows what she’s doing. Your friend will be alright.”

Loh turned her neck and looked at the drow girl sitting a few cots away. Unalla wasn’t injured, but she had decided to stay with the wounded through the night. She posed an odd sight, a young petite drow sitting next to an orichalcum sword twice her size. One might think it was funny, ridiculous even, but Loh had seen the destruction that young girl had wrought with her sword.

“Cousin…?” Loh muttered in confusion.

“Oh, right. You don’t know,” the young girl muttered. “I thought the Ebon Aspirant or Lady Ismene might have told you, but I guess not. I am Unalla, daughter of Una of the Great House of Noir.”

Loh’s eyes widened, “Then…! You’re really my—”

“—Cousin,” she nodded.

“Is that why you helped us?” Loh bit her tongue in regret, “Wait. No, that’s not what I meant. Whatever the reason it was, thank you… for saving us.”

“Don’t thank me,” Unalla shrugged uncomfortably, “I was against the plan. It was risky and we could have lost a lot of good people. But my mother thought otherwise.”

“Your mother…?” Loh whispered.

“That’s enough,” a stern voice came from behind them.

“Mom!” Unalla straightened her back in surprise.

Una glanced between Loh and her daughter, “…Una, go get some rest, we have a long day ahead of us.”

Unalla frowned, “B-But—!”

“—House Thorn’s trackers won’t stop searching for us,” Una said in a cold, calm voice. “We’ll need to make good time tomorrow if we are to stay ahead of them.”

Unalla bit her lower lip and nodded reluctantly. With silent steps, she stood to her feet and left, dragging Votum behind her.

Loh stared at Una bewilderedly. The resemblance was uncanny, the looks, the voice… “You’re really her, aren’t you?” Loh whispered.

Una looked at her grandniece and narrowed her eyes.

“…You sound like him.” Loh chuckled dryly, “You even walk like him.”

“I remind you of Elzri?” Una asked quietly.

“Yes, a lot.”

“Hm…” Una turned around and walked off.

“W-wait! I have so many questions!” Loh called out desperately.

Una stopped in her steps and glanced back, “I have very few answers.”

“Uh, w-well,” Loh licked her lips, “Where have you been all these years? Why didn’t you let us know you were alive? Why is the Singing Willow Troupe working with you? Where is their Captain?”

“The Captain is engaged in other pursuits at the moment,” Una said calmly.

Loh blinked, “…That’s it?”

“What were you expecting?”

“I don’t know, maybe an explanation as to why a bunch of actors, minstrels, and illusionists, are in fact battle mages? Or, fuck it, maybe just a ‘Nice to meet you?’ Because, dammit, I always wanted to meet you!” Loh shouted in a broken voice. She took a shaky breath and closed her burning eyes tightly, “And I really hoped you did too…”

Una didn’t respond. She simply stared at Loh in cold silence.

The flap of the green tent opened and the chief white mage stepped out, her hands dyed red. The human spotted Una’s questioning look and shook her head glumly, “I’m sorry, my lady, we’ve managed to stabilize the Glaz noble for now, but his injuries are too severe. He’s lost too much blood. He won’t even wake up. …His lifeforce is weakening, he won’t make it much longer.”

“I see,” Una said solemnly. “Thank you for your work, Kaitlin.”

“W-wait! Vayu is dying!?” Loh said panickedly. “We can’t just let him die! You have to do something! You’re a high-master, aren’t you!?”

Kaitlin sighed bitterly, “I am, but your friend’s body has multiple large puncture wounds. Several of his organs have been perforated. It’s a miracle we were even able to stabilize him.”

“Please, you can’t give up on him now! He’s only like this because of me,” Loh cried. “If either of us deserves to live, it's Vayu! He’s a good person! One of the few! Please, please… save him.”

Kaitlin stared at Loh sympathetically, “I truly wish I could, but I am at the limits of my abilities. Without a powerful elemental life mage’s help, there is little we can do but help ease his passing.”

“T-then where do we find a life mage?” Loh asked anxiously.

“The only enclave of life mages in the realm are the fairies of Glimmer Grove,” Kaitlin sighed.

“Then we have to find them!” Loh said.

“It’s not that simple,” Kaitlin said lamentingly. “After Undergrowth betrayed the fairies decades ago, they have kept themselves hidden from the chromatic races out of hatred and fear. Even if we find them they will never help us.”

Loh’s face paled and her blue eyes grew dull, “S-so… there’s no hope…?”

“I am truly sorry,” Kaitlin bowed her head.

“…You said you were at your limits? That you could do no more for Vayu Glaz?” Una asked thoughtfully.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Kaitlin said regretfully.

“Then what of someone with even greater ability? An archmage?” Una asked.

“I suppose it could be possible, if the archmage had sufficient skill in the healing spell-form,” Kaitlin said.

Loh looked at Una with surprise, “You can save him?”

Una shook her head subtly, “I am not a chromatic white. But there is one whose healing abilities are powerful enough to save your friend.”

Loh’s eyes widened, “…Grandfather?”

“Kaitlin, change of plans. Tell the others we make for Hollow Shade at first light."

“Yes, my lady,” Kaitlin bowed.

Una nodded and turned to leave.

“Thank you!” Loh called out from her bed-ridden cot. “Thank you… for everything. I owe you my life and my friend’s.”

“You owe me nothing,” Una said.

Loh smiled warmly, tears in her eyes, “I’m really glad I met you.”

“…It was nice to see you again, Elohnoir,” Una said and walked away.

Loh frowned, “Again…?”

~~~

Stryg walked under the scarlet canopy of Vulture Woods, each step purposeful, guided by memory. Tauri and Plum trailed behind him several meters back. As the day had gone on, their pace had slowed down, but Stryg’s had stayed the same steady gait. Even though Tauri ran every morning and was a few inches taller than Stryg she found it increasingly difficult to keep up with his pace. Plum, on the other hand, was struggling just to walk. Her grey hair was drenched in sweat and her every breath came out strained. Stryg didn’t seem to notice either of their struggles, his lilac eyes stared at the unseen path ahead, never wavering once.

“I can’t… *huff* keep going *huff,*” Plum gasped.

“I’ll talk to him,” Tauri said sympathetically. She jogged ahead until she was next to Stryg. “We need to stop and rest, Plum is going to collapse at any minute if we don’t,” she said.

“We’ll stop soon,” Stryg said.

“Stryg,” Tauri said sternly. “We’ve walked enough.”

Stryg glanced up at the setting sun, “You’re right… Just a few more minutes, then we’ll stop for the night. I promise.”

“You better cast some healing spells over Plum’s sore legs, that poor girl wasn’t made for this sort of travel.”

“I will.”

“Good,” she nodded in approval.

“Mm,” Stryg muttered distractedly.

“Are you okay…?”

“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, why do you ask?” Stryg finally glanced at her.

She raised her eyebrow, “You’ve hardly said a word today. You barely had a bite for breakfast either, which is really strange for you. And what about last night?”

“Last night?”

“When those wolves came to our camp.”

“Wait, you were awake?” Stryg asked, surprised. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Did she hear Plum and me talking about her? he wondered anxiously.

Tauri shrugged, “At first I was just trying to sleep. But once the wolves came I thought it best if I pretended to be asleep, that way I could catch them off guard when they got close.”

“And you didn’t say anything afterwards?” Stryg frowned.

Tauri crossed her arms, “I’m saying something now, aren’t I?”

She definitely heard us talking about her…

“So, wanna tell me what was up with those wolves?”

“What do you mean?”

“Look, I’m not angry or complaining, but you're not usually one to avoid violence. These last few days you’ve been acting weird, well, weirder than usual. I guess what I’m trying to ask is, why didn’t you kill those wolves? You said they were looking for something to eat, right? Letting them go was risky. A pack of wolves that large is dangerous for any traveler. But we all saw you in Undergrowth’s coliseum. We saw what you’re capable of. You could have taken on the whole pack by yourself, but you didn’t even try to attack them, why? It isn’t like you.”

Stryg glanced at his hands and the grey claws on the tips of his blue fingers, “I don’t know… I guess I didn’t attack them for the same reason they didn’t attack me.”

“Which is?”

“I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s a feeling I guess. I just sort of knew.”

“Knew what?”

“The wolves weren’t my enemy.”

Tauri furrowed her brow, “Wha…?”

Stryg suddenly stopped walking, “We’ll stop here for the night.”

Tauri glanced at the thick bushes in front of them and the trees behind them, and waved at Plum, “Oi! We’re stopping!”

“Fucking finally!” Plum cried out in gratitude.

“Where should we set up camp? Stryg?” Tauri turned around.

Stryg was busy tearing apart the bushes in front of him with a green flora spell. The bushes' branches curled backward and parted in half, leaving a clear trail between them. He walked through and stepped into a large clearing bereft of even a single blade of grass. The barren ground was marred by an enormous jagged hole that extended deep into the earth, like a wretched scar in the forest. Its depth was so great that the sunlight did not pierce its darkness.

“What is this?” Tauri whispered, a trace of fear in her voice.

“The place where it all began,” Stryg muttered icily. “And the place where I’ll end it.”