PreCursive

  I nearly choked on my gss of water. “Excuse me?”

  Bel didn’t raise her head from the lowered position she had it in. “I said I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

  Bel had led Liora and I to the and room of the Thorny Reef, pletely unsurprised to see the two of us followihere she had offered the two of us drinks. I had deed, since I’d already had enough booze for the day, but Liora had accepted. After that, Bel had transitioned into doing…this.

  I…had never seen Bel like this. I didn’t know how to respond.

  Luckily, and somewhat surprisingly, Liora did.

  She sighed almost tiredly a her drink down on the small table we were gathered around. “It’s not your fault, Captain Isabel,” Liora said quietly. “If anything, it’s mine. I was the oo advise your trips to and from the Bluebacks to ander Hook. At the time, I thought the additional intelligence would prove useful to our efforts in our campaign. I believed…that an outside agency would have insights into the situation we would not,” She sighed bitterly and then drained her drink iion. When she was done, she stared down at her empty gss somberly. “Clearly, I was incorreone could predict the rise of Vampyr and an A Camity.”

  Bel raised her head to stare at Liora for a moment. To my surprise, she reached across the table to grasp one of Liora’s hands and cradled it. I was just as surprised as Liora was at the gesture. I…didn’t know Bel was capable of such tenderness. “Ain’t none of this was your fault, girl,” She said in a low tone, her eyes briefly flickering my way before settling ba the Gnoll. “That…that’s somethin’ I’ve learned in this life. Ye ’t go around cursin’ the gods when the bck hearted do what es natural to ‘em. Ye’ll just go round and round in circles spewin’ bile and curses over yer fate. It ain’t good fer ye. It ain’t good fer yer soul. Ye gotta take it in…” Bel took a deep breath then, and both Liora and I almost unsciously mirrored her. She the out a long, slow, heavy breath. “A out. Let the bad flow over ye like a wave. This hurt…it’ll pass. In time.”

  Liora slowly raised her other hand not in Bel’s grip and y it over the pirate’s hand. She closed her eyes for a moment before speaking. “Thank you, Captain,” She said quietly.

  The room itself desded into silence for a moment, in the wake of Bel’s surprisingly f speech. I know it was intended for Liora, but I’d caught the gnce Bel had shot me midway through.

  Part of that had been intended for me.

  I let out a slow breath.

  I hoped it would pass, Bel. I truly did.

  Bel eventually broke the f quiet by releasing Liora’s hands, and sat ba her chair. The dark-haired woman looked a bit embarrassed. “Anyways, I just waa apologize fer not being here, that’s all,” She said, clearihroat almost unfortably. “It ain’t right that I wasn’t able ta fight at yer side, when I promised ta help ye here in the bay. If…there’s anythin’ I do ta make it up to ye, I’ll do it. I swear.”

  Liora frowhen, almost looking ready to protest, but I spoke up first.

  I didn’t want to take advantage of her generosity, but I’d been waiting for an opportunity like this. I cleared my throat, drawing both women’s attention. “There…actually is something you do, Bel,” I said, before meeting Liora’s slightly fused gaze. “For the both of us. I actually wao talk to both of you. You see…Azarus and I are bowing out of the war. We’re…done.”

  Bel blinked rapidly, while Liora’s yellow eyes ied me for a moment. “I was…surprised to hear that you were retiring as well,” She said slowly. “I did not think that the Grand Marshall would allow his appreo sit out the war, if only for the…optics. But irospect, he was surprisingly willing to accept my owirement.”

  I smiled at her. “Grey is more reasohan people think he is. Like I said, I’m not stopping my apprenticeship with him. Just…pausing it. To that effect…” I turned baeet the ied, and almost eager gaze of my pirate friend. “Bel, do you mind taking on a couple of passengers? Azarus and I are looking to get out of here, and I’d appreciate the ride.”

  Bel smiled widely then and spped her knee. “Hell, I don’t mind at all! It’ll be like old times, Hart. Don’t think ye’ll get out of ship duties, though,” She said, wagging a fi me almost pyfully. “I don’t put up with sckers on me old girl. Hope ye haven’t fotten how ta swab a deck.”

  I ughed slightly, before nodding. “That won’t be a problem,” I said before turning my head to look at Liora. The Gnoll woman had a slight smile on her lips, but I noticed it had a loio it. I think she was feeling a bit left out.

  Well, time to put a stop to that.

  I reached over o me and took her furry hand in mine, meeting her eyes as I did so. “Liora, e with us,” I said, trying to project my earo the Gnoll woman. She bli me, while at the same time her ears flicked in surprise. “I don’t know if you had any pns after retiring…”

  Judging by her momentary shifty look, I’m guessing she might not have.

  Good. I was fih helping her with that.

  “We’ll sit out the war, doing our own thing,” I said, trying to smile through my own mencholy. “Maybe we’ll train, or try and learn some Magi our own. Maybe kill a few hundred monsters. Maybe we’ll do a bit of expl. Just…old-fashioned adventurer work. No moral ambiguity. No bdes in the dark. No fug Loyalists. Let the big-wigs handle Arid his corrupt nobles. It’s not our job anymore. We’ve done our part.”

  The desded into silence, as Liora studied me for a moment. For once, I don’t think someone was staring at my newly altered features. Instead, it felt like she was judging my siy. After a long moment, the Gnoll nodded slowly. “Yes…” She said quietly. “I think…I would like that. I will apany you, H…Nathan. As long as Sir Azarus is fih it.”

  “Yeah, I am,” A deep, rexed voice said from behind me. her Liora or I jumped at the sound of it, but I heard Bel curse and drop her gss. Letting go of Liora’s hand, I twisted in my chair to look behind me. I found the person I had felt through my blood seer the room a few minutes ago standing in the doorway.

  Azarus, looking ed up from the st time I had seen him. He had ged out of his armor and into fairly standard-looking work clothes, and had his arms crossed fortably over his broad chest. He me but was directly his amused gaze at the irritated captain standing from her seat to glower at him.

  “Say somethin’ when you e inta a room, stuntie,” She growled at him, wiping down her booze-soaked clothes with a rag.

  “Why don’t ya pay more attention, bilge-rat,” Azarus shot back at her, smirking.

  I snorted and stood up from my own chair to greet my friend. “Now now, children,” I said, semi-mogly. “Py nice. Bel’s agreed to take us on as passengers after all, out of the goodness of her ow.”

  Azarus nodded. “Yeah, I figured,” He shrugged. “Fine by me. It’s what I thought ya were doin’, when I found out ya were somewhere down at the docks. Ol’ Larry didn’t blink his eye when I asked around fer ya. Just told me ya were in here with the Captain.”

  Liora spoke up then, with a surprising note of timidity in her voice. “Then…you are fih my apanying you and Nathan on your journey, Sir Azarus?”

  ‘Sir’ Azarus wi her words. “Just…Azarus, please fer the love of the gods,” He said, pained. “I ain’t a noble anymore. But yeah, I’m okay with it. I don’t know ya, miss, but I trust Nate. If he trusts ya, then so do I.”

  “Alright then,” Bel said with a grin, seeming to immediately fet her antipathy towards the dwarf. “If that’s settled, what are we waitin’ on? I get us out o’ here tomorrow if I hafta.”

  I wihen, my grin repced by a sheepish look. “Ah…about that. It’s probably going to be about a week before we get going. I have stuff to do here in town that kinda cropped up at the st minute.”

  Azarus turo me then with one raised, bushy red eyebrow. “First I’m hearin’ about this. I already talked ta Grey and expined me own reasonin’ fer leavin’. What’s keepin’ us in this shitehole?”

  “Well, the fact that I o undergo my Assion Ritual, for one,” I said, causing a broad smile to break out on Azarus’s face. I grinned back at him. “Yeah, I reached one hundred. Grey offered to help me with it, and we’re going to put it together over the few days and then go forward. Once we’re done, we go. But…that’s not all. I still have someone else I want to talk to.” I walked over to the er of the room where I had hung up my cloak, shrugging it on and pig up my staff as I did so. “In fact, since you’re caught up, I think I’ll go find him right now. He’s the st person I want to kind of recruit, and then we talk about where we’re going.”

  Bel cupped her then. “Yeah, that’s right,” She mused. “Ye haven’t even told me where ya want ta go in the first pce.”

  Liora studied me for a moment, before sitting back down in her own chair. There was a slight amused tint to her features as she picked up the bottle of liquor oable and poured herself anss. She spoke around the rim of said gss as she raised it to her vulpine lips. “I believe that’s because they don’t know where they want to go.”

  I exged a gh Azarus as I flipped my hood up over my head. Nearly simultaneously, we shrugged at each other.

  Bel just ughed at us, as she joined Liora at the table.

  Holy, to me it didn’t matter where we went.

  The freedom meant more.

  …………………………………………

  “I’m in,” Renauld said immediately, only moments after I had started speaking. I paused for a moment to blink at the Gnoll in surprise.

  “I…didn’t even offer anythi,” I said, deadpan.

  It hadn’t taken me long to find the noll, after I had departed the Thorny Reef. All I’d had to do was retrace my steps to the makeshift ic that I had woken up in a few days agod, had it really only been a couple days since I’d woken up from my battle with Rhazal? So much had happened just today, and it was well past su by now. Even with the ravaged streets of Elderwyck being shrouded in darkness, they were still busy. Rescue and relief efforts couldn’t stop yet, even though it had been nearly a week sihe Camity had been sin. I sadly didn’t have much hope for the people who were still trapped beh the rubble of that chaos, sidering the length of time, but that didn’t matter.

  They still deserved the dignity of a proper burial, freed from their stony tomb.

  Renauld just gri me, unaware of the uedly dark turn that my thoughts had drifted into. “You didn’t have to. I already heard through the ‘grapevine’,” He coughed into his fist, saying the name ‘Honoka’ under his breath before tinuing smugly. “That you were getting out of here. I want in.”

  I ughed softly at the other man, shaking my head softly. The two of us had retreated to the ba of the i order to not disturb the patients iher room. Not many other Healers were still here in this small space, and those who were, were dead to the world, sn away their exhaustion. Renauld and I were huddled closely together near a small flickering dle in a er, whispering in order to not disturb them. I gnced around before jerking my head towards a door that led outside.

  These people deserved their rest.

  Oside, I breathed in the crips winter air that still carried a tinge of the storm that was now passing. Holy, I was surprised that the rains over the st few days hadn’t turo snow, or slush, or even frozen over sidering the winter weather from the st few weeks. I think we had hit an ued warm snap.

  I shook thoughts of the weather off and turo the Gnoll who had followed me outside. “Well, you’re right,” I him with a small smile. “I wao ask if you were ied in ing with the group I utting together. A…number of us are doh the war, and just want to escape it. But as you said, you’re ‘in’.”

  Renauld sighed in relief. “I sure am,” He said tiredly, running a hand through the shaggy fur on his head. “Don’t get me wrong, I like helping people. It's why I became a Healer. But it’s just…too much, man,” He said, giving me an almost pleading look, all but beggio uand. “Too much has happehis year. I need a break, Nate. Between my time in the k and my work with the Band. Then having to deal with all of this.” He shook his head. “Let’s get the hells out of here, man.”

  I y my hand on Renauld’s shoulder a his eyes. “I uand. It’ll be about a week, but then we’re leaving. You have a spot on the Reef with us when we leave.”

  Renauld pulled a face then. “Ugh, we’re leaving by sea? I thought I told you that the sea air doesn’t agree with fur.”

  I ughed at his pyfully downcast expression, and not surprisingly, Renauld followed after a moment.

  Our brief moment of levity was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps from down the alley we were talking in. I stopped ughing with a frown and turo face the source, only to stop in surprise.

  Slowly walking through the darkened mist was an absolutely massive form. Whoever they were, they had to be over seveall. I furrowed my brow in fusion aation, tightening my grip on my staff.

  Who was this?

  I soon got my answer, as a voice I hadn’t heard in months echoed out of the darkness of the alley.

  “The dead watch us still,

  Rain ot wash them away-

  I feel their weight too.”

  I gaped as a massive, ioid form walked out of the mists, dressed in a familiar white robe embzoned with pink es in flight. A rge ical hat shrouded their face, but I reized this person, if only because of the four curved bdes that rested oher side of their hips. The Antium man used one of his four arms to raise the brim of his hat, exposing his pound eyes to the world.

  Venix.