Why am I not cold, Vivi? I'm cold-blooded. Or at least, I thought I was.
While I can't comment on the nuances of your biology, that may not be the case. Your metabolism is regulated to keep a constant temperature. It is one of the side effects of your increased dietary needs.
If she could raise a brow at that, or had brows, even, she'd raise at that specific answer. How do you know that?
It's an answer you would have come up with, based on your Intelligence and Perception; you've suspected it for a while, and had a theory.
She dipped her head in response. Yes, but snakes normally aren't like...well, me. I suppose this is another thing that separates us from normal animals and the native monsters of Galwein.
Native monsters--a term she self-coined after the discussion with Jurik and the others. She wondered if Risha had researched the differences between native monsters--those that existed before the disaster in Arivol--and those that came afterward. She couldn't grasp how monsters could...change, as had been proposed. It sounded like a grey area of knowledge. And something else that had happened gave her a theory.
The monsters changed. The attempted corruption, the one from Felix. Does that have something to do with it? Or was that me, standing defiant against my own nature?
Inconclusive. You are an Awakened, but...if they convert native monsters into theirs with an interface by an unknown means, it is possible. You suspect there is something to be learned from this.
It's been bothering me ever since. I need to read into it more when we get to the academy alive, which is now likely. It stinks that any research Risha did was destroyed in the cottage.
Wait. Maybe the secret storage survived?
She couldn't turn back now...but, if the barn was still standing and the hatchway obscured, there was a good reason to return to Peolein, based on this internal discussion between her and Vivi. There had been journals, alchemical products, and equipment inside. Much of it could be useful to her, and maybe the others, too. She should detail it when they reach their destination. She worried that if she told them now, they'd want to turn around, and that was a risk, especially with the Seekers still a big unknown.
And that worried her. The Seekers hadn't been at the defense of Bregin. What were they doing now?
Later in the afternoon, one of the advanced riders raised their hand and the wagon stopped. “Smoke. Up ahead. A lot more than just chimney smoke.” He pointed to a faint black plume just coming over the hillcrest.
“That’s the outpost village, Earthspire. We're about a few hours from the river,” another one called out. Neska had a feeling that this was not normal, based on the way Jurik’s hand kept tapping on the hilt of his weapon. Hadley had her bow unslung, her hand also resting on her quiver.
{If threat, will use hexes.} She scribbled the hasty note with her tail, and Juni showed it to the others.
“We should go around,” one of the riders said, pointing to another road that went further to the east. “I don’t like this.”
“We’re obligated to check it out,” Hadley snapped. “At the very least, we can verify what happened. We’re less than a day’s travel from the Academy, that’s practically in their backyard.”
The lead soldier, Ragnir, the one with ice-blue eyes, nodded. “Hadley’s right. Gort, Finks, we'll check it out. Jurik, you stay with the wagon. Your group is more important than us if there’s something wrong.”
“We should stick together, Ragnir,” Juni insisted. “You don’t know what you might be walking into, and we’ve proven ourselves in battle.”
The man nodded. “Alright. We’ll lead. Jurik, you guys take the rear.”
“The stoic warrior nodded. “We’re well south of the holding line. I doubt it’s monsters, but…”
But it could be. That was the unspoken worry in his voice.
They parked the wagon and horses once they were close to the village, but not so close that they might be heard. They disembarked on foot and worked their way down the hill, taking note of the drifting smoke, serving as a point of reference.
When they got past the treeline and a short ridgeline, Neska should have focused on the quaint stone and rough log-walled houses with small glass windows. She should have noted the decorative evergreens and the paths of flowers laid out on either side of the tan brick pathways parallel to the streets. Or the quaint covered well in the center, with a carefully arranged set of circular bricks.
Instead, she focused on the source of the smoke: a fire engulfed one house in the small village. People were standing around, looking frightened. But none of them moved to quench the fire. All the villagers were gathered near a wooden platform that served as a stage. But today's display was not the good kind.
On that platform were three villagers, their hands bound and tied, and they were secured to three vertical wooden posts. Below them was stacked wood. Hadley, Jurik, and the others were already rushing forward, shouting out something.
Neska didn’t hear them. She couldn’t move, paralyzed by what she saw. The memories of Risha’s death played out in her mind: the heat, the screaming.
The smell of burnt flesh. The taste of cooked meat.
The scent of incinerated Seekers, specifically. Her stomach churned. Human flesh, she realized nauseously.
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That horrid stench assaulted her senses. Worse, there was a good chance that the scent would only be added to when she assessed the situation.
The three villagers were bound to a pyre. And Neska’s worst fears were the ones holding the torches.
Seekers in armor with red fabric accents were all gathered nearby. One of them wore a helmet in the shape of a wolven face, not unlike the kind worn by Marikand. He wore more ornate armor and a detailed shoulder patch. The number of score marks on the patch was…unsettling. He held a torch in his hand and pointed accusingly at the tied-up villagers.
“Neska…we should not go down there,” Juni suggested. Her paws clung tightly to her, latching into the seams of her scales.
Neska pressed forward, despite her fears. She serpentined toward Jurik and the others. Neska could hear raised voices and Ragnir's pronounced agitation.
“You are out of line, Templar!” Ragnir raged, his hand on his weapon, but cautiously not drawing it. Jurik, Hadley, and the others also followed suit, standing opposed to the armored men.
The Seeker's positions were arranged so they could keep the villagers from leaving. “There is no precedent for summary execution!” Ragnir continued. "Explain the circumstances."
The wolven helmed man let out a discontented sigh. “The laws are clear. They harbored an Awakened and violated the Treaties of Avalain. They defied the mandatory conscription requirement in Article Two, Section Five.” The man sounded absolutely confident. “By their own admission.”
“And where are these Awakened?” Jurik demanded. Neska knew that his calm face was only a facade as his body tensed. “Do you have proof?”
“They travelled north, through the hills, knowing we were coming. We’ll catch them anyway,” the man sneered. “I am enforcing the Law of the land. Laws you know all too well.”
“The law does not permit you to burn people alive, let alone with no trial,” Jurik countered. “What happened to the house going up in flames?”
“One chose to barricade themselves rather than face justice,” the man answered calmly. He then peered at Neska and Juni and gave a small nod to several men on one side of the assembly. “That’s the one. So nice of you to pick them up for us.”
“Clarify yourself, Seeker,” Jurik demanded.
“The snake. That’s the escapee.”
But…how? Her heart felt like it froze mid-beat. The Seekers could not have known where she ended up. The Seekers slowly ground into motion.
“You’re mistaken,” Jurik replied calmly. “They’ve been with me for the past several days. I have papers authorizing transfer of Juni–”
He cut himself short, and Neska realized with a shiver down her body that she had no such papers identifying her. The wolven man took that as his cue to talk. “My source here told us to be on the lookout for any serpent Awakened. They match the profile.”
“She’s not from here!” Juni shouted. “Her origin village is from up north. We came south from Bregin and picked her up. This was four days ago; it couldn’t possibly be her!”
Logic paused the man's words, and he put up one hand to halt the Seeker's advance. "Details. Who are you all?"
“I am Sergeant Ragnir. I have instructions to escort them to the academy, under orders of Captain Krevan, Fifth Division, Valos armed forces,” Ragnir interjected, stepping forward. Several of the Seekers reached for weapons. The sergeant wisely kept his hand well away from his own and slowly pulled out folded papers from a vest pocket, waving them. The wolven helmeted one put up a hand, and the men all slowly relaxed.
“Show me.”
Ragnir slowly handed him the papers. “Check the authorization. We rode south after an attack on Bregin. The two Awakened and Jurik, a seasoned veteran, were on their way. They aided in the defense of the village against a massive pack of wolves. Whoever you are looking for, isn’t them.”
The wolven helmed Seeker read the papers--if somewhat reluctantly. He gave a slow shake of his head, and Neska heard a slow hiss emanate from his helmet. “I’ll forgive the lock-and-step adherence to procedure on your behalf. You’re ordered to act, not think. I see a monster that matches a profile and presents a risk. As do the villagers who harbored the Awakened here to keep them safe. Or, perhaps so they could unleash a feral monster to terrorize the area?” he suggested.
The three villagers in question tried to mumble a defense, except for the fact that they were gagged.
Neska had already taken preemptive action, readying several [Rooting Hex] traps beneath the Seekers. She could feel the roots vibrating below their feet. She hoped the Seekers couldn’t sense what she was doing, and she hoped they never would.
Right now, this could explode into violence at any second. Ragnir stepped forward toward the Seeker, eyes narrowed, and pointed accusingly at him, then less animatedly at her and Juni. “They are under my escort. You don’t have authority here.”
“Seekers have authority on matters of any internal defense. The monsters lurk among us; the more skilled ones have already slain several high-profile mages and members of the crown. I won’t risk this one getting away–”
Hadley nocked an arrow on her bow. Two of the men fumbled for their bows, but they froze when the Seeker put his hand up again, without a word. Hadley kept her distance, the tempest in her eyes returning. “Nothing we say to you matters, does it?” she growled. “You made up your mind the second you saw her. There’s no such thing as a ‘good’ monster, is there?”
“Sargeant Ragnir, yank the leash of your attack dog. Before she makes an unforced error,” the Seeker called out, unbothered by the archer. “She seems not to have read the situation correctly. We are carrying out our duties.”
“And I’m carrying out mine,” Ragnir interjected. “We’re on the same side. It sounds to me like this is a coincidence. I’d like to hear from one of the accused.”
The helmed seeker motioned for one of the men to remove the gag from a woman with dirty blonde hair, who was whimpering softly. Neska saw a stain on her clothes–she was so scared she’d relieved herself.
The seeker approached her, his words an extended sneer. “So, girl? Is this the one you hid in the comfort of your home? Away from their sacred duties to defend humanity?” he asked her quietly.
“No.” Her voice was barely a whisper, and she looked at Ragnir and Jurik, the latter of whom had placed himself close to the younger warrior. “That’s not them. No one hid in our homes.”
“Look again.” The seeker grabbed her jaw, forcing her to look. “Take a good, long look. Are you certain? There will be leniency for honesty. Tell me if that’s them.”
“Seeker Ortholo,” one man interjected, peering at a letter. “The serpent we’re looking for is tier two. That one is only first tier. I think."
The seeker held the woman’s jaw in place, her eyes filled with terror, and she let out a sob. “Please…it’s not them, you have to let them go. There might have been an Awakened here, but…they stayed out of sight, people only saw glimpses. We don’t know where they went, and we didn’t hide them,” she pleaded. "It was surely bigger than this little thing!"
The man said nothing at first. Neska saw cold, calculating eyes shifting through the visor. He let go of the villager before stepping away from the pyre.
“Can it talk for itself?” he demanded, pointing at Neska, but looking at Jurik instead.
“She cannot at present,” Jurik corrected stiffly. Neska was glad that he didn’t have to spell out that she could write messages. She was still half convinced these Seekers meant to kill them, and the villagers, regardless of what words were used, or what 'laws' remained unbroken.
But killing the escaped Awakened? For what? For not wanting to fight and die again? The villagers should not suffer for wanting to protect them from that.
It sounded wrong. Horribly wrong. A bubbling emotion coursed through Neska, a spreading heat throughout her body, and the itch of power on her clenched fangs. An uncomfortable thought settled into her mind.
Even humans could be monsters.
The Seeker stood there, hands on his hips, before shrugging. “Brother Ergot, remind me to inquire about the events of Bregin upon our return. I will be conducting interviews. If you are on the way to the Academy of the Awakened,” he added, and Neska could hear the sneer in his voice, “I won’t have far to look for you, should this require a follow-up discussion.”
Everyone remained silent, as if the moment of dread could still return. Hadley lowered her bow, but kept the arrow nocked.
If Neska could let out a sigh of relief, she would.
“But the deserter, and those who protected them, are still my business.”
Ortholo grabbed a torch from the hand of the one closest to the assembly. There was a bellow of outrage from Ragnir and Hadley as the Seeker cast the flame toward the pyre, and the pleading woman screamed.
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What happens next