Chapter 114 - Morning and Mourning

I awakened to the light of the sun filtering through the flap of the giant tent. It took me a moment to get my bearings, but the memories of last night flooded into my mind, punctuated by the pain in my shoulder. I looked at the spot, and at some point someone had applied a bandage.

I did not even want to consider the scar that was going to be left.

I realized that my hand was still held in Eira's. She was asleep in the seat next to me, leaning against one of the supports. She had held my hand all through the night. I couldn't help but smile, and even tear up just a bit knowing she had stayed with me.

My stomach noticed the smell of cooking food before my mind had even registered it. It smelled heavenly, like cooking bacon, fresh bread, and coffee. Good coffee.

Eira woke with a sniff and a mumble. "Morning? Ooof sunlight, yup it's morning all right."

She stretched, and I could practically hear her spine realign itself.

"Good morning, beautiful!" I chirped happily, though a bit croaky. The poison gas had done more of a number on my throat than I thought. Lovely.

"Oh goodness, you woke up before me. I was going to wake you with a kiss." Eira pouted cutely.

"Oh noooo, I'm still asleep! How ever shall I awaken?" I said dramatically, looking at her through one eye.

"You're in a good mood for having gotten dragged through the wringer last night." She chuckled as she kissed me. I wanted to throw my arms around her and give her an even bigger kiss, but my poor shoulder refused to cooperate. It was stiff and very, very sore.

She whispered in my ear. "I'm glad you're ok. I really am."

"Me too. Can we eat soon though? I think my stomach might eat itself." I asked, sitting up with a groan.

Eira helped me up, and while I was sure I stank of smoke and potion residue, I didn't give two halves of a damn. I wanted to eat.

Things were somber around those gathered, no one really wanting to talk. I noticed the group was smaller than usual. I wondered how many had eaten already, my mind refusing to acknowledge the horrible truth of it.

I ate and drank in quiet as well, but I also helped myself to as much as I could. One of the things they don't tell you about being on the receiving end of healing magic was how much it took out of you. It used part of your own mana and body, kickstarting natural healing properties. Some higher-level healing spells could do more, but Bartitch, Bartius, whatever his name was, did the best he could. Which sadly left me as tired as a kitten.

I looked over and saw Langhurst stand on a nearby table and ring a bell, getting everyone's attention.

"Hello everyone, I want to thank you for being gathered together this morning. We'll be moving on later than planned today. We have investigated this incident and will be addressing each compartment individually. Please save any questions for later. Before we leave, however, we have to acknowledge that there were many injuries and casualties last night. Before we can move on, we will be performing a laying to rest ceremony before we move on. We ask that everyone attend, but we will not force you. It begins in thirty minutes. Thank you for your attention." She then stepped down, and she and several members of the Aegis went to one of the tents that had been set up.

"Absolute ptarm-shit, this entire thing has been." A dwarven man at the table with us said.

"Hmm?" I said, my mouth full of bread.

"We paid for protection into Hastera, and were assured they had the latest crystal protection technology, good strong mercenaries, and what happens. People got hurt and killed. It's like traveling in the old days all over again, except the cushions for our arses are softer. Pah!" He huffed and stomped away, several others behind me.

I finished chewing my bread, and looked at Eira.

"Do you know how bad it was? I didn't really look to see what all was going on during the chaos." I asked before taking a deep swig of coffee.

"No. I was worried about you. I didn't even think about anyone else." Eira looked down, like she was ashamed.

I held her close to me, putting her head on my shoulder. The not-injured one that is. I'm not a total dummy.

"It's ok. You were the only thing I could think about too. I wanted to make sure you were safe." I said, stroking her hair.

"We make quite the pair, don't we? Also, you're getting crumbs in my hair." She sighed.

"Crumbs of love. Crumbs of love." I said, continuing my petting.

A thought just occurred to me.

"Should we get dressed special for the Rest Ceremony?" I asked. I was pretty sure I didn't pack anything fancy at all for this trip.

"No, I don't think so. We're in Hastera, and we're less formal about it than other places. They'll provide the scarves." Eira said, sitting up.

"Ah, good. Could we...uh...get there early? I don't want to be late." I said. Being late to a Rest Ceremony was very bad luck, and I didn't need any more of that on this trip. I wasn't superstitious by any means, but I didn't want to press my luck.

A short while later, we stood at a site near the road, away from the caravan. There had been metal platforms set up, and on each of them, a body covered in a grey shroud. Nine of them in total. My mind had trouble comprehending that nine souls were snuffed out so quickly. I noticed at the end was a candle on a pole. I had no idea what that was for. I wondered if it was a Hasteran thing.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I had been lucky. Damned lucky. I was close to being the tenth body up there.

We had been each given a grey scarf to wear around our necks, as part of the typical Rest Ceremony.

It had been a long time since I had attended one of these. A relative, I believed. Died of old age. We held the ceremony in one of the churches on our family property. I didn't really understand what was going on.

I hadn't really looked into it much as time went on. I knew the burning of the dead was important, though. No matter how one died, if there was a body left, they would become an undead, and if the ritual wasn't done within a certain time, a ghost would be left too. This was true of everyone, everywhere in the Mortal Kingdoms.

My thoughts were interrupted as Marsha, Corswain, and another man in the Scarlet Aegis livery, but more ornate. I surmised her was some kind of commander.

Another joined them, clad in a grey robe. I almost thought they were a member of the Grey Balance, but I noticed the trim was blue. A priest of the Mortal Faith United, an attempt by the Mortal Kingdoms Alliance to combine all the religions.

The priest stood before us, bowed, a gesture we all copied.

"Thank you all for joining us. These nine souls were lost in the horrific monster attack last night. Six fellow travelers, three of the Aegis who bravely lost their lives, and one soul whose fate we do not know. For the missing we place a candle of remembrance in hope it can guide their soul beyond. For all of them we shall pray. May the gods above accept the smoke and the gods below accept their ash. May their souls go to whichever heavens they are destined for. Please, place your scarves over your faces."

We did so, Eira helping me, as my arm was still giving me trouble.

The scarf, grey and sweet smelling, like flowers, was to protect us from breathing in the smoke and ash. It was believed that if you breathed it in, the souls of the deceased could travel into your body, and possess you. I doubted it was true, but I had seen strange things, read about stranger things. Better safe than possessed.

Corswain took a torch and lit it with a small device in his hand. He passed it to Marsha, who passed it to the other soldier, who then passed it to the priest.

Marsha stood forward with a piece of paper in her hand, unrolling it.

"Kergen Ulkot. Scarlet Aegis. Slain by a beast in defense of civilian lives." She called out. The priest set the shroud on fire, and their body caught a light quickly.

"Selanar Holayra. Scarlet Aegis. Slain by a beast in defense of civilian lives." They were set alight.

"Vergu. Scarlet Aegis. Slain by a beast in defense of civilian lives." Another began to burn as the priest continued.

She continued naming them, one after another. My mind had started to go numb as the realization and shock struck me. People were dead. Actually dead. And their bodies were right in front of me.

I had never seen those slain in battle. I knew it had to happen. That was the fact of things. But seeing the memorial walls and just the smoke of the rites didn't ever register as the dead to me. It was something happening to someone else and wasn't my problem.

Had I always been so cold? So heartless? Or was I just sheltered? Both?

It brought the reality of the world closing in on my mind, and it was a lot to take in. It had all been so abstract before now. I felt sick.

"Caru Gavyn. Missing. Body Unrecovered. We pray for their soul and their body to find the rest it deserves." Marsha declared, with a tone of somber finality, as she rolled up the scroll and lit it upon the torch in the priest's hand, the fragments flying into the sky.

Caru? Had they perished? And disappeared at that? But I had just seen them before the monster attack. Did they eat them? Or something else?

They were strange, and they knew something about me that concerned me, but the idea they were gone bothered me deeply. Something felt terribly wrong about it, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Marsha finally turned to the burning bodies, which were totally engulfed in a fire that burned so hot it was blue. She bowed to the dead, turned smartly, and walked away. Corswain and the other Aegis did as well. The priest bowed to us and began to sing a song in a language I didn't understand, but I knew was Ancient Human Common. It was beautiful and heart-wrenching at the same time. Tears flowed from my eyes unbidden.

People began to file away from the site of the ceremony, but something in me told me to stay till the bodies had finished. Eira never left my side. Her hand rested on my back, helping me stay steady as the tears turned into sobs.

It was all too damn much. This trip was supposed to be fun, dammit! Why did things have to go wrong every damned time! I was sad at those we lost, even if I didn't know them.

Caru's disappearance really bothered me. A lot. I need to talk to Eira about this. I had learned the hard way about keeping secrets, even out of forgetfulness rather than outright deceit.

After all the passengers had left, I stood there for a long moment. The smoke had cleared, and the ash had been swept onto the ground. Marsha and the unnamed Aegis left, leaving only Corswain to direct lower-ranked Aegises to dismantle the platforms.

As the soldiers made to leave, he put a hand on my good shoulder and spoke softly, his voice more comforting than I would have expected from him. "Take your time. We'll be needing to talk to you in about an hour, before we set off. Make your peace, and head back to the carriages."

We sat there in silence, only the sound of the wind and the sounds of the caravan preparing to move out.

"Something's bothering you, Alta. And it's not just the deaths, is it?" Eira asked softly, her voice slightly muffled by the scarf.

"Yeah. Something is bugging me about all of this." I said, my eyebrows furrowing.

"Oh? What is it?" She asked, her voice becoming a concerned sort of curious.

"Before the monster attack, I had talked to Caru. They said some stuff about my magic being poorly trained, which is fair, but they knew about my core somehow. They said something about borrowed power. Then they disappeared into the darkness. Shortly after that, the monsters attacked. Which is strange too, because as far as I could tell those monster repelling crystals were working fine." I talked through my thoughts, Eira nodding as I talked.

"That is strange. Really strange. And then they're nowhere to be found and are declared lost and dead. Something feels suspicious. Either something ate them, or some shenanigans are going on." I could almost hear the gears in her head turning.

"There is one other thing that bothers me now that I think about it." I scowled as a thought dawned on me that gave me a chill down my spine.

"What?"

"They knew my name, Eira," I said, looking her in the eyes.

"Well, we did introduce ourselves to them." She shrugged.

"She knew my full name. We never said our full names to Caru."

"Oh. OH. Oh no." Eira's eyebrows furrowed the same as mine.

"This isn't good, is it, Eira?" I sighed through the scarf.

"No. Likely not. Gods dammit, can we stay away from weird conspiracies for just a little while?" She groaned, putting her head in her hands.

"Apparently I seem to have pissed off some deity somewhere. And I don't know which one because I didn't pay attention in chapel." I slumped in defeat.

"Let's....let's just get back to the carriage. I need a snack and a nap and possibly some of the wine I hid in our bags." She guided me towards the carriage gently.

"Is it good wine?" I asked, my interest piqued.

"It is, how to say, the good shit!" She laughed.

"Oh good! Sobriety be damned! Conspiracies can't get us if we're drunk!"

"I'm pretty sure that's not how it works, but I don't care. Come along, my beloved!" Eira said with a playful swat on my rear.

I was looking forward to turning my brain off for a little while. Maybe get my paranoia to shut up for a little while.

Not that my paranoia had ever really been wrong.