Chapter 189: Nighttime Conversation

I stare at the oracle looking down at me.

Delfine tilts her head. “Still not feeling talkative? Well, that’s alright. I don’t want to be your enemy, you know? If you ask, I’ll even end this conversation right away. But then you don’t get to hear why I wanted to talk.”

Dang, she’s played me. I never thought my curiosity would get me like this one day. Okay, well, that’s misleading. I never thought it would because I was, instead, sure that this would happen. But I forgive myself, so it’s okay. I look at her, silently, waiting for her to elaborate.

A thin smile spread on her lips, her blindfolded face still looking down at me. A few strands of her hair fall from behind her ear, tickling my nose, and I will Kuro to bat them away. At that, she looks surprised. “Oh? The shadow magic is real? I thought you would have used some kind of trick. Respitia always assured me you were an anti-mage.”

I shrug, still not saying anything. 

“Hmmm,” Delfine hums, sitting back, and giving me slightly more space. “You know, the Monoliths generally allow some access to the Eyes, right? So, you’ll forgive me if I don’t trust your spectators. Tower, I’d like to use a lesser request to shield this conversation from prying Eyes.”

A hum passes through the air, a ripple of mana so beautiful and complex that I want to pull it apart on the spot. But I’d never have a chance. The tower’s magic is still so far beyond me. Delfine smiles at the power and nods. “I can imagine your expression, right now,” she says. Her hand even reaches out to touch my face, but I pull back. “Ah,” she says, her fingers hanging in the air. “My apologies. I get too… familiar, when I’m curious.”

I tilt my head at her. She can’t see it, but she keeps talking anyway.

“That’s why I tried to see into you with magic before, too. And my authority. I’m a curious person, Ion. So very curious.”

“Is that how you lost your eyes?” I ask.

“Oh, no,” she says with a faint giggle, holding a hand to her mouth. “No, I lost these because of a disease. The more light that entered my eyes, the worse my eyesight got. Some kind of allergy that made my optic cells die when touched by ultraviolet. Bit by bit, as I aged, my vision went. First, I lost colour. Then, darkness crept in around the edges. Then, I only had blurry pinprick holes to see through… and now, gone.”

I look at her, not speaking, and she sighs softly. “Yes, I suppose it is fitting I became an oracle. The blind one who sees, right? And yes, that is how I lost my eyes, I suppose. But it is not how I lost my sight. And no, I cannot heal them back. Neither can Respitia.”

Again, I remain quiet.

Delfine seems unbothered by it, talking away. Truly, extroverts are scary. She just guesses at what I want. Does she do so from the tiny shuffles I make on the sand? I try to sit perfectly still, giving away nothing to her. “So, this blindfold is simply part of who I am. I’ve learnt to make up for it in other ways. I’m very good at seeing things that I will interact with, for example.”

“I can see things that will hit me. Things that would hurt me. Things that run away from me. But it’s hard for me to see things that are still. Like you. Right now, I see nothing. In fact, there’s a chance you’re not in front of me, at all.” A thin smile plays on her lips. “But I’d wager you’re there. There wasn’t enough shuffling for you to get up, and you’re too curious to leave.”

How annoying.

Delfine gives another short hum,  folding her hands in her lap. “You’re probably wondering why I wanted to speak to you, Ion. The truth is, I want to trust you.”

What a strange request. I watch her curiously, noting the way she fidgets, the way her wings draw a little closer to her. As if she’s cold.

“Which is why I need to ask: What will you do with Jean?” 

And for the first time, I see through her facade. There’s a small crack. I’m not good with people, but I’m observant. I see the way her lips quiver, the way her interlocked fingers tighten. 

“Do you plan to use him? Do you plan to bind him to you? To keep him on a chain and earn yourself all the favours you could ever wish for?” she asks.

I tilt my head. What a strangely reasonable set of questions to ask. “No,” I reply simply. 

Delfine sits for a long while after that. I stare at her, and she looks at where she imagines I must be. There’s a long sort of silence as she waits for something that doesn’t come. In the end, she answers stiffly. “I see. Thank you, that will be enough,” she says, just a moment before the Tower’s mana washes over us again, the time for our private conversation disappearing.

Gracefully, she rises, and walks back to the spot between her guards, laying down on a bedroll and heading right back to sleep. I look at her for another moment, then shrug and close my eyes. What a strange person.

- - -

When I wake up a little after that, Anna is sitting next to me, her legs crossed, staring off at the ocean. Her hand rests on Trey’s head, gently petting his hair. She turns to look at me as I rise, and smiles faintly. “Good morning,” she says.

I nod, doing my best to give her a smile. It makes her brighten up instantly, and she pats the sand next to her, asking me to sit. I oblige.

“Is it alright if I rest my head on your shoulder?” she asks. 

Hm. What a strange request. People seem to be doing that a lot, recently. I shrug. “Okay.” Since she asked, I’m alright with it.

Anna leans over, and for a moment, I stiffen at the touch. Then, I sigh softly, and let myself relax, as much as possible. I’m alright with it. “What’s on your mind?” I ask, being nice.

“I’m grateful, for all this,” she says quietly. “And I’m scared,” she adds, looking at her brother. “That it’ll all crumble. We’ve had multiple close calls. Trey is so young. He’s not…”

“Not ready for this?” I ask. “Hmm. He’s a brave kid. How old is he?”

“Thirteen.”

“And you?”

“Twenty.”

“When do you think people are ready for this?” I ask. 

At the question, Anna stiffens. For a long moment, she doesn’t find words, squeezing her eyes shut. “Never,” she whispers.

I smile faintly at that. “Yeah,” I reply. “I think that’s true for most people. Trey isn’t ready. But he’s also getting an early start. He’ll survive.”

“Are you sure?” Anna asks.

And I don’t have it in me to lie. “No,” I reply, shaking my head, and she flinches at the word. “I can’t be sure. But we’ll do our best to keep him safe. I even gave him my cloak.”

“You did,” she nods.

I stare at the rising sun. “So, what do you think that means? Do you think he’ll make it? Do you think he’s tough enough? Because he’s only been getting stronger, you know. With every level.”

Anna sighs, and her breath shakes a bit. “Yeah, he has,” she agrees. “It’s been years since I saw him play like that. Laugh like that. He gets scared, but he’s moving, Snow. He’s not in pain. That’s why I’m thankful. It’s why I haven’t yelled at you for putting him in danger.”

A small smile spreads on my face. Norman did yell at me for putting his kid in danger. It sucks that Anna has become kind of a parent for her brother, but I suppose it would be like that. The Tower is fair, mostly, but that doesn’t make it kind. “I appreciate your calm.”

The feryran huffs at that with amusement, then laughs for a long moment. “I’m stronger, too, I think,” she says quietly. “But I’m also weak in lots of ways. Will you keep me safe?”

“Sure,” I reply casually. Anna blushes a bit at that.

“She’s flirting with you,” Thatch provides helpfully, and she flinches at his voice. “Which like, is fine. I do that all the time. Just want you to be aware of it.”

I was not, in fact, aware of it. People are such mysteries. I look down to Anna who quickly pulls away from my shoulder and looks like she wants to be swallowed by the sand. She can’t even meet my eyes. My face is as calm and deadpan as ever, and I turn to Thatch. “Thanks for the explanation.”

“Anytime,” he says, giving me a bright thumbs-up. “Sorry for embarrassing you, Anna. But my friend can be a bit dense.”

The feryran girl still holds her hands in front of her face. “I- I noticed!” she stammers. “Can we, uh, go look at the portals?” 

“Sure,” I shrug, rising from my sitting position to my feet. Raven stirs, and as soon as they sit up, their six face-holes bore into me with malicious hatred again. I sigh, ignoring them as we head for the exits.

- - -

Our next stop is halfway up the spire. That usually means a slightly different floor. Higher rates of special exits, or unique conditions. Which there’s immediately a few good examples of.

The left portal is one of cold and darkness. A glacial cave, the snow outside slowly melting. A trial of endurance, waiting until the exit appears. We’d be locked into a frozen cave with Raven and Coldscar. That’s a bit of a death sentence, I think.

For the middle portal, there’s a ship sailing for port. It’s full of sailors, manifested by the Monolith. They look like people, but I know they wouldn’t be ones, not properly. Unfortunately, we’d once again be stuck in close quarters with the other groups. Maybe they’d get their own ships, but I’d imagine Coldscar could still just freeze the water around us, and we’d be stuck.

Third, and finally, there’s a castle. It stands on a cliff, a rocky outcropping, and its stones are slick with water from the ever pouring rain. Banshees haunt its empty halls, and we are meant to fight our way through it, sneakily. There’s an alarm condition.

“So, if we’re the first into the castle…” Sylves whispers carefully to me, “What kind of mischief can we get up to?”

I smile, just a little bit. It has been a while since I made a few enchanted traps. And Sylves did just infect Delfine and her guards with her [Hospitality]. “You know, if we enter the castle first, isn’t it kind of our place?” I ask.

The fae grins at that. “Yes,” she hums. “Yes, I think it would be. And no one enters fae houses without permission, isn’t that right?” 

A devious little trick. So suitable for us. I smile, and the decision is made. “We’ll take the castle,” I say out loud, and step through the portal.