We drop off our equipment and head over to the potion shop Sakura's dad owns.
"Daddy!" She cries as she runs down the aisle toward the counter.
"Hello, my sweet little flower. What are you doing here?"
"Daddy, daddy, daddy! We need you to make Dilata potions." She says as she places the bags of mushrooms on the table.
"Agility Dilata potions? Whatever for?" He asks as he examines the fungi.
"Jezabel says we need to them to do re-con-ee-zants."
"These will certainly help with that but why in the name of god is she having you do it?"
"Apparently the Guild Master doesn't have a lot of options at the moment, but this an excellent opportunity for your daughter." I interject as I make my way to the counter.
"Oh, really? How so?" He asks as he crosses his arms.
"You look like a smart guy, Mr..."
"Jacques. Unlike you Nobles I don't have a last name."
"Right, Jacques." I cough as I try to push through the poor start to my generic sounding sales pitch. "Think about it; not only is your daughter getting personally trained by the Guild Master, she's also receiving financial support such as these potions, which the guild will pay you for making, and even a team of senior adventurer's who are assisting her as she explores the woods. Sakura told me you were an adventurer yourself, is that right?"
"Maybe." Jacques frowns.
"How much support did you have then? Did anyone even care if you came back alive?"
I see his shoulders drop as I speak.
"I know you want to protect your daughter, as you should, but now that she's in the guild the best thing to do is help facilitate her growth." I shrug and wait for him to respond.
"Fine." He sighs after a long pause. "I'll have them finished by tomorrow, but I expect to be paid in full."
"Of course, just send the bill to the guild. They'll handle the rest."
"Yay!" Sakura jumps up and down with her hands on Josh's shoulders. "Thanks, Daddy."
"Yes, sweetheart." Jacques smiles and takes the bags of mushrooms through the door behind the counter.
"I think that's it for today." I say once Jacques has left. "I guess we just meet up at the guild tomorrow."
""Okay.""
The sun is beginning to set. Long shadows reach across the path like headstones. I can't help but feel anxious for letting Ashley go back to her house alone. A pit sits like iron in my stomach. The gentle cool breeze suddenly feels distant and lonely.
I toss Nick the controls and lay back in the mind-sea to sulk. He stumbles when he regains control of his body but doesn't complain or ask me wheat's wrong, he knows. And he knows there's nothing he can do about it. I feel empty sitting in the numb ocean. Away from all my physical pains, my emotions come crashing in like flood.
Dinner passes by without my notice and it isn't long until Nick finishes reading and puts out the candle to go to sleep. I can't. I keep thinking back to all the couples shouting at each other in the trailer park. Where are they now? Did everything work out or fall apart? Are they okay? I hope so. If they're okay then there's a chance Ashley will be too. Eventually the darkness claims my mind and I peacefully fall asleep.
"Any news?" I ask Catherine as I walk into the guild the next day. Catherine just grimaces. My stomach drops and I sit down on a bench before I topple over. It's as if all the energy has left my body.
"Maybe she left town?" Catherine says softly, but we both know that's not the case. She went back to him and there's no telling what he'll do next.
"Do you know where she lives?"
Catherine shakes her head.
"Jezabel sent some people out to look for her this morning. I'll let you know if they find her."
If.
That word stabs me in the chest.
"Yeah, thanks." I turn around and put my head down on the table as I wait for something, anything to happen. I keep thinking back to our lost conversation, what could I have done differently? The answer is obvious. "I should have gone with her."
I stew in my own helplessness for almost an hour before lifting my head up and looking around. There's hardly anyone here, and I don't see the kids. I get up and walk outside to find them running around the track like usual. This is just another storm to them, if that, and this too shall pass.
Not knowing what else to do, I put on a weighted vest as well and join them; at least it will take my mind away. The sky is back to the bright blue it held before the storm. I halfheartedly run around the track for a few hours until Jezabel walks out the door.
"We found her." She says. My heart leaps up into my throat until I turn around and see the look on her face. Jezabel says what her face already told me. "She's dead."
I thought I'd feel sad but I just feel empty. Death has followed me all the way to another world. It's hard to watch the people close to you die one after the other without feeling cursed. Maybe I am.
"Okay."
She looks me up and down as if assessing my reaction.
"Thanks for letting me know."
"Sir, we have a situation at the treeline!" Tucker says as he almost kicks the door down on his way out.
"What's happening?"Jezabel asks.
"I think you're going to want to go there and see for yourself."
She flies out of the courtyard faster than my eyes can follow and I go running after her. I don't even know why I'm going, but at least it's an excuse do something other than sulk.
By the time I arrive, the situation seems to have escalated. About thirty adventurer's are standing together with Jezabel at the helm in front of a small group of Nobles.
"How are we going to survive? We go to the forest almost everyday!" One adventurer shouts.
"That's not my problem. I'm here on orders from Baron Reynolds and last time I checked, the guild has a non-interference policy regarding national affairs." The Noble smiles poison at the Guild Master as he speaks.
"Sir Dubois, I understand that I can't stop you, but there's no telling what might happen if you don't release that fairy." Jezabel warns.
I slow to a stop only a few feet away from the altercation when I notice the faint light coming from the Nobles' hand. It must be a fairy.
"We'll never be able to go to the forest again!" One person shouts.
"The fairies are going to burn down the whole town!" Says another.
Whap
I don't know what came over me but I pick a stick up off the ground and strike the Nobles' arm. He releases the fairy in surprise and it darts back into the forest.
"Ow! Wha-Who did that?" Dubois shouts as he looks down at me.
The air goes quiet.
Jezabel coughs to clear the awkward silence, "I'm sorry about the child; he's only joined the guild a few days ago and doesn't know any better."
"That doesn't give him the right to strike a Noble! I declare lèse-majesté."
"I believe a nonhereditary knight is below a nonhereditary Baron, or am I mistaken."
Dubois gasps and looks back and forth between Jezabel and I.
"Also, I'm sure you know this but disputes between Nobles are handled by the governor. 'Declaring' lèse-majesté just makes you look like a country bumpkin." Jezabel smirks.
Dubois draws his sword but thinks better of it when he sees the flames appear from Jezabel's hands.
"This isn't over." He says with a scowl.
"Of course, and even though he's only a child; he still needs to be punished as he acted against our code of conduct." Her eyes burn as she turns my direction. "I'll discipline him myself in the courtyard behind the guild for the next six months. You can come by and see if the punishment is satisfactory."
Gasps arise from the crowd and several people pale at the news. I think I even see one man shed a tear as he shakes his head.
Seeing the reaction of the adventurer's, Dubois puffs up his chest as if he's been righted.
"That's right. I'll be by to check and see if I need to give you a hand. Children need to be properly disciplined." He walks back to with his small posse following close behind.
After they're out of sight, everyone turns to look at me.
"Sorry?" I shrug. I really don't know what came over me but I apparently fucked up.
""Hahaha!"" The crowd bursts into laughter
"So, we're good?" I ask as I take a step back.
"Good enough." Jezabel says, "I'm sure there's going to be some fallout from this but I'll take care of it."
"So, no punishment?" I grin, hoping that was also just for show.
"What are you talking about? I expect to see you in the courtyard early tomorrow morning."
My shoulders drop and I receive more pitying gazes from the crowd. I guess I'm not that lucky.
I feel better. Not a lot, but some. We'll see how I'm feeling after my punishment.
"Now, put the weighted vest on." Jezabel says to me the next morning. I do as I'm told even if I confused. "Start running."
I do a few laps before curiosity gets the best of me.
"So, when are we starting the punishment?"
"This is the punishment, idiot."
"Oh, oooooh."
"You're surprisingly dense at times."
True to her word, Jezabel runs me into the ground. I have on over a hundred pounds by the end of it on top of the weighted bands she gave me. Dubois comes by and throws a few insults my way but I can't even hear him over the sound of my pounding heart.
Josh and Sakura show up at some point and join me. I imagine Jezabel will have to make up some excuse about how they're being punished as well if that Noble ever comes back.
This continues for a week straight. Jezabel really outdoes herself and has to call a medic once because she breaks Josh's rib and again when she dislocates my jaw. The Dilata potions arrive and she explains that they'll help us improve our agility stat more quickly which will help us escape if we find ourselves in any danger.
I feel like I deserve to suffer after letting Ashley down. I know it wasn't my fault but I can't help but feel responsible. I sweat out my grief. They never did find her boyfriend, no one even knows his name. Their house was under Ashley's name and the neighbors said they hardly ever saw him. He just disappeared. I do my best to keep her out of my head but I'm afraid some part of her is now buried in the back of my mind.
I show up at the guild like usual but Jezabel isn't there.
"You're working with Ironhead today." Catherine says as she passes me by. I see Travis waving at me from the bar while sitting next to his unenthused teammates.
"What are we doing today?" I ask as I walk his way.
"Just a simple patrol. Shouldn't be anything too exciting." He grins, exposing his pearly white teeth.
It takes us over an hour for us to get geared up after the kids arrive and make our way to the forest edge. A sizable chunk has been removed from the Mammoth tree but it still looms large over us.
Travis explains that we're just patrolling around the treeline to check for Manka activity. It will take some time for them to get back to full strength but they're no less of a threat before then.
We walk along the edge of the fungal layer. The light paints colorful pictures on our faces. We patrol for an hour without anything happening when Travis stops us.
"Let's rest here for a bit and then we'll walk back the way we came."
It feels weird to stop in the woods when we're only a few feet from the outside but I'm sure he has his reasons.
"Okay, I've gotta piss." I say and walk behind a tree. The forest stretches out before me. I look around in awe at the glowing fauna. When I'm finished, I walk back around the tree but everyone is gone.
"What the hell? Am I being pranked?" Travis doesn't seem like the type so I throw that possibility from my mind. I go back around the tree again and find myself surrounded on all sides by glowing fungi.
My heart tightens. This isn't right. I was still outside the fungal layer when I was pissing, how'd I get here?