Book 4 Chapter 13: Return

Joan wondered how she had ever been so naive. So clueless. So blind to what true torture was.

She had once, well, many times, been trapped listening to the same minstrel sing the same song every day. On time, again and again. Perfectly done. Over. And over. And over. Trapped in a terrible time loop that continued for years. Reliving the same day over and over, pushed so hard she was certain her very mind would snap in two. She couldn’t imagine being more bored. Even now it was probably part of the reason she loathed hearing minstrels, even when they weren’t throwing her failures in her face.

But even if so much there had been predictable, she was quickly finding that just because you knew something was going to happen did not mean that was necessarily a bad thing. In fact, so long as something was happening you could, in theory, mess with it. Change it. Even fix it or alter it. Oh, no, predictable wasn’t bad at all.

The absence of anything happening, however? In that true madness lay. She swore if one of the chosen didn’t return soon she would lose her mind. She would possibly try to escape the palace. Because this new level of over protectiveness was going to drive her to insanity long before the most fiendish of tortures the Demon Lord could create.

Joan had been isolated to a new room in the palace, hidden away from the rest of the world. Guards waited outside her room and, whenever it was time for a meal, a servant would come to collect her. She knew it was for her protection and that, in the end, it was likely the correct thing to do. After all, there was some truth to what Isla said. It was possible that the key had been placed inside her specifically to stop her from putting herself at risk.

But being safe was so mind-numbingly boring. “Is this a punishment?” Joan asked the heavens. “Was I too prideful? Too arrogant? Did I not try hard enough? I mean, yes, the fear sucks and the pain is miserable. But this? This is is far too much. Is there a god of boredom up there? Who’s pantheon would that fall under? Wolf? Patience isn’t the same as boredom, is it?”

Joan didn’t know what she expected, but there was no answer from the heavens. Her new room was a little nicer than her last, she had a chair AND a desk this time, but it was far from homey. She’d had plenty of books dropped off to keep her entertained, but that couldn’t do much to relieve her boredom despite her best attempts.

There had even been a short bit where she had felt that tingle up her spine as if she was being watched, but there was no voice this time. Just something watching her, though even that had been short lived. At this point she would have almost welcomed a werewolf attack. At least she had weapons this time.

A sudden thump outside her door made her freeze. She made a mental note to stop testing fate. She waited for a few moments before making her way towards the door and, slowly, pulling it open to glance outside.

The guards were gone.

Joan mentally screamed at herself. Of course they were gone. She decided to test fate and it decided to punish her. “I didn’t say it out loud this time,” she said, for all the good she suspected it would do. She quickly closed the door and slid the locks into place.

It might be nothing, of course. The guards might have been called away for something, certain that she’d be fine. Or it might be a trap, someone trying to lure her out of her room to attack her when she was alone. Well, she wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction. She walked to the desk and started donning her equipment once more, strapping her magical pouch to her thigh, her swords to her hip, placing her ring on. She paused and then glanced to the small candle in her room, picking it up and moving it across the room so she had plenty of space to hide in the shadows. If anyone tried to sneak into her room then they’d be in for a surprise.

Eeeeee, she hadn’t felt this excited in days!

She went still when she suddenly heard voices coming towards the room. Muffled, but she could hear them. Three of them? Possibly more. Well, no matter. If she had the element of surprise she was certain she could take them. Besides, with the door locked they’d need to bust it down. Hopefully the sound would--

Her thoughts were shattered by a heavy knocking. “Joan? Are you there?” Bauteut’s voice called in.

Joan’s eyes went wide. First disappointment washed over her when she realized there wouldn’t be any attack, but then excitement when she realized it meant one thing. They were back? Finally, sweet relief from the boredom. She started to run towards the door before pausing. “Oh, one second!” she called. She then quickly started taking her equipment off.

The last thing Joan wanted them to think was that she was so paranoid she started arming herself for battle the moment there weren’t any guards at her door. They already tried to baby her enough without thinking she was scared.

Another knock. “Joan? Is everything okay?” Searle called.

“Yes, one second,” Joan said. “I’m not fully dressed.” Well, she supposed that was a kind of truth. She was a bit overdressed. She fumbled awkwardly with her swords, finally getting the sheaths unclasped and placing them on the desk. After that, the bracer and pouch were simple to remove. Once she was certain everything was put aside enough that she couldn’t be teased for being overly equipped, she ran to the door and pulled it open.

Only to nearly get knocked over by Bauteut and Searle hugging her. “Ack, wait, what? Guys, guys, stop, you’re a lot--” Unfortunately, her cries weren’t quick enough and with a squeak, she collapsed under the two. “Bigger than I am. Get off me,” she said.

“You almost died!” Bauteut said, not letting her go.

“I’m so sorry,” Searle said. “I should have been here, I--”

“I’m fine!” Joan said. “Okay, this is really sweet but you two are REALLY heavy and I am a lot smaller now, get off me!” She sniffed the air and gave a shudder. Worse, now she was all wet. “Also you smell like mold. Or at least, I hope that’s mold.”

“Err, right,” Bauteut said. “That’s probably not mold. We’ve been out for a while and well, one thing led to another…”

“Sorry,” Searle said before, finally, letting her go and getting to his feet before offering her his hand.

“I don’t even want to know what that is,” Joan said. “I just want to take another bath. And it’s fine, I didn’t almost die. I didn’t get that hurt or-- Bauteut!” She felt a surge of annoyance when the girl put a hand over her forehead and she could all but feel the girl running another spell over her to check her condition. She reached up and shoved as hard as she could. When that failed, she used her magic to enhance herself and shove a second time, pushing the healer off with a yelp. She then reached up and took Searle’s hand, letting him pull her up. “I’m fine.”

“I just had to check,” Bauteut said.

“Could you two not clean up before you came to see me?” Joan asked. “Why are you two all wet?”

“Well, it is pouring rain outside,” Bauteut said.

“Oh,” Joan said before giving another sigh. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve been trapped inside here all day.”

“Trapped?” Bauteut asked before glancing into the room. “Uhhhh…”

“Fine, being kept ‘safe’ in here all day,” Joan said with a roll of her eyes. “I swear I have been going mad. Please, take me with you next time. Bauteut, I’m all better, aren’t I?”

“Well, I mean, mostly,” Bauteut said. “You don’t seem to have any more injuries aside from older ones. But--”

“Then get me out of here,” Joan said, grabbing her by her shoulders.

“Shouldn’t you be asking Searle?” Bauteut asked.

“Searle is nice and will do just about whatever I ask because he’s awesome, you’re usually the one who tries to stop me,” Joan said.

“Is that a compliment or an insult?” Searle asked.

“I think both,” Bauteut said with a sigh. “But Joan, we just got back. We--”

“You have no idea what it has been like,” Joan said before lightly shaking the healer. “I cannot stay inside all day and just read books. I don’t even like books! I am starting to HOPE for werewolf attacks! Hoping for them! That is not healthy!”

“No, it’s really not,” Bauteut said with a small smile. “But fine. We won’t go anywhere without you.”

“Promise?” Joan asked. “Both of you?”

“I promise,” Bauteut said. “I’ll stay behind next time if need be.”

“I don’t want to risk leaving you alone here again,” Searle said. “I shouldn’t have left you here to begin with. I’m supposed to--”

“Searle?” Joan said, cutting him off. “Look at me for a moment.”

“Huh?” Searle asked, staring at her.

“You are doing an amazing job and I am very proud of you,” Joan said.

“What?” Searle asked, his cheeks turning red. “I haven’t even—”

“You have been incredible,” Joan said. “You have been taking care of all those things, by yourself. If you start beating yourself up for something that happened when you weren’t even here, I will kick you. Which will probably break my foot. So for the sake of not breaking anything else on me, stop blaming yourself for taking care of things you had to. Speaking of, how did it go?”

“Oh, that doorway to the Swamp of Eternal Misery? Closed,” Bauteut said. “Actually thought it would be a lot longer than it was. Especially with a name like that. But Searle handled it amazingly well.”

“I didn’t really do much,” Searle said before quickly glancing away. “I mostly just stood there and held my shield up.”

“Uh huh, sure,” Joan said before looking to Bauteut. “How’d he really do?”

“He looked amazing,” Bauteut said. “There was this giant thing with horns and claws and it was trying to run him down but he was like ‘You shall not infect our world!’ and bashing it back with his shield. There was lightning raining down everywhere, then this weird black mist that tried to envelop us and choke the life from me. I really thought I was going to die. It was amazing. There was this moment where the thing was all ‘You may be of the light, chosen, but the light shall always fall to the darkness.’ Then Searle was all like ‘There may be times where the light fades, but in even the deepest darkness a single candle can be all one needs!’ And then his shield started glowing like the sun and the darkness started melting away. You should have seen him, he was amazing.”

“I-I really wasn’t,” Searle said, the blush now going all the way down his face to his neck. “Really, I just kind of said things. I didn’t know what I was saying.”

“That’s half of what being the chosen is, Searle,” Joan said with a teasing grin. “I’ll tell you a hint. None of the chosen, or the Hero, had any idea what they were doing half the time. Mostly they just do it because nobody else can.”

“Good to know that the standards are that low,” Andreas’ voice came from down the hall. She turned to see him walking down the hall towards her, at least looking far less soaked than the other two. “You’re not exactly wrong though, either.”

“You got here too?” Joan asked.

“We met up on the way back,” Andreas said. “I just took a few more minutes to clean up once Isla told me you were okay. I see that they let their joy show.”

Joan gave an exasperated sigh and tugged on her damp tunic. “Yeah, they did. Everything go okay?”

“Yeah,” Andreas said. “Though you could have warned me about the whole marriage thing.”

“It wasn’t that big a deal,” Joan said with a wave of her hand.

“Marriage thing?” Isla asked.

“It’s not like it stuck,” Joan said. “It’s just for that one ceremony. The whole thing with the Chalice of Devouring Souls sealed away again for another thousand years?”

“Yes,” Andreas said before shaking his head. “A little more warning next time, please.”

“What marriage thing?” Isla asked.

“Wait, did somebody get married?” Bauteut asked. “Andreas?”

“No!” Andreas said. “Almost, though. Is that why you said flee the moment the chalice was sealed?”

“Oh, definitely,” Joan said. “You did run, right?”

“Because my life depended on it,” Andreas said with a shudder.

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“Again, marriage thing?” Isla asked.

“Oh, right, it’s part of a marriage ceremony,” Joan said. “Kind of. Or rather it appears during one. To a like, how big was she again?”

“A naga,” Andreas said. “Almost as big as this palace. That wasn’t funny, Joan.”

“Hey, be thankful,” Joan said with a small smile. “You don’t want to know the months we all spent trying to figure out where it was from them when I went there. Searle was turned into stone for a month.”

“Wait, what?” Searle asked.

“Err, sorry,” Joan said sheepishly. “It only happened a few times, though. The chalice is dealt with. I think that was the last of the really pressing things. I don’t suppose Korgron is back yet?”

“No,” Isla said, a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. “However, could we all have a private talk?”

“Sure, wh--” Joan started, only to be guided back into her room. She sighed once the door was closed and locked once more. “While this room is quite spacious, I don’t think it’s designed for cramming five of us in here. Especially when some of us are covered in whatever Searle and Bauteut are covered in.”

“It’s plenty big enough,” Bauteut said before walking over to her bed and sitting on it.

“Well, fine, but I want to go somewhere else,” Joan said, unable to keep the exasperation out of her voice. “Also, you’re getting mud all over my bed!”

“I don’t think it’s mud,” Bauteut said.

“That’s not better,” Joan said angrily.

“That’s what I want to talk about,” Isla said. “Err, you going somewhere else. Not the mud on the bed. About this recent event, actually. Andreas? Could…?”

“Right,” Andreas said. A moment later Joan felt that connection between all of them, allowing them to speak through the shadows.

‘Perfect,’ Isla said through the bond. ‘Just in case.’

‘In case what?’ Joan asked. ‘You think someone is listening?’

‘Doubtful, but why take the risk if it can be avoided?’ Isla asked. ‘I think it would be wise for all of you to return to the human lands once my sister returns.’

‘I’m not sure Korgron is going to be okay with that,’ Joan said. ‘She still has tasks to take care of here, doesn’t she?’

‘She may join you at a later time,’ Isla said. ‘In fact, it might be more efficient to have her and Andreas stay here and join you once you have gathered the other chosen.’

Joan felt a fresh spark of annoyance. ‘You don’t mean you want us to go back, do you?’ she asked. ‘You want ME to go back to the human lands?’

‘No, no, not at all,’ Isla said. ‘I just think it would be safer if--’

‘Do you think I haven’t almost died there as well?’ Joan asked, before cringing. ‘That isn’t how I meant for that to sound.’

‘But not inaccurate,’ Bauteut said.

‘I agree,’ Searle said. ‘You’re in a lot more danger here than you would be back home.’

‘But I’m still in danger where ever I go,’ Joan said, thankful that the bond made it easier to hide how whiny she felt.

‘Only because you look for danger everywhere,’ Bauteut said.

‘I do not,’ Joan said quickly. ‘It’s not my fault that our world has so many dangerous, world shattering events going on all the time that I have to deal with. I just had to help take care of them.’

‘You know, with all the ‘gods’ you had to deal with, why was the Inferno God so dangerous?’ Bauteut asked.

‘Because he was the only one that lived up to the name,’ Joan said. ‘The number of things that claimed they were a god but were easily destroyed by us were innumerable. There was always some dragon, spirit or demon claiming to be a ‘god’ every other week. But the Inferno God was the only one we couldn’t actually hurt. We tried, trust me. But once he was fully awoken, our weapons couldn’t even scratch him. Even together we struggled against some of his more powerful minions. Everything else we could have come back from, albeit with difficulty. But he was the one who destroyed the world.’

‘And when he starts to make his presence felt, then we’ll know we’re running out of time,’ Isla said. ‘But for now, there are still more chosen to locate. As well as--’

‘Actually, he has started to make his presence known,’ Joan said, though she couldn’t hide her sheepishness even through the bond.

‘Excuse me?’ Isla asked.

‘Well, you see, err, you remember the Tomb of the Creator?’ Joan asked.

Isla confirmed, though the others gave their denial.

‘Oh, right, I need to tell the rest of you about that,’ Joan said. ‘So I--’

“Joan,” Isla said out loud. “Explain the presence.”

‘Right, sorry. Well, after the tomb we ended up running into the Demon Lord,’ Joan said.

‘We?’ Searle asked.

‘Qakog and I,’ Joan said.

‘Wait, the demon who wants you to be his bride?’ Bauteut asked.

‘Wait, what?’ Searle and Andreas asked in unison.

‘It’s not important,’ Joan said.

‘I disagree,’ Searle said quickly before his cheeks went red.

‘I’m not marrying him,’ Joan said firmly. ‘Now, as I was saying. We ended up running into him and this other demon. He was fighting an obsidian troll, one of the more common foot soldiers of the Inferno God. Now, I don’t know why it was there or what the Demon Lord was doing with it, but he did kill it.’

‘I thought you said he was trying to summon the Inferno God?’ Isla asked.

‘He is. Was,’ Joan said. ‘I don’t know. He didn’t seem to be able to control it, though. So I can’t say why he did it. His powers are tied to it, however, I know that much. His flames are far more powerful than they should be at this point. The important thing is that if the obsidian trolls begin to appear, we’re running out of time. At this stage I don’t even think we knew about the Inferno God.’

‘How much longer do you think we have?’ Searle asked.

‘I don’t know. I mean, if we are at the first stage and the obsidian trolls are beginning to break through the barrier? If it continues at this rate, a few months I’d say,’ Joan said.

There was a resounding silence after that. Finally, Bauteut spoke up through the bond once more. ‘Joan. A few months? The Inferno God came that quickly?’

‘No,’ Joan said quickly. ‘It took years once the obsidian trolls began to appear. They started to appear near the end of the Demon Lord’s life, before we slew him. But we’re already advancing far faster than we should be, if it accelerates like it has been it could be months.’

‘So there is a good chance our world is already doomed,’ Isla said.

‘No,’ Joan said. ‘We’re still far ahead of where we should be. If Hardwin has managed to get Thalgren, that is five of the seven. Two more to go. Neia will be easier to find, Chase will be… Chase will be harder. But we only have to find him and I know we can.’

‘Then what?’ Isla asked.

‘Then we go and destroy the heart,’ Joan said. ‘If we can do that, the Inferno God is gone. We win. No threat before or after that could compare. Even the Demon Lord was far easier to defeat.’

‘What if we can’t?’ Searle asked.

‘Then we lose,’ Joan said. ‘Maybe no second chances. Maybe no more attempts. Everything was for nothing and I damned us all again.’

‘Joan,’ Andreas said. ‘This isn’t your fault. You--’

‘I am the only one who can fix this,’ Joan said. ‘I was the one given the chance. Even if I’m not good enough to do it, I am the only one who can. I am the only one who knows what’s coming and how to stop it. If we manage to stop it, save the world, destroy the Inferno God? Then good. We succeeded. I did my task and what happens after that isn’t going to be my fault. But until then? I am the only one who has this opportunity and I have to do what I can. And, in the end, if I die? If I die on the way, during this journey? Then I have to hope that all of the advice, all of the information, everything I did was enough to fix things.’

‘I won’t let you die,’ Searle said, his voice filled with determination.

‘I’ve done it before, not in a rush to do it again,’ Joan said. ‘But you know what? A lot of people died. Because of me. I let them die because I failed. So that’s why, this time, I need to do my best for all of them. Isla?’

‘What?’ Isla asked.

‘When Korgron returns, if we’re returning to the human lands, we all need to go. As much as I hate to say it, I know you don’t want her to come with us, but we’ll need her,’ Joan said.

There was silence for a long while after that and Joan wondered if the connection had been changed for a moment, or even closed entirely. Finally, however, the princess spoke up. ‘I will talk with her.’

‘Close enough, I guess,’ Joan said. She collapsed back on the bed and gave a small sigh. ‘I’m not in a rush to die, you know. I know I might seem like I am, but I swear I’m not. So please, stop worrying about me so much. I’m getting better and learning what I can deal with.’

‘I don’t know about that,’ Bauteut said.

‘I mean, I wasn’t knocked out for a month this time,’ Joan said. ‘And no new broken bones. I think, for me, that’s a vast improvement.’

‘Most people don’t have their bodies broken as often as you do,’ Bauteut said. ‘You’re lucky to be in the condition you are now.’

‘I’m lucky in so many ways,’ Joan said. ‘What can I say? Fate has been, mostly, kind to me.’

‘You should have a talk with them about that,’ Andreas said.

‘Oh, we probably will once we have all seven chosen. There’s this whole temple place where we talked to the gods and, well, it’s an experience,’ Joan said.

‘Of course there is,’ Bauteut said.

‘Hey, I didn’t set all this up,’ Joan said. ‘I just followed the path laid out for me. It’s not my fault the path was such a bumpy one.’

‘Most of the bumps on her head,’ Bauteut said.

‘Little half drowned and concussed mouse,’ Isla said with a long suffering sigh. ‘You should have told me about your encounter with the Demon Lord before.’

‘It slipped my mind,’ Joan said.

‘A lot of things slip your mind,’ Andreas said.

‘You try remembering all those lifetimes and see how well you do,’ Joan said before blinking. ‘Oh by the stars, that reminds me. There’s something I forgot and I need to remember. Skystead.’

‘Forgot and need to remember?’ Isla asked. ‘What does that even mean?’

‘I don’t know,’ Joan said. ‘But there’s this place called Skystead. I tried to go there before but SOMEBODY grabbed me and tossed me back in a cage before I could kill the demon who was trying to murder me first.’ She turned to glare at Andreas.

‘Are you expecting an apology?’ Andreas asked. ‘You know what I was doing. What does that have to do with Skystead?’

‘Have you been there?’ Joan asked.

‘Not for a long time,’ Andreas said. ‘It was just a small little village, even before the lands fell. Why?’

‘I don’t know,’ Joan said. ‘I want to know, oh trust me. But there was something important there, I can feel it. I just can’t place my finger on it. But every time I hear the name I just get this little nagging twinge in the back of my mind telling me that it’s important. That there’s something there I need to focus on.’

‘Can we go there?’ Bauteut asked.

‘It’s in the demon territory now,’ Andreas said. ‘Going there would be dangerous.’

‘Even with three of the chosen?’ Searle asked.

‘Probably not nearly as dangerous,’ Isla said. ‘But it wouldn’t be a quick journey. Are you sure it’s worth it?’

‘I don’t know,’ Joan said. ‘I just know it’s important. But everything is important. When the world can literally be burned to ash in a few months if we’re not careful, I don’t know what really counts as important anymore. I can’t remember it, so it’s probably not important enough.’

‘We should go,’ Andreas said.

That made Joan pause for a moment. Of all the people she expected to want to waste time on it, it wasn’t him.

‘Agreed,’ Searle said.

‘I mean, I’m not a chosen, but I need to agree,’ Bauteut said.

‘Why?’ Joan asked.

‘If you can’t remember it, it might mean nothing,’ Andreas said. ‘But it also might be something incredibly important. The more information we have, the better off we are. Besides, how hard could it be to get there?’

‘I don’t know,’ Joan said with a shrug. ‘It depends on where the nearest teleportation point would be, and if it was guarded. If Korgron can find it from here and re-activate it if it’s down.’

‘So either incredibly easy or incredibly dangerous,’ Bauteut said.

‘The life of a chosen is not an easy one,’ Isla said. ‘If you’d like, you may stay here as a guest until--’

‘And miss all of the excitement? Never,’ Bauteut said. ‘Besides, who’s going to look over Joan if the chosen have to deal with something?’

‘I can look after myself,’ Joan said quickly.

‘You can,’ Searle said. ‘But you rarely choose to.’

‘You too, Searle?’ Joan asked before turning to glare at him.

‘He’s just telling the truth,’ Andreas said. ‘You’re getting better about it. A little.’

‘You managed to not almost die this time, that’s progress,’ Isla said.

‘Setting a new standard,’ Bauteut said. ‘Who knows? In a few years, maybe you’ll be able to go a whole week without making us all think you nearly died. Maybe.’

‘It was just an assassination attempt,’ Joan said. ‘They’re not that uncommon. I--’

‘And this is why I have to look after you,’ Bauteut said.

Joan gave an exasperated sigh and resisted the urge to bang her head on the wall. ‘I hate all of you.’

‘We love you too, little mouse,’ Isla said.

‘So is that going to be her new name?’ Bauteut asked.

‘I swear if you start calling me that I will call you bucket,’ Joan said. She was rewarded for that comment by being hit with a pillow from the healer. “Ow!”

‘So I guess the only thing to do is wait for Korgron to return and ensure everything is in order,’ Andreas said. Joan glanced over to him, a frown on her face. She could hear the longing, the sadness even through the bond.

It really was a new side of him that she was seeing, it almost felt like he was a new person. He seemed so much less lethargic. Worked harder than she’d ever seen him. She then glanced to Isla.

Had she really made such a huge impact in his life? She wondered how many other important things she had missed in her past lives. How many other huge impacts had she failed to notice?

Once the world was saved, she’d have to find out.