Out in the Cold: Part 6

Part VI: The Bad Times

The reason that the last group had failed to bring down the giant became very, very clear to her pretty abruptly.  Everything about the mission sucked.  Giants in Miraeh were often lumbering, stupid things but this was definitely not one of the locals.  The large man sported blue skin and ebony hair, his eyes like slitted snake’s eyes.  He had a voice that roared from the depths of his burly chest and sharpened canines.  The bolts of lightning he threw singed the earth and Amalia found herself taking shelter behind a large stone as her three comrades engaged the target.

It was an uphill battle in the most literal sense.  The giant stood at the crest of the mountain path, hurtling bolts at them as his raucous laughter thundered through the air.  Everything was so horribly loud but there wasn’t anything she could do about that. 

Gotta find a clean shot somehow… he’s been pretty successfully defending this ridge though. 

That clean shot came a few moments later when Naera landed a double stab onto the giant’s back.  As he reared in agony, Amalia dashed forward, glaive in hand.  Somewhere in the back of her mind, her mother’s ghost was chastising her for not using her wings for extra speed.  But she couldn’t throw away her ruse even in a situation like this.  Thankfully, her legs were fast enough and the glaive’s tip soon embedded itself fully into the giant’s chest.

He was dead before he hit the ground, a gurgle in the back of his throat signaling his last breath.  Amalia pulled the glaive out and looked to the party members to see if any needed her immediate attention.  Between the four of them, it seemed like they had been lucky for the most part.  One of their resident archers, a twiggy young goblin called Pod, had sustained a burn mark on his forearm and some of his dark green hairs were singed atop his head.  The other, an armor-clad man with a broadsword named Bryan, seemed to have lost his helmet and was limping from a minor wound.  Naera seemed unscathed and Amalia had sustained a small cut on her leg from her own clumsiness.  How embarrassing.  

“Are we even sure that was a giant?” Amalia asked as the small team gathered together to look themselves over.

“He was quite tall,” Naera shrugged. “Giant enough, I suppose… Ah well.  Let’s see if he was holding anything valuable, yes?” The giant had a home of sorts; a half-baked hut embedded into the side of the mountain.  It started as a nice enough kitchen/living quarters amalgamation but Amalia could easily see how it spread into a small cave system.  No lights either… she didn’t want to think about setting foot in those dark tunnels but Naera seemed to take no issue with it.  Looting the giant’s home felt a bit like robbery after killing a man on his own lawn.  Even though her memories were still full of snapshots from the healing wing the day before, it still felt bad to have to put the giant down.  He may have been killing people but Amalia wondered why things had even gotten to that point.  Why were some people so hellbent on violence?  Had it been money?  Did giants even care about that kind of thing?  At least no one else will get hurt by that guy again… Too bad he wouldn’t just behave himself and stop attacking people… “Anything useful?” Naera called and Amalia shook her head.

“Not really!” Amalia replied a moment before she saw it.

A red liquid stained the floorboards.  She wouldn’t have thought much of it on the battlefield but in the giant’s abode and not near his makeshift kitchen, it felt a little out of place.  Her head tilted to the side as she approached the first set of splatter marks, finding a few more near the bed.  Three more streaks were upon the rocky wall, tucked around a boulder that seemed two shades too dark to match with the rest of the gray stone around it. 

A stash of some kind?  I’m a little scared to look… but something my gut says I should… “Hey Naera?  A bit of help here, actually!” Amalia called out and the wood elf quickly made her way over with Bryan in tow.   Together, they managed to move the boulder aside, revealing a passageway deeper into the cave.  It didn’t take long for them to traverse it; just a half-minute later and Amalia realized they were in a pantry of sorts.  Ingredients and supplies were everywhere.  Jars of herbs, vials of various colored liquids, even some bones had been set out on a series of shelves and crates. Amidst them all was an orange-scaled kobold, his hands bound together along with his feet.  Slumped against the wall, he wasn’t moving but he was certainly breathing.  His striped pattern was interrupted by chunks of missing scales… and Amalia’s stomach turned over fifty times at that realization. Farmed for scales.  Horrible… Her skin prickled and she shuddered. “Well, that’s unexpected,” Naera commented as Amalia quickly moved to the kobold’s side.  “Hey…” the young dragon began but then she paused, shaking her head.  Healing first, talking later.  The Spark gathered at her fingertips, sending thin trails of light to the unconscious kobold.  His left leg seemed to have taken a beating, maybe to make it difficult for him to escape.  The way his ribs stuck out made her wonder when he last had eaten. “Do you think he’ll live?” Naera asked.

“Yeah,” Amalia said.

“Good.  Keep at it.  We’ll look around.”

By the time that the kobold had been untied and some of his wounds healed, Naera and Bryan had finished exploring the giant’s stash.  The broad-shouldered fighter lifted up a barrel, tapping it with his knuckles. “Half full but I think this has wine,” he grunted.  “Would be good to bring back for some victory drinks.” “Are you really going to carry that all the way down the mountain?” Naera asked him and he slowly lowered it to the ground. “Fine, fine.  I’ll grab some more of the giant’s herb stash.  Ciorna will like that, yeah?” “Yeah, she should,” Amalia said, having scooped up the kobold into her arms.  She glanced over at what Bryan was referring to, noting the various bones and plants their quarry had unceremoniously tossed onto some racks. What struck her the most was that some of the flowers, although dried, did not look like they belonged in Miraeh.  Sure, she was no botanist, but they seemed far different than anything in the surrounding area.  Each vibrant pink petal was threadlike and curved upwards.  The stem was blue-green, too, which made it feel almost… alien.  How big was this world, anyways? Whatever, not important right now… “Can we take this guy back to the Guildhouse?” Amalia asked Naera as she nodded down to the kobold she was carrying. “You look like a child asking if they can bring back a new pet,” the wood elf said with a little smirk.  “Yes, I am sure that is fine.  Bring him along.  It’d be cruel to leave him out here with no help.” Amalia nodded in agreement and glanced down at the sleeping kobold in her arms.  Strange… there were no kobolds in Avalon but she had heard about them in her travels.  They were small, lizard-like creatures that sometimes worshipped dragons… and, depending on where you lived, ran extravagant criminal organizations.  How had this one ended up in a giant’s pantry…?  She supposed they would find out soon enough who he even was. That ‘soon enough’ happened the next day.  Amalia had returned with the kobold in tow and had explained the situation to Ciorna and the red-eyed Vatu.  Between the three of them, they agreed to keep watch over the kobold in case he woke up and was confused about his new surroundings.  Thankfully, it was during Amalia’s watch when he finally stirred. His eyes open slowly, dazed by what had happened.  And then they blinked, processing what he was seeing.  He glanced down at the sheets covering him then looked up at her with wide eyes.  At first, he seemed terrified… but when she held up her hands in a way that signaled she wasn’t a threat, he relaxed. “Hey there,” Amalia said.  “How’re you feeling?” “I’m…” the kobold began.  “Alive…?” “Yeah!  I’d say so.  Found you in a giant’s house and pulled you out,” she replied.  “How’d you end up in a place like that anyways?” “I…” the kobold’s eyes went downcast and he shook his head.  “Long story.  But thank you so much for saving me, uh…?” “Amalia.”

“Amalia, huh… My name’s Ralli.” She extended a hand to him without second thought and he stared at it before shaking it up and down timidly.  The dragon grinned at him.  “Nice to meet you!  You’re in the Lyall Guildhouse in Miraeh right now.  Like I said, we found you in the giant’s house when we were on a mission.  I can get you some food if you need any.  You should be good to stay here until you recover… unless you’ve got someplace to be?” The kobold shook his head. “No, I don’t… not anymore, at least.” There was a definite story there but one thing she had learned since joining the guild was that everyone had a story.  She left the healing wing to get him some food.  Edith was happy to help and leftovers from the guild’s last meal were overflowing in stock.  Amalia put together a plate for it, grabbed a mug of water, and put it on a tray.  A quick thanks was given to the cook and she made her way in the healing wing’s direction. “Ah… Amalia, good timing!” Giorgos stopped her in the dining hall as she balanced the small tray with just her palm.  “I was told there was a patient.  A… non-guild member?” “Oh, yeah, Naera and I found a kobold that needed help while we were out the other day fighting that giant,” Amalia said nonchalantly.  “I grabbed him some food.” “You know that’s strictly against policy, right?” Giorgos asked her and the dragon almost fumbled the tray.  What?  Against what policy? 

“No…?”

“Yes.  We can only provide healing services to those within Guild Lyall.  We’re an adventuring guild, my dear, not a hospital.” There was something that clicked in her brain at that moment, something that could not be undone.

Adventuring guilds were in all sorts of media.  Ragtag gangs of people who wanted to do good in the world made for the best protagonists.  It was the found family trope that dominated the majority of her fanfiction list back home, when she had proper internet.  Some of the most compelling characters came from that sort of lifestyle and maybe that was why she had been drawn to it.  Despite the danger, it was simplistic compared to the life of a Guardian…

While she had been doing this because of her deal with Eriden, she hadn’t taken each job for the paycheck that came with it.  Healing people until she had blood soaked to her elbows wasn’t something she had done for coin either… She had done it because someone needed her to.  Because it made things better when they worked together to get rid of bandits or monsters in the nearby wilderness.  It made peoples’ lives safer.  It just made the world less… bad. Taking in Ralli had been no different.  Offering him a bed in the healing wing had happened because he needed her to.  Healing his injuries had just been something she did because it had been right.  But Giorgos was standing there with a little smirk on his lips, glaring up at her with freezing blue eyes that bore deep into her innocent heart.  This wasn’t about helping others for him.  This was about money.  This was about the bottom line. “I’m sorry,” Amalia blinked as she stared down at him.  “Should I have left him there?  Tied up and beaten to hell and back?”

It was not her nicest moment but she could not have stopped the words from spilling out of her mouth if she had tried.

“He’s not our problem,” Giorgos shrugged.  “And him staying here will eat our resources.”

“We have more than enough food to go around and there’s no other longterm patients in the healing wing,” Amalia said quickly and Giorgos cleared his throat.

“I don’t appreciate you talking back like this, Amalia.  If he stays here and eats our food, then it’ll be coming out of your paycheck.”

“Fine,” Amalia said, keeping her tone light and giving him a shrug.  “Do it.”

Giorgos’s stare followed her until she disappeared from his view.  It was not until hours later when her shock and incredulousness wore off that she finally felt properly angry about it.  But even then, all she could do was imagine wrathful words to Giorgos.  How people could be so heartless was beyond her… but that day was a moment she would look back on often, wondering if it had been the sign to start looking for an exit strategy.

But just like all the other signs, she ignored them and continued her guild duties.

---

The days that followed saw vast improvements to Ralli’s health.  Although Giorgos definitely cut her pay as promised, Amalia knew she had enough to get by for now.  The guild provided meals and rooms but they did need money for requesting certain things like gear upgrades.  She supposed she’d have to ration the money out carefully on the off-chance she needed anything in the future… Avalonnian coin didn’t really convert well to Miraeh’s currency so a lot of her other money was practically sitting useless in her wallet.  And calling back home for help wasn’t going to get much in the way of results either…

As far as patients went, Ralli was probably the best they’d had in ages.  He got along well with Vatu and Ciorna and seemed personable enough.  She knew better than to pry as to his personal life too much but occasionally, he would spill something about himself if he was in a chatty enough mood.

“You know, I could go for one of those Earthian cheeseburgers right about now.  No offense to Edith’s cooking but…” Ralli said as he eyed the sandwich he had been presented for a meal that day.  “Sometimes you just need a ton of shameless grease in your life.”

“You’re telling me,” Amalia snorted.  “Wait, you’ve been to Earth?  How’d you hide yourself from the humans?”

“I didn’t… I guess kobolds exist there.  They’re called something else though… Scalies?  They kept asking me how I made my suit look so realistic…” Ralli frowned, tapping his chin with a claw.

“Oh,” Amalia said stiffly, biting her lip to keep from laughing.  “Well, it worked out.  How’d you manage here?  Through the—”

“Portal under the human shopping district, yeah,” Ralli nodded.  “Truthfully, I was on a job… but it went south.  That’s when the giant nabbed me.  Thanks again for saving me.”

“That’s the tenth time you’ve said that.”

“And I’ll probably say it ten more times!  I like being alive.”

“That’s a mood.”

A week and a half passed before Ralli had fully recovered.  Although Amalia was certain he could have left earlier, she knew he had mentioned not really having anywhere else to go so she didn’t pester him about it.  And maybe a bit of her had been sad at the idea of him being gone from the healing wing; he was nice to talk to… a friend, even.

But that day did come.  He was standing next to his bed when she walked in to check on him.  A part of her heart sank at once but she tried to smile for him.

“You’re up and about, huh?  Leg feeling better?”

“Yeah.  Think it’s time I stopped taking up a bed in the healing wing.”

“Yeah?  Good.  Where’re you headed next?”

“I was thinking of asking your guild leader if I could join, actually,” Ralli said.  “You come in here every day and you’re nice to me and… Like I said, I don’t have anywhere else to go.  And I’ll need food and shelter eventually…”

“Makes sense to me.  Eriden’s kind of a bit hard to get along with but… I mean, if you have skills that could help the guild…” Amalia shrugged.  “Worth asking, I think.”

“I have some things that could help the guild, yeah,” Ralli said.  “Wish me luck!”

One needed more than luck to talk to their guild leader as of late; Eriden had taken to an even more sour mood than usual.  His fits of rage had turned into fully-blown tantrums.  Just the other day, Bryan had been dismissed from the guild for “insubordination” but no one could seem to pinpoint where that accusation came from.  Rumors floated around, ranging from “Eriden fired Bryan because Bryan made a joke about Eriden’s height” to “Eriden fired Bryan to get him back for stealing a girl he fancied”.  Whatever the case was, Amalia had begun to avoid the guild leader if she could help it.  He seemed to walk with stormclouds brewing in his eyes.

Although she feared Ralli would be turned away, she was delighted when the kobold returned with news of his acceptance into the guild.  It inspired just enough confidence for her to attempt to approach the gnome about their deal. 

She crept up the stairs, each step taken with her breath held.  His office was always open and she could see he was writing furiously on some parchment.  What if he was busy?  She feared he’d yell at her… but it had been months at this point with no updates.  Amalia steeled herself.  And then, after swallowing down a sea of saliva in her throat, she knocked on the side of the doorway.

 “Come in,” Eriden said with a careless wave.

“Yeah, I wanted to check in with you on the Whitescales,” Amalia said.

“The what?”

“The… Whitescales.  You said you’d look into them for me?”

“Oh.  Uhh… no news yet, sorry.”

It could not have been more obvious to her that he had not bothered to look into the Whitescales at all.  Her arms crossed, she warred with herself over whether to push the subject or not.

“Is there anything I can do to expedite the investigation?  Or… help in any way?”

He looked up from what he was writing on.  “Let me work on it.”

Well, that was a dismissal if she had ever heard one.  Although a sharp scolding danced on the tip of her tongue, Amalia lowered her head and quickly left the office.  Sure, he likely deserved being yelled at for not following through with his part of the deal but she wanted to give him some benefit of the doubt.  If there was no progress next time, she’d have to start considering other options… or so she told herself.

The reality was that in her heart, she knew Eriden was not going to help her.  But then she thought of leaving Guild Lyall and the halls she had become familiar with.  Leaving all of her new friends felt like a betrayal, especially when so many of them needed her… What if they got into trouble while she was gone and they needed a healer?  What if her being gone was the difference between one of her friends living and one of them dying? And so, she told herself that she’d just wait a bit longer.  Because stalling meant she didn’t have to make that decision.  It meant she could trap herself in this stage of life for longer… and Amalia told herself she was right where she was meant to be. Even on the bad days and even during the bad times. ---

She could not have said what the hour was that night when a knock on the door woke her up from the deepest reaches of sleep.  At first, Amalia wondered if she had imagined the entire thing… but then another knock came and she realized it was very real.  Stumbling out of her bed, she threw her jacket over her exposed shoulders.  Tiredness still tugged at the corners of her vision but when she opened the door, that exhaustion vanished in an instant.

Naera or Zinnia were what she had expected.  Instead, she was greeted with a blonde young woman donned in a simple, conservative lavender night gown.  Her arms strained to support another woman who seemed unconscious, her head drooping and her black hair covering her face.  She seemed to be wearing her normal, day-to-day mage robes.

Through her grogginess, it took Amalia a delayed second to remember their names.  The blonde was Astrid and the other was named Saffron.  They were both battlemages… Amalia couldn’t quite remember what their specialties were and didn’t have time to dwell on it.  Obviously, they weren’t healers.

“Excuse me,” whispered Astrid.  “Do you… think you could help her?”

“Yeah… come in,” the young dragon said, stepping aside to permit Astrid to drag her companion in.

A light in the nearby lantern was lit and Saffron was sat on Amalia’s bed.  At a first glance, she thought that maybe this was a case of someone getting too drunk at the bar.  It was certainly odd if that were the case because Amalia was pretty sure she remembered Saffron being allergic to alcohol or something like that… but then she moved to the bedside and saw the injuries.

There was a red mark around her neck, small but notable.  It seemed centered at her throat, stretching around either side.  Her lip was bloodied and swelling already and one of her cheeks was sporting a bruise. 

“What happened?” Amalia asked Astrid as she knelt down next to Saffron, looking her over.

“I… I don’t know if I can… say…” came Astrid’s wavery reply.

“Don’t know if you can say?” Amalia asked, looking back at the blonde and realizing that she was in tears.  “Astrid…?”

“Please help her,” Astrid whispered, lip quivering.

She did as she was asked; tending to each of the young lady’s wounds in the dead of that troubled night.  Although she worried the light of the Spark would alert people in the halls that something was up in her room, no one disturbed her work.  When it was all said and done, Saffron slept a bit more peacefully and Amalia stepped back to let Astrid take her to her quarters.

“Are you sure you’re not going to tell me what’s going on?” Amalia asked as Astrid scooped Saffron back up.

There was a bit of hesitation in her eyes and then came a frightened, shaky answer. “Eriden.  He said she botched a potion she made for him on purpose… gave him a rash, I think… So, he hit her… a lot.”

 Amalia’s heart dropped into her stomach.  Was this surprising?  It… should not have been.  She noticed his gaze lingered on certain ladies in the guild.  He was a slimeball and she had known that since day one… but she thought his angle had been as a con artist, not… not this…

Astrid’s words went in and out of focus.

“—and he used a spell, I think, to force her onto the ground while he hit her—”

“We should call the authorities,” Amalia said numbly.

“No!” the mage hissed, shaking her head fervently.  “No, we can’t.  Saffron told me Eriden paid off all her debts… she owes him a lot of money… and he’s friends with the guard; it’ll just make things worse…”

What!?  Worse than this?!  Amalia wasn’t sure that things could get much worse.  This went past just being a crime; it was just plain wrong to do.  A moral failing of his heart.  A sin that couldn’t go unanswered…

Inside her, she felt the Spark ignite.  It was so gentle on the average day but this time, it was different.  It felt like a storm was surging, like fists were being slammed against the walls of her chest.  Outwardly, she sucked in a breath, trying to stabilize herself.

Her mother had warned her about this.  Divinity was a great power but it came with a great cost.  In the end, it had been a blessing from a benevolent god that sought out soldiers to eradicate worldly evils.  It reacted to evil in a way that was extreme, loud, and oh-so-hard to ignore.

“Amalia…?” Astrid asked.

“I’m alright,” the dragon said quickly.  “Yeah… I won’t tell anyone…”

Kill him, kill him, kill him.

“Thank you… I apologize for the inconvenience brought upon you tonight…” Astrid said with a bow.

“It’s fine.  Just… please keep her away… from him…” Amalia managed out.

Smite him, smite him, smite him.

“I will.  Thank you, Amalia,” Astrid said and departed not long after with Saffron in her arms.

That night, Amalia did not sleep.  She couldn’t have, even after she had quelled the Spark’s fury.  All she could do was sit and wonder if Ciorna knew what Eriden got up to after dark.  Did Naera know?  Did Zinnia know?  Did anyone… know?  And if they did, did they care?  No, that couldn’t be right.  Of course they did.  They had to.  Amalia knew they were good people but…

He’s friends with the guard.  Of course they care, they just know nothing can happen to him…

Bitter tears flooded her eyes and she hugged her pillow.

Before she had left Avalon, she remembered her father telling her how the world could be so cruel without reason.  This felt like one of those moments that should have never come to pass.  Her eyes strayed to the glaive in the corner of her room.  Oh, how she wanted nothing more than to grab it and march up those stairs…

I can’t just murder a guy.  That’s wrong.  That’s morally wrong.

A pause.  And then she reconsidered.

Okay, I COULD in this situation but there’s no way that ends well.  And if it’s discovered that Saffron and Astrid were connected, they’d be in danger too…

It was a miserable situation and she was scared.  Given that it was the dead of night and she was exhausted, Amalia told herself the best course of action was to try to protect Saffron from Eriden.  Protect as many as she could from him. 

But every night for the next few weeks, she thought about how good it would feel to let her glaive have a new gnome-shaped sheath.