7 Chapter 7 – A Stop in the Night

The wagon practically bounces through the Wilds as every small stone and pit makes the wagon launch slightly in to the air as it speeds down the old road; Elain crying out as each bump aggravated the pains throughout her body.

"ORYN, we should slow down!" Casia cries out to him, worried for her guardians' health.

It had been over thirty minutes of rushing since they had escaped the Midcross Inn; Melik having pulled them several miles in a short time, but with such a load she was beginning to tire and slow anyway.

Oryn was unsure; peeking behind quickly he sees only the woods fading in to darkness; the beasts that had followed a short time long gone.

"Okay… we're stopping!" Oryn reluctantly agreed; pulling back on Meliks reins the female Adirus slows her pace, panting as she continues to walk.

Looking both sides of the road for a place to pull over, Oryn tries to find somewhere secluded to stop off road.

"Over there." The female Demi-human suddenly calls out and points; an outcrop of rocks can just be seen beyond some of the trees, several metres away from the road.

Oryn nods, guiding Melik through a break in the tree's and up a slight slope to behind the rocks, hiding from view.

The moment they stop, the two Tiger-like demi-humans jump down from the wagon, and start sniffing the area as they walk around cautiously checking the area.

After a minute, they turn and signal an all clear to Oryn.

Casia is in the wagon sitting with Elain who is lay down flat, exhausted and breathing with shallow laboured gasps; placing her hand over her forehead Casia was concerned.

"She is quite warm; I think she is getting a fever."

"Check her pouches for a healing stone, or a healing potion." Oryn advises as he jumps down too, but still looking in to the wagon.

Casia did so, checking Elains belt to find a blue gemstone just smaller than her palm, its colour dull.

"There isn't much mana… She must have used it already!" Casia bit her lip and continued to search, but finding nothing of use to heal the knight.

"Try what you can, I…" Oryn's train of thought was interrupted by what looked like a sharp pain; he rubbed the side of his head and bit his lip, trying not to speak out loud.

"Oryn…?"

"N-Nothing…" he gestures with his hand to not worry, before picking up his sentence. "Do what you can with the stone, I'll be right back."

He takes a moment to breathe and focus, before he moves around to the front of Medrin, petting her fur and rubbing around her ears, which she enjoys even as she pants, tongue out.

After a moment he starts to look around the small clearing, eventually disappearing in to the forest and out of sight.

"Where does the mad one go?" the male Demi-human asks with a displeased tone.

"I do not know Mr… umm… forgive me; I beleive we have not been properly introduced."

"I am called Dyormah. And this grand beauty…" he gestures to his female companion "…is my heart, and my life; my mate, Siidra."

Siidra bows her head, and Casia does the same in return.

"I am… Casia." She hesitates to give out her full name, having been warned by Elain when they first arrived at the Midcross Inn about revealing her identity.

But Dyormah and Siidra look to each other briefly before returning back to Casia.

"Not just 'Casia' I would think; not a girl of finery, with soldiers after her; a title precedes Casia? A clan-name?" Siidra stated.

Casia blinks not sure how to argue, to keep her origin secret. But she feels that after what happened, she owed them them not to lie; so she nods.

"Casia… Raydawn."

"The name of Raydawn is known to us. You are a noble lady of royal line?" Dyormah acknowledges.

"My father is… the king." Casia chokes when she says this; technically he was no longer king since Castus had removed him, even if he wanted Ronan to publically hand over the title, Castus is now the ruling figure; her home was now her uncles.

"Worry not Noble-ling, deep in the wilds we may be, you are safe."

Casia looks smiles at Siidra who tries to comfort her with a gentle touch to her arm and soft words.

Looking back down at Elain, Casia decides to focus on what she can do, rather than things she has no control over while the other two leave her to go collect branches and stones to build a camp fire; it was still dark and cold, with several hours still until first light.

With the blue stone held firmly in her palm Casia focuses her mana through it, mixing with the healing energy within it; a blue aura washes over a small area of Elains body.

The warrior writhes in pain a little as her insides react to the magical changes; Casia almost pausing as she hears the champion groan out in discomfort, but she has to continue.

The hue of the stone slowly fades dimmer over the next two minutes until the magic dissipates and the stone is rendered useless.

With a sigh Casia rests her hands in her lap, still clutching the blue stone firmly. "Empty-"

Elain seems slightly better; having focused around her torso Elain can now breathe easier; Casia hoping that anything serious was fixed by her efforts.

Looking at the stone Casia was thinking back to how she had been so unfocused in her lessons… no in everything; in every opportunity to better her-self. "I always thought there would be enough time! That I would eventually just settle in to my studies, to decide what I wanted to do with my life; if I had only just mastered the basic healing spells, I could just heal you myself."

Casia looks down, disappointed in herself, a few tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry I am so useless Elain, I-"

Casia pauses as she feels a hand cover hers, and looks down at Elain, who looks back at her.

"My lady… Casia, you're not… useless. You protected… me, twice, fought a witch…"

"She wasn't being serious with me, even I could see that."

"That doesn't matter, you… you fought her."

"I was stupid… I knew I was too weak to fight against her magic."

Elain giggles a little hearing that, which causes her some discomfort.

"Elain, you shouldn't…"

"I know. But do you remember what your mother used to say about fighting?" Casia's expression tells Elain she wasn't sure what she meant. "Anyone can throw a fist when they know they can win, but fighting beyond your level takes three things…"

Casias eyes widen at recalling her mother and the specific words Elain spoke.

Her eyes soften and she smiles. "…One part bravery, one part resolve, and…"

"…one part stupidity." They both speak the last part in unison, leading to bigger smiles and another giggle.

After settling the momentary pain that came from the laugh Elain looks to Casia, her earlier thoughts when watching Casia fight resurfacing.

"If… if you're ready and willing, I would like to teach you to defend yourself better. I… I am pretty useless right now. My Champion link to your father is weak; my body is… unable to function at its peak. My duty is to protect you, but right now I believe the best course of action to achieve that is to give you the skills and confidence to do it yourself."

"But… umm… what about Oryn, and our new friends over there?" she gestures to the two tiger-humans who have by now built a small camp fire, with a ring of stones, and a pile of wood they are trying to light with a flint and steel; she is reluctant to accept that she would have to defend herself when there are others around her.

"They may be with us now, but they have no duty to come with us, or protect us. As for Oryn… there is too much uncertainty surrounding him; I'm not sure how far to trust him just yet, nor is he obligated to join us… and then he has his own objectives, whatever they may be. We must rely on ourselves once we reach Erideena."

Casia looks down, wanting to argue in hope that they could continue to have the support of their current allies, but she knows better than to counter Elains experience and council; so she simply nods in agreement, but dismayed that they can not rely on them.

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The fire was raging now, Dyormah and Siidra are sat nearby meditating, just as they had in the Inn; it was their way of sleeping without actually sleeping.

Casia finds it as unusual as she does interesting.

They had helped Elain off of the wagon to lay her near the warmth of the fire as she slept, as well as so Oryn could unhitch Melik from the wagon and she could stretch, and lay nearby too.

It is quiet, the only sound is of the crackling fire, and of Oryn working with a pestle and mortar; he had taken a bag from a compartment under the seat of the wagon; it held some items which he was using to grind up several herbs and other natural foliage.

Casia had watched Apothecaries make medicines and potions before for her lessons, and though she was no expert, she can tell Oryn works with an experienced skill.

"Where did you learn to do that?" She asks; she had been curious about him since she first saw him, and since it was only the two of them who were awake at the moment, Casia decides to talk with him.

Oryn glances over to her, not replying as he continues to grind at the mixture; Casia feels a little embarrassed at his silence fearing he doesn't wish to speak with her; he really hadn't been the talkative type so far; if you exclude when he talks to himself.

After a few moments of silence she looks into the fire disappointed, and no longer expecting a reply.

"My mother was an Apothecary; I learned from her."

His sudden answer breaking the silence surprises her.

"I see." She replies suddenly happy he answered her, but unsure of what to say next "So, why didn't you follow her in this craft, you seem well practiced in it?"

He shrugs at the question. "I don't know. Maybe if she lived longer I would have."

"She's… I'm sorry." Casia was surprised at the revelation, feeling sympathetic that he too had lost his mother. "Did you take after your father then?"

At mention of a father Oryn pauses for several silent moments; Casia has the feeling it was a topic best not discussed, and when he resumes working without an answer she gets the idea to not ask further.

"So how did you end up as a guard of Arysia?" she moved the topic on, wanting to know more about the mysterious young man; plus she wasn't as tired as she expected to be and the silence bored her.

"Why?" he replies, with a slightly indignant tone.

Casia blinks at the sudden rudeness, and Oryn realises how he sounded.

"S-Sorry…" he lets out a heavy sigh looking down. "I'm just… When you…" taking a moment to relax a little more and focus himself he continues. "When you have… 'voices' in your head, different voices, all going at once sometimes, silence is like a treasured moment; relief from it makes me feel… normal again. Being focused on a task helps-"

"And my asking questions… I am sorry; I didn't mean to take up such time."

Casia feels guilty when she realises what she was doing. She had easily forgotten that he had 'issues'; a better way of saying 'crazy'.

"No. It's fine. I may have lost… some manners a little in the past year."

"Is that… how long you've been… umm, I mean, how long you've had…"

"You can say crazy, if you want." He played it off simply, as Casia struggles to word her sentence appropriately; it seems he was used to it.

"If I may ask… what happened to you?" she mutters the question, figuring it was inappropriate and giving him the excuse to act like he didn't hear her if he chose to ignore it.

His silence returns as he grinds away at the mortar and pestle, stopping a moment to add in a few more ingredients before continuing on.

"Two years ago… I joined the Arysian Watch. It was nothing special, a young local boy joining the town guards with thoughts of helping people; while it wasn't for something as grandiose as dreams of being a hero, it wasn't what I expected either. Being thirteen I was given all the jobs of running around for the group. They taught me the basics of holding a sword, but there wasn't much to do in such a quiet location, so I usually ended up training by myself, or doing the chores while they sat around, or stood on guard." He sighs, thinking back to that time, and the small group of watchmen that were satisfied with performing the basics of their duty, and then gambled, drank, and slept through much of their work time.

He took the mix he had finally finished working on and slowly poured it in to a metal cup already filled with water that had been slowly boiling over the fire, and began stirring it.

"About six months in, a part of the main border wall had collapsed due to a tree root growing steadily through a simple crack." He shook his head and sniggered at it with mild sarcasm.

Most thought the border walls of the various nations were strong and impenetrable; they were built to surround whole nations to separate and defend them from the wilds. But few knew, or chose to believe how often it failed in small ways.

"Several wild, and small Adirus managed to use this chance to move inside. We were the nearest down, and a nearby farm reported them after noticing livestock being killed, and then the family of another farmer reported the death of her husband, who tried to defend his family. It was the first time I had ever seen them all look nervous. The idea that beasts from the wilds were nearby had changed them right before my eyes. When I asked what we do, the commander just said, we protect the town, and send for guardsmen to deal with the beasts'."

He mocked the tone of the man he once knew, Casia even catching a smile at his own embarrassing impression, but went serious again as he continues.

"And it's exactly what we did. We closed the town gates, and stood at the wall while we waited for the guardsmen to arrive." His expression tenses. "It wasn't right though… there were others out there who hadn't been alerted to the danger, other farmers, and wood cutters. About a mile from the town a small group of families had set up a community, nothing much, about 6 families in total, just living quietly day by day, only coming in to the town on market days, or important events."

"Did you and the watchmen go and help them?" Casia asked unable to hold back her curiosity.

"I did." He replied solemnly. "I begged the watch Commander to send someone to warn them at least; when no one volunteered I just turned and rushed out before being given permission. I was angry that they were such cowards, even though I was trembling myself, but by the time I got there and started to warn them…"

He closed his eyes, he could remember the blood-curdling scream of a young woman as clear as if he had heard it moments ago; he had never heard anything like it before.

Casia notices the pause and the expression he made from the memory. She wondered why he was telling her such a story, unless it had something to directly do with how he became a guard; she guessed he must have done something heroic, and a vision of him stood on top of the dead Adirus in a victorious pose came to mind.

"…the daughter of one of the families was being… torn apart just beyond the outer perimeter, and by the time we all got there, three wild Adirus were all over her, blood was everywhere, her body…"

Another memory that was burned in to him as a first; an arm bitten through and removed, a leg the same, just above the knee, her stomach torn open as the middle Adirus feasted on her innards.

It certainly surprised Casia who didn't expect him to admit that a young woman died.

"Everyone ran for their homes… I wanted to run too, but I was frozen when they looked at me like I was going to be next, and I may have been if it hadn't have been for the mother of the killed girl; She was wailing in grief, her husband holding her back, trying to stop her from rushing over to their daughters corpse. When the Adirus lunged at them, I just moved. I moved in between them thrusting my spear up, wedging the base in to the ground as the beast impaled itself."

He paused a moment to sniff the water, using the tip of his little finger to dip it in and taste the concoction; realising it is not yet ready he continues to stir.

"The heavy weight of it snapped the spear and I had to roll out the way. I didn't have a sword at the time; I was barely closing in to my fourteenth birthday, so all I had was a dagger. While the first Adirus rolled around on the ground wailing as it struggled with the spear head deep in its chest, the second was already following up; I tried to run with the parents, but while the second ran passed me after them, the last blocked my escape. I was fast enough to jump back in time, as it tried to claw at me, though it tore at my oversized tunic, and I was too small for the leather armour normally worn under it, so I was barely protected."

Casia smiled a little at the thought of a younger Oryn in a shirt too large, hanging so loose over him.

When she notices him staring at her, she clears her throat, and goes quiet, embarrassed.

"Anyway… All I had was my dagger, an Adirus in front of me, the other standing side on further away, having trapped the parents against a house; the moment felt like forever, I didn't know how to defend myself or them; I couldn't do both, I was likely going to die the moment I tried to stab the Adirus in front of me so… I threw my dagger." He shook his head, disappointed in his past self.

"I don't know what I was thinking, I wasn't a knife thrower, I'd seen Steven… one of the other watchmen, do it a hundred times against a post in the courtyard, but I had never done it myself; I just threw it as hard as I could towards the other Adirus."

"Did you hit it though?" Casia asked when Oryn went silent to sigh again, he definitely felt embarrassed about the scene.

"Basically… The knife hit, but not precisely. It hit at a near side on angle, and span up the Adiruses side, leaving cuts and Knicks; It was enough to distract the Adirus for a moment, but also left me open to the one directly in front of me; the last I saw of the parents was them taking advantage of the distraction to run before I was pinned to the ground; I felt pain in my shoulder as its claws dug in to me, it tried to bite my head but I kept moving; frantically kicking up at its under belly. I landed a decent kick but it only stepped back, grabbed my arm in its teeth and started to shake me around."

Casia covered her mouth in surprise. "How did you…"

"The captain saved me." he responds before she had finished asking. "And I don't mean 'Captain', as in the Watch commander, since he was a captain too; she was…" he pauses when he tries to explain more, but struggles. The memory seeming to be both happy and painful for him; she figures he must have cared for, and lost this 'captain'.

"Are you okay?" Casia asked, concerned.

"Y-yeah." he takes another moment, and sighs. "Let's just say the Captain came in, and saved the day."

"Sounds like you saved the day too."

He smiles. "That's what the captain said; took me a while to accept that I did more than nearly die. The captain convinced me over time; A few days after, I was still healing when she showed up at the Watchmen Barracks where I lived. The others were all over her trying to impress her but she had no patience with them, I could tell, and she took me to one side to tell me she was looking for someone to fill a vacant position in her group, and that I showed 'potential'"

He scoffed at that last word, like it was a foolish remark for this 'Captain' to say.

"I didn't believe it then… and I still don't. But I wanted to help; the watchmen were just not what I expected, so I jumped at the chance to do more. For the next month I was trained as an Arysian guard, given a room, a small stipend, and new duties, and I enjoyed it."

Oryns expression grew more gloomy, as he got more in to bad memories; or perhaps good memories turned sour by some event.

"I was fourteen by this time, they looked at me like a little kid; I was more focused on trying to work hard than garner their respect. Not that we didn't get close. I told you my mother was an Apothecary… she died when I was ten; the watchmen were like friends, but this group of guardsmen, in a few short months became like a family… or at least started to."

"What happened to them?" Casia's voice was small, and she tried not to feel upset, but Oryns expression was already telling her the answer, and her heart was sinking for him.

"I was useless… that's what happened." He practially spits the words in anger; a painful resentment. He looks to Casia who has a caring look of sympathy on her face, and he softens in stature and voice. "I… I've spoken too much… forgive me."

Casia shakes her head; he certainly had spoken a lot, but she figured that perhaps he had not spoken to someone about himself and his feelings in such a long time that he couldn't stop himself; He admitted that he rarely had times of quiet in his mind, so it was likely he didn't have much chance to have an actual conversation.

"It is okay. I enjoyed your story." Casia smiles; though he never truly answered her question of 'what happened to you' it did fully answer the original of how he became a guard.

Oryn looks to her for a moment, and then give a small smile himself. "Then thank you for listening… milady."

Casia blinks, for some reason his calling her that felt unexpected; perhaps it was a result of being so casual that for a moment the distance between their statuses had disappeared, only to be reasserted by his formal wording.

A moment later Oryn checks the boiling water again, repeating the earlier checks and, judging it ready.

He stirs the water a little more, and sprinkles a few more additives in, blows on it, and letting it cool a little as he and Casia moves to Elain to wake her gently with a soft nudge.

"Elain… Oryn has some medicine to help you." Casia spoke softly.

Elains eyes flutter open slightly a few moments after, her lids hanging half closed.

Oryn raises the cup to Elains lips after Casia helps her sit up enough so she can sip at it; the warm concoction tastes bitter, and her face scrunches up in disgust, but she knows better than to let that bother her when it was medicinal.

When the entire liquid is drained, Casia gently lowers her back down so Elain can resume her slumber.

"Will it work?" Casia asks Oryn as they sit back down by the fire.

"We'll see; I would have liked the potion to be more potent; I couldn't find the all the better herbs, but it should invigorate her body to heal faster; at worst if it doesn't, it should stop her getting any worse."

Casia breathes a sigh of relief, choosing to think the more positive of the results.

For a short while they talk a little more, nothing specific, just things of a general nature, moving from one interest to the next. Casia realising how much he had travelled outside of Arysia in the last year, though she never figured why; despite he seemed to be opening up, and chatting more casually with her, he was holding back details of his so called mission; what happened to him; details of the guard group he had been a part of.

The last thing she remembers that night was wondering (Who are you Oryn?)

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