35 Chapter 35 - In Which A Long Tale Is Put To Rest

"Over here!! I found another one!!" Lozen cried out as she managed to pry open the crate. It had certainly been difficult with one arm still hanging from a sling, but the bounty was worth the effort. Another decent collection of ointments and bandages left lying around in a mud soaked crate. There wasn't much, but it would hole a few more people.

She slapped her one good hand on the edge of the crate and started dragging it through the mud. Her weak, stitched muscles ached with every step she pulled it and a few of her wounds felt like they were tearing themselves open again. She had just managed to get the box through the folds of the tents entrance between she saw two extra pairs of hands slap down onto the crate.

"Thank you, but you should be resting." A voice said to her left.

"We'll take it from here. You've done enough, already." Another said on her right.

"No." She replied with a tiny grin on her face. "It's alright. I can still-AH!!" A scream punched through her teeth as she felt something tear in her leg. It wasn't a major injury, hell, that would require some part of her not already injured, but it caused enough pain to make her realize the obvious. She really was in the best condition at the moment and as much as she wanted to help, this probably wasn't the best way to do so.

"Seriously. Go rest before we have to waste anymore supplies on you." One of them jested before Lozen pushed herself off the crate and left them to it. Her body thanked her with a short wave of relief that managed to push a sigh out of her as she wandered back through the encampment. Most of the colonizer bodies had been cleared and tossed into the same massive grave near the forest, so the place was looking much better than a mass battlefield should have been. She had to admit, these people really knew how to not leave a mess.

That wasn't what they had to do now however. Now everyone was stripping the camp for every valuable object that wasn't nailed to the ground and some that were. Food, medicine, weapons, even random bits of useless jewelry that some idiot might buy just to sell again. Some of them were even tearing the wood from the wood mill and offices or at least the ones that could be used to rebuild the village. Most of them didn't look in good condition as the lugged materials all over the camp, but they were at least better off than her.

Her clothes may have been clean, but below them were extensive layers of bandages all stained with some liquid that wasn't supposed to be on the outside of her. At the very least, the worst had passed and now it was just a matter of healing. However long that was going to take, it would come eventually and got one in her life, she didn't feel the rush to do so.

The villagers seemed to have locked down the camp very well. Patrols were established, some of the tents had been converted, and tons of resources were passing all throughout it to where they were needed. They clearly knew what they were doing and it was relaxing to see that without having to scream at somebody. Everything seemed to be falling in place, not perfectly, but enough to let her guard down.

They stared at her as she passed them by, some even waving at her while others just gave her a respectful nod. She didn't blame them, but she also didn't like to think about why they did so less it might go straight to her head. At least these people had managed to get out of their cave and from the looks of, make something worthwhile. There were a few carts they managed to rig together with what little horses and wood was left and with it, they might have been able to salvage something from the ash heap. It was honestly rather heartwarming.

Although, there was one last thing she needed their help with. "Excuse me." She said, grabbing someone walking down between the same path cutting through the tents. "Can you point me to whoever's in charge?"

"Wait.....you're her!" The man exclaimed as his eyes widened in amazement.

"Ah, yes. Can you just-" She started, trying to cut in before the stranger could start and ultimately failing.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! Without-"

Before he could get far however, Lozen slapped her hand down onto the man's shoulder and said "Yes. I am and believe me, I know. Now, I need to talk to whoever's in charge. It would be very helpful if you pointed me towards them. Can you do that for me?"

"But you're-"

"In desperate need of a conversation with that someone. So do you mind pointing me to him?"

She could see the wheels turning in his head before he sputtered our "Y-Yes. Sorry. They should be near the big red tent in the front."

"Thank you very much." She said before rushing down the pathway before she could be interrupted again. There were a few people around her that waved or cried out some variation of "It's you!", but thankfully none of them pulled her from the crowd. She waved and maybe struck a smile all the while hoping they would just stay away. Although, she was starting to see how Jebediah had become bombastic. Another six years of this and she might have become the same.

She tried to stop thinking of him. Why would she when there was so much else to focus on? All these people, Iscariot's corpse, and her own village, but the thought that he might still be out there was troubling to say the least. It made her question how exactly the Chunuxu worked. Did they simply die when the target of their revenge died or did they need to do it themselves? If the latter was true, did that mean he was always going to be here? Was it when the last of their lost objects were returned? Would she ever find out? With a little luck, he'd never come back, then she doubted her fortune was that good and the pain in her arm made sure she remembered that.

Well, one thing at a time. She found the red tarp tent near the office building and inside was about as close to the towering structure as this assembly was going to get. There was a decently sized table in the center with a few maps of the surrounding forest scattered across them and a handful of elder men and women surrounding it. Some of them were circling or pointing to different sections of the land, presumably in an attempt to find a new place to begin rebuilding, but all of them looked up the second she stepped inside the crimson tent.

"Who are...." One of them on the opposite side of the table started before a look of realization drifted over him. "Oh. You're the one everyone's been talking about. Quite a surprise. Shouldn't you be resting?"

Lozen gave them a pleasant smile before saying "Yes. Are the ones in charge of this?"

"No. We're just old." One of them replied to which a few of them chuckled. "But we haven't killed anyone yet, so what can we help you with.....I'm sorry. We've only heard the little nickname the others have given you. What's your name, dear?"

"Lozen and..." She blinked in confusion when she fully registered those words. "Sorry. Nickname?"

"Yes. The Scarlet Shadow." Seeing the bizarre perplexion on Lozen's expression, the elder contained. We think it's ridiculous too. We'll try and get them to use your actual name, but you know how potent whispers can be."

"No, no. I don't mind. Let them whisper. It certainly sounds better then Lozen and I'm sure they'll get more out of it then that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Really. Anyways, I have more important things to discuss with you. If I'm not imposing that is."

"No, no." The elder at the head of the table said again, all others seeming to fall in line at his voice. "After all you've done for us, we at least owe you an ear."

"Thank you. You see, the reason I came to your village was because I was hoping to acquire funds for my own village. We live down south in the middle of the desert and usually I have to go out and buy resources for us. I'm not sure how much longer we can live out there, so I was hoping if we could possibly join with your village for a while. It'll only be for a few months until we can get back on our feet."

Most of the elders started whispering in each other's ears as Lozen laid out her request, a sign she hoped was good. They continued their quiet chatting for a moment before the elder at the head of the table raised a hand to quiet them. "This is...unexpected. Lozen, I'm sure you can under how we might be hesitant to bring more people into our care. We already have a great many wounded and will have to rebuild our entire village from literal scraps. I'm not sure we will be able to care for your village in the ways they need."

Lozen cut in at that "I understand, but we can help. Many of us are doctors and the village we occupy now was built from literal scratch. We know how to pick us pieces better than anyone and I promise you we will help you however we can."

"But the resources needed just to keep them alive, food, water, medicine, those aren't things we have luxury at the moment and we personally have a duty to our own people right now."

"We've been surviving in the middle of nowhere just off the supplies I can carry on my back. I promise you, we will not be a burden."

A few of the elders started whispering again as the leader paused to consider. His eyes danced all over the room as he very visibly weighed his options before glancing back up at Lozen and saying "And are the structures you live in now mobile?"

"I can have everything packed up and moving in at most a day."

"And your people are indeed skilled?"

"Most of us are multilingual and have experience surviving in the harsh desert that make up most of this land as well."

The elders finished their whispering at that moment and carried their opinions up the leader before he spoke again. "And do we have your word they won't hinder our recovery?"

"I promise you, they will not bring you anymore trouble then you have already endured. Please, just give us a chance. We will not disappoint."

The elders exchanged quiet dialogue for another minute until the leader nodded and said "Very well. It's the least we can do for the woman who caused all of this. Your people can accompany us for a while, but we reserve the right to expel you from our ranks should anything arise."

Lozen suppressed her excitement to a mere jubilant grin and tiny shake before saying "Yes! Entirely!" She started backing out of the tent as her words started spilling from her smirk "I can't thank you enough! Really! You won't regret this! Oh!" Something dawned on her as her back hit the fabric covering the entrance and with it, another problem was solved. "That old man your men killed when they found me, the one they found me next to!" She started as she tried getting her boot off to get at the wanted posters under the sole. "He's a wanted criminal named Gregor Isacriot." Lozen continued as she slapped Iscairots poster down on the table. "The bounty on his head should help with your reconstruction."

All of the elders' eyes widened in shock as they saw the number under Iscariot's name, even the leader's jaw dropped in disbelief. For a solid minute none of them moved let alone spoke and Lozen was treated to a moment of quiet that didn't possibly end with her death. No internal debates about whether to kill her. Just people basking in how lucky they had been.

"This is...." The leader started before another completed his sentence. "Christ on his cross!"

"Yes. That and far too much. Are you sure you don't want to just take this yourself? You were the one who killed him after all."

"I didn't do it for that. Besides, I've already got more than enough myself."

"Oh...well, where should we expect you to leave the body then?"

Confused by this, Lozen asked "I'm sorry. I thought you had the body."

"We did, but then your friend came and told us he was keeping it safe. We didn't know it was so valuable and we really only cared so far as it got away from us, so we just let him have it."

That was all Lozen needed before her joy slowly dissolved away into utter annoyance and the start of fury. Her grin fell into a scowl and her eyes narrowed as she said "Oh. Is that so? And did this friend of mine say where he was going?"

"Just up in the forest, but he also said...I'm, Beatrice will sniff you out. He said you'd know what that means."

"The sad part is, I do." She muttered, just now realizing how fucked she would have been if she had let Jebediah do most of the talking. He was about as subtle as...well, him. But what did she honestly expect?

"Alright. Thank you." She said, pinching the top of her nose in disdain and anticipation at what she had to do.

"Is something wrong?"

"Very. Nothing to be worried about though. Continue with whatever you're doing here. I have to take care of one last thing."

With that, she marched on out of the tent and after picking a direction at random, starting marching towards the forest in the distance. She didn't bother wondering why he had chosen to let the literal blood thirsty beast be his only source of finding her, when he could have just stuck around the medical tent she had been left to rest in for the better part of a day. It's not like anyone could have stopped him and it would have avoided making her WALK A GOOD QUARTER OF A MILE WITH TWO ALMOST BROKEN LEGS AND A....She tried not thinking about it.

Her eyes caught onto the visage of two men carrying yet another cold, rotting guard between the tents and her feet diverted her path towards them. "Excuse me." She said before the two men recognized her and had their momentary strokes like everyone else who even glanced her way. "Yes, very nice." Lozen muttered as she knelt down to the body they were carrying and started taking a good look around for the least in tact part of it. The left hand seemed to only be hanging on by a thread of cinue and so with one half hearted heave, she tore it off the wrist.

As she stood back up, she noticed the men were now looking at her with confused, even horrified expression, neither of which Lozen blamed them for. "You don't want to know." She said in a deadpan tone, her eyes filling with an exhaustion and burden she hoped the two of them sensed. "I believe you." One of them replied in an equally lifeless voice that sounded like he was in the midst of realizing he didn't want to know what was happening. "Just keep moving and pretend it fell off in the mud somewhere." She offered to which another replied before they resumed chartering off the body "Sounds like a plan. Oh, and thank you!"

She wanna sure if that was a thanks for what she did or that she wasn't involving them in whatever business she was conducting, but regardless they waltzed away before long. With that out of the way and bait in hand, she resumed marching her way out of the encampment. The mud field beyond was shorter then she remembered, or maybe he was just her seething rage that distracted her from the strain of the tract. Either way, she stumbled into the thicket before long and started waving the dead hand around while screaming "Beatrice!! Here, girl!! Straight from a corpse, just like you like it!"

Her words echoed between the long trees composing the forest and were followed by the cracking of twigs under her feet. She wasn't sure if she was going to attract a bear, wolf, or Beatrice, but she was also more uncertain of which would be worse. At this point however, she didn't really care anymore. She just wanted to get the body and get back to the matters that were actually worth her time. Luckily, or unluckily judging in how you looked at that, the sound of clopping hooves came barreling down between the trees.

Reactionarily, Lozen rolled her eyes and tossed the hand out into an empty spot of dirt a few feet in front of her before the smell of rotting flesh rushed against her nose. She could see it in the distance now. A black shape slowly took the form of a rotting beast rushing between the tree and came to a screeching halt in front of the bloody hand. Dirt and broken branches were kicked up by her hooves and right into Lozen's face before the beast leaned over and started devouring the scrap of flesh.

"Good to see you too." Lozen muttered sarcastically as she glanced up at the glowing figure saddled atop the beast. He was smiling, though it looked more forced and guilt ridden then usual, but Lozen's disdain didn't fade. Her eyes dropped down to see Iscariot's corpses tossed over Beatrice's behind where Jebediah sat and was about to demand it back when the deadman stole the first word. "You're welcome!"

She would have shot him if she didn't lack an urge to engage with him in any way or a working arm. "Give me the body." Was all she spared him.

"What, no thank you? I mean, I made sure they didn't bury this bastard-" He slapped a hand against Iscariot's body. "-with the others. I thought you'd be grateful."

"My gratitude is not tossing you in the same home they're throwing the rest of the bloated corpses."

"Right. Seems like an extensive-"

"What is this?"

Jebediah froze up at that and clearly tried keeping his absurdly straight posture even as it became more pathetic than formal. "W-What?" He asked, keeping his smile pinned in place.

"What is this? All of it? Is this some extortion type thing? Because if so, I'm pretty sure I can find Iscariot's gun back there."

"No! Of course not! I would never-"

"Alright, that's enough. Drop the act."

"What-"

"I said. Drop. The act. Because I have had enough of this."

His eyebrow twitched and the light constructing his face seemed to fade, but Lozen barely noticed. Hell, she could barely care. Still, Jebediah's grin vanished in a moment and his contrived confidence filled close behind it. His posture deflated and a subtle, passive frown relaxed his smile. Somehow, his eyes seemed.....tired. Or desperate. One of the two. Or neither. Who cared?

"Look, Lozen, I....you can have him if you want." He started, but the second he said that, Lozen started marching towards the body as she said "Goor."

However, Jebediah tugged at Beatrice's reins, making her back away from Lozen before she could get close. "Wait! Wait, wait, wait. I have something to say."

"And I have nothing to listen to. Body. Now."

"Just let me speak-"

"I think you've spoken enough."

"No I haven't! Please...just listen to me. I want...I need someone to listen." He pleaded, even clasping his hands together as if in mid prayer. Lozen couldn't believe what she was seeing. He really was desperate, but above all else, genuine. It may have been a sliver of gold in a mountain of coal, but it was the first sign of gold she had ever seen. Gold that she couldn't find it in herself to hate or ignore. Not something so small and rare trying to survive in a body of work filled with shallow spite and boisterous lies. It wasn't something she could let be consumed by all that, not when she despised such pathetic need so much.

She let out a deep moan and dragged a hand over her face before saying "Fine. And what pray tell what is it you need to say?"

A spark of relief and joy rushed across Jebediah's face before Lozen's disappointed scowl struck it down. He tugged at his collar and somehow swallowed before saying "Look...I know I fucked up. Like big time. Like, I'm probably going to hell."

"Right. And while you're at it, can you remind me what color the sky is?"

"Okay, okay, okay! I know it's nothing new and there's probably nothing I can say that'll make it right-"

"And yet you're still talking."

"But..." He swiveled his head around for a moment as if debating his words until eventually stuttering out "I'm sorry!" Lozen expected more, but for some reason he stopped there and let those words hang in the air as if they had come from the mouth of Jesus Christ himself. Even in his most humble moments, the tang of pride stained his words. Pathetic, Lozen though and resumed eyeing only the corpse behind him.

"I know.....believe me, I know I made a mistake. No, a crime. No, a sin."

For some reason, the drama in those words made something in the back of Lozen's mind snap.

"Jesus, Crone. Just shut up." She tossed his way as she started making her towards the corpse again.

"But I-"

"Yes. I know. You're soooooo sorry. Oh how I have sinned. Woe is me. Cry yourself a river and follow it down to someone who actually gives a fuck."

"But you-"

"You know, I actually gave you a chance. A real fucking chance and that's not something I do often. When you helped those people back at the manor, I thought there might be a chance with you. Maybe you could be the kind of person that would get something, anything right. It was a long chance, probably the longest, but I decided to put some ounce of faith in you."

"I know and....I don't know."

"What? What don't you know? What little piece of knowledge would have made all of this right if you only knew it beforehand? What's the one thing that could make you anything more then....." She sighed as she realized what she was doing. Her voice had risen without her realizing and her fist was already trembling with anticipation. It was stupid, beyond that, but.....she supposed there was still some part of her that cared and after realizing that, the reason why seemed so clear.

"Do you remember the Wraith? The deadman back at the manor? I thought he was some idiot leading his people to ruin, but no. You proved that wrong. You proved me wrong.....And I killed him for that." Her voice trembled at the memory and she clamped her eyes shut for a moment as she tried pushing it back down.

"So there has to be something more to you. Something bigger and deeper, something that makes what he did.....what I did mean more than just a stupid mistake. He put his trust in you, he actually, really fucking believed in you and I was the one that killed him for that. So there has to be more to you Jebediah, there just has to be. Otherwise all of it meant nothing. Then I'm not just playing the role of some foolish villain...I'm just me."

She felt her throat collapse into itself at that and her words were lost to her. The ones she got out felt so.....raw to her own ears and in a way, she couldn't protest them. But that's what hurt so good about them. Like the thorn ridden stem of a rose she could finally let go of. It didn't feel good, but she didn't think it was supposed to be.

"I...I think that's pretty cool." Jebediah started and all Lozen did was not protest. "I mean...you did help these people. You killed Iscariot all on your own and even fucking Florentine, but....I mean, look at all those people now. They seem...I don't know. Hopeful, I guess...what I'm trying to say is.....I'd want to be you."

It was there again. A simple sprout. It wasn't nothing. At least it was there, but a simple sprout wasn't enough. Not anymore.

"Well you're not. I meant what I said back there, Jebediah, and I'm not taking any of it back. I am done with all of this. The business between you and this gang of yours, your little miracle, the horse, the murder, the drama. I'm done with it, but I don't think you are."

"But I-"

"You're Hell's Horseman. You're the vengeful rider seeking to end those who wrong them. So you can't be over it. Otherwise, you're just nothing and at the end of the day, when everyone forgets your name, you'll be nothing. But I think you've been that way for a long time. You want someone to forgive you and tell you everything you did is alright. Fuck off. Maybe you did some good a long time ago, maybe you didn't, but at this point, I don't care anymore."

Another pause, this one accompanied by the subtle gust of winds weaving through the trees. "But...you have to." Jebediah muttered. "You actually.....you don't buy all that bull crap....you're not blinded by the curtains....you actually see me....so, you have to care about me. I mean, if you don't......" His words dribbled out of focus and then he fell into silence. In a way, it all made sense to Lozen. Not enough to make her feel anything but hatred, but enough to make a few things come into view. And he'll, if something about him made sense....maybe something about her did as well. No. Don't let yourself get to that point. Don't let the story protect you. What you did, that's on you. Own it. Accept it. Hold it until it burned your hand and make sure no one else ever got scorched. Not again.

"You've been at this for too long, Jebediah." She said as she resumed making her way towards the body. Her hands unclamped the satchel full of coins hanging from Beatrice's saddle before sneaking back down into her pocket. When she pulled it out, the coins Iscariot had given her were in hand. The last things that needed to be returned. "I think it's time you rested." Lozen finished as she deposited the coins onto the saddle right in front of Jebediah. Even someone as stupid as him had to get the message, so she left him there and pulled the body off the corpse with her one good hand.

It wasn't going to be easy dragging it back, but it wasn't impossible at first. She pulled the entire thing through the mud at a snail's pace and somehow managed to get it a few meters away from Beatrice before she heard Jebediah speak up again. "Can.....can you just stay...please."

She stopped at that and resisted the urge to spit something else at him. Even after all this, he hadn't learned a thing. He was just the oh so great hero who was still afraid of dying. The one thing that had caused all of this to happen. How could he not see that!? Was there really so little to him there wasn't even the sliver of a chance to evolve in some way!!? Why....no. He had helped her, even if it was in his own, disgusting way. Without him, she wouldn't be here right now. That meant something and so at the very least, she could watch. It was least she could do and the least she'd give him.

"Fine." She replied before turning to look back at the deadman. In one hand we're the coins and in the other was the pouch in which all the others were held. He didn't move for the longest time, merely keeping that hand suspended over the bag as if starting down the barrel of a gun once again. Both his hands were trembling and the light constructing his face was contorting from obvious anxiety. She didn't blame him, but a part of her didn't want to have to keep watching this.

"You're afraid, aren't you?" Lozen asked.

"Well, yeah!!....There's nothing on the other side."

"How do you know? You're one of the few who came back. Maybe there was nothing keeping you there."

"Yeah....maybe." He didn't sound certain and thus forced her to continue.

"Well...think about it like this. No one really knows what's on the other side, so how do we know it's something bad?"

"Maybe.....but what if it is? What if it's just.....nothing."

"Then you'll be nothing, but you're not supposed to be anything else. You're already dead, Jebediah. Leave the world to the living."

He whimpered.

"But maybe that can be a good thing. They'll be no guilt, anger, or pain and you'll never have to worry about all the things you did wrong again."

Her words lingered for a moment longer than she would have liked. The coins were so very close to falling into the pouch and that made it all the more torturous. She had already wasted enough time on a dead man and she just wanted to get this over with.

Still, she waited.

"But...I mean, I don't have to. I can make it better. I always can. I'll just keep going and I'll make it right. You'll see." He started rambling on and killing whatever hope Lozen had. It was starting to dawn on her what she had to do. He wasn't going to change. How could she have expected anything else? And with the power he had, there were never going to be any consequences for that. Just the greedy pursuit of fame that everyone else would pay for. She couldn't trust that he'd do the right thing. The colonizers were monsters and so very many of them wanted to see people like here's dead. If he cared so much about the attention of those people, then one day, he'd make a mistake too great to go back on and she couldn't live with the idea that when it happened, she had the chance to stop it all. Besides...he was already dead. He just needed to be put back in the ground.

He had been well armed above all else. As she looked at his corpse, Lozen could see just how out-gunned she had truly been. Two knives wrapped around each leg, guns saddled into holsters under his armpits, and one final weapon stashed in a pouch tucked into the back of his pants. The only weapon that could kill an immortal. The most precious item he had and the last one he'd ever use. She was just lucky she was no match for him. Otherwise, he might have wasted the extra bullet on her.

A name and a gun. That's all Iscariot said he kept from Jebediah's boss. A name and a gun. The former she understood and it wasn't until looking at the matter that she did the same for it. It didn't look like much, but upon pulling it from the holster, she saw just how well built it was. The weight was decent, the barrel was straighter than she had ever seen on any weapon, the cylinder was custom made to hold seven shots instead of six, and the hammer was larger, making it easier to strike. It was a well designed weapon. And it was still loaded.

"Just you wait. I'll make it alright. I don't have to go back yet. After all, I'm Hell's-"

BANG!!!!

One shot. That was all it took. One single shot and it was over. His head flew back and then, one by one, the light began to fade from his body, bones and dust raining down onto the ground. Clothing fell limp against Beatrice as the beast collapsed under its own weight, bloated flesh exploding out from every hole rotted into her body. The light faded from their eyes and their bodies collapsed into nothing more than bone dust and rancid meat.

In mere seconds, all that stood in place of the rider and his stead was a pile of ash, gunk, and clothes from which no evidence of a corpse would ever be found. Nothing really changed the more she thought about it. This had always been there. It was just easier to see now.

That was it. Nothing more to it. Lozen slid the weapon back into it's hidden holster and after taking one final look at the mound of meat and bones that had taken her so far. She didn't waste unnecessary time on it however and started dragging the corpse across the mud plan, leaving the others behind in the dirt. She left them as exactly what they always should have been. Remains in the ground. And ones that at long last, fell silent.

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