THE BELONGINGS OF A DEAD

"Where were you?!" Rasmus asked as soon as Glax entered the door of the Damastios' house. Torrential rain poured outside, making the middle of the afternoon dark as night.

Glax felt strange and empty, bandages covered part of his face and arms, but he was alive.

And Chriseis was dead.

The lightning that hit Sillabot threw her away, and she died a few minutes after falling, in Glax's arms.

Rasmus, Laertes, and all the other people gathered together were waiting for an answer from him.

They already knew the truth, Glax was sure. He had crossed the village with a small cart, carrying his wife's body. The news of his arrival went up the steep road before he could make his way up the house.

They already knew the truth, Glax was sure. He had crossed the village with a small cart, carrying his wife's body. The news of his arrival went up the steep road before he could make his way there.

"I clung to the trireme's wreckage, which ran aground on the reefs."

"But we went there..." Rasmus exclaimed, his face showing all his confusion and distress.

"And I swam to the beach with Chriseis. I was exhausted, and I sheltered myself from the storm under some rocks. I had a fever, I lost track of time... But now I'm fine. A fisherman found me, and gave me shelter and medicine."

Rasmus was going to protest again, but Captain Laertes came to Glax, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It looks like that fisherman was able to help you. I'm glad. And I'm sorry for general Chriseis. We are all sorry."

Glax looked at the dismayed and sad faces of the people gathered in the main hall of the residence. Officers and warriors of both ships, sailors and people from the village.

He nodded and asked,

"How many survived?"

Laertes replied promptly, "Only a third. Everyone knew it wouldn't be easy."

He again looked at everyone. Charikleia appeared at his side and offered a cloth for Glax to dry himself, which he accepted.

"Malko?"

"He's fine."

"Dude ... I'm sorry." Rasmus looked at the canvas-covered cart. Glax nodded and bowed his head, accepting his friend's awkward condolences. He believed in the other Valosian man's sincerity. After all, Rasmus's eyes didn't hide much.

"Come, Lord Glax, rest. The Archon of Hissoria is coming, said the messenger. Maybe tonight or in the morning," the hostess said, after exchanging a glance with Iasonas. Glax accepted.

As agreed.

Although the story he had to tell in front of everyone was as he told them, that was not how things went. Anteu rescued him and Chriseis, before the piece of ship smashed against the rocks... just like all the other ships brought to this by Sillabot.

After taking him to the triton's cave, Charikleia took care of Glax, with ointments and elixirs she said were magical.

Glax didn't care if they were magic or not. The medicine took some of his pain and fever away. And even though he limped a little and felt like ground beef, he knew he was going to be okay.

He had other concerns.

His wife was dead, and even though he didn't know her more than for a few hours, he felt bad about it. Bad for her.

There was something choking in his chest, bitter and heavy, about Chriseis's death. But there was also Sillabot. His last memory was to see the mecha dismantle on a giant pyre of fire...

But he doubted it was Sillabot's ultimate end.

"We have to go back to Sillabot."

Everyone looked at him like he was crazy.

"Do you think he's not really dead?" the captain of Medeia asked, frowning.

"I just want to make sure that nothing is left unchecked."

Iasonas nodded, "Lord Glax is being sensible. Let us help you! But now, please rest. The women will take Lady Chriseis to be prepared in the temple..."

Glax stopped and looked back at the cart. Beneath the canvas, he saw a curl of blond hair, and also the glow of the mechanical arm.

"Take good care of her, please."

"Yes, we will," more than one of Charikleia's daughters said vehemently. "She saved our village, she killed Sillabot! We will take good care of her, Lord Kroton!"

"LADY CHRISEIS SAVED US!"

The murmur gradually became a loud statement in the voice of the people of the village.

Glax left right away. He had already gone through a depression and would not allow himself to go into another.

While angrily scrubbing his nails clean with a brush, during his bath, he tried not to remember the last words he exchanged with his wife. That woman he didn't have time to get to know in depth.

"It's going to be alright… It's going to be alright... We're going to get out of this," he had said, clutching her into his embrace. She was cold and limp.

"Glax," she whispered, her voice breathless. "I'm dying, Glax."

Even without medical knowledge, he knew she was.

"Thank you for saving my life." He meant every word. Although he felt jolted by the sudden plot twist. She was dying because she went out of her way to save him, and he couldn't do anything for her.

She turned her neck so she could look at him, and smiled. All Glax focused on was her beautiful, big blue eyes. Everything else was a mess.

The general smiled.

"See you without the mask ... At least that."

He had touched his own face, realizing he had lost his mask at some point. Glax had only understood the importance of it when he realized she passed out again. Forever.

He blinked.

'Seriously, I want to wake up from this nightmare.'

Now, in the small pool, he was angry. Everyone else could think that everything had worked out, Sillabot had been defeated. But for him, it wasn't a victory.

That pathetic and slow monster, dragging like a rusty crane, clumsy and hungry... Only that monster had taken the lives of many. What if Sillabot had gotten to the point it planned? With better parts, more speed, better energy efficiency...

Glax was sure it wouldn't have been possible to defeat Sillabot.

A hot meal has eased at least one of his problems.

Laertes and Rasmus entered the room unannounced, just as the servant removed his meal plates. The two men carried a huge chest, which they placed next to Glax.

"What is it?"

"It was your wife's," said Laertes. "Rasmus told me you got hurt in Armorion and lost your memory or something. That explains a lot."

"To be honest, I remember little. I don't know what will happen next, for example. I was supposed to arrive in Echelion with Chriseis..."

The older man studied him for a moment, before saying,

"It will be a problem, going back to your wife's house taking her corpse... But that's how the gods wanted it. There is nothing to do but accept it as fate."

"What do you think I should do? Come back home?"

Rasmus shook his head as a response, and Laertes crossed his arms.

"It would be an offense if it comes from you. Both families will be disappointed and ashamed. Perhaps your father-in-law will send you home and consider the marriage annulled. I think it's possible, but not the most probable. You are the champion of Armorion, and can replace his daughter for him."

"I'm not sure it's what I want, though."

"At least take Lady Chriseis to her father, Glax. Jolla and I will be there after all, "Rasmus added.

Laertes just snorted, not giving a shit for what Rasmus said, and continued,

"But, according to tradition, you are now part of their family, and the Krotons ... You may find it so comforting and glorious that Lady Chriseis died so heroically… but perhaps not so impactful that her husband survived without a scratch…"

Glax may have had to face the rejection of his new family because of the stupid way in which Chriseis died.

Perhaps it would be better not to comment on how she, in full armor, saved him from a fall and the blast of a thunder.

She died from a fucking lightning.

This would certainly offend a family that seemed to take warrior tradition seriously. Glax could understand that, since he was basically a nerd with a ton of useless culture XP acquired in games and all kinds of fiction.

"I'm going to talk to my father-in-law."

Laertes nodded, still looking at him with concern, but then shrugged. "I need to supervise repairs at Medeia. Our boat won't be able to leave this damn island for a few days… Even that mountain of garbage was more than I expected. "

"I thank you for everything you've done, Captain Laertes. I feel indebted."

"Whatever you do, don't die for useless things and you'll be thanking me enough. We will meet soon, I'm sure of it. I bet there will be many letters from wherever you are to Valosia."

That got the first smile of Glax's lips that day. Laertes called out,

"Rasmus, can I get the helping hand of a Rhoas? I need someone strong, and willing..."

"A Rhoas? Where's a Rho... Oh, me? Yes, I am a Rhoas now. Of course, Captain. We are going to repair those masts." His friend followed the captain. He had not much choice after abusing his goodwill by getting a free ride with lame excuses.

Glax put more oil in the lamp and brought it close to the chest. The feeling of touching the belongings of someone who had died was strange, but he already had some experience with it.

Lifting the lid, he found many unexpected things.

The pair of masks that were on top of everything else caught his eye before anything else.

Masks for him.

One had a silver metal exterior, cast like the visible part of his face out from a mold. It was pretty accurate, by the way. A very skilled artisan had certainly crafted it.

But when?

The other was more like the one he used, and this was the one he tried first.

Were they gifts she intended to give him, in exchange for the 'starred sky' he promised her?

Oh, thinking about it would cause heartburn. He already felt bad enough.

Among other objects, clothes, jewelry, military items, money, his hand caught a small scroll. He wouldn't have suspected anything had it not been for the outside of the parchment to be dirty.

Glax was about to open the parchment when he noticed someone behind him.

"You have soft footprints, Ma'm..."

"Shhhh… You need to relax a little… You need to forget…"

Her soft hands touched his aching shoulders, and he allowed himself to enjoy the comforting, warm touch, putting the parchment among the things again.

Then the widow Damastios' hands came down to the middle of his bare back, and caressed the shoulder blades and ribs while her lips played on the back of Glax's neck.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the moment, as the heavy rain fell on the roof.

Like that other morning, she rode him skillfully until the two were exhausted and sated, and he forgot for a moment anything else.

She left him in his bed without a word, but he couldn't really sleep after that.

However, before dawn, an alarm sounded across the island.