Relief of Truths

Outside, the party had to stop halfway to the town to lay Tunda and Sarale to rest on bedding while they waited for one of them to wake up.

KARMA:

"Do you think they'll be okay?"

Karma kneels next to Tunda with worry and confusion.

KARMA:

"This has never happened to him before. He just blew up in a fit and collapsed."

Aktlass stood by Naleth to keep a close watch on him while Loonu yawled and whimpered for their master. Vajor's ears touched his shoulders as he sat next to Sarale observing the way she breathed heavy and even. A slight hum coming from her slightly parted lips. Then he spies Tunda's shallow breathing and deathlike pallor nervously.

VAJOR:

"Should we try an' wake 'em up?"

NALETH:

"I wouldn't count on that. Sarale is dealing with something from the wanderlust fae here, yes? so she's most likely fine. but young Tunda's sudden outburst was quite the shock. along with the corrupted mana we all saw escape him, he may be under a spell of sorts that might have caused that fit. who knows what it could do to him if he was forced out of his trance."

Karma scratches at their head in frustration.

KARMA:

"ah~ what do we do? we're almost there, but we don't have a way to carry them while they rest."

ATKLASS:

"Unlucky for us that most of those wagons at the checkpoints were broken..."

Aktlass growls and he glares at Naleth.

Naleth holds his hands up in surrender.

NALETH:

"well don't look at me. I only made a few for the forest."

Karma:

"I guess we just wait?"

Aktlass:

"What about the fae?"

Naleth:

"I doubt he'll want to see anyone other than these two."

Vajor's ears perk up.

VAJOR:

"hold up. That might actually work. I'm not really sure how to call him, but I can try. Uhm… John? Ya there?"

John hangs from a tree behind Vajor with an instant answer.

JOHN:

"what up?"

Naleth squeals and scampers back to the other side of the road in panic. Karma and Aktlass look at him as if he was being overly dramatic. John ignores Naleth's dramatics.

VAJOR:(ducks)

"...!? What tha?! That was fast."

JOHN:

"you called jolly pink?"

Vajor's ears flinch as he glances at Naleth and snickers before looking back at John and shaking his head.

VAJOR:

"I've got a question about Tunda. What happened to him?"

JOHN:

"... he's in a comatose with Sarale right now. Though his situation is vastly different from those two's comatose-visit, he's fine."

Vajor's ears twitch as he sighs in relief.

VAJOR:

"that's good ta hear. It's cause yer a dream fae innit?"

JOHN:(proudly smiles)

"that it is!"

KARMA:

"okay. so he's just helping her with that weird spot in her garden then?"

JOHN:

"yup."

AKTLASS:

"why is it different then?"

JOHN:

"that one I don't know how to explain. I can only tell you that he had some kind of demonic residue left in him that was causing him to have waking dreams and nightmares similar to Dovely. He entered the world in a weird way because of it."

VAJOR:(head tilt)

"Dovely, that's cute. So what yer sayin' is when Dove broke that curse on Tunda something was left behind. That must have been the corrupt mana we saw leave him as he passed out."

John cringes his nose in discomfort.

JOHN:

"... Yeah~ about that… the thing is I know that mana is the exact same as the one contaminating the forest. I don't know how though."

VAJOR:

"Wait.. is that tha reason ya didn't like Dove? Because the demon she has trapped inside her has tha same energy as what's contaminatin' yer forest?"

KARMA:

"then that would mean... why did you favor him so much in comparison if that's the case?"

KARMA:

"I just found out about it for one. and two he did me a solid sending back the map as an apology for wrecking one of my camps."

KARMA:

"ah."

Vajor's head tilts as he hums.

VAJOR:

"so tha day Dove ran away. When ya came out of tha tent… ya weren't tryin' ta hurt her we're ya? It felt like somethin' big flew past before ya came out."

JOHN:

"That was a shadow the demon planted on her to keep her mind in disarray. it's what made her so uncomfortably negative with her shit jokes."

KARMA:

"You heard that huh?"

JOHN:

"Yeah no shit. fucking gave me the creeps."

VAJOR:

"I don't think she was jokin' when she said that. So.. uhm… is that shadow gonna come back or anythin'? Wha' do we need ta look out for?"

JOHN:

"You, jolly pink, are fine as you are with her with keeping her comfy in your cuddles. the issue is that I'm the only one that can see when it tries to arrive and bother her."

VAJOR:

"so wha are we supposed ta do if it comes back? I don't think any amount of affection is gonna keep her happy if tha thing gets her again."

KARMA:

"and you obviously don't want to follow us."

JOHN:

"obviously. However, there is a way for it to stay off her. and that is to give the one who is fae touched the sight of fae."

KARMA:

"who in the...??? Tunda??"

JOHN:

"That's right. He's the only one among you that can take the eyes of a fae because he is, like her, an elven origin that is closest to a fae. I really do wish I could give it to you though, Jolly pink."

VAJOR:(sad)

"yeah… I can see some spirits. Most of tha ones tha hang around her actually. Tha one though… I got nothin' and Firbolgs are closer kin ta giants than our fae ancestors."

JOHN:

"Right. And him being a shadar-kai half-elf allows him to actually see more than you thanks to that bloodline. Which in turn will let him even communicate with them over time."

NALETH:

"A shadar-kai? an elf blessed by the goddess of the dead?"

JOHN:

"Yes, he is blessed by death. That means he can not only see spirits and ghosts in their colorful light forms. He can see all forms of their nature as well. That includes shadows, wraiths, and the source of a poltergeist. He can see all forms of energy from spirits to fae."

Aktlass quickly starts turning pale as he gulps down the fear in his chest from hearing about ghosts and spirits. Karma notices his growing panic and takes his hand to calm him down.

JOHN:

"I'm still pretty confused as to why he had that corrupted energy in him like that. it's unnerving and I think it's stunted his mana growth on a spiritual level, so he can't see as much as he's supposed to."

KARMA:

"So are you gonna give him the sight?"

JOHN:

"hell yeah. if he needs it now that is."

Vajor rubs the back of his neck and thinks before shaking his head.

VAJOR:

"Do ya think tha bitch Patrice's slave mark had anythin' ta do with his stunted growth?"

JOHN:

"who???"

KARMA:

"urgh. I don't doubt it."

NALETH:

"Patrice the high elf witch? She had a contract with the fiend, Bishnar. He's the one that gave her the power to control and enslave minds."

The party and John instantly glares at Naleth for his sudden information drop, making him squeal again in panic.

VAJOR:(sigh)

"tha would make sense… unfortunately. Bishnar… why does that sound so familiar?"

Aktlass growls with a rattle in his throat.

AKTLASS:

"Ssss~. that rat..."

KARMA:

"He's that bitch that wouldn't shut up when we got to the druid city, before we had that talk with Tunda..."

John's eyes start to turn black as his figure starts to hunch without changing his height.

JOHN:

"... more demons to deal with..."

Recognition dawns on Vajor's face as he flexes his shoulders.

VAJOR:

"Tha's right. Makes me wonder if he's tied ta tha demon in Dove somehow."

KARMA:

"ooh~ imma have fun~ torturing him!"

VAJOR:(wicked chuckle)

"I'll break his kneecaps so he can't run away."

back in the dream, John returns to find the two wild children sleeping in a mess of mud back to back with peaceful faces. Sarale squirms in her sleep and mumbles under her breath as her brows furrowed in confusion.

SARALE:(sleepy mutters)

"bees shouldn't drink champagne."

She settles again with a sigh and snuggles closer to Tunda. John snickers at her random sleep talking and goes to wake her. He kneels down in front of Sarale and shakes her shoulder gently.

JOHN:

"Hey, tiny dovely. your friends are waiting for you. You need to let your brother go too."

Sarale whimpers as she squirms and her amethyst eyes open to look up at John. She blinks a few times then smiles and sits with a stretch and yawn before hugging John unexpectedly.

SARALE:(tiredly)

"Morning, carrot top."

John's entire body locks up as his face twists into annoyance and he groans from hearing her nickname for him.

JOHN:

"... ooh~ you lucky I like you."

He picks her up and grabs hold of Tunda before he falls and carries him as well.

JOHN:

"Come on. Back to reality with you, missy. You need to let him go."

Sarale rubs her eyes with a sleepy smile.

SARALE:

"I like you too. You're my friend."

She begins to wake outside the dream realm and her eyes flutter open as she sits up and yawns. Her brows furrow as she looks around. Naleth was a fixed distance from the party as he sat nearby watching Karma and Vajor scheming something vicious while Aktlass was snickering while watching her wake. John was nowhere to be found. She blinks at Aktlass and tilts her head before looking down at Tunda and shaking his shoulder.

SARALE:

"Hey, bro, wake up."

John appears next to her and taps her shoulder.

JOHN:

"Hey."

Sarale looks back at him.

SARALE:

"hmm? What?"

Aktlass, Naleth, Karma, and Vajor stop everything in dead silence as soon as they hear John's voice as if they didn't even notice him leave or return.

JOHN:

"Leave him alone. He'll wake up in a minute. I just needed you up."

Sarale rubs her eyes before and yawns again.

SARALE:

"Why?"

JOHN:

"So he can leave the dream himself. He wasn't going to, otherwise."

Her brows furrowed in confusion.

SARALE:

"Why? Everyone else did."

John looks at Sarale as if she was asking a dumb question then sighs.

JOHN:

"... He's more like you. which means he won't wake up like everyone else. He's a lot less guarded than you are, so he needs to look for someone."

Sarale hums before sitting back and resting her head on her knees sleepily. 

SARALE:

"Then we wait."

A few minutes pass and Tunda's eyes ease open with a slow blink as he takes a deep sigh as if his heart had stopped. He looks to his side to find Sarale watching him.

SARALE:(smiles)

"Morning, sunshine."

Vajor's ears twitch as his brain short circuits from Sarale's morning voice. His ears melting against his shoulders with a goofy grin. Tunda stares at her for a moment with a cringed look on his face only to have his eyes grow wide with sudden rage. Sarale tilts her head, her expression shifting as if listening to something uncomfortable, before going to stand and ignoring it. Tunda sits up, pulls her back into a hug and grabs at the face of a spirit that came into existence as soon as he took hold of it. his eyes wide with rage and agitation as the spirit flails with a muffled scream of pain and fear as he grabs it by its jaw. His new gray tipped black claw had a strong grip on the spirit's face.

Sarale squeaks when he yanks her back with wide eyes before turning to look at what had his attention. Her shock turned into confusion.

SARALE:

"Wait.. you can see them?"

Tunda squeezes the spirit's face as it continues to scream in his hand. Aktlass' jaw had dropped to the ground as he held onto Karma in terror as he watched the spirit manifest in Tunda's grasp.

TUNDA:(snarl)

"I can hear it's fucking ass too. Just had to wake me up and have me chose violence..."

Vajor's eyes narrow at the spirit as he crosses his arms, his tail ticking behind him in annoyance. Sarale pulls away from Tunda's hug and watches the spirit before looking at Tunda, ignoring the spirit entirely.

SARALE:

"You'll get used to them… I have. I can pretty much ignore the little ones now.. the big one is a bit harder to, though. When it starts talking I swear I can feel it crawling under my skin and my head feels like it's cracking open."

Tunda's grip on her back suddenly tightens as he listens to her words. The screams come to an abrupt silence, causing the entire forest to fall as quiet as a graveyard, only to be broken by a heavy wind in the moment. Tunda huffs from his nose and lets Sarale go. The other dark spirits race through the trees away from the party, letting a comforting warmth envelope their surroundings. Even the rest of the party could feel the difference. Tunda stands and rolls his shoulders with an icy crackle echoing from his back and neck. Tunda was not having a good morning.

Sarale stands and stretches before she dusts herself off.

SARALE:

"Shall we head out then? Or do we need to talk first?"

Naleth:

"um... first of all. I am horrified and don't understand why. second, how did he do that, and why?"

SARALE:

"Wait, can you not see them?"

NALETH:

"... yes, I can, but I can't hear them."

Sarale sighs and crosses her arms.

SARALE:

"That's why though. So the little ones are like gnats. Annoying, but easy to ignore when you're in the right headspace. They're a constant reminder of every negative thing I've ever heard or thought about myself. Pretty much they're just there to annoy and keep me on edge. The big one though... it feeds on negative emotions and not just my own. It doesn't feel because it was never living, just a manifestation of hatred and anger. As it grows stronger it suffocates. A constant reminder of how worthless you feel or how much of a burden you are, how much of a failure you are and how impossible you are to love. It makes you feel that way every waking moment, regardless of how hard the people around you try to show you otherwise and eventually you're just ready to give up on everything. Then it tells you everyone would be better off without you and by the time it gets there you're too tired to fight back, so you believe it."

Karma looks at Sarale while they comforted Aktlass who was shivering from fear and frustration with himself. Naleth looks at her for a while and sighs.

NALETH:

"quite the disturbing notion... it makes me wonder why the fae... John, said that Tunda was just like you?"

Tunda shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath in then sighs out a deep vocal hum before opening his eyes again.

TUNDA:

"... I was told to take the talkin' like a bitch. I beat the bitch talkin'. Any good that did me, save for a clipped ear. ain't stop me from beatin' more talkin' bitches."

Sarale's eyes glint as she side-eyes Tunda with a slight smirk.

SARALE:

"I admire you for that."

She turns around to walk towards Vajor, Aktlass, and Karma with a sigh.

SARALE:

"Unfortunately, I wasn't awarded that opportunity until much later in life and learned just recently that it's… fun… to destroy the things that destroy you."

Tunda smiles and pats Sarale's shoulder.

TUNDA:

"You ain't alone. I had to learn the hard way too."

He points to his clipped ear and goes to pet Loonu as she purrs and leans into his touch and care.

TUNDA:

"It's the reason I have PBA... the reason I laugh in fits..."

NALETH: "PBA???"

Tunda pulls a large torso of a deer out of his bag of holding and lets Loonu take it to the woods to eat.

TUNDA:

"Pseudobulbar Affect. I got serious damage up here that causes me to laugh from any extreme negative emotion. panic, frustration, anger, fear, sorrow... loneliness. like losing a part of your brain that's supposed to make you cry makes you laugh like a maniac instead. and it's not easy to get into control when it starts."

KARMA: "That's why you need a way to relax your nerves to stop it."

TUNDA: "yup."

Vajor watches Sarale stare past them into the forest before turning around and walking the opposite direction. He looks behind him, but sees nothing and stands to approach her.

VAJOR:

"tha'… actually explains a lot. So is there anyways ta defeat these shadows? Make 'em go away for good? How are they even created?"

TUNDA:

"shadows are a manifestation of negative energy. I've had my fair share of a good dozen encounters grownin' up. They can be quelled but not removed so easily."

NALETH: "most shadows can even kill their *creators*. so it's best to keep them in line if nothing else... less you end up in my shoes at best. or Sarale's plotted future at its worst."

KARMA: "And we're not letting that happen to her."

Sarale watches Ithildin limp into the clearing. His tail straight as he sits in front of her and paws at her leg with a low whine. She sits and motions for him to roll over taking his paw and pulling briars from between his paw pads.

SARALE:

"Mine is a bit different though, it's the direct influence of the demon and thus she can control it in some ways. The more it feeds the stronger she gets. I also know exactly when it was created."

Vajor tilts his head and he comes to crouch next to her and scratch Ithildin's chin causing the dire wolf to wag his tail happily.

VAJOR:

"when was that?"

Sarale stops and looks up at him.

SARALE:

"the day I drank an entire tincture of Midnight Tears."

Vajor's eyes widen as his ears fall.

VAJOR:

"I.. dove.. that."

Aktlass quickly straightens up and pulls his cursed ax from his belt ready to kill, causing Karma to look at him in confusion.

Tunda looks at Sarale with a twitchy eye before looking at Naleth to watch him look away in agony. Tunda suddenly starts hiccupping into giggles and gasps of laughter as tears fall from his eyes. his laughs quickly started to sound like screams of cries from pain. The shadow starts to make its way to the party when Tunda spots it moving at the corner of his eye and he swipes at it in a fit of wild rage as he lets the laughter take over. The shadow screeches in pain from the sudden scratch it got and races off back into the forest in fear.

Sarale stands quickly and rushes to Tunda, pulling him into a hug and casting calm emotions.

SARALE:

"hey, shh~ it's okay. Just breathe. It's in the past and I haven't felt that way in a very long time."

She leans back and smiles at him gently as Tunda starts to calm down.

SARALE:

"the gods do have a sense of humor though. It was the day I met Sardan."

Vajor falls back on his rear and stares in disbelief as tears well up in his eyes, too stunned to speak. Tunda holds her close as the tears continue to fall for a moment as his face twists from the agony in his heart. He takes a few deep breaths but doesn't let her go. Vajor approaches them and hugs them both as his brow crumbles in sorrow. Tunda has a mild panic show on his face before nuzzling his face into Vajor's fluffy chest to hide his tears like a bashful child. Vajor stiffens slightly before relaxing and hugging them both tighter. 

Naleth makes his way over to join them when he gets pulled from behind with a small hand, held back at the chest by a claw, and face planted into a large pink palm to keep him from getting any closer to the group hug. No one trusted him at that moment. Vajor lowers his palm, wrapping his arm around the elves and slowly turning them as a group away from Naleth. Naleth sees a glint of red behind Vajor and looks to find John staring daggers at him with an obvious spite, as if he had claimed the position of guardian. his electric-blue eyes were surrounded in a black fill as he watched him. Naleth panics and backs away quickly to hide behind a tree.

NALETH:

"N-now that's just not fair!! He gives her a kiss and I can't have one measly hug!?"

Sarale's jaw drops as she pulls away anger flaring in her eyes as she pulls Tunda behind her and glaring at Naleth.

SARALE:

"Excuse me, bitch! It was not a kiss! He was saving my life. I was drowning and hurt from fighting that fucking kelpie… if he hadn't forced that potion down me I'd have died!"

Tunda's eyes pop in panic as he looks up at Vajor and goes back to holding Sarale as he panics through his words. Karma raises their hand with an uninterested tone.

KARMA:

"I can vouch."

Vajor looks down at Tunda and raises a brow curiously.

VAJOR:

"Why ya lookin' so nervous? Ya saved her life. I trust ya, little brother."

Tunda sighs and glares at Naleth with a growl from nearly giving him a heart attack. Naleth simple looks away. Sarale crosses her arms over her chest and sighs.

SARALE:

"Naleth you know I love you like the father I wished I had, but that was low even for your sassy ass."

NALETH:

"Well I didn't know you were keeping it a secret. It's not like he meant anything by it."

KARMA:

"Not in the way you look at him, ya ol' nasty."

NALETH:

"Rude!"

Sarale gives Naleth a wild eyed look of disbelief as her hands go to her hips.

SARALE:

"And you phrased it that way why? Especially since you knew he didn't mean anything by it. I get you thinking he's sexy, but leave my baby bro alone, he's off limits, Naleth."

NALETH:

"... I'm mean, you're not wrong, but I can't help what I like."

Sarale:

"And look where that got you."

Naleth looks at her blankly then smiles with obvious madness.

NALETH:

"... I can't help what I like. After all, I'd like nothing more than to see your fathers head roll to your feet."

Sarale stares at him before sighing.

SARALE:

"We both deserve that retribution."

JOHN:

"Can we still all anonymously agree that 'that' is not allowed within twenty feet of the diamond anymore?"

Sarale looks back at John then at Naleth.

SARALE:

"you can ride on Ithildin. I'll continue to ride with Vajor and Tunda keeps Loonu." 

VAJOR:(ear twitch)

"Stay near us and if anythin' happens I'll defend ya."

SARALE:

"WE'll defend you."

Vajor raises a brow and smirks down at Sarale.

KARMA/JOHN:

"I'm sorry, who's been struggling to get that one word out since recently?"

SARALE:(huffs)

"shut the hell up. I'm trying."

John smiles wickedly and Karma snickers happily. Sarale crosses her arms and pouts as Vajor chuckles.

VAJOR:

"Will tha work, Naleth?"

Naleth looks at the direwolf, Ithildin, then back at Sarale and the others.

NALETH:

"... sure, I suppose. Keep the fae happy."

Ithildin, still laying on his back, kicks lightly at the air as he looks over at the group with his tongue hanging out and wagging his tail happily. Naleth goes to Ithildin and waits for him to get up. Ithildin rolls over and stands up, his head hitting at Naleth's chest as he waits for Naleth to climb on his back. He yawns revealing rows of sharp teeth before panting happily. Sarale pauses before walking up to Naleth and pulling her dagger from her boot. She flips to blade and offers the hilt to Naleth.

SARALE:

"In case you need a weapon."

Naleth opens his robe, exposing the daggers that lined part of the inside of it. He was missing quite a load.

NALETH:

"... I'll take it. could use something less disposable. I'll be sure to give it back once we reach town."

SARALE:(shrugs)

"Doesn't matter if you do or don't. I just wanted to make sure it got back to you."

Naleth looks at the dagger with a dead expression. His eyes filled with cold rage.

NALETH:

"... Where did you get this?"

SARALE:

"I stole it from his chambers after I found out the truth. I wanted to kill him with it. Now, I have no reason to go back. I thought you could use it instead."

his expression doesn't change as he puts the dagger in a special pocket and takes something else out of it and hands it to her.

NALETH:

"You still need to carry something yourself."

He gives a simple small hilt with no blade.

NALETH:

"Your grandmother gave this to me when I first became part of the kingdom..."

He puts a dark form of mana in the hilt and a small black blade appears out of it shaped the exact same as the one Naleth received from her.

NALETH:

"You can put any type of mana in it, and it will take the shape of your soul as a weapon."

The blade vanishes again.

NALETH:

"... this should have been yours after teaching you how to use it... as per her instructions. It can be as small as a dagger like mine... or it may be as great as your friend's greatsword."

He gets onto Ithildin and holds onto him carefully before smiling at her as if a weighted guilt was lifted from his shoulders.

NALETH:

"Now that trades are out of the way, let's be on our way."

Sarale blinks at the hilt before tucking it away with a hum and bowing to Naleth.

SARALE:

"Thank you.. for keeping her memory alive."

She stands straight and smiles up at him.

SARALE:

"and for being the father I needed. I never got to tell you that."

Sarale doesn't wait for an answer as she joins Vajor. He helps her mount the horse before mounting behind her and settling in to wait for the others. Everyone was mounted and ready to go. Tunda peaks back at John who waves at him and drops through the ground and vanishes.

The party finally made it to the edge of the town, the entry was quiet and nearly lifeless. the violet sunset cast over it as if to tell the world it was merely sleeping. Everyone was mounted and ready to go. Tunda peaks back at John who waves at him and drops through the ground and vanishes. The party finally made it to the edge of the town, the entry was quiet and nearly lifeless. the violet sunset cast over it as if to tell the world it was merely sleeping. Vajor looks around and his ears twitch.

VAJOR:

"this place looks like a ghost town."

Naleth glances around as he hops off of Ithildin and removes his cloak. The belt lining the cloak slides out with all of his daggers and wraps around his waist and shoulders before he lights the cloak on fire and it vanishes.

NALETH:

"We should find a room soon before we get any more dead eyes in our direction."

SARALE:(nods)

"I have to agree. I wouldn't mind us investigating what's going on here in the morning."

Karma looks around and steps closer to Aktlass from the discomfort of being stared at with such dead eyes.

KARMA:

"... honestly I think I can guess."

Karma glances at Naleth who looks away in denial.

NALETH:

"I only received the bodies to use. I didn't actively gather any. I'm not that immoral."

SARALE:

"I fear the same, I would still like to investigate. Maybe we can find out more and put a stop to it. This is just… heartbreaking."

Tunda hops off of Loonu and puts her into his pendant as he looks around with a scoff as a smirk creeps on his face. He covers his mouth and massages his cheeks as he walks forward.

TUNDA:

"The inn for us is this way. looks like it's still running at least."

Vajor helps Sarale dismount and they follow after Tunda.