Chapter 39

"-so anyways that's how I found this gun at the bottom of a mine!" Teach proudly said, holding up what looked like a heavily modified flintlock pistol.

Ryder had finally found the pirate in what seemed to be a lounge of sorts, plenty of chairs and a sofa were the main lounging spots, then there was a surprisingly big fireplace that looked like it could easily heat up the whole room.

Teach seemed to be recounting his exploits to any who would listen, which at the moment was Melia, Laurence and Oto.

It was a surprising scene to say the least, but it did give Ryder the slightest bit of hope that things would get better, especially if Teach was already integrating into the group as well as he did.

It didn't take long for Teach to notice him, stopping mid story as he did so.

"Lord Ryder!" he happily called out, placing the flintlock pistol down before waving him over. "Came to hear one of my stories, did you?"

"Not right now, sorry." Ryder politely replies, what Shade had said before still lingering in his mind. "Though I did want to talk with you alone for a bit, if you don't mind that is."

Everyone seems a little surprised by this, Oto and Melia seem a bit suspicious of this, yet no one objects.

Laurence, upon hearing that, simply nods and stands up.

"Well, I thank you for the delightful stories, but I believe that is our cue to leave." he calmly states while looking at both Oto and Melia.

Neither one wants to leave but, with no choice in the matter, they stand up and follow Laurence out of the room.

"Take a seat, I imagine we'll be here for a bit." Teach casually remarks while putting his flintlock pistol away now. "After all, seems like you've got some questions you want answered."

With a heavy sigh and confused mind, Ryder takes a seat on a free chair across from Teach. "That obvious huh?"

Teach nods solemnly. "Aye, that it is. You've got the look of a Delver in your eyes after all."

"A Delver? What's that?" Ryder asks, though that same fog in his mind from before begins to stir around, as if he'd known but just forgotten what it was.

"Delvers are researchers who explore the deepest depths of our world, finding answers to things we don't know." the pirate begins, almost seeming to recount his own memories with these types of people. "You usually can tell them by a certain look in their eyes… no matter how well they're put together, or how deeply they explore themselves, they're still lost." he points at Ryder now. "I can see it in your eyes, you're more whole than you were before but you're still lost, lost in this dream of never ending twists and turns."

His words hit dead on, stunning Ryder and leaving him at a loss for words as he gazed at Teach.

Upon collecting himself all he can say is. "You're more perceptive than I would've thought."

"I need to be, can't be the best damn pirate in all of the world if I'm not perceptive!" Teach jokes with a carefree smile on his face. "Now then, what's troubling you?"

Ryder finds himself hesitating for a moment, rethinking this entire thing.

Would it really be okay to push forward with this, to ask about Alice's family behind her back?

He'd connected with her, sure, but that moment is still hazy.

Not all the details are clear… and he needed to know what awaited him going down this path.

So, he took a deep breath and began.

"I want you to tell me everything you know about the Wolfsbane family." Ryder said, voice only faltering slightly as he did so.

Teach seemed surprised as he heard this, his eyes widening a bit and sitting there in silence for a moment before sighing. "What brought this on? I figured you already trusted her if you recruited her."

"It's not that I don't trust her… it's just complicated." Ryder meekly replied, trying to make sense of his own rampant thoughts and questions. "Shade said some things that made me worry, that and there's this strange feeling I've had since I looked into Alice's soul-"

"YOU MELDED WITH HER?!" Teach shouted out of pure shock, unable to contain any emotion in that moment.

His voice boomed loud enough that it shook Ryder and made his ears ring for a moment.

Ryder covered his ringing ears for a moment, letting out a slight hiss of pain before replying. "Not so loud!"

"Right, sorry." Teach composes himself before sighing and shaking his head. "Still, no wonder you're all kinds of weird right now, you're still being affected by the melding and that lord hunter's words."

"Yeah, and it's why I need to know more about her family, their history and traditions, along with anything else you can think of." Ryder replies in a hushed but rather serious tone. "Please."

After mulling it over for a moment Teach relents, shaking his head slightly. "Alright, but this stays between us, alright? This is the kind of lineage that you don't want to make an enemy of."

Ryder nods, the anticipation making him worry more and more as he awaits the story.

With a sigh Teach leans back in his seat, scratching his beard slightly. "Well, where to start then…"

The Wolfsbane lineage is one that has been around since the beginning of Terminus, back in the early days when the continent was rife with dangers beyond comprehension.

In this time the mortal races struggled to survive, only being brought to greatness through the help of Primordial Man and those who served under him, among them was the first Wolfsbane.

A Woman so fearsome and knowledgeable of all matter of beasts that she was thought to be a goddess, her silver sword seeming like a divine light to those in need.

Yet she was nothing more than another mortal, one who had the willpower to never give up, to always learn and adapt to the situation at hand.

Once her time came, she was embraced by death like anyone else, the only thing she left behind was her silver sword… a blade that held her story engraved in its blade.

Thus the Wolfsbane's first major tradition was born.

Each hunter in the family would craft a silver blade at the end of their life, engraving it in a way that tells their story, so they could be forever remembered and lead the next generation even after death.

Though every blade is hidden away, only those of the Wolfsbane heritage know its location.

"Wait, silver blades are what now?!" Ryder asks in a panic, cutting off Teach's story at that moment.

"Divine symbols and essentially epitaphs." Teach calmly responds, clarifying the point further. "That sword Alice is carrying can either be just a hunting blade, or her epitaph."

Ryder leans back in his seat, absolutely floored by this revelation.

Had Alice accepted her death, is that why she was encased in ice in the first place?

Was she letting Reckham take over in hopes someone would come along to fully kill him?

No, that didn't make sense… not fully anyways.

Just what was going on here?

"You said that was the first tradition, right? Well what's the second?" he calmly asks, trying to maintain his composure and keep his thoughts collected.

"Ah that one, well we'll have to skip over some stuff to get to it." Teach mumbles a bit as he says this, trying to remember exactly what it was. "If that's fine with you then I'll skip to that point."

"I'm fine with that, so please, go on ahead." Ryder replies, getting ready to take in whatever new information may come his way.

Teach clears his throat, thinks for a moment and then resumes the story.

At a much later date in time the Wolfsbanes became more important than they would ever could've imagined, for they were chosen to be one of the balance bringers.

Warriors gifted with a special blade meant to help keep balance in this world, so that neither light or dark could run rampant.

One family had been gifted Dawnseeker, a blade able to carve through darkness with ease, bringing light to all in need.

The Wolfsbanes however were given the arduous task of wielding Shadowbringer, a blade that devoured light and ate through even the holiest of entities with ease.

However, due to the nature of this weapon, it was viewed as a cursed blade and any who wielded it went against the Creator herself.

Thus the Wolfsbanes became known not as a proud family who kept balance, but rather a group of interlopers planning to strike down the gods.

Yet they did not cry or plead for others to see them any differently, no, they carried the blade and kept all of Terminus safe no matter how they were viewed.

They performed their task with a heavy heart and the fiercest wills known to the gods, the only time their wills could be shaken is when it was time to pass the burden on.

When the sword calls to a new host then it is their turn to carry the burden, no matter how one would wish otherwise.

"Wait, but-" Ryder stops and thinks for a moment, recalling all the memories he'd seen while connected to Alice.

In the few later memories he'd seen he saw no such blade, could it have been too late?

Could that sword have already been passed onto the next person?

Was that why Alice had succumbed to Reckham and let him take over?

"The answers are likely far more complicated than you think, dear champion of mine." Yuria's voice sweetly spoke in his, surprising him and making him practically jump out of his chair in surprise.

"Yuria?!" Ryder yells out, completely surprised by the fact she was actually there. "Where were you? What happened to you?!"

"Oh nothing much, I got separated from everyone due to that daemon's blizzard and the reality warping of Alice's dream." Yuria calmly states, now hopping into the chair to take Ryder's place. "Simply put, while everyone else was trying to stop the blizzard, I was preparing for the real battle."

"How? Everything was frozen over!" Teach remarks, narrowing his eyes a bit as he glares at her.

"Every spellcaster has their secrets, it's my job to know and yours to figure out on your own." she cheekily replies, now leaning halfway off the chair with her usual mischievous smile. "Don't worry though big man, I'm not betraying anyone here, I just made our lives easier is all."

"And how did you do that?" Ryder asks, locking eyes with her and seemingly surprising her with this.

"Well, if you really need to know…" She begins, happily looking towards the crackling fire now, her mischievous smile only seeming to grow in size.

"I got help from a friend."