Chapter 17 - Koska Village III

Koska Village, Nespia, Therian Continent

"Kid. Are you stupid or are you stupid?" Doc asked. "Still, somehow you didn't trigger the other spell…" She mumbled about something. Perhaps it was about whatever it was making Ulfric feel so light. He didn't question it.

Ulfric was sitting in a chair on the first floor. His right arm had been wrapped thoroughly in bandages as well as his shoulder. The flesh on his left arm and both legs were slightly decayed by the shadow monster, but it was hardly enough to be noticeable let alone serious. He had a very depressed look on his face. Since it turned out that Doc was the one who'd put out the request, he didn't think he should've had to endure such a scolding.

In the background, Julie and Ingram simply hovered. His brother had bothered to get out of bed just to watch the spectacle as Ulfric was healed and yelled at. Truly, his siblings loved him very much, and by that he meant that they loved to watch him suffer very much. This only contributed to his dissatisfied face as he said absolutely nothing in response to Doc. Like an animal, he thought that if he simply didn't engage, she would maybe stop bothering him. In his head, he went over various mistakes he'd made. First things first, he swore to buy shoulder pads before leaving town.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me!?" Doc yelled.

"I'm an adventurer, Doc. We get hurt. Would you rather I died down in that dungeon?"

"I'd have rathered you stayed in the damn village like I'd told you!"

"Whatever, mother."

Julie, who'd been inspecting the gemstone, stepped forward then. Various theories had gone around about it, leading Julie to give an in depth inspection to its magic in a way Ulfric could not. Being the one who put up the request, even Doc was interested in this situation. Seeing that Julie had something to say, the woman immediately turned her attention away from Ulfric, much to the boy's relief.

"There's no mistaking this kind of thing. It's the work of the great mage Icaria," she said. Ulfric recalled this name immediately. It was included in just about every history book ever made. The great mage Icaria was said to be the most powerful mage to ever live. His exploits affected every facet of history from the dawn of recorded history to his legacy in the modern day. It was his actions that caused the gods to destroy Elfhaven on that fateful night.

The day after the destruction of Elfhaven marked the start of the new calendar. Before that, it was what is now known as the old era, or the age of Icaria. The elf Icaria had lived for thousands of years prior, aiding humankind in unthinkable ways. He brought water to deserts, sealed ancient demons and erected barriers that still stood to this day. Most importantly, in this scenario, he was a trickster. He created powerful dungeons and filled them with treasure for adventurers to conquer. Icaria knew he would never truly be matched in power, but he wished to at least help the adventurers of each era hone their skills. It seemed that, somehow, Ulfric had come into possession of a crystal made by Icaria himself. Frankly, something like this was priceless.

Doc's eyes were lit up like lanterns in the night. "How much do you want for it, kid?"

"Not for sale," Ulfric said immediately. He understood that a gem such as this was worth more than his own life in terms of magical research. "Now let go of me. You're done bandaging aren't you?"

"Alright, alright. Sweet Mira."

Ulfric stood up and stretched out his limbs. A little bit of healing magic wasn't enough to heal the wounds entirely, but it at least dulled the pain. He plucked the gem out of Julie's palm before giving a sarcastic thank you to Doc, who was both angry and envious. A brief discussion followed in hushed tones between Julie and Doc, at which point the girl nodded and joined Ingram and Ulfric at the door. They departed, likely for the final time.

The terms for Ingram's release was that he'd have to do no more than an hour of walking consecutively. With a concussion and two broken ribs, he was even worse off than Ulfric was. The entire time, all he did was mumble complaints. Then, in typical Ingram fashion, his first move after getting out was to head to the nearest tavern. Luckily, there was a tavern in Koska only a few steps across the square. Julie and Ulfric begrudgingly accompanied him, since they'd already decided to spend another day in Koska anyway.

Prancing Doe was a lively tavern, seeing the adventurers celebrating their victories on the mountain. A bard played a disgusting beat, and a singular bartender rushed back and forth with drinks. Unlike some of the larger taverns Ulfric had seen, this one didn't have any additional servants, and left a single middle aged man to do all of the work. Assuming there was this much business on the regular, it must've been an exhausting job.

"This place looks like a mix of a stable and a prison cafeteria," Ingram said.

"Huh?" Ulfric let the expression of confusion slip. Ingram often said things or made comparisons that made little to no sense.

They all found seats at the bar that ran the length of the room. "Three. Give me the house brew," Ingram said, turning to his companions. "Lots of Rion and Larue, eh? I wonder what's keeping them from killing each other."

"They said that Rion Aganata herself had a change of heart about merc on merc violence," Julie said. "'Parently there was a decree sent across the board forbidding it. Anyone who does so will be terminated."

"Where on earth did you hear a thing like that? Forbidding violence in a world of mercenaries seems unlikely doesn't it?" Ingram appeared puzzled.

"It's sort of true," someone said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "Mercenary code, article forty five. Violence is forbidden in and around any privately owned establishment to a range of two hundred meters."

"Handy," Ingram remarked. "Nice to meetcha. Ingram's the name." He shook the man's hand. He was a burly mercenary with the Rion Merc emblem on his chest piece. His face was riddled with a concerning variety of scars. If he was a mercenary, he was quite the clumsy one.

"Around here they call me Brick," he replied. "You don't look like a mercenary."

"You'd be right. We're just en route to the border."

The bartender delivered the three drinks. Ulfric and Julie hadn't asked for one in the first place, but drank anyway since Ingram was paying. They did nothing more than listen to the conversation and prepare for if Ingram were to say something stupid or dangerous. The mercenary known as Brick seemed friendly for now, but decrees against violence in their world weren't created for nothing.

"The border?" Brick asked. "So you're heading over the mountain pass… Quite the effort. Why not just take the train?"

"It's a really long story, to tell you the truth. Why don't you just take my word for it." Ingram's tone was vaguely threatening. In just a few words, it was clear to Ulfric that his brother had grown a distaste for mercenaries. What did he know that Ulfric didn't?

"Thing is…" Brick said. "There's a bounty that way. All I mean to say is that, if you're leaving soon, I may accompany you." He had nervous sweat running down his forehead. Ulfric could see something akin to fear written all over his face.

"Then what? You slit my throat in my sleep?

"What? No! Of course not!"

"Listen, mercenary. I don't subscribe to the same rules you do. Get out of my face before this bartender has to stay overtime mopping your guts off the floor." Each word was gripping, threatening to choke out all of the air around him. He rested a hand on the dagger at the back of his belt, watching Brick with confident and deadly eyes. This was a sort of behavior Ulfric had not yet seen from Ingram.

"Suit yourself, kid." Brick lightly threw his hands up and slid out of the chair to return to a booth on the other side of the room. There, a group of five waited for him. Analyzing the situation then, his approach was at least a little suspicious.

"What was his deal?" Julie asked.

"Typical merc behavior. Students of Lancaster are worth quite a bit, you see."

"How on earth would he know we're students?" Ulfric added.

"They've got people everywhere." Ingram sipped his drink. "Especially the ones from Rion. Insiders in the government and most major institutions. They know who we are, what we look like… Hell, I'll bet they even know about the train already."

"For real…?"

"We've gotta be a bit more careful from here on out."

* * *

"Quaint little room," Ingram said. He glanced at Julie with a devilish look on his face. The girl was sitting on the edge of the singular bed, untying her boots. The room was about two meters across, in a tiny inn with weakly constructed walls and maximum occupancy. They'd left Ulfric just a few minutes prior to get settled for the night.

"Quaint little room with paper thin walls, and your brother next door. Don't look at me like that," Julie growled.

"Like what?"

"Hungrily."

Ingram rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. Just a little? It'll be quick."

"It usually is." Julie laughed.

"Ok. Ouch."

"Besides. I think that's a little too much action for your body right now, hun. Just get in bed and rest up."

"You are a cruel woman, to deprive a man of his pleasures."

"Get in the bed, Ingram Englund."

"Full name. Alright. It's serious." Ingram ended up obeying her, and lying down in the bed after getting undressed. He was wide awake, though, so it seemed unlikely he'd be falling asleep anytime soon. Julie remained dressed, but snuggled up beside him under the blankets. Her hand wrapped around him from behind and pulled his barren back into her squishy chest. Ingram fell into a daze as he was transported to heaven.

"You know," she said. "Last time, you were far too rough. I was sore the next day."

"Mhm. I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not."

"Well, I don't know either. My point is that we probably shouldn't be doing that before big battles anymore."

Ingram chuckled. "Truth be told, I was a little sore too."

"Ah. You dumb brute. No matter what it is, you always do more than you should."

"Hey now. You mean to say I shouldn't have saved that old coot's life?"

"I mean… Well, I don't really know what I'm saying." She went red, though Ingram couldn't see it.

"I get what you're saying. You love me, Julie… But you don't have to be my caretaker. Sometimes I have to take risks."

"I know you do… It just scares me, is all. Especially when I'm not strong enough to save you." She choked on her words. Ingram felt something wet run down his back. A tear.

"Don't give me that, Jules. If any one of us hadn't been present in that battle, we'd all be dead. Even if Ulfric wasn't there to save me in that instant, I could rest easy knowing that I did what was right." He clutched her hand in his own. "You prioritize my life over your own, and I do the opposite. It's called a healthy relationship."

"You really are a dummy."

"You're in love with a dummy. What does that make you?"

"Well, I guess we can be dummies together."

"Right."

Silence. They were laying still by the candlelight, holding each other. They felt each other's heartbeats as their bodies pressed together. Ingram was comforted by the sensation of Julie breathing down his neck, warm and moist. He was reassured by the fact that, no matter where he went, he had someone reliable like her watching his back. Ingram, too, needed to get stronger so that he wouldn't have to rely on her and Ulfric next time.

"Hey, Ingram?" Julie asked, her voice weak and mouselike.

"Yeah?"

She swallowed as if hesitating to continue. "Do you think… Your father is alright?"

Ingram froze. "I-" He trailed off, spiraling into his mind before picking up the thought again. "I don't know. Equal chance."

"Equal chance, huh…" Julie frowned. "Even so, what can we do?"

"Well, generally speaking… The two who voted to imprison father are the ones at fault. If a coup were possible, we could let the new king overturn the vote."

"A coup of the Alterion kingdom? This might be your craziest idea yet." Even so, Julie indulged him further. "Wouldn't that mean we need to find a royal to replace Lark?"

"Can we not talk about this right now?" Ingram asked. He spoke playfully, but in a way that was perfectly serious. It was too late now. Even though Julie stayed silent, his thoughts were on his father, rotting in a prison cell. He needed something to distract himself, and quickly. "Jules…" He spoke under his breath.

"Y-yeah?" The girl replied. Suddenly, Ingram had flipped over with surprising speed, considering his injuries. Julie flailed around, panicked, but he grabbed both of her wrists and pinned them to the bed. Her face went red as he clasped both of her wrists in one hand. "Ingram! Stop that!"

"Oh come on…" His hand wandered. "If you really want me to stop, say it again."

Even though her face grew increasingly red, she said nothing.

"That's what I thought. Just… Try to keep it down, alright?"

* * *

Julie and Ingram were quite loud again.

Ulfric groaned and stretched wildly as he sat at the foot of his bed. He slipped on his clothes and tied his boots, from there stepping in front of the mirror. His eyes looked increasingly angry and narrow, and his face looked like it had aged ten years in just the previous week. He bunched his hair up and tied it into a miniature ponytail, which had so little hair that it ended up looking like a bun at the end. Either way, it was a better alternative than letting it hang in his face while he was fighting. A look at himself from a few different angles, and he was ready to go after a swipe of his hand through the greasy brown hair.

He first went alone to shop for a few supplies. The bag on his back was replenished with new jerky and his pistol had bullets. Finally, dedicated to not repeating his previous mistake, he bought shoulder pads. They hurt to wear, since they were tight enough to put pressure on the arrow wound. Even so, it was much preferable to getting another arrow in the shoulder, he thought. So with these few articles of shopping done, and saying farewell to Doc, he proceeded to the meeting place they'd agreed on the night before.

Koska's Eastern gate was much smaller than the main one, constructed out of shabby fence posts and only wide enough for a few people to fit through side by side. At this time of day, it didn't even have a guard. Beyond it were fields of grain almost as far as the eye could see. They wouldn't be taking this easy path though, instead diverging to the left and scaling the mountain range. It would be much more dangerous, of course, but it was allegedly the only way they'd make it in time. Julie would use magic to heat them up, saving the weight of coats, which would make it easier to fight any monsters they may find.

Julie and Ingram were already waiting. They leaned against opposite fence posts, chatting each other up about something Ulfric could not yet hear. He closed the gap bit by bit, legs still slightly sore. Compared to what he felt the day before, dragging his feet into the clinic, this pain was nothing

"Woahh. Jules, check what the cat dragged in."

Julie turned her head. "Ah. New hairstyle, Ulfric? You copying me?"

"Not nearly long enough for that."

"I had long hair once, at the academy," Ingram added.

"Did you now?"

"Someone yanked my ponytail, and then…" He pointed at the scar on his cheek.

"Eh? You're bullshitting me. I refuse to believe it was a reason that stupid."

"You'd be right. But it would be funny if it were true."

"Dick."

"What Ingram means to say is 'good morning'." Julie attempted to save Ingram, but Ulfric wasn't having it. She laughed nervously. "You guys ready to get out of here?" She asked.

"You bet." Ingram and Ulfric spoke this line in perfect unison, then gave each other a look of utter disdain.

"I'll lead the way, then. I've enchanted this compass to guide us, and I've also prepared a map."

"That's my Julie," Ingram said cheerily.

"Helpful as always," Ulfric added. "Go on, then."

"Alright. We're away."

 They set off into the fields of grain beyond, the golden sunlight on their faces triggering sweat glands all over. A supposed week-long journey was ahead of them, assuming an inexperienced adventurer. Someone like Julie, with an enchanted map and compass, could no doubt half that. Of course, they'd also have to take into account the injuries of Ulfric and Ingram, which could add extra time. All in all, there was really no counting how long it may take.

To them, time didn't matter. The fact was that, in order to make it in time, they had to cross the mountains known as the killers. A deadly and treacherous journey lay ahead, no doubt. Even so, a mix of stubbornness and curiosity pushed them forward. Legends always said that treasure and riches galore lay on those mountain tops, so who was to say that they wouldn't find them? Each step closer to the mountain range brought greater excitement and greater dread. The weather grew colder and the ground grew icy. 

It was a kilometer down the road when they took a left onto a pathway. It was not a pathway in the sense that someone had dug it out, but more so that it had been walked on by so many boots that grass growing there was no longer possible, creating a natural dirt footpath. Ahead was a solid wall of haze, about five hundred meters away. Their pace was steadfast, showing no sign of halting. As they drew closer, they still didn't even bother to stop and inspect. They feared that if they halted their pace, they would falter and retreat. It was necessary to keep moving, and the keep the courage alive.

As if stepping through an enchanted barrier, it was snowy. The cold weather set in and Julie was forced to immediately cast a spell to warm them up. A few more steps and the snow became knee-deep. Though the spell warmed them up, it did not stop their boots from being soaked through. Within moments, they walked in tiny, localized pools within their boots. A blizzard had kicked up, with snow striking their face at speeds high enough to avoid melting before impact.

These were the killers, Ulfric thought. The legendary mountains that killed so many. Here they were, a few younguns daring to partake in the ultimate challenge, even if it was only moderately. Once again, wading through that snow, he got that nagging feeling in the back of his mind, stronger than ever. He knew this feeling very well. A warning, a premonition only present as he stared up to the mountain's peak.

Something terrible awaited them in the mountain range.