- The Shadow and the Candle Wick [pt.3]

"Here's the file you asked for, though I don't know how it will help."

Val had only been missing for two or three minutes before she returned to the kitchen, passing Cain a large stack of papers held together by a thin rope that looked to be falling apart with strands waving in the air.

A quick look through the papers, skimming his eyes over the contents, and Cain already knew the answer to his question, a question that had been bugging him since he left the Outpost.

"Don't worry, I think this will help just fine."

"You sure? My dad was one to say, 'You don't write things down unless you can't remember it.' Which is why that file probably has nothing in it that you can use."

Cain stole a glance at Val who was focused intently on his hands as they flipped from paper to paper, skimming over the contents with great speed.

"You've never looked through them?"

"Why would I? I saw the thing, it's not like I need some crummy paper my dad wrote to tell me what I saw and made friends with. I played with the damn thing in our yard for god sakes."

"Hm…"

He turned back to the file, strumming his hands over the vague and well drawn designs of various monster parts. From horns to arms, claws to tongues, all the bits and pieces of monsters that must have gone into making this beast, for the man would only put the best of the best in his creation.

Especially this one.

"Oh, I think this will do just fine. Most of it is vague but their pieces to a bigger puzzle I've yet to piece together."

Val scoffed, holding her hands on her hips, shaking her head with a sarcastic smile.

"Sometimes I wonder what went on in that man's head. He never ate much, never cared much. In fact, all he did ever care about were those stupid pets of his in the basement."

"Well, I don't need to imagine. I've been there. Tell me, does your father often abbreviate his works?"

Val looked over the small stacks of paper to where Cain was pointing, this particular page was signed at the bottom: T-36_Fail_

"Yeah, he never bothered to name his pets anyways, since any failures he had he would just cut up and reuse in a newer experiment. 'T' always stood for the test and the number was his trial. I don't know what happened to all 39 extra monsters he made, but T-40 was where he hit success."

"Hm…"

Val noticed the look of worry stained across Cain's face, a look she didn't expect to find on someone like him, who seemed as though he was a walking mystery that knew everything yet nothing at the same time.

"What's that look for?"

"...just some worry. I'm afraid that while your father was a genius in his work, he was a fool."

"Ha! Tell me about it. He always spoke in big words but sometimes I wonder if he even knew what those big words meant."

Cain re-wrapped the papers in the same rope they had come in, placed them in his trench coat and bowed to Val once, a slight nod to his head.

"Thank you for your time and the help. I believe you've just saved a few dozen lives today."

Val frowned as Cain turned his back, confused and perplexed by his words.

'Saved? What does he means saved…why would he-'

Then it hit her, like a steel battering ram breaking against her door. The images of people shouting, screaming, dying and burning alive as the fire reared from its breath and burned cities and towns, rock and bone into ash and dust.

It was an image she had dreamed about since the night her friend went missing, a fear she knew would one day come true. A fear she saw hiding behind this man's eyes.

"It's out, isn't it?"

Cain stopped in his tracks, his eyes staring out the small cracked window, no doubt caused by all the rocks having been flung at Val's small hut. The rain was stopping now, the sun was just peaking beyond the horizon casting shadows across the ground as the sun's rays glimmered off the puddles.

He slowly looked over his shoulder to give Val and her worried look of fear a blank and emotionless face, one that in itself, confirmed Val's fears.

"So…it is out. I had thought things would be different if I let him go."

"...they won't be."

"I know you're planning to kill him. I know that I of all people can't and don't have the right to stop you. But please…"

She slowly approached Cain, but after three steps she could no longer move. It was a feeling that rooted itself in her bones and froze her muscles in place. A feeling that made her heart skip a beat.

"...he was once an abused animal who was afraid. Don't let him die the being that he hates."

Cain was silent for a minute, then nodded to affirm his answer before opening the door and taking a step out into the light. Val could only take a deep sigh of relief now that Cain was gone, the feeling of fear and the imposing presence that she felt from him was gone.

"Ha…the fool even forgot his hat and umbrella."

Denis' voice forced Val's attention to shift from the door towards him, who was silently holding a cloth to his nose, gesturing to his head.

"The guy walked in carrying a hat and an umbrella. He walked out without both of them."

"Dick. You should have told him."

"Not my fault he's forgetful."

Val shook her head silently, wondering how she ever fell in love with someone like him in the first place and found comfort in their group of friends, turning quickly to find the umbrella and the hat, knowing they must be on the counter. However, the moment she turned to where she had recalled seeing the hat and umbrella resting on the table, they were no longer there.

'Wait…didn't he walk in wearing a hat? Did he?'

She scratched her head for a moment, thinking back to when Cain had walked through the door, the image there in her mind yet, fading fast.

'Wait…'

It was long after Cain had left her house, did the memory of his appearance in their lives, the broken bones, and the bloody noses fade away.

'...who was I talking about?'

***

Night fell and was quickly chased away by the morning light, and by then Lia had just enough energy to pull herself out of the mess hall and into the streets. The sun was shining and it appeared as though a fresh night shower had just passed through the area because the ground was wet with mud and rain puddles.

In the distance, Lia could see the town square directly ahead some blocks away, and she could see the lines of people waiting to receive their rations. There would be enough to feed everyone for weeks, if not months. By then, the rebuilding process will have been underway, or even completed.

What mattered now though, to her, was the sight of a small group of people arguing in the distance, against one of many carts in a long line of he caravan.

"I told you that we should have restocked at the last garrison!"

"We were carrying a supply run, it's not like we could have just stopped and said, 'Oh hey were carrying a large amount of food but we're hungry, do you mind feeding us?' They would take us for fools!"

"Better fools than starving and whining children."

Two heads popped out from the backside of one of the carts, two heads that wore similar looking faces, dressed in two large hoods. They were twins, and like twins, they spoke as one in a whining child-like voice.

"We're hungry!"

The woman, who was still in the midst of arguing with the man in front of her, quickly pointed to the two twin girls and yelled at them wearing the same face of fury.

"I said pipe down, and unless you do, no food for you!"

"Eep!"

The two girls ducked back into the cart where another man wearing no shirt but covered in tattoos and knives emerged watching the two girls dive back into the cart.

"Would you go easy on them Lori? They've been hungry since last night, they're only kids."

"Well if this one here would have bothered to ask for some food, or even buy some, they wouldn't be hungry!"

The man rubbed his forehead in frustration and it was then that he noticed a woman approaching them from the steps of the Great House. At first he didn't recognize her, then a sudden thought flashed through his mind.

"Hey, you're that girl I gifted my sword to."

Lia smiled as she approached, catching the attention of Lori, who was still wearing a face full of anger, and the shirtless man who balanced on the connector bits between the two carts.

"Her name is Lia, doufus. How's it going girl, haven't seen you since we dropped you off at Neverdark."

Lori smiled at Lia and offered her a hug , which Lia accepted gratefully. Lori happened to be the other Safarian the night she was gifted her blade, the one who poked fun of her friend for being a weapon fanatic.

"I've been a bit busy, also you travel around a lot. I had honestly expected you to be coming back from the West, not the East."

"Yeah, we took a small detour and ended up going south for a while, then we headed East and got the job for a supply run. Then we ended up here, this Patrick over here not learning how to buy food when we need it!"

She slammed her fist against Patrick's head, sucking in a deep breath filled with pain as he frowned at Lori with immense hatred.

"Come on sis, it was an accident. Like anyone would sell us food when we were carrying nearly five carts full of the stuff."

"Money is money! They would have accepted it!"

Lia looked between the siblings and smiled, finding their little quarrel all too familiar. She used to do the same thing with her younger brother until they grew older. Then they both just split apart.

"Have you guys not been paid yet?"

"No, we have. But no one here wants to sell us any food and for good reasons. The towns all ruined. We thought about hunting for some but word has it that all the monsters in the area have chased off most of the game. And we feel bad about robbing what little game there is from these people."

Lia nodded her head, suddenly the explanation made sense, after all she had been the one of Hunt most of the monsters herself in the woods and plains. Even the Marshes were once filled with fish and other animals, but now most of them were gone.

"Is Totlac around, I need to ask him something."

Lori looked a bit surprised that Lia's tone had shifted from friendly to serious in such a quick second that she unexpectedly pointed to one of the leading carriages.

"Uh, yeah. He's in that one, marking our course."

She thanked Lori and headed off towards the cart, feeling the three pairs of eyes bore down into her back as she left them behind. Her mind was already swarming with thoughts and fears, as she mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do.

Once she reached the cart she took a deep breath and brushed aside the folds to the cloth exterior, making her ways inside. Totlac sat on the ground in a cross legged position, huddled over a small map as he mumbled to himself.

"Totlac…?"

Her voice must have surprised him for his head immediately shot up as he turned around, a smile painting his face when he saw her.

"Lia, glad to see you're alright."

"Yes. I just ran into Lori outside, she was happy to see me."

"Lori? Ah, that's right, she was too busy hacking away at her brother to see you when you joined our supply run. What can I do for you?"

This was it, this was the moment that Lia had been preparing herself for. A moment when she would have to ask the impossible.

"I'd like to hire you. For 200 gold, I would like you to take me towards the Eastern Mountain range."

Totlac was a bit taken aback, but if he was he didn't show it. Instead he silently sat on the ground watching her as the minutes ticked away between them. Finally, he stood and spoke.

"To chase Arnold the Dragon Slayer?"

"...yes."

"Why?"

She took a deep breath, her mind rushing back to the fiery mess that had been their last battle. The city burning all around them, the look of death and fear in her eyes that Arnold must have seen as he drew nearer and nearer.

It was a feeling she wanted to crush.

"We could die, we could fail, but I want to make myself clear that I only want transportation, not an army for battle."

Totlac nodded, waiting for the answer to his question. He wore a look of worry for her, a look that made his warm heart chill her's for she knew this was the selfish choice she was making.

"I have a friend. I need to get him back."

To trade the risk or a friend's life, for the risk of another's life.

"Will you help me?"

It felt as though hours had passed between them in silence, one watching the other as the other was watching the one. Their breaths were the only sound between them, and their voices were rooted in their chest, waiting to be used.

It felt like even the gods were watching them in this moment, waiting, hoping. And then the ripple came to the cool and still lake waters of silence.

"Yes."