Chapter 8 Tristan: The Twins and the Paladin

I woke up to what seemed like mere seconds later in an unfamiliar room. Vines of Ivy covered the wooden walls as the scent of fresh dirt, water and medicine filled the air. I felt something warm beneath me. In a daze, I ran my hand over the soft fur pelt. As my mind started to clear up, memories from what happened at that little rural inn came flooding back to me. For a moment I did not believe that all that happened until I brushed my abdomen. There, I felt the wound now stitched up and slowly healing over beneath the bandages that protected it. I slid myself up on the bed to put myself in a sitting position to get a better view of the room that I found myself in.

The room was dimly lit by a single candle that sat on the wooden desk across from me. From what I could tell, as my eyes continued to adjust to the light, the room seemed to have been built inside of an old tree. The walls had been withered with age but that did not stop the tree from standing strong. The bed I laid upon was a handmade cot that had furs piled on top of it. Furs, it seemed, to be from the local animals of the surrounding forest. On the other side of the room from where my bed sat was the entrance to my room. The only thing covering it was nothing more than an old curtain. From behind it, I could hear the voices on the other side talking.

"Honestly, we were lucky to get him out of there alive. If we didn't, who knows what the other Paladins would do." A rough masculine voice said.

"Indeed Commander, they would have assumed that he was the one to have murdered the other knights as well as the civilians within." A quieter female voice responded.

"Just be glad that my young apprentices and I were thereafter he passed out. Well if it weren't for the strange feeling of the place we would have not investigated it." Another female voice said. This one had more confidence as if she were the head of this place.

"I see. Unfortunately, I cannot stay to wait until he wakes up. Thank you so much, May for your hard work. Please take good care of this...peculiar individual. I look forward to hearing more soon." The man said.

"Pleasures all mine, Daemun. Come again and I'll make sure it's definitely worth your time." The voice, who I assumed was May, said seductively.

The male voice, Daemun, laughed. I then heard the sounds of their military boots turn and march away, leaving the place in a deafening silence. I could hear May give a long sigh before she too left.

Several minutes went by before I heard the cloth curtain shift to the side. The smell of a warm meal wafted in the stagnant air. The light steps of a child's shoes echoed along with the slight clattering of dishware, the food sloshing a bit within. I turned my head towards the noise to see a young girl balancing a tray with a large bowl and chalice that sat upon it. Besides that, sat a white envelope.

"Good Morning!" The girl squeaked, "Though I should really be saying Good Evening." She giggled.

I shifted myself to get into a better position to take the tray on my lap. I could feel the stitching pull a bit, sending slight aches throughout my body. Then her words finally clicked.

"W-wait, how long have I been unconscious?" I asked, staring at the girl. From where I sat, I could see that she was a child no less than twelve years old. She stood no taller than when I first met Rea. Her appearance and atmosphere radiated with that of a younger sister. Strawberry pink hair, which was cut just below the jawline, framed the adolescent face with bright emerald green eyes. She had a small bubble nose that sat above small pink lips that gave me a bright and welcoming smile. She wore a pink-violet puffy dress that cut off above the knees. It was trimmed with white and silver that vaguely resembled a captain's military uniform with the sleeves cut off at the shoulders. The cuffs were long and hung low to indicate that she was either a witch or a mage. My best guess was that she was a witch's apprentice.

"I don't know, I'd say about two or three days." She said, not as chirpy.

"T-three days? How did I get here?" I asked. Questions were filling my mind, this caused me to be slightly dizzy.

"We brought you here. You didn't seem too good so we made sure to bring you back as quickly as we could." The girl said as if I had asked a dumb question. I pursed my lips in frustration. I gave the room another quick glance, noting the instruments and equipment around that indicated to me that I was in some sort of infirmary.

"Okay, then where am I?" I asked again. The girl dragged over a chair to my bedside and sat down. She took the wooden spoon and dipped it gently into the clear broth soup and offered it to me.

"You're in one of the side rooms of our main infirmary." She said, confirming my assumptions. I couldn't help but notice the faint sound of a coastal or island accent playing on her words. I opened my mouth, allowing her to feed me the soup. The warm liquid flowed gently onto my tongue. Little pieces of meat and cabbage added extra flavor to the medicinal meal. After I swallowed I turned to her.

"I can see that, but where exactly is here?" I asked. She looked at me, her eyes filled with confusion before realizing what I meant.

"Oh! You are in the Great Oak Tree, the main headquarters of the Dyer Coven in the medicinal section run by a part of the coven, the Kyteler Clan." She said as she scooped another spoonful of soup and offered it to me. I gladly took it before asking any more questions.

"So, what is your name? You seem to be very adamant to help take care of me." I asked while also pointing out the obvious. The girl chuckled softly to herself.

"You might find this funny but my name is Strawberry. And the girl sitting behind the curtain, trembling, is my twin sister Blueberry." She said, gesturing to the curtain door.

I gave her a confused look and turned to look at the door. I could feel a dark presence coming from behind it.

Getting nervous and realizing I was unarmed, I looked around frantically trying to find something that would give me at least some protection. That's when I noticed that all my equipment, including my armor and weapons, were missing. Fear started to play around with my thoughts.

Then out of nowhere, Strawberry started to speak in a language I could not recognize or understand. Whatever she said seemed to have worked as the curtain flew back revealing a girl similar to Strawberry. Her hair was similar in length with the same emerald green eyes. Only her hair was a deep blue.

Her face was a little more rounder than Strawberry's as her features gave off the look of a feral cat. She wore a similar outfit as her sister but in blue-violet and silver accents. She scoured the room, searching for any type of danger minus myself.

"I know he won't hurt me, Deirfiur. But you of all people know I cannot trust Paladins." Blueberry growled. Strawberry got up, leaving the food to me and allowing me to devour it all. It felt nice to finally eat something good after being unconscious for so long.

"If it weren't for the dead men that you talked to while they were leaving the inn, we wouldn't have been able to save him. You did a good job, Deirfiur!" Strawberry said, patting her sister on the back.

"D-dead men?" I stuttered, trying not to choke on my food.

"Your cherished companions. Seeing that you are awake, I'm going to need you to start answering some questions. Now." A voice said as they opened the curtain door.

A woman in her late twenties stood in the doorway, holding back the fur covering. Her hair was curly and red, which reminded me of a fire flickering wildly in the low candlelight, with the same emerald eyes as the twin girls. Her top was adorned with strange symbols etched in the leather down to the long belled sleeves. The top opened at her midriff, exposing her stomach and what seemed like a belt that held pouches and pockets of medicinal herbs and other magical assortments.

Everything about her appearance told me that she must be an elder witch, the teacher to the twin girls and possibly their mother as well.

"I don't know what I can tell you that you might not have already known. I was just doing my rounds with my companions when we were directed to a village that seemed to be mysteriously losing villagers. We-" I started telling the woman about how we came across the village but I was cut off when the woman raised her hand, gesturing me to hold my words.

"That is not what I was asking." She said, sternly. "I'm asking how you were able to stop a powerful Solas user as a mere Paladin."

I stared at her blankly for several minutes, trying to piece together what she was saying. The term she used, Solas, seemed to spark an ancient memory in me. Everything flooded back from the bar all the way to the village in the mountain range and the painful memories it brought forth.

"Interesting. So this was not your first time with the powerful magic of the Solas." The woman said as she walked over to Strawberry and Blueberry. Her long skirt barely covered her bare feet. She placed her hands on the shoulders of the two girls.

"Clann, take your leave, I must talk with this man privately." The woman smiled motherly at the twins. The girls gave her a slight upset look but then nodded and ran out of the room, giggling as they went.

"W-who are you?" I was finally able to ask.

"Ah, yes, It would only be useful for me to introduce myself. My name is May, I'm the High Priestess of Dyer Coven." She stared me down with hard eyes that caused me to cower a little.

"W-what brings me the honor to have a private meeting with the High Priestess?" I asked star struck.

"Well, as I said, this clearly isn't the first time you have worked with the Solas and this particular Solas user. Your memories have told me much of what I need to know about this particular person of interest, however, I feel like there may be more to you than what your memories have displayed." She spoke calmly, smirking slightly.

"You can read my mind?" I asked.

"Not quite. I can see visuals of the memories that you have experienced but I am unable to hear what was said as those words have long since traveled on the winds of time and are unreachable to me." Her voice echoed the profound wisdom that followed her words.

"I-I see." I was still confused by what she meant but I tried my best to follow along. "So what can I help you with that you couldn't get from my memories?"

"Who was the old woman that used that powder on the girl?" May took no time to ask. Her gaze was so intense that it felt as though she was staring into my soul, and maybe she was.

"Her name is Eydra. She showed up at my home one evening and told me almost exactly what Luca did. She even explained what Solas was...to some degree." I answered her honestly. May raised an eyebrow.

"Eydra? What else did she tell you about the Solas?" May asked. I swallowed, nervous to tell her.

"That… the only way to save my friend was to find the final piece of Eir. The liquid she gave me was apparently her and her seven sisters' fragments but she has no idea where the ninth sister is or who she is." I told May, quivering slightly. May only nodded her head.

"So Luca was the name of this strange Solas user and your friend unknowingly gave you hers when she tried to protect you?" May paused for a moment in thought.

"Y-yes, that is correct," I replied.

"I see." She pursed her lips a bit before continuing, "Thank you for dealing with Luca. It must feel very rewarding to be able to enact revenge on the one who tore your world apart." May spoke softly, giving me a kind smile.

"To be honest, I don't feel relieved. I thought there would be this big final battle and then everything would go back to normal... But all there was the skeleton of a man trying to be something more than what he actually was." I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts.

"It's understandable to feel like that. Then do you feel like there is more you can do to bring back even a single life?" May questioned. I sighed and looked at the wall at the end of the bed.

"At the time, I thought this was it, I could finally get revenge for Caldon and Rea. But it turned into a kill or be killed situation. All I could think of killing him to at least save myself. I couldn't even save the other men in my team." I tried stifling the tears that came to my eyes.

"This is the first time you ever killed someone, Tristain?" Came May's nurturing tone. I shook my head. The first person who I ended their life, under my own hand. The first person and it was someone I had known for a very long time. The shock finally set in and I began to sob uncontrollably. May sat there in silence and waited until I could cry no more.

"Tristain, I know that everything is hard right now and I know that there is so much more that you need to do. So I would like to request something for you." She said, hesitantly. I looked over at her.

"What is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"I need you to gather more information for me about the Solas and this mysterious Eydra. I will pay for what you need in the village such as new weapons, armor, and rations you will need as a deposit for this valuable information." May said as she looked at me. I breathed slowly, calming myself.

"How soon do you need me to go?" I asked, wanting to get distracted.

"Take your time but the sooner you leave, the better. I will give you some information and a possible lead before you leave." May's eyes seemed cold, I couldn't tell what she might be thinking. Instead, I just nodded in agreement.

"Until you are ready to go, feel free to take as much time as you need to rest. Mending your mental well-being is just as important as mending your physical body." May said as she took her to leave. I watched her go until the cover long stopped moving.

Sighing, I layed back down on the cot, staring at the ceiling above. Sleep didn't come easily that night and it would take me a few days before I felt the strength to continue on.