CHAPTER 29: Uninvited Guests

“What do you mean?” Orsel asked, cracking the door open a bit to see what the Grandess was talking about— only to see, through the arch in Lum’s wall, the unmistakable silhouette of four Shayd, garbed in armor and brandishing boltcasters. He slammed the door shut again. “They’re looking for us.” He announced, back towards the door.

“What’s out there?” Jake turned to ask.

“Shayd. Four of them, armed and dangerous.” Orsel answered.

“You led them here.” Hope paced around the room nervously, clutching her hair. “They’re going to find me this time, I know it— I can’t— I don’t—” she hid behind her throne, hyperventilating. Noticing her distress, Vino held onto her elbow in an attempt to comfort her.

 “Calm down, alright? They’re looking for us, not you. This is our mess, we’ll take care of it, right, guys?” Jake rotated his claws, grinding them together, smirking manically.

“Hey, yeah, we can take ‘em!” He affirmed. Orsel grimaced a bit at the concept. He was never much of a fighter, and hurting some of his own kin— even if they were trying to hunt him down— was a thought that didn’t sit easily within his head.

“W-wait a second, we don’t have to do anything, uh, lethal to them, do we?”

“Well, why not?” Jacob responded. “They’re gonna keep chasing us if we don’t” Hope’s eyes widened at the words, a flash of yellow sparking throughout her hair.

“Killing won’t be necessary.” Hope declared, standing up behind her throne. “I believe we can learn something from them if we manage to keep them here for a bit.”

“What are you proposing?” Vino asked.

“An interrogation!” Hope revealed. “So, I have a favor to ask of you three— I need you to subdue those intruders and ask them some questions, got it? I think we’ll be able to learn a lot from these trespassers.”

“Got i— wait, what?” Orsel protested. “You’re asking us to beat these people up!”

“Look, ‘subdue’ can mean anything.” Hope explained, rubbing her forehead. “It’s not my fault that’s what you defaulted to. Incapacita— no… Disarm the… Look, just get them in a state where they can’t do anything bad, alright?”

“Fine.” Orsel sighed. “Then what?”

“Then I’m going to have you three ask them these questions.” Hope pulled up a piece of paper that Orsel recognized as the same sheet she was holding when she interviewed him.

“And then?” Jacob asked. “What do we do with them once they give us what we need?”

Hope’s eyes darted from Orsel back towards the closed door. 

“We’ll figure that out later. Right now, however, there are— How many did you say there were, Orsel?”

“Four.”

“—Four Shaydonian soldiers out there who could have vital information for my theory. I am trusting you to help me.”

The heavy door of Hope’s throne room slammed shut behind the trio as they began their careful descent down the stairs. The top third of the sun was still setting over the horizon, the sky showcasing a blend of dazzling constellations and the last light of day as it slowly seeped away.

“This feels wrong.” Stated Orsel, clutching his crookshank. “It’s like we’re criminals or something.”

“To be fair, we are criminals to them.” Vino observed, fiddling with his invention. “We caused a fair share of chaos during our escape, but I have no idea why they’re bothering to chase us down this far away from Shaydon.”

“No, I mean taking orders from Hope— doing her dirty work like this. I feel like a henchman or a— a goon or something.”

“Hey, first of all, don’t disrespect henchmen or goons like that. Secondly, I’d say it’s reasonable for her to cash in a favor after harboring us for a bit.”

“I suppose, what do you think, Jake?”

 “Hm? Sorry, I’m still… thinking about the stuff I read.”

“What’s your consensus? About the possibility of a war, I mean.” Vino inquired.

“I think it might happen.” Jacob responded bluntly. “I got a gut feeling.” 

“You know,” Orsel groaned, “I’m afraid I might have the same answer.”

The trio eventually made it onto the streets of Lum, the safety they once felt now replaced with the anticipation that Shaydon’s finest could be hiding behind any corner, waiting to strike. Vino was trembling profusely, with his invention’s looser implements clanking against each other rhythmically as he breathed heavily. Jacob put his hand on his shoulder, the flauna nearly jumping out of his clothes in response.

“Stay together.” He ordered. “Shayd are experts at ambush combat.”

“We are?” Orsel asked, surprised.

A bolt of energy flung itself from behind the corner of a house, narrowly missing Orsel’s head. Afterward, four shayd clad in armor and brandishing boltcasters jumped out from behind some of the various crumbled buildings, surrounding the three runaways.

“There they are! C’mon, boys!” Their leader, sporting a diamond-shaped protrusion on his helmet, ordered.

Jacob raised his fists, Orsel his crookshank, and Vino his new invention. Everything after that was a blur. A veritable monsoon of slapdash combat between the seven individuals ensued, with Orsel and Vino taking turns swinging wildly and cowering, while Jacob proved himself to be a natural at hand-to-hand combat, covering for the lack of fighting prowess his allies had tenfold. Eventually, however, The violence proved to be too much for Vino’s meager constitution to handle, taking more than a few blows than he was comfortable with. During the ruckus, he ran back to the temple in order to steel himself more properly. He would never have done so if he didn’t believe Orsel and Jake weren’t up to the task: and by the looks of it, they seemed to be doing just fine— even if Orsel looked like he was about to throw up. Vino had only ever run this fast before about three times, his three, rooty legs limping himself fast enough to even rival Hope as he ascended the stairs. He heaved the door open and slammed it behind him, much to the surprise of Hope.

“Vino! What happened?”

“I got hurt, I— I ran away.”

“Goodness! Are the others okay?”

“They’re still down there fighting the shayd, and I didn’t know if I’d survive— and I didn’t know what else to do— so I just came back here!” Vino blubbered, teary-eyed. “Seed! Why do I do this, every time something like this happens, I—”

“VINO!” Hope interrupted, shaking some sense into him. “Look, I know how you feel, to be helpless when danger like this strikes, but your friends need you down there.”

“No they don’t.” Vino sniffed. “Look at them!” Hope peered out a crack in the doorway to see the threat had already been taken care of. Jake, suffering only a few scratches in his burlap shirt, was holding the cloaks of the four shayd over his shoulder like a bushel, while Orsel was still blindly swinging at nothing. An impressed look crowned the Grandess’ eyes. “Well, regardless, you shouldn’t have just run off like that.”

“I know, but what can I do compared to them? They’re elementals! They’re stronger and faster than I could ever be, all I have is this stupid thing here that doesn’t even work yet.” Vino griped as he slammed it against the ground, inadvertently launching a bolt that stuck firmly into the masonwork of the throne room. Despite her annoyance at the property damage, Hope placed her hand on Vino’s shoulder.

“Vino, this feels like something you should talk about with them. Friends should never feel like they have to compare themselves to one another so intently.” 

“Well, I don’t even know— is friend the word we should be using here? All I’ve done with these people is break out of jail with them, and—”

Hope gave a stern look at Vino, knowing that he already knew the answer.

“Yeah, fine, I guess we are friends.” Vino admitted, “But the short time I’ve known them is still relevant. I can’t just dive into something like that. Take this thing, for example.”

Vino pulled the device onto his lap.

“Look at this, it’s a mess, probably the worst machine ever made. It’s unstable, rickety, prone to uh…” He stole a glance over at the bolt stuck in the wall, “… Acting up, but with a little time, patience, and most importantly time, we can hope it can become something better than it once was. You see where I’m getting at?”

“I believe so.” Hope chuckled. Vino, doing the same, attempted to stand up, but held his shoulder in pain midway through doing so, dragging his back against the wall as he slid down.

“Besides, you shouldn’t go back to them in such rough shape.”

“I don’t think they got anything too vital.” Vino winced, “But everything hurts. You have an aid kit around here?” 

“Uh, let me check—” Hope blipped around the room looking for something that might help. She did manage to find an aid pack, but not one that would help an organic being like Vino. Inside was a bottle of glue for repairing cracked cores, a small dustpan and brush, a vial of gem polish, and a flashlight. “I’m afraid I’ve never… tended to an organic before.” 

Vino sighed. 

“I think what I need is some rest and some water.” He held out the empty bottle he had been carrying around and waved it at Hope. “Use the fountain.”

Back down in the residential area, Orsel was still swinging his crookshank around, his eyes wrenched shut from fear.

“BACK! BACK! GET AWAY!” He screamed, punctuating each woosh of his tool’s motion. Jake, eyelids lowered, grabbed Orsel’s crookshank mid-swing. 

“There’s nobody left, dingbat. We’re done.”

“Orsel opened his eyes, looking around erratically. 

“Huh? Where’d they all go?”

Jake gently shook the cloak he had slumped over his back. It made a jingling sound.

“In here. You still got those questions, Hope ga— hey, where’s Vino?”

“Vino is resting.” A voice from the nearby fountain sparked up, coming from Hope, who was currently filling a bottle.

“He ran away during the fight, he’s up in my throne room healing.”

“Is he hurt?” Orsel asked.

“He’s a bit worse for wear, yes.” Hope clarified. “But he’ll be fine. When you’re ready, go do the interrogations, alright?” 

“Gotcha.” Jake affirmed, hoisting the cloak over his other shoulder. “Come on, Orsel, let’s go talk to some of your friends.”

“These aren’t my friends.”

“Yeah, I-” Jake sighed. “Let’s just find some place to do this, alright?”

CHAPTER 30: Will be Done

A relatively intact blue building proved to be the best place Jacob and Orsel could perform their interrogations. A table, lamp, chair, and rope were all relatively easy things to come by, allowing for an appropriate (and intimidating) atmosphere. The cores were all released and interviewed separately, and Orsel and Jacob quickly found out that interrogating Shayd was a… Frustrating process. Even with Jake playing bad cop and Orsel good, the responses they received were too generic to make any useful conclusions from.

“Alright, so, uh, what would you say is an average day in your life?”

“What is this? Some kind of joke!? I train, I sleep, and I uphold the principles of Shaydon’s glory. Any further decadence is a disgrace to our force!”

“I guess I get up, then I eat breakfast, then I clean out my bunk, then I leave my bedroom, then Rawth makes us do drills, then I talk to my friends Uahl and Omicat, then I eat lunch, then I talk to my other friends Rombo and Ecas, then I-”

“Please let me see a lawyer. I don’t know why I’m here.”

“What about during your, uh, days off?”

“Days off?”

“Well, don’t tell anyone, but sometimes me an Uahl play hooky for a day, throw rocks into the water in the R&D sector and watch them melt.”

“Please let me see a lawyer.”

“How likely is it that Shaydon could go to war in the future?”

“As much as I respect our nation, those sissies in The Seven wouldn’t try something that brash. Still, if anyone else tried to fight us, we’d be ready for ‘em.”

“I don’t know, probably not? I don’t really care about politics.”

“…”

After the cores of the initial three were put back into isolation, it was time for the fourth and final member of the group to be interrogated. Expecting more of the same, Orsel grabbed the last core from Jake’s cloak-sack and placed it into the bundle of rope the other three were wrapped up in. He had to work quick, since as soon as it left the confines of the sack, the core realized it had enough room to reform. He began doing so while Orsel lifted it up, absorbing errant wisps of shadow from around the night that surrounded them. Eventually, a shayd sat before them, woozy, and tied-up. He had four scraggly wisps of head-tendrils and a single eye.

“What is this? Who are y- waitwaitwait, I know who you are… You’re the traitor, and that… terr-y-an. That’s how you say it, right?”

“Yup.” Jake blankly confirmed.

The shayd looked around erratically. 

“What is this, anyway? You’re not gonna torture me, are you?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Jacob said, spinning his hand like a drill, grinding it against the side of the table. “But that’s your decision.”

“We have some questions we need answering.” Explained an exhausted Orsel. “First up, What would you say is an aver—”

“ALRIGHT, I’LL TALK! I’LL TALK!” The shayd exclaimed, writhing around. “The Seven probably set this whole thing up just to get the confession out of me— the jailbreak, the mission, the fight— I’ll come clean, I just can’t live with the guilt anymore!” Orsel and Jake looked at each other in confusion. 

“What is he talking abou—” Orsel began to ask, before Jake’s claw was shoved in his face, shushing him.

“Uh, that’s right. We know all about what you did. Now, how ’bout you come clean right now. You confess, we promise we’ll work something out, capiche?”

“Yes! Yes! Alright, so it went like this. About three days ago, Rawth caught me reading some… contraband, so he punishes me, right? Makes me scrub the barracks with nothing but a little-bitty tool-brush for cleaning out boltcasters. So I slave away all day, washing and rinsing with something so small it could snap in half if it caught the wind the wrong way.” 

“Is that really it? Contraband?” Orsel asked, unenthused.

“I’m getting to that. So, when I was at around, I dunno, the fourth or fifth bunk, cleaning off the springs from underneath it, I heard the door open— Who else is it but old Rawth and, weirdly enough, Edrip. I’m thinking, ‘oh, they’re gonna give me the business’, right? But the little guy must’ve forgotten plum about me, because then they just started… talkin’.”

“Talkin’?” Jacob inquired. “About what?”

“Well, I didn’t hear the first half of what they were saying, on account of being too far away, so, out of natural curiosity, I scooch over a few beds until I’m under the one right next to ol’ bolt-hood. That’s when I heard the, uh, incriminating stuff in question. Edrip was saying something about ‘they need to be ready, or else we’ll never live up to our potential,’ and ‘yer armies are the strong arm of Shaydon, they represent us.’ Then of course Rawth is rantin’ and raving about how he thinks we are, in fact, good enough, and he storms out. Then, get this, Edrip starts talking to himself. At first, I thought sure, alright, guy’s a little nuts- but then he starts going on about ‘your will be done’ and a bunch of other stuff he was muttering under his breath. I didn’t leave from under that bed until dinner, to say the least.”

“And what do you think this thing you needed to be ready for was?” Orsel asked.

“No clue.” The shayd responded. “We haven’t had to be ready for squat forever now. Sure, there’s the parade we hold every Grigia, but that’s like over half a year away! Look, I didn’t mean to spy, I just want to go back to the way things were before this mess.”

“I’m sure they will, bud. I’m sure they will.” Jake affirmed, grabbing the shayd’s core through the ropes and ripping it out of his now-dissipating body.

“That was a bit harsh.” Orsel commented, wincing at the sight.

“Yeah, probably wasn’t necessary, looking back.” Jake said, plopping the core back into the cloak-made sack. “But I think we have enough answers for Hope… as well as the fact that Shaydon apparently has lawyers.”

“You really think one shady-sounding meeting is what she’s looking for?”

“Well, it’s all we got.” Jacob sighed. “Now let’s go find her, give her what she wants.”