Ugh my knees are killing me. Memor cursed under his breath as he took another bash on his shield, crippling him to his knees. He wished he could fight back, but was powerless in the face of such beasts, their hides couldn't be slashed by a mere mortal.
Memor picked himself up again, his joints protesting with every movement. A hand hooked around his armpit, helping him back up, it was Luni who still had that aloof smile on his face despite their current situation.
Elena's army was winning, but just barely, corpses of beasts and humans littered the battlefield. The trio moved together, slaying one Skruck at a time. They faced another, Memor took another hit to his shield, this time he wasn't so lucky, he was flung to the side, into a group of people facing a large Skruck, and Memor was aiming right for it.
Crap! Noticing where he was heading for, Memor attempted to partition himself and the Skruck with the shield, but it was for naught, as when the large Skruck perceived Memor flying at him, it clawed, sending him to the ground.
Poof!
Memor was dazed, he might have blocked the claw from the Skruck, but his body wasn't made to take such hits. His mind was in a stupor and his vision blurred, everything seemed illusory and unreal.
The sounds of battle were muffled, but through all the noise he heard a voice incrementally rise, it took him a while to understand the fact that something was running at him. Through his blurry vision, the sun was covered by a large body and he could finally make sense of what it was saying.
"HEY MORI WHAT THE FUCK ARE– COME ON MAN LETS– UPPP COME ON—"
Despite being able to hear, it was all in flashes of clarity, his mind was way too disoriented to take in more information as fell into unconsciousness.
Memor woke up with a startle, jumping up."UUUGHH!"
He yelped, his ribs pulsating in pain as he carefully laid back down.
Ugh, what happened? …Right I was fighting with Luni and Demi then… Oh right. Memor came to terms with what had resulted in his current state, then he observed his surroundings.
This is the infirmary, huh? Memor was on the ground, resting on a piece of dirtied beige cloth, all around him many injured individuals groaned with every movement, it wasn't deafening though, as most were resting rather than fiddling all over.
To his left Luni snoozed on a clean white cloth, his mouth slightly open with a stream of drool coming down the side of his face.
Should I pull something on him? Tsk, what am I thinking? One never betrays a partner in crime. Memor let out a suppressed giggle. He flicked at Luni's forehead.
"uughhh! uh, brother, leave me be, I'm wasted." Luni was roused, sucking in his saliva with his startled nerves, before dropping back down and covering his face with a hand.
Memor snickered, then he turned away to face the tents ceiling.
They stayed silent for a while before Memor asked."What happened after I passed out."
"What you would expect."Luni said in his drowsy voice, and then he paused."And also Elena died."
So it happened, huh? Memor made an expression of confusion."What?"
"They found her body ripped apart after the battle." Luni said, a bit of melancholy slipping through his voice.
How unfortunate, but it was bound to happen after what she did. Memor was speechless. Was it shock? Luni did not know.
40 Days Until Memor Becomes a Learner.
Year 953 of Refinery Era Day 173.
The expedition was cut short after the attack of the Skrucks, Jacob had sent a message back to Sal Village and was ordered to retreat as the lives of the injured can only be saved if they were brought back to the village and the amount of soldiers that are still able to fight are not enough to protect the labour team.
Deep underground, in a dimly lit room, Councilor Spyro circled around a large stone slab holding the dead body of Elena. Her limbs were all ripped off, leaving spiky broken bone fragments on the ends, the abdomen had an enormous pit which seemed to be made from a bite.
Councilor Vicktor, fitted in his light leather armor, leaned on the walls, his arms crossed as he stared at the body. Just then, through the metallic doors clicking, Councilor Tryphon walked in.
"What's the report?"Councilor Vicktor spoke, his voice deep and grave.
From the pocket in his sleeve, Councilor Tryphon took out his reading glasses and put them on, then he inspected the body from afar and said."She was ripped apart in the pack of Skrucks. No eye witnesses."
Hearing the news, Councilor Vicktor had a scowl on his face."Such a fucking waste."
"Oh, don't be so hard on your pupil Vicky, she is the dead one." Spyro remarked, still walking circles around the body.
Vicktor stared at Spyro, rage spilling through his eyes as he gritted his teeth.
"Councilor Spyro, how many times do I have to tell you to have some restraint?." Tryphon walked closer to the body."Anyhow, we have to fix the body for the funeral and investigation."Councilor Tryphon stretched out a hand, grabbing Elena's shoulder.
After a minute or so the body started to reform itself, as if time had been reversed for it. When it was about to be completely repaired, Councilor Tryphon saw something and lifted his hand, stopping the healing.
Noticing as well, Spyro's eyelid twitched, before he switched back into character and said."Hohoho, what do we have here."
Seeing the commotion, Councilor Vicktor stepped away from the wall, to get a closer look at Elena's body.
"It seems Elena was not killed by the Skrucks." Tryphon said, running his fingers over her wrist.
Elena's body had been returned to the state she was in moments before her death, her blood was still warm and her skin was vibrant, but on her wrists and ankles there were cuts that severed her tendons, dripping in blood, which meant she couldn't walk nor hold anything before her death. She was powerless.
Councilor Vicktor spoke, realizing something."She was dead before her tendons were severed."
"What makes you say that?" Spyro asked, raising an eyebrow.
Hesitating for a moment, Vicktor explained."Elena's Unique Fragment Ability, Quality Dial allows her to undermine anything. If she were hit hard enough to rupture her organs she could turn that strike into essentially a light tap. It is impossible to kill her unless they strain her out or a Grade 2 Mnemonist steals her thought of using it."
"And I was wondering why you would take such a scrawny kid under you" Spyro chuckled, and was met with the harsh gaze of Councilor Vicktor.
"But there are no other injuries other than those on her joints. Whatever killed her wasn't just a Grade 2 Mnemonist stealing her thoughts, they must've had some sort of mind attack, killing her instantly."Councilor Vicktor finished.
Hearing his explanation, Councilor Tryphon had his own guesses."If what you said was true, then everyone that was saved from Cafoori merchants will be under investigation. Their caravan was not supposed to come for another 2 days."
Councilor Spyro hid a smile and said."If that is the case, we will have to investigate everyone that was involved in this operation. Cafoori village is not supposed to know we were sending out an expedition."
Tryphon rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing as he spoke."This is going to take a while. Halt whatever business you have in the next couple of days, this takes priority."
Nodding at Councilor Spyro and Vicktor, Tryphon left the room followed by Vicktor and Spyro, who peeked at the carcass of Elena with a curl on his lips reaching his eyes.