Baratheon once again welcomed the dwarf and the phoenix with the familiar noise they had come to expect. Merchants haggled with passersby adventurers on their latest items, buskers were playing their latest songs, and conversation rang loud.
Thornfum breathed a sigh of relief. They were finally out of that hellstorm, and without the flaming phoenix's aid, he was certain he would have succumbed to the blistering cold.
Despite the aching pain settling in his bones from the treacherous walk, he plucked the peerer artifact from his pocket and looked at the map.
Both he and Airi looked intently, and what they saw immediately filled them with joy and newfound strength.
"Damned brat, he really did it. One less Orpheus and a win for us, how about that flaming parrot!" he exclaimed.
Airi's heart eased. She was worried about Xerxes' well-being, but it seemed the worrying was fruitless; he did as he said he would and defeated Orpheus.
But she didn't celebrate for long; she pointed at the last Orpheus that was moving with incredible speed to the tribe.
If they were lucky, it would take him no more than two days, so time was of the essence.
Their first stop was the Hollow Veil guild. The warriors held in that guild were nothing short of resilient. And if memory served, Xerxes saved them from the blightstalker, so it was only natural for them to extend a hand in return.
They walked through the city streets, and thankfully, the main guild building wasn't far away, so after an hour of walking, they finally arrived.
Thornfum opened the thick oak doors with so much force that they flung forward violently. The usual air that was filled with clinking tankards, boisterous conversations and the humming of adventurers wasn't here.
Where every seat used to be filled, none were.
Thornfum looked around intently, and he couldn't see anyone besides the guild receptionist.
Running towards the counter, he slammed his hand on the table, "Beautiful! Where's the lot of them gone? I ain't seeing anyone!"
The receptionist smiled awkwardly and put her hands up defensively, "They have all taken quests, we suddenly had an influx of jobs listed, it's taken all the adventurers up north." She said sheepishly, surprised by Thornfum's rowdiness.
He grunted, and Airi thought it was particularly strange.
Surely it can not be a coincidence. The quests in the north lay in the complete opposite direction of the interpass... and not once in the months spent here did we ever see this guild so dire in members.
A chill shivered through her body, letting her mind drift to the worst possible scenario. It can not be Orpheus; he can not be that smart, that prepared, that insightful...
However, the defiance in her words was merely a coping mechanism.
In truth, Orpheus was intelligent and cunning enough to pull something like this off.
Interrupting her trail of thoughts, footsteps resounded behind them, and the receptionist's face darkened as she saw the exhaustion upon both of the adventurers' faces.
"Learna! Dane! What brings you back so suddenly?" She bellowed behind the counter, which she quickly fled from to assist both of them.
Dane put up a hand, "Aint got any injuries, all good..." he took a deep breath, and Learna tilted her head, peering at Airi.
"My," she gasped, "By the heavens, what is Xerxes' companion doing here?" Learna asked, her cheeks flushed with happiness.
Baraging Thornfum and Airi with questions, she walked towards them, "Is Xerxes here? I've been meaning to talk with him, but he always avoids m-"
Thornfum cut off the conversation, "ENOUGH!" he commanded.
All eyes tilted towards the dwarf as he sat down on a chair and placed the peerer on the table.
"Ima' keep this quick and sweet. Learna, Dane, hot receptionist, there's trouble. You's familiar with the whisperer of Baratheon, Orpheus?"
Dane nodded his head, and the rest of them seemed to be familiar with him.
Thornfum wasn't sure where to start. These past few days moved by so fast, and so much has happened, but gathering his thoughts, he started.
"Long story short, Orpheus is a full-blown nutcase. Get this, in the interpass there's an ancient race of people - I ain't gonna get into the nooks and crannies of it, but they are giants."
Dane was getting ready to speak, but Thornfum raised his hand, stopping any questions yet.
"But he's been killing them, harvesting their eyes and what they're saying is that he's tryna' build a weapon that will make him unstoppable. I also think he's somehow looted some of Luminaria's sanctuary, because he has some artifacts."
He caught his breath and got to the real matter at hand, "In short, the artifact made it possible that there were two Orpheus', and Xerxes stayed behind in the interpass alone to fight him. I think he won, most likely. But this second Orpheus coming...he'll be there with more men, more power and less mercy."
Thornfum spent the next few minutes explaining details and specifically what happened, starting from his love venture in the brothel, to their arrival in Baratheon.
It was clear that everyone was in dismay. Words couldn't escape their mouths, but Dane spoke first, some realisation appearing on his face.
"If I were anyone else, I'd call you a crazy kid, but up north towards the small villages by the trade route of Layne and Baratheon, there's been countless murders and anarchy."
Learna nodded her head, biting her lip slightly, "It was horrifying, countless were dead, and one thing that was terrifying was that each one of them was dismembered, their eyes were stripped from their heads."
She put a hand over her mouth, the vision of it making her stomach churn.
They spent the next few moments in silence. In a way, the silence held the answers they were searching for.
Orpheus had played them all. By diverting the forces of Baratheon northward, it granted him the luxury of time, and with that, he was able to do everything he needed to, whilst leading Xerxes south.
He must have accounted for the possibility that Xerxes was going to ask for reinforcements, but it wasn't a certain outcome.
Still, he eliminated that risk by killing the innocent people as a diversion.
A bitter taste was left in everyone's mouth, and Dane's voice rose with unrestrained anger, "So that bastard is behind this?! He or his minions found it necessary to kill an entire village just out of chance?" He asked.
Dane had trouble accepting that someone could act so despicably and go so far, based on a chance, but it was reality.
However, Learna looked at it differently; though she was concerned for the dead, she was equally as concerned for the living.
"And he's fighting..."
Dane looked to her, his anger freezing,
"Xerxes is out there fighting the person behind this. We were struck with dread by the mere image of what he could do, but Xerxes is fighting the man who enacted all of this."
Her face darkened as she bit down on her nails, "That is how he has been. I could see it within him, the fact that he puts others before himself; it's a trait we both share. He said it to me himself, and he's ordered you two to come all the way here for our help."
She shuddered, "I can only imagine how devastating the situation is, the culling of innocents, the shackles against freedom..."
Turning her head towards Dane, she pleaded, "We need to fig-"
"Absolutely not!" Dane retorted.
A dark shadow cast over his eyes. Perhaps it was shame...fear. But he was certain in the fact he couldn't let Learna go through with this.
"Do you hear yourself, Learna?" He asked, struggling to force the words out. "Orpheus is out there slaying hundreds, they're saying he's subdued a whole tribe of giants, and what are we? We're just two people, Learna, we're not even a full guild."
This time, the silence wasn't one of understanding, but of turmoil.
Thornfum and Airi both understood one thing, though.
This was the risk they faced.
Coming to Baratheon wasn't a guarantee; they wouldn't be able to gain allies, after all, the enemy was harrowing in nature, and some people valued their lives over others.
It was only natural.
However, Learna spoke up, "Yes. Yes, we may not be a full guild, yes, we may not be an army, but Xerxes is fighting alone. Do I need the guild to decide what I value? Or you, Dane?"
Dane sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, "Look, Learna, in my years of being an adventurer, it's the quests like these which get people killed. I've seen it time and time again, young adventurers biting more than they can chew, and I'm not trying to determine your future." He exclaimed.
"I'm trying to preserve it so you can see it through." He finished.
The words echoed, and Airi resonated with them.
From her companionship with Xerxes, she was able to hold some of his memories, and it was exactly a situation similar to this which got him 'killed'.
Dane was acting as the voice of reason, preventing mistakes, whilst Learna reminded Airi of Aya's confidence, fused with Xerxes' willingness to comply, which ultimately led to a disaster.
Thornfum looked up at the clock, only seeing the time tick and tick away. He rose from his seat.
"I won't force any of ya's. I understand that this is risky. Hell! May even lose a finger or two if ya' aint careful. But there's one thing I know, if ya' got some balls and a good heart, you'll not regret the good that will come."
Airi, perched onto Thornfum's soldier, as the Hollow Veil members saw Thornfum walking away, and just before he left, he added, "If Tristan is walking around here, tell the brat we need him at the southern gate, that stands for the rest of ya'. We're gonna' be leaving Baratheon at nightfall today."
He then left the guild, and somewhere in his heart, he was hoping they would come. Thornfum began singing an old tune to soothe his emotions, but Airi didn't seem impressed.
Thornfum piped up, "Don't be so miserable, even if no one comes, the world's yet to see the strength of Thornfum Furdia! Master of Earth. Crafter of the crafts. Brave of the brave and strongest of them all!"
Airi's forlorn expression was replaced with a joyous one, and she pecked Thornfum on his head, as he winced in pain.
They spent the next 30 minutes walking, and Thornfum also decided to quickly grab some supplies, food, water and all the necessary equipment he would need for the journey ahead.
Soon after, they were before a massive building that was reminiscent of a cathedral.
"So this is where the lass is staying? Didn't know Xerxes had a dig for holy women." He muttered, whilst looking at the marble building, which was lined with gold and emerald.
It donned silky banners of gold, with an emblem of a tree that brimmed with white, resting in the middle of it.
This was a church of Luminare, Lord of Light, and as for why Leiya chose to stay here, Airi nor Thornfum had the faintest idea, but if all things went well, then they would find out.
Thornfum in particular took a deep breath before walking forward. Being anywhere near a church of light was bad news, but he wasn't going to back down.
Airi noticed it, but she didn't press on it much; all she stated was, "You've gone quiet."
Thornfum snorted. "Hard not to, birdy. Place like this has a way of remindin' ya where you don't belong."
The gates to the Church slowly opened, though guarded. Two men in pale robes watched them approach, their hands folded over their chests.
Immediately, their gazes lingered on Thornfum, a second too long.
Recognition flickered, but it wasn't from a place of anything prosperous, instead, it was hostile.
"State your business," one of the robed men said, his voice flat.
Thornfum asked, "Can't ya let a man pray?!"
But his question was only received by silence and a more hostile stare. Having had enough of the awkward silence, Thornfum stated, "We're here to see Leiya."
The name drew a pause. The second guard glanced inside, then back at them.
"She is under the church's protection," he said carefully. "She doesn't receive any visitors lightly, especially not a child of a heretic."
Thornfum clenched his fist, "Alright, that's i-"
Immediately, Airi flew forward. "Tell her Airi is here." The name earned a reaction and immediately caused the rising tensions to ease.
The guards immediately changed their demeanour and led them inside.
They both followed, and the doors closed behind them with a hollow finality, shutting the noise of Baratheon.
Inside, a hymm could be heard, it praised the Lord of Light and her seven children. The interior was vast and warm, lit by lines of candlelight that stretched endlessly.
Thornfum's boots sounded too loud against the marble, and if he was being honest with himself, being a man of god didn't seem too bad if this was where he could stay all day.
There was a crude sense of peace that he had never felt before, and Airi could feel it too. Perhaps it was the blessing of Luminare, or was it simply their mind attributing this place with peace.
They didn't know.
Nevertheless, they continued away from the main hall, past chambers lined with scriptures and depictions of the Lord of light and monuments of the great tree.
The further they went in, the quieter it became until the prayers and hymns fell silent. The robed men eventually stopped before a plain wooden door.
Airi's heart thuddered. She could feel Leiya's mana, she could see the weaves and the threads of her mana so clearly behind the door, but it had grown and stitched so differently to her body.
Thornfum and her froze, it was hard to enter. After all, it had been so long, and she wasn't exactly sure what to say, but Xerxes was relying on them.
Building the courage, Thornfum and her moved forward and reached for the handle, turning it and opening the door.
The door creaked open, and before them, they finally saw her.
It was Leiya.
She looked different.
When arriving in Baratheon, she was weak, feeble, weighed down by the world's cruelty.
Now her presence was deliberate, straightened, as though she had learned how to carry the weight, rather than being crushed by it, in a way.
Her hair, once washed in deep sapphire hues, had lightened with softer shades. Her skin remained smooth, yet bore the remnants of scars and cuts, which were a sign of what she had been through.
She wore robes reminiscent of Aemon's flowing white fabric, layered with gold and blue embroidery, but reinforced with iron claps and fitted armour around her torso and shoulders.
Fur lined accents rested along her shoulder and waist, still signifying where she was from.
Looking at her, Airi saw someone who was no longer being punished by the world, but enduring it.