Heirs of Hyarch

The street outside the house was fairly quiet. A few passerby were moving past, hurrying with their faces tense. Periodically, one of them shot an uneasy glance in the direction of the house, before continuing on their way.

Even from the window where she stood, even without knowing any of the people walking by, Edeline could tell what they were thinking. Word was almost certainly starting to spread, word of the glowing fountain of magic that had appeared, of the town watch behaving oddly, of two of its captains dead or missing.

Word of what she had been forced...no, what she had chosen to do.

"You ready?" Nela asked, coming up beside her.

"Of course." Edeline stepped away from the window. There'd be time to think about the ramifications of all this, reflection and doubt included, later. Heading into the front hall, Edeline almost collided with Hamond, who had been standing with his back to the door.

"Uh, excuse me." Startled, Hamond moved out of the way. Slightly embarrassed, Edeline took a moment to compose herself.

"We're sticking to the plan, right?" Myron asked, idly tapping his fingers on the hilt of his sword.

"Yes, meeting back here at midday as we discussed. Just keep your eye out for Captain Urdin or Kalvarel, in case they start trouble."

"Just make sure Ronny doesn't get hurt," Nela told Hamond.

"We'll be careful," Myron reassured her.

"Trying to not draw attention is the best defense," Hamond added, "Of course, we can't count on that, given someone might recognize us. So we need to move quickly."

"Time to go, then," Edeline said. The longer they delayed, the more people would be out and about. She walked over and opened the door, letting a cool breeze from outside blow in.

The four filed out into the street. Filip was nowhere to be seen, leaving Edeline wondering. Hopefully he had just returned to his home, but she could not shake the suspicion that the worst had come to pass. She sighed, hating the loss of trust that came with dealing with the spell Kalvarel was using. The same spell the Spellking used.

They paused for a moment, standing there looking at each other. Edeline nodded to Hamond, letting him wordlessly know she was trusting him to keep Myron safe. He nodded back, in understanding.

She and Nela broke off, walking quickly down the street. Letting the Elefae take the lead, Edeline took in the sights of Hallowscroft. For some strange reason, the buildings, the people, all of it left her with a sense of unease. It was a feeling she could not find words to quite explain, but Hallowscroft seemed fundamentally different.

Perhaps it came from the other problem she had been struggling with, one perfectly represented by the person she was following. She like Nela, as rude as she could be, and held no objection to her brother's choice. But there laid the problem, because Myron clearly felt he could not be with her unless he abandoned his title. Given some of the passive aggressive letters she'd had to read from other nobles, Edeline could not disagree.

"You're worried about this too, aren't you?" Nela asked quietly. In the noise of the street, Edeline could barely hear it.

She picked up her pace, moving closer to Nela. "I was just thinking about what happens after this."

"You and me both," Nela said, "Because eventually, the rest of my family is going to find out I'm back in Hallowscroft, and then...well, it's going to be ugly."

Of course, that was another problem, one Edeline really did not have an answer for. While any sort of armed unrest on the part of the Elefae was out of the question, the kind of rumors that could spread as a result would undercut his ability to lead. An ability that was going to be more needed now than ever, in the wake of everything that had happened.

But if he could not provide that leadership, and neither could she, where did that leave them? Where did it leave Hallowscroft?

If she did not ask, she would never know for certain. "So do you two not plan to remain in Hallowscroft?"

"Trying to get rid of us?" Nela said.

"What? No, I..." Edeline trailed off when she saw Nela's face. Right, she was teasing.

"Seriously, though...I'm not sure I can call this place home, not after everything. We talked about different towns we could go to, maybe even going east out of Hyarch. But nothing's settled, and I don't know if I want to go that far."

That was it, the feeling she had been having, voiced by Nela. Hallowscroft did not feel like home. A place where she could get attacked in her father's house. A place where the town watch was turned against her. A place where someone stole the very idea of choice, of loyalty, from the people there.

Their duty to the town, to the kingdom...what good was it? Whoever took on that duty would just suffer for it. It felt like a cascade, pushing her thoughts into a circle Edeline did not see any way to escape. If Hallowscroft was not her home, was not Myron's home, was not Nela's home...then who would be left behind?

And where would the decision, whatever it ended up being, leave Hamond?

"You alright?" Nela called back.

Realizing she had come to a stop, Edeline moved to catch up with Nela, who was a few paces ahead. Fortunately, the road was still not busy, so no one was really blocking her path.

"I just had a thought," Edeline told her. There wasn't much point in discussing it until after they had gotten back together.

"The old man used to say that when you're not thinking, that's when the real trouble starts," Nela said with a snort.

"A fair point," Edeline noted, "You do seem like you respect your grandfather a lot."

"Honestly, I always got along better with him the rest of my family. Part of why he wanted to make me his apprentice, and eventually take over being the Elefae healer." Nela shook her head fiercely. "Of course, the elders had other ideas."

"Do you know why they wanted someone else?" Edeline was honestly curious. While far from being an expert, Nela did seem to know what she was doing.

"Something about not being the right person to carry the legacy of the Elefae forward. Whatever that means."

Nobility or peasantry, it did seem that using veiled language to hide your actual intent was a constant. Edeline wondered if Nela had, by unfortunate chance, said something rude that offended one or more of the elders, and this was their petty revenge in turn. They would likely never know the truth, but it seemed as good a guess as any.

"Whatever their reason, I would consider it to be a mistake. I wish I could correct it, but I doubt they would listen to me." Given the tensions between Morgivel and the other elders, any attempt to intervene would like worsen the situation. Regardless, it did not matter, given that Nela likely intended to leave it all behind.

"If they weren't going to listen to Morgivel, then they really wouldn't care what you said," Nela agreed.

"I am not sure they would even listen to my father," Edeline said, thinking back before all of this. Even with a bad leg, Lord Hallowscroft had always carried an air that was both commanding yet respectful, at least to Edeline's eyes. He was someone who always heard what you said, even if his answers were not what you wanted to hear in turn.

As for what his answers to her current questions were, Edeline did not know. She was not sure she wanted to know, even though she could hardly hide what had happened. Or did she dare to lie to him, hide the truth about Nela and her thaumaturgy and Kalvarel? She was not sure.

"Well, we're about there," Nela said as they turned onto another street.

Edeline blinked. It did not quite look like the same road she had been on with Hamond, but she did recognize Morgivel's house. It was likely a mere case of her memory becoming scattered as a result of everything that had happened.

The pair walked up to the door. Nela hesitated a moment, then knocked on the door loudly. There was a crashing noise, as if someone had dropped something.

"I guess we startled them." Nela said sheepishly, "Guess we'll need to-"

The door slammed open. A figure rushed out, grabbing a fold of Edeline's shirt and pushing her past Nela, further out into the street. Stunned and off guard, Edeline recognized Kalvarel's face right as he put one hand up to her forehead and hissed a single word.

"Eusebeia."

Edeline stopped, confused. She'd wanted to find Kalvarel...right, because Kalvarel was her dear friend. Without him, where would she even be? She relaxed as Kalvarel released his grip. She turned alongside him to face Nela.

Nela's face was horrified. Edeline didn't quite understand why. She ought to be overjoyed that Kalvarel was here now. In fact, if she remembered, Nela had been Kalvarel's enemy. She needed to be dealt with. Edeline drew her sword and pointed it at the Elefae.

"Shit. Uh...Edeline, if you're still you...can you put the sword away? Please?" Ignoring Nela's words, Edeline advanced until the sword rested a short span from Nela's neck.

"Why don't you come inside with the two of us?" Kalvarel asked Nela. It was an excellent idea. Nela really should listen to what Kalvarel had to say.

"Shit..." Nela said again, raising her hands in surrender. Keeping her sword out, Edeline stepped to the side. Now Nela could just walk inside.

Defeated, Nela slowly moved forward into the house. Edeline followed, keeping pace with the Elefae. She could see Morgivel standing there, waiting. He was also one of Kalvarel's friends, right? He had to be.

Behind her, Kalvarel shut the door with a soft, final thud.