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crystalninjaphoenix · 2 years

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Fantasy Masks AU: Chapter Sixteen

A JSE Fanfic

I missed last week because I got sick :( It sucked, but I’m all better now and back with another FMAU chapter :) Chase is even more ready to go out after having another strange dream last night. Luckily Marvin is awake again so he can ask him if he wants to come. But before that happens, Marvin and Jackie have a lot to talk about. Annnnd...yeah, that’s it for summary. Have fun haha

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m telling you, it’s strange.” Chase tapped his fork against the edge of his plate, unable to eat at all. His stomach had been doing flips ever since he woke up that morning. “I’ve never had the draísling two nights in a row, and I’ve never gotten as close to the well as I did last night. It’s got to be some sort of sign or omen or something.”

Jackie and Henrik, across from him, stared at his face intently. Chase had found them as soon as he was able to, and now the three of them were sitting on some of the smaller dragon leg bones, quite a distance from the other Phantoms having breakfast. Jackie and Henrik also had plates of food, but just like Chase, they sat on their laps, abandoned. “It can’t be a coincidence at this point,” Jackie said. He glanced at Henrik. “Right?”

Henrik nodded slowly. His initial skepticism about the dreams had disappeared shortly after Chase started talking about the one he had last night. “You...said you wanted to leave soon, yes? To look for your family? Perhaps this is connected.”

“That’s exactly what I thought,” Chase agreed. “I think I’m doing the right thing. I must be.”

Jackie laughed a little. “Well, if you suddenly stop having the draíslings, then you’ll know it was the wrong thing. Nothing to worry about there.”

“I would not say that,” Henrik said slowly. “We still do not know what they mean or how they work. Perhaps if they stop, then it means there was a missed opportunity?”

Chase felt his stomach flip again, and he slowly moved his plate from his lap to his side. “I-I hope that won’t happen,” he said quietly. “I—I think the draíslings must be coming from the Horned Elder One. They want me to do something. And I think if I started going against their plan, they would correct that.”

“Elders,” Jackie muttered. “And I mean that literally. Having dreams sent by a deity. No pressure or anything.” He must’ve noticed the way Chase went suddenly pale, because he hurried to add, “I’m sure you’ll do well, Chase. The Horned Elder One wouldn’t choose you for no reason.”

“Right,” Chase muttered. He looked down to where his deer-headed mask was resting against the ground, and leaned over to pick it up. For a moment, he stared into its hollow eyes, running a finger along the plaster antlers. He wasn’t one to doubt the Elders, but...could they make mistakes? As powerful as they were, they weren’t all-knowing. What could he have to offer an Elder? He was a normal man. A normal man who just wanted to find his family. The only connection he could see was that he was a hunter, one who spent most of his time in the wilderness where the Horned Elder One reigned. Perhaps it was simply...convenient.

“Maybe the Elder chose him because he has a mask like their face,” Henrik said jokingly, snapping Chase out of his thoughts.

Chase chuckled a bit. “Actually, I chose a deer because of them.” He had seen them twice before making the mask, but for some reason he didn’t want to share that fact with the others. Nor did he want to talk about how he thought he kept seeing signs of deer everywhere, during a season when they would rarely be seen wandering about.

“Well, there you go, then,” Henrik said, poking Chase with the handle of his fork. “Clearly it was a good call.”

“Clearly,” Chase repeated, smiling in spite of his continuing nerves. “But...I’m still not sure what the draíslings mean. And hearing that voice last night just confuses things even more.”

“Well,” Jackie said, picking at the fur on the end of his cape, “this is how I understand it. You’re constantly trying to reach a destination in these dreams, right?”

“The well, yes,” Chase said, nodding.

“And last night, you reached the well, and you heard someone’s voice inside. To me, it seems like you need to go somewhere, somewhere that will probably be hard to get to, and find someone. What you’re supposed to do when you find them, I’m not sure. Maybe that will also be revealed in the dreams.”

“Hmm.” Henrik pursed his lips, looking thoughtful. He reached down and grabbed his medicine flask from the pouch on his belt, took a quick drink, then said, “You would think the Elder would know how to give clear directions.”

“Schneep!” Jackie gasped.

“Ah, I can say it, the Elders have nothing over me,” Henrik waved away Jackie’s shock.

“Oh, is that how it works?” Jackie rolled his eyes. “Alright. In that case, you would think the Celestial Sisters would actually come down in person instead of sending a thousand different messengers. They’re powerful enough, right?”

“That is different!” Henrik protested. “First, there are only one hundred alserai, not a thousand! And the Sisters cannot just ‘come down,’ they belong in the sky! That is like asking why we do not regularly go visit fish in the ocean.”

“Exactly, see, there’s always a reason,” Jackie insisted. “Deities aren’t like people, they work differently. The Elders don’t speak like we do, so the Horned Elder One needs a different way to give instructions.”

“Well then why not show Chase where he is supposed to go and who he is supposed to see?”

“Because if it’s a place that Chase has never been, then he has no idea how to get there!”

“It is better than showing a random well in a garden!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, you’re right, the Elder should just insert directions into Chase’s mind, I’m sure they would fit perfectly and not just confuse him!”

Chase watched the two of them bicker, amused. He didn’t even mind that they were talking about him when he was right there, it was much more fun to watch them get into it. For a moment, he forgot all about his own worries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was around noon when Jackie got the news. He was busy inside the dragon’s skull, reviewing the placement of Phantoms across Glasúil with Ana. They had to be sure their notes were accurate, and that meant a long process of looking over reports from other Phantoms and comparing their encoded locations with the information they already had. It wasn’t Jackie’s favorite part of leading the Phantoms, but it had to be done, and Henrik had done it last time. Now it was Jackie’s turn.

“Bad tidings,” Ana was saying, looking over a scroll of vellum. “The camp at Kerrulean had to move because a group of King’s scouts found them.”

“What?!” Jackie glanced over at her in alarm. “When?”

“About ten days ago, judging by how fast their messenger bird got here,” Ana said.

“Damn it,” Jackie muttered, returning his attention to the map laid out on the table. “That was one of our longest-hidden camps. Where did they go? Did they lose anyone?”

“Three were killed in the skirmish with the scouts, two injured, and the scouts got away,” Ana reported. “They moved to a spot on the banks of Scálaith Avon. Here.” She handed the vellum to him, noting a rough map drawn on the lower half.

Jackie took the vellum, compared the sketchy map to the much more detailed one before him, and figured out where the location was. “Great,” he muttered, dipping his fingertip in ink and marking the spot with a finger-sized dot. They were getting a lot of reports of King’s scouts finding or getting close to Phantom camps. Not to mention their own close call. It gave Jackie an uneasy feeling...

“Excuse me? Mr. Fionason?”

Jackie turned around and saw Nemet had entered the skull at some point, her ibis mask pulled down over her face. “You don’t have to call me that,” he said, despite knowing that Nemet would never stop calling him that. “You can call me Jackie, like you call Henrik his name.”

“Right,” Nemet said, nodding. “Your friend Marvin. He is awake now.”

Jackie immediately dropped the vellum he was holding. “He is? Since when?”

“Since just a few moments ago.” By now, Jackie noticed the way Nemet was slightly out of breath, as if she’d just run a fair distance. “I told him he still needed to rest, but he might have started walking the moment I left.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Jackie muttered. “Did you tell Henrik?”

Nemet shook her head. “I thought he would be here.”

“Check his tent. If he’s not there, check storage. He could be messing with concoctions or something.” Jackie stood up. “I-I’ll head over there right away. Almost right away. I need to get something first, but I can be there in two minutes.” As he spoke, he was already hurrying towards the entrance.

Ana, meanwhile, sighed and unrolled the scroll she’d just grabbed. “I’ll finish this by myself, then,” she said, just loud enough for Jackie to hear as he slipped through the gap between the skull and the spine and disappeared outside.

The moment he was out, Jackie broke into a dead sprint. He made a beeline for his tent, where he spent perhaps five seconds finding and grabbing a folded sheet of paper, then ran right to the infirmary. Any Phantoms who happened to be out walking jumped out of his way as soon as they saw him approaching. By the time he reached the cavern entrance, he was panting. Alright, maybe he’d gone a bit too fast. But he had to get here before Henrik did, so that he could talk to Marvin alone.

He pushed aside the canvas flap hanging over the entrance and walked inside. The infirmary was empty. He half-expected a whole bunch of people to be here to greet Marvin. Well, Nemet did say he just woke up. But the news was bound to get out sooner or later, so he had to take advantage of the moment while he could.

Marvin was sitting up in bed, with his cat Draco curled up and sleeping at the foot. At the moment, he was looking at the focus around his neck, holding it up so he could see. The amulet was gently glowing white. But after a few seconds he glanced towards the entrance and saw Jackie standing there. He immediately dropped the amulet, not taking his eyes away as it fell down to his chest.

No more putting it off. Jackie took a deep breath, squeezed the folded paper in his hand, and walked over to Marvin’s bed. “...Hello,” he said.

“Hello,” Marvin answered. “What are you doing here?”

“I...wanted to talk to you.” Jackie walked around the bed, sitting in the chair by its side. His back was stiff and straight as a fencepost, and he resisted the urge to squeeze the paper in his hand.

“About what?” Marvin asked. There was absolutely no tone in his voice or expression on his face. Perhaps that was just Marvin being Marvin, but Jackie couldn’t help but squirm, thinking he was deliberately being cold.

“A-about...various things,” Jackie said carefully. He looked down and unfolded the paper. On it, he had written a letter. But he hadn’t decided if he wanted to just hand it to Marvin or read it out loud. He hesitated, considering each option.

“What if I don’t want to talk to you?” Marvin said.

Jackie looked back up at him. “You don’t have to. You just have to listen.”

“What if I don’t want to listen, either?”

“Well, then—!” Jackie bit back the snappish remark. This wasn’t the time to point out how childish that was. “Well. Then. Just don’t say anything until I’m done talking.”

“What if—”

“Just.” Jackie closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “Let me say this, okay?”

Marvin tilted his head curiously, but said nothing more.

Jackie let out the breath he’d been holding and looked down at the letter. His mouth felt a bit dry and his stomach was twisting. Why was he so nervous about this? He slapped his leg a couple times to focus, and began to read. “Marvin. I realize that you’re angry with me for good reason. When we last talked, over a year ago, I called you terrible things and ended it by hitting you. I held a grudge against you for a long time, and when you showed up at camp again, all that came up again—which wasn’t really that fair of me, to help arrange a rescue and then shout at you when I saw you. I’m...sorry. For all this.”

That got Marvin’s attention. Previously only mildly listening, he now sat up straight. His stare grew more intense.

“But,” Jackie continued, “I still think my actions don’t excuse yours. You said terrible things as well, not only to me, but to Henrik. You two have made up, so it’s none of my business, but I don’t understand why you can’t do the same with me.”

His eyes were fixed on the sheet of paper, so he didn’t notice the way Marvin’s own eyes narrowed into a glare.

“You’ve been very careless of others’ feelings, and I became defensive as a result. And you don’t really acknowledge it, either, which only makes my blood boil further. It’s more than just our fight—honestly, I don’t think I care as much about that anymore. It’s also about your behavior, about how callous you’ve been acting for the longest time now. I don’t—”

“Oh, Elders and Sisters, just fuck off already,” Marvin grumbled, folding his arms.

Jackie looked up at him. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“I don’t think I did, if you said what I think you said,” Jackie said carefully.

“I thought this would be a proper apology,” Marvin continued. “With the right amount of actual remorse. But no, you’re just trying to make yourself feel better. ‘See how good I am? I’m making up with you! Even though I still don’t like how! Love me!’ Ugh. You—”

“I am trying to be nice here,” Jackie interrupted. “It took me a long time to put all this into words.”

“Well you can take those words and shove them up your—”

“What happened to you?!” Jackie clutched his letter in one hand, balling it up. “When did you become so damn selfish?!”

“When did you become so high-and-mighty?!” Marvin rebutted.

“Me?! High-and-mighty?! That’s rich, coming from—” Jackie stopped himself right before saying that, knowing it would just open the floodgates for worse insults. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply in and out, then opened them again. “What’s the problem with my apology? Huh?”

“It’s all about you, that’s the problem!” Marvin shouted. “All about what you think I should do, about how you want me to act! If you really cared about apologizing, you would at least try to make me feel better. Instead, you’re just insulting me over and over! Oh, how dare I not make up with you when this is how you talk to me!”

“I-I—I’m not—you—there—” Jackie spluttered. “I’m trying to explain why I did what I did!”

“You’re just doubling down on blaming me for everything that’s ever gone wrong!” Marvin reached up and grabbed his focus. The white light surrounding it sank into his skin, and he looked a little more energetic than he did before. “It’s all because of me, all the time! I’m not the one who started that fight! You did!”

“No, I didn’t,” Jackie reflexively denied.

“Yes, you did! When I wanted to kill the King, you said that the people wouldn’t allow the royal line to be broken, I said they would learn to adjust, and you said ‘of course you wouldn’t understand the common people.’”

“I—that was the start?” Jackie did remember saying that, but he could have sworn it came later in the fight. “I—I don’t remember—”

“You don’t even remember saying it?!” Marvin interrupted, shocked.

“No, of course I do! I just thought it was...I don’t know, not the first remark thrown? It’s been a year, I can’t remember every detail!”

Marvin laughed. “Oh, of course. You don’t remember starting it, but I bet you remember everything I said. Isn’t that convenient?”

“No, I don’t remember everything you said, I don’t remember everything I said! It was a damn year ago, Marvin!” Jackie resisted the urge to throw the now-wadded-up letter in Marvin’s face.

“Well you sure kept that grudge for a year, despite not recalling all the details,” Marvin said bitterly.

“I did, and it was awful of me, and I want to make up for it!”

“Why now, then?!” Marvin demanded. “Why now?! No, I know why. It was because I magic’ed myself to exhaustion defending Wyvernlair, isn’t it? You say me do that and realized I could have died using all my magic, and wanted to make up before your chance passed. Just to clear your conscience.”

“No! I—well, it did have to do with what you did that night,” Jackie admitted. “But—”

“What, did you remember how useful it was to have a wizard on your side? Do you want me to cast spells for you? Do you think I’ll do any magic you want if you apologize? Do you—”

“It was the first time I saw you act like yourself again!” Jackie suddenly screamed.

Marvin went silent. Confusion clouded his features. “Like...myself again?”

Jackie realized he was leaning forward, his face inches away from Marvin’s. He backed away, moving the chair back as well just to be sure. “Like yourself again,” he repeated. “Like...like the man Henrik and I started the Phantoms with. The man who cared so deeply about the kingdom despite never leaving the city he grew up in. The man who...” His voice cracked. “...who snuck two small children into his family’s manor just so they could all play together, despite knowing how angry his family would be. Who—who cared much more about people getting hurt than the danger he’d be in, if the King found out he was going behind his back.” He breathed in shakily. His eyes felt wet. “What happened to that man, Marvin? When did it happen? I...I miss him.”

Marvin turned away, breaking his stare. He didn’t say anything for a while, and Jackie waited, barely daring to breathe. Until...“I’m not good with this,” Marvin said quietly.

“With what?”

“With...” He gestured vaguely. “I don’t know. Putting thoughts in words. I think it’s a feytouched thing. So, I...I don’t know if I can answer those questions.”

Jackie nodded. “Well...can you try?”

“It’ll take a while.”

“I’ll wait.”

Marvin sighed. He looked down at his hands, feeling the texture of the blanket as he ran his fingers over the fabric. Jackie said nothing, waiting quietly as he promised to. “When we started doing this, it all seemed so simple,” he finally said. “Almost...childish, even? We’d undermine the King’s evil efforts and save the day. But...as time went on, I realized...it was more complicated than that. I know you noticed, too. You were in the King’s army at the time, you must have realized how many of them loved him. Adored him. It was the same with the nobility. I mean, they must have known what happened with the Jairsolas family. It’s awfully lucky that the family most outspoken against the King’s efforts all met a vague, unexplained tragic end. But nobody said a word about it. Nobody doubted him.”

Jackie nodded slowly, but still said nothing.

“It was everywhere I looked, Jackie. It was absurd. And...I can’t say exactly when it occurred to me, but eventually, I realized we couldn’t just dethrone the King. Because there would be people out there who would seek to return him to the throne. A-and the nobles who supported them have the power to make things difficult for whoever we crowned in the King’s place. We...we have to get rid of him. We have to make sure he can’t rally any support.”

“It...makes sense,” Jackie said. “But that still means people might rally around his dead image.”

“True, but that seems easier to deal with,” Marvin said. “But this is about more than the King. Did you...do you really think I’m heartless for wanting to kill him?” His voice was quiet. Fragile, like his words might shatter into glass. Combined with the way the magical exhaustion still lingered on his face, Marvin looked suddenly vulnerable.

“I...did,” Jackie said, equally quiet. “I think because...because I couldn’t understand how you could suddenly...I-it didn’t match up, in my mind. You’re a kind man, Marvin. I know you’re also angry and vicious and prone to shouting, but underneath it all...well, I still remember that time you cried when that little girl dropped her doll in the gutter.”

Marvin groaned. “Oh, Elders, I hoped you forgot about that.”

“How could I ever forget about it?” Jackie smiled. “You wanted to buy her a new one, and thought that a doll would cost three gold pieces.”

“It seemed reasonable at the time.”

“To be fair, that would buy a doll. And about a hundred spare ones as well.” Jackie laughed briefly, then sighed and returned to the matter at hand. “I didn’t think a man like that could kill someone.”

“Well...I might’ve agreed with you, years ago,” Marvin admitted. “But...that’s...just too optimistic. We can’t afford that optimism. Not with this king.”

Jackie moved his chair closer to the bed once again. “I’m sorry that my apology was just insulting you. I-I didn’t mean it to be like that. I just...felt so angry with you. I felt...dismissed. As though you didn’t care about my feelings, o-or Henrik’s feelings, or...well, I know now you do, but at the time, I was...doubtful. And I shouldn’t have been.”

“You thought I was some pretentious prick?” Marvin asked.

“I...wouldn’t put it that way,” Jackie said delicately.

“No, I understand where you’re coming from,” Marvin sighed. “I come from a family of pretentious pricks. And honestly? That ‘apology’ from you just now? It...reminded me of them.”

“Oh.” Jackie felt his heart sink. “I really messed up then, didn’t I?”

“Yes.”

“I am so, so sorry.”

“Was that your first draft of the letter, or...?”

“No.” Jackie looked down at the crumpled-up letter. “Maybe my earlier drafts would have been better. There was less of me trying to explain my actions and more...asking you questions.”

“That would’ve worked more.” Marvin nodded.

“Ironically, I was trying not to hurt your feelings with this,” Jackie said.

Marvin laughed. “I don’t think you’re any better at wording things than I am.”

“Apparently not,” Jackie said, laughing as well.

The two of them giggled for a little bit, sounding not unlike a pair of young girls. But eventually, it faded. “I...I am sorry as well,” Marvin said. “Earlier, you said you got defensive. I think...I did, as well. I didn’t...want to be hurt. So I...fought back.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Jackie whispered. “Even when I was insulting you deliberately. That...probably doesn’t make any sense.”

“No, it doesn’t. But I understand anyway.”

The two of them fell silent for a moment. Then, Jackie held out his hand. “Are we...okay?”

Marvin looked at his hand, then took it, shaking it once. “We’re alright.”

Jackie withdrew his hand, and the silence returned. They stared upward, at the lanterns hanging from the rocky ceiling and the patterns they cast on the rough walls. Draco woke up—or maybe he had been awake for a while and was just now moving—and walked up to the two of them. Marvin proceeded to pet him, running a hand along his back. “So...are you still going to leave?” Jackie asked.

“I’m not sure,” Marvin said quietly. “I—I would like to help up here. Judging by that scout party, we might need more defense. But...Jameson.”

“Jameson?”

“I don’t think he wants to be here,” Marvin elaborated. “It scares him. I think...I think he thinks that as long as he’s here, his presence could betray us. And I promised to protect him. So...if he wants to leave, I’ll want to go with him.” He paused. “Also, I...I’m just more used to wandering around at this point. I know what I can do out there, not as sure what I can do up here.”

“You were always like that,” Jackie muttered. Back when they first started the Masked Phantoms, Marvin was always the one constantly leaving, while Henrik and Jackie worked on the logistics back at their headquarters. “Well...hold onto that.”

“Hm?” Marvin glanced at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean...there might be more information coming,” Jackie said cryptically. “That will help you decide if you want to leave.”

“...Alright, then.” Marvin looked away again, back up at the ceiling.

“Tell me and Henrik after you decide,” Jackie said. “There’s...stuff we want to fill you in on. But it might be affected by your choice.”

“That’s noted.”

The two of them fell silent for a moment more, and then Jackie got up to leave. He had more business to take care of today. After all, he did just leave Ana in the middle of working together. Marvin bade him goodbye and watched him go.

As soon as Jackie left the infirmary, he ran into Henrik. Almost literally, as Henrik was lingering right outside the infirmary entrance. He looked at him, eyes intense. “So...did you two talk?” he asked.

“Yea,” Jackie said.

“And...?”

Jackie gave him a small smile. “Don’t worry about it. It...worked out.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chase peeked behind the hanging canvas blocking the infirmary entrance. Phantoms had been in and out all day to see Marvin, many of them thanking him for using his magic to shield them from the scouts. It was moments like that that made Chase remember everyone here had known Marvin at least a little bit before he left the group. Only now, when almost everyone was at dinner, had the stream of visitors dried up.

Well, there was still one visitor. Jameson. He was sitting by Marvin’s bed, in the same spot he’d been yesterday. The only difference was that Marvin was now sitting up, leaning back against the headrest. The two of them were speaking in hands. It looked like Jameson was helping Marvin with some of the gestures. Meanwhile, Draco was lying across Marvin’s lap, stretched out and sleeping.

“Um...” Chase stepped into the infirmary and coughed quietly. “Is this a bad time?”

Marvin looked over at him. “Hi, Chase,” he said. “No, it’s alright. I just asked Jair to help me review handspeak.” Jameson waved at Chase, giving him a small smile.

“Great.” Chase walked over, sitting down on the other side of the bed. “So...how are you feeling?”

“Tired,” Marvin replied instantly. “In all ways. Physically, mentally...emotionally. Spiritually, too, but it’s been that way for a while.”

Chase laughed awkwardly. Even though he was sure that was a joke, he still couldn’t always tell with Marvin. “Well, sorry to hear that. I...was wondering. Are you still planning on leaving?”

Marvin stared at him for a moment. “Everyone keeps asking that.”

“To be fair, you did start to leave before coming back,” Chase said slowly.

He has you there, Jameson added.

“He does,” Marvin agreed. “My answer’s still the same one I’ve told everyone else: I’m not sure.”

“Oh?” Chase asked. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Marvin said, shaking his head. “I...I can’t put it into words.”

“That’s fine, you don’t have to.” Chase sat there silently for a moment. Marvin continued to stare at him.

Before the awkwardness could truly fill the air, Jameson cleared his throat. Chase, didn’t you want to ask Marvin something?

“You did?” Marvin said, surprised.

“I did,” Chase said, shifting in his seat. “I...You remember my strange dreams, right?”

“Your draísling? Yes.” Marvin nodded. “Did something happen with them?”

“...Yes, but that’s only slightly related,” Chase said. “The more important thing is that...because of the draíslings, I...also want to leave Wyvernlair soon.”

“Oh?” Marvin leaned forward a bit, unable to hide the intrigue in his wide eyes. “Why?”

“I realized...that...I can’t just stay here and wait,” Chase said slowly. “I don’t think I’ve told you this, but I have a family. My wife, Stacia, and two kids. Our...” He hesitated, then pressed on. “Our village was attacked and burned down by the King’s warriors. Anyone who wasn’t killed disappeared. They were probably taken by the warriors. And that included my family. I joined the Masked Phantoms because I wanted to find them, a-and I thought they could help. Because the King did it, after all. I found a lead recently, and I want to pursue it, so...so I can find them. If...” He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. “If you were leaving anyway, I wanted to ask you to...help. I-it would be easier to search with a group.”

Marvin continued to stare at him. His eyes had narrowed, and Chase wasn’t sure he liked the new expression. He felt like he was being examined. “Why me?” he asked.

“Huh? Oh. Well.” Chase thought about this. “I figured it would be easy to come along. I didn’t really want to bother anyone with my own business, but...if you were leaving anyway, then...it wouldn’t be too much trouble. Um, does that make sense?”

“I suppose,” Marvin said slowly. “Anything else?”

“Uh...Jameson wanted to help,” Chase said, glancing over at Jameson as he said so. “And considering the two of you were going to leave together, I assumed you would still want to.”

“Really?” Marvin turned to look at Jameson. “You want to help him look for his family?”

Jameson nodded. You’re probably going to ask me why. I’ll tell you later, it’s...a long story.

Chase didn’t think it was that long, but Marvin accepted that answer. “What leads do you have, then?” he asked, turning back to Chase. “Or are you planning on searching the whole kingdom square by square?”

Chase straightened, encouraged by Marvin not turning him down yet. “Jackie told me about this town that might’ve seen them,” he explained. “Miryfern. I-I can ask him for a map to get there. But apparently there was this group of travelers that came down from the mountains and passed through this town at around the same time. I’m thinking it must have been the survivors from my village.”

“Sounds likely,” Marvin agreed. “Then, when you get there, what else? Are you just going to ask around?”

“Probably?” Chase said, uncertain. He hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Marvin laughed. For a moment, Chase’s heart sank, as he thought the wizard was laughing at him. But then he shook his head and continued, “Well, clearly you need someone with experience in these matters to come with you. I suppose I’m just as good as anyone else.”

“Really?” Chase asked, perking up.

“Really,” Marvin confirmed.

Jameson grinned. That’s wonderful, Marvin! he said excitedly. I suppose it’ll just be the three of us. Unless you were thinking of anyone else, Chase?

“Well, it depends on if anyone else wants to come,” Chase said. “I-I know Jackie and Henrik might, but they have other business, so they might not be able to.” He then fell silent, remembering the state of things between Marvin and Jackie. Would Jackie coming along sour the journey? Or...had Jackie finally managed to talk with Marvin?

Luckily, Marvin didn’t seem to notice the concerned look on Chase’s face. “Ideally it wouldn’t be a large group,” he said. “For something like this, we’d want to draw as little attention as possible. Burning down an entire village...the King will do everything to make sure nobody knows he was behind something like that.”

“Oh...not just one,” Chase said slowly. “Early on, Henrik told me that a lot of other mountain villages suffered the same fate.”

“What?!” Marvin shouted, immediately full of anger. He tried to sit up straight, but didn’t have the energy and ended up falling back. “Why in the damn world would he do that?! Did he just decide one day that the mountain villages were too much trouble?!”

“I-I don’t know,” Chase said honestly. “But we might find out his reason if we find out what happened to my family and the others.”

Jameson had gone very pale. The news of the destroyed villages clearly unnerved him. It’s...very unusual, he said, gesturing shakily. Was there anything...else? Anything in the burning that might say why the King did that?

“...Wait a moment.” Chase cast his memory back. “Yea, I remember something. Everyone who the warriors killed—deliberately, I mean, not just dying as a result of the fire—they were all men. And not boys or elderly men, they were...around our age, I suppose.”

Jameson’s eyes widened. He turned away, covering his mouth. His expression had become ghost-white, and he looked sick.

“Are you alright, Jair?” Marvin asked, momentarily forgetting his anger.

I’m alright. Jameson waved him away. Just give me a moment.

“Oh. Right. Not a problem.” Marvin sighed, and looked back at Chase. “Well, it’ll take me another day or two to fully recover from the exhaustion. And I’m assuming you want me fully recovered and ready to cast spells at any moment.”

“That would be ideal,” Chase admitted. “And we do need to do some preparations. Get supplies and such.”

“So we should plan to leave in...three days, maybe?” Marvin said. “Does that work for both of you?”

“Works for me,” Chase said. After a second, Jameson nodded as well, straightening his neck bow.

“Great.” Marvin reached up and rubbed his eyes. “Now. Chase. Jair. If you don’t mind, I’d like to go to sleep early. We can finish reviewing handspeak later, if that works?”

Jameson nodded. Of course. He stood up. I’ll come see you again tomorrow.

“Me too,” Chase said, standing up as well.

“Mmm. I’ll remember that.” Marvin sank back against the pillow and closed his eyes, abruptly ending the conversation.

With nothing else to do, Chase and Jameson left the infirmary. The sun had sank beneath the horizon by now, and Chase could see the distant orange light of the cooking fires. “I think they’re still serving dinner,” he said to Jameson. “Do you want to go eat?”

No thanks. I’m not particularly hungry right now, Jameson said. I’ll just go back to the tent.

“Okay. I’ll...see you tomorrow, then.”

Jameson nodded, and wandered off. Chase stayed where he was and watched him for a moment, just so they wouldn’t continue walking together after saying goodbye. Then he headed towards the cooking fires for dinner.

Halfway through camp, though, he stopped. Suddenly, it all seemed so real. Three days. In just three days, he would leave Wyvernlair to go search for his family. Stacia, Amabel, Quinten...he hadn’t seen them in a whole season. Were they alright? Were they scared? Would they...notice how long it had taken him to find them?

He would find out soon.

Shaking his head, he continued onward.

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