Black Steel: A Tale of Fire and Mind

Maxwell and Vivienne arrived at the shores of Cloverdale, on the second night after they’d parted with Seraphina, and set up camp waiting for her. They’d told her they’d find a secluded spot in the western shore of the lake, so she wouldn’t aimlessly try to find them once she got past the army.

Though worried about her, the duo went on to enjoy the first couple of days of being together, away from others. They tended to the horses, organized their campsite, prepared their meals, took dips in the water. Everything a normal couple would do during a journey.

When the fourth night came with no signs of Seraphina, they grew restless. Maxwell drew and redrew the maps stored in his mind desperate to figure out whether his estimations had been wrong. Vivienne stood by his side, hoping he’d spring up and tell her of his mistake, but deep down she knew all that was wishful thinking. Something had gone terribly wrong.

Nonetheless, they gave Seraphina a chance to appear, against her wishes as she had been very specific before they parted. Should five days pass and she hadn’t returned, Maxwell and Vivienne were to move on. But they stayed put for more.

On the sixth day Vivienne, having come to terms with Seraphina’s failure, was preparing herself to burst Maxwell’s bubble of hope, when a man appeared on the lake’s shores, a short distance away from them. He was clad in black uniform with a white shoulder, the capital’s colours as she remembered.

Vivienne couldn’t get a sold read off him. He was trying not to think of his past few days, something had happened that bothered him. She considered taking him out stealthily, would be her first kill, before she woke Maxwell up, but ended up abandoning the idea. There was a reason the soldier ventured this far into the woods, away from the main road and his force. So she went to her sleeping man and nudged him awake lightly.

Maxwell turned over and tried to pull her down with him, but she stopped him. "Now’s not the time, Max. We have company." She whispered, not wanting to alert the soldier.

But Maxwell misunderstood and got up eagerly looking around, searching for his sister. He soon noticed the stranger washing his face with the clear water. Feeling the touch of Vivienne’s power, he thought to her. "Stand behind me and look scared." With that he strode over to the stranger, axe in hand. "Strange for a soldier of the empire to come upon these parts by himself. Would you like some help, sir?"

While Maxwell was speaking, in the stranger’s mind images flashed, memories of the past few days. Him and Seraphina talking, devising a plan to get past the army and then...That last one.

"Max, he’s a friend." Vivienne said touching Maxwell’s arm. She didn’t want the roamer to get suspicious, so she added. "Check his ear."

"Keen eye." The man said approaching them. He shook hands with the Elemental. "Max... It’s been a long time."

"Calder? You’ve changed since last I saw you." Maxwell said and turned to Vivienne. "It’s either been us or him on a mission, sometimes both, so we haven’t been together in Bandville since Sera and I joined the roamers."

"And from what your sister told me, we never will be again." The man added sadly. "You must be the girlfriend."

She took his extended hand. "I prefer Vivienne." She didn’t feel like wasting any time, so she cut right to the chase, already knowing the outcome, but Maxwell needed to hear it. "You’re wearing a soldier’s uniform and you’re here. So if Seraphina’s back up plan worked, where is she?"

Calder hung his head down, in shame. "She’s not coming. She made a choice and now she’s gone…"

Under her palm, Vivienne felt Maxwell’s arm muscles clench. "What do you mean? What choice?"

"Why don’t we sit down?" Calder asked and took a step towards their camp.

Before taking another though, Maxwell had already wrapped his hands around the other’s neck. Vivienne never saw his action register in his mind, despite actively looking for his reaction so she could try and stop him. But he just acted out.

"I don’t want to sit. Why did you escape and my sister didn’t?" Maxwell asked applying pressure on Calder’s carotid.

Vivienne stood next to him frantic on the inside, but completely calm on the outside. "Max…If you strangle him, we won’t know what happened. Shouldn’t we listen to him?" He wouldn’t budge. He was wholeheartedly focused on the man in front of him. Vivienne grabbed at his chin trying to avert his attention. "Hey, look at me." At last, he faltered and his grip loosened. "Let him go. You won’t change anything by killing him."

As if in a trance, Maxwell let go of Calder’s neck and stepped back, lowering himself down, helpless. Vivienne went to kneel behind him and kneaded his upper back muscles. On the other hand, Calder was trying to push air into his lungs again. His breathing took some time to return to normal, but when it did, he sat down too.

Vivienne signaled Calder to tell his story. "Seraphina found me in Kremlin. When she told me about Bandville’s fate, I asked to come along till the lake, but withdrew that request at the news of the army. That’s when she insisted I needed to come because we need to warn the eastern towns as soon as possible. Even a day or two late was too long, so she said. So we ran to the main road."

"When did you arrive?" Maxwell asked with no trace of emotion.

Calder wasn’t affected by his tone. "Deep at night. Four days ago. The army had set up camp. Seraphina took out a lone soldier and gave me the uniform to wear. Then I lured a fellow to our trap. We questioned him since Seraphina wanted to know if there were any prisoners about…"

"Prisoners? Again she thinks our parent is alive. First mom, now dad…" Maxwell thought while he was listening.

"…there weren’t. Not at the time. But their commander had taken a couple of survivors, women, into his tent before they reached Oremart and he gifted them away like he owned them." Calder stopped to take a breath.

Vivienne brought her hands to her mouth in disbelief. She didn’t want to even consider being in those women’s place. "That must’ve ticked Sera off…"

Calder nodded. "More than that. She immediately went cold, emotionless and stared into the soldiers eyes as I snapped his neck. I swear I thought I saw fire dancing through her eyes." That confirmed what Vivienne had already assessed through his thoughts. He didn’t know about Elementals. "Then she told me to come here, while she’d go eliminate the scum who irreparably hurt those women. Said she’d catch up with me later."

"So you let her go in without back up?" Maxwell asked incredulous.

"We were surrounded by thousands of enemies. We made a calculated choice. The stealthy one went in for the hit and I started passing through the army. But I got caught up helping move some supplies around so that I didn’t blow my cover. Halfway through, there was commotion at the commander’s tent, everyone approached in a hectic manner, so I did too." He took another breath to calm himself.

Vivienne already knew what came next, so she bent and wrapped her arms around Maxwell. He wasn’t stupid. He immediately realized what brought her action. His muscles tensed further and his heart started racing under Vivienne’s palm.

"I don’t know what happened in that tent. The guards said that Seraphina had managed to sneak in and slit the commander’s throat. They heard a yelp, went in to check on their superior and found her with a knife in the shoulder. The commander was dead. I have no idea how she got caught, she accomplished her goal, yet seconds later they caught her. It doesn’t make sense." Calder threw his hands up in the air.

Vivienne spoke. "It does if you consider her hatred for the empire. You noticed how she stared into that soldier’s eyes. If she was so intent on the general’s suffering, she might have noticed him draw a knife a fraction too late."

Maxwell wasn’t finished. He still needed to know everything Calder could say. "What else did you see?"

He gulped. "They carried her unconscious body out, blade still in the shoulder, and the man who was next in command ordered her to be taken to the doctor, so her wound could be tended so she won’t die where. They figured she was a survivor of Bandville who infiltrated the army on the attack. They want to bring her before the Emperor."

"So she has time to escape. That’s good. If she seems insignificant, they could let up and she can get the hell out." Maxwell suggested with renowned hope. Not for long.

"Time? Yes, she has that. But she can’t. They broke her leg so that she can’t escape. Snapped her knee." Maxwell’s face fell. "If they hadn’t, I would have stayed on to break her out somehow. As it is, I’d only get us both killed and you wouldn’t know. I know it’s your sister, but you would’ve done the same if it was any other roamer."

Maxwell nodded, but understanding changed nothing inside him. He was as furious, helpless and defeated as when he first realized Seraphina was lost to him. Combined with the recent loss of his father and the memory of his mother’s case, created a turmoil of anguish within him. A sense of vengeance came over him, with a tingle of hope. Vivienne was there to see it all happen in his mind.

"She wanted us to move forward if she failed and going in after her will get us killed, so all her effort would be for nothing. We keep on as planned. We move north. You go east." He stated for all of them.

"Yes, it’s important that we do. We already lost Seraphina to the empire, we must prevent more such incidents to our best ability." Calder added, oblivious to the storm in Maxwell’s mind, and stood. "I will begin my course immediately. Plenty of walking to do."

"Take Seraphina’s steed. It’ll only slow us down now." Maxwell suggested.

Calder thanked him profusely and offered his condolences again, before mounting his new horse and galloping away east. Maxwell and Vivienne watched him go till he disappeared from sight. Then, they broke camp and packed everything quickly to return to their task.

Since they were alone again, though under circumstances that came out of their personal hell, and without the need to access anyone’s inner depths, Vivienne had given Maxwell the privacy of his own mind. But as time went on and he had no outbursts, rather he stayed eerily calm, it was getting it to her.

Cloverdale was long behind them before she could no longer take it and had to ask. "What are you thinking, Max?"

He didn’t respond immediately. It unnerved her. "You could just look for yourself." She raised an eyebrow at him and waited for him to continue. "Have you heard the rumours of what happens to captured resisters?"

"No…But, considering you keep telling me I should choose death over capture, I can imagine." Vivienne slightly confused. "Why does it matter?"

He ignored her question. "According to my dad’s accounts, we get tortured till the brink of death, then treated enough to survive so they can keep torturing us. Until either the mind or the body gives out. Can you guess where I’m going with this?"

All Vivienne could think of in that moment was that Brenton had been aware of such incidents and hadn’t done anything to help the unfortunate souls at the mercy of their oppressors. She wondered if he’d still stay inactive with his own daughter heading straight into the lair of no return. But she didn’t voice anything of the sort. "I’m not entirely sure…"

He shook his head annoyed. "You mean, you don’t want to guess ‘cause it’s suicide." She didn’t argue, so he continued. "Sera’s will won’t ever falter. She hates them too much. And her body is tough. She can hold on for a while. Long enough for me to find a way to get her out."

"You’re counting on the chance they’ll keep her alive till the capital. Their orders were to kill everyone at Bandville. Just because that commander made a deviation by keeping the women doesn’t mean anything. Anyone could go on to kill her in order to move up the ranks and get on the capital’s good graces." Vivienne laid it all out for him. She figured he needed to hear it.

"There’s a chance. After we report to Embersummit, I’m taking it. No one’s forcing you to come." Maxwell said and turned his head forward.

Vivienne rode right next to him and grabbed his hand as well as their riding distance could allow. "I’m coming with you. I’m just trying to remind you of the reality of the situation. Chances are against us…"

He slowly met her eyes. "We have to try."

“We’ll try.”

Seraphina drifted in and out of consciousness, in a constant state of delirium. There was pain in her right shoulder. There was ever more pain in her left knee. Whenever she was awake, she made no noise, not even the slightest groan. She didn’t want to give them the satisfaction.

At any time she was lucid, she was trying to determine her situation as best as she could. She figured out early on that she was in a wagon with two or three horses alongside of it whenever it rolled about, probably standing guard. She was always gagged and her hands were tied behind her back with thick rope.

Her shoulder ached, but someone tended to the wound. Careful not to allow an infection to manifest. She needed to make it to the capital and have the Emperor decide what to do with her. Her knee, snapped in an unnatural angle, shot excruciating pain throughout her entire body, often causing her to lose focus. Especially when the wagon went over holes on the ground. With the appraisal of her injuries, mainly her leg, she was unsure as to why they chose to guard her closely.

Someone, Seraphina wasn’t sure whether it was always the same person, often came in to check her progress, mostly focused on simply keeping her alive. She refused to open her eyes and stare at them, but she felt them remove the old and apply a new bandage over her shoulder every now and then.

Time was fluid in that tented wagon. Until the initial shocking pain of the breaking subsided, she couldn’t even tell whether they were moving or not. But when she finally managed to bring herself in a serene state of mind, things were getting clearer.

So clear that she was able to start using her wits. With much pain, but without removing her bindings, she scooted over to the edge of the tent’s back end, where she took swift glances around. In the time it’d taken her to return to herself, her guards had loosened up. They obviously estimated her injuries and the rope around her hands were enough to keep her detained. But they underestimated her.

Getting out of the bindings was easy for her. Since they used rope rather than a steel chain, she only needed to call some fire to her and she’d be free of them. The difficulty came down to her escape. She could hardly walk, let alone run. She needed a horse and she was still unsure of where to get one, as every time they’d camp, they would let the steed out of their restraints before they took them away. She only needed to make it to one of them without alerting anyone. With a useless leg, that’d also prove a challenge.

So she bid her time. More nights came where she scoped out how the camp was organized. She counted ten days that she repeated her little routine, she noticed that nothing changed in the way the soldiers placed everything at night. Everything, whether animal or supplies, had its own place. The horses, Seraphina’s primary concern, were put on the edge of woodland so they could munch on the rich thicket.

There was some distance between her and the steeds since the wagon she was kept in was further into the body of men, not on the edge. The space between those positions was filled with numerous tents of sleeping men every night. The fact that they were sleeping was a positive note, perfect if she’d had full mobility of her arms and legs so she could sneak around them.

She wasn’t even sure she could make it to the horses on one foot. But she was determined to either escape or die trying. She wouldn’t let them break her little by little. Better go all out, at once, than slowly lose pieces of her body and being over a long period of time.

Seraphina came up with a plan of action. Before she went to execute it though, she let a couple more nights pass. She had only one chance and she wanted to make it count. As much as she could anyway. She used those extra days to reassure herself of her plan, though in such situations she used to be quite accurate. Unless she wasn’t of sound mind, but emotionally charged, like the most recent assassination of the commander. She had successfully infiltrated an enemy camp. Snuck into the leader’s tent. Kill him. Only to result in her capture, because she wished to see him suffer for his crimes against the women of Bandville. It was time she regained control.

The night she decided to act, she waited for her tender to come in for his last inspection of the day while the camp was set. Like the previous nights, she didn’t spare him any glances, just waited for him to leave. During her planning she had considered eliminating him, but since she wasn’t sure what his schedule after leaving her wagon was or who might be looking for him, she decided against it.

Seraphina used her influence to light a small fire, barely larger than a ball, letting it graze the skin of her hands. Being a Fire Elemental, the flames offered a calming effect and wouldn’t hurt her for a while. That didn’t mean she could survive a burning. Just that she’d be able to hold out far longer than a normal human or another kind of Elemental.

The rope around her hands fell to pieces behind her after a short while and she moved, a lot more easily, towards the edge of the caravan. She kept peeking through the holes in the cloth at the soldiers. She was happy to see them change nothing about their night habits.

Seraphina waited. According to her observations, once camp was set, the soldiers gathered in groups and ate their supper before going to sleep. There were very few who stood guard, but they were sparse and Seraphina had seen that in her section, those fellows preferred to stay close to the fire pits. There was an obvious confidence in their numbers, which in truth she could understand, but also worked well in her favour. The wagon stood between them and the horses, so she had some cover for her escape. It was a good thing she appeared completely helpless and insignificant in her state. It would be impossible to get past any guards. At least then, she could hope.

When all but that night’s guards were asleep, Seraphina crept to the front of the wagon. With much effort, she pulled herself up on the teamster’s seat, before slipping down on the ground, careful not to make any noise or step on her bad leg. She was successful with the first, but the second, not so much.

A moment of imbalance forced her to put some weight on her left leg and immediately she felt like crying out. But she didn’t. She gritted her teeth and pulled herself upright balancing on her right leg.

Seraphina had known well that her knee had been terribly broken. She had secretly hoped that she’d be able to at least drag it along somehow, but as she stood there taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart, it was getting pretty clear that wouldn’t work. She needed to find some sort of support.

There was nothing she could use in sight. So with a heavy heart, she started clumsily hopping towards the horses. All hops came with intervals in between so that she could make sure she woke no one up and regain her balance. When she came upon the first group of sleeping soldiers, she bent down to the best of her ability, only possible by holding her breath so she wouldn’t yell, and picked up a lone scabbard, which she strapped onto her hip drawing out the sword.

Unable to find anything else, she used the sword as a cane. She suspected she could find tree branches, long enough to sustain her weight, in the forest, but she still had some way till that. It was a good thing the commander’s knife had pierced her right shoulder, leaving her dominant arm unharmed and fully functional.

With a lot less grace than she’d like, Seraphina limped her sneaky way to the horses. They were all unsaddled, but loosely tied to the surrounding trees. She picked a black mare that stood closer to the edge of the woods, both for her position and the colour of her skin. Black was good camouflage for the middle of the night. In that moment came another difficulty. Getting on the horse.

To achieve that, she first went to the side of the mare’s head and stroked her back lightly. The beast had known little love in her life as she flinched away on the first touch. If Seraphina wanted to get on, she had to support her weight by holding tightly on the horse’s mane and swing her good leg across the steed’s body. Doing so without first presenting herself to the horse risked her wellbeing, even if she was healthy at the time.

With a few calming words and stroking, Seraphina felt confident the horse wouldn’t rear when she took grip of its mane, so she proceeded to sheath the sword and mount. While the horse did complain about the pull, a neigh came that she feared would alert someone, but otherwise made no move to throw her off. When she was safely seated, she patted the mare’s head and whispered in her ear. "Good girl. Let’s get out of here."

Wanting to avoid alerting anyone, Seraphina made the horse trot into the woods slowly, but soon picked up speed wishing to get away from the army. She had no direction in mind, she didn’t even know where she was or how long it’d been since she left Maxwell and Vivienne.

She only hoped that they had moved on to Talonpass as planned and hadn’t done anything stupid, which with her brother involved wasn’t that unlikely. One more time she was thankful Vivienne had joined them. If he was alone, Seraphina had no doubt Maxwell would go on to some suicidal rescue mission. Brash and prowess would be useless against that many enemies. But with Vivienne by his side, he’d think twice. Or so she hoped.

◊◊◊

She rode on and on. The night gave way to day, as the sun rose in the morning sky, but she didn’t stop. She was still high on adrenaline and urgency. Since the horse didn’t show any signs of fatigue, she found no reason to stop. So they kept on, northwest. At least she was going the right way.

By late afternoon, she was confident she had escaped. She could finally calm down. Lowering her heart rate brought the pain to the front of her mind. She needed to rest and properly assess her wounds. Even if she remembered the maps, they’d be of little use when she didn’t know her position. All she could do was keep moving till a suitable location appeared.

An opportunity arose in the evening when she came upon a creek. She repeated her trick of holding on to the horse’s mane as she slid down on her good leg. That time, no noise came out of the animal. She used the sword-turned-cane to reach the edge of the water, where she managed to sit down on a flat, large rock.

The mare used this break as an excuse to gobble down some water, as Seraphina lifted her pant leg to inspect her knee in the light for the first time. It was bad. The past twelve days alone she’d been devising her plan but there were also the days she spent in that delirium which she could not count. Too long. Despite the time that’d passed, her knee, left unattended, was still a deep shade of purple and evidently placed wrongly. Tears of despair rolled down her cheeks. Seraphina doubted she’d ever be able to run again. Even walking would be difficult.

A soft growl behind her pulled her out of her reverie. She cocked her head to see what had befallen her and found herself staring into the green eyes of a grey wolf. The sight made her laugh.

"Escaped the viper pit, only to be mauled by a dog. What’re you waiting for, mutt? Come at me!" She spoke directly to the animal still laughing crazily. She sat there waiting to burn the beast.

Maybe the wolf would’ve attacked. Maybe not. She’d never find out because her horse reared in front of the wolf, kicking her hooves towards the predator. The wolf tried to circle Seraphina, but the horse matched its moves and always stood between them.

A whistle rung in the air and the wolf sat on its hunches, waiting. A man soon appeared and went to stand behind it, bow in hand. Seraphina knew the stance. Careful movements that avoided to appear hostile, but ready to draw, should the need arise. She’d many times used it herself.

"Quite the protector you have there." He said not taking any steps closer. He couldn’t have been with the imperial army. He wore rugged clothing and across his face and arms there was mud. Camouflage. He was probably a local hunter. Just as she was appraising him, he did her. Suspicion, bafflement showed in his eyes, but never his face. A rogue hunter, no affiliations for sure.

"Not as impressive as a tamed wolf." Seraphina replied returning to her inspection of her injuries. With a useless leg, she was helpless against aware enemies, so no point to pay much more attention to him. If he’d come closer, she’d burn him.

"She’s not tamed, but I have her respect." He said softly. Seraphina heard him adjust his bow over his shoulder.

Under other circumstances that would be his first mistake. But she ignored the urge to find a way to finish him off and focused on her work. She pulled the bandage away from her skin to reveal a mostly healed wound. Applying some pressure on the area, there was a jab of pain. So acute she had to hold her breath so she wouldn’t groan. The wound might have closed, but her muscles still needed time.

"You’re in a bad shape. Can I come closer to help?" The hunter asked concerned, his keen ears catching her heavy breathing.

"Sure. I always let armed strangers approach me when I’m down." Seraphina replied and patted the space next to her.

The hunter either knew nothing of sarcasm, or simply chose to ignore her, since she heard his footsteps nearing. The horse neighed at him. "Easy, girl. I just wanna help."

No movement came from either of them. In her defeated state, even if the man had homicidal intentions, she’d hardly prove a challenge. Only her fire could stop him, but she wasn’t sure how long she could sustain it. But there was no need for the mare to get hurt in the process, so she whistled. The mare turned her head towards Seraphina, who waved her on, and then went back to quenching her thirst by the creek.

The man removed his bow and knife sheaths before he came to stand in front of her. He looked her over, noticing both her injuries and went to one knee. "May I?" He asked pointing at her leg. Her pant leg had rolled down.

"Go ahead." She answered and waited.

The hunter barely touched her skin as he lifted the cloth to reach the injury. His touch was surprisingly gentle. He hardly moved her leg. "My name’s Reggie and I hunt in these parts." He said to distract her when he reached the inevitable point of touching her knee.

She made a face, but otherwise didn’t make a single sound to show her discomfort. "Seraphina. I travel the land." She said gritting her teeth. He surveyed her eyes. It was like he knew she was practically lying. "Careful. I know how bad it is."

"I’m sure you do." He traced his fingers across the kneecap, applying no pressure, just feeling the bone underneath the skin. "You see that it’s started to heal in the wrong position, don’t you? It needs to be broken again and placed right. I doubt you’d want it done here though."

"Actually, I don’t want it done at all." Seraphina said and he nodded seriously.

"If you want some sort of functionality, we have to." Reggie stated and it was her turn to nod. "My cabin’s nearby. Now that we’re not complete strangers, will you let me help, Seraphina?"

It took her two seconds to consider. Without his help, she was doomed. Should his intentions not be well placed, she could be doomed. Chances of survival were better with the latter option. "I don’t have much of a choice, do I?" She asked pointing at her knee.

"I guess not, but I know what it’s like to… lose control to others. I had to ask." He said and got up, heading for the creek, where he washed the camouflage off his face and arms before he approached her horse. Despite his rough hands, he was as gentle with the animal as he had been with her. He brought the mare next to Seraphina and again bent down. "Place your arm over my shoulder and I’ll put mine around your waist. Don’t bother lifting yourself up, just focus on keeping that leg straight."

He had come on the right side, probably to avoid hurting her leg. "You’ll have to come on the other side. My right shoulder’s busted too." Hadn’t he seen her inspect it a short while ago?

He raised an eyebrow. "I know. I’m not asking you to use me as leverage. You don’t need to do anything with your arm. I’ll do everything, I just need your hurt limbs out of the way."

Her ego could hardly handle being treated by her brother. That guy was pushing her limits, but she swallowed her pride and nodded. Her arm slid across his back, her hand resting on his upper arm, and his sneaked across her back. As instructed, she tried to keep her leg straight while he effortlessly lifted her. He then helped her get on the horse and started leading the way to his cabin walking next to her. He whistled loudly and the wolf, who’d been lying on the ground since Reggie approached Seraphina, got up, running towards the direction he was taking them.

“How is she so obedient?” Seraphina asked curious. A tame dog was a usual occurrence, but a wolf? Those were wild, unreliable.

“Raine? She’s anything but obedient. She simply chooses to listen to me sometimes.” He answered easily.

“Raine?” Seraphina snorted. “You named a wolf? Seriously?”

“Yes. I thought she deserved the honour of name. She’s not a mindless animal, but a worthy companion.” Reggie answered seriously.

“Yet you say she’s not tamed.” She mocked.

“She isn’t. She comes and goes as she pleases. Today she chose to follow me in my hunt. Yesterday she went on her own.” He replied shrugging.

“It’s an impressive feat, nonetheless.” Even if she was mostly cold, Seraphina gave credit where it was due.

“I suppose.” Reggie said looking ahead. He didn’t turn his head when he spoke next. “Stealing that horse and escaping that army with such injuries seems more notable.”

He was indeed perceptive. It was a trait she admired in people. But then again, this was his area. He couldn’t have missed the army passing through and connecting the dots wasn’t that hard. She didn’t bother denying it. “I did what I had to. It was a matter of survival.” He nodded, but didn’t push further for information. She liked he didn’t pry.

When they came upon his cabin by another creek, Seraphina was surprised to find an actual small house. She expected he had been blowing a hut out of proportion, but that was not the case. Had he built this by himself?

“Time to get off.” Reggie said and again, Seraphina was left with no choice but to allow him to help her.

He took her inside, where she found a neatly kept home. A cooking pit with a low fire burning lightly, just its scent made her feel better. Shelves and cabinets with all sorts of objects, spanning from tools to decorations. A bed he’d obviously made himself. It was really cozy.

“I hope you find it to your liking.” He helped her to his bed and straightened up. “I’ll go tie Nightlight close to the creek. Don’t want her wandering off.”

“Nightlight?” She looked at him confused.

“Your horse. She looks like a Nightlight, doesn’t she?” He answered and she shook her head touching her forehead with her left hand. “You have some time to prepare yourself. When I come back, I’ll set to work on your knee.”

“Great. Just Great.”

Before Seraphina was captured, the trio needed to hurry to spread the news of Bandville’s destruction. The roamers had to know they couldn’t return, as the empire most likely had left people behind for that reason. And they did hurry. They made quite good a time in their travels. But with a far more personal reason for haste, Maxwell and Vivienne did even better.

The journey to Talonpass, which should’ve taken them close to thirty days, only lasted twenty-five. Both they and their horses were always on the verge of exhaustion. Maxwell more so than Vivienne, since after mentally scouting areas for a long time, he'd let her rest.

The grief had changed them. Both individually and their dynamic. Though Vivienne never tried to read him, it was rather obvious that Maxwell’s guilt ate him up from inside. The twins had been very protective of each other, even if they trusted one another to overcome difficulties by themselves. He was always serious, no sign of the juvenile man Vivienne had known him to be. His behaviour seemed to match his exterior.

Vivienne on the other hand became more responsible, worked on mastering her self-control so she wasn’t governed by her emotions. There were no outbursts of fear anymore. Not even when she once woke up scanning the area to find two thieves close by watching their camp. She simply told Maxwell and informed him she was supposedly going to refill their waterskins when in truth, she crept up behind them and delivered fatal blows with her daggers. Her first kills. Their filthy minds and memories helped her have no remorse for ridding the world of their presence.

Things changed in their relationship as well. The way Maxwell regarded her was different. Where he previously was openly protective of Vivienne, he then let her do whatever she wanted, but never let her out of his sight. At first, she thought it was a matter of mistrust, but she soon realised it had to do not with trusting her, but the environment. He didn’t watch what she was doing, whenever she’d caught him slyly following her. He watched for other dangers. Dangers like what had taken Seraphina away from them. Moments of unawareness.

Other changes came to the little things as well. Whenever one slept, the other was firmly placed next to them. There were less words and more touches, each drawing strength from the other in the silence. When discussing their plan, neither tried to oppose the other unlike before. Maxwell was then agreeing they should visit Talonpass, while Vivienne agreed to also try to find anything associated with her family, something she was absolute about before, afraid of what she might find.

The secrets Talonpass held they didn’t discuss. Only that it was important they uncovered them since it’d help with getting Seraphina back. That was the argument both of them used when making plans. It left both with no counter.

Whatever they wished to find in Vivienne’s birthplace, they sure didn’t expect to find a mostly destroyed village. Though neither said anything, their spirits fell even more. But they had arrived, so they proceeded according to plan.

They rode among the ruins and ashes that constituted Talonpass till they could find a solid building, hopefully with someone to question. They could see a promising structure in the distance, while the imperials had wrecked most of it, there was a lit lantern on the porch. A sign of people. But between it and them lied quite a few acres of barren land, burned within no earlier than the past spring according to Maxwell, smashed bricks and rock from demolished homes and no people or animals.

The eerie silence on that summer day, interrupted only by crickets playing their familiar song, unnerved Vivienne. "Where are the people?"

As if he was the mind reader, Maxwell spoke. "With no one around, I guess it’s safe to assume the imperials captured them.”

"Or killed. Just like Bandville." Vivienne suggested. "Though, then we’d see corpses in the rubble."

"True. Let’s see what’s in that house before we move on though." Maxwell said and they rode on.

Vivienne kept looking around, willing herself to remember something, anything really, about the village. But both its current state and the long years since she’d laid eyes on her home had her at a loss. Nothing sparked her memory.

When they reached the building, Maxwell slid off his horse handing the reigns to Vivienne and handled his axe. He looked up at Vivienne who mouthed one before he nodded and went to the door.

Despite its busted state, he chose to knock on the door rather than walk straight in. "Anyone in there?" They could hear scrambling from inside, but the door didn’t crack open. Maxwell turned back to Vivienne shrugging.

Just before he banged on the door, she stopped him. "Max, wait." Inside, the terrified fellow prayed to his Gods that the empire could leave him alone, so Vivienne used that. "You can come out, we’re not going to hurt you. We’re not with the Empire. I grew up here."

After a moment’s hesitation, more noise came from inside and the door finally opened. An old man, a beggar he’d be in any city, appeared and looked directly at her. "You have the gift…" he trailed off.

They had come to Talonpass wishing they could find someone like her, but they were still startled when he uttered those words. "What gift? What are you talking about, old man?"

He didn’t spare a single glance at Maxwell. His world rotated around Vivienne in that moment. He grabbed her hand pulling her down her horse. "Quick, get in. He sent for you. Quick, quick. Inside."

She let herself be rushed inside, signaling Maxwell everything was okay since she saw his anger building at the old man’s touches. Maxwell followed inside once the hitched the horses and went to sit on the chair the old man had offered Vivienne, pulling her down on his lap, while the old man took the other seat.

All through that process, Vivienne looked into the man’s mind, but all she found was gibberish, incoherent thoughts all over the place. It wasn’t like he was trying to hide anything from her, he just couldn’t concentrate on just one thing and she couldn’t string together all those things. She lacked information.

"We’re in now, safe and sound. Will you tell us what you meant outside?" Vivienne asked sweetly. She didn’t want to spook the man.

Although he melted under her gaze and longed for the touch of her reading, when his eyes settled on Maxwell, grabbing his head in his hands he shook it around. "No, I can’t. He cannot know. No, no. He cannot know." He chanted over and over again.

She stopped reading him, his inconsistency giving her a headache. "Who? Him?" She asked pointing at Maxwell. "He’s with me, you don’t need to worry about him."

"Not him. Well, yes him, but not. He’s the messenger, is he not?" He continued with the gibberish.

"I’m no messenger." Maxwell said, but Vivienne hushed him.

"Messenger for whom?" She asked the crazy man.

"The Phantom, who else? Or is it Emperor now? Do you know?” he said and started looking at the ceiling, holes all over it. “He sent his army to destroy this village, but Rollie knows. He knows what he sought. He knows." He went on.

"What does Rollie know? What did the Emperor seek? Can you tell me? It would really help me." She asked reaching for his hand. Immediately, all his attention shifted to her.

"You. The gift." He paused. "He wants to destroy it, you. You can hurt him, yes, you. He hates it."

While startled, she wasn’t about to give out information to that man, so she needed to be sure. "What gift, Rollie?"

"The gift. Life. The counter to his Death. The gift." He answered, but she looked at him confused. "You used it on me. I felt it, I did."

"This?" She asked and went on to pry again.

He swooned and then started nodding excitedly. "Yes, yes, the gift. He was looking, but he didn’t find. No gifted stay here. Why did you return? Didn’t find the master?"

"No, I didn’t. I can’t find him. I don’t know where to look. Can you help me?" Vivienne spurred him on without much effort.

"Where to find him? At his home, of course. Briohall, it’s called." Rollie said scrunching his eyebrows as if it were obvious.

Both hers and Maxwell’s ears perked up at the name. Elliot had mentioned it. The League’s third base, the location of which was a secret to all but its agents and all council members according to the seasoned veteran. Could it be that the unhinged shell of a man had that piece of sensitive information?

"Oh, of course. But I don’t know where it is. Do you?" She continued feeling Maxwell’s hand on her hip go rigid from the stress of the moment.

"Yes, yes, west in the Waste the master shall be. Grandfather told me. It’s a secret, shh." Rollie said looking at Maxwell worried.

Maxwell was getting frustrated behind her. "I promise, Rollie. Max is my friend. He’s on my side."

"No puppet?" Rollie questioned staring at Vivienne with big, sad eyes.

"No puppet. He’s mine." Vivienne answered and showed him their interlocked fingers.

"Paired with the gift? Ohh, the joy. Such an honour." He said to himself and nodded. "I can’t help you more. West in Waste is all grandfather said. ‘West in the Waste the gift must go’ he said. West in the Waste."

Maxwell and Vivienne’s hopes fell. They had more questions than they received answers in their trip to Talonpass. Maybe if their source was a sane person, rather than a deranged individual, they’d have more luck.

“Rollie, where is everyone?" Maxwell asked pulling Vivienne out of her thoughts.

Rollie looked to her for permission before he answered. He waited for her nod. "In the meadow, down the road."

That was odd. "What are they doing there?" Vivienne asked confused.

"Soldiers, oh so many soldiers, took them there. Fire came next and then no more noise. Shhh…" He answered and it was Vivienne’s turn to go rigid in Maxwell’s arms.

"Why didn’t they take you too?" Maxwell asked rather offensively.

Rollie didn’t notice though. "I don’t like noise. I hid in the forest. Came out later and found this. Burned, but the stones stand and I’m safe. Safe from him. No, no, you have to leave. Be safe, yes, you need to be."

He rocked back and forth as he repeated the same things. Vivienne turned back to Maxwell giving him a confused look. "What now?" She whispered.

"I have no idea… Dad thought the kid was from the capital. What if he came from here?" Maxwell thought to her. It wasn’t that unreasonable a thought.

Vivienne looked back at the old man then. "Rollie, do you know what the gift is?"

He stopped rocking and pursed his lips in concentration. "It’s the gift."

"Yes, but do you know what it is?" She pushed.

"No… Grandfather didn’t know. Only the master knows. Go to him, he’ll tell you." Rollie said and once again rocked back and forth with his chair. “West in the Waste, the gift must go. West in the Wastes.”

"This is pointless, Viv. Let’s move on." Maxwell suggested, but Vivienne wasn’t done.

"Rollie, listen to me, this is very important." She waited for him to pay attention before she continued. "Have you told anyone else about this?"

He went red and his head hung low in shame. "I tell the gifted, sometimes their parents hear." He got angry then. "Some use the gift wrong. They cheat, they get rich. Two went to him too. Then poor Talonpass paid the price. Life is the match to his Death, but no, they only wanted his money. Poor, poor Talonpass."

"Did you tell a red-haired woman? A long, long time ago?" She asked desperately.

"Red haired? Like yours?" He questioned and she nodded. He thought for a while. "No, no." He shook his head and Vivienne’s face fell. "She didn’t have the gift, the little girl did, yes. She listened to me amazed. She listened and they left the village, yes. But followed the wrong path. Not south, West in the Wastes I said, but they ignored me."

"Did the woman seem afraid?" Vivienne asked, a random flash came to memory, of her terrified mother pack their things in a rush before they left.

He looked at the couple confused. "Of course. He’d hunt them if he found out. So scared the mother was…But not south, they went south. They shouldn’t. I watched them, but didn’t go south, no." He started crying.

In his mind’s memories she saw her mother’s face reflecting terror as she pulled Vivienne away in a hurry. The image brought a stir in her heart. Because she’d died when Vivienne was young, her own memories of her mother were distorted, but that old man provided her with a clear picture. Even if it were taken out of bad and sorrowful times.

She moved to the almost collapsed window, but soon felt Maxwell’s arms circle her and his head rested on her shoulder. He knew not what brought the tears in her eyes, since they’d many times talked about her mother, but she’d never acted like that before. He didn’t say anything. Just gave her support as best as he could.

Vivienne turned her head and kissed his cheek. "Thank you." She whispered against his skin and he nodded. She straightened up and Maxwell’s arms fell to his sides again as she went back to the beggar. "Rollie, when did the army come this way?"

"Long ago. Days many, I don’t count." He answered shrugging. “I was picking berries in the bloom.”

"Early spring. How have you survived so long?" She asked again.

"Fruit. The woods help me and don’t bother me." He replied and restarted his rocking.

"Viv, I know what you’re thinking, but we can’t take him with us." Maxwell said in a hushed voice. "I doubt he even wants to leave this place."

"He’ll starve." Vivienne said looking pitifully at him. "And even if he doesn’t, he’ll freeze to death when winter comes."

"He’s survived this long. We can’t help everyone we find." Maxwell reasoned and she sighed.

She went to kneel at his feet and looked up at him. "Rollie, we have to go. Will you be alright?"

"Go? To the master you go. Yes, good. Someone needs to defeat him at last. Go, go, Rollie is fine. Rollie knows." He said and got up abruptly heading for the door. "North a while and then west. That’s the road to follow."

"West in the Waste, I remember." She said smiling. He gave back a toothless smile and waited at the door as the couple mounted their horses.

They spurred their horses on and they were off. A few acres into their ride in the wasteland, the ground became steep. They were nearing the meadow Rollie mentioned. Both had a good idea of what had occurred, what they’d find, but it didn’t make seeing it any easier.

Surrounded by scorched trees like most of the land around Talonpass, in the middle of the meadow, there was a stack of corpses. Or rather, their bones, for the fire had incinerated most of them and time had gnawed on the remnants.

"What a terrible way to die…" Vivienne breathed gazing at the massacre.

"There’s no good way to murder people, Viv. Even our clean kills are terrible." Maxwell replied in a serious manner. "If what Rollie said is true, it makes sense why the Emperor would destroy this place. You know, his fear of people like you probably drove him to this extreme."

"He’s a madman, I doubt anything he told us is valid, Max. What would the emperor have to fear of me?" Vivienne dismissed him quickly.

"All I’m saying is it’d make sense. Why he destroyed this place, why he sent his army to Bandville when he found someone like you with ties to a resistence. The dots connect." Maxwell added.

"Let’s just get going. Sera needs us." Vivienne told him. That shut him up. And so they continued their way to Embersummit.

When Reggie came back, in his hands he held a tree branch, thick enough to keep her leg straight once they’d set the bones and half as long as her leg, and cloth to tie the branch in place. Upon seeing those, Seraphina started to involuntary sweat. The pain was too much already, she wasn’t sure how much more she could handle. He used his knife to carve the odd ends of the branch before he brought a chair next to her.

“I have to…” He said stepping closer sheepishly.

“I know.” She answered and took a deep breath. “I need something to bite down on.” She continued when he laid his tools next to her on the bed.

“Of course. Would you like me to check your shoulder as well?” He asked, looking into one of his cabinets and producing a surprisingly clean towel for her.

“The wound’s healed. My muscles need time to catch up.” Seraphina replied stretching. “I expect with some exercise, it’ll be back to normal.” She said, but showed him her shoulder anyway. There was a finger-long scar right under her collarbone on the right.

“How long ago did it happen?” Reggie asked while he unwrapped the cloth for the makeshift cast.

“I’m not sure exactly. Either they kept me under or the pain did.” She answered as she stared at his handiwork. “I was sound for about a fortnight before I escaped.”

He nodded and reached for a knife. Seraphina looked at him curiously. “I’ll need to cut the pant leg off.”

“I can just take them off.” She said shrugging. Something about him radiated rectitude, she wasn’t worried about him taking advantage of her. Not just yet, but she still had fire on her side should she need it.

“No need for unnecessary movements. This is easier." He replied and removed the cut cloth from her leg. He looked more closely at the falsely set knee. "You’re lucky it didn’t get infected. Such things happen to unset or badly set bones. I’ve actually seen it happen many times."

"Sorry if I don’t feel so fortunate." She said scowling.

"You’re alive. You should feel fortunate." He said and pulled the branch next to him as she said nothing. "Bite on the towel." She did just as he put his hands on her leg. He showed his strength for the first time since she met him in his touch. Her knee snapped.

She screamed into the cloth before she passed out.

◊◊◊

When Seraphina opened her eyes, light crept through the windows. Still daytime. A thin sheet covered her and she lied on the same bed she had passed out. Reggie was nowhere to be found.

Her knee throbbed, the pulsation reached her ears. The pain was great, but nothing compared to the moment it’d snapped or when she unwillingly stepped on her leg in her escape. She pulled the cloth back and checked on the hunter’s work. Its look and the light kneading she did affirmed that he’d done well in setting the bone. Maybe if it’d happened the moment her injury occurred, she’d have better chances to regain the previous functionality. “If only.”

She pulled herself up to rest her back against the bedframe and breathed deeply with her eyes closed, waiting. Moments later, she heard a stir coming from the edge of the bed and her eyes snapped open in alarm. But all she found was the grey wolfess getting up and stretching, never losing Seraphina out of her sight.

"And he says he hasn’t tamed her…" Seraphina thought shaking her head.

Raine’s head turned to the door and Seraphina soon heard the wild stomping of hooves before it stopped right outside the cabin. From Raine’s reaction to curl back into a ball and rest, Seraphina figured it was the wolfmaster that arrived.

Reggie entered the cabin with a backpack in hand, his camouflage back in place. He looked to Seraphina and nodded when he saw she was awake. "Do you approve of my work?"

No niceties. Interesting. "Yes. Good handling." She replied as he unpacked. He sprawled fruit and waterskins on the table. "You didn’t need to leave the wolf behind. I’m not going anywhere."

He turned and glanced at the animal, before resuming his work. "I didn’t. Raine must’ve come through the window by herself."

She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Probably something she does regularly." She thought looking away.

"I wasn’t comfortable leaving you alone unconscious for too long, so I took Nightlight while I scouted.” He said bringing a tray of fruit over to the bed. “I hope you don’t mind."

She ignored the nuisance and focused on the point. "Scout what? Where?"

Reggie offered an apple to Seraphina and didn’t seem intent to talk until she took it. She swallowed a couple of bites before he made another move. "That’s better.” He nodded. “Now… I went to check on that army. They sent search parties for you in the woods, but in the wrong directions, so there’s nothing to fear from them."

"I’m not afraid of them." She was quick to cut him off.

"Okay, let me rephrase then. There’s no need to rush out of here. You have time to heal since they’re moving on." He corrected.

"Already? I wasn’t worth more than a day’s search?" She asked mostly herself getting irritated.

"Actually, you’ve been unconscious for almost two days. Plus the time you spent riding away, they probably think you’ve become dinner for predator. I covered your tracks and Raine feigned an attack on them, reinforcing that thought." He explained, calmly chewing on an apple slice.

She was taken slightly aback. Most of her life people were getting in her way rather than help her. Her own flesh and blood tried to sabotage her rise in the ranks, yet that complete stranger and his wolf had offered more assistance than she would ever ask for.

Seraphina wasn’t fond of the unsettling feeling he caused her. Gratitude never came easy to her. "You didn’t need to do that."

"I doubt you’re much worse than the empire and I hate them, so no trouble really." He said indifferently. After their meal, he got up. "Okay, you need to get cleaned up. You’re a mess."

"Aren’t you charming…?" Seraphina uttered shaking her head.

“Never was.” He said smiling.

"Excuse my bad hygiene. Next time I’m captured I’ll make sure to ask for better treatment." She added sarcastically.

"How about you don’t get caught instead? It’d be a shame." He replied and went for the door, leaving her to stare at him. "You can’t move yet, so I’ll fill a bucket and bring it over. Or do you have another suggestion?"

Seraphina simply nodded. While she removed the slime, dirt and dried blood from her body to the best of her ability, Reggie stood outside and gave her a rundown of everything he saw as per her request.

The army was moving on, on the main road towards Dawnfield like before, but something changed. There was haste in their advance then. The guards were more alert, far less daft in their rotations, and they performed regular checks on everyone to assure their identity. Seraphina figured it was due to both her trespass and her later escape. She got pleasure from how she had managed to change the army’s whole perspective. Had they not found her, she knew she'd be dangerously cocky. Her mishap would serve her well in the future. She’d be more careful.

"So I can cross the main road now? They’ve advanced that much?" Seraphina asked him as she put on the fresh clothes he’d lent her. The pants were hard to wear, but she managed it.

"Where do you want to go?" Reggie asked instead. She paused before she said anything. Would withholding the information do her any good? He was a hunter. He tracked animals. Tracking her would be easy. Plus he had the wolf. "Well?"

"Talonpass. I need to get to Talonpass." Seraphina answered. "You can come in."

He did and sat by the table. "There’s nothing there."

"I need some information from the villagers. I need to get there." She insisted.

"Seraphina, you’re not listening to me. There’s nothing there. Only rubble and ash." He explained.

That surprised her. "What? How?"

"Wherever that army is returning from, their first task was Talonpass. They destroyed everything and left none alive. I used to trade in the village, but when I went there on my last trip late in the spring… Well you get the picture." He said troubled. Of course. He didn’t, nor could he, suspect why the Emperor wanted every villager dead. The boy her father had sent to his doom must’ve been from Talonpass and that overreaction showed the mighty Emperor was afraid. Afraid of Vivienne’s gift. "…and you’re ignoring me."

"Huh?" She snapped out of her thoughts. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I said that if your business was there, there’s nothing for you there, so you can stay here to heal. Your knee will hardly be the same when you do heal, but it’ll be worse if you go off now." Reggie repeated.

"I can take care of myself." She said, rather offended. "And I really need to go. I’ve lost too much time already."

"What’s the rush? You’re hurt. You can’t do anything with that knee." He shot back. His hand was shaking, he was nervous, but he never increased the tone of his voice.

"I can’t linger. I need to catch up to someone." She insisted.

"It’s that important?" He asked slightly annoyed. "Fine. Whoever you need. Where you think they're going?"

She glared at him. "Look, I appreciate your help, but it’s none of your damn business."

"Oh, I beg to differ. If I wanted you to die, I would’ve left you by the river. I don’t care what your business is, but there’s no way I’m letting you go off into your death." He said and it was the first time Seraphina caught a flash of anger, fire, in his eyes.

She tried a different tactic. She calmed herself and looked at him under her lashes. "Why are you so interested in my wellbeing?"

Reggie huffed and his fists turned white from the clenching. "I heard them." His words barely reached her ears. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I heard them say you’re with the resistance. I want to help."

She laughed then. "Say what you heard is true, how could you help this resistance? You’re just a hunter.” She pointed around the room. “You chose the solidarity of the woods. Don’t you think they would instead blend in the crowd?"

"I can fight with the sword and shoot better than any marksman they have. I know the empire’s tactics. I was one of them." He said and the flare intensified. "And I hate them with all that I am. Doesn’t your club have a place for someone like that?"

They did. All Shepherds had such reasons, whether because something had happened to them personally, their family members or even a prior generation. But she said none of that. "I’m but one agent. I can neither accept nor reject you."

"Then I’ll follow you to someone who can. I’ve been waiting too long for a chance like this. I’m coming with you." He said determined.

"It doesn’t seem like it. You’ve built quite a cozy home here." She retorted, a little accusingly. “I’m surprised you have no wife and kids around.”

He looked defeated then. "It wasn’t me. My brother did it. He did have a wife and children." He got up and went to his closet. "Where are we going?"

His mind was set. Seraphina needed the help and she doubted he wouldn’t follow her. He seemed to know the land, it might help regain some of the lost time. She thought it better to have him close and under inspection that creeping over her shoulder.

She decided he was a liability she could control. She told him. "I’m not entirely sure. Just a general direction. But we can ask for information at a village… what was the name...?" She racked her brain, wishing she had Maxwell’s memory. "Oh, yeah, I remember. Norfolk. That’s where we can ask for directions."

"Directions to where? Maybe I know the place." Reggie pushed.

"It’s sensitive information even I don’t know about. How could you?" Seraphina scoffed, but his stare never faltered. "The city’s called Embersummit. Max has all the information stored in his mind and some journals to guide him, so you see, I have to get a move on. I don’t know the way and they already have a headstart on me." She finished her rambling and looked at him.

He seemed dumbfounded. "How can you be in the resistance and not know where Embersummit is?"

It was her turn to be surprised. "You know it?"

He shook his head. "I know of it. In more ways than one. I have a sense of where it is, but we’ll need your tattoo to get the exact location. You have that at least, right?" So he didn’t look too closely at her body.

He never stopped packing as he talked, so he didn’t notice the horror his words brought. "Hold up. How do you know about my tattoo? The significance?" She asked, then terrified the empire had made the connection between the ink and the rebellion.

He turned to her and smiled. "Aren’t you privy?" She scowled at him. "It’s not because I was a soldier, don’t worry."

"The times I’ve heard that…" Seraphina uttered. "I could always kill him if I find him dangerous. But for now, I need him."