Sharp

A skimmer came to pick us up. Jabari was with it. She already knew about Keon from Nkwe. She was in tears the whole way back, and she was taken to the embassy for her people.

We had numerous interviews about what happened covering the whole day and obviously the incident before hand and if we had seen anything during the day and on and on it went. I am sure Sylvan is getting it worse, she was supposed to be looking after us.

We were separated, and after a while, I just shut down and stopped speaking. I had also lost a Kai, but nobody cared about that. Jabari had lost her husband and her brother, but I bet nobody cared about that either. A foreign prince had been assassinated in their kingdom. I guess they were trying to stop a war.

They yelled and accused me of all sorts of ridiculous things, and I ignored them. I had already answered their questions five times in different ways. They accused me of siding with the assassins because I helped Val and not Zesiro. They accused me of all sorts. I shut down, and eventually, they left me alone—for hours. I dozed for a while. I had water and food in my Hunters Pack. Kai and Ardisia were always with me.

It wasn’t the Remore Academy that got me released. It was the High Priest of the Temple of Death. I assume the Remore Academy was having its own troubles.

“I only got you released this early because you are a Cleric of the church, and the High Priestess of the Goddess of Knowledge backed me up.” We were sitting in the temple. “The King’s investigator from Kekie and the High Priest of the Full Moon are already here. The King could appear at any time.”

“So what happens now?” I asked.

“That will depend on the Diamond Rankers.”

“Who were the assassins?”

“We are not sure, or nobody is saying. The Kekie are putting the word out that it was in opposition to the prophecy and Zesiro is a martyr. That will only go so far, but Vitesse will probably go along if it stops a war.”

“That means it is Kekie's internal business, and Vitesse is not to blame,” I thought aloud.

“Exactly,” said the High Priest.

“Jabari is going to take a lot of the blame and feel guilty because she was not there,” I said.

“Now you are thinking like a Priest.”

“I never heard the prophecy.”

“I am not sure anyone knows it outside the Moon Temple. Bits and pieces are floating around. You will need a better source than me.”

“What happens with me now?” I asked.

“Well, you have been released into the Temple's care, but you are a Cleric, so nothing has changed from our perspective,” said the High Priest with a small smile.

“Should I go back to the academy?”

“You can do whatever you feel the Goddess wants you to do. You did just kill someone and watched a number of people die. You might want to take some time.”

“I will meditate on it and stay tonight. Thank you.”

“There is no need to thank me. Getting our Roaming Clerics out of trouble happens from time to time. You are fulfilling the role well.”

That was not an encouraging comment. I went down to meditate in the garden. A light drizzle was falling, but I didn’t let that bother me. There were inside meditation rooms, but the light rain seemed appropriate.

It did bother me that there was a cover-up. It was not unexpected. My first thought was whether there was strife in the Moon Temple. Zesiro came here against pressure to stay. It was not clear where that pressure came from. Was some of it from his father?

It was not clear what Skill drove him here—some sort of guidance skill. Jabari is probably the main source of information, and she is likely to be whisked back to the Kekie Kingdom, and I will never see her again.

Is this how a prophecy works? Send someone to be martyred so that the person it wants is moved to investigate. My Goddess has told me I can choose to go or not. That hasn’t changed.

Events have a long way to go and are way above an iron ranker. I am not just an iron ranker, though. I am also a Cleric.

What should a Cleric do? Help those in crisis. Three other people are tangled in this mess: Val, who has her family and the academy behind her; Sylvan, who is silver rank and has the academy behind her; and Jabari. Who does she have? Will she have people around her, or will she be blamed? Her kingdom does not seem like the supportive type, and if Zesiro is a typical noble, then she is not likely to be supported.

She and Keon were nice enough, which is probably indicative of her family. We will have to wait and see how events play out.

I spent some time with my three remaining Kai’s. The other one will be back, and with the health and growth of the garden, it will likely take only a few days.

I am not sure there is anything I could have done differently. If I had gone to help Chuki and Zesiro, then Val would have died.

Jabari is going to be wracked with guilt. If she hadn’t decided to run, then she might have been there and made a difference. If she had run faster for help her brother might be alive. She will be in a bad place. I am a Cleric. The least I can do is pray for her. Invoking the gods is not the least I can do. It is probably one of the more powerful things.

I went back to the Academy the next day. Classes were still in full operation, although rumours were flying around the place. Arabelle Remore was not available, and a Priest of Knowledge temporarily took over Intro to the Gods.

Val was not back yet. I attended class because there was nothing else to do, but my mind was not fully engaged. I was so distracted I poisoned myself and had to take one of the potions. The professor kicked me out of the class early.

The next day, Val still wasn’t back. I was leaving my room when I was stopped by someone I didn’t know.

“Excuse me, are you Theo?”

I nodded.

“I am Junior. I clean the stables. We have a problem that Healer Remore thought you might be able to help with.”

“Ok, what can I do?”

“Follow me, please.”

I followed Junior to the stables, where the stablemaster was. “Your Theo?” I nodded. “He arrived last night and won’t move,” he indicated one of the stalls.

I looked in, and Nkwe was lying there. His eyes seemed to be closed, but I was sure he was not asleep.

“I take it Jabari is not around?” otherwise, it wouldn’t be a problem.

“No,” said the stablemaster, “and her enrollment was cancelled, and her fees refunded.”

“I see.”

“We don’t need the stall yet, but he will also need to be fed and looked after. He is not letting anyone near him at the moment.”

This was a puzzle. Why would Jabari send Nkwe here? Would she not need him with her? Does this mean she is not returning to Kekie, or is she going and not taking Nkwe? That doesn’t make sense. Would she send him here because he would be in danger if he were with her? That might be possible. Nkwe would be the most precious thing left for her.

“I will take responsibility for the stable and his care,” I said to the Stablemaster.

He nodded, “Very well, but if I may, are you not a scholarship student?”

I pulled out my token, “If I fall behind, the Temple of Death will cover it.”

He looked at it, “Very good, sir.”

“Where can I get food for him?”

“We have a small pen of goats out the back. The animals change, but there will be something there. You only pay for what he eats, as many people have their own food or take beasts like that hunting.”

I nodded.

“Do you require any help with him? He has been very aggressive when approached. We have tranquilisers for iron-rank animals.”

“I should be fine for now,” I said. “I will ask if I need anything.”

“Very well, we will leave you to it then.”

I approached the stable door. “Hello, Nkwe,” I greeted him. Now that I looked closer, I saw that he hadn’t eaten for a few days. How long had it been since the assassination, four days?

He growled a warning at me as I stepped into the stable. I crouched down to his level. “Are you hungry?” I pulled a bit of raw Roo meat from my Hunters Pack and tossed it in front of him. His nostrils flared as he caught the scent. He stretched forward and swallowed it in one bite then he settled down again. His eyes appeared closed but he was watching me.

I looked around and saw a small water trough in the wall and straw on the floor. I had classes to go to, but I felt this was more important. “I am just going to sit with you for a bit if you don’t mind.” He didn’t object, so I sat with my back against the wall near the door.

“Do you mind if Kai joins us?” There was no response, so two Kai’s came out and investigated the stall. We were back to four Kais.

I pulled out a book I shouldn’t have and started reading about alchemical formulas for tanning leather to give it different properties. I still had Jabari’s Roo hides in my Hunters Pack. What could I do with that that might help her? Nothing without asking first.

I was concerned about Jabari. If she was feeling how I think she felt, then her bond with Nkwe was probably the only thing keeping her going at this point. If the only way to help her was to look after Nkwe, then I would do that. I noticed a Kai had climbed up on Nkwe and was settling down to sleep in the fur between his shoulder blades. Nkwe didn’t seem to mind, or maybe he didn’t notice. I am sure he noticed.

When lunchtime came, two Kais were snuggled together in Nkwe’s fur. I got up. “I am going to get some lunch and then go to my Melee fighting class. Kai can stay here, and I will bring you a goat. Don’t let Kai eat too much of it.”

I found the goat pen and the area they slaughtered them and drained most of the blood. I then dropped it in Nkwe’s stall for him, went to get a bite myself, and went to class.

After class, I checked, but Val was not back, so I went back to Nkwe’s stall. I cleaned up the remains of the goat and then raised my arch. Nkwe got up to investigate the arch, but he couldn’t enter and soon lay down again. Ardisia merged herself in the vines around the arch. Because she had grown in level and health, she made the vines appear very prominent and covered the gap. Kai ran in and out.

I went in and tended my Garden. We had one more day of classes, and then we had a day off. Tomorrow, I will not have any classes as it is our adventuring day. I will spend it catching up on what I have missed. I guess I am going to fail the adventuring class this Semester. That is a pretty minor thing at this stage.

I was walking past the administration building when my enhanced hearing heard a firm male voice say, “No. You will not be searching out premises. The Kekie Kingdom has cancelled all agreements, and the room and stables previously assigned have already been let out to other students. The Remore Academy will not be accepting other students from your kingdom until we are satisfied and compensated for the risk you brought down on our students and staff. If you have lost a bond,” and the tone turned scathing at that impossibility, “then go look elsewhere.”

I waited for a while, but they were not high enough rank to challenge the Gold Rank Staff. I waited well away, and eventually, two formally dressed Leonids left. Their auras were leaking, and I could tell both were Gold Rank. After they left, I saw Arabelle Remore and her husband, Gabrielle, also leave the office.

The Healers' oath might require them to heal everybody, but it also allowed them to defend themselves and their patients, and Gabrielle was no healer. They stood down two of the top officials from the Kekie Kingdom, potentially the High Priest of the Full Moon. I was not naive enough to think there had not been an aura battle going on.

If I can get my Aura to the bronze level while here, I would like to take a course called Weaponising Auras. Admission to the course is restricted to bronze-level Auras and passing a selection panel.

The biggest concern is what is happening to Jabari. She was hiding Nkwe, and they were looking for him. Would they use him to force her compliance? Compliance to do what? She must be under tremendous pressure.

Val may know more, and in the meantime, Nkwe is Jabari’s lifeline. I will look after him.