Fable - Ask Terse Words

[Eleanor]

Eleanor struggled to sit up and she rubbed her forehead before throwing a look at Edric. "No shit, Edric," was her reply to something he did. Of course it was something the Archon had did. She looked at her arm again and ran her fingers over the brand. It was strange and she could heal it but she left it for now. A reminder.

"Come on, let's get going so we can meet the army. We don't have any horses so it's going to be a long fucking walk." She growled as she slowly got to her feet. They still had their weapons at least. That was one good thing, she supposed.

"I still don't understand why the Archon didn't just kill us and let the army come. None of it makes sense at all."

 

[Edric]

Edric slowly pushed himself up from the ground, frowning for a moment as he noted the soreness that still carried through from where the brand had been.

"No, it doesn't." He agreed with a scowl.

One last glance was spared in the direction of the army, his lips thinning for a brief moment as he considered going back. Some string tugging him in the direction of answers. It would have been a fools gambit. Worse, a sentence for death.

Lips thinned, and then he began to walk the other way. "He said the Republic would know."

Edric said quietly.

"But I doubt anyone will tell us there either." It was more of the same. More information to dig out, more facts that they had to hunt for. Nassau had some sort of plan, that much was clear, but just what it was Edric couldn't even begin to guess.

A frown touched his lips. "But we can find out anyway."

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor walked after Edric and quickly caught up with him. "And how are we going to find out?" He had a frown and Ella had a slightly evil look on her face. She was a fan of doing things they weren't supposed to. Finding out what an Archon was up to was definitely on the list of things that Initiates weren't supposed to do.

"Long walk," she started to tick off with her fingers. "No food. No water. We are going to die, Edric. I am very much done with all of this bullshit. I have decided that I am never going back to the Academy and they can kiss my ass."

It was obviously a joke. Eleanor had no where to go and no money to do so.

 

[Edric]

Edric glanced at her. "By digging."

It was a comment that most would not really have expected from the likes of Edric. He was a brute, a fighter. Not the sort to worry about what was going on. He was the epitome of a weapon. Point him somewhere and he would see it done.

"Every mission, every opportunity." He glanced to Eleanor. "We see what we can find. Ask around, find books. Interrogate if we have to. Until we found out what the fuck is happening with that Archon."

It would take time, but Edric was more than willing to do it. "Eventually we'll find out whats going on."

They just had to keep it from everyone else.

A chuckle escaped him as El complained about their situation.

"Least we can hunt." He offered. "That's not so hard."

 

[Eleanor]

"True, it might be nice to have some prey that doesn't fight back. I need a break," Eleanor laughed out the last part. She was tired, hungry, sore, and grumpy.

Two days had passed since the two Initiates had been unceremoniously abandoned in the forest. They had hunted and eaten their fill, slept on the hard ground curled up against each other for warmth, and laughed a lot more than she thought was possible for them.

He was alright. She had already figured that out but it was just cemented now that they were away from the city and certain death.

"We should be meeting them in the next two or three days. Well...maybe four...they are probably moving slower than we are." Eleanor said as they walked back towards Vel Anir and the approaching army.

"So what fun do you think the Academy will send us on next? I am hoping for something that involves alcohol and ignoring responsibilities," she smiled at Edric. Their days had also been spent with lots of speculation about all sorts of mundane topics.

 

[Edric]

A shrug rolled over his shoulders. "Probably more of the same."

It was nice to dream that something would change, but he doubted it. The Proctors were treating them better, they weren't being beaten or locked in boxes anymore, but the missions? The missions seemed to still be the same drivel as always.

At least they didn't hunt runaways anymore.

"Best you can wish for is a long assignment." Edric suggested. "I heard Raf got sent off to Alliria once."

He mused. "Though knowing that buffoon he probably slept through the whole thing."

 

[Eleanor]

"I will admit that I have enjoyed being away from the Academy and the bullshit of the Proctors. Well," she paused for a moment. "I don't know if enjoyed is the right word. I enjoyed bits and pieces," she smiled wryly at him. She definitely enjoyed some bits more than others.

"I am going to take the longest, hottest bath in the history of long, hot baths when we get back to the Academy though. I will have to disappear for at least two days in order to feel human again." She was only joking a little bit. The dirt and blood and sweat had made a new home on the Initiates skin and she also looked forward to clean clothes.

"I am going to be sad that I will have to pull my punches again though. It was nice to not worry about if I hurt someone too bad." Eleanor let out a long, dramatic sigh. "The life of a student is so unfair," she joked with another smile.

 

[Edric]

Edric chuckled slightly. "Little bits and pieces."

He said with a wink over to her.

Eleanor had a point though. It had been...nice to be away from the Academy. There was a calm, almost independence to it. Edric had always liked missions, but not because of that. This was the first time he'd noticed the feeling.

Even then only because she'd pointed it out.

"Do you know what you'll do after graduation?" Edric suddenly blurted out, her words making him think of that. It was a question that many Students had an answer for. Their options were simple; Join the Guard, become a reservist, or leave.

He'd had a plan, once, but the Revolution had taken it from him. Snatched his choice and instead given him options. Something he couldn't help but resent.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor shrugged. She had not really thought too far ahead but one thing had changed since her near death. "I kind of want to try and find Zana..." Her voice trailed off as she thought about her mentor who had been like a mother to her.

"I don't know if I want to kill her or what but I feel like I should at least try to get some answers. I still wonder everyday why she left me behind..."

She shrugged again. Ask questions, get answers, kill Zana. That was most likely what would happen.

"I know I don't want to join the Guard though. I don't even want to be at the Academy anymore. I am just done with the games and now that the Guard is the best we can do...what's the point?"

Eleanor was pretty sure she would get in serious trouble for even voicing such sentiments out loud.

 

[Edric]

Edric had to search his memories for the name that Eleanor so casually dropped into place. A few of the students at the Academy had found true Mentors, Edric had not been one of them.

Despite that, few people could forget the name of one of the instigators of the Rebellion. Zana and her husband could scarcely be forgotten, particularly given their roll in the whole of the Revolution. A frown pulled at Edric's lips for a few moments.

He didn't answer for what must have seemed like a long while. "Suppose there isn't much of one."

Edric answered quietly.

For a long time he had thought little of the Academy, even less so of the training that they had endured. Edric had always intended to run, to leave as soon as the Tower Test was done. Now that the choice was so open, so free, he didn't know what to do with himself.

"Guess you can always just...go." He said quietly.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor thought about his words. He was right, she could just leave the Academy but this was their last year. It would be silly to leave and she didn't have any money to do so anyways. She would stick it out. If she could just continue to go on missions, they time would pass quicker or she would get killed. One of the two.

"Nah, there's no point and the whole lack of money thing makes that shit hard."

They continued to walk as their steady pace with a couple breaks for food and water. It was starting to get dark now and Eleanor was starting to get tired. Her feet were also done for the day but she would keep going if Edric wanted to.

"Do you want to stop for the night or keep going?"

 

[Edric]

Edric glanced over towards Eleanor for a brief moment, lis thinning. ”Right, money.”

It was funny, he’d never even thought about money.

Coin was…well wasn’t all that important for Apprentices. They didn’t get paid, but when they were sent on missions the Proctors always made sure they had some money on hand. The idea that if he left he’d actually have to earn coin on his own? Edric had never even thought about that.

As silly as it seemed. Edric chuckled at his own foolishness.

”Let’s get some rest.” Edric said, glancing at Eleanor. He could see how tired she was. The fact that she’d slowed down over the last few hours and the sleep around her eyes. Better to let her rest. ”I’ll get us something to eat, you start the fire?”

He asked, glancing around the forest.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor was thankful that Edric had decided on resting. She was thankful that she did not have to show any weakness this evening. Edric disappeared to go find something to eat while Eleanor went to gather some wood.

About half an hour or so later, she returned with an armful of wood and various underbrush to keep the fire going. It took her a while longer before she got the stupid fire going. Sometimes she could get a fire going in minutes and other times it took way longer.

She got a pretty decent fire going by the time Edric returned.

 

[Edric]

Hunting did not take long.

The lands in this area of the world were plentiful, and although the invading army had stirpped much of it Edric and Eleanor were far enough away now that it didn’t matter. He returned about an hour later with three rabbits, holding them up. ”Best we’ve eaten since the city.”

He commented, his head shaking as he sat himself down and began to prepare their meal.

”It’s not so bad out here.” He murmured to himself as he placed the first of the shanks over the fire.

A few moments later he placed the rest of the meat in the fire, and then leaned back. ”Do you think they’ll take us with? Back to the city?”

To see what Nassau had done, or would they be sent back to the Academy?

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor watched Edric get the rabbits ready and put them on the fire. She watched the flames for a few minutes before she answered her partner.

"Honestly? I think they will give us shit about being there and failing to keep the city safe. I think they will try to make us feel like the children they believe we are and I think they will not heed the message we are bringing with us." It was a long winded message but she was pretty sure that she was right on the money.

"I am pretty sure if Nassau did see us again, he would kill us on sight."

 

[Edric]

Eleanor wasn’t entirely wrong. ”Maybe.”

Nassau would probably cut their throats or do…whatever the fuck his weird magic had been in the first place. Edric still wasn’t entirely clear what had happened there. Yet the notion that the Guard would write them off?

For some reason he thought it might not be so.

”I doubt they’ll listen.” He agreed. ”But Nassau is…”

Edric shook his head. ”Nassau. The man razed a fortress on his own. I’m pretty sure he could have done that to Vel Acetan at any time.”

His frown deepened.

”I guess it depends on what this Major is like.” Edric said. ”I never met any of em, or know their names. Except the one that…ya know.”

He was of course speaking of Talus Morrid, the man most would consider the source of the Revolution.

 

[Eleanor]

Yes, Talus. The man who had taken Zana from Eleanor. She was sure that he would be next on the kill list after her former mentor.

"Nassau worries me," she said as she ran her finger over the brand. She found herself having trouble healing the thing and she didn't know why. She didn't even know what the brand meant and it scared her. "What do you think the brand means?" She had noticed that Edric had healed his almost immediately.

Eleanor watched the fire and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and resting her chin there.

 

[Edric]

Edric frowned for a brief moment, glancing down at the scar that had not fully healed. Even his magic hadn't wanted to rub the thing away, something that had brought him no end of frustration over the last few days. "I don't know."

There were those words again.

It was truly starting to dawn on him just how much he didn't know. The fact was becoming more and more infuriating the longer he thought about. All the snippets of information, all the grand schemes that were escaping him.

"Something with his magic obviously, but...I have no fucking idea what he even does." Most Archons were famous for being powerful, but few actually disclosed the full breadth of their magic. "One of those things to dig into."

He suggested quietly.

 

[Eleanor]

"I think we need to go on a mission where we do not have to say I don't know next time," Eleanor laughed.

It was not too much longer until the rabbits were ready. The two Initiates ate in relative silence and Eleanor was yawning by the time they had finished. They discarded the bones away from their small clearing to keep animals away and then returned to the fire.

"Do we want to keep it going or put it out tonight?" They had been alternating depending on how they felt the day had gone and how cold the evening was.

 

[Edric]

Edric waved. "Might as well keep it going."

There was little point in putting it out.

Bandits were uncommon in these parts, and he doubted that Nassau had sent anyone after them. He figured the worst that could happen was the Guard would run across them. That or a local village might see the fire. Not bad outcomes either way.

"Get some warmth." Edric said as he leaned back against a small tree, his head lulling to the side. "Maybe sleep better with it."

Though that seemed unlikely out here.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor laid down closer to the fire than Eric's tree. She was on her side with her back to the fire and her arm crooked under her head. She was warm enough for now and far enough away that she wouldn't roll into said fire.

She closed her eyes but sleep didn't come. She would sleep for a little bit then wake up, turn, repeat. It did little to give her any rest but her feet got a break.

 

[Edric]

Edric's eyes snapped opened as he felt something kick against him, a foot pressing against his side with a gentle nudge.

In an instant his head turned, his magic suddenly reaching with tendrils towards everything that was around him. That lash of power extended in an instant, extending within the span of a breath and grasping at whatever was around him.

"Uhm...err...Sir?"

The voice stuttered out, Edric's gaze catching on a man not much older than he was. His body dressed in the uniform of an Anirian Guardsmen.

His lips thinned almost instantly, a sense of alertness finally drawing over him. "Yes. The fuck are you?"

Edric asked quietly, letting his gaze flicker to Eleanor who was still asleep.

"Paul Drellson, Scout for the fourty fifth regiment, sir."

Guardsmen. He might have guessed. The Initiate reached up and ran a have over his face, rubbing at his eyes and shaking his head. A slow breath drew into his lungs, and slowly he nodded his head in understanding of what was happening.

"Alright." Edric said softly. "Good. Good."

He pulled himself upward, gently nudging Eleanor. "We got company."

Edric whispered into her ear quietly.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor had woken up as soon as the scout had spoken. She was ready to call a dagger to her hand before she relaxed upon hearing who the scout was.

When Edric whispered in her ear, she lazily opened her eyes and sat up. She stood and adjusted her shirt and hair. She could at least make herself look semi alright. For traveling. For days on end.

Eleanor looked at Edric and raised a brow to him. He was the better diplomate - surprisingly - of the two.

 

[Edric]

It was obvious that the Guardsmen was nervous. He had likely thought that the two Initiates were little more than deserters or perhaps refugees. A fact which he'd been quickly dissuaded of when Edric had begun the use of his magic.

His gaze flickered back and forth between the two Dreadlords. "Alright. How far back is the Army? And is there a Major Dremin in charge of it?"

The scout frowned for a moment, then nodded.

"A days ride by now sir, and yes, Major Dremin is in command."​

Edric glanced over towards Eleanor, so Nassau had been right about that too. For a brief moment Edric chewed his lip, shaking his head as he cleared his throat.

"We best get going then." He told the other man. "We've been to Vel Aketan and have...news for the Major."

The scout nodded, offered a quick solute and then motioned for them to follow.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor caught the look that Edric threw her. Yes, the Archon had been correct and that just added to the mystery. He obviously had spies in the Guard and that was an even bigger problem. Well...another big problem anyways. None of this was good.

As the three began to walk, Eleanor signed to Edric.

Spy in Guard?

She had been thankful for the sign language that they were taught once again. She had never not found it useful when she had to use it.