Chapter 165 – Back to the Station
“Dammit, looks like an animal has dug at it,” Syrus complained. They had made a detour back towards the Nevald Kingdom to the place they had buried Syrus’ sword. She for sure didn’t forget where it was and was waiting for the moment to come back to reclaim it.
However, it was partially dug up, and the sheath had been clawed at.
[How bad is the damage?] (Eva)
[It could be worse.] Syrus sighed and placed the rest of the blade on the ground. She was already listing all the work she needed to do—clean, sharpen, and repair the sword. With the sword reclaimed, they turned to go towards the city they had just left.
It wasn’t easy leaving Elly and the children, but they needed to. Despite how quickly they denied Elly, the time it had taken to reach that result was anything but short.
[Was it the correct decision?] (Eva)
[Yes. We can’t be double-guessing ourselves.] (Syrus)
[It would’ve been better if you just said yes.] (Luna)
In the end, they decided it would be for the best if they could do their own thing, but they had communication plans ready in case something happened.
Of course, the children didn’t want them to leave. Jerry, Susan, Billy, and Leah especially wanted her to stay behind, but Syrus told them no.
They detoured back via Greenvale. Just so they could check on everyone one last time. To cement the thought that even if they didn’t see them, they would be okay. Looking back into the city and at the people, they saw that all of the children were still there. She did enjoy their time together; it reminded her of the days of training recruits and the days they played around, but those days had long since passed.
Observing the child even for a moment brought complicated feelings to Anlesa. There was a genuine want to debate the idea of sticking around, helping them directly, and supporting them. That might even be the best option for them mentally. Give up whatever desire for revenge and simply focus on the children, but they couldn’t. There was the option of staying with them simply because they could be in danger one day from the church again, but they also feared that their being around would also only create trouble. The current ‘Syrus’ disguise already had a lot of mess surrounding it.
If they did come back around, it would have to be a different identity. That could be hard to explain to the kids and Elly, but that was the best way to separate themselves.
This trip was too long. While it may have only lasted for about two weeks, the mental burden of it all was nightmarish. Even looking at all the rewards, it was hard to feel good about them all due to the mental and physical cost that had been inflicted upon the children.
Upon reaching Arisea Station, Anlesa walked around the small city examining the chances. The rebuilding effort was still ongoing, and they could see people transporting logs of wood from the nearby forest into the city, with people openly working on the material and passing it off to others in the middle of the streets.
The caravans and waggons that used to roam the city’s streets were far fewer in number, and marked-out lanes were drawn in the ground for where they should move to not interfere with the construction effort.
[It is amazing how much progress has been made in such a short time.] (Eva)
[You haven't been around many construction sites, have you?] (Syrus)
[Huh?] (Eva)
[People can be pretty quick at building. I know forts that have been built in a week.] (Syrus)
[And I’ve known of simple fences that took three months to be fixed; it's just a matter of how complicated the process is.] (Luna)
[What is wrong with delaying fixing the fence? Poor weather, material shortages, faulty material, animal damage, war, poor support?] Eva listed out the reasons that came to her mind.
[The whole process, including the bureaucratic process.] (Luna)
[Oh…] (Eva)
Walking through the city, they knew their first destination.
Going through the open door, she was welcomed in before she said anything. “Syrus, you are back early.” The woman with the familiar golden eyes and, as always, messy brown hair, Ash was surprised to see Syrus back.
“Early?” Syrus rolled her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ash just shrugged. “I figured you would be gone for a month at least.”
“Maybe I still will. A lot has happened since I left, and I can safely say it does not feel like I have taken a break.” Syrus ranted for a moment.
Ash looked down worried. “Yikes… it must have been made to get that reaction out of you.”
“Yep.” Syrus grabbed a new chair that was in the open area. “Thanks for adding a chair.”
“You're welcome. I took it from the street; no idea where it had been sent flying from.” Ash chuckled, and she walked over to Syrus. “It’s handy considering a few of my most recent guests cannot stand up for long.”
“Plenty of people still in recovery?”
“Too many will take months for some; there is a limit to what healing potions can do.” Ash examined Syrus’s complexion. “Wow, you look a lot better.”
Eva questioned, “I do?” Even when they were doing too hot, she was still using Morph, which she figured would’ve hidden some signs of bodily weakness last time.
“Yeah, even when you looked-like-cough-like this, you were still very pale. However, now you are looking really healthy.” Ash jokingly questioned, “Did you take some sort of miracle cure?”
Syrus answered honestly, “No, but the closest I will ever get to one.”
Ash’s eyes lit with curiosity. “So how did this come about–”
Syrus bluntly stated. “You want to fight some demons?”
“!” Ash froze, paused, then resumed. “I will stop asking questions.”
“Good idea.” Syrus rolled her head back and leaned it on the wall.
Ash walked back to her table and continued mixing medicine.
After a little bit, Syrus asked, “Any news on Maca’s location?”
“No,” Ash answered. She had been informed about his disappearance; she hadn’t directly known the man himself, but from the talk she had with Syrus and Lavender, she promised she would keep a lookout if she heard anything. “Lavender would know more; after he hadn’t shown up for a week, she started looking. Apparently, she owed him money.”
“That’s her reasoning?”
“Valid, I say.” Ash let out a light chuckle. “The rumours of people being cursed due to not paying back their debts to the living or the dead have always been strikingly prevalent.”
“I doubt Maca would haunt anyone, or that he is dead.”
Ash asked, concerned, “...What do you think happened then?”
It was clear Ash didn’t hold much hope of him being alive; as a pharmacist, she had seen many people die and others who couldn’t accept that fact.
“I… don't know. Maybe captured by someone or had to leave in urgency.”
“Both those outcomes are extremely bad…”
“I know. That’s why I am worried. I didn’t know him for long, but he didn’t seem to be the type to vanish for no reason. Especially since he was basically the headstone for all the smaller communities within the town.”
Even with his current location and status up in the air, there wasn’t actually much they could do. Anlesa had thought maybe he was captured by the church, but they didn’t see him in Kelopan. Of course that didn’t mean he wasn’t captured by them. The situation could have easily been that he was still in transit when Anlesa did their raid or was taken somewhere else.
Ash sighed, “I know this is going to sound horrible, but maybe you should forget about that for the time being. As you said yourself, you need rest, and jumping into that might destroy any recovery you have made.”
“Thank you for the warning…” Syrus sat back up straight. “I will think about it.”